maganda sa RTPI kasi...

“Nyahahaha wala kasi kayong religion na subject kaya di mo alam” sabi sa akin ng misis ko habang pinagtatawanan ako sa aking kamangmangan tungkol sa mga santo.

“Eh kahit naman may religion kayong subject, mga asal ewan ang mga istudyante sa inyo nyuk-nyuk-nyuk” bawi ko habang umiilag sa mga pinggan at kutsarang binabato nya.

“Tsaka may laya naman kaming pumili ng mga subjects na gusto naming pag-aralan” pahabol ko pagkatapos alisin ang tinidor na tumusok sa aking tenga.

Totoo naman, isa sa mga nagustuhan ko sa RTPI ay ang mga practical arts at elective classes na ikaw mismo ang pipili. Hindi ko alam kung ilang high school sa buong lalawigan ng Rizal ang nagbibigay ng ganitong kalayaan sa kanilang mag-aaral.

Mahilig ako sa mga drawing-drawing kaya natural na para sa akin ang piliin ang drafting class bilang aking practical arts. Dun ako natuto ng mga perspective drawings, magkulay gamit ang poster at water color, gumamit ng ruler na may angle, at dun ko din nalaman na mas maganda ang Staedtler tech pen kesa sa Rotring.

Syempre, pagandahan kami ng pagkukulay sa mga perspective drawings namin. Kapag maganda ang plate mo, masasabit pa ito sa pader. Natural, laging nandun ang kay Reta. Nakaswerte na din naman akong makita ang ginawa kong plate dun. Kung water color na nasa tube ang karaniwan naming gamit, kakaiba naman si Roehl. Water color na tablet ang ginagamit nya, mas madali daw kasi sa kanyang pagpantayin ang kulay. To each his own. Ang drafting class na ito ay naging architectural drafting nung port yir, under sa instructor naming kamukha ni Benjie Paras. Nakagawa pa kami ng blue print ng design ng bahay. Kaso, binigay ko kay Glenda Calixto yun blue print ko. Glenda, naitago mo pa ba?

Ang galing kasi, fourth year high, nakagawa na kami ng simpleng design. Pero nung nakita ko ang mga ginawang transistor radio ng mga Baras boys na kumuha ng Electronics, parang nainggit ako. Kami papel-papel lang, sa kanila, tumutunog. Ako’y hanga aba.

Ang pinagtataka ko, bakit wala atang kumuha sa amin ng Woodworking class? Mga goons daw kasi ang nasa woodworking, e mga lelembot-lembot ata karamihan sa amin. Nyeeeeeeeeee…

Pagdating sa mga elective subjects, magkakaiba din kaming magkaklase. Ang mga may utak, kumukuha ng Advance Mathematics, Statistics, Steno. Magagamit daw kasi iyon sa college. Duh! Sabi nga, I’ll “burn the bridge when I get there” hehe… Di kasi ako numerically-inclined, kaya dun ako sa walang numbers (ironically, nag-engineering ako nung college tas nag shift sa accounting. Go figure).

May kinuha akong elective class nun, yun tungkol sa current events (uhmmmm, ano nga ba yun?) Sabi kasi ni Edge, maganda daw kuhanin yun kasi magka-klase lang daw kapag may mga mahahalagang pangyayaring nagaganap. Huwaw! Sounds like my kind o’thing. And if it sounds too good to be true, malamang ay ganun na nga. Dahil nagkaklase pa rin naman, natural, kahit walang mga historical events na nagaganap. Okay lang, masaya naman. Kamukha pa ni Joey Ayala ang teacher namin.

Syempre, peborit ko ang Dev. Comm. Si Sir Sumikat Santiago ata ang coolest teacher sa RTPI. Parang colleague lang kung ituring kami, maliban na lang kapag nagagalit kasi namumula ang buong mukha pati ang mga mata. Lyn, peace tayo ha, wag mo ko sumbong hehe… Dahil din sa Dev Com, nakamit ko ang aking 15 minute of fame, which according to Andy Warhol, all of us will have in our lifetime. Shiet, nagamit ko na pala ang akin.

“Hoy, lumabas ka dyan! Di pa tayo tapos” sigaw sa akin ng misis ko habang pinipilit nyang buksan ang cabinet na aking pinagtataguan.

Sana pala, may self defense na subject kami sa RTPI.

The Brotherhood of the Hog

*written by the Edge

1991. Tacloban, Leyte was the farthest place we’d ever been. But there we were, Filoy, Allan and I for the National Secondary Schools Press Conference. Astray, we were awestruck by its people and history. While the place seemed great, the food sucked. But one nasty lunch unexpectedly etched our memories there (and friendship too) in stone.

After getting our fill with silent fury (we actually heard our esophagus cursing), we callously mixed what was left of our food, water and soda in one bowl (partly out of frustration over the scarcity of a decent meal and partly because of our failure to make a dent on the bounty of pretty delegates before us). Without a sound, our little culinary affair rolled like a wordless script (like a Chaplin act). We stirred our potent brew to a boil like cloaked warlocks on a spell. Only our eyes spoke, our thoughts scattered.

Unmindful of the world and the crowd milling about, one after the other we took a swig of the silly concoction with eyes closed like neophyte wine connoisseurs. With one gulp the world suddenly made no sense. Chaos thumped reason. Dumb and foolish, the mushy blend somehow established a distinct fraternity. Funny, but a pact was sealed. And it wasn’t with blood nor tears.

Andres and his buddies forged their pact by drinking their own blood. Let’s give it to them for being bold and fearless. But we have a stronger stomach to forge ours by chugging hog chow.


(Postscript: Deo was also a delegate but wasn’t with us during that fateful meal. However this writer shall consider him a brother pending his day with the hog bowl.)

a portrait of a lady

*written by a Gold for a Narra

The long eyelesahes of her gleaming eyes,
did give me my inspiration.
The mystic smile that she was blessed,
was the object of my devotion.
She is the girl I so dearly loved.
She is whom I have waited for.
Like an angel from up above,
in my despair, she calms my storm.
So many times I wish to tell thee about what I feel.
but in those times fear always beats me.
The reason my lips kept sealed.
To my sorrow i wrote this poem
about you i most adored.
My love for you is the emblem
of the emotion that hurt me more.

--oOo--

A song for marlon hehehe
ahhh... memories

sabayang recitation

First year high. Winners for RTPI’s choral recitation competition were being announced. We, students of I-Daffodil weren’t expected to win, being freshmen and all, and I guess we ourselves weren’t expecting to win either. And we didn’t. But we did our best, that’s okay for now. No big deal.

Second year, same competition. A whole year in RTPI under our belt, we went to the choral competition with more confidence, with more conviction to do better than the year before. After reciting “I Am A Filipino”, we were a bit giddy. Hey, we did real well; we might just pull an upset and win this one. “The winner is… II-Rizal”. We won! What could be more “Filipino” than for the Rizal section to win the competition? Against all odds, we did it.

Buoyed by the victory from the previous year, we know we have a very good chance to win back-to-back. Our confidence was strong as the Molave tree, but we didn’t take the competitions lightly. “Not yet, Rizal, not yet. Sleep not in peace: There are a thousand waters to be spanned; There are a thousand mountains to be crossed; There are a thousand crosses to be borne…” we thundered, loud and in unison inside the Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Tanghalang Sining (EARTS). And after all was said and done, we, III-gold, were back-to-back champions.

The final year. We can make history with a three-peat at the choral recitation competition. As the top section of the senior class, we were expected to win but the IV-Molave was also good, as with the top section of the junior and sophomore classes. The piece was the poem “Mactan-1521” and that’s what we were feeling, the whole Spanish armada out to get our title. But we won’t lose without a fight. And we didn’t lose.

IV-Nara, back-to-back-to-back, three-peat choral recitation champion!

Yeah, those were good memories. RTPI high school life wouldn’t be complete without talking about those choral competitions. Those were the times that the whole class becomes one. With one goal. But those wins didn’t come easy.

And Philip knows this all too well.

For he was the sculptor who molded the class’ different strong personalities to move in one direction. He was the conductor who weaved his Fantasia-baton that made this orchestra a three-time champion. Yes, he was also the dictator who terrorized us whenever we’re not producing the results he expected of us.

First year, during our practice, out of frustration, he threw a flower vase. Deo was unfortunate enough to be at the wrong place and at the wrong time. He got wet.

Second year, Philip yelled and angrily threw an adobe brick which landed in front of the-still-unfortunate Deo.

Third year, again, out of frustration, Philip hurled a broken chair during a practice at the school rooftop. After a near miss of last year, this time, the chair hit Deo. The projectile wasn’t aimed at Deo and he knew that, it was just that unfortunate for him to be at those exact places.

Fourth year, a pattern was developing. Every year, Philip would get angry with the class and would throw something, anything. And Deo was always in the way of the thrown object. Having this in mind, Deo was then very alert during practices. But Philip, surprisingly, didn’t throw anything that year.

It was hard to be in Philip’s shoes in those times. It was hard to come up with an idea for a winning performance and it was much harder to lead this class in those practices. But he did it.

I don’t know if we, as a class, expressed our gratitude to Philip back then. I don’t know if Philip knew how much we appreciated all his efforts. But then again, it wouldn’t be too late to say thank you now, is it?

Thanks Philip.

---oOo---

Kung may choral recitation sa English, may Sabayang Pagbigkas competition din tuwing Linggo ng Wika.

Unang taon, mga baguhan pa tayo nun, mga virgin pagdating sa mga kompetisyong ganun. Hindi tayo nanalo. Okay lang. May susunod pang taon.

Sekendyir, alam nating kaya nating manalo dahil nagawa natin ito sa choral recitation. Kaya nating mangarap na manalo at talunin ang mga mas matatanda sa atin. Pero, subalit, datapwat, hindi tayo nanalo/ Okay lang yun, we can’t win them all. Give chance to others muna.

Ikatlong taon, ito na ang taon na mananalo tayo sa Sabayang Pagbigkas, sabi natin sa ating mga sarili nun. Nag-ensayo tayong mabuti. Inaabot pa ng gabi sa praktis. No sacrifices, no glory. Yan ang motto natin. At ang nagwagi! Ewan ko, basta hindi tayo. Olats. Shiet! Nadaya tayo! May favoritism. Yan ang mga alibis natin. Maghanda kayong lahat next year.

Fourth year, IV-Narra, the proud, the mighty. Imposibleng mabokya tayo sa Sabayang Pagbigkas. Ibubuhos na ang lahat ng makakayanan. There is no tomorrow dahil huling taon na natin sa RTPI. It’s now or never! And the winner… (drum roll) …

Umuwi tayong talunan nun. Pakers. “Who cares about Sabayang Pagbigkas? Mas prestigious ata ang choral recitation, no? Bleah! La wenta” we silently, bitterly said to ourselves as we bid RTPI goodbye.

a walk to remember

The RTPI cafeteria doesn’t remind me of food. Maybe because the food there, at least during our time, was bland at best. The cafeteria reminds me of Ricky Dionisio and his glasses of water. Every afternoon, before going home to Cardona, Ricky would go to the cafeteria and drink water. Eight full glasses. Straight.

Besides, I don’t eat lunch in the cafeteria. I always eat out. Sa gilid ng school nyuk nyuk nyuk… Tatlo lang ang mahahalagang kainan sa gilid ng school.

If you’re a guy, you almost always eat at 3-Js, near the school gate. Paksiw na lechon ang fave ko dun. Kainan daw ng mga tunay na lalaki ang 3-Js probably because only guys eat there. I dunno why girls don’t eat at 3-Js. When eating there though, you should always be aware of your surroundings. You might become an eatery-thief and you didn’t even know it. Like yung isang kaklase natin na nakalimutan ko na. When he opened his bag after having lunch at 3-Js, he saw spoon, pork, and a plastic cup inside, amoy 3-Js, courtesy of a few classmates. The best was when someone put in a patis bottle in some poor guy’s bag. What a poor guy. Eh kasi naman, di ko naman alam na may nilagay sila sa bag ko…

A few steps away from 3-Js was this other eatery (X1). I forgot its name. It’s situated at the back of this particular house. Two things that reminds me of this place: Russian Radio and saba-con-yelo. They have this jukebox and those damn Narra people knows only one song, Russian Radio. And the saba-con-yelo? Nothin’ special about it, and I don’t know why that desert reminds me of that place. Girls also eat here, and those guys who no longer have vacant seats at 3-Js. I always walk slowly to 3-Js so I wouldn’t have a seat and I’ll be “forced” to eat there and be with some pretty girls from the other classes. Este--- from our class pala hehehe errr….

Then the third eatery (X2), a few steps away from X1. I forgot its name also (was that “Guevara’s”?), but for all I know, it might as well be called Heaven’s Eatery because mga anak lang ng diyos ang kumakain dun. The beautiful people. Only the pretty ones. The chosen few, the elite. It’s almost an exclusive girls’ place. But I remember, I had mirienda there with Ethel once, one lucky afternoon for me.

But if you’ll ask me what do those three eateries at the side of the school reminds me of?

It reminds me of this walk I had one time, with one of our classmate I had a huge hard-on, I mean… crush on. I wouldnt name names, she will remain anonymous to protect her integrity hehe... Anyway, we were on our way home then. It was starting to rain. Instead of riding on a tricycle or a jeepney waiting near the gate, we decided to walk all the way to the jeepney terminal at the town center, sharing one umbrella. Under one umbrella, ella, ella, ey, ey…

Errrr... where was I? Oh yeah...

I was holding the umbrella, she was holding the umbrella and we were practically holding hands and pretending not to notice it. There were a few students walking too, ahead of us. When we reached 3-Js, this big drunken student-goon walked towards a girl in front of us but she was walking fast and the goon shifted his attention to us. But fortunately (for the goon), his friends pulled him away (or I would have beaten the living shit out if him hah!) and apologized to me in behalf of his drunk friend. Whew! Swerte.

When we reached X1, a guy coming out of that place pulled out his umbrella. It was those type that when you pushed a button at the handle, it would automatically open. But the wind was starting to howl then, and it blew his umbrella away, leaving only the handle in is hand. He run after his loose umbrella all the way to X2. My crush and I had a good laugh, while not letting go of our umbrella of course. And oh yeah, she gave me her hankerchief with her embroidered name on it, to wipe the rain (and the stupid smile) off my face.

Now I’m asking you, is this story about those eateries or just my shameless way of reminiscing lost high-school romance?

Don’t answer it…

*UPDATE
X1 - Jing said X1 is called "Fun Nook"

bagne's the name

Bagne! Bagne! Bagne!

One of the coolest nicknames I've ever heard. There can only be one “Bagne” so you know you’ll be unique if your name’s Bagne. I assume it will be pronounced as Bag’en when he’s somewhere in Europe.

Of course, we all know Bagne is Jonathan Flores but probably, what most of us doesn’t know is how he came to be called “Bagne”. Papano nga ba?

Another name that I won’t forget is Jose Lover Trinidad. Wouldn’t it be cool if you’re tagged as a “lover” ever since you’re a little toddler? Hell, a priest gave him permission to use that name when he was baptized. Uhmmm, teka. Nabinyagan ka na Lover, no?

“Reta” is a cool nickname. Alvin Retamar is a cool guy, especially when he’s working his magic with his pencil and watercolor. I assume Edgar changed his name to “Edge” to have a… ummmm— edge. Roehl is called “Ogie the pogi” because, well, he is pogi… or maybe because he looks like Ogie Alcasid?

If I’m a girl, I would love to have Milambini’s name. If I’m not mistaken, her brother’s name is Pat, short for Patnubay and their little sister’s name is Bathalani. Daddy Tiamson is one hell of an imaginative guy when it comes to his children’s names.

But the best of them all?

“Diablo”

That’s Mr. Dennis Javillo to you. If my memory serves me right, one of our teachers mispronounced Dennis’ surname as “Diablo”. We all had a good laugh back then and I guess the name stuck.

Bow down to Diablo you insolent, little creatures.

high school life / batch 91

*sinulat ito ni Gil, ninakaw ko sa friendster nya hehe

Hay naku kakamiss talaga high school life..more than 10 years na pala nakakalipas.

Pero kahit matagal na panahon na mga nagdaan di ko pa rin malilimutan ang mga pinagsamahan mga adventures and misadventures ng Batch 91.

Sino ba makakalimot sa rivalry ng III-Gold at III- Silver / IV-Narra at IV- Molave? Hindi paawat sa mga oral declamation, Florante At Laura, gaya gaya puto maya contests at kung ano ano pang contests. Buti na lang nananalo kami kahit papano, galing kasing umarte ni Lissete Tica kasama na ang mga Katipuneros sa background. At swerte din kami sa mga dancers namin sa Elvis and James presentation ng III-Gold. Nadala ng sleeveless blouse at may spraynet na buhok..

Naalala ko pa mga grupo at kabarkada kong BRat Boys, notorious sa panonood ng Triple x na betamax pagkatapos magpiknik at uminom ng fanta sa bahay nila Dennis. Nandyan din ang JR GEMS, barkadahan ng Cardona Girls at Binangonan Boys. At syempre ang RAGE compose of Roehl, Alejandro (anak ni mayor), Gil and Eric. With matching RAGE t-shirts at L.A. gear na sapatos pa yan ha habang naglalakad magkasabay sa Mateo Hall.

Namimiss ko din kumain sa Guevarras. Sampung piso pa lang ata ang ulam noon at di pa uso ang fasfood sa Morong, dahil ang pinakamalapit na Jollibee ay sa Edsa Crossing pa.

Wala pang Gloria Resign noon pero may Valdriz Resign naman. Di pa uso cellfone o pager non, kasi kahit PLDT phone bihira kang makakita maliban lang sa bahay nila Giselle Gonzales. Wala pang playstation non pero at least may atari sila Deo Aterado. Wala ding FX non pero may Blue Thunder naman, ang paboritong jeep ng mga estudyante. Wala pang Creepwalk non, pero may Roger Rabbit at Running man na tinuro pa sa kin si Oliver (alagang alaga namin si Puti..)bago mag concert ang NeoColors. Sikat na si Gary Valenciano noon, sikat pa rin hanggang ngayon.

Naalala ko din ang mga girls na pinangarap ko maging kabiyak ng aking buhay, kaso torpe talaga ako non..Crush ko talaga ang mala-anghel na kagandahan ng Vidanes sisters..(Angelica and Gemma, in alphabetical order yan) ..si Gladys Ignacio a.k.a. Goldie,na beauty and brains..at si Maricel Santos ang black beauty ng Teresa na naging ka close ko lang after graduation sa dahil sa isang overnight swimming namin.

Takot ako dati sa mga Officers kasi kailangan ko pang mag side step pag nakakasalubong ko sila. Minsan kahit officer-officeran nagsisidestep din ako. Takot din ako sa grupo nila Stalin, kasi ang lalaki ng kanilang katawan. Kung pwede ngang mag side step din ako sa kanila gagawin ko.

Haay sarap talagang maalala mga nakaraan. Nakakamiss. Lalo na ang mga taong nakasama at naging kaibigan mo. Miss ko na Class President ko, si Janet Alfonso huli kong nakita sa Mcdo Crossing way back 1995 pa ata. Miss ko din mga barkada ko, sila Peggy, Sir Dennis Inocencio, Edzel, and Francis Mangulabnan. Miss ko mga taga Cardona, si Matet, si Rica the crying Lady, si Estacio, si Glad na perslab ko...

Yung ibang kabatchmates ko nakikita ko rin, minsan sa Mrt, minsan sa megamall, minsan sa Karaoke, minsan sa bilihan ng pirated cd, kaso dyahe mag approach kasi nakapustura sila samantalang ako dami dalang gamit. Mga pasalubong sa Lola ko sa Binangonan. Minsan na rin kasi ako umuwi, wala na kasing byaheng bus na San Ildefonso Lines. Mura kasi don.

Musta na lang kila Julian Joseph, future Congressman 1st District of Rizal, sa aking ex si Lyn Santiago,hehehe. Next tym ingat sa paglalakad baka madapa ka. Sa Guy and Pip ng Batch 91 Lia Santiago and Ruel Balbuena, ang mga entreprenuers na Minnie and Eric, at sa mga kabatch ko na taga Baras, Cardona, Teresa, Tanay, Pililla, Morong at Binangonan, hinding hindi ko kayo nakakalimutan, lalong lalo na kung anong petsa ng Piyesta sa inyo!!!! Mag-imbita naman kayo! hehehehe

maalala ko kaya?

*this was posted in a blog i used to keep a few years ago

Sino bang tao ang hindi gustong makipag-sex?

May napanood akong dokyu nung isang araw. Sabi dun, ang mga experiences daw natin na may malaking epekto sa buhay natin ay parang isang malambot na gelatin sa loob ng ating utak na habang tumatagal ay titigas ito at mananatili sa ating memorya (related reading HERE). Ito raw ang eksplanasyon kung bakit may mga karanasan at pangyayari sa ating buhay na di natin makalimutan. Ang mga di mahahalagang bagay gaya ng anibersaryo, kapanganakan, bilin at sariling kasalanan ay madali nating nakakalimutan, ayon yun sa akin.

First year highschool, second floor ang classroom namin, malapit ako sa bintana na tanaw ang kwarto ng mga elementary students. Nasa mga unang linggo ng klase nun. Di ko na matandaan ang topic at kung anong subject nun pero ang natatandaan ko, nagtaas ng kamay ang kaklase kong si Julian Joseph na napag-alaman kong valedictorian nung grade 6 nila dito sa paaralang ito. Sumagot siya sa isang katanungan ng titser namin na di ko na matandaan. Basta ang sabi niya, kapag daw magsha-shampoo ng ulo, wag daw gagamitin ang kuko sa pagkuskos ng bunbunan dahil masusugutan daw ang balat. Dapat daw ay ang dulo ng mga daliri ang gagamitin.

Hindi si Ricky Reyes ang titser namin nun at hindi hair dressing ang klase. Wag nyo ng itanong kung ano dahil di ko na nga matandaan, ang kulit nyo ha. Ang pinagtataka ko lang ay kung bakit di ko makalimutan ang sinabing iyon ni Julian Joseph. Hindi naman yun mahalaga sa akin. Sa katanuyan ay di ko nga sinusunod ang ganung pamamaraan ng pagsha-shampoo. Di ko ba yun makalimutan dahil balang araw eh magagamit ko yun sa isang life or death situation? O baka naman may mahalagang wisdom sa sinabing iyon ni Julian Joseph na di ko na at di pa mapagtanto?

Nuong nag writing workshop naman kami nung highschool, isang sikat na writer ng isang broadsheet newspaper ang guest speaker namin. Sa sobrang kasikatan niya, nakalimutan ko na ang pangalan. Eniwey, sinabi nya na sa pagsusulat daw ng isang feature article, dapat ay makuha mo na agad ang atensyon ng mambabasa sa unang paragraph pa lamang. At kailangang mong tapusin ang isinulat mo sa isang magandang pamamaraan.

Katulad ng sinabi ni Julian Joseph nuon, ang sinabing ito ng guest speaker ay di ko magawang sundin.

* UPDATE
Jude said JJ's shampoo scene was in Mrs. Gonazalvo's PE/Health class

"sikat ka ba nung highschool?"

That was my wife asking me about my high-school days. We didn’t go to the same school, so she wouldn’t know how I am back then.

“Oo naman, sikat ako nun…” I said with a nod, then a quick flashback during my RTPI days. “Errrrr--- nope, I’m just one of the guys. Yun tipong okay lang kahit wala sa class gimiks” (although the word “gimik” isn’t in our vocabularies back then). “Pero okay lang, masaya naman ang high-school ko.”

Then my wife and I would go on our “my-high-school-is-better-than-yours” routine. Of course, I always let her win, that’s how she came to be my wife (nyuk-nyuk-nyuk). Whenever we’re doing that thing, and looking at the pictures of my high-school classmates in some of our batch reunions (which I haven’t attended even a single one), lots of memories would flow “out like endless rain into a paper cup, they slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe…”

Yeah, one day, all those memories will slip away. Due to old age most probably, as I saw old people in those batch reunion pictures (ewwwww, ang tatanda nyo na haha), people who I still remember in their high-school faces, most of them I last saw during our graduation day.

Then, it hits me. Why not put those memories into words to have a written record of those good old days? Not just for me, or for my classmates who, one day, might stumble upon this blog, but more for my wife, so she will realize that my high school is better than her school.

Bulok naman talaga kasi school nila wahihihi...

(sana di nya mabasa to errr---)