The Results Are In... Dim The Lights... (2 of 3)

As I saw this guy standing in front of the National Bookstore, as if waiting for someone, I approached him. He is in his early 20's, in blue shirt, wearing his glasses. I stared at him for a few seconds. He looked back and nodded. Nagkaintindihan na kami nun, and sabay kami lumabas ng mall.


DM: "Hindi ko inexpect na ganun ka-traffic."

Honestly, I was a bit pissed off that time. Pinawisan na kilikili ko kahihintay. Haha! Ang usapan kasi na meeting time is 2PM, he was late for like 40 minutes already. But hey, buti nga dumating siya. Or else, hindi pa ko makakapagpa HIV testing ulet.

ako: "Aalis na rin sana ako ng mga 3PM kung hindi ka pa dumating."

Still thankful he came.

3:30PM lang ang cutoff time ng HIV testing sa may RITM Satellite Clinic sa may Remedios. So we decided to take the LRT para makaabot kami before the cutoff time. Siya nagbayad for my train ticket kasi daw late siya. We arrived at Quirino Station a few minutes later, walked a little, and there we were, at the clinic. Madali naman makita yung clinic, right in front of the street, pero not a busy street so pwede na for those who wanted their visit to be a little discreet. 

Pagpasok sa clinic, there were several guys inside of different varieties. (Marami lang daw tao kasi mag-isa lang yung nurse that time, kaya matagal madischarge yung mga patients.) Meron duon na oldies, may brusko, may office guy, and meron isang mama's boy. He's with his mom. How sweet! (Wish I could tell my mom too, my parents, about all these.) Merong discreet, meron din naman effem. Merong couple at lalong meron ding threesome. Tatlo sila magkakasama. But, I guess all of us inside are there for the same purpose. And most of us, I could say, are gay, bisexual, whatever you want to call people like us. Mataas ang nasagap na frequency ng gaydar ko.

While the others were filling out some consent forms and watching TV, The Muppets, The Movie yung palabas, I was waiting for the nurse para maabutan na rin niya ko ng form so that I could start answering them. Then lumabas na nga yung nurse and handed me the consent and some kind of a survey form which I filled out truthfully naman... Tinawag niya all the other boys except me and pinaakyat sa 2nd floor. A little later, bumaba na sila lahat, pagod si nurse, sabog ang buhok, (by the way, babae si nurse), and nakangiti lahat ng boys, mukhang satisfied! Kidding, of course walang ganun na naganap.I guess she gave them pre-counseling stuffs. A little later, isa-isa na tinatawag nung nurse to come inside a little private room, and after a few minutes, lumalabas sila with cotton and micropore tape around their, uhm, antecubital fossa. Sorry, hindi ko alam yung Tagalog for that eh, not even the layman's term in English. Basta dun.

I think we were 7 or 8 na nagpatest that afternoon. Kaya medyo matagal din.

I was the last one who was called, since ako naman yung last na dumating sa group. Bago na nga pala yung palabas. Tapos na yung The Muppets. The Beach na ni Leo diCaprio yung pinapalabas sa TV. Napanood ko na yun. Gusto ko sana ilipat ng channel kasi season finale na ng Survivor: Philippines, and gusto ko siya mapanood. Kaso maraming ibang tao, baka ayaw nila nun.

Ayun na nga, it was my turn already. Pagpasok ng room, pre-counseling stuffs, took my history. At first akala ko doctor din yung nag-iinterview, nurse pala. Kaya, I was wondering kung doctor siya, she looked so young. And maganda naman si ate. Magaan siya kausap and I have told all the necessary info she needed to know. Then she drew blood from me. Akala ko nung una, mintis pa. Baka kinabahan siya kasi nalaman niya na healthcare professional din ako and I know what she's doing. Well, I did not made her feel that way naman. I just let her do her thing. One shot lang naman siya. Good.

It was already around 5PM nung matapos yung interview and blood extraction sa'kin. The nurse told me I could get my result at around 6PM. In fairness, mabilis na rin. Hindi tulad dun sa hospital na una kong pinagkuhaan ng test. Nagbayad pa ako. Eh eto free lang. Paglabas ko ng room, inaya ko si DM to go out and have some merienda. I was freaking hungry na kasi. We went to the nearest convenience store and treated him merienda. Token of appreciation ko na rin for him for accompanying me at the clinic. We talked a little, shared a little background of ourselves hanggang sa malapit na mag 6PM.

Halos wala na tao sa clinic when we returned. Yung ibang nauna sa'kin, they were able to get their result mga 5:30 pa lang. And iba na ulet yung palabas sa TV, Vantage Point na. Napanood ko na rin yun. Maya-maya, bumaba na yung medtech from the 2nd floor, with the envelope, inabot niya dun kay nurse, and we entered the private room again for the result and some post-counseling stuffs.

The results are in. Dim the lights!This is it!

Itutuloy...

Aja!