That thing called ‘tanda mo na’

Dear Tita Witty,

I’m a 51-year-old bachelor.  I fell in love with an officemate half my age, she’s 21 years old. She rejected me when I began courting her last Christmas.

 From August to November, our officemates began pairing and teasing “Angge” and me because of our similar interests like biblical quotes, photography and poetry. I tried asking her out but was turned down many times over including going with her to church.

 She was hinting that she’s not interested in me even if our workmates, from the bosses to the security officers, encouraged me to fight for my feelings because they noticed she was playing hard to get. I decided to email her my proposal of how I really felt as a way of getting confirmation.

 At the moment, yours truly is confused whether to move on and get over or fight for my feelings. Thank you for responding.

 Sincerely yours,

 “Vanjoe”

Dear Vanjoe,

I am so sorry, but in case you didn’t notice, one-third of your letter is all about her turning you down. I take it that she’s really not interested. Kahit pa pati mga janitor (Nakakaloka nga pala,  bakit may opinion ang mga boss at security guards niyo tungkol dito?) sa building niyo na “Sir, nagpapakipot lang ‘yan.”, kung siya na mismo ang nagsabi  na hindi niya gusto, sa kanya ka maniwala. Don’t take the security guards’ word for it. You’ve probably heard that we women have this thinking na kami dapat ang hinahabol. That is true, in a sense. Tipong ‘wag agad-agad magreply, ‘wag maging clingy, (na hirap na hirap din naman naming gawin) etc.  But if she was a bit interested she would’ve said yes to a date or two by now. And she would’ve stopped calling you “Sir’ or answering with “opo”.

You  have to consider the huge age gap. While age may just be a number, it may be different to a 21-year-old girl. She has just graduated and about to take on the world. She has her whole life ahead of her. Ang daming pangarap, ang daming plano — dating a much older man may not be one of them. At ikaw rin naman, sure ka bang keri mo ang drama ng mga bagets? Eh ‘yung mga jump shot habang naka-bikini sa Boracay na ipopost niya sa Facebook? ‘Yung dilemma kung bagay ba ang yellow top sa white bottom o mukha ba siyang itlog? Sasamahan mo ba siya sa Justin Bieber concerts? What I mean is we also have to be realistic and practical.

Sana ay may naitulong ako. Kung wala, gusto mo bang sumulat kay Vic Sotto?

XOXO,

Tita Witty