(by Aileen Gebana-Roeckelein)
Title pa lang, alam niyo na what i mean to say. SUCCESS! Ibang klase talaga magtrabaho itong mga ito. And you know who I am referring to. Matindi silang tumutok sa tao, plus dinagdagan ko pa.
Well, the reason why i was not able to update you daily is first of all, busy din akong sumali sa pagka-busy nila. Ang masaya pa, I had so many sad experiences na I will also relate one by one with you. Second, ang hirap makipag-competensya sa mga pamangkin na mahilig ding mag-online to play. Third, the chance that I get time to rest, nasa mall ako, shopping.
So, bakit ako ngayon nandito? Una kasi, I want to complain. Kasi wala akong natatanggap na pics and e-mails. Yon pala puno na ang aking box. So, I deleted some, if not al;, some I downloaded.
This day, I am stuck at home kasi I am nursing myself from 1st degree burns. No, hindi because of the homecoming. I went to Boracay last Monday `til Wednesday; kung baga to relax naman from the hardwork and ubo at sipon. Ang hindi ko lang na-anticipate, ma-dehydrate at maluto sa sunbathing. Boracay is really fantastic. White, powdery sand, hindi mo mamamalayan ang init. But that is for that and I do not wish to advertise that. You have to see it and experience it. No words can describe the beauty of it. Indeed, babalik ako, with Chairman, maybe in 2 years.
So now that I've the time, let me recap the happenings.
As usual, first day pa lang ng reporting, palpak na si Tita T. It was a Tuesday, meeting with the production company. I was up at 6 and left the house of my brother at 7, anticipating the trafic and all. My niece lent me her car. As I was on the way, dito pa lang sa paranaque, tinirik na ang kotse, overheat. But I was able to start it again. Grabe ang traffic! And as I was along La Huerta going to MIA, tumigil ang car and good that I had time to put it sa side. And the place pa naman na tumigil ako, was the entrance of the place where the karitons bring their basura. I was so afraid, I didn't leave the car. Okay lang at first, kasi medyo malamig pa naman inside. I called SOS sa mga chikas ko sa MIA. About a quarter of an hour, meron na akong rescue, with matching small bottle of mineral water, na akala ko for me, yun pala for the car. Sabi ko nga kulang iyon. Anyway, the car was not conditioned anymore to drive to Makati, parked the car at MIA, so text ko na si Girlie that I was coming late. My friend could not drive me there as color coding ang car niya, he just risked it to rescue me. (Tutal ang ID naman niya police.) So, since I only had 40 pesos in my pocket, I asked my friend to drop me off lang sa bank. From there I took the cab to Girlie's house.
It was nice seeing Girlie again, siempre since I always make it a point to see my barkadas whenever I come home. Honestly, hindi dahil barkada ko siya, mas blooming siya ngayon. Of course, si Tita T hindi pahuhuli, asking na if there is someone. O, I can not give you na the answer, ask her na lang. Then we went to the office of the production company. Nandoon na si Chix and Cathy. Grabe ang papayat nila! Para bang gusto ko silang hatian ng mga fats that I stored. The meeting was already half-way, or was almost finished, kaya wala na akong naintindihan.
After that, I went back to MIA to pick-up the car. I drove into a gasoline station to pump up. Then I requested the boy to check my water, kasi nga baka ubos na naman. He also checked the oil, sabi niya kulang na nga daw. Ang tagal ko na doon, kasi he had to fetch water a lot of times, as in, parang wala nang tubig ang radiator. So, when I paid for everything na, I started the car and drove off, and to my shock, ang nozzle pala ng tank, nakapasok pa sa tank ko. And naputol ko iyon, as in putol! Good na lang wala ng nagflo-flow na gas and someone smoking near it, kung hindi sabog ang gas station. The security guard and the gas boy and the rest of the staff stopped me, and when I looked behind, ayun, nakasabit pa ang nozzle pero putol na siya from the tank. The supervisor told me I have to pay PHP 3,200 for damages. Ako naman, i tried naman to explain that it was the fault of the gas boy, na dapat, right after tanking, tinanggal na niya. E, since wala na nga akong magagawa, I paid him first 1,000 as downpayment and told him, I'll be back on Thursday. Ayaw niyang pumayag. So, I gave another 2,000 and the rest on Thursday. Then I noticed, under the car, talagang flowing na ang water from the radiator, na talagang merong butas. So I asked kung merong mechanic. In short, tiningnan na nga ang told me na kailangang palitan na ang radiator hose. I made bawi the 500 from the supervisor so I can have the car repaired. It took a while before the assistant came back with the hose. Bago pa natapos iyon, drained na ang energy ko. I had to pick up pa my niece, traffic, so I didn't turn on the aircon, at baka mag-overheat na naman. I only had about 2 inches gap open from my window side, kasi afraid din ako sa hold-up or kidnap and all the naps. Gehls, para akong nag-taebo sa pawis na napala ko. So, when I reached the office of my niece, I told her na lang to drive first to the nearest restaurant, kasi I was thirsty, hungry (buti na lang pinakain ako ni Girlie ng lunch, kung hindi mukha na talaga akong yagit, na namamalimos), and sweating!
That night, I sent a text message to Girlie and told her that I could not make it Wednesday to the board meeting. hindi pa niya alam ang ordeal ko.
Thursday was the dance practice. Nag-commute na lang ako to go to Girlie's house. Siempre, may kasama nang shopping sa Landmark, etc. The other gehls came, si Georgina, Kim, Chiqui. Tapos we proceeded na sa studio. Yoly also came, kaya nga alam ko na ang chismis na si Rochie was already home since before Christmas pa daw.
Tama nga sila, this homecoming is like Slimmer's World, papayat ka sa action! That evening, tagaktak ang aking sweat. Para bang isang taon akong hindi nag-sweat. At first, siempre, hirap ang mga steps kasi hindi ko siya alam, but I tried. Sabi nga ng anak ni Kim, I was already turning pink.
I hitched a ride with Kim, whom I grew close to during my entire stay in manila. (Teka, nasa Manila pa pala ako.) She is so sweet and caring, para nga sister ang dating sa akin. And she also knows the people that I know, especially Pasay City politics. Kim, I hope manalo si ninong, para next year, uwi ulit ako.
So, Saturday, it was a general rehearsal with the other jubilarians. Dancing effect na naman! Sus, ang mga bell-bells, talagang nayuyugyog. Ewan ko, ba. Parang ang aking memory capacity, nag-decrease na, at hindi ko pa rin ma-memorize ang steps. Pero, di bale, marami pang practices.
Thursday was the next scheduled practice but I had to drop by SPCM Wednesday to practise the Bali Hai! Kasama din ako doon. Ito na nga ang controversial tapis ni Girlie. Ako, hindi ako nag-tapis. Ako kasi, sailor with Chiqui and her sister.
Jan. 24 luncheon. Ang seating arrangement, si Pola and Rochie were seatmates and I was on Rochie's right, para naman, when the gehls see me, they will say, hey, Aileen, you are not naman that fat. O, di compliment pa sa akin, di ba. That's the secret. E, merong spin a win ang table. Yun bang umiikot yung small table para the food will merry-go-round. I asked the gehls on the other side, kung bakit halos puno pa ang kanilang table, e sa amin, halos ubos na hindi pa ako nakakakain. Sabi ko, round naman itong table, dapat umiikot ng maayos itong table. E medyo, nag-so-stop pagdating kay Rochie. They were laughing like mad. Pero, Rochie and Pola, jokes lang iyan like before. Para naman kayong hindi na nasanay kay Tita T.
Bochie and I hosted the program, giving awards to everyone who came. Siempre, meron pang kasamang pang-asar and ad lib iyan. Did anyone videotape that event? Pero, what everyone noticed, I was sneezing to death, na hindi ko matapos-tapos ang aking sentences, nag-si-sneeze ako. Some were worried that I might get sick, so bili kami ng gamot and talagang alaga ako. Kim and I pala checked in sa Manila Manor, kasi the following day, we had to go to school early (ano'ng we, si Kim lang, ako tulog and resting for the big day). Saturday night, labas pa kami nila May, Menchie, George, Girlie, Kim, Carol GB, Rina Adam. (Meron ba akong nakalimutan?) We had dinner at Friday's in Robinsons and had a recap at Ratsky in front of our hotel. We didn't stay long, kasi nga kailangan namin ng beauty sleep. I had to memorize my speech and try to think of the dance steps.
So, when I went to school to take a look at the gehls, sa gate pa lang, hinarang na ako ng aking Tita Carmen (who is also a member of the board) and said that I'll read the 2nd reading sa mass. Buti na lang, maikli lang. So, okay, paper at hand na naman ang dating ko sa alumnae office. Chiqui asked me nga kung ano ang mine-memorize ko. So, pasyal pa ako sa Robinson's ulit to ask sa beauty parlor ni Tita Ricky kung how much ang make-up with hair do. Asking niya 1,000. Ay, atras si Tita T. Sa 1,000 I can treat 4 gehls to lunch. So, uwi na ako sa hotel put my uniform on and waited for Kim. Check out na kami and dala-dala namin ang aming mga tampipi to school. A lot of people looked our way, thinking, high school pa sila? Or siguro wondering kung may pasok nga since it was Sunday. Other jubilarians liked our style. Si kim nga mukhang 1st year lang. Ako, talagang 4th year kasi naka-heels ako.
I will not detail na the homecoming kasi, the gehls will be distributing DVDs for your home viewing, kayo na lang ang maghusga. For me, it was an experience of a lifetime. Hindi na mauulit iyan. Kung meron mang gumaya, nothing beats the original. And if you get the chance to see it, you would surely say, Tita T dropped the bomb. Kaya wait lang kayo, because as far as I know, the production company committed to me that they will finish last Tuesday, so ready na iyan for distribution. Basta wait lang kayo.
This mail is not enough. Meron pa itong "to be continued" for other extra curricular. Got to end here, excited si Cora to hear my chismis, so i have to end here and wait for her call.
`Til next issue. In case hindi niyo pa alam, there is going to be a get-together/despedida on Friday, 7 pm Manila time sa Saisaki Glorietta. I hope to see more gehls, para merrier.
Babu muna
Tita T
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