Life is "Sinigang"

I just finished reading the manuscript of the book that my friend Philip will be launching in August of this year. It’s been so long since I last read Filipino essays. It’s not because I don’t enjoy then, in fact I do enjoy them, it was just I was very busy getting sick. Anyway, this collection made me realize how I missed doing it so much.

I have always known Philip to be a good writer; I’ve always respected him for that. But owing to the fact that he is more than 10 years younger than I am, I’ve always perceived him to be a pampered boy; someone who lacks experience; someone whose childhood was spent boringly inside the house. But after reading his manuscript, I realized he was not the one lacking in experience, it was I.

The book entitled Sinigang Formula is a collection of Philip’s Filipino essays. In this collection, Philip tells of his experiences as a young boy, a student, a friend, a teacher, a man in love, a father, and a person struggling to be independent. He used simple words that every Filipino, regardless of age, would understand, and experiences that a lot of people could relate to.

I must admit, I was initially ambivalent about the title since it sounded so much like a recipe book. Sinigang, by the way, is a Filipino delicacy. It could have pork, beef, fish or chicken as main ingredient and it has a soup made sour by tamarind. It also has vegetables like taro, okra and a lot of others that people could think of putting in it. (I put tomato in my Sinigang, which to some would be weird) This delicacy is best eaten during rainy days but of course, for people who love it so much like Philip does, it would be worth enjoying regardless the weather. After Philip explained the title in the foreword of his book, I was very much enlightened. It was indeed a recipe book, but not for food, but for writing personal essays and for looking at life.

Since the collection mostly speaks of Philip’s life, some people might say “What the hell do I care about his life?” But then again, this book is more than just his stories. It’s something that would encourage readers to look back and recall events in their lives that they have forgotten but are worth remembering. I, for one, felt this after reading the whole collection. I was able to recall episodes in my life. Episodes that I usually could not vividly recall, nor could I put into paper; probably because I didn’t exert much effort or maybe because I just never thought they were valuable. 

My personal favorite would be Philip’s stories about his teaching experiences, maybe because I am a teacher myself. I love the way he described how he envied his students who would come in on the first day of classes wearing brand new clothes and using new school supplies while he was wearing an old pair of shoes and an old set of clothes; and at the same time was struggling to make ends meet. The teaching profession does not really come with a good salary.

I also admired Philip for bravely admitting that he was once told by students how his class was so boring; how some would shout “Uwian na! Uwian na!” at the first sight of him; how he got pissed at students who would retouch their make-ups during class; how he fell for one of his students. While I was reading these stories, I had flashbacks to my classrooms trying to picture what my students were doing while I was rendering a lecture.

I also enjoyed Philip’s essay on his childhood experiences; how he was so disappointed when his mother found a love letter that he wrote for his crush, and how he would rent a pedicab and pick up passengers just to earn enough money to buy Fanta. I realized how I missed out on some areas of my childhood, or maybe I am just too old to remember.

Philip’s life is simple, some would even say it is typical, but he treasured it so much that he even made essays about it to keep the memories alive. This is basically the effect of his collection—to encourage readers to keep their memories alive the best way they can. His essays would make a reader feel that writing personal essays is not difficult after all. It does not require unfathomable words. It could be simple yet interesting. It simply has to have the basic ingredients—experience and the heart to share it. It also follows a simple formula and this is to narrate; just tell the story in the same way we would tell stories to our friends.

I guess when this book launches in August I would not have second thoughts in buying it. Not because Philip is my friend, but because this book is a collection of a person’s life that was bravely shared to everyone. But of course, I would love it even better if Philip would just give me a copy for free.

Kudos to my friend Philip Anorico! Thank you for hinting me to brush up on my reading.

A line from Philip's collection:

“Inggit na inggit ako sa mga bata. Bago ang uniporme nila. Pati na mga gamit. Nangangamoy plastic cover at Crayola sa klasrum. Wala silang kamalay-malay sa pinagdaraanan ko noon.” ~ Titser 101—Usapang Uniporme