Mga Pinoy Talaga.....

It was a couple of months ago when I started seeing a new girl at our neighbor's house.  His girl used to be Caucasian like him, this time a Filipina. Petite, balingkinitan, morena at mahaba ang buhok (may highlights).

We live in an eight-door compound, all sharing the same pool from the backside.  Ala Melrose Place, so to speak. The change was obvious to all of us neighbors.  There would be a party at his house every Friday or Saturday night, loud and lasting until the wee hours of the morning.

One night I was awaken by shouting between the Filipina and the lady neighbor opposite theirs.  Because I was half awake the exchange was somehow difficult to discern.  Part of it was..

"You're too loud.... It's 3 am....My father can't sleep..."

"What's your problem?... Bitch....  You're fat!" She was drunk, the Filipina.

And yes, our lady neighbor is huge.

How it ended I forgot but I remember seeing the sexy Pinay the next day  around 12 noon wearing a skimpy polka dot two-piece by their door trying to scan the vicinity.  She did not swim though because in a minute the guy pulled her in for some reason and she stayed in the house, in her swimsuit for the rest of day.

If I remember it right, the temperature was 20 degrees, middle of November.

I am Pinay (chismosa ng konte) so I told the story to a friend whose comment was.. "Pinoy talaga ...kaya nadadamay iba...."  Then I told the same to another friend, and got a similar remark... "Pinoy nga naman....."  Third, I told my sister in the US who laughed and said.. "Typical Pinay....."

I thought about this....a lot.  Ano nga ba ang Pinoy? Ito ba ang basehan ng pagiging Pinay? Or is it because we are in another country and a lot of Pinays abroad exhibit a pattern therefore we generalize?

The other day I was in the mall with my colleague Abdulla.  He asks me from time to time to go with him when he buys stuff for his wife in India.  It was in the lingerie section when I over heard the Pinay sales lady telling another sales lady upon seeing us together...  "Mga Pinay talaga....."   I wanted to go back and ask her to finish the sentence but I changed my mind.  It would be a waste of time I thought because it is clear that we all have something to say about our "kabayans".  Sinong hindi guilty?

Angel

She was 16, 4 years ago. Young, smart and attractive. I believe she is from a normal family with parents who want only the best for their kids. Suffice it to say they are decent and well off. But then just like any normal family, they go through difficulties, like the father having another woman.

It was not a secret since her being a very vocal teenager, she would write about it on her blogs and would bully the other woman on cyberspace. I have always wondered if she was able to get through, I mean her blogs were read and posts noted by the concerned "kabit". I hope she did. But then again it is a shout out, and who knows?

As a teenager it was her avenue of expression, and who cares where it leads to. Maybe her mom read it and it made her stronger; chances are her father read it too and it made him change. I have always believed that things in life have their own way of falling into place, maybe it did her good screaming grudges online as her life's drama unfolds.

I came to know of her existence during graduation, my son was on his way to being high school and she's going to college. She spoke that day on stage, addressing the batch and wishing them the best in their future. I must have praised her that time for being articulate and confident as I always see the good in people. To me she was the making of a fine young lady. Not until two weeks after graduation.

Let's call her Angel, isa sa mga lovers ng asawa ko.