Paulinian Hearts

The gathering begins…
The forces of nature seemed to have gathered to favor the longing for a reunion of folks who were once under a common school ceiling. The Saturday began with a rising sun, opposed to the cloudy and rainy previous days. Typhoon Basyang may have been informed of the plan and that it had to leave sooner than July 17, 2010. I had to excuse myself from work at 10:30 in the morning so I can reach the picnic area of Camp John Hay, Baguio City before lunch. My high school classmates and I agreed to gather for an informal reunion with our high school mentors. It is, then, a meeting of Paulinians- the term coined to label students of then, Saint Paul’s Academy (SPA) - the prestigious catholic high at Sayangan, Atok, Benguet. I cannot recall how it exactly reads but I learned about a year ago that the school is now known by a modified title, something like SPA, Inc. After twenty years of being a wage earner, I am among those who haven’t established a car character (“Awan pay adi ti lugan ko”). I had to rely on the available public transport service. Upon exiting the gate of the university where I work, a cab on duty invited me in. The supposed brief ride turned out to be not. The almost heavy traffic in Baguio City’s central business district prolonged the excitement of meeting with previous schoolmates. The wait was over. I realized that the cab I was in is navigating the inclined, neat and nicely maintained road within the Green Camp John Hay. There I saw the picnic area…

The attendance…
Upon uttering “thank you” to the cab driver who handed me about 30 box as a refund for the hundred peso bill I gave him, my eyes eagerly searched the area. I quickly recognized Theodore Ged-ang in a cool green shirt, James Ruadap- a tall man with a body defining a police officer, Jonathan- with the JOAT (Jack of all trade) persona, Perlita Canite-Awingan-the persistent reunion coordinator, and a fulfilled looking man who was later identified for me as Wilfredo Salaza. They were all-smiles but definitely Theodore maintained the same infectious youthful smile. Standing with Perl was obviously one of our mentors- indeed she is ma’am Felicisima Belagan Alinao. Ma’am is looking good as she was then. Thank you madam for joining us. It was made apparent that the others are already in the not so distant picnic tables. As we motioned down the table area, smiling faces of linearly seated ladies are noticeable. I tested my self and I did recognize all of them. Clarita Alos, Narcisa Tambic, Mary Tomas, Elizabeth Guinyawan, Esther Cayat, Martha Sabelo - the profiles of their faces implied that their family names have changed. Later I learned that Clarita’s surname is covered by Lipaod, Narcisa by Wiling, Mary by Densen, Elizabeth by Singit, Esther by Gamutlong, and Martha by Comiles. Sir Ferdinand Daguio was chatting with the daddy-looking Edwin Teofilo Miro. Sir Ferdie’s look as well as Edwin’s are authentications of their photos on facebook-typical of “what you see(on picture) is what you get(from an actual view)”. Their father figure characters were accentuated because near them were sir Ferdie’s young daughters ( Actually, sir has one biological daughter but I understand he included under his care a niece). A restaurateur looking guy who was with sir Ferdie’s area required me to do several memory flashes. I made no immediate recall and I almost gave up when somebody tagged him as Jose Kinomes, a restaurant owner in fact. As acquaintance renewals went on, additional ladies turned in. The jolly staff of Atok District Hospital -Marilou Miguel-Sanchez (D.D), Maria Beverly Baday-Calawen, and Joana Colsim together with businesswoman looking Gloria Apit, made their way to the group. Orlando Smith Jr’s arrival typified the entry of a Mr. World, fitting the resort ambiance we were in. Jr’s posture is very telling of someone whose pleasure is 24/7 body building habit, of someone whose career is focused on being Mr. Universe. If someone would get a Mr. congeniality award, it must be given to Jr. just the same. Everyone received his hand for a shake if not a squeeze from his hug (.u. u.uggh!). Cristina Segnaken-Aban arrived with her usual “sister” aura despite the fact that she is happily married and is rearing a lone child. Later did I notice that another man whose profile reminds me of a “big boss” is with the group- Armando Palbusa. A year ago, as a part of my strategies to gather data for a research I was doing then, I had to attend our clan reunion in Central Buguias. I, then, discovered that Armando and I have the same family lineage. The lunch was finished when Ma’am Annie Lyn Ged-ang arrived in the company of her lovely kids.

The “Kilig” Moments then and now…
Back then were hearts nursed for the so called puppy loves. Apparently, this boy had been the look-out guy (This is because ma’am was there to enforce the conservative manners) as this girl and that boy indulged in their “dalliance” (Eto ba yon, atty Larry?.. jejeje..) not once but several times at the Upper Ground ( May letter J’s sa pangalan ng mga guy classmates na involved, jejeje). This boy and that girl, then, pictured the serious man-woman relationship despite the fact that they were just high school kids ( May J din sa pangalan ng mga kasali, jejeje...) This girl had a crush on that boy but the boy had another subject of interest… etc. etc… I think the FEELINGS haven’t changed. Everyone in the scene would admit that some “kilig” moments were felt as the boys and girls came into reunion. The tonal yells as parties are seen greeting each other are suggestive of something. The bowing heads and the blushes are very telling of unforgotten moods. So much so that later in the session, sir Ferdie had to make a remark that we should continue whatever it was then but “IN ANOTHER WAY”. When Junior, Joana, Perl, Jonathan, sister Nena and I met for a fine dinner at Omai Khan restaurant last week, Junior has intimated his philosophy that life moves with CHOICE and CHANCE. His CHOICE brought him to his current state and if by his CHOICE he realizes unfavorable implications, he’s got a CHANCE… The petition for a chance seem to have been directed to somebody who answered by saying “I don’t give chances to somebody who could just be lucky to get the chance.” … whatever! Jejeje…

The funny lines…
Everyone was putting value to the moment. Everyone was appreciative of what is happening. In an attempt to explore possibilities for a repeat of the gathering, somebody was asking “Sinoy masikog ed wani?... ta man-ninong ya man-ninang tako si bunyag…” A burst of laughter was heard when one witty classmate said “Nan-menopause ta et yan…” Ganun na nga ba katanda ang mga tao samantalang ako ay “virgin” pa rin. Jejeje… Someone has to say “May i-amag tako ngarud ta mankakaising tako”… Everything is a joke, of course, but it shows that some of us have the tendency to go with traditional ways… Or maybe, cultural knowledge is just being reviewed for fun. In another segment of time, someone said “Kayat ko nga agpapicture kami kenni ***** ngem baka Makita ni baket ko diyay picture… Narigat ti giyera…”

The serious lines…
The challenge dawned. Sir Ferdie made a suggestion that the body should lay out a ground that will compel everyone to keep the alliance. (Due to sir’s success in instilling the virtue of obedience and respect, the suggestion seemed to me an order rather than a toy idea. The military ways that we have practiced in our high school C.A.T suddenly surfaced and it controlled my frame of mind). The concept is to create a “tourist guiding agency business”. The general idea is to create a network of service resources in order to attend to the needs of interested tourists. The business idea is assumed feasible considering that sir is based in the area of the Banaue Rice Terraces, some of us are managing restaurants along the highways, some of us may be currently with the transport service business, etc. ( While sir brought out the idea, I suddenly missed Charlie. Charlie used to drive a van for hire. In fact, we utilized his van when we [Perlita, Joana, Esperanza, Junior, Romulo, Charlie and I] did a visit to sir Zambrano’s family in their place in Itogon years ago. Charlie even brought us to his home on the same day because it was his birthday and a party was set for him by his thoughtful wife. We also utilized his van when we obliged Theodore to host a party for us in his place in Manaoag Pangasinan, in the same year (sometime in August 2005). I remember meeting Theodore’s reserved and beautiful wife then – As in, wala nga naman makakatalo kay Mrs. G. kung looks and manners ang mga basehan. It was the birthday of one of Ted’s two kids at that time. After a few moments in the famous Manaoag Church [Because of the catholic culture we gained from SPA, some of us made it a point to do our prayers in the Manaoag church before everything], Ted brought us [Perl, Joana, Junior, Jonathan, Charlie and I] to a luxurious resort for a swimming spill. Nagkahiyaan naman, si Charlie lang ang nagswimming, siya ang gumamit ng sexy swimming trunks na nadala ko. Socials ( eating and drinking ) na lang ginawa namin sa tabi ng pool. Later, we indulge in party foods and Karaoke singing in Ted’s place before we headed home. Nasaan nga ba si kuya Charlie?) Okay! I was tasked to conduct an investigation on how a WEBSITE, that will support the business plan and its eventual operation, may be set up. Halah! Akala nila magaling ako sa paggamit ng technology. ( If they only knew, my field of work has to do with the theoretical side of technology rather than the application side.) Anyway, I will do my best… Watch out, then, for the developments along this line. One wisdom from sir Ferdie that needs to be echoed is his prescription that we emulate the Chinese Culture of providing continuous support ( in fact they need to support their kin in carrying out their business ventures up to four chances). Put in another way, Junior’s CHOICE-CHANCE philosophy is allowed in at least four times. Obviously, success is not impossible because of such practice. Hence, we may not be coming from the same family blood, but we are bound by the Paulinian Heart. Our alliance will be sustained by our commitment to support each other all the way…

My gratitude…
Many thanks to all those who came… I may have missed some names in this manuscript but everyone is permanently recorded in my heart.
Many thanks, too, to those who were not physically present but were one with us in keeping the idea of prolonged camaraderie. Time may come for the physical meeting but should it not happen, the same time will keep you valuable, however, wherever…