Estudyanteng Pinoy Dormitorian

  "Naku, Neil Brian, manang-mana talaga kayong lahat sa Daddy niyo^[1]," Mom uttered after she has slapped my thighs about a hundred times already for not waking myself up on time.

My Dad had been self-supporting; his drunkard father didn’t support his schooling. He spent his teenage years selling pan de sal and street varieties and worked with his uncles sculpting wood and escayola^[2] in Paete, Laguna.
Luck opened opportunities, and he found himself working with a wealthy
Arab national for Islamic carvings even though he finished drafting
technology in TUP. Now, a China-based American designing firm promoted
him to be the supervisor of all the craftsman in Dolan Designs.

"Hay Neil, sanay ka nang turuan ang sarili mo, kaya yayaman ka siguro pagka-graduate mo."^[3]

I have never been punctual.

According to my mom, I always do, and even prioritize, unnecessary things like my father. Overdues are our meriendas.
We spend more that we should. Not necessarily referring to money, but
in an exemplary, we kill time for drawing for long hours, we read for
long hours, we use our PC for long hours. Therefore, we sleep for long
hours. I love sleeping.

I learn without learning.

I do
not focus on my studies religiously. But I learn. I am not bothered in
my grades, but I worry about my scholarship (we’re under austerity
measures). Anyway, my professors love me because I am smart. Haha.

"Mamaya na"^[4] habit

I love cramming. My dad loves cramming. But we always finish on time. And if we didn’t, we still make it. Much of our delight.

Mom
even finds our dad’s resemblance when I eat and walk. And sometimes,
she tells me I have inherited most of my dad’s characteristic traits
than my brothers. I pondered.

Yes, we know how to handle a spoon
and a fork. But even if I have a fork on my plate, I use my hands to
churn on the meat and use my fingers to dip it in ketchup, soy sauce,
or the Filipino Mang Tomas sauce. Then the spoon comes in filled with rice. Baboy^[5], ano?

I
am not flat-footed–all my brothers are. But the bulk on our knees make
us pace like we’re gonna tumble somebody down. We don’t walk
awkwardly… I don’t know
what my mom was saying. Though I’ve
noticed the bone bump on my brothers’ shoulders which I don’t have and
is not related to the previous sentence.

I am the fairest of
them all. No, I am not Snow White. But I sometimes been compared to a
skinless turnip beside three potatoes. And most of the time, I am told
to be the best-looking. Haha.

I am the most intelligent daw^[6].
I disagree. Though I have grabbed most of our academic and interschool
competition awards at home, I still salute my Kuya for being so
logically smart. Think about the most common sensed-tagged syllogisms
in the world, and he can abide. I just sophisticate and complicate
things. That’s why in decision-making, Kuya is always there. The house
can live without Neil saying anything.

I am more inclined to art
than the rest of my brothers. They assumed I am more willing to spend
my life in aesthetics than them by just placing all my masterpieces to
theirs. But I suppose I have just affiliated my talents to a wider
scope, and not only in art. I don’t know how to explain it… I just
avoid comparing my craft to my brothers because I find it merely
bragging. Haha. Showing-off.

Even if in my utmost sincerity to
have identified my Dad’s resemblances in me, I still pave more slots in
our contrasts. Which I apparently have no time identifying.

————-

I
think I am getting more serious in my studies. I didn’t notice in a
snap I’ve already bought an Inquirer newspaper a while ago thinking
that it’ll help in my bad writing (which I demonstrate right now.) I’ve
also done our assignments in advance. Gawd. I don’t wanna be me.

————-

Me
and my three siblings had the greenest thumbs in arts–the deepest
exaltation of my Mom that none of us had the similar stick-figures she
did when she was still making fun of her expensive fountain pens. None
of us are not capable of drawing lines straight without rulers. And I
never compared my craft to them, though I am easily flattered when my
younger brothers consult me when they are troubled in some drawings
which I respectfully responded with…

"Tinuruan ko ang sarili kong matuto sa ganyan, kaya matuto kayo sa sarili n’yo…" ^[7]

Bwahahaha.

Not
because of selfishness, but of independence. I’ve been independent in
nurturing what is now my specialty. I didn’t rely much to our Dad. Cite
the number of years he has been spending working abroad. I don’t want
them to be so dependent to their older brothers like what other
youngest siblings do in their families. (Mind you, I’m not the eldest.)

————-

The faculty of Languages and Mass Communication seemed to have alloted a slot for me in their peer. Like, oh Neil, you’re here. How are you.
And they crack jokes, as if they are of the same age as mine. They ask
me like I’m their classmate. I find it kinda fishy. They are getting
closer to me, and my classmates find an instrument for bridging them to
the professors.

The most intimidating teachers of our college
getting closer to me? Or it’s just because I am the most intelligent
and the most talented student in CAS who worried much on his pimples
rather than memorizing the Bill of Rights? Haha. Probably, they are
courting me to win another news reporting competition somewhere in
Cavite? Or maybe they have just found a use of me in making all their
largely-imprinted majestically-presented tarpaulins in our university?

Utu-uto^[8].

1. You’re really like your father.
2. Plaster of Paris
3. Oh Neil, you might become wealthy with your self-orientation when you graduate.
4. "Will do it later"
5. Swine
6. according to some people
7. Teach yourself. I learned everything only by myself .
8. Dumbass.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 8th, 2006 at 9:35 pm and is filed under Personalan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.