HS Crushes, Mean Girls, and Recreating Malen's Logbook

*sinulat ni reta para sa narra yahoogroup, re-posted here without permission (and with minor editing of the details that are for Narras' eyes only hehe)


By now, everyone here has pretty much enjoyed the "dirt" that went around one rainy afternoon in Tanay. I mean a 100 or so email would be proof, right? Sixteen souls met that day, not quite the Sixty(?) we were accustomed with some 18 years ago. Then again, 16 people can always talk about the other 44---good stuff mostly with a dash of backstabbing every now and then :)

Ive been out sick since Sunday so I'm taking time now to write some stuff about what happened. As always, I'm not equipped to write short stuff so if you lack patience or is annoyed with my writing style, you can always read the 100 (and counting) emails posted by everybody else (pretty much choose your poison:).

The woman of the hour was Gem. Support came from Rydel and Don. The questions revolve around one singular theme--- your HS crush.

Some people gave honest answers, named names even if that person is actually in the group---what the heck, its been 18 years---some preferred the safe route, giving out names from other batches (would you believe, there is this so called gwapo batch), while some gave out safe answers. Curiously enough, one safe answer was Malen (probably because once in a young Narranians life, he has had a Malen episode so it's common place :). Still some chose not to answer (hiding behind the "Host" cloak, hehehe).

Lesson Learned: love remains magical 18 years later. While the heart has gathered dust and profusely bleeds for someone else, the HS crush has somehow saved a miniscule space, ready to erupt once triggered by fleeting but lasting memory. I guess it's like losing your virginity, the first thrust is always the most painful that's why you never forget:). And while some chose to remain quiet and pretend to be oblivious to what's going on, everyone present was able to connect the dots and come to their own conclusions. Postscript: Rydel is the ultimate hunk. Forget the Jeje's, the Arvin's, and the Percival's of this world---Rydel is the real deal (just ask the classmates:)

Another hot topic was the inter-class romance and then there were the this and that relationship. Unfortunately, none of these relationship moved beyond the gf-bf stage. There were "accusations" hurled here and there but the mood was jovial so it appeared more as fun than vengeful statements. I guess romance does move beyond HS quarters.

Lesson Learned: Love hurts but love heals. some of these failed romances ended as good friendship (or at least some of them are in speaking terms). Oh, please make sure to at least plant one kiss before the relationship ends so that the ex can't use this as a bullet when firing her gun (I'm not sure though if that was accurate, i think our friend was able to plant even one, guess she was just chiding him :)

Now comes "The Mean Girls", a.k.a. the popular people. Year after year, this has been passed from one Narra generation to another. In 89, there was the Cheryl led mean girls. 1990 marked the reign of the Cecilia and Barbara version. Two years later, we passed it to the TWIKS. Ours was undeniably the best. These people are pretty, popular, and often times "te-arts" girls. You have the Cardona girls, the Morong girls, the Binangonan girls, the Tanay girls but there can only be one Mean Girls group.

Lesson Learned: Mean Girls is just another label we learned from watching all those growing up movies (apparently, Bagets was just a fashion statement). Seriously, social "factions" are a fact of life. Without you knowing it and if you will just allow your life to flow as it is, you will fall into one or several categories. Mean Girls, Geeks, Outcast, Hunks, Jocks etc. For me it's all cool, anyway, it's just a label. Shitty things only happen if you allow them to happen and there is no way in hell that labels have something to do with what you will be in the future.

The infamous logbook is dead according to the owner, completely converted to carbon dioxide and water (assuming complete combustion:) plus some ash. Every now and then, we see posts trying to recall the contents. There were poems, love messages and what-have-yous. We all speculate about what it contains but without the hardcopy, everything is so f'ing debatable. I mean just who the hell is someone # 1, #2, and #3 for crying out loud?

The damn book is dead. It can never be recreated. Part of our history died but I guess some of it were really meant to be forgotten. Time machines aren't in vogue yet so for now, let's just be satisfied with whatever memory we have of our entries (or entries about us written by other people).

Lesson Learned: The mystery (and fun) lies with what you don't know (or what you cant remember). The loss of the logbook will forever maintain the mysteries of our high school life and will continue to fuel many interesting topics in future gatherings. Maybe its all for the better.

As a final note, its always a happy event everytime we meet up. Doesn't really matter if its two or 60. And while we have come to grips with the fact that we can never be whole again (a near impossibility i suppose), i reckon that in our hearts, there's always a special place for Narra.

Till next year:)

your friend for a lifetime,
reta

may 31 GTG. morong rizal

*sinulat ni reta para sa narra yahoogroup, re-posted here without permission hehe

first off, let me just say "NAKNANGPOTA! !!"

i said that not because im angry but because i promised to say that in my first email after the GTG. no big deal so dont make a fuss out of it.

here's a long summary (conflicting words:) for your reference:

the GTG was not so grand if we talk about attendance, there were about 10 (myself, gemma, jude, lota, lisette, gladys, don, jayson, joan, jean) of us who went to paseo rizal, at various times if i may add. jude and I were the earliest to checkin at 4PM. i guess we were just excited since this is supposed to be the grandest of the grand. oh, we did see malen and jeje at kamalig later in the evening. so that makes it 12 (20%).

but just because the numbers didnt work for us, doesnt mean we didnt have a good time. i think everyone left paseo happy and satisfied.

here are some observations on the "newbies":

on gemma
- madaldal pala si gemma which prompted me to say i like her personality. didnt know that during highschool since we didnt talk to each other too much. i guess i was intimidated by her mestiza beauty back then so i wasnt able to muster a decent conversation. she gained some weight but she still looks fine. actually, the weight isnt bothersome at all. nadadaan na nya sa smart dressing.

on lisette
- still sexy.i guess her frame and height helps a lot. she's sporting a short do. medyo problematic sya because of health concerns sa parents nya and in fact she had to be in the hospital to watch over her folks. i guess nakatulong naman yung gtg kahit papaano para makalimutan nya yung problems nya. at least napasaya natin sya kahit saglit.

on lota
- she still looks the same, matangkad na slim. madaldal din pala si lota, dun ko din lang nalaman. at eto, mataray din pala etong kapatid natin. i guess she is not afraid to speak her mind. she's into tall, blue-eyed guys. i speculate this is because of her exposure to european culture (sana yung asawa ko pagbalik ay di maghanap ng tall and blue-eyed guy kasi bagsak ako sa tall at sa blue-eyed:). so philip (and the other singles out there), buy blue contacts and wear elevator shoes:)

on gladys
- gladys, gladys, gladys...well, i categorically denied that i had a crush on her when we were in highschool and i shamelessly said that right in front of her. ofcourse, i was just making her laugh, kasi we were discussing it openly later on. also, everybody knows thats not true and in fact, she even knows it. its an anecdote we can openly share. since past is past, napagusapan na din namin yung mga crush crush na yan pero i will not divulge anything else na napagusapan dun other than those involving myself. so i guess you have to be in the next one para malaman nyo. para din syang hindi tumanda, at yung frame nya ganun pa din. may nunal pa din sya:)

for those who were not able to attend, i have no ill feelings toward you guys. im disappointed, true, but not with you. like i always say, matatanda na tayo and madami na rin tayong responsibilities. ganyan talaga, shit happens. narra91 doesnt have to be first priority, or even 2nd or 3rd. live your life and make your decisions according to your rules. and guys, i find it crappy when we say that freakin cliche (kung ayaw may dahilan, kung gusto may paraan). life is not like that. lets not be jealous kung pinili nila na gawin yung ibang bagay. while "i love my wife and she is my best friend" sounds oh so cheezy, its also oh so true. sa totoo lang, narra91 is best positioned at the background, no more, no less. its a drop of spice, a jolt of energy---not something you live on everyday.

as for future GTGs, well here's hoping more of us will come. i find it hard to fathom seeing all 60 of us sharing the same table in the foreseeable future,but at least those who will come are guaranteed of having a grand time. di ko alam kung kelan uli mangyayari ang gtg pero sana more will happen, kahit once a year or twice a year or whatever.

so for narra91, i offer a toast. here's to 1991---a year when every girl graduated with curly hair (i still dont understand why kelangan magpakulot ang mga babae nung graduation)



sa uulitin,
reta


PS
salamat to jayson and jean for the text messages. yes, i got home safely.

more importantly, thanks to jude for his patience. pasensya na tol, ginawa kitang tsuper pero i really appreciate what you have done for me. salamat, salamat.

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