alma mater comeback

the other day, i attended my niece's elementary graduation back at my alma mater in pasig city. the place has changed completely---ancient trees cut down for new buildings, old structures replaced with remodelled ones, a canteen and a kiosk gone missing, memories i had were now buried in the construction rubble. i spent my grade school and highschool life here, didn't i? though architecturally it was a place i've never been to before, the feeling was still there. i was, after all, the child she reared up and the familiar warmth of her comforting embrace after almost a decade is always mine to have.

the event lasted for almost three hours so my family and i sat amidst the school grounds, fanned by the cold evening air. i remember staying at school with my friends playing ball games and exhausting ourselves of funny classroom anecdotes. no other students were there at those times that we literally owned the whole school for ourselves. we roamed the corridors and sometimes we sat in a circle at the center of the school basketball court. it was indeed like a mystic seance of sorts and the magic was the bond that we've forged hard---tried and tested throughout these years.

as i listened thru my niece's commencement activity, there were times that i couldn't keep myself from closing my eyes and letting my skin bathe in the ambience of the night. the air is still full of memories, still full of the stuff of my not so distant adolescence, the feeling almost palpable.

summer getaway

the family has already started concocting summer plans though "where" is constantly the question to be answered. do we go to a relative's house which is situated among strawberry fields in baguio? should we stay at the mango farm in rizal and spend our afternoons on a picnic beside the crystal clear brook?

as long as the place isn't scorching hot and there is ample supply of water, i'm all good.

talking like me folks

sometimes, your old folks at home give stories of way back about their childhood and you roll your eyes at the comparison. you tell yourself that certainly it is different and it was almost frivolous to pit the past against the now. seems i ain't getting younger for i found myself doing that "ancient comparison talk" with my pre-adolescent niece a couple of times.

when i found her using the phone for hours...
[me]: (authoritative tone) "nakikipag-usap ka na naman sa phone?"
[niece]: (smiles sweetly) "sandali lang naman..." *i don't let my nieces use 'po' on me*
[me]: (weary) "nung pareho tayo ng edad di naman ako mahilig magbabad sa telepono tapos ikaw ganyan. kung sino-sino pa kausap mo jan. hindi ka pa teenager baka magka-boypren ka na agad nyan."

when she got home late after a half-day class...
[me]: (probing) "bakit gabi ka na naman umuwi? tv patrol na ah."
[niece]: (answers nicely) "stay lang kami sa bahay ng friend ko sa pasig eh."
[me]: "uli-uli, pag gagabihin ka, mag-text ka sa akin o kaya sa mama mo. sabihin mo kung anong oras ka uuwi at kung nasaan ka. nung ako naman dati sinasabi ko lahat sa kanila kung saan ako nagpupupunta."

when she brought home jollibee food...
[me]: (doubtful) "yan na ba yung burger steak?" *i never order burger steak*
[niece]: "di ko kasi maubos kanina kaya inuwi ko na."
[me]: (begins the deadly comparison) "grabe naman yan. ang liit! dati kasing lapad yang patty ng malaking rice tapos ngayon parang kalahati na lang. yung ispageti dati bente uno pesos lang ngayon trenta na."
[niece]: (laughs) "para ka namang si lolo!"
[me]: "ha?" (pauses for a moment) "oo nga! nakakairita nga pag ganun yun!" (giggles together with niece then stops) "hmm..." (frowns)