It's funny; after I left the Supreme Court last May, I figured I had had my fill of old Manila (as opposed to Metro Manila, that is), that I had seen enough of the city to last me a lifetime and that whenever I would go there to pick up my wife from her M.A. classes or file a pleading with the SC, I would go with a "been there, seen more than enough of that" air.
Strangely enough, even though I've been there a number of times since I moved jobs, I still feel that affinity towards it that made working there such a pleasant experience for me.
I don't miss my job; with due respect to the people I worked with and for over at the High Court, in the four months I've been with a law firm, I feel I've learned much more than I did from a year and a half with the judiciary.
But I still enjoy driving along Taft, through Paco, and along Roxas. I enjoy driving through Lawton and occasionally through Intramuros (though I never really did have any occasion to go there even when I was with the Court, except to attend a seminar once).
In short, even after a year to soak in the sights and basically get sick of the place, I still feel a sense of enchantment when I set foot in Manila, for all of its flaws.
Makati is kind of growing on me, which is good considering that I'll probably be there for the foreseeable future, but I feel good knowing how much I still cherish one of my favorite things from my childhood.
Brings to mind the classic Hot Dog song...Manila...Manila...
3 comments:
Heh. I know what you mean. My past two jobs (including my present one) seems to keep throwing me in Manila. Despite the lousy traffic, there's a certain grand dame feeling to this place that none of the other cities have.
On the other hand, Makati-- especially the BC area-- always remind me of a place that's separated from reality. ;-)
The good news for me is that Manila has always been a nice place to visit. Now it can stay that way (unless I get appointed to the Supreme Court God knows how many years from now). For my money, though, the best place to work for me, were I given a viable (meaning well-paying) choice of employer, would be Quezon City, either the U.P. Village area where all those NGOs are based, or towards Batasan/Fairview. There's a LOT to be said for the utter tranquility of those places.
Ah yes, lovely QC. Was there last night and I swear I missed the abundance of trees in UP.
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