With the three of us siblings getting hitched one after the other, the place saw what used to be a family of five grow to include daughters and son in-laws, and eventually, grandkids.
Sadly (or happily, in my own unbiased opinion), it also saw the disintegration of my own marriage — which wasn’t at all surprising since it wasn’t exactly a match made in heaven in the first place.
A year passed since that breakup and we again found ourselves on the move. With my brother and sister moving out years earlier to start their own families, the three-bedroom unit had become too big for my parents and myself.
My life was at its lowest point at the time (not that I’m riding high these days), and I was both emotionally and financially drained. With dad’s health declining, and my having left the corporate world just a year earlier, the condo unit that we called home for 12 years had become too expensive to maintain.
And so it was seven years ago that we ended up in this dump, where I am now writing this piece. Not that we had a choice then. This old building, where my now US-based cousins grew up in and where I used to come over to play, was the best that I could find given my rather limited income at the time. But, it was home… for better or for worse.
As most of you who have diligently followed this blog in its more than four years of existence know, this aging hunk of concrete and steel has become our family’s little patch of hell on earth.
Little did I realize that moving into this place was like descending into the bowels of Hades, and that it would take its toll on everyone (me especially) not only physically, but mentally as well.
The traffic, the vendors, the filth and, lest I forget… the incessant blaring of those cursed loudspeakers (courtesy of those dvd vendors) all contributed to my slow, but sure decline into insanity.
I thought then that it could only be a matter of time before I finally lose it and go berserk. Even now I still have this recurring fantasy of mowing down each and every dvd vendors in our neighborhood with an assault rifle.
Okay, I may have gone overboard with that last statement but really, living in this place has pushed my patience, as well as my senses, to its limit. With the authorities (yes, I’m referring to those people from the city hall and police department) practically giving these pests the run of the place, it was a losing battle.
But worse than the noise and the filth this place has to offer, it was also the last place dad will ever live in. His health gradually declined not long after we moved in, and he died two years later.
I had to get out…
Oh part two na and you still haven’t revealed where you are relocating
But your post reminds me of my fave Beatles song “All my Life”
There are places I remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places have their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all
bro, you mean you already moved out ? Man, that was pretty quick move ! So are you happy with the change ? Hope so
Daphne> Well, whether we hated the place or not, we cannot deny that each of those places that we’ve lived in have somehow changed our lives in one way or another.
BW> Well as of this writing, yes, we moved into our new place this morning. It wasn’t a quick one though. There were some snags along the way but by the end of the day, we were able to move everything in our new home.
so much for Imelda Marcos’ Manila, huh? i used to work with someone who romanticizes Manila, but I’m sure she didn’t have to live with the blight and your sidewalk vendors :p
Anna> Those who still romanticize and promote that part of Manila (like those television reporters who often act like spokespersons of the 168 mall) ought to try driving through the crowd, jeepneys, pedicabs and vendors. Or better yet, spend a few nights in my old place, and we’ll see if they’ll still have the same impression of the place. And that suggestion goes as well to the mayor and councilors of the city.