Chapter 1: LRT Station

LRT Station
Suddenly I can hear toot sound. I know it’s my phone. I’ve got a new message. The message tone of my phone can get anyone’s attention.

I got quite embarrassed because a lot of people are looking at me especially here at the LRT.

I’ll just pretend that I am not the owner of that scandalous cell phone. I’ll just pretend that the volume of my ipod is very loud that I wasn’t able to hear the toot sound.

By the way, I’ll be going to eat lunch at Gateway and grab something for my niece. This has been my ritual ever since I got back from the States.

It’s a sort of a reward for every good investment and business I had.

I glance at my left, girls from Miriam are giggling, after hearing how my phone created a scandal. They can’t get over it. There was also this maniac looking guy with a beard who’s looking at me. Oh my God!

What if he thinks that I am rich and that my phone is the new Motorola V3x.

Obviously, my phone is Motorola, because they’re the only one with that toot sound.

‘Okay Shylle, don’t look suspicious, don’t look at anyone, they don’t know you and they may not even know that you own a V3x.

Ha! Here I go again trying to console my own self. I can’t bring out my phone yet. Maybe I’ll just open the message when I get to Gateway.

A lot of guys, girls, gays, and even so called MMMM are looking at me. FYI MMMM stands for matandang mayamang madaling mamatay in my language it’s an acronym used for old rich who will die soon and who young women likes.

Let me guess why they’re suddenly all eyes on me.

1. Because of the phone humiliation experience or
2. Because of my very outrageous fashion for today?

Early this morning I decided to wear this outrageous beaded light turquoise half dress with a lace on the bottom. It’s really nice and I paired it with my Lucite dangling earrings.

My sister said it’s nice and she even asked if she could have it. Unfortunately after her pregnancy, she gained 15 pounds and she is having a hard time losing all those maternity fats. Anyway, she’s starting to go to the gym and she hired an instructress who’ll help her bring back her shape. Take Note: She had perfect curves before.

‘Anonas station’

Okay after a few minutes I heard the train announcer announcing where I am. I’ll just wait for about five minutes ‘til I get down and read the controversial message.

I paired my outfit with this nice slippers I bought in the states for twenty bucks only.

It was a great save because it looks like a Prada but it’s not.

‘Araneta Station’

At last, I am on my destination, but I have to walk fast because a lot of people are going out of the train, I don’t want to be stuck and feel like a bread-filling… it’s so ironic that not just cars experience terrible traffic in the Philippines but we have the so-called ‘people-traffic jam’.

I got inside Taco Bell ordered burritos and a bottomless drink.

Finally, I had the chance to check out my phone and see the message. It’s from an anonymous person, who could this be? “Shylle, meet us at Starbucks Katipunan. Will you be available on Saturday at 7PM, we miss you so much – and before I could read who the sender is, the lady just called out my number and I needed to approach her before she thinks that I am hearing impaired.

Okay, back to my phone… Menu… Messages…Text Messages… The message with the unknown sender or senders was-Edztuh.”

Oh my God! It’s them – my College Barkada.

Okay, it’s been twenty minutes before the thought of seeing them sunk in my mind. I almost forgot that I am at TACO Bell and that I am eating my favorite mouth watering burrito.

My burrito seem very blunt today. Maybe it’s because of that message.

I have a get together on Saturday at 7PM. My natural shopaholic a.k.a. Fashionistah instinct is on the go…

After lunch at Taco Bell, I went to Bread Talk and bought some cinnamon bread for Lyla, my 5 years old niece.

Lyla has this amazing brown soft locks. It’s like Goldilocks, but hers is brown and not blonde. Lyla’s dad, Dan is half Italian, half Irish. Obviously, her mom Ashley, my sissy, is a Filipina.

Dan and Ashley met at France during one of Ashley’s business trip. They were both enjoying their cup of coffees and suddenly it rained. They needed to go inside the coffee shop. Dan opened the door for Ash they looked at each others eyes and there was a spark that bind them together. They’ve been together for one and half years as boyfriends and they got married in Italy.

Wow! What a lovely romance. I often think about their happily ever after – fairy tale like love story and I just wonder how will I ever have that kind of story to tell my children or even my great grand children.

It’s 3 PM and I’m on my way home. Mang Lito, our old good family driver fetched me. I was waiting for a cab but after thirty minutes, I can’t even see one, so I decided to call my sister and asked her if she could send the driver here at the mall to pick me up and bring me home. Gateway is about twenty minutes away from home, good thing Mang Lito is at my sister’s office at Ortigas and it’s just about fifteen minutes away.

Yes, heard it right. Just fifteen minutes away. After knowing that he’ll be fetching me, he drove the car as fast as he could. Mang Lito is such a kind man.


Mang Lito is with the family since I was a little kid. I’ve heard and witnessed a lot of stories of heroism about him. He’s a father of three and all his kids were able to graduate from College through his diligence. Now, that all his kids are grown up already and not to mention – professionals, they could not stop him from being a good provider for their mom and the whole family. But that don’t serve as an excuse for them to just stay around the house and be bums. They are also as persevering as their dad.

What I like best about Mang Lito is the way he greets me “Gooood Mor’neng po mam!” and that goes with his ever reliable and cheering smile.

Today is Thursday, I need to prepare for our get together on Saturday. So I changed for a simpler outfit and I went straight to the nearest David’s Salon. I asked Mang Lito to fetch Ash and come back for me.

I’ve been three days here in Manila and I haven’t bought a car yet. Good thing my sister and the family have lots of cars--- about five, a BMW Roadster, a red Ferrari, a Ford Explorer, a pink Honda jazz and the new family car, Toyota high ace van.

I went inside David’s and asked for a new hair color and hair cut. I was told to sit for a moment. I don’t know any stylist. It was three years since I last came here. I was browsing this local magazine when I noticed that the fashion here in Manila is really delayed. Take note: people here still like those pointed shoes. Well in fact, in the states, it has long been out of the scene.

The receptionists called out my name. She introduced me to their top stylist, Janet. Janet looks great. Her cut is so nice, a long shag and the color is so black. I like it. She is wearing a very hip attire –stretch green corduroy pants with a pink ribbon and for her top is a yellow polo shirt with sequins on the hem line. Not just that, her shoes is so gorgeous, a pink satin peep toe heels. Maybe she got it at Otto Tootsie Plohound.

We will click. I told myself. I chose chestnut brown and a short bob. I asked her opinion and she told me that I’d rather have a long bob. So, I trusted her being my present hair guru.


We chatted about my outfit. She said that I look like someone who came from the States. I asked her why. She said that even celebrities here don’t wear what I am wearing. I was just wearing this yellow v-neck shirt, I bought from Mossimo and the black shorts take note mini shorts I bought from American Eagle Outfitters. I matched it wth my purple flats. But what stunned her was my bag. A Gold and white Canvas big bag from Louis Vuitton which costs around $3,400

After being quite bored, because I needed to wait for thirty minutes before my hair absorbs all those hair damaging chemicals, and I almost read all the local magazines, I just asked for a manicure and pedicure. My nails are dull looking and I needed to revive them.