people i admire most #3

zaturnnah in bora?

I got to know this person when I was just a struggling stage actor. We are about to do a play that will be produced by a group of people in one channel in mIRC. It was supposed to be about AIDS consciousness and all that. We were supposed to be lovers in the show. He would invite me to his place during that time to read one of his written works. I would call him in the wee hours of the morning if it's ok to sleep in his place. A month before the opening night, I backed-out.

I would hear his name from common friends from time to time. I would almost have one friend wherever he works. And I would always wonder how he has been. Ours is a very small world. Until I started working in Galleria and actually have my therapeutic walk around Ortigas center, by some cosmic coincidence, I would see him at least once almost every week. Like a long lost friend, we would exchange pleasantries and eventually share tables. Like long lost friends, we would update ourselves of what happened to each of us and where we are now. And the night that started with pleasantries would end up nostalgic and would always be pleasant.

Until I got to hear about him from some people I know who are not our common friends. That's when I realized that I already have to attach the prefix- The to his name. He created this comic superhero and actually published the first book himself. The graphic novel became a hit amongst a select number of people until a publisher noticed it and had it mass produced and sold it mainstream. The superhero became an icon. And so is this long lost friend.

In one of our co-incidental coffee meetings, I asked him if he is working full time in a company now. He told me that he is looking for a job. Bingo! We have an opening almost perfect for him. I told my boss about it, and she was hesitant because The friend is too big already for the job. And I told her he is perfect and settling for somebody else is indeed just settling. He applied for the job, and he was not really the favorite of the higher-up during that time. But with sheer talent and nothing else, he was the best candidate.

It was his first day in the office that our bond was sealed. And the two dimensional Carlo I knew from before unfolded and indeed became more than just a long lost friend. We would see each other almost every single working day. Our coffee meetings bacame more of a habit than co-incidental. We don't exchange pleasantries anymore and things are not always pleasant. We would have disagreements and arguments and precisely because of these, we understand each other better. I got to know that his passion about what he does is overwhelming and contagious. The same passion that moved him to create icons and in a way, himself. The same passion that drives him to be great. The same passion that gives him the courage to try new things in life.

He would always tell me that he is not brave enough to try new things. And I would always refute him. He afterall, is alone in the field where he chose to put himself. And not a lot of people can do that. Not a lot of people can stay that way.

Probably, the thing I admire most about him is believing in his work. Something that I lack. It is fighting for something and not caring if you are alone in the fight. It is having the courage to stand alone and work your way until people will believe and walk with you. It is creating a path for yourself and not just taking the main highway.

But the best thing about him is he still keep his feet on the ground. Firmly standing not knowing that his place under the sun has indeed reached hectares yet he would move by square meters. I would always kid about making him my 'claim to fame' in front of him (boy, i don't think I can do that with him not around). And will always wonder what's on his mind everytime I say that--

In mine, it's actually pushing an issue he has yet to realize...