The Sunbaked King

While riding the tricycle this evening, holding a drum of cooked rice in my lap and praying that the rain wouldn’t pelt me any harder that it already had, I found myself linking some things in my head and coming across an epiphany: I’m one lucky sonafabitch. The year hasn’t ended yet, and my year-end entries are still being concocted inside my little brain, but I think I’ve found a suitable kick-off point, and more important, a suitable kick-off attitude.

The attitude? Gratitude. The point? These three awesome guys.

The first guy’s one of the nicest people I know. He puts others before himself, almost all the time. He drives people to their homes just to make sure that they get there safe and sound; he lends his house again and again despite the many logistical nightmares this inevitable causes; and he’s probably the only guy I know who would buy plane tickets for his friends so that they’d all be able to meet together for a very important reunion. If there’s a picture demonstrating “selflessness” in the dictionary, this guy’s photo would be there, all glossed up and ready to go.

The second guy’s one of the most intelligent people I know. Trust me, it’s no easy feat being one of the top 20 highest scorers in the Ateneo entrance exam and one of the top 50 highest scorers in the UP entrance exam at the same time. And while he pursued the questionable path of entering UP (I kid, I kid), he rose above all others to graduate summa cum laude– one of only ten in his batch. Add to this a strong sense of self and an even stronger sense of fashion, it’s no wonder this wonder kid is going places. Literally.

The third guy’s one of the most loving people I know. He will adapt to your every quirk, he will adopt your every hobby. He will weave a world where the two of you are stars. When he gives, he gives; when he bares his soul, he bares it in its entirety. He leaves nothing to himself, sometimes to a fault. Between questions of mas mahal ko or mas mahal ako, he’ll always reply mas mahal ko. Not because he necessarily prefers it, but because it always happens to be true. While there’s almost always hurt, there’s almost always happiness. For a person who loves as much as he does? It has to go both ways.

These three guys, with that common thread running through them, have made 2009 an extremely good one for me to bear. Let me take this time to reiterate what I’ve said in the beginning: I’m one lucky sonofabitch. And I have you guys to thank.

There’s an advice in here somewhere, commonly given to some people after a bad break-up. My own counter-advice: don’t do it. Friendship is not a “lousy” alternative; it’s a pretty much good choice all on its own. I’m sure you smart people know what I’m talking about.