Sunday, September 07, 2003
RAIN, FRAP, A PICTURE, AND SPIRA
The Damage Report - Year 2 - Ending Week #13
Background Music: "Suteki De Ni" from FFX
NOTE: This is a weekly blog entry that summarizes a series of events of a finished week in and around La Salle.
I'M carrying the heaviest of eye bags today (Sunday) and I've got researching to do so I'll make this weekly summary short.
Basically last Monday I surfaced back into La Salle around late afternoon. No information on any AB Comm Channel meetings that day so I just went to my dorm room and fixed things up. In the evening I went to Lance's room to play FFX some more.
Tuesday came and the examination papers rolled right in. By far the results are more disappointing than the Preliminary term. I wanted to stop linear time, sink into an ocean of Vodka, and listen to Coldplay for a whole afternoon.
I was forced to lower my standard in order to keep my head in place. If I maintained that "dream standard" the disappointment of the Midterm exams would take over me and depress me even more. And to say, I'm not exactly depressed right now... I'm just tired. Tired of sleeping late. Tired of walking across the distances in the campus grounds. Tired of information overload.
Anyways, I played FFX again in the evening in Lance's room until 3 o'clock in the morning on Wednesday. I was to wake up to attend the Polo Picture Taking Contest (Polo, the mint) with my classmates.
Exactly like that famous commercial
On Wednesday I woke up in the middle of the Nescafe commercial about the Men's Dormitory. And, I am not, in any way, joking.
The lights were still off but the morning light was blue instead of yellow orange. I opened my eyes to adjust to the natural dim blue light that was everywhere.
Outside I heard a few people passing by "Walaaaaaang Pasoooook!!" just like in the commercial. I put my head down hoping it would come true, and it did. Basil barged in and yelled "There's no classes today!!"
He came back a few more times as I dozed off asleep again, exhausted. We were going to Festival Supermall with the rest of the tropa. One time I opened my eyes and saw a number of dorm mates sitting on the other side of my bed and on Alex's bed watching Scary Movie 2 on my small TV.
Outside the backwindow you can hear the echos of video games being played down the hall and some others sound tripping to rock music in one place, hip hop and rap in another. It was a damn good morning where everyone was present to have fun at the dorms. No one had class and no one prepared to go home.
Eventually I got up and took a shower, and later ended up with Abbie and the rest outside the gate of our dorm compound. We waited a while longer for Aldrich, who ended up not going in the end.
We waited outside for the rest of the guys to finish playing at Cyberkada and then Tony came from the dormitories at the last minute. We all boarded a jeep and headed for the Hi-Way and at the Hi-Way we got into a van in the form of an L-300.... of which we had all to ourselves since we were so many.
About fifty speedbumps and a dozen or so subdivisions (the driver of the FX-van didn't take the south luzon highway and southwoods shortcut) Gail and I were dizzy as we got off the vehicle at Festival.
At Festival we went around and ate at Racks where Ben, the founder of the tropa who transfered to a school in Laguna, gave everyone the middle finger since we were all 3 hours late. Abbie got angry and then it was chaos in some way. But good thing later on Abbie and Ben made up over at Starbucks in the evening.
We had a Studio Picture at Kameraworld, which produces the best Studio pictures I've ever seen... no more to Digital.. the Digital paper easily gets scraped. While waiting, we went around the mall. We went to Starbucks and enjoyed a Frap. We relaxed there.
Problems of the tropa
We all had problems at the time. About the definition of a tropa. Basically I think the whole tropa thing to us is overstated. Tropa's shouldn't have membership or exact count. Tropa's don't require having a name or a birthday or a leader. To me, a tropa is just a circle of friends that hang out often. The kind of friends you'd see everyday or every night at the dorms. To me, I'm satisfied with that.
The problem in the tropa is that we set expectations that we can have dinners with five square tables connected so we'd look like we're copying Jesus and his disciples in the famous painting of "The Last Supper". Yes, we've eaten like that so many times... at KFC, McDo, Inazalle... and when the tables used decreases in any way, we get disappointed. "Oh, the rest didn't come..." etc.
Well, so that's the problem. We're trying to adopt an inner circle in the tropa. Because I don't believe we can all go to the same place at the same time. We barely fit in the same FX-van these days! Even going back to the dorms after dinner from Waltermart, we still have to wait for the emptiest Area C jeepnee to accomodate all of us.
So at Starbucks, Lance suggested we try to talk and hang out in smaller groups of four or five instead of ten or fifteen. We wearn't that many anyways at Starbucks... the others went back to the dorm (Karl and them). We were about ten and we sat at three different tables.
Just then, Tony tapped me on the shoulder. He told me to look at the name of the entrance gate of the all. The other gates are "Alabang Zapote Entrance" and "Pixie Forest Entrance". And then the one next to Starbucks, since we were enjoying our fraps in the outdoor seats... was named "Promenade Entrance".
Promenade?! Just like the title of the joint-blog for the tropa. "The Promenade". Where we walk together... down that long, long acacia-tree lined street at night.
That was a sweet thing to see. It complimented the "getting to know each other MORE" mood we all had... or at least, I had.
***
Obsessed souls at the weighing machine
On the way to picking up the pictures I convinced the others to step onto the scale... that one Fortune telling device near Tower Records and the Elevator on the ground floor. It was fun since everyone tried it.
We picked up the pictures and I distributed them and I liked the results.
We then rushed to the vans area and got on board our own van, once again. We were only a few though so we did have to wait for more people. But, since it was almost 8pm and curfew was to be strictly observed (it's still a normal school night) Lance asked if everyone was willing to pay for the other seats.
From Php 35 to get to Dasma, we each spent Php 65 to rent the whole van. The driver agreed and we payed over double the original amount to get the vehicle on the road.
As our van backed up, a group of girls (that could've fit in exactly with us) arrived. Their faces in panic. They looked familiar to Lance. They were also on-campus dormers! We didn't know what to do... we had already payed but it wasn't too late to get them in... we felt so guilty as we drove away. You should've seen the panic in those girls eyes... they were also running late.
Well, that counts as a tropa moment.
Back at La Salle we made it 15 minutes before curfew (read: 8:45pm) and then I went to the dorms to play FFX some more in Lance's room.
Sleep deprivation turns into karma
I woke up an hour late after my first class on Thursday. (Speech)
I fell back asleep and then woke up again, 5 minutes before my Major subject.
I decided to make it to Retorika, but after falling asleep a second time I woke up 30 minutes late for Retorika. Forget the morning classes!
I made it to Constitution and Computer and after classes our group practiced at empty JFH 401 for the Egyptian Dance in PHED103's Midterm Practical. In the evening we ate out at McDo. We wearn't complete there. Alex and Len left early, both of them were tired. The rest of us returned to the dorms.
A lot of walking and talking
I walked to PLS from the dorms, which is nearly a kilometer's worth, wearing my PE shorts and PE shirt. PLS was still undergoing re-furnishing for the upcoming Unigames in October and I saw Jeremy walking. We both headed for the GDO but before we went down the steps of the Grand Stand (also under continued construction) classmates Ayesha and Apple told us to go to CBA Rooftop.
Oh man. Jeremy and I basically walked around the whole Oval just to get to the tallest building on campus. We ascended the steps and by the fourth floor we just wanted to collapse.
The rooftop (enclosed) was different. Well, one thing... it looked like we were in some skyscraper since the only windows were 2 feet high from the flooring on the two lengthiest sides.
Suddenly our President got a txt and our Instructor called everyone back to the GDO. Ahhhhhh.
We were all so tired so we complained to our Instructor and we didn't have our practical on that day.
Back at the dorms I fixed up my things and joined Keith as I surfaced at the office of the Heraldo Filipino for the first time in a week. I then secured a Special Test Permit. Keith and I spoke about so many things... from cars... to grades... to even the classroom scene... for like three hours worth around the campus.
We went to REED103 and sang this one song that I believe is the least I like of all the songs we've sung so far. But, that's not what the class thinks... they were singing it after class as they headed for the 2nd floor CR at JFH. The song sounded, well, no offense, cheesy.
I rushed to the admin building with Keith to pay for our Special Test Permits after receiving the signatures from Associate Dean Aspra (who was only available 2pm onwards). I rushed back to the classroom for Art Appreciation and we discussed about a upcoming Musical Broadway. Oh my god. That's when it hit me that we had so many things to do this finals term. We were dismissed afterwards.
Sentimental conclusion of the school week
"Suteki de ni", theme song of Final Fantasy X, could be heard playing in my head after class. The rains of the whole week had stopped but the ground was still wet. The air was a bit cool and the sky around 5:45pm on Friday was sunset after a storm. Everywhere I went I saw people I knew... it was one of those moments when it seems all the stars align for you to meet everyone you know one last time before the week ends.
I retreated to the dorms and then Abbie, Gail and Basil, Lance and Kyle came and we all ate out at Greenwich. This was our first night out at Greenwich/Jollybee at Waltermart Dasma. We've always eaten our dinners at McDo or KFC or across the street at Pizza Hut.
Basil treated us all. Since it was his and Gail's 5th Monthsary. HAPPY 5TH MONTHSARY GUYS!!! First it was pizza, then it was individual dishes, then two rounds of dessert. Woah Basil... we left Greenwich two pounds heavier than when we entered.
At the dorms we did the drop the girls to the e-house thing. It extended for thirty minutes over a debate Lance had about a certain Missy and Mae that belong to our tropa. I've never seen those two girls ever before!
Three Guys to One Girl Ratio?!
Yes, it is true there is definantly no balance in our tropa on the ratio of boys to girls and vice versa. I believe it would be nice to have more girls in the tropa... but these girls need to hang out with us. If Abbie, Gail, and Len had a few girl friends like their room mates who would love to hang out with us, that is absolutely fine with me. But to name certain people as part of our tropa who we've never seen before (or who we've seen once, but only one time) is just wrong. Lance is just speaking on behalf of Ben though. Missy and Mae are friends of Ninz, Ninz is part of our tropa... but hindi naabutan namin lahat sila Missy at Mae.
Good night.
I played FFX in my dorm room for the first time, since Lance let me borrow his PS2 since Kevin took his TV home in room F4. I played until 4 in the morning.
Special Exam with Abbie
I fell asleep and woke up and took a shower and headed for JFH 403 to take up my Special Exam in Computer. A lot of people were there, but who cares! I saw Natz, Endrea, and Kate Quisumbing enter.
I waited for Abbie (same exam, but in JFH 401) and we ended up surfing together at NEBO. I was supposed to post a supplement blog entry in Brodcst Msktir and [The Promenade] but blogger didn't load from the computer there.
We returned to La Salle and ordered some chinese food for lunch at Square canteen for take out. We said bye to each other and I ate my food in my dorm room while putting my feet up and resting my head on my two big pillows. I played FFX the whole afternoon until I was picked up (late by the way) around 5pm.
Jason rode with us up to 7-11 since he had so many bags and his pick-up wouldn't be coming.
***
Musculados at Robinsons Dasmarinas
On the way home we stopped by the brand new Robinsons Place Dasmarinas. It opened last Wednesday, September 3. We wearn't supposed to stop, but the Musculados were there and my mom wanted to watch. The whole parking lot was teeming with so many people and a stage was set up so the place looked exciting.
One thing led to another and we eventually stayed at the new mall for nearly two hours instead of ten minutes. It's a cute mall... I didn't set big expectations on it. I'm not disappointed in these new features of Dasmarinas... right across the street was a future SM City Dasmarinas... so it's still exciting and disappointments can be found no where.
I took some pictures, crazy eh? Well, syempre... it's our first time in this new mall and the mall still had certain unfinished places that I just wanted to capture on camera. I posted two pictures in this entry. Notice what's there and what isn't.
We got home at night time and that ended this hectic, rainy, week.
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