Filling a Hollow Eve

So, come Halloween, Ayn took me to this Goth gathering at Absinth, Greenbelt. First, we had to pick up a few Goths on the way, mostly guys. Then we went to another Goth’s house (a girl) in Boni, where some of them primped up for the night. Man. That took three hours. Imagine guys taking three hours to prepare for a party. Guys asking each other to do each other’s hair… guys asking each other if they should wear this or that skirt, this or that bauble. I tell you, it was like nothing I had ever experienced… guys primping. Ayn and I were so hungry by the time they finished, but the results were effective. Lyra (the one who owned the apartment) looked especially striking in her very revealing corset and her bright red cloak.

We passed by PBCOM first to look at Lyra’s interior design exhibit. We looked like a gang of vampires walking past the sets and people were really staring. I wasn’t as scary-looking as the others, but I was wearing a long, dark dress, boots and my brown coat—at best I looked grunge-y indie. Still, I think we looked pretty intimidating. Carmi Martin the actress was one of the people who had an exhibit there, and for some reason, she felt like giving us a full explanation of her work. We just sort of sullenly patronized her and nonchalantly walked off when she was finished. Supernatural beings aren’t really interested in sunnily-motifed bathroom sets, especially if the designer doesn’t even know what kind of stone her own creation is made of.

Off to Greenbelt because we were really hungry. Watched Late Isabel’s open air set while Goths were saying their hellos. Felt slightly like a fish out of water, but it wasn’t their fault. In general, club outings turn me into a wallflower. Ayn, Lyra and I decided to go and sit inside Absinth. The two actually ordered absinthe, which they said was really good but unbelievably, incredibly, stupefyingly potent. Got to meet Paolo, who showed me a picture of his to-die-for Spanish boyfriend whom he had met on the Net. Got to meet Maski (sorry if I spell it wrong), decked in a priest’s outfit, who was so solicitous and kept asking if I was okay (I was very sleepy and it showed). I was so tired, I decided to lie down on the couch and take a few minutes’ nap. Annejo kept asking me to dance but I just felt too shy. They were so nice to me. Allan was supposed to go with us, but he had a gig in Dagupan with Moonstar 88. I wondered aloud what he would wear if he had come along. Ayn said, “Ano pa ba? Eh di as Uncle Fester!” Haha :) Patok siya, kung ganun…

Lyra made a comment, which I promised her I would put on the blog: “I find it so weird that all these waiters are dressed like vampires and they have ‘blood’ smeared all over their mouths. I mean, it’s kind of like eating a plate of spaghetti and having sauce all over your face and you not bothering to wipe it up. It’s bad manners.”

“Yeah… yeah… I know what you mean. But then again, maybe they just want to hint at this animalistic, barbaric side—like when animals eat they just dig in with their mouths and inevitably smear themselves with blood. Maybe they want to hint at these primeval, base tendencies to make themselves scarier.”

“Honey, if you dress in black velvet, there can be nothing animalistic about you.”

Haha. That was so insightful. It just goes to show how these people take their lifestyle seriously. No pretensions in this bitch queen.

At around 1 am, I was feeling really tired and Ayn, pretty shitty. She wanted to go home. We were also really hungry. I suggested we eat at Pares and said I would treat her for once. We showed up there and the guard recognized us. “Sir, pano yan? Meron pa ba para samin? Dalawa kami eh.”

“Ah, dalawang mesa?” He obviously thought we had brought the whole bunch with us.

“Hindi! Kaming dalawa lang hehe.”

So Ayn and I sat at the counter and she started bitching about her night. I totally agreed with her, but I was also hoping that she wouldn’t let it ruin Halloween for her. Two guys sat beside us and ordered Pares. They kept staring at us. So did the other male customers. I guess we looked strange and beautiful in our flowing garbs. It contrasted with the way we were wolfing down our food. Mmm.

The funny part was, when I finally asked for the bill, the woman said it cost P227. "What???" I only had P180 on me and I wondered how it got to be that high, since we had only ordered 1 meal and 1 drink each. She thought we were with those two guys who had eaten Pares beside us! Crap! They had already left! Crap, crap, crap! I told her I refused to pay for their meal. She consulted the other waiter and ended up revising the bill anyway, which was a relief. The nerve of those men! Creeps.

We then decided to pass by Millennia. Tiffany was there and she let us just walk inside. We heard someone calling our name—it was Macky from Concrete Sam. He looked so genuinely happy to see us, and in truth we were grateful to see a familiar face, hoping that the night would turn around for us. Macky bought Ayn a beer at the Videoke place next door and asked where we came from. Ayn proceeded to tell him about her shitty night. These guys sitting at the front steps overheard her and they were playfully agreeing with her. Ayn bit and started talking to them, too. Macky introduced us to them (from Too Late the Hero)… Joe causally invited us to tag along and drink with them at the place beside Behrouz along Scout Rallos. We agreed.

They were really nice to us, as well. For one thing, we didn’t have any money, but they encouraged us to order… they were pleasantly surprised that we ate some isaw, originally thinking that we were the ugh-that’s-so-dirtyyyyyyy type. Kahit naka-dress kami, cowboy pa rin kami. I heard Joe say to someone, “Okay, no? may kasama pa kaming dalawang prinsesa.” Hehe, how flattering. A blackout actually happened while we were drinking and it made the night just a wee bit more interesting, having to talk and drink by candlelight. It was cool… the punk guys were fun to hang out with and they were kind enough to let us, even if we had just met them. So at around 5 am, we all promised to Friendster each other (!) and went our separate ways.

All in all, it was a good turnaround, right? What a night…