SEEING DOUBLE-D

The first whispers came during cadetship. One of our handlers said I reminded her of a previous cadet. Then another handler said the same thing. Then another. And another.

I shrugged it off. Made the same "ang swerte naman n'ya" jokes over and over. After all, I've reminded people of other people before, from the star of the Buffy spin-off "Angel" (according to the LLDDL, when she's in a generous mood), to the comics' Archie Andrews (according to a law school classmate; I don't get that one either).

Still, I was intrigued. He was pointed out to me from afar, and I guess he had some resemblance to me in terms of height (above average), build (chiseled), eyes (needs glasses, but piercing underneath) and skin tone (sensually white, creamy). I also found out my purported look-alike - who I shall refer to as "Cat" - was himself a lawyer and a diplomat. Another LLDD! Oh, he was really on my turf now!

And then it started happening. More and more people didn't just think I looked like "Cat", they actually thought I was "Cat"! I'd walk into an office and a Senior Official would discuss with me details of a meeting that I never attended (but that "Cat" did). A new cadet would congratulate me for my upcoming foreign posting, when I'm nowhere near eligible (but "Cat" is). A batchmate of mine - who was carpooling with me and had just stepped down from my car - literally did a double take when she saw "Cat" drive up in the parking lot; her perplexed face was somewhere between "why'd the LLDD switch cars?" and "what the f...?"

Turns out, "Cat" was having the same problems. After I returned from China, someone greeted welcome back...to "Cat". Another new cadet engaged "Cat" in an extended conversation in the elevator, all the while calling him by my name.

So we really have a situation here. I could take the low road and just kill off my replicant, ala "The Prestige"... or ... I could take the lower road and assume "Cat's" identity, take his foreign posting, and fly off to a faraway place for a couple of years, ala "Gattaca".

You know what . . . I always liked Uma Thurman. So could I pull it off? Judge for yourself. Here's the only known picture of "Cat" and me in the same room at the same time.

"Cat's" the one on the left.

Or is he?

Bonus Double-D! During the Cebu Summit, I couldn't get over how one of the foreign delegates looked exactly like the LLDDL's youngest sister. Here's the LLDDL's sister below:

And here's a picture I took of the delegate at the summit:

I hope the delegate someday stumbles on this blog, just so she knows I wasn't stalking her around Cebu

It was "Cat"