be my valentine
Manila, 11 February—Happy Sunday! I was thinking about this week, and how hectic it was—we attended the MVP Rewards Launch on Tuesday, then headed to Marikina for an interview with one of the owners of Flat Bread Cafe on Thursday, and just like that, we're approaching mid-February already, and we all know what that means, right?
Valentine's Day.
So. On a scale of Carly Rae Jepsen - Run Away With Me to Sam Smith - Too Good at Goodbyes, kumusta ka?
I got this link from three different people on Friday. Because yes, I am that friend you send Sharon/Gabby videos to.
Bless my Sharonian heart, but this week, McDonald's released its apparent response to everybody else's (read: Jollibee's) valentine's hugot ads—with the lolo and lola of all hugot things ever, Sharon and Gabby. Interesting how the commercial itself had very little dialogue, and yet everyone sort of understood what was going on, simply because everybody knows what went down between these two, all those decades ago. The kilig is implicit, or so it seems to me, because I know who these guys are. I wonder if it comes across as well for viewers who have no knowledge as to who these people are? Or is it like fan fiction, where there's just some sort of universally agreed upon canon (the whole sharon/gabby ship) and we're all just reacting to it (kilig)? I can't seem to parse this haha. Help me out here.
That said, it looks like the only way to top this is to come out with something featuring Angelica Panganiban and Carlo Aquino.
Your move, Jollibee.
I suppose since it's a Sunday, it's ok to put a karaoke version of Kumusta Ka? by Nonoy Zuniga for sing-along purposes here. Wala lang. Enjoy.
A drive-by note about Valentine's Day
Just checking in on everyone around these auspicious dates: Valentine's can be hard, sometimes even harder than Christmas, and if you're in the middle of a struggle, here's a TED vid that has been doing the rounds in my feeds: How to fix a broken heart by Guy Winch.
Incidentally, on this day three years ago, I debuted this essay on Inquirer.net's Love.Life section: Economics of love. Incidentally, I was in the middle of a Financial Management midterm when that post went up. Three years later, here I am: No longer an MBA student. No longer an Inquirer employee. No longer in that relationship, even.
So I've been spending the last few weeks trying to get the word out about that—the shock has worn off, for the most part, and I'm glad. I've been treating it like a communal mourning of sorts, since it has seemed like not just my loss, but the loss of everyone around me who were once close to her, and the life we used to have.
But as with all mourning, it all comes to an end, sooner or later. And now's a good time as any to get the next message out: Yes, it's time to flip the page. I'm ready for the next story.
I'm already writing as we speak.
(Which reminds me of last year's Valentine's Day blockbuster: We have to write the stories ourselves)
Okay, so now that pup's out of the bag.
Where's everyone's Valentine's playlists at? :) Hit me up, wanna follow.
Here's mine on Spotify. (It does not include this Handsome Ghost track, but I assure you, it's golden in its own way.)