Tripping down memory lane

Last Friday, arrived 9:30 at Ateneo, went to one of the CTC computer labs to check my mail and finish all my internet crap before going to 208 and, ehem, work on my thesis. Found it locked at 10:00, so decided to grab a few smokes before meeting up with the 25-year-old virgin. On the way to the bigger and better CTC SPG, ran into Combusting Ketchup Boy, a highschool acquaintance from Manresa and a former suitor of a close friend. "You look fat," I told him. "I do not. I just lost 20 pounds," he retorted. Turns out he is now into boxing and wrestling, which explains his added bulk. He was graduating in 20 school days, he informed me, and then I realized if all goes well, I will too.

Combusting Ketchup Boy is an actual batchmate, so aside from Ekstyane the Whiner, Mike the Invincible Man and Bogus Bogart JM, he's all I got from Batch 2000. He moved to Australia for one year before our second year in college, which explains his graduation date. I on the other hand am simply lazy, so I don't have an excuse. We talked about the good 'ol days of the Ateneo, when everybody could enjoy a smoke anytime, anywhere. "Ansarap pa naman mag-yosi sa Faura Driveway," I told him. "Oo, tapos pagkatapos ng klase sabay-sabay magsisindi sa corridor," he replied. "Kaso I think the pocket gardens are here to stay," he added. Dammit.

After graduation he plans to work for a few months and then move back to Australia. I think he's training for some sort of martial art. Before we part he gave me a PETA sticker with a baby chick that says "I am not a nugget." Cute. Made me consider going back to vegetarianism, but I don't think my body can handle it. We high five before going our separate ways.

After the whole day refresher last Sunday I was outside the Santolan LRT station walking to an Antipolo-Junction bound FX when somebody called out, "Ate Jamie!" It was Cristina Punongbayan, the erstwhile Puno, another Assumption Antipolo survivor and former busmate from the lower batch. She was wearing a red sleeveless shirt, long hair, and dangling earrings. We got into the same FX, got to talking about AA, and one word came to me: demure. In my mind's eye I still saw Puno as the loudest busmate in Kuya Edwin's Little Schoolbus of Horrors, the girl Bunny and I called Ike, after Isaac of Hanson. Bwahaha. But after four years of college in UE taking up Dentistry pa-girl at pa-sweet na sya. Man alive. The things college does to us.

"Oist namatay na si Reynaldo Punongbayan a," I told her. "Naalala kita kase di ba tito mo yon?" "Oo nga e. Paa na lang nakuha sa kanya," she replied. Ok. We changed topic soon after that. After we were paroled from Assumption (sa wakas!) it turns out the administration read too many Harry Potter books and tried the House system. Each year level was divided into (surprise, surprise) four Houses, and they were called the Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue Houses. Ang creative di ba. I think it pretty much sucked, so they retired it after one year.

"Namimiss ko yung AA kase sa UE walang morning talks," she said. "Ako yung mga mass saka mga singing practice," I replied. "Oo nga. Tapos after ng mass sasabihin ni Miss Aguilos 'And because you sang veeerry well...'" she mimicked. "May long recess tayo. Woohoo! Skwater nga yun," I laughed.

Puno got off at Ortigas Greenheights -we didn't get each other's numbers, because what would be the point? - and I at Evergreen. It was nearing 9 pm. I trudged home feeling soo much older but none the wiser, like the years just flew by and I stood stock-still, oblivious. Ewan ko. Hindi ba dapat mature na 'ko, or some adult shit like that?

"I was going to be somebody by the age of twenty-three," whined Winona Ryder's character in Reality Bites. "The only person you have to be by the age of twenty-three is yourself," Ethan Hawke replied.

Ayuz.