…sitting with the hampas-lupas, figuring out infidelity, needs and wants…

 

Interviewer: What is the target of your show?

Tado: A & B! We’re targeting the class A & B because they have the buying power! All those hampas-lupas in the other classes are the urban poor. I was born with the urban poor, and I don’t wanna be there forever, so that’s why I want to belong to the class A & B, and that’s why this show is English-speaking

 

àBrewrats, last Tuesday night

 

mei libre akong ticket sa SM cinemas. libre pag sa baba ka, dagdag onti pag gusto mo lipat sa taas. sabi ko kei che sa Megamall na kami manood… balak kasi panoorin talaga ang pinabagong hit na hit na palabas ni John Lloyd at Sarah Geronimo (probably 5-6 years ago, I myself would say “yuck” to that statement… however, things change, and it wasn’t like I was forced to watch it) na “A Very Special Love”… matapos ang matinding tambalan nilang patok sa Maalaala Mo Kaya (na kinukuwento ko sa mga kaklase ko pag Vasco time, 8-9 kasi 9 pumapasok si Vasco), sabi namin ni Che, di namin to pdeng palampasin…

 

so ayun na, xempre nauna ako, kapitbahay ko lang Megamall eh… walang masyadong pila, na-upgrade ko pa un free de luxe ticket ko para sa premiere tickets (un baba naging taas, para sa urban poor)… walang reserved seats tulad ng hinihiling ni Che, pero sabi nya, ok lang daw basta maganda naman upuan… xempre di ko masisiguro un…

 

matapos ang dalawang oras na paglalaro ng PSP, panonood ng pagkatalo ng Ateneo (umm! Buti nga.) gamit ang cellphone-TV ng nanay ko, pagpila sa ATM wishing na mei sweldo na (na dumating nun 6PM), pag-order at pag-aantay sa McDo (kun saan ako umorder ng Shake Shake Fries pero di nabigyan ng flavor na isshake. Pakyu Mcdo Megamall!), dumating na rin si Che galing trabaho... at pumasok na kami sa sinehan.

 

Eto na ang adventure of a lifetime…

 

Mei trailer ng palabas ni Vin Diesel nun pumasok kami… tapos nun, bigla na lang naging blank un screen… tpos nagpatugtog ng Ogie Alcasid songs… mei kanya kanya nang jokes sa paligid… dun lang ako nakakita ng sinehang ubod ng dami ng ingay ng tao… at ndi un ingay na nadidinig mo sa Glorietta activity center… ito un ingay ng mga taong nanonood ng sine sa plaza sa probinsya… kung di mo pa nararanasan ito, pwes, tulad nga ng sabi ni Tado, marahil kabilang ka sa class A & B… di mo naranasan ang buhay ng mga “hampas-lupa” o “urban poor”… oo, ganun na nga… kasama namin ang mga inday na pumuslit ng day-off sa weekday para makasama si tikboy ng kapitbahay… bwakananginang ingay…

 

maganda un palabas, pramis, as in gusto ko, nakakaaliw sila, ndi naman masama un script, at kung i-rrate ko out 5, I’d say 4… mei mga sobrang bilis na transition, mei mga bagay na di ma-explain (tulad ng pagkawala ng bag ni Sarah sa last scene), at nandyan ang madalas na olats na buhok ni Sarah… pero ndi un movie ang storya sa panonood naming ito… crowd.

 

Sa gitna kami nakaupo. Panalo. Kaso mga dormmates ata galing probinsyang naghahanap ng trabaho ang mga nasa likod namin… un mga tipong binentahan ng kalabaw ng pamilya para makaluwas sa Maynila… un isa tumatawag sa nanay para magpaload ng 115 sa Smart… tapos un isa di matunawan nun nalaman na magkakaload na si Bruno, tanung ng tanong. Nun mei nagtext na kei Bruno, nagsimula namang mangantyaw tong si Perla na pasahan siya… nasabi ko na bang di pa nagsisimula un palabas? Ayun. Kasi nun nagsimula ndi nag-improve eh… nakakita sila ng mga lugar sa Makati, comment ng comment na “parang jan lang ako naglakad kanina ah!” o kaya “sa Makati Med lang pala yan eh!”… kaya ko naisip na puro sila mga hampas-lupang magkakasama marahil sa dorm matapos silang payagan paluwasin ng mga magulang nila sa Maynila… nilalakad ko rin ang Makati… pero di ko naman pagsisigawan sa sinehan un. Pakyu xa.

 

Anyway, dahil mei mga inday sa paligid, di mawala un tilian pag pinapakita si John Lloyd… si Che minsan kinikilig, pero di naman un tipong maririnig nun tao 5 rows down… nasisira tuloy momentum ni Che sa kiligan… natutuwa din ako sa palabas, pero kilig, hm… di naman ata… ok lang… going back, mga after ata ¼ nun palabas, tumayo na un mga hampas-lupa sa likod namin… masaya na sana kami… but no… mei pahabol pa pala… more kilig scenes pala meant more reactions mula sa urban poor… sigawan, tiliwan, at kung anu anu pa (“ay labyu talaga john Lloyd!”/ “ang ganda ganda mo sarah!”/ “aaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!!!”) ang sumira sa buong palabas… but wait, there’s more!!! Meron pang baby na umiiyak, ndi, nagwawala sa de luxe section ng sinehan… as in nakita ko pa kun san xa nakaupo dahil ndi rin ata gustong tumayo nila Brenda sa kinauupuan nila kahit nakakaperwisyo na ang anak ng amo nila sa buong sangkatauhan sa sinehan… 4 silang sabay sabay tumayo… at bumalik din after ilang minuto, pero umiyak pa rin un bata… tansha ko, ndi sila nag bato-bato-pick para malaman kung sino maglalabas at magpapatahan kei baby dahil walang gustong lumabas… at nagkasundo na lang sila na kung di mapapanood ng isa, ndi mapapanood ng lahat...

 

Matapos ang isa’t kalahating oras ng palabas, ayun, natapos na… mei bloopers pa nga sa dulo eh... kaso talagang ang hirap kayanin nung urban poor... banat ba naman nun labasan na “waw sulit talaga!”… kaya ko naramdamang mga urban poor at hampas lupa ang mga kasama namin dun…

 

Salamat Tado, sa pagbibigay mo ng inspirasyon sa maaaring itawag sa kanila…

 

 

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Break-ups, infidelity, cheating.

 

Whatever happens in a relationship on the rocks. Watching cheesy movies such as this gave me an idea of what might probably be causing infidelity among couples.

 

Ladies side first. Girls like to watch cheesy movies. Hence the term “chick flicks”. What do “chick flicks” normally have? A damsel in distress and a hunky, ideal guy who’s ready to sweep her off her feet… it could also be the other way around. And girls actually enjoy it… kinikilig, natutuwa, na-iinspire, sometimes even na-iinlove to a certain degree… at certain moments in the movie, you could see them with their eyes so dreamy looking at the male protagonist and with a stupid smile she normally wouldn’t wear under normal circumstances… that’s why a relationship, for girls, is so dreamy the first few weeks or even months… there’s the “kilig” factor for every new/sweet thing their guy does… but as it dies grows longer, the girl feels that their relationship is completely monotonous, no “kilig” factor, and hardly anything their guy does is out of the ordinary… as a result, she’s drawn to other guys who’d be doing stuff their guy did before, back in the “ligaw” stage… and the cycle goes on…

 

Now for guys. Guys are innately tasked to make “ligawan” happen. Though the more liberal society would say that girls can assert themselves, still, most of the time, it’s us guys who have to make the first move… we are tasked to please the girl, to do whatever it is necessary to make her ours… bring her chocolates, flowers, make a scene… basta, anything to make the girl feel special… that’s why the first few days that guy is finally accepted by girl to be her guy, guy is always on a high… weeks, maybe months later, guy wouldn’t feel that much obligated to do “special” things, because he’s already claimed his prize, girl is finally his… he’s enjoying his time because he no longer has to prove that he’s the right guy for the girl… but sometimes, guy thinks of doing “special” things… and as long as the relationship has been, these “special” things that guy did most of the time early on in their relationship, are no longer “special” but rather, “ordinary” to girl… before, a single flower made the girl smile, a necklace would’ve put a tear in her eye… now, a flower is a waste of money, while a necklace would give a happy moment, but don’t expect to see it on a regular basis…sometimes, guy feels the need for a challenge… making a girl fall in love is the biggest challenge there is… so while girl now seems to make guy feel that everything he does is “ordinary”, guy is drawn to another girl who makes him feel appreciated… not to mention the machismo of a guy, who thinks “even if I have a girl, I can still have whoever I want”…. and the cycle goes on…

 

Girls have to understand that guy wants to feel appreciated, feel wanted. No, you don’t have to be all excited about anything that he does, but I don’t know. There’s a certain glow from a girl who genuinely feels happy because of something guy did… girls gave certain value to even the smallest thing guy gave early on in the relationship… those little things are hardly valued during the later part of the relationship… the “special things” become ordinary to girl, that even if guy thinks he did something “special”, girl will just see it as another “gimmick” from her guy…

 

Guys on the other hand, have to understand that girls need to be pampered… having a relationship with girl doesn’t mean she’s yours. Heck, even married couples get separated. You have to constantly make her feel loved by doing stuff out of the ordinary. But don’t do it on a regular, predictable manner, because in the long run, you’d have no more ideas to work with…

 

Overall though, I pity girls more… girls don’t have that “machismo” or the privilege of “first move” to make another guy hers… guys who decide to cheat can do it whenever the hell the want… girls who are having thoughts on cheating need to wait for a guy so confident in himself to ask her out or something…

 

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In one’s life, there are needs and there are wants. Everybody knows that you prioritize your needs before your wants. However, most of the time, one would sacrifice his needs in order to get what he wants.

 

I am guilty as hell. I thought it was easy doing the ideal, needs over wants, but it isn’t. But maybe it’s because in my mind, it’s what I want that tells me what I need. And if I can’t sustain that want, then there’s probably no reason for me to have any needs at all…