I thought I’d be treating this blog like some unfeeling robot would but then, hey, nothing turns out the way you plan them to be. Besides, I’ve always been sentimental.

Again, sleeping early proved to be too hard a task for me so to kill time, I looked at an old friend’s photo album here in Friendster. 

He was the Varsitarian’s photographer when I joined the student publication.  He and I got close coz he was a Maristian and I was a Scholastican so we eventually treated each other like siblings.  Little sister, his term.  He usually accompanies me in my news coverage. 

I remember in my first few months in the V, I was still adjusting to the workload and my health took a backseat.  He caught me coughing so hard and finding it difficult to breathe. I remember him telling me "Alam mo hindi mauubusan ang gagawin mong storya para sa Varsi. Umuwi ka na at ingatan mo ang sarili mo!"

Looking at the albums of Stephen Patricio, or Kuya Stephen as I used to call him, was like opening up a floodgate of memories for me.  Here’s the caption of one of his pixes to show how much fun I had with their batch.

"rm nila treb at stephen.

Dito nangyari ang mga hindi dapat mangyari…Dito kami nagkakilanlan…nailabas ang mga natatagong init at lamig…parang tinolang linagyan ng patis….dito sumikat ang mga salitang "i maybe drunk but im not stupid"……noong panahong yon I’m really drunk and I’m damn happy to be stupid!…dito naghabulan ang mga dwarves…..naglambingan ang mga dapat hindi maglambingan….Ang panahong naging babae si louie…naging lalake si Carli….Gumanda si A…..pumogi si Treb….kumambyo si Pasco….at naging magkakaibigan kami!"

Isang comment lang: Cute naman talaga si Treb ah. Shhh! Please don’t tell him.

Hai. The notorious Amats Squad.  I used to mess up the turns coz I love filching Louie’s shot. Those who were too wired to sleep would wait for the sunrise at the breakwaters.  Plus we had to beat the early crowd of the sumptuous breakfast buffet Punta Baluarte offered.  I guess that’s why I still profess my love for sunrises.

It wasn’t my first time to drink alcohol (I already revealed in my earlier bulletin posts that it was in Grade 5.  Inside Agnes Policarpio’s coleman was actually brandy-laced iced tea.) but it was my first with the wonderful V peeps.  Genuine friendship.  It was acceptance of the deepest level where I felt that they didn’t treat me like I was 12 years old.  My kuyas and ates were nice.  My editors were instructive. We never pretended to be angels but we weren’t exactly demons.  Nobody tried to pontificate (that was solely Sir Lito’s job), we were just dedicated to our craft and dead honest on how we treat each other.  Yet I learned so much more besides writing in room 112 of the Main Building.  I learned about life and what kind of person I want to be - full of sincerity and passion in everything she does and one who strives hard to help those she meets along the way.

So much has changed. Punta Baluarte is closed now.  I don’t get to see all of my V friends lately. Last time I saw Kuya Stephen was when his dad died. It is an understatement to state that I miss them like hell.  But I’m thankful I saw the photos.  I pray everything will fall into place for all of us.  For now, I pause and remember…