Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I Don't Have A Mohawk Anymore

The picture in the recent post was taken by me at Montemar Beach Resort in Bagac, Bataan. I was there on Jan 2, 2009 to attend the wedding of a poker buddy, business partner & good friend Joey Zamora. I had the mohawk just a few days before New Year's Eve. Ryan Eigenmann, one of my best friends, had given me his old shaving clippers. You know - the shaver used by barbers for shaving off the head.

Anyway, I like the fact that I don't have to go to the barber anymore just to get a haircut. Because of having access to my own clippers, I am now able to shave my head at my own convenience. In one of those sessions, I decided to see what it would be like if I kept a strip of hair to represent a short mohawk. I left it for a photo-op, but decided to keep it to celebrate the New Year's.

I spent New Year's 2009 in Matuod Beach, Batangas, at the family beach house of my dear friend Mikee Carrion and Mika Guiddotti. I drove there on December 31st, toting the family along - Chona (my wife) along with the kids Kaj (my 6 year old son) and Keesha (my 5 year old daughter). At first, I had screwed up the clear directions Mikee gave, and found myself doing laps at the national highway, searching for the exit to Matuod. The last time I had been there was more than a decade ago, and I couldn't find the distinct dirt road that led to the beach. "Dude, the dirt road you're looking for is not a dirt road anymore," Mikee said over the phone. With that made clear - I found the beach in no time.

We had fun wading around the low-tide beach, attempting to make sand castles and just relaxing. Eventually, the kids spent time with the kids of Mika, and Chona and I played some friendly poker with Mika and Mikee. At New Year's Eve, we lit some of the fireworks Mikee got - cool skyrockets that burst into a shower of orange fire. We went to bed shortly, failing to finish the bottle of Glenfiddich we started just after lunch. Not that I didn't enjoy drinking, but I had a leafier hit on my mind - literally.

After spending New Year's Eve, we drove back down home on New Year's Day, and just chilled at home. The next day - the second of January- I left early in the morning and drove to Bagac, Bataan to Montemar. If the drive to Batangas was southbound, this time the drive was northbound. I left Manila around 8:30am and was able to reach Montemar before noon. I had a cap on when I saw Joey, and surprised him with the mohawk when I took off my cap. "Just for your wedding!" The look on Joey's face - priceless.

A quick swim at the beach, a few drinks, and I got dressed to attend Joey's wedding. If everyone was in their formal barongs, I had made the distinction of being clad in all black - black shoes, black socks, black pants, black shirt, black tie, black jacket. "You look like you came out of The Matrix." Well, of course - the mohawk.

After dinner, I was going to change into something more comfortable and get out of the formality of a suit. I could see the reception festivities from the balcony of my room, and I was waiting for the reception to break from assigned seating, so I could join the boys for some serious drinking and partying. While waiting, I had downed a couple shots of Johnnie Walker Black, and had a few bowls of mistletoe. The festivities were taking longer, and everyone was still overdressed for the beach, and I thought it would be rude if I showed up already in shorts. So, I waited.

A fireworks display at the end of the reception signaled the end of the festivities, but there were still a lot of people clamoring in the wedding reception area by the beach. "Later, it's still crowded." An old friend visited my room for 5 minutes, and I promised to go back down. I lay down in bed for a bit, and eventually found myself dozing off, and thus missed the entire after-party altogether. Come to think that's what I came there for.

I got up at 5am, walked the beach and had a swim in the ocean. Nothing like a saltwater swim at sunrise to refresh the spirit. That feeling of being alone at the shore to watch the colors change and see the world come to life.

After breakfast, I waited for Joey to get up so I could apologize and say thank you. I also had to explain myself to the others who were waiting on me that night to bring down the mistletoe to the post-wedding bonfire party. What can I say - I was so 'relaxed' I fell asleep. After a morning beer with Joey and a bid of congratulations to the newlyweds, I made the long drive back home, enjoying the solace of traveling on the light traffic back home. I especially enjoyed being able to go full throttle on the SCTEX. That night, back at home, I got the clippers and shaved off the rest of my mohawk, and kept my head well-rounded.

So there - Nothing But The Truth - I don't have a mohawk anymore.

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