Pounding The Keyboard

"There is no friend as loyal as a book."                                              Ernest Hemingway       A sense of gloom quickly pervaded inside our car while we were approaching the parking area in front of SMX Convention Center in MOA yesterday, 16 th of September,2017—we could see a throng and seemingly endless queues (yup, that’s plural) of people in front of the convention center, all trying to get inside, eager to be part of Manila International Book Fair. We were there for the book fair, too.       We walked towards the convention center, we already had some complimentary tickets with us, it was already a little past two in the afternoon, and trying to find the start of of a queue was already an arduous task. Still, we found it and we lined up. But after thirty minutes, two of my companions complained of getting dizzied by the crowd and the thought of encountering a larger mob inside (we didn’t expect it to be that huge; didn’t they say it’s the era of e

       Today is September 1, officially the start of Christmas season in the Philippines. Yup, that’s how excited we are with Christmas and that’s how long we celebrate it. Go to a mall today and your ears will be greeted by carols (most likely a song by Jose Mari Chan), turn on the radio and and your favorite station will be playing your favorite Christmas song, look at your neighbor’s house and she’ll probably be hanging a parol at her window right this very moment.       Actually, I already have been reminded that Christmas is just around the corner last week. I was with my sister and while drinking a latte (we were inside a coffee shop ) she suddenly blurted out, “Hey, Christmas is near, don’t forget your gifts for these two.” She was referring to her two-year old son and seven-year old daughter, the two-year old son was currently grinning at me, eyes twinkling, like he understood what her mother had just said.        I had to remind my sister that one of my favori