NOSTALGIASM

DAY 2

                I was too lazy to get up from Jane’s bed. If only I didn’t have another party to attend for, I would lie there for three more hours. But I have and it’s 8:00am already! I have to be home at 9:00 to prepare myself for the next two activities of the Voice Publication: COMMUNITY EXTENSION and CHRISTMAS PARTY.

                When I finished taking a bath, I felt that abnormal feeling within me. I thought I’m going to get a fever and colds. I took medicines to somehow ease the not so comfortable feeling. While on my way, I received messages from some members explaining why they can’t attend the activities. Honestly, I got disappointed…frustrated. I want everyone’s participation and attendance so our relationship as a team would be stronger. But instead of dwelling so much on the exasperating feeling, I ignored all their texts and didn’t reply. I just thought that it’s not my loss anyway. Hehe

                At the Voice Office – we only had two hours to wrap the gifts and buy foods for the kids. I was glad that at least, 50% of the group was present. And to my surprise, I saw Ramayanah showing April and Jonnafe her sexy dance! Rama’s one of the Maria Clara of the group and I can’t believe what she just did! Oh well, she’s maybe just happy that the world didn’t end.

                Clarice (Waka as what we call each other) got back from the mall with the BEAN BOOZLE! It’s a box of bean-shaped chewable thingies that is composed variety of flavors! The weird thing is, the flavors are WEIRD. Each color is equivalent to two flavors. If you’re lucky, you can taste the delicious and lesser evil flavors such as chocolates, caramel corn, coconut (ooh… I forgot the others). But if luck doesn’t love you, then you might just be eating the yuckiest flavors you could ever taste in your whole life. Baby wipes, centipede, canned dog food, molded cheese and BOOGER (for heaven’s sake) are just some of the flavors offered! But I tell you, they are edible. It’s just that, they’re flavors were inspired by those GROSS elements. But I know right, it’s still eeew!!! Bean Boozle is actually used as an icebreaker by some. But for our party, it’s going to be the punishment of the losing team.

                Before we leave the office, Waka asked the late comers to pick one from the box. She didn’t happen to be contented. So she asked the whole to pick one. We were 10 in the room. But only Rama - the sexy dancer – picked the BOOGER flavor! You should have seen her face! She almost vomited! Poor Rama! Hehe…

At 11:45 – we head on to St. Gemma’s Orphanage. It’s located along the National highway. When we arrived, the one of the facilitators was arranging the sound system while the other one called the kids. The number of kids was fewer than we expected. They were only 14. To tell you frankly, we have not prepared for the program. But fortunately, the program went well. We started with the introduction of the staff then of the children. We asked them about their talents and let them show it. They were all game! Some danced. Some sung. The funny thing is, they keep on dancing and singing the same song. I was happy, though, that the rest of the staff danced and sang with the kids. It’s like we had a little party there. I love that the kids cooperated.

At 2:00PM – we ended the program and we proceed to the next activity…the CHRISTMAS PARTY!!! We went to Piyesta Resto and KTV Bar. We reserved the good for 10 room. The moment we settled inside the room, the others immediately scanned the song list and entered the keys. We ordered garlic chicken and a tower of cocktail.

A week ago, I have posted the groupings for the parlor games: GREEN (Ate Birdie as the team leader), RED (my team) and BLUE (Abby was supposed to lead but since she’s not around, Claire took over). The first game that we were going to compete against each other was the KARAOKE CHALLENGE! I was the one who chose the first song for the first batch of singers. ALL BY MYSELF by Celine Dion, it is. Ramayanah (GREEN), Jonnafe (RED) and Kristine (BLUE) sang their throats out. But it’s Rama who got the highest score of 80%. The winning team won’t do anything and will have the chance to get P700 cash prize based on the average score. The second placer will have to try their luck on picking up the bean boozles, while the loser of all losers will drink beaten raw eggs. Disgusting! So since the RED Team only got 76%, I have no choice but to drink the egg yolk. I just ignored the smell, ‘coz I have to!

On the second round, the leaders were chosen to sing. So it’s mine’s, Ate Birdie’s and Claire’s battle. The song was chose by Ate Birdie – I HAVE NOTHING by Whitney Houston. Two songs before we our clash, I felt my heart beating faster. I didn’t take the challenge so seriously but the fact that I HAVE A GROUP RELYING ON ME SO WE COULD NOT DRINK ANOTHER SET OF BEATEN RAW EGGS AGAIN, made me nervous. Ate Birdie was the first one to sing. Oh man! She was good at high notes! And she knows the song! They all cheered when she got a high score. When it was my turn, I was secretly shaking. Haha! I sang the song even if I don’t know it pretty well. I was worried about my timing. Boy that song would take out your soul from your body. I didn’t get some of the high notes, so I just shouted with all my energy. To mine and to my group’s surprise, my score was a little higher than Ate Birdie’s! We got so much hope then until Claire started to sing. She said she doesn’t know the song but when she started, she got all the notes correctly, and her timing was perfect! Her score was 86%, which means, my team played only the second best.

                The last and final round was for Caryl (GREEN), Shandy (RED) and Chieldon (BLUE). The song we chose for them was ALONE by Heart. Ate Birdie and I weren’t that harsh, eh? ALONE was one of my frustration but Chieldon hit the notes while sitting comfortably on the couch. Caryl didn’t know the song well so she missed the timing. Shandy, on the other hand, stood up and faced the KTV machine. Like me, she has a low pitch. But to disbelief, she scored 87%! The highest score among all of us! That meant, we don’t have to take any of the punishments!!! Plus, we won the P700 cash prize! Yahooooo!!!!!

                After the KTV challenge, we finally exchanged our gifts. I gave mine to Shandy. I hope she didn’t mind the unfortunate wrapper – which I put a lot of effort on - of her gift. My secret Santa was Ate Birdie! I love the pens that she gave me. In fact, I already used them to practice my abstract-like art.

                At 6:30PM – we rode all the way to Tokyok’s Superlanes for our next parlor game. Ate Birdie and Orly can’t come with us anymore.  So since only 12 of us are present, we decided to cut the three into two groups for the bowling challenge. It was fun! Especially if you’re there watching some of the girls dropping the balls like they’re playing basketball. Haha! My last play was almost six years ago and I was not exempted from the hitless rounds where my balls slid all the way to the canals. However, as the game became exciting, I learned to study the techniques so that I can keep up with the score. Fortunately, I got the highest score in our group which gave us a chance to get the cash prize. But Kristine, who substituted for Monich to be my opponent, played better on the final game. She hit a strike, ergo, I fall short of the points. I’m sorry team! :D

                The bowling challenge was for the other team’s benefit. They got the P700.00! We actually had another game to be played for but due to the veeeeeerrrryyyy looooooong day that we had, we can’t manage to have the Pinoy Henyo anymore. So I told everyone to just use the money for our dinner. Our last stop was at Jollibee, which just happens to be in front of the bowling lanes. As soon as I stepped in to the room, I felt my shoulders and back amazingly hurting, notwithstanding the grasping of air that I was experiencing due to my runny nose. I also got a fever.

                So that's how I spend my Christmas with the people dear to me. It was definitely exhausting and all my energies were offered, but then again, I don't regret any of it. This might be the last Christmas that I will spend in college so I thought of making the most out of it. Thanks to my TIME MANAGEMENT abilities. ;)

DAY 1

                Hmmmn… What can I say about my Christmas this year? Well, I only have one word for it: EXTRAORDINARY! For two consecutive days, I was able to celebrate Christmas not just once but THRICE with five different groups of people. I know right, I got a lot of energy. Hehe…

                Last year, I got invited by a friend to join her family for an outreach program. We fed the Badjaos of Pioneer Ave. and honestly, that was an experience that I want to do and happen over and over again. I’d wanted to share things with those who need it. I even planned to organize a charity group two years ago, but my poor schedule didn’t allow me to. So now you know what happened to that plan.

                December 21, 2012 – I woke up feeling confuse of how can I manage my time knowing that I have to attend three parties on the same day. I was also in dilemma about which should I do first. They said that it’s the day that the world ends, so I thought of managing my time effectively. At 11:00 am, I have to be at St. Vincent Strambi – GenSan’s Home for the Aged – because I volunteered to help in Ann Santos’s charity work in celebration of her birthday. I was invited by Ate Sheryl a.k.a. Ate Birdie to give a hand. I knew that I have to do a lot of stuffs for that day but I didn’t mind them. I’d been to St. Vincent Strambi twice and I’d been longing for my come back. I wanted to see the oldies again. (Just so you know, I have the greatest sympathy for grannies than anyone else).

Ate Birdie interviewing Lolo Opao

 So at 11:30am, I arrived in the place. I saw familiar faces… Faces that I have already seen from my last visit. However, I got sad realizing that the Lola who used to lead the group whenever visitors come in, the one on a wheel chair, the English speaker, who used to wear her headband, was not in sight. She used to lead the “Tanging Yaman” song. I assume she already passed away. L

Aside from the familiar faces, I also noticed the new ones. Some still have that energy to dance and sing, while some stayed on the couch and watched the entertainers. It was nice talking to them. Even though I can barely understand what others were saying, I was happy to listen to their experiences. They’re very game to answer our questions. I despise their children for abandoning them! Thanks to volunteers who have a heart for the old ones. At least the grannies would not feel so alone. How I wish I can return to that place again and share my blessings with them when I can.

At 6:00pm, of the same day, I attended the FOCUS Group’s Christmas Party at Asian Tongue. We chose the venue because of the Eat-All-You-Can treat that’s available. Let me tell you about the FOCUS Group. Well, it’s composed of Febie, Chelsea, Jennah, Ate Liezl, Charmie, Princes, Vincent, Merajoy, Edward, Charmaine, Jaswill, Jane, Gladys, Gayle and I. Why it was named FOCUS is still not so clear to me. We’ve been classmates for four years, but believe it or not, we only got a tighter relationship last semester. As funny as it sounds, if conflicts didn’t happen last semester, FOCUS won’t be born. We shared almost the same views. We’re different from each other but we complement. For the short time that I spent with them, I felt their warm offer of friendship and love. They’d been good to me. I know I don’t spend ample of time with them since the semester started, but I know they understand. That’s why I love this group. You don’t need to stick all your vacant time with them, what’s important is that they know that you’ll just be around. I hope that the friendship that we have will last longer. I know.

At 8:00pm, I, Gladys and Jane, excused ourselves out from the Asian Tongue to proceed to the MEOWRKS Christmas Party at Jane’s new and beautiful home. Dana, Vergie and Kaye have been waiting there for two hours. It’s an awaited party for me. You have no idea how much effort I did to convince my parents to let me spend the whole night at Jane’s. haha! I texted Daddy but he turned me over to Mommy. I addressed my concern to Mommy, but she returned me over to Daddy. And after all the negotiations and pleadings that I made, they eventually turned me to Papa. They told me that if Papa would allow me, then, they’ll do the same. So, I immediately texted Papa. I told him why I have to be in Jane’s. Thanks to his P3 load balance! He immediately agreed to my plea. I jumped from the moment I read his “OO na, ang kulit mo” reply! I felt like I won a million peso! I went out of my room with a grin. my little brother even asked me what happened to me. Maybe if I measured the width of my smile that moment, one ruler wouldn’t be enough to describe how wide of a glee I felt. It was my first time to be allowed to sleepover someone’s house!

When we arrived at Jane’s home, I was surprised seeing Dana cooking. She boasted her self-cooked friend chicken! Good for her, she enjoyed the task assigned to her. We started the night with laughter and songs. I brought my guitar. I and Vergie even had composed our friendship song. So watch out for it! While waiting for Jane, we continued playing the guitar. Gladys didn’t feel well at the first few minutes but after Kaye’s effective massage, she went back to her usual crazy actions. She didn’t mind us calling her ABNORMAL because she’s guilty about it. *bleh!

When Jane got back, we started munching the foods that I, Kaye, Vergie and Dana prepared. Vergie prepared the Spaghetti. It was one of the delicious pastas I had ever tasted! Dana prepared the fried chicken. All I can say is, she’s good even if she’s a first timer. Then I prepared the Mango Float. I am happy to know that they like it. They said it tasted like Ice Cream. Is that a sign that I should start my cooking career and our catering services? haha

After dinner, we head on to our most-awaited part of the party… EXCHANGING GIFTS! But hey, we definitely put some twist to it. The twist is: EACH OF US SHOULD PICK THE GIFT IN WHICH SHE THINKS IS FOR HER. We agreed to only write the giver’s name at the top of our respective gift. It was exciting because weeks ago, we’ve been giving petty gifts to our secret Monitas. So it was a puzzle to each of us on who have picked our name. To make the guessing fair, we drew lots to identify the first one to choose. Another twist on that part is that, if you happen to be correct on your guess, you’ll be rewarded by the person you picked. Unfortunately, I picked number 5. It should have been Gladys’s gift that I would pick, but I was only torn between mine and Kaye’s gift. Even if it’s erroneous that I shouldn’t be picking Kaye’s because I was her Monita last year, I didn’t have a choice. I was a hundred losser on that matter. Poor me.

I also had a deal with Kaye that if I was Gladys’s Monita, I would be buying Cadbury, but if not, she will treat me to Starbucks. And through all my innocence, when we opened the gifts, I found out that Gladys’s gift was for me! Pft! Could you imagine that? The pot of gold was almost on my palms but it slipped away. Huhu! I was so degraded. Haha!

We continued the party with a bottle of drink. Only four of us survived until the last drop. Vergie, Gladys and Dana immediately laid down to sleep while Jane, Kaye and I were left in the living room conversing about our high school lives. I termed it as a Scholarly Conversation. If only you have heard Jane talking, she talked in straight English! Hahaha… alcohol’s fault. The conversation went pretty well. It was only during that time that I found out that Kaye was also a Class Valedictorian! Wow!

At 1:30am, we stopped the Scholarly Convo and went to the bedrooms to sleep. I remembered, I still have a 10:00am call time for our Voice Pub Christmas party and community extension.  What a day!