Up Close and Personal

In this world of technology, it’s now possible to meet people and gain friends without actually “meeting” them the usual way, which is seeing them in person. Hence, in a world where chatmates and textmates abound, it became necessary to coin a term to refer to the moment when these virtual friends would finally meet in the true sense of the word, that is, to see each other eye to eye. Thus, the term “eyeball” (short term: eb) was born.

Now I’m usually not inclined towards eyeballs. I have had plenty of textmates in the past and whenever they’d ask to meet in person I usually invent some reason for not going. Maybe it’s because I’ve been brought up not to trust strangers. But when Neil, my most recent and constant textmate, said last Wednesday that he was in the metro for a few days and asked if we could hang out Thursday, for some reason I said yes without a second thought. Maybe because somehow, Neil no longer feels like a stranger.

We first met, virtually, through pinoy big brother fantasy game. He was the season 1 big winner, I was going to be the season 2 first evictee. He started the ball rolling when he messaged me good luck on friendster, and mentioned something to catch my attention — Alavar’s sauce, which is a specialty from my hometown. I replied with a lengthy message, and vice versa, several times. Then a week or so later, he texted me. That first night we exchanged around 30 messages, the most messages I had ever texted anyone lately. And we have been constant texters eversince.

The next stage in our friendship happened on Wednesday night as well, when he called me, and we heard each other’s voices, for the first time. We both remarked that our voices were not what we had been imagining, then went on to chat for about an hour, agreeing where to meet the next day. We also discovered that our birthdays were opposites – his is July 9, and I, September 7. 7/9 and 9/7. Cool! He said this must be why we’re like carrots and peas. He insisted on being the carrot.

The next day I wore walking shoes in lieu of my usual sandals, even though they are frowned upon in the office. All because Neil said he was gonna tour me through UP Diliman, where he was staying for a competition relating to Biology or Chemistry or both. Don’t ask please! Kurso palang ni Neil dumudugo na ang ilong ko. He was acting as an adviser for a student, he having just graduated from his masterals in UP Los Baños last month. Anyway, we met in Powerbooks Greenbelt, where he was going to pick me up so we could go to UPD. I’ve been there only once or maybe twice before, so I’m not really familiar with the place. We rode the MRT to Quezon Avenue station, then rode a jeep to UPD. It was dark, so there really wasn’t much to see, but Neil did his best by pointing out important buildings and stuff (like sunflowers) and explaining their names and history. Wow. I got myself a tour guide!

We had dinner in Chateau Verde, a cozy place with sort of a fine dining setup which is located within the school campus. We had some shrimp mango salad, chicken anne (which is like chicken cordon bleau) and pork ribs. Neil, who is a foodie and quite a cook himself, apparently likes to review food, so he had us both giving our opinion of the food. We agreed that though the food was delicious, it wasn’t so extraordinary that we would go out of our way just to taste it again. Then he asked if I like desserts, and when I said yes, he proposed that we take a fried ice cream here, then transfer to another place inside the campus for another dessert. Ooookay. Let’s try. So we shared one fried ice cream. Yes, a pretty unusual dessert. It’s real ice cream coated in batter then fried. No, the ice cream is not melted, and the batter is crisp and warm as well. Neil liked the combined taste of the ice cream, batter and caramel.

We left the place, tummies bulging, and rode a jeep to the next one. UPD is so huge that my own school is probably just a tenth of it. The next stop was Chocolate Kiss Cafe. It had a very cozy atmosphere, complete with red and black theme. We sat at a table right next to the organ and violin duo. Unfortunately they were about to close, and the waiter told us there were a few desserts left. We settled for a slice of blueberry cheesecake. But it was so cute, because it had real blueberries! I’ve never had some before. I also had a glass of iced tea, which was also so cute because it was served with real calamansi and a tiny jug of syrup on the side. While sipping, I hummed along to the strains of “Phantom of the Opera,” which just happens to be one of my favorites. Wow, I love this place! Too bad we could only stay for awhile.

The night wasn’t over yet, and we rode another jeep out of the campus, then later a bus to Cubao. We walked to Gateway Mall, which is the newest and most beautiful mall in Cubao (I think). I’ve been there perhaps only a couple of times before (my balwarte is just Manila and Makati). We walked into the atrium at my insistence. I heard that the atrium alone cost millions already. But it had such pretty palm trees in there and the view of the dome is amazing. I also gushed about the external landscape, like Greenbelt, only this one is outside. Then we went to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. My first time, I confessed to him. I’m usually a Starbucks or Seattle’s girl. We had slushes and stayed till midnight. From there we both rode taxis (we were both afraid of buses because of their reputation for hold ups) and parted ways. But not for good. We’re still in touch, and someday, who knows, we may push through with the plan of backpacking through Luzon! Now that ought to be one heck of an adventure huh?