I read a letter today. Wish I could post it but I cant. But it touched me so much that I ended up discussing it with the friend who showed me the letter. And I ended up writing this blog. The person who wrote it is also a silver jubilarian of his high school. Different school from mine. Well... we were almost classmates actually. I needed to read that letter, TODAY. Right now.
Yesterday I once again spent the entire day making one silly totally senseless but hilarious movie on the computer. Just for kicks. Practice, I suppose. Then I hit a snag. I didnt quit though. I worked it out till 11 in the evening. Not solving the problem.
I glanced at the many many DVDs on the table. We did that. One whole day. No... almost a month. Im still texting, emailing, sending these, sending that to classmates. Not done yet. We will never be done "celebrating" that weekend in July. I look at the DVDs again. Joel had asked,"How much will one copy cost?"... I honestly never thought of that. Getting paid for it. True, I have spent so much already for the DVDs, the cases, covers, commuting, so much time away from the kids. But getting paid for the work? I reasoned... this isnt really MY work. In fact, I didnt take a single picture during the parade and parties. I only have about 20 pictures contributed to the compilation of 1,322. The effort? Spent 3 days editing some pics, you know, a little tweaking here and there. Adjusting the lights. Contrast. 1,322 images. 3 days putting them all in proper and perfect sequence. No big. Really. Just a little spinning of the head once in awhile. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!
It was crazy.
Tiring perhaps... but happy tiring.
So... 'why work so hard (for the batch)?'.
No dramatics please.
Because I want to. Not because I need to. Unlike all reasons I had in the past.
This one... I want to.
They are afterall the biggest part of my growing up years. If my father have not changed his mind back in 1980 and let me transfer to another school, I know the next 4 years would have been very different... and what I am now would have been...not this. Still good I believe, but just, different. But that's how it was. I stayed in the same school for 4 more years. Breathed and lived life alongside the same classmates from elementary, even pre-school. And Im loving how it things turned out for me. A long and winding road to today and now. So... why work so hard for the people you spent more than 4 years in one school 25 years ago? Because I love them. How they treated me back then (and now). How they showed me respect, my worth. Even in those times some would put me down, I realize now that I have risen from that pit of despair, have gained strength, used it to become what I am today. I thank them for that.
So what am I today?
No professional title for sure. Hehehe.
Does a person with a good family, heart, happy life, contented, sensible head count?
Cause that is how I am today.
College wasnt as frightening and confusing as it was cut out to be. Simply because I already had my bags of will and common sense from that 4 years of high school. Contributed by each and every classmate, teacher, janitor, nun, events, affairs.
And to think I had no reason at all for almost not going. It would have been the greatest mistake, not to go. There were those who wanted to but couldnt. And yet, there I was, taking the opportunity for granted. hehehe.
Thank YOU for the guidance.

"..I have already been rewarded."
I now want to give back.

Need to let the brain slow down now. Too much editing, compiling, photos, videos and according to Fred, 'things you refer to as ET AL.' HEHEHE

As early as 8am yesterday we had been scrapping up some bits to put together for a music slideshow. And by 6pm, I think we did it.
Music fades out, fades in. We have memorized every single detail of every picture. And for Fred, he have become an expert of nailing down those mili-seconds of the time line.
Ok, that's it.
Like really it. Hehehe
Not complaining though but my LSS which I thought Id be bringing to the ends of the earth has just been replaced. HAHAHAHAHA
And that is a clear indication it's all done. We did a good job.
Music slideshow will be shipped soon. Dont know when. Ive not decided on a cover photo yet.
Thank YOU!!!
We did it again.
Thank YOU for enduring friendships.
Thank YOU for the patience.
Thank YOU for the free lunch. hehehe. (Thanks Fred)
Oh the photos above? Fred had a Macbook laying around, just waiting for me. While it was his turn to do the sound editing (which was most of the time actually), I fooled around with the Mac. Amazed with its photobooth application. I made one hilarious video but apparently the file's too big too upload so right now as Im writing this blog, Im trying to whack my brain how to compress movie files. It should be elementary but I cant seem to figure it out yet.
Do you ever get the feeling that the minute you finish a project you think it's the coolest thing on earth? Then you stop, rest and think that maybe the others wouldnt be as impressed? hehehe. Oh well, I believe we did a pretty good job.
After all the crazy happy frenzy of the past weeks, no more reunions, no scheduled parties... then I lose some weight!!! (why didnt they go away BEFORE the reunions and parties and trips???HAhahaha.
That's me, all excited and ready to clean up the slideshow details. Next thing I know the clock says 5.30 in the afternoon. Im still on the same chair. Still with the Mac. Thank goodness for the Mac. hahahahaha!

Photo compilation... all 1,322 images from our blasting time of a homecoming..! Photo cover by the way is a picture taken by Frederick. The guy who I always harass for my techy needs.
It didnt actually take me a week. Calling, texting and emailing people from all over the country was easy breezy... about 1,672 pictures came flooding in. Sorting thru each and every one of them was the toxic part. Kept me busy the past week. I even logged off from all chat systems. Sifting thru and putting them into the proper sequence of the event took me 4 days. And I had the greatest time doing it!!!
I only took pictures during the mass Saturday morning. After that I didnt even take my small camera out, in fact I left both cameras in my luggage at home at all times. So it was amusing to see everyone else' photos with me in them. I actually got the time line thru 2 people's change of dresses (one was a dancer and one was the singer so each had at least two changes of "costumes" hehehe). The colors of their dresses actually made the sequencing a lot easier for me. Going thru them thousand photos pulled me even deeper into the core of the whole weekend. Making any attempt to get the adrenaline off the soonest possible time ever so futile. I will NOT get over that weekend so easily...not for a long time.
I downloaded about 30 songs from the 1980s... and I realized that I remembered each and every face associated with each song. All of them places I had been to during high school. Each conversation I had with everyone while those songs were playing. Any unanswered question disappeared. Every single step I made 25 years ago making sense now. Kinda weirded me out. I smiled.
Could you believe that? 25 years of love, laughter, hate, tears and redemption...
all in these CD's.
Shipment of these CD's begin today. So bye for now! Gotta run!
And oh, by the way...
Thank YOU!!!
Thank YOU for the guidance.
We did it.

This is sum it all up…

Enjoy, because we did.

• I've Had The Time of My Life by Dirty Dancing

More Dirty Dancing music on iLike

St. Peter's College Batch 1984 Dance Production
Strutting to the beat of 80's music is pure awesomeness...
What finale to my homecoming blog could be more fitting

Congratulations to Batch 84 and thanks everyone for celebrating our special day with us!
Until next year...


Many many thanks to Sheila Ygnacio for taking the video and to Fred for posting it.

Right after lunch/tsismisan at a nearby fastfood chain (we were too hungry to look for anything else, anywhere else, of course we had another session of "catching up"... translation: tsismisan pa rin!!! Techy savvy my friend in the background, she is updating her website thru her mobile! Me, I had to grab someone else' laptop (I will just be drooling over the RED Vivienne Tam HP mini note hehehe...or until someone comes down from heaven and sponsors me one!!! HAHAHA) to start my blog. ...behold... I had 2 cups of coffee...
So I thought the day would go by without much ado from my friend antihistamine. Afterall, I did get thru sitting on the stage for the first part of the mass (although I didnt trust myself that much actually, I kept reminding the boy behind me to nudge me a bit when my turn comes... was able to keep a straight voice and face while reading the Responsorial Psalm and take good photos during the rest of the mass.
Things got a bit whoozy though right after. I actually fell asleep a little while standing behind a post (in respect to the lecturer). Till I heard Fred clicking away with his camera at my expense!!! HAHAHAHA . Busted anyway!
Decided to sit down and listen to what was going on at the front.
And this happens.

Ahihihihi...
A "good samaritan" woke me up at the end of the lecture.

These are the reasons of the wonderful unpreparedness of a trip to my birth place Ormoc City. My 25th High School Homecoming!!! And when you belong to the Silver Jubilarian class it could only mean one thing... HAHAHAHA do the math! This is the weekend that we had been preparing for the past year. Our turn now. St. Peter's College graduates of 1984!!! Nobody expected me to be home, deciding only to make the trip the night before. What they knew was that I wasnt coming. Some friends they are!!! Texting and calling me the very week prior just to ask if I was really going to miss the whole shebang? Or have I picked out my cloths already? What trip was I taking? ...my soul couldnt rest till I had my ticket home in my hand that evening. When I saw the sincere glow of surprise in their eyes, the warmth in everyone's hugs and the shrill sound of their happy voices shouting my name I said to myself...
'this is why I came home. Them."
When you live in a small enough town, chances are your high school classmates are the very same ones you attended pre-school and elementary school with. We danced, swayed, moved our hands and bodies to the music of Prince's "When Doves Cry", Eurythmics' "Here Comes the Rain Again" and to the irrestible beat of Cyndi Lauper. We horded on anything Little Twin Stars, My Melody and Hello Kitty. Afternoons, particularly at 1pm, meant Chemistry or Spanish classes, either way, we couldnt escape Mrs. M!!! Fridays were cool...CAT (sort of military training thingy) drills and stuff...cool! Or not. HAHAHAHA. The pic with me in red and sunglasses, that was taken at Cambalading, our camping grounds where we had war games!!! Which gave me a reason (and the chance) to hit my enemy (--ies) or crush (who I would deliberately seek...) with water bombs!!! HAHAHAHAHA!



That means we had been friends since we were all 4 years old!!! With the case of most of us, our parents went to and graduated from the very same school. And for most of us, it was a conscious effort...or fate (?) that we kept in touch since getting our diplomas in March 1984. I wrote letters (yes, letters!!!) to several friends all throughout college. Putting photos in an envelope would be expensive, so I drew how I looked like so they wouldnt forget me. We held annual reunions most especially during Christmas (it was mandatory to go home for Christmas no matter where you are). With the birth of cellphones, my monthly bills would almost have the label "too much texting high school friends" on them! HAHAHAHA. My high school friends comprise 60% of my phone and email address book! Even if I was dreading the assignment of reading the Responsorial Psalm during the thanksgiving mass ( freaked me out --Im not a stage person hehe) I couldnt believe I almost (consciously) missed my own Silver Jubilee reunion.
25 years... and to this day I simply havent figured out yet why I was assigned to play the piano when we sang our graduation song! Hehehe that was confusing...why me? I was the best in dodging my piano lessons. I had the most number of absences!!! Hehehe...I hope nobody remembers when I hit the wrong (last) note during practice when I saw my crush walk into the gym!!! HAHAHAHA!!! Intramurals week was the best! I would always thank the stars above whenever I make it to the volleyball team (or any team for that matter) coz it meant I didnt have to wear any short skirt of the cheering squad! hehehe.... Wow. my first singing contest! HAHAHAHA!!! Who knew? Not me! One night of practicing "Dito Ba?" and beating a last minute replacement singer of the other faction (Ernest came down with fever) didnt exactly make me a famous pop star in the country, now did it?! HAHAHAHA!!!
They should also revise a rule:
The 11th Outstanding Student awardee SHOULD be given an award...or else she...ehem, or he just might get traumatized and scarred for life. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (I believe I turned out pretty well actually. HAHAHAHA)

Thanks to my friend, Fred, I also have pictures! hehehe. You can see me and Fred during the mass up there. Someone took a shot at us. At 7 years old, Fred and I were snapped together as partners during our First Holy Communion. The girl Im hugging up there was my roommate during college!!! Congratulations to Batch 84!!! A job very very well done! The most blastest homecoming party and weekend ever!!! So many stories, as if I have not chatted and emailed most of them regularly. So many discoveries! So much fun! No, no no... way beyong FUN!!! The Superdome was amazing! I have never been inside there before. It was beautiful!!! I was hungry when I got there but was too excited to eat! Wonderful to be with them juniors, sophomores and freshies!!! Classmates from other countries came home.

We could still enumerate how the class roll call sounded..."Pajaron, Palacio, Patanao, Paylado, Penserga, Pepito..." HAHAHAHA!

25 years...and I know exactly where those years went. Each one have their stories. Sad and happy. I took the time to talk and hold the hand of those I had not been very close to in school, look into their eyes and ask how they were. Some, as destiny had it, were not as fortunate like most. But they have managed to come, celebrate and be with one another. But there was no need to shed tears for them because they are happy. In simple and sometimes trying ways, they are happy. And it makes me happy. I found joy in talking with a girl who belonged in another class. We did not share common memories. We moved in different circles 25 years ago. That was the most amazing thing about it coz she told me a hundred things she did in high school which were new to me. I never knew she was this, she was that, she went to this, she saw that. She offered me another view of life in high school. I spent more than 7 years in the same school with her and yet everything she told me was totally new!!! I felt sucked into a beautiful and happy time warp. Just me and her talking about the past. How she saw me move in my own 'circle' (that is such a politically incorrect term hehe). She made me see my life in high school like never before. Everything makes more sense now.

May I suggest to those who have yet to celebrate their 25th: that year would probably the one time you would attend a reunion especially if you live in another country. When you come home... seek those outside your circle of friends from high school. Say hi to those from the other sections. Say hi to your most hated. Dont just stick with your old "barkada". Say hi to the parents of your classmates! Know the children of your teachers. Look for the old janitor or the auxiliary worker. Sit in the canteen. Take the time to stand in the quadrangle, look up and hear the cheers of the many Intramurals that were. And if you still remember how the big bell sounded each morning 25 years ago, you can be assured that guy pulling the rope is Rev. Dennis Soon, of Batch 1984.

See everyone again in 25 years?
See everyone NEXT YEAR is more like it!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA

Thank you Boss for making the weekend the greatest success in history! Hehehehe...

Photo credits to Charisse, Imelda, Clyde, Gay, Fred and Tatit.

Alarm goes off at 4.30am. And so Alyssa travels to Ormoc in her pajamas so she wouldnt have to go thru the motions of changing at 5 in the morning. Carried her to the car and off we go.... New schedule says first trip leaves at 5.45am. It was dark. But we are at the port so the skies have began to show hints of sunrise...lovely colors of the clouds and the sky. Here we go. Off to Ormoc for the weekend. Alyssa's gonna miss school today. Terminal was not even half full. Who would want to be travelling at 5.45 in the morning anyway..? Me, apparently. I figured I'd still be able to catch some sleep before the series of events get going.



Business class was almost empty. Good, peace and quiet. Boat left before 6am. The sky is a beautiful hue of blue now. Passing the bridge. HAHAHA... there's another story there. I stay awake the whole 2hours and 45minute-trip white Alyssa goes back to sleep, only waking up when the snacks were given, but she didnt touch them anyway. Here we go. Not everyone knows Im coming. Im not going to regret this trip. It's gonna be fun. Take care of this trip Boss. It's be great to see old friends, old school. I dont even have anything to wear. Old shoes. I like this feeling of unpreparedness. So not me. But Im starting to like it. At least right now I am. Hehehehe. It's gonna be good. Fun! I have absolutely no clue what to do and where to go. And Im cool with that. I am looking forward to unpreparedness! Hehehehe

Off to somewhere again. Hehehe. My trusty green luggage will be chogaling along yet another terminal. Just got my ticket this afternoon. My travel wallet has not been cleaned out yet. There's still foreign currency in there somewhere. Wow, look at my bag. What a mess. I have never been so disorganized like that! Hahaha! Travelling is always been a big production for me, especially with the kids' stuff. But not today. Although this trip had been planned since last year. Had been excited about it actually. But things got kinda crazy (fun crazy) the past months and I completely took this trip for granted. Only told about 4 friends that Im cancelling. And these four friends...they never stopped bombarding me with messages like..."you're not really going?" .."what trip will you be taking?"..."you have something to wear now?"..."why on earth are you NOT going?" ...hahaha! Some friends you are! HAHAHAHA!!! With those kind of messages, how could I not go now??? Huhuhu. As of 6am this morning I had been adamanant that there is absolutely and definitely no way I was going on this trip.
I can just hear Joel laughing at me now.
HAHAHAHAHA!
But the hands of destiny had another idea. Schedule got cleared. Alyssa will have to miss a P.E. class tomorrow (Im taking her along). Checked schedules of those so-called friends from out of town. Have not thought of what to wear. What to do. But Im packed. Did it in 10 minutes, tops. Without a checklist, mind you. So if Ive somehow forgotten to put a pair of pants in there, good luck to me then. Hehehe...
I still have a deadline to meet tonight. Another one tomorrow. Hmmm... this is so not me. I will be staring at the computer tomorrow while we will have our meeting and dinner. Now, that is so me.
I need to be organized. I always need to move systematically. Di ba Marie? Hehehe ...but maybe this would be good for me. Unpreparedness. Since when did being unprepared become a good thing? I'll found out this weekend. HAHAHAHA!!!
.
Keep it simple, right? Take them as they come. A good kind of unpreparedness. Happy.
Whose grand idea was it to move the first trip to 5:45 in the morning anyway? Huhuhu! It only means either Alyssa will be travelling in her pajamas tomorrow or she would have to sleep in travelling cloths tonight.

Hey...Im going. I know...
This is a good idea.
Grab the moment right? It's one weekend that's never gonna come back.
Thanks Boss.
You've probably been hearing prayers from right and left that I will go during the past days, huh? hehehehe...
Things always come clearer when YOU speak.
Thanks.