Five in Half a Day

Chinese Checkers is one of my favourite games of all times. It can played by two persons or a maximum of six. It has a very simple rule. The aim is to race all the same coloured pieces to the opposite side before your opponent does. Once you reach your 'home', you win. 

During my short stay in Manila, I had the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers who are of different educational backgrounds with different life experiences. When the six of us met, I felt that we were in a skilled based game of Chinese Checkers. Each was represented by a colour and I will be assigning them one and will speak of them giving short descriptions.

Fiel's elusive personality came to life with this meet of ours. Bubbly and always with an infectious chuckle, he has a charisma of his own. In his blog writings, he is always the one with positive vibes. I finally met the one eyed profile picture of fiel-kun and it was a fitting honour. Devoid of frivolities and false pretenses, he is going to be white.

When I dropped by Geosef's blog, I felt I was in a world of lust. The stories were naughty and filled with life. It was like "Damn, how come he got all the good stuff?" But it was his words that made me stay. I thought that he was a literature graduate but he wasn't. He is just good with it, a person to look up to. That's why he is red. 

Mine is black because it is the absence of colour. I was a mere bystander to their blogs early of last year till I started making my presence known. I am more of an observer, studying the underlying meanings of their posts and trying to learn how to write better. I am learning a lot from these five people. 

Rix's blog is filled with humour and life. He is known for his mosquito coil lines at the end of each post. What you read is what you get, this saying sums up the personality of Rix. He is not only a great person to speak with but also a man of wisdom. With all those laugh trips and jokes, he exudes a commanding stance when he starts to speak about life and friendship. He is going to be blue. 

I visited Arvin's blog since early of last year but his postings were very minimal. In a way, his blog has been like a mirror of how I am in Thailand since both of us are working out of the country. I assigned him green based of his latest postings but joking aside, green means growth and he has been instrumental in bringing growth to PBO.

And to complete the board, Kat is going to be yellow. Although the only rose amongst the thorns, she was the glue to this meet up. I don't know where she gets her powers waking up early in the morning and staying late at night. I started calling her the "Queen of EB" since I see her everywhere. her jovial personality and rich stories will surely make you in awe. I bet the boys are hooked to her because she is witty, sensible and animated.

The pegs of the board are the stories and experiences we shared with each other. Turning, jumping, avoiding traps and giving way were all part of that wonderful day. We took turns, we paused, we listened and learned. We became silent, we shutdown, they made glances (to their phones) and smiled. We were shy, we were bold, we laughed but we didn't cry. 

While each peg of the board continuously move towards their "home" during that day, we finally bade farewell. We have possibly moved towards winning the game we call friendship or losing it. Whatever came out of that meet, I emerged a winner because I got five to hold on to. 

I send you love and gratitude for one, fine, wonderful day.