The Summer Heat And Then Some

The Philippine Summer is here. Its heat is cruel and unforgiving. It scorches the rich, the poor, the ugly, the beautiful, and everyone in between. Since I get off my shift at 9:00AM, it's a given that I get the sun's wicked fury everyday. It is maddening. I try to get my shit together and most of the time, I get home alive. Barely. The experience is priceless, though.

To sleep soundly after work means I've got to be extremely lucky. Sleep at night is one thing, sleep at daytime is quite another. With my shift at work starting at midnight, I usually sleep at 1:00PM-2:00PM only to wake up 30-40 minutes later with the temperature reaching red hot microwave-pissed intensity. I woke up the other day cursing as loud as I can, with the electric fan pointed steadily at my shirtless yet sweat drenched sorry excuse of a body. I thought I was going to bust a vein somewhere in my head and die instantly. My head was so wet I thought a water pipe busted somewhere in our apartment. The heat was honest to goodness intolefuckingrable. My hatred for being awoken from my sleep was completely misdirected at nothing. It was funny and serious both at the same time.

Getting up sometime between 9:00PM and 10:00PM to get ready for work gets me in Search-and-Destroy mode, instantly. The thirst for life and disdain for sweetcoated bullshit gets magnified tenfold and I start to unload unneeded baggage - both mental and emotional - and count my blessings carefully. For someone who has less than nothing, I couldn't afford to be ungrateful for what I have got. I make do.

Living is not about enjoying life or basking in the glory of its good things. Life is all about appreciating being alive even if it means you're going to fry yourself under the sun.