Fran and the Kings of the Cup

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Fran was going out with Zion, an Israeli, earlier this year. They had great sex and great talk. She thought he was everything she wanted until she learned he had been telling people she was stalking him. She has not seen him since May.

"Honey!!! Oh my God! Zion will be at the sports bar tonight," Fran said while savoring a grilled chicken fettuccine at Italianni's last night.

"So, what's the game plan?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she replied. "All I wanted to do was enjoy the World Cup. I'm so stressed."

"What do you want from him exactly?" I said.

"Last time, I said that I will pour a bottle of Cerveza Negra over him the next time we meet," Fran said. "But now, I definitely don't want to do that. I would only humiliate myself."

"Good," I said. "Although that would have been quite a scene. I bet you'd steal the spotlight away from the game."

"I'm planning to invite Fifi, the French guy I'm seeing," Fran told me. "He texted me a couple of nights ago to say he was sick but that he wants to see me again."



Ladies, forget Spain and Netherlands. Looks like it's France versus Israel tonight. Will the Holocaust crush the French revolution? Or will the Queen let them eat cake?



"Oh honey. You know what really sucks?" I said. "A year from now, you won't remember this night because of the World Cup. It's really still all about Zion, right? Whether he comes, or not. If you see him, you'll get upset. If you don't see him, you'd still get upset. If he talks to you, you'll get upset. If he ignores you, you'd still get upset. Nakakainis diba?"

"So what do I do?" Fran asked me. "It feels like whatever I do, I end up losing the game."

"You can always get out of the game. But I guess sometimes we don't get to choose our scripts. We just have to play the role, at least for tonight," I told her. "You'll be fine honey. We'll get through this, like we always do."

I smiled and gave Fran a big hug. Be brave, little one.



The next morning, I received a text from her.

"The World Cup concludes with Spain winning over Netherlands at 1 - 0 with additional time. Similarly, France gets a point for braving the possibility of an encounter while Israel was a no-show.

But unlike football, you don't win this game by forfeit. The enemy must be annihilated. Mostly in a figurative sense. Though we wish it to be literal sometimes.

Conclusion: None. Apparently, this game too needs additional time."

Gossip Girl: The Age of Dissonance

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Some people think that when the party ends, the night is over. But I've learned that it's when the music stops and the light comes out that the real trouble begins.



"Nagpatulong kasi ako kay Vackie na makilala si surgeon (I asked Vackie to help me get to know the surgeon)," Edward told me. "Tapos, nagulat na lang ako na gino na niya. (I was surprised when he suddenly made a move)"

"OMG! Talaga? (Really?) What happened?" I said.

"Ayun, sila na ang nag-usap. Ano ba yan? (It ended up with both of them talking. WTF,)" he said.

"Hindi ka niya pinakilala? (He didn't introduce you?)"

"Hindi. Kasi habang kausap niya si surgeon, kinausap naman ako ng friend ni surgeon na tinetext ako ngayon. (Nope. While he was talking to surgeon, surgeon's friend started chatting with me and now we're texting.) Kaya lesson learned."



Oh Edward, haven't you heard of the old adage? All is fair in love and war, and this, ladies, is war.



"Honeyyyyyy… gusto ko talaga si surgeon, (I really like surgeon)" V told me.

"Talaga? Bakit? (Really? Why?)"

"We clicked. Ang happy ng usap namin, (We really had a great time)" he said. "There was this time I asked him: 'I'm going to ask you a really crazy question.' Then before I could even ask it, he said: 'Yes.'"

"Oh my. Marunong siya. He knows how to play the game. Bakit hindi mo kinuha ang number niya? (Why didn't you get his number?"

"I guess in my head I was thinking ... lalaki siya ni Edward. (he is Edward's guy.) Sigh."

"So what now?"

"I guess I'll have to talk to Edward."

"It's really tough. Una-unahan talaga eh. (It's all about who saw him first). So next time, don't be surprised to see me go all around the room the moment we enter the party. Then, I'll point to all the guys I like and tell all of you, 'Gusto ko siya! Siya! Siya!' ('I want him! Him! Him!')"

We both burst out laughing.

"That's not fair! Hahaha. Paano naman kami? (What about the rest of us?)" V said. "But honey, I really ... really like surgeon."


Better lock it down with the surgeon, Edward. Clock is ticking.



The problem with the game is when there are too many players. Getting fame was easy, but not everyone can be equally famous. Some stars will always burn brighter than the others.

Being single can be fun and exciting, but being single with other single, good looking friends can be a recipe for a disaster. Especially if you go out together. Especially if you go to the same places. Especially if you like the same kind of guys. After all, how many cute guys can there be in one room?

What if you and a friend happen to like the same guy and you meet him the same night? Does the person who saw him first gets to declare "He's Mine!!" How do you deal these kinds of issues? Who gives in? What if you really really like him? Do you negotiate? Are there rules that should be followed?

Because if there aren't any rules, then it may be game over between friends.



They say one is the loneliest number, but sometimes only the lonely can play. So thank you all for playing… each other, that is.
-

And V Said ... Fame! Fame! Fame!

Dear K,

"Let's play a lovegame, do you want love, or you want fame?"

Why is it that I can only choose one over the other? But seriously, if I have to choose one... I'd choose fame. No wait, I chose fame. Isn't it obvious? I've had love. Four years to be exact. Isama mo pa ang 16 months after the four years. And I guess, it's time to focus working on someone who I should've spent more time with --- me. GaGa sang "Love Love Love", but I say "Fun Fun Fun". The days of cuddling and embraces may have long been gone, but I now see that flashing bulbs are just as warm.

oOo

And so the years have passed, and we may not be where we wanted to be. But we are here, aren't we?

We have to play the cards that we are dealt with. Lady Luck may not be on our side (she's a very jealous woman), but it doesn't mean that we will go crashing down and call it quits. Until the next shuffle, I say. We may want to be somewhere else, but screw it. Tama ka. Andito na tayo eh. So I say, raise the stakes, shuffle the cards and deal with all the Kings and Jacks and yes, even the Queens until we hit it big.

oOo

"slightly weathered, slightly worn"

If I remember right, it says: "I still believe in ever after". So do you still believe in ever afters? In castles from faraway lands? I know you no longer wishes for castles K, as you have fancied on elevator-welcomed building floors in the Upper Eastside. Indeed, we all have to grow up from fairy tales

oOo

We look at the world and perhaps for the very first time, we are seeing things the way they really are. And you know what? I see you V, and it's a beautiful sight. Happy birthday honey. I love you, but you already know that.

It's hard to see oneself K, especially when you don't have a mirror. You know that this phase in my life has been very changing. A lot of things I raise for question --- my morals, my dreams, my hopes; and sometimes, I am afraid of the answers that I might get. I may look tough, or act tough, trying to be all grown up... but I am scared sometimes. Like what Hansel and Gretel must have really felt when they were lost in the woods. But your love secures me, like a hand that carries mine. How beautiful that you see me, and accept me as I unravel. Such a lucky kid, I am.

oOo

I hope you find love again. Love is game, they say, but as Hungarian-born socialite and actress Eva Gabor (who you share a birthday with) once said, love is a game that two can play and both win.

We will find love again. Not a moment do I doubt that. If love is indeed a game, then I say the whole world is the playground and everyone is in it. Too bad for me, as I seem to have bruised myself from the last game, but that would not stop my from playing (as all wounds eventually heal up). So I may limp now and then from the game, and I am most likely to fail, but i still want to dive in and do it. But we hope in the game of love, we win next time. Like scientologist and A-list actor Tom Cruise, who you share a birthday with (kala mo ikaw lang ha), I disagree that we learn more from getting beat up than in winning.

oOo

So, what are we waiting for? Let the games begin!

Nagsimula na honey! And guess what? TAG!! You're it!