Just Like the Old Days: Reggae, Rest and Recreation

A day after my first graduation anniversary, I was reminded that life is not always about the millions of how to dos and sticking to the rules which could lead us to what we all want to head on: SUCCESS.

After all, at the end of the day, we should realize that we are humans, not robots. We need some time to rest, unwind and break free.

For many people, going on hangouts is like a way to get out of our own messy, problem-filled and stressful lives. For me, it’s like a way of giving yourself a break from the realities of life.

Since my college days, I learned to hang-out with friends and confidants and even drink some liquor or alcoholic beverages (sshhh.. I first drank when I was in kindergarten with my aunt...). I usually schedule drinking sessions on Fridays when school was over and just before I would go home to my hometown on a Saturday.

Reggae   

One thing I would not forget about those old Fridays of my life was the music – Reggae. “Payag sa Likod,” a local bar in Dumaguete would hold its weekly Reggae Friday with Standout Reggae Band, one of my favorite bands along with choir-mate and vocalist, Kuya Awing of the infamous Enchi Band of Dumaguete.

All of those Fridays were so different from each one but one thing was common: the Reggae music which I really loved. Love? Yes, the perfect term is love or maybe addiction. Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song,” “Red Red, Wine,” “No Woman, No Cry,” “Buffalo Soldier” and “Waiting in Vain” failed not to amuse me and get me into dancing when I heard such tunes. OPM’s “Maling Akala” and “Binibini”  were always my personal picks. All the more, I will be enticed to hear of more Reggae music when I would hear the band play “Baby, I Love Your Way,” “Caribbean Blue,” and more of Enchi’s originals like “Baboy” and “Istambay.”

Reggae music would give me some relaxing feel and it has kept me reminded of how life should be lived. Though I really have not mastered the lyrics of these songs, such songs still have a place in my heart.

Rest

After a very stressful week, humans deserve to grab some rest. Not at all times, sleep could be ideal because in some cases, we need more of a relaxing process and somewhat like releases for us to be called stress free.  

Pertaining to this, I would choose to stay with people, talk and laugh with other them. This also helps us break free from our serious life.

Recreation 

Drinking became like an ideal way for me to spend some free time. I consider this a recreational activity because I am also engaging myself into somewhat like socialization exercises with a mix of people with different insights and from a rainbow of backgrounds.

Drinking sessions would probably be inevitable for young men who are growing up and it’s like part of the process. It’s not about who is the strongest and who is slow to be intoxicated but it’s about the conversations, the bond and most of all, the friendship which grows 

within the group of persons who share the glass together.

Let’s toast to that! Kampay!

Wine, music and friendship go together. Like the old days, when I was still in Dumaguete, I used to have the kind of life which I mentioned earlier.

Here in Davao, nothing has changed but not like the daily and weekly drinking sessions, I now get some drinks just twice or thrice a month for some work reasons.

I've got some new favorite Reggae songs from a local band here in Davao. Hope to mention and talk about those in my next posts.

Thanks to a new mix of friends who live nearby. I've found new confidants in this new place I can already call: a home away from home.