BLOGGER
Enjoying the holidays
I could say that Christmas 2007 and New Year 2008 had been my best ever. This season was highlighted by reunions among friends and classmates, new friendships, many realizations and the promise of "more."
On top of the usual time with my family during the holidays, what made this Christmas very happy is that my bestfriends Ann, Yasuy and me were together again. They had been my bestfriends since high school.
This circle of three accepts without judgment, understands, listens and gives advice to each other. Ann is a government worker and a devoted mother to Shaun. She would always rush home after work to tend to her family, which includes a Rottweiler, miniature pinschers and two Japanese Spitz. I used to feel sorry for mothers who don't give so much time for their social life, but when I saw how Shaun has developed into an intelligent and very responsible kid, it was another proof that a cool mom is someone who is devoted to her family.
Then, there's Yasuy, the most career driven and most intelligent of us all, who had made Manila her home since she graduated from college. What I learned from her is her optimism. She's the type who never complains and always believes there's a solution to everything. I've never seen her worried. When she decided to spend Christmas here in Iloilo, Ann and I were ecstatic and when she arrived, we were almost inseparable.
Then, before New Year came, UPV High School Class '87 held its mini reunion at the school's 'Mushrooms'. This is what we call the small gazebos there. That's where we used to hang out during our break or when we were cutting classes. We used to watch our crushes from that area, too. There were almost 40 of us who gathered, along with some spouses, children and mentors. Bads and Janette, two close friends, were there too. We used to have our all-girl party every weekend sometime last year and it was really crazy and memorable. It was short-lived because the two had to be devoted career women and mothers again. So, our rendezvous have become lunching out and having coffee together. When we meet, we always go, "Okay, game. You go first." It's our signal to start babbling about how our life went in the past week or two. In the spirit of fairness, we do it one after the other.
I usually party with Vincent, another close friend. We've been hitting the clubs together for six years so he got to witness all my stupidity when I get drunk during a party. We could bitch about each other's business. Although this could be challenging, we somehow appreciate the fact that such honesty is very important. Seldom can you see friends who tell you your mistakes. Their openness gives you the opportunity to accept what's been said and the chance to air your side in case there had been some misjudgment. Since we are in the same line of work, we understand each other. The competition (we work for different newspapers) did not come between us. As they say, 'trabaho lang, walang personalan.'
Then, there's this special set of people who I hang out with in Langford, headed by its owners Al and Grace. Vincent and I consider them as our second family and during the holidays when there wasn't much work to do, I was able to spend lots of time with them. Not only did we eat, drink and share stories together, we also held a toy drive for abused and poor kids. This is Vincent's project and the Langford clan helped to continue this tradition. We also held a fruit and biscuit drive for the grannies at Asilo de Molo. That visit to Asilo made me think, "What's my life going to be like when I'm old?" We all grow old and I'm confident that God will provide us with a family to love us or a home to care for us. Either way, I wish I'll be one of those women who age gracefully.
As for new friendships, I've been in collaboration with some doctors, nurses and others who are fellow members of KKK, Mga Kaibigan ng Mga Kabataang May Kanser since November and the series of meetings we had have been fruitful. Proof is the success of the two one-act plays last month where we gathered enough donations for the treatment of kids with cancer.
Friendships with colleagues in the media industry and fellow artists were renewed after collaborations in several projects. Outside of the said projects, we got to hang out more often and talk about art, movies, music and issues.
And as for the promise of "more," there's always a lot in store for all of us. Everyday there's an opportunity to grow; just grab it, work on it and enjoy it.(E-mail to katvillalon@yahoo.com)