Sunday, April 04, 2004
DANCING UNDER THE MOON
Erika's Advanced Birthday Dinner in Imus
LIKE last year, we had another small reunion at Erika's birthday. I met with my closest friends from high school at Robinsons Place Imus after watching a movie ["Highway Men"] with my former editor, Kuya Marthy.
We took a jeep and walked across the Imus Public Market earlier this evening and picked up Rom at Lotus. Then the six of us: Lance together with his sister Marchelle, Nikki, Joy, Rom, and Myself squeezed into one tricycle and we went to Erika's house just less than five minutes away.
Erika was there and it was the first time I saw her since we ate out at the Balsa last November. Not too many people were at her house, just her relatives. She was also expecting her boyfriend to come from Manila at the time, but he was running late.
We got food at the buffet inside and seated ourselves at a table on the front lawns. White Christmas lights and a star behind the Mother Mary's Grotto blinked as we ate dinner and listened to soft tunes from Norah Jones to even music from Final Fantasy VII.
Once again -and as usual- it was another memorable evening of catching up. Nikki and Joy started slow dancing and then it got Rom and I standing up to join the two. It was also a full moon, which is something I'd usually know but they pointed it out first before I even came to see it. It was also a full moon at the Balsa last November when we celebrated Joy's birthday. I recall that night I got a little tipsy from the Red Horse and Colt I ordered. Hehe.
There was no drinking of that kind earlier this evening. It was Red Wine from France this time around. We each gave a toast to Erika. Erika's closest friends and her kuya were also there. Erika's boyfriend finally arrived later but he sat at another table.
Nearing that bon voyage
It was a little bittersweet when it came to talking to Marchelle. On the 16th of April, Marchelle and her family will be leaving permanently to the United States. Lance would probably be the only one to return so he could finish his college here. I've known Marchelle ever since her brother Lance and their whole family retired to the Philippines around the time my family retired to the Philippines.
Since then we've been sort of parallel. Two families trying to survive the culture shock... trying to return to the true lifestyle of the Filipino which is not the lifestyle of an American.
That was the most important thing I learned from High School. It wasn't the Calculus or the Language... it was the simple fact that this is our country. This is our real home. We can have a second or third home somewhere else in the world, but there is no other real home than here. Even despite the poverty, the pollution, and the corrupted politics.
I don't know, but I guess certain things really did have to push us. Lance's family is packing up and returning to the States while my family is staying here. I still think my family is half way through establishing itself back in the Philippines. The next half is starting a good business and finishing our house and finishing the payment for the CR-V. Of course there's college for myself and for my brother who starts college in mid-2005.
Well Marchelle, we're going to miss you! Have fun in Florida.
Catching up time
It was like another episode of the finished series Dawson's Creek. There we were catching up. So let me update this blog with an update from everybody. Joy is an incoming 3rd Year Psychology major at UP-Diliman. Nikki is an incoming 3rd Year Chemical Engineering major also at UP-Diliman, not to forget that her course is five years long and not four. Rom is still in MAPUA and is supposedly an incoming 3rd Year Computer Engineering student, but for the past few months he's been confused about it. He's always planning on getting a visa and going abroad to study. I've supported him about it but then it gets blurry again. Lance, my dorm mate also in La Salle, will be an incoming 3rd Year irreg of BS Applied Biology at DLSU-D. This, of course, after he returns from the states where he will leave one or both of his parents behind.
Erika, the birthday girl (April 20th is her birthday, but she celebrated it together with her younger sister whose birthday was on April 3rd), is an incoming 2nd Year Nursing student at Manila Doctors.
We're planning for another get together sometime this week. Nikki's dad picked us up and dropped us in Binakayan. I got on board a mini bus bound for Naic which went through Centennial and Bacao. I got to Tanza and DAC in just 15 minutes. I got home just before 11 o'clock this evening.
Erika's Advanced Birthday Dinner in Imus
LIKE last year, we had another small reunion at Erika's birthday. I met with my closest friends from high school at Robinsons Place Imus after watching a movie ["Highway Men"] with my former editor, Kuya Marthy.
We took a jeep and walked across the Imus Public Market earlier this evening and picked up Rom at Lotus. Then the six of us: Lance together with his sister Marchelle, Nikki, Joy, Rom, and Myself squeezed into one tricycle and we went to Erika's house just less than five minutes away.
Erika was there and it was the first time I saw her since we ate out at the Balsa last November. Not too many people were at her house, just her relatives. She was also expecting her boyfriend to come from Manila at the time, but he was running late.
We got food at the buffet inside and seated ourselves at a table on the front lawns. White Christmas lights and a star behind the Mother Mary's Grotto blinked as we ate dinner and listened to soft tunes from Norah Jones to even music from Final Fantasy VII.
Once again -and as usual- it was another memorable evening of catching up. Nikki and Joy started slow dancing and then it got Rom and I standing up to join the two. It was also a full moon, which is something I'd usually know but they pointed it out first before I even came to see it. It was also a full moon at the Balsa last November when we celebrated Joy's birthday. I recall that night I got a little tipsy from the Red Horse and Colt I ordered. Hehe.
There was no drinking of that kind earlier this evening. It was Red Wine from France this time around. We each gave a toast to Erika. Erika's closest friends and her kuya were also there. Erika's boyfriend finally arrived later but he sat at another table.
Nearing that bon voyage
It was a little bittersweet when it came to talking to Marchelle. On the 16th of April, Marchelle and her family will be leaving permanently to the United States. Lance would probably be the only one to return so he could finish his college here. I've known Marchelle ever since her brother Lance and their whole family retired to the Philippines around the time my family retired to the Philippines.
Since then we've been sort of parallel. Two families trying to survive the culture shock... trying to return to the true lifestyle of the Filipino which is not the lifestyle of an American.
That was the most important thing I learned from High School. It wasn't the Calculus or the Language... it was the simple fact that this is our country. This is our real home. We can have a second or third home somewhere else in the world, but there is no other real home than here. Even despite the poverty, the pollution, and the corrupted politics.
I don't know, but I guess certain things really did have to push us. Lance's family is packing up and returning to the States while my family is staying here. I still think my family is half way through establishing itself back in the Philippines. The next half is starting a good business and finishing our house and finishing the payment for the CR-V. Of course there's college for myself and for my brother who starts college in mid-2005.
Well Marchelle, we're going to miss you! Have fun in Florida.
Catching up time
It was like another episode of the finished series Dawson's Creek. There we were catching up. So let me update this blog with an update from everybody. Joy is an incoming 3rd Year Psychology major at UP-Diliman. Nikki is an incoming 3rd Year Chemical Engineering major also at UP-Diliman, not to forget that her course is five years long and not four. Rom is still in MAPUA and is supposedly an incoming 3rd Year Computer Engineering student, but for the past few months he's been confused about it. He's always planning on getting a visa and going abroad to study. I've supported him about it but then it gets blurry again. Lance, my dorm mate also in La Salle, will be an incoming 3rd Year irreg of BS Applied Biology at DLSU-D. This, of course, after he returns from the states where he will leave one or both of his parents behind.
Erika, the birthday girl (April 20th is her birthday, but she celebrated it together with her younger sister whose birthday was on April 3rd), is an incoming 2nd Year Nursing student at Manila Doctors.
We're planning for another get together sometime this week. Nikki's dad picked us up and dropped us in Binakayan. I got on board a mini bus bound for Naic which went through Centennial and Bacao. I got to Tanza and DAC in just 15 minutes. I got home just before 11 o'clock this evening.
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