Memoirs of an Amnesiac

Summer's not only the time to bask in the sun and show off those buffed bodies brought about by endless sessions in the gym or those stretch marks that never seem to get erased no matter how much you put those lotions.

It is also the time for refreshments, sorbet and ice cream of one's flavor and liking. There have been many types of refreshments in the market. They are as vast as and directly proportional to the summer heat. But the best kind there is that is truly Filipino is the halo-halo.

Who hasn't known or even tasted halo-halo? I can bet we all did. The one I grew up with aren't as elaborate as the ones sold in fast food chains. It basically had the crushed ice and some sago and then the condensed milk. I'd be lucky if they ever put some young coconut meat and some mango and leche flan.

But I must have been weird or that I was born when there was an eclipse because contrary to what people do with their halo-halo, I don't mix mine. I eat the individual ingredients one by one. First, the ice cream then the leche flan. For those that are submerged beneath the crushed ice, I take pains in digging. I guess you could say I'm an individualist with my preferences.

When I was savoring my halo-halo this afternoon, my brother said, "Don't you mix them first?" I said, "I don't. I likened them to life, I study them in parts to understand them as a whole." And he just gave me a smirk and then quipped, "OA kaayo ka woi! Para halo-halo lang."

Well live it to me to connect things with what's ideal. From abstract to concrete, I cling on to anything that makes sense to me. Life is parallel to halo-halo can't you see? Whether you mix it or not, it is a choice you have to make or a preference as when you fall in love or not, whether you keep mourning for your loss or you got out and party the whole night. The ingredients themselves mirror life. They contain everything there is -- a mishmash of all the flavors. But it's more on sweetness, coldness and a lot of fluidity.

But it is amazing than when one decides to mix it, it combines with all other ingredients without each of the other ingredients fighting for prominence in your taste buds. And what's more, it cools you down while giving you a sweet taste.

And as to the question whether one should mix it or not, well, it's about choices...

Whichever you feel like doing, even for no reason at all.