The Moment Everything Stopped and Continued in Slow Motion

Tumigil ang buhay. Parang slomo, makulay.


Arguably my favorite lyrics ever, by one of my favorite local indie acts, Ang Bandang Shirley.

It's hard to keep chasing something that don't want to be chased. Think of it like a dog chasing a mechanical rabbit. The dog, well, he just wants to catch that rabbit. I don't care what it wants to do with the rabbit, but you can really see the determination the dog has for the rabbit. The rabbit, meanwhile, is mechanical, thus, don't feel anything, except where the control takes it.

While I learned this a few years ago, I'm gonna tell you a story, about how the world stops, turns upside down, goes in slow motion, and finally decides to go back to the speed of things, leaving you with a mild concussion. Actually, I'm gonna tell you a story of when this happened to me. Which is why those lyrics have become so dear to me.

It was noon. A lot of people going to and fro and I was one of them. There I was, my mind wandering with my feet, like a bottle floating in the sea, I didn't mind where the current takes me. Anyway, while I was staring blankly to a sea of people, a proverbial lady in red appeared out of nowhere. And just like in The Matrix, Morpheus (my attention) called me out for wondering about the lady and when I looked again, Agent Smith (shock, awe, whatever) is pointing a gun at me, as time froze.

And I wondered: was it really her? Somebody I haven't seen in months, but still manage to catch my attention even with the last strand of hair? It was her. Oh my dear crap she's so pretty. So, do I chase her and have small talk? IT REALLY IS HER! WHAT TO DO? WHAT TO DO?

After about 8 seconds of standing in the middle of a crowd, I find myself some place else like I was narcoleptic or something. It was really weird, what happened.

Alas, a few months later, I learn she's a lesbian and dating another girl. They're pretty serious right now, so there's really nothing much I can do about it but to accept and let it go and keep walking in a sea of blurred out people until I find another woman in a red dress.

*sighs*