Slide down a slope—or roll awkwardly if you can’t keep your balance—but you’ll surely be in one piece at the end of it.
It could sound like a far-flung (or cheesy) connection, but the Slidefest Philippines in Filinvest City, Alabang, which I joined on Sunday, taught me one big lesson about life: letting go.
Sorry, this is not about romance or heartbreak, because I have nearly zero expertise on the matter.
But the adventurous could use a couple of seconds sliding down the first ever slip-and-slide in the country and, uh, maybe my little senti episode on April 17, the last day of the two-day fest.
“I lost five years of my life,” said a friend, when I, zooming on a life buoy, bumped him the first time I went down the long slide.
Pure happiness
I did not care that he was angry, because the experience made good on its promise of “1,000 feet of pure happiness.”
I needed the hearty giggle, because for weeks I’ve been chasing deadlines, both minor and life-altering.
My friends and I made it to the venue around 2:30 p.m. for the 1 p.m.-3 p.m. time slot, because none of us estimated the travel time correctly.
By then we managed to do only one slide. (There were four slides, two for VIPs, who enjoyed the slides unlimited times, on the express lane. Only two were available for the others.)
Good thing a few tickets to the 4-6 p.m. session were still available, so we extended the fun. (The sessions began at 7-9 a.m. and went on until 7-9 p.m.)
That’s how we got to explore the great mix of concessionaires—food trucks and stalls, plus novelty items. I bought a hammock that folds into a headrest, which the sellers said was proudly Pinoy-made.
At one point I commented, “Ang daming sponsors.” GrabTaxi gave away waterproof containers, so we were able to bring our phones to the slides. Oishi was giving free goodies and held games. Cocowater gave free packs of what I call “tubig ni Rihanna.” Havaianas was also there, complete with a big balloon in front of the venue.
When the gates finally opened for the 4-6 p.m. slot, droves headed for the slides to the beat of “Finally,” by CeCe Peniston, now popular as a detergent brand’s jingle.
In relation to that, I’ve had an encounter with soap at the bubble slide—the other, shorter kind.
Because I wasn’t prepared to go under the bubbles, I was short of breath and then breathed some in, with my mouth. Mapait.
To be fair, that incident unexpectedly lasted eight long seconds, or as one friend described: “Parang katapusan ng mundo.”
Maybe because of that little shock, I almost drowned at the slide’s catch basin, which was apparently just two feet deep when I stood up.
All that hurt a little, and so did a couple of unexplainable scrapes one friend always got at the end of each slide.
But the speakers that boomed with familiar hits from all corners of the venue just pushed us to go on.
So I lined up again, no matter that the queue was longer. I just had to get a perfect try, I thought. That third and last glide went down smoothly.
While washing off the bubbles at the shower near the end of the slides for the last time, one friend suddenly commented: “Para tayong bata.”
We were, indeed, like kids, but it felt good to just let things be even for a few seconds, of course with the assurance that the slide won’t break you.
We’re excited for more.
