when poise runs out

today, got all dolled up for my nephew's christening. wasnt going to make a big deal out of it, but since everyone was expecting my to bring a date (all the escalating kwentos were making everyone really expectant and i had promised i would get the nerve to ask him out), and i again would be letting everyone down, i thought looking all lady-like and dressed up would be enough reparations for now. i wore a tank top under a cardigan and a swirly skirt with high-heeled sandals. my hair was up. i took extra care in putting on makeup. really, i made an effort to look extra nice.

and so i was feeling pretty good about myself when i left for the house, drove in the nice car, was complimented by my aunt and cousin who i had picked up on how nice i looked, and i thought, finally, this would be an insult-free family gathering. no rude inquiries on why i was still single and lectures on how manang i looked and how i should really stop eating . and up until i got to the church there was none.

but of course, in true ia fashion, i just had to shoot myself in the foot. well, not literally. but it was more my feet did the shooting for me. since the church parking had been so full, i opted to park at the adjacent street around a pretty rotonda full of villagers. little did i know that there was a canal all around it. so when i alighted from the trooper, i literally fell on my knees into the canal, into the muddy soil, that was peppered with sharp little gray stones. and my face was buried into the shrubbery. i stood up and literally had twigs in my hair. and all this dog-walker could tell me was, "kanal yan eh." duh. like i did not know i was in a canal. he couldn't have told me earlier before i had gotten down and fallen into the pit that was hell. he did not even asked if i needed help. i just stood up on my own and walked the one and a half blocks back to the church. my big toe was bleeding, my left leg was littered with scratches (deeply cut). my left knee had 2 deep wounds the size of quarters. blood was dripping down my newly shaven leg. hay. so much for all the running i didn't do as a kid to avoid peklat. hay. i tried my best to look dignified walking down the street with blood running down my leg. sat down on a random seat and had my relatives all come up to me and ask what-the-hell-i-was-doing-wiping-my-leg-down-in-public. they of course saw my wounds and were nice enough to get me wet wipes, alcohol, and a million band-aids for the wounds. soon, everyone was laughing and they were all in agreement that it was reasons such as this that i was still hopelessly single. like i chose to actually fall face down into ugly shrubbery. hay.

i will have to save up for all the sebo de macho i will have to buy to save the horror that is my left leg. but really, i am not all that affected. i was dulas queen all through high school and college, and have survived more than my share of the most horrible falls a person could ever go through. and that was in front of random frat men and many many college crushes. i guess i was just shocked since this is the first bad fall i have had since i went back to school.

but poise is something you continuously work on. i suppose, in a manner of speaking, was the most poised girl-who-had-fallen-face-first-into-shrubbery-and-was-walking-with-blood-dripping-down-her-leg.