j a n s e n. i. s. m.

The next batch of people I celebrated my birthday with, are my college friends. Rodel helped me in deciding for the date and venue and he made it  convenient for most of us by bringing his car. The celebration fell on the Sunday before my actual birthday at a KTV bar called Island Songs inside Island Cove in Kawit, Cavite. We were just 8, a sad fact that reminded me that the older I get, the fewer the college friends present to celebrate it with me.

I wish we were able to help Glads to sneak out their house so she could join us and help her with her personal issues. I wish I was rich enough to send a private jet over Middle East to pick up my cousin Sheena, Jhing and Jhayr in Dubai then Erwin in Riyadh, and bring them back just in time before their working hour begins. I wish I could grant Rodel, Judie, Jhoy, Jane, Anne, Jess and Jayson a weeklong holiday vacation in return for being present this evening, for their thoughtful gifts and for the great fun we had. But then I realized that these things do not fall under the category of birthday wish but rather of complete desperation.

*****

I was at the office on nightshift schedule when the clock hit midnight signaling the kick off of my 24^th birthday. My phone rang and I was half expecting it would be my cousin Sheena calling from Dubai. When I received the call, there was a group of people saying in chorus a very festive “Happy Birthday” which confused me if they were also celebrating New Year’s Day in advanced up there. Soon Sheena, Jhing, Jhayr and Mark (Sheena’s special friend) each had their turn to greet me. It made me miss them more and how I hate it that I couldn’t have a normal paced conversation with them anymore without the time constraint. But we made the most out of the few minutes we had, and this gesture they did was just super nice.

*****

After the sweet thoughtful greeting from my friends in Dubai, it was my officemates sharing the same nightshift schedule who greeted me next. They quickly noticed that the phone call was about my birthday and my teammate Ritzie already know that it was indeed my birthday so there’s no sense denying it. I wanted to stop working and just sleep as if people spending birthday at work deserve such privilege. But I kept myself awake and almost patiently waited for birthday greetings to come one after another until my shift ended, I arrived home, ate the ‘kare-kare’ Mom cooked and went to bed after reading a few pages of ‘Naked’.

*****

Some of my relatives greeted me. But most greetings came in the form of text messages from my friends in college, high school and elementary. Friends who never failed to greet me every year. There were some unexpected greetings and a special one from a friend who knows French. Then there are those people I was expecting to greet me but failed and it could be attributed to any of these reasons: apathy, pride or plain forgetfulness. So when it’s their time to celebrate their birthdays and I have missed greeting them….my only excuse would be reciprocation.

*****

I had no plans to go out on the night of my birthday that is despite having filed
a VL. And I also felt that my April budget has been stretched too much already so rather, I just stayed home, rested. Away from the pressures of work, I was free to think of what turning 24 meant to me.

*****

I had this chat with my former boss the other day and he’s been very helpful lately in advising me with my career. Out of the conversation, I realized what would be my philosophy now that I am 24. That is, to concentrate on my happiness and to make my life decisions based on it.

04.24.08. What I thought to be a simple get-together dinner with my ‘training start group’ to commemorate our 2nd year anniversary at work and to give Anelia, one of our colleagues soon-to-be mommy, our baby shower gifts, turned out to be a birthday surprise on the side for me.

I only had 3 hours of sleep and I arrived at Shakey’s in Robinson’s Pioneer, 15 minutes late that most of my colleagues were already present. After I finished my meal, as if cued by a stage director, two waiters approached carrying a cake with a little candle in the middle, a single-serving of ice cream and birthday balloons. Instantly, the spotlight was on me.

I’ll be turning 24 next week and this night I proved to myself that I am indeed capable of being surprised and I am blessed that there’s this bunch of people who thinks I deserve such treat. Special thanks to Rox and Faye for pulling this off, and to the rest of my Oracle Start Group (Drei, Oliver, Hazel, Annie, Tops, Cliff, Nyx, Rina, Sev, Lee, Maricar and late JohnF) for taking time out of their busy schedules to be present. This is super appreciated and congratulations to all of us!

04.06.08.
My closest encounter with a horse was in high school when there was a ‘calesa’ (a
carriage being pulled by a horse) in the campus which the organizers brought as an exhibit
for the history month celebration. I, together with a classmate was given a
privilege to ride the ‘calesa’ for a few minutes. Although the experience
wasn’t worthy enough to be included in the top ten most unforgettable moments
in my life, it could pass enough as a shareable and my closest experience when
one asked if I have ridden a horse.

The
next privilege happened this day when nine officemates and I were included in
the tourist trip to Tagaytay City for a foreigner
visitor we have in the office, Denise. The horse riding activity was in a place
called Nuestra Señora Milagrosa Association located on the opposite shoreline,
a 20-30 minute boat ride from the Taal Lake Yacht Club. Nash, our amiable
tourist guide who interestingly teaches French subject in a college, promised
us that we will be able get to near one of the Taal Volcano’s crater once we
get there.

The
answer to the question how was soon answered when we reached the shoreline. It
started to drizzle and a few walks later we saw this assemblage of horses with an assigned horse
rider assistant (HRA- a term I just made up) being
dispatched one by one in what seems to be another 20-30 minute journey to get
on top of the crater.

The
horse that I rode in was a small, dirty brown in color one which I later found
out was just in fact a ‘bisiro’ (a pony). Earlier, Nash told us a story about
this oversized foreigner who chose a small horse which couldn’t handle the
rider’s weight so it ended up collapsing on the ground that even the local vets
(if there’s any) weren’t able to get the horse upright again. This served as a
tip for us in choosing the right horse so when I saw mine, I thought it
probably weigh slightly bigger than me, definitely has more muscles in my body
and eat more green healthy stuffs than I do. So hey, Roberto– the name of the
horse according to the handler, was just fine with me.

The
moment I laid my bottom on Roberto’s back although padded with some cushion,
felt weird and uncomfortable. The size of our butts is supposed to fit almost
perfectly with the back of the horse like two jigsaw puzzle pieces. But my not-full
butt and Roberto’s firm back seem to fit but actually don’t. I’d rather ride a ‘calesa’
(if there’s any) but looking how steep, dusty, and irregular the trail to the
top, “Fine”, I said to myself, “not a chance”.

The
handler passed the rope that held Roberto to a kid probably 10 or 11 in age.
This made me more nervous riding a horse’s back for the first time, but when
the kid started commanding the horse “yaaa… yaaa…” and the horse moved, I
acknowledged my wrong prejudgment and thought to myself that he probably finished
a subject on Horse Basic Commanding in his school and probably been doing this
thing longer than the period I’ve been in our company.

The
fact that my horse-for-the-day was just two years old and that he is looking
for her mom according to the kid HRA made Roberto halt then turn away from the trail
several times and sometimes even go 5 inches near the edge. This attitude Roberto
was showing gave me the scare that this might be my last day on Earth and the
future humiliation that a ‘bisiro’ might have caused my untimely death and I
wasn’t a professional equestrian.

Halfway
done the journey, the kid HRA rode Roberto behind me, and this made the ride weirder and more
uncomfortable that I stupidly offered the kid HRA that we just exchange places.
Like a true professional and a strict observer of the HRA Code of Ethics (if
there’s any), he declined and just led the horse. When we finally reached the
peek, I was just as tired and stressed as Roberto and the kid HRA seemed to
look the best among the three of us. When Nash asked how was the horse ride. It
was an easy answer… I was ‘horsesick’. Nonetheless, it was worth Roberto’s
sacrifice and mine. The view of the crater was something you’ll never see
anywhere else and the view from the top a 360 view was breathtaking, almost
literally.

After
we’re worn out of taking pictures we have decided to go down. The return trip
(kid HRA term was ‘palusong’) was an easier horse back riding experience.
Roberto’s attitude was gone. Kid HRA told me Roberto was able to eat and rest
while we were busy on top of the crater’s mouth taking risky picture poses and making
sure we won’t slip and die. I asked kid HRA if someone already died in this
place while riding a horse (an easier question for a ten year old than ask what
the accident rate in this place is) and he could only recall an accident where
the tourist was injured. Along the way, with her horse and female kid HRA in
front of me, Mel asked me what the name of my horse was. Hers was Aiza, and with all confidence
I answered mine’s Roberto and I commented how the names of the horse resembled
like names of a person.

As
if it was not a basic interview question I only got my kid HRA’s name while I
took a picture of him with Roberto in the unloading station. He said his name
was Roberto. Oh wait, I was not sure if he misunderstood my question for what
the name of the horse is but the kid’s face wasn’t showing a sign of fooling
around. Before I could argue if the kid and the horse share the same name, I
acknowledged my mistake and took a 50 peso bill from my pocket and offer it to
Roberto, the kid HRA.

At
the same age as Roberto, I was probably playing ‘feetball’ with my cousins on a
hot summer afternoon. But here was Roberto sacrificing the fun a ten-year old boy
could possibly have but doing something for a far greater purpose.

Afterwhich,
we returned to the Taal Lake Yacht Club, and Nash led us to our next stop in
Ilog Maria Bee Farm where we met Mr. Magsaysay and his interesting story on how
a bee sting cured him from his stroke. Then the perfect view of Taal from a distance was offered in Taal Vista Hotel where
we took our nth picture behind the volcano. Finally, we had a Filipino cuisine dinner
in Taaleña where Donna also gave her YouTube-worthy performance of “Leaving on
a Jet Plane” much to our guest Denise’s delight. Like Roberto–either the horse or the kid, our own purpose in
Tagaytay has been fulfilled and this trip has just officially landed a place in the top ten most unforgettable moments
in my life.