May 17, 2003

THE ULTIMATE TRUTH

Entry No. 2


The first few weeks of his newly found life was never dull. He tried things he never did before. Things like sleeping on a morning then waking up early at night to watch television 'til his eyes grew tired. He had cable installed in his home and had a marathon
of movies moving before his eyes.

He tried painting. He would scribble images, though not on canvas, but on the walls of his apartment. He would try sculpting using clay. He would then build a display stand, trying his hands on carpentry. He would put some of his works there. He made pottery and built objects that had no real use but he just wanted to do something so that his hands would not be idle. Melvin dared not call it art but was accused of it in the future.

During the first Friday that he and Mark promised to meet, the first question his bestfriend asked him was, "When did you start smoking?"

The bartender asked for their order. Since Mark has to work from eight to five, sometimes eight to eight, they agreed to meet at nine o' clock and stay there until eleven. Melvin, as far as Mark knew, drinks only beer. And he can handle as much as two bottles only. You can imagine the look on his face when Melvin said, "This time I'd have tequila, then whisky, then bourbon."

They talked about how Melvin was doing and Mark kept saying how it was at the office. He would soon get the promotion promised to him with a hint that Melvin would have been in the same position if he did not resign. He talked about the raise he would get and the other perks of the promotion. Melvin did not seem to listen. In fact, he was eyeing the dance floor.



Simbang Gabi as a tradition