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.

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.

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.