RT BT: Aftermath

Pag Mabilis Na Umalis Baka Di Naman Talaga Dumating by Rolando B. Tolentino
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To be honest, I am not familiar with sir RT except for that one post about call for submissions to Daang Bakal way back 2022. Let me digress (and I have mentioned this in our most recent #BookTalakayan), I was too intimidated to submit my personal entries even though I have had drafted (and subsequently trashed) my entry about my younger years in the PNR, and how it has made me aware of the little social reality outside the catwalk and beyond the words of the PUP Hymn. He was one of the editors of that project — that has been now a shelf-item, all because of the lack of material, or maybe because of carcentricities of our cities.

Maybe it was titled as At Iba Pang Kwento because it contained not only some straight-forward short story-telling, but it also included some writing exercises ("Ang Magnanakaw"), or a splash of reflective essay ("Ang Presidente sa Palasyo"). I even imagined a TedxTalk content ("Kwento ng Kapital"), assignments and other guide questions included. When I first read the introduction, it kind of justifies his attempt for this collection. This has more of his personal touch, glimpses of his little realities, and some snippets of his reflections to the social standing and current climate of the middle class. He also went back-to-the-basics; used very structured way of writing a short story in some of the pages. It's vibing very differently from his second collection "Fastfood, Megamall at Iba Pang Kuwento sa Pagsasara ng Ikalawang Milenyum" where he employed an experimental form and used a different language dynamic (I searched and read just now an english version of Fastfood, archived from his personal blog). I confessed to RT that this is my first encounter of him and his work. I asked, "Yung pagbabalik po ba sa tradisyunal na porma ng maikling kwento ay isang regression, o maturity na rin ba yun in a way?" He wasn't taken aback; he didn't even answered condescendingly. Maybe it helped that I introduced myself as a banker and a Corporate slave, with no background of Filipinolohiya / Philippine Studies course. He simply answered, "Lahat ng pagbabalik ay patunay rin ng pag-usbong, ng maturity". It also made me realize that maybe, just maybe, I can go back to the old days of my high school, simply writing whatever I see outside my own circle and young world.

Of all these story collections, what I liked the most is "Tapat sa Uri" as it details the collective realities of a middle class: from being a college student, its subsequent years of being detached from the old barkadahan and forging life separately as a young professional. May inom dito, inom doon, sometimes bardagulan and sometimes hanash of a collective rants of how society works. That story kind of stings to me. It's not hard to veer away from being a Corporate Slave, but it is so damn hard trying to have a hipster vibe and a self-sustaining lifestyle. I stick to the system of the old, the system that works for me. In short, I really cannot get out of this system, I only game around it.

In the #BookTalakayan group chat, I disclosed to the rest of the friends & members that I might feel intimidated or have to do a rain-check of sorts, because I never met him, or haven't seen his personal hanash in facebook since I don't use ground zero much. But when I saw him, I saw myself plotting a personal plan: I have to start grinding this retirement career and focus less on the current. In the next couple of months, I must re-sbumit this essay collection I have kept for years (and passed multiple workshops but only attended one). He displays a demeanor of a middle class professional who created a personal repository of inspiration via the academe. As a previous dean for College of Communication and have had experiences with the UP Film Institute, his personal wealth of material to write never ends; a coming-in-and-out of experiences as stable as monthly rent and GSIS pension. Now he sits as a VP for Public Affairs, a well-deserved and very okay side-gig while grinding the writing. He also reminded me of a new-found-friend I met in Singapura, the same demeanor of a Nueva Ecijanon, with the same inflections of kuan and some manerisms of undressing professionalism while talking to us as a simple writer of life. Having these book discussions made me realize that sometimes we can game around the daily grind. Simply engage, listen, and have fun.

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