MEDIUM RARE Jullie Y. Daza Do you hear the hooves of the Horses as they approach? War in Ukraine, invasion by Russia. Famine, or in the words of the UN, a food crisis that could lead to a global shortage next year. Pestilence – Covid, dengue, monkeypox, HIV-AIDS, ASF, bird flu. Conquest – think terrorism, insurgency, nuclear weapons, the damnation of the drugged. What is the world coming to? If there’s a fifth Horseman, the coming Apocalypse would be represented by debt, death, taxes, the dust and deluge of climate change. With Earth growing ever smaller, bound by digital infrastructure and instant communication, so it seems to be spinning ever faster, seemingly out of control. What to do? Pray. Let down your hair. Better yet, throw a party, go to a party! What draws you to your friends? “They like you” is the conventional wisdom. In other words, “a friend is someone who likes you,” also the title of a book published a century ago, when life was simpler, sweeter. It turns out, some of one’s best friends are your oldest friends. So when two friends of many decades, Ching playing host for Leo’s birthday invited me to the party at Ching’s Bloom (how prettily, appropriately named), the only thought in my head was to wish the date would come rushing in immediatement. What gorgeous fun to be had, surrounded by all that bling and glamor, the scene not seen for two long years, and now my escape from the pandemic. I sat beside Cris so I could ask her about Katrina Pallon, whose portraits of classy Chinese beauties in their opulent cheongsam have been screen-printed and transferred to Cris’ best-selling Kamiseta line – skirts, T-shirts, jackets. Katrina’s 5 ft by 6 ft paintings are a favorite of collectors, including Cris. Susan sat across from me, pointing to a pair of appliances sitting daintily on the table “to keep us safe from Covid.” To my right was Mariliese, who’d later amaze everyone with her sinuous dance moves as the band went into action, loud and celebratory (this was a week before the May 9 elections). Among the gentlemen present, I recognized only Philip, Lito and then latecomer Tonyboy, the ex-congressman from Davao who would soon be named special assistant to PBBM.