6 Capital Annoyance

Imagine you walk through a street filled with objects with pastel and coral tone base colors that gives you such relaxation. Strolling at the Cloud 9 it seems to be, giving such sensations that is like being hugged by your puppy love – until you saw a very dark pavement where someone very familiar is sitting there. The person you saw has a resemblance to the one that once made you happy, but at the end just tore your heart, smashed your very soul, and left you holistically empty. Tensed muscles, jaw clenched, and a very flushing red face accompanied by a blazing fiery eyes are the things happened when the surge of emotions flow unto your system. It’s not the pavement that is behind your anger, nor the person, it’s his presence.

We are all capable of being annoyed by something, may it be a big deal or not. I myself, even though I am slow to anger, can be mad at times. There are only few things that could challenge my temper, make my body smolder and my ears fume. Below are the list of things that irritates annoys me.

Using Mobile Phones during Gatherings

In the middle of your bonding with people or someone you love, where everyone is enjoying each other’s company, a phone suddenly alerts its owner, making its owner to look at the phone and lose the attention and interest is something I really hate. Yes, phones and their applications are there to help us reach other people who are far from us, but it makes us lose the chance of talking and communicating with people who are with us. Before the era of Social Media, when we are in our dining area or in a restaurant, we always love to share our stories about random experiences, but now it seems that the phones and the Social Media itself consume a hefty amount of time from us, separating us from the people we love and cherish. Also, this kind of attitude makes other people to feel that they are less important.

Taking both Armrest

These happen frequently in a classroom setting. There are times that your seatmate will first lean on you, then minutes later, his or her elbows will touch your armrest, and the last thing you know is him or her consuming the entire space of table or armrest. I do not know but I always get irritated whenever this thing happens.

Backdoor Brag

We all do have these times in our life when we are very eager to share our achievements in life. Sometimes we tend to be misunderstood by people if we share our accomplishments to them. Also, there are times when we sound very conceited. But there are those people who are self- entitled who really loves humble bragging. People bragging about their OOTDs like “Have you seen me wearing my Burberry top last week, I don’t think it suits me best, but it’s expensive so it should be.” and those who loves to brag about their Courses like “Oh my God! I’ve been sleepless this past couple of days because I really need to review our lessons in Pre-Calculus and Physics. Indeed, STEM, among the rest, is the most difficult Strand in Senior High School. You better not be a STEM student.”, and there are those who are fund of bragging about their house like “Do you know any agencies that can provide me a house cleaner because I really need to hire one ASAP. I am too busy in meeting my clients to clean my mansion.”. It is okay to share your achievements because you worked hard to obtain those, but please be considerate to the person or people you are talking with.

Blocking a Busy Sidewalk

Capturing the moments are good for reminiscing memorable experiences you have. But never took a selfie on a busy place, or at least took a picture to a beautiful facade while walking in a sidewalk especially during morning. There are people who are obsessed in taking pictures of themselves or other subjects such us the sky, tall skyscrapers or a view of something else. Remember that you are not in an Educational Field trip nor any other trips, you are in a busy place, and pausing for a moment just to capture that perfect angle can delay others in the process.

Tittle-Tattle

Gossip here, gossip there, indeed Pinoys loves gossiping, and sometimes I enjoy it too (that’s the reason why I hate myself at times). We are all guilty in gossiping about our favorite actors and actresses, not just that we are also fond of chatting about the people around us. What I hate about people gossiping is that they laugh about others mistake, like they do not have commited any, and there are those who are just make up stories about others. After all, we should not mock others, and we should not talk of others failures as much as we should not make stories just to bring others down.

Clicking Pen

People clicking their pens never fail to annoy me. The ‘clicking’ sound of the pen isn’t disturbing at all, it is the series of ‘clicking’ sound. Whenever I hear that sound, it is like my heart goes along with its rhythm, making me feel unease with my surroundings.

The feeling of discomfort is always subjective. We are not perfect, so we should be more open to many things in life. Also, we must be very forgiving to everyone, for it is in forgiving that we are pardoned and delivered from hatred. There are plenty of things that ar very infuriating, just let them be, and just focus on being calm and steady.

The Third Slice of a Halved Pie

That was a typical Friday night when I usually stroll inside a galleria to find a dark lipsticks and an eyebrow product. Black plain long sleeves, short pants, and boots were my outfit that night that was being accompanied with fresh and subtle ‘no makeup’ makeup look. As I walk, plenty of eyes were set upon me. “Eyes on the prize!” is my mantra in selecting the finest shade of makeup, the price didn’t really bother me for I treat make up as an investment to make. Suddenly, a glare of shine coming from a golden packaging of an eyebrow palette caught my attention as I wander my eyes to the make up section. I approached the boutique where that striking golden glare came from. As I was about to enter the boutique, I started to turn around and just walk away when one of the saleslady rushed towards me and asked this rude question with her annoying voice”How can I help you Madame, or Sir?”.

Being part of the LGBTQ Community is indeed full of enigmatic pressure, quandary, and misjudgements. But in the contrary, aside from this negative experiences, we the people as a part of the Third Sex find ways to be happy by making people laugh and helping to achieve their goals whole-heartedly.

Self vs. Identity Crisis

As a child born to a very religious family, the Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation that I choose should be ‘appropriate’ and not ‘against’ Lord’s Will.

My first memory as a child was me interrogating myself “Why do I have a male body?” or “Do I really need to wear pants instead of dress?”. My parents were so strict especially my dad. He always see to it that we are fine. We all know that if you were born gay in the Philippines, your first concern was what might your father do unto you, and how will he react upon that situation of you coming out of your closet. My family is very supportive with my decisions. Everything I do, I always do it not just for God and myself, but also for my family.

As they let me express who I really am, I also see to it that my school performance will be almost excellent, I strive harder to pay respect for them. Indeed, your family is the best reinforcement you need in times of pain and sadnesss

Religion vs. LGBTQ

Studying in a Catholic School in my elementary days gave me a struggle for they taught us that your biological sex or the genital that you have should be the determinant of your gender. Upon entering the building of our school, I always feel so welcome, but there is no perfect situation for me. There are times when my classmates didn’t welcome me to their peer. There are instances when I was being teased and labelled as weak because I am not doing those ‘regular things’ my guy friends were fond of doing.

This dillema continued as I enter my Senior High School years. Little did people know, I am active in Church activities, in fact, I am the Secretary of our Religious Group named Legion if Mary, I am also a volunteer cathecist which made me somewhat well rounded with my Religion’s Doctrines as well as other sects’ teachings.The decision of pursuing my SHS life in a Catholic School was my personal choice that was quite huge to be frank. I chose to study to a Catholic School for my SHS life because I want to spread the idea that my community, the Third Sex Community, didn’t choose this way of living, but just chose to be happy by accepting who we really our. Also, I attend to a Catholic School to spread the awareness of our existence and correcting the notion “Being gay is a MAJOR SIN”.

Entering religious places could be challenging for many eyes are looking to you, patiently waiting for any wrong act you do, because that wrong act you did, even if you didn’t mean it, that can be used against you.

Right now, I am happy because I met Catholic and Religious preachers who were with me and treated me not just as their trusted friend but a nice and obedient daughter. This proves that we should not see other people’s qualities as “different” but “unique characteristics”. Thus making the East and the West meet in middle.

Many Religious Orgaizations are stepping up their game and accepting us in their group and forum. There are those Authorized Religious Groups that are now being headed by LGBTQ Leaders, but there are still conservatives who were not very much welcoming for our gender. In this event, I salute those people who accept us whole-heartedly especially to our present Pope, Pope Francis for not judging us by the way we choose to live, and to those who weren’t, still we love you and we understand your claims.

Society vs. LGBTQ

Living in a conservative country, being part of the Third Sex is hard. Those sharp eyes that were layed by the people of golden ages were making us uncomfortble. In our society, where gender-linked responsibilities were being asked, I felt unease because if you belong to our community, other people will see you as a weak, unsteady, and a wimpy person both in physical and emotional.

There are those time that people think that I am aloof, maybe because I fight for equity. I sometimes became a lawyer defending what we the people of Third Sex deserve, but I always choose the terms that I shall use because words are sharp pointed arrows that could pierce right directly to man’s heart, and I don’t want tha thing to happen.

There are times when I enter the men’s restroom where I get those uncanny looks from other people’s eyes. Those expressions get me into my nerves everytime I exprerienced those situation.

Thanks to our modernized government, there are laws that are specially made to protect us. Although these sets of law are still in working process, I am optimistically waiting for its formal launch.

Apathy, hatred, and loathe are very strong and negative things that hide in the deepest dungeon within us, waiting for any abominations to strike, but I believe that the warmth of love and compassion can overcome every negativity in this world. Enough with that gloominess and despair, and start to be a philantropist. Remember GAY is an acronym for God Accepts You!

10 Uncommonly used FILIPINO Words (FYI!)

“He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.”
Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Whenever there are concerts of foreign artists or celebrities that take place here in our country, some Filipinos, if not all, are patiently waiting for them to say “Mabuhay” (Long live!), “Mahal ko kayo!” (I love you!), and “Salamat!” (Thank you!). Also, there were times when we laughed at those foreigners who spoke our language; laughing from their mispronounced words and chuckling at those awkward accent they made when they read some filipino terms are some of the examples. On the other hand, we too sometimes don’t know the meaning of some deep filipino words, and sometimes we too became so unfamilar to some terms our grandparents say. Is it good if we cackle to the struggles foreigners experience whenever they pronounce our words improperly when in fact we too are foreigners to our native words?

With that, here are some unfamiliar and uncommonly used filipino terms (that you might encountered before or you might encounter, or you already know.)

Kalimbahin

English Translation or Meaning: Pink (The term ‘Kalimbahin’ came from the pigment seen inside a guava)

Sentence usage: Tila ba may sumisilip na kulay kalimbahing tinta sa pisngi ng isang dalaga. (There is a pinkish flush peeking through the cheeks of the young maiden.)

Labaha

English Translation or Meaning: Razor

Sentence usage: Pakikuha nga nung aking labaha at humahaba na ang balbas at bigote ko. (Can someone please give me my razor to shave my beard and mustache.)

Dupil

English Translation or Meaning: Amulet (a charm that will prevent ANY unfortunate events; worn by most Filipinos to deliver them from any bad situations and attract good things in life.)

Sentence usage: Habang suot ko ang aking dupil, walang masamang pangyayari ang sasagabal sa akin. (As long as I wear my amulet, I am immune to unfortunate events.)

Karsonsilyo

English Translation or Meaning: Male Undergarment/Underwear. (Act like boxers or briefs.)

Sentence usage: Napaka presko sa pakiramdam kapag suot mo ang iyong karsonsilyo. (It feels so comfortable when you wear your boxers.)

Malamaya

English Translation or Meaning: Gray (It is synonymous to the term ‘Abo’ (which is another tagalog term for gray).According to UP dictionary, originated from the root words “mala” (somewhat) and “maya” (a bird in the Philippines that have either brownish or grayish feathers) (mala + maya or “like a maya“).

Sentence usage: Ang kalangitan ay malamaya; sadiyang nagpapaalam na pagabi na. (The sky is turning gray; telling us that it is at its twilight.)

Duyog

English Translation or Meaning: Eclipse

Sentence usage: Minsa’y naikwento sa akin ng aking lola na may masamang pangitain daw ang paglabas ng isang duyog sa kalangitan. (There was one time when my grandma tells me that the appearance of an eclipse in the sky.)

Sipnayan

Emglish Translation or Meaning: Mathematics

Sentence usage: Madali ang sipnayan kung iyong pag-aaralan ito ng mabuti. (Mathematics is an easy subject if you only just study it well.)

Sambat

English Translation or Meaning: Fork

Sentence usage: Pakikuha nga ng isang kutsara at sambat at ako’y kakain na. (Can you please give me a pair of spoon and fork so that I can start eating.)

Karumlan

English Translation or Meaning: Menstruation (and also pertaining to a female Goddess of Puberty; Karumlan.)

Sentence usage: Hudyat ang karumlan ng pagdadalaga. (Menstruation marks the beginning of puberty.)

Asog

English Translation or Meaning: Male Priestess (of the Ancient Philippines)

Sentence usage: Dati ay mayroong mga lalaking babaylan na ginagawa ang lahat ng gawi, kilos, at wangis ng isang tunay na babae. Ito’y patunay na dati pa man ay mayroon ng mga taong mas dama ang gawi ng kaniyang kasalungat na kasarian. (There were once a group of men who chose to be a Priestess, while mimics all the habits, acts, and physique of a real woman. This is a proof that even in the old days, there were people who enjoys savoring the feeling of acting as if they were their gender counterparts.)

Let us incorporate some of the deep words to our daily conversations to add hue to our dialogues, and to uplift the Filipino spirit peeking within us. A final friendly reminder: Don’t be a tourist in your own country!