AWEFULL

After our gastronomic adventure at Wings n Things we were supposed to accompany Nheng to hail a cab home. As we were walking from Wings n Things to the facade of Home Depot, a pair of arms from behind showed up. It was Ezel, a college friend.

I was supposed to join another friend’s group in a nearby bar after accompanying Nheng at the taxi bay but we decided to join Ezel and the rest of our college friends first. It’s been years since we last saw the gang (awwww… I miss my college years!)

I was surprised to see Boyet there, my friend’s (Che) ex-boyfriend. If I’m not mistaken they were together for 7 years. The group told us it was Boyet’s despedida as he’s leaving again for the Middle East after a quick vacation here in Manila. He is already based there with his girlfriend, also a college acquaintance.

this goes out to my friend.. and the guy beside me

I saw signs of tension in him when we joined the group, but I tried to play comic again just to break the ice. Just like the old times. Of course, I understand where he’s coming from as that was the first time in years that we saw each other again after he broke my friend’s heart. Perhaps he was feeling agitated, or maybe the guilt was still there. Or probably he was afraid that we would make fun of him or make him feel the guilt once more. I don’t know. But whatever it is that he was feeling then became kinda absurd now coz I know in my heart he didn’t have any reason to feel that way anymore. I have forgiven him long ago. Of course, at first I hated him and wanted him to burn in hell. But that’s it.. I grew tired of sowing anger in my heart. After all, he was still a close friend, apart from being my best bud’s boyfriend.

I even admired him for being brutally honest that caused my friend’s heart be shattered into a million pieces. But I guess that was the best way to fix each other’s lives in the long run — breaking up and getting better. And I commend him for making my friend better than ever. For inadvertently teaching her to know the value of independence and maturity.

And now that all wounds are healed, and bruises are gone.. I know she already has a lot to offer to whoever will come along and love her the way she has always been wanting to be loved. Someone who deserves the brand new Che… and my love as well. Hahaha!

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Bargos, Ortigas Home Depot
Pasig City
4.17.2010

Just when I thought my day would be full of crap, I came across this link made known via YM, it’s the photo site of a college classmate, Mapet. I (a self proclaimed photo addict) immediately looked over it and I found some really nice stuff… mejo kumalma naman ang init ng ulo ko.

Check the photos below:

I so so love these photos! I so so love Oble! (uuuy.. Mariel mode).. I miss my college days, my college buddies, my college sweethearts (anyenyenye!)

Thanks to this university, I grew up to be a strong-willed and independent woman (like what GB often tells me). This also gave me my set of extraordinary, beautiful, smart, adventurous and caring BFFs!

Thanks Mapet, these photos walked with me down memory lane.

Sorry, I only cropped the screenshot though I asked for permission to use her photos (she’s using Flickr Pro that’s why I won’t be able to save the hi-res photos) kase nahihiya ako to ask for more.

If you love looking at beautiful photos, check out her Flickr Account, click on her name above and it will direct you to her site.

Enjoy!

I just realized it’s UP Fair/Feb Fair already when I opened my Multiply account and saw several fair albums from my friends. *sniff sniff* (naiinggit ako) The last time I was there was 2 years ago. Ngayon kase I found no reason to come anymore. I lost my major reason why I go there every year. Besides, I’m getting old at di ko na kilala ang mga tao don. Although marami din nag-aaya na “co-hort” ko, still, di ko pa din mafeel na mag-eenjoy pa ako.

And because it’s the love week and also the UP Fair, I’m having some sort of nostalgia nowadays.

Back in college (until the succeeding year after my graduation — wag nyo na tanungin kung anong year yun ) I was the fair’s aficionado. I was the typical university girl who befriends any good (when I say good they are the ones who approach me and share a nice conversation with me without “ere” and “pagnanasa”) people, or most of the time they are friends of my friends who eventually became my friends as well. Because of this warmth personality that I had when I was young (I’m sorry, I became supladita when I got older) I have lots of gimmick buddies and fair pals.

I enjoyed going to the university fair every February of the year (usually falls on the Valentines week). There were lots of gimmicks and unusual things that were happening during this week long celebration, though most of them were cheesy like the “harana” with matching flowers and chocolates. The fraternity which organizes this kind of activity is my ex’s; the weird thing is… he never gave me flowers. Sabi lang nya everytime I’d go to their booth at the field “Yan mamili ka na kung ano gusto mo” (sabay turo sa mga tira-tirang flowers from Baguio na napagpilian na at di na ni-arrange.) Wahahahaha!

I remember when I was in my freshman year some guys knocked and tried to enter my Math 11 class exactly on Valentines Day with bouquet of white roses (tama ba 2nd? haha! ) and my professor told them “mamaya na yan” (sabay sarado ng pinto ng malakas ampotek sapul sa muka nila). Come the end of the class, the guys approached me and asked me “ikaw ba si Annacel?” Tumango lang ako and they handed me the flowers and chocolates. After a few minutes somebody texted me saying “Ah ikaw pala pagbibigyan nila ng flowers. Kawawang mga bata, ang babata pa malabo na mata. Akalain mong ikaw pa bigyan.” Okay, he sounded so pa-cute.. mas lalo na nakakainis when I found out that it was my Math professor. Ewww… (pero sa totoo lang bata pa sya at gwaping din naman ha.. hahaha..) Patapos na ang semester when I found out na it was him. Yung # na yun matagal din nagtetext sa kin, madalas nakakatakot na kase mga text nya tipong “Hi, you’re the one in blue at McDo right now, aren’t you?” tsaka tipong “You look pretty in gray and black” tapos di ko alam kung sino sya. Stalker mode e. I just asked my friend/classmate to help me figure it out.

Ang nakakatawa pa… the guy who gave me flowers never became my boyfriend (bagets pa kase sya nun.. college na ko, HS pa lang sya) — and naging boyfriend ko yung brod nung nasa flower delivery. Haha!  But the guy who liked me first and gave me flowers eventually became my friend.. until now. Nakakasama ko pa minsan sa gimmick.

I miss my college days. I miss the fair. I miss my gimmick buddies. I miss my college friends. I miss my brods and sisses. I miss the “pamorningan” booze. I miss the green green grass on the green green grass of home (haha jowk! )

I’m not bitter ha. I just miss the romance in the air. Hindi sa akin ha.. sa ibang tao. Yung mga cute na couple na nakikita ko sa paligid. Ang sarap nila tingnan eh. Parang yung nasa entry lang ni Soulful (Click HERE) …. ang cute eh.. ang dami ganun sa campus.. (pero mga bagets ha ) nakakamiss.

Masarap talaga balikan ang kabataan. Yung mga feel good na memories nung araw. Ganito yata talaga ang pakiramdam ng tumatanda. Parang nauubusan na ng masasayang moments. Tapos hanggang daydream na lang. Hahaha! Oh well, pagbigyan ang may quarter life crisis.

Sabay ang background music ko dito “…someone to watch over me..” Hahaha!

Amae and I agreed to jog at UP Diliman. We could’ve gone to Ultra and run, but I suggested that we go to UP instead. I don’t know, maybe I just want to explore again the campus. Run, walk, run, walk.. until I get tired. I think the last time that I was here was in 2005.

We just let the sun set while resting at Sunken, watching the kids and their folks play soccer. By the time the sun fades, we were heading to Mang Larry’s Isawan at 3pesos na pala ang isang stick ng isaw na manok ngayon (pero sa Paskong Pasiklab ay umaabot ng 5piso.. o well, panahon pa ni kopong-kopong yun ha..)

Sat again while watching soccer and eating isaw with matching Mountain Dew. Then we went running.

I just missed this place. I missed monay with cheese and BJ (buko juice haller?!!!)  infront of Benitez.. I never had the chance to take pictures of this place before..syempre diba mejo kakahiya kapag estudyante tapos photoshoot kayo sa campus. Haha. Just like in Elbi, recently lang ako nakapagpicture. To think that I already owned a camera at the time (hahaha.. nung time na yun madatung pa ko pang-gadget.. ngayon bokya na! )

After our “jogging session” we proceeded to TriNoMa.. ummm.. I think once or twice pa lang ako napunta dito e. Hahahaa.. turista! So we wandered a bit then had dinner at North Park. Ayun naman eh kunwari healthy living tapos foodtrip din naman ang ending.

See.. pwede naman ako mag-ubos ng oras ng walang alak na kasama ah? Hmmm…

More Photos: Click HERE

Yesterday I got an SMS from a friend that our college Dean, Ms. Corazon Lamug (Social Sciences in UPLB) passed away while snorkeling at Siete Pecados in Palawan. It was a part of her island hopping activity in Coron. She was drowned. I have yet to hear the whole story but my friends and I are talking about going to Los Banos one of these days to visit her remains at St. Therese Chapel inside the UPLB Campus.

We were supposedly in Coron that day as well but due to some work matters, our trip was postponed for November. If I was there and I saw the incident, maybe I won’t swim until I get over the trauma. I have a weak heart when it comes to people sturggling with death (or even accident or masugatan man lang) infront of me. Even those people that I really don’t know. It would bother me for sure.

Nyweis, I know she’s already happy up there. Just pray for her soul.

Take care of her Lord.

Yesterday Amae, Che and I attended Maria Ysabela’s (Meekee & Juanay’s daughter) christening in Los Banos. Unfortunately we were not able attend the church ceremonies. We were so bangag after the Elbi Nights in Makati that we got up so late. Nevertheless, we were still able to come to the reception at UPCO.

But before coming to UPCO, we had a “photoshoot” first around the campus.. we opted to walk and have some sort of nostalgia. Yiheee…!!!

First stop: St. Therese Chapel (sorry for being a stubborn Ninang I wasn’t able to attend the baptism). The place is somehow memorable to Gogolosh since two (naging 2.5 because of Che) of the members (Sugar & Nheng) used to live there when we were in college). Minsan nakikisleep over din kame kahit alam namin na bawal.. ahahahaha.. It was also a place where we would kill time while waiting for our class (eto na kase pinakamalapit na pwede tambayan kesa naman umuwi pa sa kanya-kanya naming apartment). Ubos ang oras namin sa foodtrips (favorite ni Sugar yung PANSIT ULAM! hahaha.. kase naman nise-save money for Sun City wahahaha). Nakakatawa din dahil dito magugulat na lang ako pag palabas ng dorm at may biglang susulpot nakatago sa mga nakapark na car at lalabas na may hawak na bulaklak sabay sabi “Hi Annacel!” wahahaha.. Haaayy baket nga ba noon ay pwede na ko magtayo ng flower shop sa dami ng nagsusupply ng bulaklak sa kin noon. Baket ngayon Lord maski bulaklak ng kalabasa o plastik na bulaklak wala?! Waaahhh.. di naman ako panget Lord diba? Hahaha…

After a short stay at the chapel, we tracked the dirt road kung saan kame nagdadaan before from Humanities dahil yun ang short cut. Noong panahon namin hindi pa sementado ang dirt road (helloww kaya nga dirt road eh) pero I think ginagawa na sya nung time na yun. Well, we’re not that old after all.. Hekhek! I took photos of CDL where we started our “career” in preschool teaching (well, only Nheng and Noelle had the chance to pursue this profession).

Tapos napadaan din ako dun sa tambayan ng org ko sa tapat ng PNB  kung saan naging isa akong salbaheng amuyong, hindi marunong sumunod sa mga masters kaya binubugbog. Hehehe.

Next stop: PhySci. We had photoshoot at Eagles’ tambayan na nagmove na pala ng konti. I took shot of Che pero syempre papatalo ba naman ako e I used to be an Eagle feelingera. hahaha. Madaming memories ang tambayan ng Eagles. Sa loob ng halos tatlong taon ay eto ang naging pugad ko ng pag-ibig, sakit, away at pananakit. Hahaha. At makakalimutan ko ba naman ang mga taong naging kaibigan ko dito? Whatever happened I know naging totoong kaibigan ko sila. I miss you Darlo injanero sa Elbi Nights!

Finally we reached Oble sa tapat ng Humanities. When we were still students, nakakahiya magtake ng pictures kay Oble. Pero ngayon bawal mangialam sa min kase turista kame! Kanya-kanyang trip yan! Kahit noon sa Humanities ako nakatambay, sobrang bihirang lumapit ako sa estatwa ni Oble. Umupo kame saglit sa Hum Steps.. ma-feel man lang ang pagiging nostalgic na noon araw2 kame nakaupo sa baitang ng hagdan. At hlos lahat ng dumaan at tumambay dun ay kakilala namin. Ang Humanities sa tingin ko ang isa sa pinakamasayang building sa UPLB.. at syempre naman kase nandun kame e. Hahaha. joke!

Then we headed to Socius tambayan sa gilid ng Hum. Nagpicture sa isang spot na meron din kameng picture nung mga lampayatot pa kame. Masaya noon kase halos kumpleto kame, si Dane nandun pa. Si Gny lang ang wala. Ngayon kameng tatlo na lang ni Amae at Che na lang. So sad.

Tapos eto na nagpunta na kame sa mala-Lunetang Freedom Park ng UPLB. Ang saya.. ang dami nagbago. May mga benches na sa paligid. Yung mga damo green na green. Hintayin nyo at pagdating ng Feb Fair brown na naman ulit sila dahil makakalbo sila. Hehe. Ang sarap pa rin ng hangin. Ang sarap ng feeling lumanghap ng sariwang hangin. At ang sarap sa pakiramdam na dito at home na at home ka, parang kung pwede lang matulog dito ginawa ko na. Habang naglalakad nga kame napatanong sila (ewan ko kung sino kay Amae at Che) kung ano yung unforgettable memory dito sa field. Pwera yung memories na makamundo twing Feb Fair, one thing that I won’t forget about this field is nung nakasama ko si Little Drummer boy here. Sarap din pala nung ganun lang.. gabi, higa kayo sa damuhan, nood ng stars sa langit.. yung tipong walang bastusan (nyahahahah!) tapos wala, chikahan lang.. Kakamiss din ng ganung “date” noh? Tsuk.

Stop muna kame dito sa field dahil we went to Ysa & Mara’s party na. There we met a lot of old friends. Si Patrick Mallari na tatay na tatay na. Na parang kelan lang walang ginawa sa Elbi kundi makipagbasagan ng mukha. Ngayon yung anak nya syang-sya.. sabi nga ni Amae very Patrick nung ikikiss sya at nakanguso ng sobra. Sayang lang at di ko nacapture yung moment.. ang cute pa naman sana nun. Lalo na at yung ama nya ay may nabuong paghanga kay Amae dati.. ahem.. ahem.. Nandun din ang mga footbolero at tropa ni kalbo like Memen na tatay na tatay na din (ang laki ng tiyan!) and his daughter na sobrnag cute at charming at walang pinipiling taong samahan. Ayun ang tagal nya nakatambay kay Tita Che. Si Jaz at ang kanyang dalaga nang anak na si Ging. Si Ate Jean at si Tokits na going strong. Haaayy.. sino pa ba.. hmmm.. sayang lang at late na dumating si Abooh kung kelan pauwi na kame. Sinupladuhan pa ko. Ayun wala tuloy kame picture together.

Pagbaba from UPCO another picturan sa may mga puno ng ilang-ilang (what’s the name of tha park again? yung may kalabaw and fish pond.. sorry naman hehe). I love the colorful boxes at the pond, sayang lang kase I’m sure kapag gabi ang ganda-ganda nila. Doon ko din nalaman na may SocSci 3 na pala (Gender & Sexuality) dahil may nakita akong isang poster about it. So what happened to HFDS 121 (tama ba?) diba Human Sexuality naman sya? So what’s the difference? Enyweis, picture naman sa centennial logo.. I’m so sorry joke lang po ang paghawak ko sa birdie ni oble. Walang halong malisya.. hahaha..

Picture taking’s finally over sa gate ng campus kase paubos na din battery ng camera ko.

Dumaan muna kame sa Mer-nels along Grove to buy cakes na iniuwi ko dito sa Manila.  Naalala ko dati ang Grove na lagi kong nilalakad nung time na nakatira pa kame sa Umali. Every Thursday night makikita mo nun punong-puno ng tao sa Grove dahil di na magkasya sa IC’s na dati naming gimikan. Dalawang pangyayari ang di ko makakalimutan sa Grove. Una: may isang nilalang na nabugbog ng isang nilalang dito dahil sa akin. Pero hindi ko naman talaga sinabi kay nilalang #2 na hellow bugbugin mo sya para sa akin. As in tipong nasa loob na ng kotse si nilalang #1 e nilulusot pa ni nilalang #2 ang kamao nya sa bintana ng kotse para sapakin ulit si nilalang #1. Tsktsk. At ang isa pang di malilimutang pangyayari ay ang madalas na pagbabangayan namin ni Rasta Man dito sa kalyeng ito, saksi ang lugar na ito kung paano kame magmurahan at magbugbugan sa kalye.. Hahaha.. too much information.

Haaay.. ang saya-saya kahit tagaktak ang pawis ko at off ang suot ko dahil naka-knitted top ako yun pala e sobrang init dun. Nanlalagkit talaga ako at libagin na ang ichura sa dami ng nilakad at nilibot namin. Pero okay lang. Worth it naman.

Ngayon masasabi ko handa na akong bumalik ulit dito. Tingnan natin sa Fair kung talagang kayang-kaya ko na. Ikaw Che?

More Photos: Click HERE

It’s a great feeling to see your former classmates, ex (talagang kasama e noh haha), friends of your ex, friends, orgmates, classmates having fun. Plus the music that brought you together.I miss ELBI!!! Nothing compares to the good times that we shared there. No pretensions, bawal ang korni, bawal ang maarte.. lahat relax lang at walang konyohan sa mundo!

No offense meant noh.. but I also had the privilege to study in UP Diliman.. but I guess Elbi is different. Mas warm ang dating. Mas at home ako. At mas feel na feel kong naging totoong tao ako. Walang halong kaartehan sa katawan!

I Love you ELBI! Mabuhay ka!

Gweilos Makati 9.19.2008

More Photos: Click HERE