The Door on the Floor

Just elaborating my weekend and such…

I was in Iloilo for the weekend. It’s my 2nd time to go visit the island on the other side since returning from the US and meet up with people, most of whom became my 2nd family when I was in college. I was supposed to have this trip last weekend since my college dorm mate and very good friend, Bombet, had her birthday that week and we had this meet up plan with the girls for Saturday. But due to my inflamed and lacerated gums caused by an impacted wisdom tooth, I was unavoidably detained. The gums pain subsided late last week and I’m no longer the owner of an asymmetrical face looking like I had mumps due to the gum inflammation; So off I go to Iloilo.

Saturday morning, I planned to get on the 7:45 AM boat trip. I got on the pier at already around 7:35 and when I went to pay for the ticket, the lady behind the glass window told me and the rest of the people behind me on the line that they were only giving out chance passenger tickets. I became chance passenger #13. I didn’t expect that there would be that many passengers. Those who got tickets earlier were able to get inside the waiting area; Whereas about 20 of us, who got on the pier just an insy winsy later than those people, were like frustrated outcasts and desperate prisoners behind the glass doors, looking hopeless and talking in our heads, "If only I had gotten out of bed the minute the alarm clock went off instead of snoozing it…" as the people inside the waiting area slowly dispersed to board the boat. I looked around me, glancing at people’s tickets and saw that most of the chance passengers were numbered ahead of me. I saw number 3… number 5… Boohoo, I’m number 15. There was a fleeting moment when I was sure that all of the chance passengers will be able to make it. But then I began to think "O oh…" As it turned out only 5 chance passengers were able to make it. The rest of us have either to change our tickets for the next trip, which was still an hour and 3o minutes away, or transfer to the other, more expensive, boat terminal whose trip is scheduled to leave at 8. I felt really bad because I wanted to get on that 7:45 trip so badly. "Flip..Flip..Flip..I want to see Flip already. We haven’t seen each other for almost a month now. He’s waiting for me at Iloilo’s pier. I want to be with my Flip NOW!" Before I had the chance to succumbed to spoiled love desperation and remorse, I saw a girl who had the same fate that morning as myself begged one of the crew to let her get on that boat since she still have a class to attend at St. Paul’s University. Surprisingly, they let her in. I couldn’t help not to beg also. So I made my pouty begging look and kept saying please and that it’s really important that I get to Iloilo asap. Hehe! The girl and I didn’t even beg that much and yet we were let in. It was like the crew were just waiting for chance passengers who weren’t able to make it to beg them, and I’m sure that the girl and I were not the first to be let in history despite the boat already being full. I was so happy and relieved when I was led to the boat. I kept hearing the word "bridge" from the crew while we were getting in. "What bridge are they talking about?" Then the girl and I were led to this "secret" room in the middle of the boat. I was wondering where they were going to let us sit since the room is so small that one can not even bend her body and sit because doing so will make her bump into the walls. Turns out we had to climb a ladder and get in the "door" on top, leading to a room. The room is on the top of the boat, where the captain and crew are, where they control the boat from, where the mariner’s wheel is. The "door" is on the floor of the room and it’s kinda funny watching someone get in a room by emerging from the floor. The room where both of us were seated is what they call the bridge. I wonder how it came to be called the bridge.

After having a little talk with the girl I ended up sitting with on the "bridge" and finding out that she only made up the I-still-have-a-class-to-attend-to-at-St. Paul’s story so she can board the boat, and being asked by some of the, as it turned out, rather crazy crew, we were finally in Iloilo. Flip was there to greet me upon stepping on Iloilo soil (cement, on this case 🙂 ). Flip and I went to see Bombet that afternoon, and we had a nice time talking in her cousin’s house and eating some yummy "dirty ice cream" we bought. It rained cats and dogs by the time the sun had set, so Flip and I had to ride the taxi to go home. After dropping Flip off at his uncle’s place where he’s staying, around 15 minutes later I was also home in my aunt’s house. On Sunday after we attended the mass, my aunt, uncle, my 3 cousins and I had lunch at a restaurant along Coastal Road in Dumangas. It felt so good to eat lots of seafoods and grilled chicken along the beach after such a long time. Flip was not able to come with us since he was meeting his parents and they’re also attending their church’s service. He became upset later since his parents, as it turned out, couldn’t come to the city from Dumangas due to some matters at their home. He wanted to come with us and eat some yummy seafoods near his hometown. But it’s OK since we met at SM City after having lunch. I had my CBC and platelet count in a clinical laboratory in SM since Tatay told me to have one for my upcoming dental thing. My results are all normal as it turned out. I was supposed to go home to Bacolod that afternoon but as usual, Tita and the rest were persuading me to go home the morning after since it’s a Sunday after all. I also didn’t want to come home yet so there was not much dilemma. 🙂 Flip and I played Wii with my cousins that afternoon until Flip had to go home since he has some studying to do for their Midterm exams.

I went home to Bacolod the same morning trip that got me to Iloilo. I had to be home early since my cousin asked me to accompany her daughter to a check-up with her pediatrician. My cousin left for China this weekend and my niece has been having fever and fluctuating platelet counts the past week. We were fearing that it was dengue since it’s so rampant this rainy season. So Daynia, my niece, her Yaya and myself went to her pediatrician’s clinic and gave the doctor her latest CBC and platelet results. Dengue was ruled out, thankfully, since her platelet count had increased and she’s not having fever anymore. The diagnosis was Urinary Tract Infection instead.

While on the way to the hospital, Daynia’s Yaya asked me to sign Daynia’s homework since her parents are not around. Daynia is on Pre-Nursery and she’s a hyperactive 3 year old child. She’s being her playful self and playing with my camera on the car. I snapped pictures of her and she enjoyed smiling and posing. Her yellow green Crocs were delightful!