The One That Got Away

(Reposted)

In your life, you’ll make note of a lot of people.

Ones with whom you shared something special, ones who will always mean something. There’s the one you first kissed, the one you first loved, the one you lost your virginity to, the one you put on a pedestal, the one you’re with…and the one that got away.

Who is the one that got away? I guess it’s that person with whom everything was great, everything was perfect, but the timing was just wrong.

There was no fault in the person, there was no flaw in the chemistry, but the cards just didn’t fall the right way, I suppose.

I believe in the fact that ending up with someone, finding a longtime partner that is, does not lie merely in the other person.

I can actually argue that an equal part, or maybe even the greater part, has to do with the matter of timing. It has to do with you being ready to settle down and commit to someone in a way that goes beyond the little niceties of giddy romance.

How often have you gone through it without even realizing it?

When you’re not ready to commit in that mature manner, it doesn’t matter who you’re with, it just doesn’t work. Small problems become big; inconsequentials become deal breakers simply because you’re not ready and it shows. It’s not that you and the person you’re with are no good; it’s just that it’s not yet right, and little things become the flashpoint of that fact.

Then one day you’re ready. You really are. And when this happens you’ll be ready to settle down with someone. He or she may not be the most perfect, they might not be the brightest star of romance to ever have burned in your life, but it’ll work because you’re ready. It’ll work because it’s the right time and you’ll make it work.

And it’ll make sense, it really will.

So that day comes when you’re finally making sense of things, and you find yourself to be a different person. Things are different, your approach is different, you finally understand who you are and what you want, and you’ve become ready because the time has truly arrived. And mind you, there’s no telling when this day will come. Hopefully you’re single but you could be in a long-term relationship, you could be married with two kids, it doesn’t matter. All you know is that you’ve changed, and for some reason, the one that got away, is the first person you think about.

You’ll think about them because you’ll wonder, “What if they were here today?” You’ll wonder, “What if we were together now, with me as I am and not as I was?” That’s what the one that got away is. The biggest “What if?” you’ll have in your life.

If you’re married, you’ll just have to accept the fact that the one that got away, got away. Believe me, no matter how fairy tale you think your marriage is, this can happen to the best of us.

But hopefully you’re mature enough to realize that you’re already with the one you’re with and this is just another test of your commitment, one which will just strengthen your marriage when you get past it. Sure, you’ll think about him/her every so often, but it’s alright. It’s never nice to live with a “might have been,” but it happens.

Maybe the one that got away is the one who’s already married. In which case it’s the same thing. You just have to accept and know that your memories of that person will probably bring a nice little smile to your lips in the future when you’re old and gray and reminiscing.

But if neither of that is the case, then it’s different. What do you do if it’s not yet too late? Simple…find him, find her.

Because the very existence of a “one that got away” means that you’ll always wonder, what if you got that one?

Ask him out to coffee, ask her out to a movie, it doesn’t matter if you’ve dropped in from out of nowhere. You’d be surprised, you just might be “the one that got away” as well for the person who is your “the one that got away.”

You might drop in from out of nowhere and it won’t make a difference. If the timing is finally right, it’ll all just fall into place somehow and you know, I’m thinking, it would be a great feeling, in the end, to be able to say to someone, “Hey you, you’re the one that ALMOST got away.”

A New Sam Tsui Fan

I am sorry but I am not a Lady Gaga fan nor in any way do I like her music. Though of course you can't help but listen to them over the radio or in the mall due to her music's popularity. But when I saw this video of Sam Tsui singing a medley of Lady Gaga songs, I had to download all the original songs (Bad Romance, Just Dance, Paparazzi and Poker Face) and compare it with Sam's version. Watch the video:



I love his version! I am now a new fan! Youtube really is awesome. :-)

Michael vs. Gabriel

Aside from blogging, kidnapping our neighbor's baby, singing in the bathroom, reading and experimenting in the kitchen, one hobby that I love doing the most is watching movies. I love era films, action, sci-fi and book adaptations and oftentimes critic if the film lived up to its book origin.

Anyways, I know of this one film that I would look forward to watching as it reminds me of this other Australian movie with the same plot but with the main characters playing reverse roles.

I would love to watch Legion, starring Paul Bettany, on the big screen January of next year.

The plot in the movie circles around humanity's apocalypse when God loses faith in mankind again, after the flood, and this time sends over His angels to exterminate our population. Then in his last-chance gambit, the Archangel Michael leads a group of strangers to a small diner to protect a young waitress, who may be pregnant with Christ in his second coming, from God's wrath.

What's interesting about the film is when Michael would face his fellow Archangel Gabriel, who was sent by God to do His bidding, in a fight over mankind. Seeing the trailer, I then remembered this Australian movie in 2007, Gabriel.

Gabriel is a supernatural action film set in purgatory where God will send His Archangels one by one to fight off the evil fallen to save the souls of its inhabitants. In the movie, Gabriel is the last Arc to reach purgatory after all Arcs, even their strongest Michael, have failed to defeat the fallen leader Sammael. He tries to look for the other Arcs and defeats Sammael's group of fallen but later on learns that Sammael was actually defeated by Michael who assumed the fallen leader's identity. Michael then tries to persuade Gabriel, his closest Arc friend, to join him and rule purgatory instead of taking orders from God. In the end, the war was between Michael and Gabriel.

What you should know though is that Michael and Gabriel are the most prominent of the angels, and are often mentioned together as the anonymous divine messengers cooperating in a task in the Bible narrative. Michael is made up entirely of snow and Gabriel of fire, and though they stand near one another they do not injure one another, thus indicating the power of God to "make peace in His high places." Michael is considered superior to Gabriel in rank and wherever he appears, the Holy Spirit is also bound to be found. Gabriel, on the other hand, is God's messenger on numerous missions and the constant defender of the Jewish people.

Although both films, even when Legion is not yet released, have been marked as cult movies because of their plots, I think beyond religion, we need to see the profound message both of the films brought us - Faith in the goodness of men. That Michael in Legion will sacrifice his seat in heaven for his faith in the unborn child and Gabriel in Gabriel, after defeating Michael, has brought light to purgatory and chose to "take a fall" and become a man to understand humanity.

Dark as both movies may seem, watching Legion and reviewing both films would be very entertaining.

Notice

In case you are confused why this blog is a mixture of compositions in English and in Filipino, the answer is simple: for practice.

And when I say I love writing both in Filipino and in English, then it's just right to make use of both languages here. I am rooted to creating Filipino write-ups because I love my country so much and I know that we have the most poetic language ever. And I also write in English because it keeps me on my toes.

Best of all, I write when there's an urge. And when there's an urge, a tick in the brain, I'll never know of what words to use until I pen them down (err... or type them down). Who knows, maybe I'll write in French! - Yeah! I just wish! :-)

Kabit

Sa isang talakayan sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas tungkol sa pagtataksil ng mag-asawang Diego at Gabriela Silang sa bayan, nabanggit ng aking propesor noong ako'y nasa unang taon sa Unibersidad na ang salitang "Utol" ay nagmula sa salitang "Kaputol" tulad na rin na ang pinanggalingan ng "kapatid" ay sa salitang "ka-patid".

Ngayon, iniisip ko, saan naman kaya nanggaling ang salitang "Kabit"? Meron din kaya itong malalim na pinanggalingan? Malalim nga ba ang kahulugan ng limang letrang ito upang ito'y makawasak ng pamilya, makasira ng pagsasama, makabasag sa pagtitiwala at minsan makapatay?

Sa kabuuan, ginagamit ang salitang Kabit sa isang karelasyon ng isang taong kasal na. Sa atin, madalas itong gamitin patungkol sa ibang babae ng ating asawa. Ngunit ano o sino nga ba ang tunay na Kabit? Bakit ito nagdudulot ng sakit?

Para sa akin, ang tunay na Kabit ay hindi tao lamang. Maaari itong bagay, pangyayari o isang pag-uugali. Para sa akin, ang tunay na kahulugan ng kabit ay kahit ano na magdudulot sa isang kabiyak ng lubos na kalungkutan. Tama, lubos na kalungkutan at hindi galit. Dahil ang galit at selos ay hindi dulot ng Kabit kundi ng kalungkutan ng isang taong nagdaramdam.

Isang halimbawa ay kung ang iyong asawa ay wala man ibang babae ngunit nawawalan naman ng panahon sa inyong pagsasama sanhi na rin ng trabaho, kaibigan o bisyo. Ang mga oras na ginugugol niya sa mga bagay na ito ay mas marami pa sa mga panahong dapat ay para sa'yo. May kulang - na alam mong kaya naman niyang punan ngunit sadya lang hindi niya nais. Para pa nga sa akin ang pagkakaroon ng ibang babae ng isang asawa ay hindi pagkakaroon ng kabit, ngunit ito'y proseso lamang ng "pangangabit". Ang Kabit sa sitwasyong ito ay ang malaman mong may mga bagay na ginagawa ang asawa mo sa ibang tao na dapat sana ay para sa'yo lamang o 'di naman kaya mga bagay na ginagawa niya sa ibang babae na hindi niya man lamang nagawa sa'yo. At dahil din sa halimbawang ito, hindi lamang babae ang maaaring maging instrumento ng pangangabit. Maaari ring lalaking kaibigan ng iyong asawa.

Hindi man malinaw ang aking paliwanag sa kahulugan ko ng Kabit, isa lamang ang aking alam - kung walang kulang sa pagsasama, walang Kabit. Hindi dahil perpekto ang iyong kabiyak ngunit dahil tanggap mo ang kanyang mga pagkukulang. At sa oras na alam mong hindi pala ito tunay na pagkukulang, huwad lamang sa iyong mata dahil sa ibang tao o bagay ay naibibigay niya, nag-uumpisa na ang pangangabit. Nagiging masakit at malungkot ang lahat. Matatanong mo bigla kung may pagkukulang ka ba, kung may mali ba sa'yo at kung hindi mo ba siya napapasaya. At pagkatapos nito, sisidhi ang galit sa sarili at sisisihin mo ang lahat at dito mag-uumpisa ang paggawa ng mga bagay na hindi tama, mga bagay na nakakasakit sa sarili at sa iba.

Sana sa kasaysayan, kung ang Kabit man ay hango sa salitang "Kakabit", naipinta ang salitang ito sa isang paraang maganda. Dahil tulad ng Utol at Kapatid, ito ay isang salitang nag-uugnay. At lahat ng nag-uugnay ay nararapat lamang maging mabuti at masaya. Hindi isang mabigat na kalungkutan tulad ng turing natin sa isang Kabit ngayon.