Bisdak Babbles

One of the great things the internet gave us is the easier way of finding old friends. I sometimes spend a lot of time browsing through Facebook and Friendster profiles. It’s really amazing to see photos of friends, from primary school to college, and ex-colleagues. It’s great to know that they are doing well. Yet, I feel a bit guilty of missing (again) the annual grand alumni homecoming last December. I have never attended a homecoming event since I left my highschool alma mater, as opposed to my happy-go-lucky younger brother who has 100% attendance.

After I graduated from highschool, just to piss off my brother, I told him that I will not step foot on our school until I become a manager. Unintentionally, it seems to be happening! No, no, no, I’m not a snob. I really want to meet highschool friends again, with a less introvert me. It’s just that I did have a microscopic self-esteem in highschool that I hardly talked. But I really appreciate my friends for being there. I honestly hope I could attend the homecoming in December.

There is one thing that I want to share with that school. My friends already did dental and medical mission. I, on the other hand, want to take part in the careers symposium. It was really hard choosing which path to take as we had no idea what the real-world is like. I didn’t even have something I loved doing, well except reading novels. I just wanted to take up Mechanical Engineering because my father did. We had a series of symposiums when we were seniors, and it helped me a lot.

Do you throw away things that you think have already served their purpose? I usually don’t. I don’t like to trash envelopes even if it means crowding my drawer more. I don’t throw away custom presentation folders, one of which I got from an employer four years ago. I still use it when I carry around some important, must-not-be-folded documents. Paper bags? Yes, I’ve alloted a portion of my cabinet for them. The balikbayan box I sent from Japan had many paper bags in it. Many ads and discount coupons are placed in our mailbox but I still keep most of them until they expire, even if I only have 1% possibility of using those coupons. When I was still with Epson in Cebu, I was the one who kept the boxes of the omiyage brought by visitors from Japan. I’m pretty sure I’ve placed them in my cabinet at home but I haven’t checked if they’re still in good condition!

I have bought dozens of raffle tickets but I have never won even a consolation prize. Yet, there are some people who are very lucky, like winning major prizes each year at Christmas parties or annual company gathering. There’s anticipation, yet I haven’t experienced the joy of winning. For the past few months, my housemates have been buying lotto tickets that I sometimes ask myself “what will I do if I get the jackpot prize?”. First things first, clear off financial struggles. Then maybe travel to my dream destinations, buy properties, and maybe a motorhome? If only it is safe to travel Philippines with motorhome, I would definitely do that. But before my imagination run wild, maybe I should start buying a lottery ticket or two (one entry is only 50 cents). I know I’ve never been lucky in the lottery, but I still hope that maybe I am destined to win a jackpot prize? *_*

Yes, I am scared of mascots. Not really scared, I guess. I do know that it’s still a person inside that bulky thing but it just feels so weird when I’m close to one. Honestly, I wouldn’t know how I would react if a mascot holds me. But I have to get over it. It would be a shame if my daughter sees me scared of someone/something that she likes! It’s still a work in progress that is why I couldn’t get close to Shrek when this photo was taken during my last visit at Universal Studios Japan. I did manage to smile…

Do you love jewelries? I did and I still do, a little bit. A close friend always tease me that I was like a pawnshop when I was still a highschool student. I hate to admit it, but he is right. I often wore earrings, gold-plated wristwatch in my left arm, a bracelet in my right arm, heart pendant necklace, and two rings. All of them were gold. My father worked in Saudi Arabia at that time and I heard that gold is better and cheaper there. As a typical OFW, he loved buying us jewelries. Those were the good ol’ days. My preferences have changed a lot since that time. Now, I hate wearing earrings. I don’t really like wearing bracelets but if I don’t have my wristwatch on, I prefer something dangling in my arm. I no longer wear gold-plated wristwatch because I prefer leather or silver strap. I still love necklaces, not the gold ones, though. I can’t afford to buy expensive ones. But even if I could, I still won’t buy. It is completely OK for me even if it cost SGD10 only as long as it’s cute and unique.

The time when I will no longer be in my late 20’s is fast approaching. I have sworn to start a healthy lifestyle and establish an exercise regime before that time comes. I have heard that it is more difficult for women to lose weight when they reach 30. Aside from it, there’s this acne often accompanied by blackheads that I have endured since highschool. I’m pretty sure that acne has conquered every surface of my face and I want it gone when I’m 30! So funny and a bit embarrassing for me that it was only three days ago that I was first introduced into what an exfoliant can do. Maybe I should try out one of those facials, too. I really need to be exposed to a little bit self-pampering. I haven’t even tried pedicure and manicure!

Lately, I’ve been busy searching for my highschool batchmates in the internet. As expected, I’ve seen many of them in Friendster! I sometimes do this because I have nothing else to do. But this time, we are trying to gather everyone to make very early preparations for the Grand Alumni homecoming. Each year, at the La Salle Academy in Iligan City, we have the Grand Alumni homecoming annually. I’ve never attended a single homecoming yet but I hope I could join the next one.

Anyway, each year, a class sponsors the big event. Our turn will be in the year 2021. It’s still more than ten years away but it would be great to keep in touch again with the people whom I’ve shared my teenage days. Everyone is so excited, many people have joined our Yahoo Group, and my highschool memories have kept popping up as if they have happened just a few days ago. I was really timid back then, but I had fun. Some of these highlights and most embarrassing moments were:

• being hit by a soccer ball in my face while passing by the soccer field
• being hit by a volley ball in my face (yes, I’m a ball magnet) while during our Physical Education class
• wearing a pink and oddly-styled dress for our prom. All of the girls wore pink and all of us hated it. But we couldn’t do anything about it. It was part of our Physical Education class!
• stumbling down while I was running to catch the flag ceremony and a few people witnessed it

There are more but I just can’t share them here. Ok, I didn’t just make myself as a laughing stock. I also had crushes and even wrote poems for them! Haha! But I just kept them to myself or let my closest friends read them. Now that I think about it, that was also very embarrassing. Well, it was part of the younger me so I’ll just bear with it.

Along this quest of finding my highschool batchmates, I’ve also gathered my favorite songs at that time. When I listen to them, I feel like a teenager again! Now I understand why my parents love listening to the songs from 1960’s and 1970’s.

Here’s the playlist I made. Enjoy!

I was nine years old when my brother brought home a male puppy.  My brother and I begged our parents until they let us keep him. I think we gave him the name “Virgo”.  We took turns in giving him a bath.  We were so diligent in keeping him healthy. We didn’t know anything about pet supplements but we gave him milk everyday. That puppy grew up to be a healthy dog but he suddenly became ill.  His health deteriorated until he could not even stand.  In the last few days of his life, he just spent lying under the tables and chairs at home.

One night, I sat on a chair with Virgo lying under it.  After a few minutes of sitting on that chair, he bit my ankle! Maybe I hit him somewhere.  Because he was dying at that time, and died two days after he bit me, I had to take anti-rabies shots.  It was not just one, but eight shots around my navel! Because of that incident, I could endure holding a puppy, but I could never get near a full-grown dog, even if it’s just a chihuahua.