Ang Dabawenyo

My partner in crime Ian and I went out for a midnight snack right on the eve of Valentine’s Day. This is typical of people who think of Valentine’s dates as rather cheesy. But the truth is, seeing as we’re both single, we just had to make sure to get a night-out in before Valentine’s set in for real.

As usual, there were many people out and about. I’d come from Basti’s and met up with Ian at Bo’s Coffee, which is typically occupied by spring chickens, or the young and the restless. Good thing Ian had a sudden craving for breaded whatever, so blew that joint and headed to The Venue (there was a time when Davaoeño entertainment place owners had a penchant for generic names).

We made a beeline to an old haunt, Wh’stletop — the name might be a touch off, but there’s nothing else to complain about. The food is interesting and palatable, and the beer is almost always ice-cold. And, they play my generation’s music, the golden 80s, as MixFM105.9 likes to call it.

Right beside our resto-bar are Halo and Marley’s, and, I was telling Ian, an interesting symbiosis these two contrasting bars have. Halo is for even fresher spring chickens (high school, anyone?). Marley’s, as the name might suggest, is Davao’s answer to the Bohemian. Well, it’s the closest we can get for now anyway. So you can imagine how in-opposite-sides-of-the-spectrum these two could be. But a mutually-beneficial relationship has surely cropped up: the young ‘uns like it in Halo because it offers them a place to bump and grind, even amidst adults; and Marley’s offers a splendid view of them to its own patrons.

And I must say, there were quite a few viewables that night. And that was my yearly pre-Valentine’s gimmick. A chance to catch up with my friends who, every year, feel the poignancy of being single. However, Ian did proffer a most apt quotable for our predicament: "I want to discover how the moon attracts the ocean." Or are we just trying to convince ourselves?

Still, it seems like I’m always out having fun, doesn’t it?