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Harry Potter Book 6 Launch: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Be one of the first 500 customers to purchase Harry Potter�s Book 6 and get loads of freebies! Plus! Come and See the Diagon Alley Set-up and enjoy a whole day fun of arts & crafts, exhibits and Harry Potter items!
Saturday, July 16, 2005
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*digs around for her HPBook6 Powerbooks coupon….*

Ei Cookie! (we’re still counting? Heehee) I know I’m a pill to deal with. And for that, thank you. I positively adore you, and I know you adore me too

Eight years ago… Imagine that, we weren’t even twenty years old then.
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Thanks Anne, for the greeting. Naunahan mo pa ako mag-post hehe.
Happy Birthday to Cia, cousin-in-law-in-law :D, if there is such a thing! Happy thoughts to you!

They’re both turnin’ 27 years old:

June 3rd: Cleo aka Rosebud - One of my childhood friends… and the last of them who I live nearby to. Just two houses away yet we see each other so rarely.

June 4th: Anthony aka Jayzel - Sorry I mistakenly typed you up on the 3rd Anthony. I always knew your birthday was the 4th. *crosses her heart and hopes to die*

I wish you both a lifetime of joys!

First off, I send out greetings to Paul and Des, on the baptism of their firstborn.
*Sends out more happy thoughts and best wishes for Paul Jr.*
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To pass the time sitting down in the house, I watched “In Good Company”, and am loving Topher Grace more. Not many might like him, but since ‘That 70’s Show’ and his cameo in Ocean’s Eleven as himself, this guy has that boyish idiotic aura that works on me. (I used to think I’d marry a guy like that, ever since I saw the Revenge of the Nerds and Back to the Future. Feelin’ sorry for the cute nerds.) Dennis Quaid looks so much older now, but he’s still got that ‘Innerspace’-'Dragonheart’ charm and chivalry going on. Simply love him. Which reminds me, I still don’t have a copy of ‘Frequency’…

Morning came and it was a beautiful day today. I did my best to help out around the house as my tummy would allow. I noticed that I’m still bloating on the lower abdomen.

On a happier note, Ajay’s back from vacay this afternoon.

Happy Birthday to Mikaela Cuyugan Mariñas!

It’s a glorious day today, a new life begins! I’m so happy to hear the news, and I extend my deepest congratulations to Mark and Marla for becoming first-time parents!

My mom said 8 lbs is heavy for a newborn baby. I wouldn’t exactly remember those kinds of things, having paid little heed to such details in previous occasions. Anyhow… that’s like… 3 and a half kilos? Losing that much weight just within some hours… ^_~

Imagine that… being pregnant one moment, and a mother the next! Oh how it must feel to cradle this tiny person in your arms, knowing you are bonded forever in life. A new family is born, may the Lord bless you all!

While waiting for our fruit ice teasers in a Mall this afternoon, smoke came out from one of the restaurants. Surprisingly, people remained calm. There was a fire starting obviously, but my friend Jess and I lingered the counter, drooling over our almost-ready merienda. A few moments later, the sound of breaking glass startled us all. A number of guys from a few feet away sprinted towards that restaurant brandishing small fire extinguishers. I felt my knees wobble. We were starting to panic. I had an hand clamped on Jess’ arm. We looked at each other questioningly whether we should already go.

The lady cashier called our attention and was asking us “Dine-in po ba o take-out?”

I hope I got his name right. I’m not doing any web searches this time. The sadness is difficult to fathom. A decade is past, but I can recall the fervor of the Augustinian Youth Festival as it coincided with the World Youth Celebration in the Philippines. The Pope was in Filipino soil. He was elected Pope the year I was born. (You tend to think of such things to establish a connection.)

The past week, I couldn’t stand listening to the radio or watch television and hear about how his health was failing. To die is a reality, but for it to be imminent upon the life of an icon of the present time…

Over and beyond faith and reason, a feeling of emptiness consumed me, and maybe others as well. A candle has just burnt out, may its light not be forgotten.

A posting streak is in order. Why else but because of this resting thing that’s going on for me again. Apparently I’m not fully recovered, and the stress of a workweek (not just work but the whole cake with frosting and other what-nots) has made me vulnerable. So lousily enough, I am unable to attend Nandy and Cia’s wedding this afternoon. I would’ve done anything by hook or crook to at least show up…

I’m sorry it had to be your day, Nandy and Cia.
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So it’s back to the mattresses again. (No Godfather pun intended.) I’m back to my painkillers, books, my trusty homegowns… I don’t know if I can warrant more days off from work next week. If worse comes to worse… I may have to quit my job.

I didn’t go to work yesterday. I had an iceberg episode Thursday night that I can’t stop thinking about, it kills me to the bone. I can’t imagine Monday morning coming, rising up to the buzz of 4 a.m. to start the ‘usual’ week.

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I was meaning to stay and type more… but I really have to lie down again…

I was asked to write for a publication in my high school today, some sort of “class call” that I can hardly make anything of. I’m not sure if I did it right, but anyway, I’m sharing it here.
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1995-2005: Ten years out of high school.
Pen Reyes

First things must come first. I am not in the best position to write an article pertaining to my CSA batchmates. For the most part, I haven’t seen or heard about most of them in the past decade. What I do hear are bits and pieces that would hardly do justice to how they are really like today. That wouldn’t be fair. As much as I am eager to write about them, I can’t. I can only speculate. It only makes sense to write now about how I am witness to how things have evolved around me. If I were to write honestly, I can only be honest about myself.

But I have an idea to try to make this work. I’ll speak to the reader about you, my dear batchmates, and put myself back into my high school shoes. (Funnily enough, they would still fit.) I’ll do my best to stand in the head of the class again, presenting you to whoever’s reading this the best way I can. I will do this, knowing you guys are right behind me, staring them in the face. So now, let’s do this. I offer this space to the CSA Biñan Graduating Class of 1995.

Five years ago, I was asked to do this exact same thing. From that time up to now, I was made to reflect on the differences between then and now. So what is different? We’re all older. Some may be wiser. Prettier. Chubbier?

You wouldn’t believe unless you’ve lived ten years after your high school graduation that people can actually metamorphose. We’ve been through our share of awkward puberty, but no one ever warned us of the horrors of adulthood. For us women even! We bloat, we get pregnant, we have babies… Some of us are lucky to stay in shape. But for us unfortunate ones, I would give any day to relive my high school life to stay away from salt and sugar! Okay, before this start to sound like a Cosmo article, let’s get back on track.

There are some of us who are now married with children, or just married, or the difference of the two. I’m still getting used to the fact that they’re engaged, now they’re hitched, having children, while I remain a child trapped in a 26-year old shell of a woman. Twenty-six. We’re older than most of our teachers were back when we were in freshman high school.

Still some of us are professionals, attached or unattached (or semi-attached). Since these guys are who I am like, I sometimes bump into some of them on the way to or back from work. I get to chat it up with some, but usually, we’re all in a hurry with our own little lives.

There are a fortunate bunch of my CSA batchmates who continue to be in constant company. You would think that a silly high school barkada wouldn’t really last. Some don’t. But there are those who do. When you think about it, these people really do share a lot in common, and they like each other an awful lot. So why would you let go of something that works so well? Augustine and Alypius went far back into their childhood. They were a petty lot, getting into trouble often. That’s their story. I’m sure some share that same parallelism with them. I’m in awe of these people. Making a thousand friends isn’t hard. Keeping friends for a thousand years isn’t a feat so easy.

Though I haven’t been as lucky to have kept close with my high school classmates, I know I share a lifeline with them. When I see one of their faces, or hear their names, I manage to creak a smile and realize that this is a part of my past that was full of youthful vitality and hopeful dreams. Hearing about their success stories inks pride in my own notebook, as if a part of them is with me. I would try to deny it sometimes, but I am bound to carrying a 1995 icon floating in my own consciousness.

So here we are. Look at us now. Ten years is a lot, but it isn’t enough. Our life has barely begun, yet somehow it feels like we’ve lived through much already. I’ve read somewhere that the past could only drag you down, however good or bad it may be. The future can only cloud your vision, however hopeful you are about it. Live in the present, for yesterday is gone and tomorrow may not even come.

After high school, idealism can be quite addicting. You want things to go about a certain way, but then not everything can turn out the way you expect them to. The shards of time tick away at each brick of the wall, and soon you discover the inner chambers of reality. I think that’s where most of us are right now.

I want to talk to you now, my batchmates.

If I go way back to a decade ago, I was fresh out of high school, worrying about where to attend college. I was an idealist marching into unfamiliar territory, refusing to know any fear. But afraid I was. I was certain about one thing, and that was uncertainty. New faces, new places. But I came to realize, no one really has it all figured out. So as I trudged on with my head bopping up and down the road, I took comfort in knowing everyone’s just like me. We’re all trying to make it through the world.

I still don’t have a plan. I still don’t have it all figured out. I still don’t know what I’m going to do with my life. But when I take the time to reflect about my past, as I am now, I am able to see hope. The world is very real to me now, as I am sure it is for most of us at this stage of life. We’ve all ventured into our own highways and byways. We’ve seen the bumps on the road, and we may have managed to dodge some of the rocks and troughs. But we all know it isn’t going to be smooth sailing all the time. Nothing is worse than falling off the car and getting run over. We get beat and feel foolish with torn rags and bloodied faces. We wonder if we can ever get on our feet again. We either die, or limp our way to the hospital. But we’ll get there. Keep the faith, and we would see each of us have wings. Some of us are already soaring in the skies.

So much for metaphors. It’s been lovely addressing you guys again. Until next we meet, I am sure there are a lot of stories to tell.

Email: csabn95@yahoo.com
Yahoogroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/csa1995