Saan na nga ba...?

I do have friends from outside of work, you know.

In fact, last April 1, I had dinner with them. My housemate, Julienne, and I decided to invite them for dinner sa Luk Yuen sa may Glorietta 5. Not a posh resto, I know, pero during our college days, Luk Yuen was where we almost always had lunch. We love their congee and wanton chips.

Di ba nabanggit ko na dati na ang housemate ko sa apartment ay college friend ko na babae?

Ito si Julienne, college friend, and housemate:

She was the smartest girl in my batch. She is still the smartest, most intelligent girl I know. She works with Landbank Foundation.

They send her everywhere around the country.

As in EVERYWHERE. All expenses paid. Sigh.

We rarely see each other anymore, even though we live in the same two-storey apartment.

And on the rare occasions that we do bump into each other, we're too tired from work to even muster up the energy to strike a conversation. We call each other "Sunshine."

And then there's Ayin:

One of my favorite people. EVER. How do I describe Ayin? Well... ito ang Friendster testimonial niya sa akin noon:

OOOOHHH!!! AHHH!!! I'M COOMMINNGG!!!!
those are the only words I utter
whenever I am with Ryan. We usually
hang-out inside Toffer's car,
specially pag naka-park ito sa harap
ng College Bldg. ng Bene. We LOOOVVE
PDA!!! so usually mas preferred namin
pag mejo malapit na kami mahuli.... ni
Dean Obispo!!! bwahahahahaha!!!!

Haaay. She hasn't changed one bit. She was still just as kalog as ever during our dinner. She mentioned that she thought Julienne and I were playing a practical joke, scheduling our dinner on April Fool's Day.

Right now, Ayin is a teacher. She mentioned to me kung saan siya nagtuturo pero nakalimutan ko kung saan kasi I couldn't get over the fact that she really was married. Ang weird pala ng feeling na malaman mo na ang kabarkada mo years ago ay may asawa na and life moved on dramatically for them and yet, ako, wala. Walang nangyari.

This is her with her husband.

And this is her with her American Idol, Danny Gokey.

During our college days, Ayin auditioned for Miss Saigon when it was staged here in Manila. She got invited for a second audition kaso she chickened out and never returned. Sayang.

The guy next to Ayin is John Joe. He was the theater-guy in our group. Grade school teacher sa Paranaque. He teaches Christian Living. Pero nung college kami, nagbabasa yan nang mga libro na pangkulam. Weird how things turn out, ano?

Does this guy look familiar to you? He should be. I know him as Nikolo Baua, a Communications grad of San Beda Alabang and a good friend of mine. Pero nowadays, Niko Baua na ang name niya, at siya ay isang news correspondent ng TV Patrol World.

Astig, di ba? Sabi ko sa kaniya during dinner, "Batiin mo naman ako sa TV!"

He just laughed, thinking I was joking. Seryoso kaya ako. So kinulit ko siya sa Facebook account niya. Sabi niya, he would just name a victim after me.

Ok na sa akin yun.

There was supposed to be one more college friend who would join us. Kaso dehins siya dumating.

Si JP Abellera.

Ang super-super-super busy na si JP Abellera.

Ang super-talented, award-winning writer ng Star Cinema na si JP Abellera.

Sorry, do I sound bitter? Inggit kasi ako sa kaniya eh. Prodigy siya ni Jose Javier Reyes.

He's won multiple awards for his writing. I think he was the head writer of Juday's "Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo" and some of John Lloyd's movies.

Namumula ako sa bitterness.

Hindi siya nakarating nung dinner kasi may storyboards daw siya na kelangan tapusin.

Tignan niyo naman kasi kung sino mga katrabaho niya:

Eh ako?

Si Manong John Lloyd lang. I have to get out of this place.