friends... meeting up and sending off

it's been a busy couple of days/weeks and i failed to write the things that happened in my life here. not even on my journal. and i know i should because in a couple of years, i might forget. and this would make me remember.

we had an unofficial despedida for auds last thursday. unofficial kasi hindi naman talaga planado. we just decided to have one of our videoke nights and everybody said yes so go. it started out with auds, aj, alice, aren and myself (out pala ako kasi ako lang ang hindi "a"). nagulat kami na kasama pala namin si dennis. never namin kasi siyang nakasama lumabas. we knew that he and auds were friends pero sabi ko nga, given the same situation and we were in his place, hindi ako sasama kasi mahihiya ako. all the more na natuwa kami kasi it just showed how much he values his friendship with auds.

moving on...

we decided to go to the videoke in pioneer. not as nice as the one in greenhills pero it was enough to answer our need for good old fun and singing our hearts out. sanay na talaga kami sa isa't isa kasi alam na namin ang mga kakantahin ng bawat isa sa amin. like, si auds ang nagpapasok ng mga kanta ko and ako ang naglalagay ng songs ni aj. when it was dennis' turn, sabi niya, "pwede bang... bumirit?" akala namin joke! little did we know, the guy can really sing! kahit ang signature song ni aaron na "let me be the one", tinapatan! in fairness! :) sabi namin, kelangang maisama ulet siya the next time na mag-videoke. this time, in a better one para marinig talaga yung galing niyang kumanta.

nice one, dennis! :)

***

part of my sending off (i think), i met up with rona last friday for lunch. wala na kasi kaming ibang time to meet with each other since paalis naman siya for vietnam ng sunday to visit her sister. so kahit na lunch na lang at sa mega lang, go pa rin. daming kuwento, updates, chika. rona has always been fun to talk to. at wala pa rin siyang pinagbago. just a more mature and street smart version of the rona i used to know back in college.

i think we really should take time to catch up and reconnect with friends. minsan kasi, we think that they're just there so we contact them when it's convenient or if we feel like it. and then one month goes by... then it becomes a year... and then you wake up and realize that it's been ten years since you last talked to each other and now you don't have anything to say anymore because you don't have any common things. and then the friendship dies. ang sad naman nun, diba? so this is what i realized this past month. take some effort to reconnect with friends and loved ones. that small effort and the little time you spend with them would mean a lot.

***

kuwento ni ate...

they were supposed to go to ocean park in manila. kaya lang, sobrang haba daw ng pila para sa tickets and even when you do get inside, sobrang dami pa rin ng tao. naisip nila, baka hindi na mag-enjoy sina franco and sofia. so sinabi nila na hindi na sila tutuloy.

ate: franco, we're not going to ocean park anymore. let's just go to moa.
franco: i'm sadappointed.
ate: you mean, disappointed.
franco: yes!

so cute!!!! :)

***

romer, one of our friends from our previous company, appeared out of thin air last monday. well the truth was, he went to manila to apply for a visa since he'll be going to the US next month. text and ym brigade comes... kita-kita daw sa fort. and since once in a blue moon lang nandito sa manila si romer, nagkita-kita kami. we went to pier one at the fort strip... i think mainly for beer and yosi for the boys. rumel, lanye and romer were there when i arrived. sumunod sina rose and pogs. pogs wanted to stay on and have donuts and coffee but rumel convinced him na sa bahay na lang niya using one word: Wii. so off we went to rumel's pad. after sixty million u-turns (for some reason, nakalimutan ni rumel kung paano pumunta sa bahay niya), nakarating din kami. guess what we played: tennis. (alvin, irish, kasalanan nyo to. sinanay nyo kami dito). rose was the recognized expert and romer was the new-found loser... wala kasing tinalo si romer. si rumel lang ata ang nakatalo ke rose. but then again, he has all the practice. kanya yung Wii e. so not counted.

we finished at almost 2 am. since may pasok pa kinabukasan, we all decided to call it a day. they'll meet up again after two weeks, when romer comes back to manila. sad, hindi na ako kasali.

another goodbye

after a long while, i finally got to see a friend today. we chat once in a while via our office instant messenger but since he was far away on assignment (and so was i), we never got to spend any time together. unfortunately, when he came home, he already resigned from the company.

i was in shock.

actually, matagal na niyang sinabi sa akin na ayaw na niyang bumalik sa office sa pinas. i just didn't realize it would be this soon.

i gave him a hug when i finally saw him. he's probably one of the very few guy friends i could give a hug to. i also hugged his wife even though it was the first time we've actually met. with all his stories, i just felt like we were also friends. i was talking excitedly, telling him that i was happy for his good fortune. i knew he deserved it and i knew he would be happier there than he is here. i was happy and excited for him because i knew that his dreams can take place in that new company. but after we said goodbye and i returned to my seat, i felt lonely. i was saddened by the fact that we would not see each other at work, not as much as we used to. i was sad because he is my friend and he left. i wanted to cry but i didn't.

we did promise to keep in touch, promised not to forget each other and to remain friends. that's all i can ask for.

he's leaving

no, not on a jetplane and not even on a midnight train. he's just leaving the company and the team. and i am sad. we are all sad. and panic-stricken. because he is like the legs that the team stand on. what are we going to do without him? of course, we'll cope. simply because we have to. but still...

*sigh*

we're going to miss him terribly. hugs and well-wishes all the way to cincinnati.