CASE #1: This afternoon, I was in Eastwood Cybermall with the guys from work for our pre-employment medical examination. They were checking out this girl seated opposite us in the waiting area, arguing which of them should approach her and ask for her name and number. It was amusing listening to their straight-guy banter, but not as amusing as the day's paper's crossword puzzle. Finally, one of them leaned towards me and whispered, "Pare, tanong mo naman dun sa babae kung anong pangalan nya saka number o. Kung tumanggi, ayos lang. Sabihin mo na lang hinihingi ng kaibigan mo."
I looked at the girl. She was reading something from her mobile phone, oblivious to the intense male hormonal activity going on at the other side of the room. "Pangit naman eh." I said.
"Pare, sige na. Hindi sya yung talagang natitipuhan ko pero parang gusto ko lang makilala. Nahihiya lang ako."
I looked at the girl again. Fine, hindi naman sya pangit. I looked back at the crossword puzzle. What's a four-letter word for 'tweeted'? S-A-N-G, I wrote with a pen. I stood up, walked towards the relatively nice-looking girl, and asked for her name and number. Something I haven't done since my highschool interaction days with Miriam and Colegio de Sta. Rosa.
CASE #2: Yesterday, I accompanied a guy officemate in Tutuban Center to look for a cheap electric fan for this room he was renting. While walking around the mall, we approached this perfume stand and my friend asked the pretty salesgirl if they had this or that scent available. After checking out several items (I was never interested in perfumes), he said thanks to the girl and we looked at the other things for sale. The girl said, "Wala kayong nagustuhan, sir?"
"Wala eh. Ikaw sana, kaya lang baka hindi pwede." I looked at my friend.
"Pwedeng pwede, sir!" And then I looked at the girl.
Oh, the primal charm of male bluntness.
CASE #3: Lunch hour, Friday last week. My guy officemates said they'll be ordering take-out and have lunch at one of our friend's place near the office. I told them I just needed to talk with someone and I'll follow as soon as I can. After dealing with a rather bitchy person from HR, I bought food from the mall beside our building and started towards our friend's place. I got there after a ten-minute walk, hungry and with nothing else in my mind but food when, after knocking and opening the door, I saw all three of them eating and talking and wearing nothing but their boxers.
"Uy pare, iwan mo na lang bukas yung pintuan. Ang init eh," one of them said while shoveling I think it was raw meat fresh from the hunting fields into his mouth. There might have been ketchup, or it might have been blood.
"OK," I managed to squeak. "Buksan ko TV ah." And I, as casually and as unaffected as I can manage, walked towards where the TV was, sat on the floor, and began to pick through my Palabok Fiesta, feeling shameful for wearing clothes and using a fork.
I realize I shouldn't be making a big deal out of it. I've only known them for over a week, and they seem like good people regardless. I've always counted on friendship in itself as a connection, a bridge to close the gap between people's differences. But oh lordy, I never fully grasped the extent of the effect each person's uniqueness had on other people, and how much each of us has to deal with compromising to accommodate those differences just to get along with others.
