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I’ve unashamedly posted my high school yearbook pix. All for a good reason, though As most of you are aware, the UP system is going to have its Centennial celebration this year. In line with that, UP Cebu High School is also going to have its grand reunion this July.

I was browsing thru the event website, which made me a bit nostalgic. Through the other batch’s sites, I saw pictures of our professors, and I have to say again, I’m forever grateful. Truly, I wouldn’t have been the person I am today without the foundation that my high school years has built

High school was an awesome, unforgettable experience. High school taught me to look beyond the four walls of our classrooms, and slowly discover my strengths, weaknesses, talents and aspirations. Of course, high school also gave me lifelong friends who’s been there through all these years - happy or not.

One of my favorite professors has unfortunately passed away. To say he was unconventional is an understatement. His forte was math, but he taught us more than that. He taught us about always striving for perfection, and never letting appearances hinder us from becoming the best that we could become. (I did say he was unconventional right - in a wearing-two-different-sock-colors kind of way, hehe).

Most of our professors are still active in helping gawky, unsure high school teeners like I used to be. This grand reunion will be a chance for us to once again express that gratitude.

And ok, to maybe see old crushes. Haha :p

(If you are a former schoolmate, and you want to know more about the grand reunion, check out this website - http://upnamingmahal.blogspot.com/)

Last Christmas was one of the best I had in recent years for several reasons. First of all, most of the family was able to gather together like we often used to… I haven’t seen Ann for a couple of years, and I don’t spend Christmas in Cebu all the time… Second, it was the first time we got to spend it outside the country. Third, we all had such a great time that everyone was in good spirits, in spite of some language barriers (Ann’s kids barely speak English and we don’t speak Mandarin :))..

And none of it wouldn’t have happened without Ann’s preparations and great itinerary, and specially her huge sacrifice to go off work almost unplanned.. After all, it was almost on a whim that we decided to go. Ate Chan just asked me a couple months back whether I wanted to join them in Taiwan for Christmas.. So I thought why not bring the ‘rents as well so they can see Ann and her family since it’s been a while anyways… I also ended up inviting Dong and Tonton, the eldest apo. Eyen is 7months pregnant so the trip was out of the question. Unfortunately, Dong and Tonton’s visas were both denied. Thank goodness for the powers and connections of my Ate’s mother-in-law, though, Dong managed to get his visa (albeit 2x more expensive now, as well as his plane tix) in the nick of time. Ton, on the other hand was a different story, and it was really quite disheartening for us. I wonder though if there was a warning made about his status and possible visa denial to begin with. It would have saved us not just the money but the heartache as well. Definitely lesson learned here.

The circumstances led to our different arrival dates and time, another inconvenience we caused Ann and her family Thankfully, though, after we all arrived, it was mostly a lot of fun, laughter, and well, maybe a weather that was just cold for most of us We did the usual touristy stuff like night markets in Taipei and Taichung (which is cheaper by a couple of dollars), Taipei 101, and we even got to watch and listen to the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. It was definitely a treat, specially for mom who loves music like that.

I always say that a trip to another country is never complete without trying their public transportation.. And we had a lot of that (more than enough for the ‘rents, actually, haha) in Taipei at the Metro transit. I enjoy trains though. And I mostly enjoy just watching the people coming and going… Lots of back stories. Including that of a man who stole from 711 and also went back in the Metro without paying the token needed.

We also had our share of ala-Amazing Race experience. Since we were such a huge group, it was inevitable to lose each other sometimes… And at point, we left Ann  at a station since she got back off thinking we lost papa. Everything was just funny and stressful, fun and tiring. Haha.

The only downside to the night market was that most of the stalls mostly sold winter stuff. But I managed to buy a nice pair of flats and some crazy-colored stockings! Watch out. Harhar.

After our Taipei trip, we all headed back to Hsinchu in time for Christmas, and by then Ate Chan and the rest of the fam also arrived. Christmas dinner was awesome! Mega buffet at a Jap resto. I mostly enjoyed my tempura and dimsum, and then the desserts, of course. Haha.

Then came the biking in the coast of Hsinchu. That was another exhilarating experience. It’s been two years since I last rode Spike, my bike (and I hope to start biking again this year), so it really felt good to be cycling again, albeit unconventionally

After some more shopping, and a lot more eating (we capped our stay with another buffet feast at a barbeque/karaoke resto), it was soon time to go home. The ‘rents and I had committed to attend a wedding of a cousin, and much as I enjoyed the stay, we had to go…

For the most part, the goodbye meant coming to terms once more with the reality that I have loved ones so far away. It would have been perfect if we were all within 5 miles from each other. But we’re not. Instead, we are only comforted by the thought that we live in a boundary-less virtual world, and no matter that it cannot replace the real warmth of a hug or a kiss, we have no other choice but to live with that.

I miss Ann and her kids every day. And one of my dreams is for her children to get to know the other facet of their identities and get to know the rest of their family even better, and for us to do the same as well… It’s a heartbreaking thought but one that I’ve been able to come to terms with. For some reason, life’s like that sometimes. You may have all the love in the world, but they may not necessarily be within your reach at all times. Whether it be your parents, your siblings, significant others or even friends. That’s just the way it is.. and I guess that’s why we all have hearts and minds.. So we will always remember, whenever we choose to remember..

Thanks, Ann, Tom, TJ and AJ for a wonderful Christmas… See you all again soon.

No gimik tonight. Not that I go out that often nowadays. Admittedly, I’m bored. Hahaha. A text from one of my officemates (who was probably finding interesting things to do during our "daytime" as well) reminded me of that. "I’m just feeling bored and wondering if you felt the same way".  Tumpak!

So anyways, I realized I haven’t blogged here since I left the old blue.  A lot has happened, that’s for sure. Things are still exciting, to generalize a bit, and I’m getting the hang of "getting paid for my english accent".. Hahaha. I’m still deciding whether I like that Cambio song or not.

Anyhoo, saw this survey and since I think my high school years were four of the greatest years in my life, I decided to answer

1) Where did you graduate from and what year?
University of the Philippines, 1990

2) Who was your significant other?
His name was Clint. Wahaha. The follies of the young

3) Was your Prom a night to remember?
Unfortunately, don’t remember much. Except that I got hold of an old photo and saw my horrendous curly hair. Wahaha! Cheng Ho was my partner and I think after that year I never saw him again until we found each other in Friendster

4) What was your fave song you danced to the night of Prom?
Argh. No idea.

5) Do you own all four Yearbooks?
We only had 1.

7) What was your fave movie in high school?
Isang Araw Walang Diyos and Oro, Plata, Mata (hahaha, taga-UP nga eh!)

What was your number one choice for college?
UP Diliman

9) What radio stations did you jam out to in high school?
Y101 (I think :))

10) Were you involved in any organisations or clubs?
Almost all of them! Hahaha. My favorites were my theatre arts club and Soccer Club.

11) What was ur fave class in high school?
Photo Journ, Theatre Arts, Lit

12) Who was your big crush in high school?
This guy from a higher batch - Trino Hahaha

13) Would you say you’ve changed a lot since high school?
Zuper

14) What do you miss the most about it?
Hanging out in the soccer field, lying down in the grass and sharing stories.. I miss being young and care-free I also miss our legendary Mr. Lutao

15) Your worst memory of high school?
The intrigues during our CAT Officership training. And specifically one incident that marred my innocence forever!

16) Did you have a car?
Nope. At least I wasn’t driving then. Hatid-sundo pa lang.

17) What were your school colors?
Pink, maroon, white (officially it’s maroon! egad, hahaha!)

18) Who was your fave teacher?
Prof Reyes, who helped me enhance my journalism skills, and Prof Lutao, who will forever remain the most unbeatable character in my high school life!

19) Did you own a cell phone in highschool?
Di pa uso noon yan. Wahaha

20) Did you leave campus for lunch?
Nope. We usually ate in the cafeteria.

21) If so, where was your fave place to go eat?
on special days, we went to Brutus or Ding Qua Qua

22) Were you always late to class?
Never. Our driver always brought my sisters and I to school so we had no excuse

23) Did you ever have to stay for Saturday school?
We didn’t have Saturdays classes

24) Did you ever ditch?
Never. Bait kami noon sobra

25) When it comes time for the reunion will you be there?
Unfortunately, our reunions are few and far in between. But I get together with my best friends as often as possible.

Here’s a tip to all men (and women*, apparently) - don’t forget the flowers Flowers are never tacky nor old… Forget the white roses, though. But then again, that’s just me.

So anyhow, I swore to make this year’s celebration memorable, to make up for the ones lost or forgotten.

For the main course, we decided to share 4 dishes for the 5 of us, which turned out to be still more than we can handle We ordered one of the taverna’s specialties - the mousaka, which is a lasagna-like, eggplant/potato/minced meat dish. It’s cooked in extra virgin oil (which comes from the owner’s plantation), as is everything else on the menu. It’s really delish, though the serving is definitely quite heavy, even for non-dieters

Then we ordered their popular dessert called Baklava. It’s nutty, sugary, and has a taste of cinnamon… I liked it though the other girls were not so much into it… We had no more room for the Greek coffee (that might have went well with the dessert), but certainly something we’ll go back for..

We shelled out around P275 each for the food… It was well worth it!! Even just for the wonderful dinner we had. The food was great, the host (Manos, I guess) was hospitable (he would check in on the guests and he personally assisted in the parking and backing out of the parking, which was kind of a nice touch), the ambiance had this homey feel to it.. Nothing too pretentious. The place is not air-conditioned but it had an authentic feel inside, with the white and blue theme. I wonder though if open-air poses a problem for summer dining with the heat and the fumes. Well, it’s in Tagaytay, and the mountain air is still refreshing. So all is well It’s also on the other side of the road, so no Taal views from this resto. But, well, I’ve seen the view a million times, and while it’s nice and all, the food at the taverna makes up for most of the misses I can think of (sablay daw the restroom, but I didn’t get to check it out, so no opinion on that end).. So, it’s highly recommended, and I will come back for more (I wanna try their gyros/shwarma).

After dinner, we proceeded to the Cupid party at Melrose Place, err, Gov Hills It was the usual crowd, plus a couple of new faces and guests. Nice turn out. Food and drinks - ok. Thanks to Ampost for the sponsorship!! It was helluva fun night, but we missed your antics and Steve Jobs stories!! Hahaha!! And thanks to our housemates (Joseph, and Nevo - yan ha, special mention na), for the heart lollilops, even if you failed to give it to us that night.. Hehehe!! Sweeettttt!!

02/14/07. Now that’s something for the books. Lovely dinner with lovely girlfriends. And (another) great party with the Gov crew. Not bad.

* According to housemate Joseph, he likes getting flowers… I’ve never given flowers to men… hmmm… Food for thought.

The greatest thing about a new year is that notion that we can start our life again with a clean slate. While that is not entirely true, believing it to be true is what’s important.

So this is me, once again full of hope, that this year will be better than the last.

Happy new year, everyone!

May we all get our hearts’ desires.