He survived both Bb. Ludivina Crescini and Danilo V.Morales at Prep.
"yep. nasa computers rin ako. i was
computer operator, programmer, s.a.,
project manager, and now, consultant. what's
a consultant? someone you
hire and pay a lot to, so that he can borrow your
watch to tell you the
time." This was his answer
to my query kung ano ang racket niya.
Broadcast e-mail from Benjie that is very revealing of the guy:
to the newcomers, namely inday, noli, edna:
buti naman at sumulat kayo. kasi, alam niyo naman ang nangyayari
pag
nagsamasama ang mga mag-kakaibigan. aside from nagiinuman, pinaguusapan
namin lagi yung mga wala doon. at least pag-nagmail kayo, parang
nandoon
na kayo rin. hey, maybe at our next get together, we could all
log in
neph's chat room para talagang magkasama tayong lahat. it will
be hosted
by eq (which he still doesn't know).
edna: nasa sgv ka rin pala! but you were there before my
time. i was
there in '83, started in i/act. i stayed until '91 when andersen
took
over.
noli: pareho pala yung racket natin nina ed at flora at neph.
nasa
computers rin ako. naging assembler programmer, tapos cobol,
tapor... ah
ewan, madami na rin. now, consultant nalang ako which by definition
is
"someone who borrows your watch to tell you the time" (something i
learned from andersen consulting). it's a nice enough job, not
like
developing programs which can really be pressure-laden. pag-nakinig
sa
advice mo, ok. kund hinid nakinig naman, ok pa rin kasi babayaran
ka pa
rin naman.
ed: i remember the story you told me. you had related that
to me a long
time ago. but i agree, we can't broadcast that one. now
the one when
you set fire to the classroom, i think we can safely broadcast that
one.
to everyone again: kasi, ang idea ko, is to gather enough war
stories
during our times at up prep to have some way to re-live those times.
si
ed umali, ang dami-daming istorya talaga, and everytime we meet, i
try to
sit close enough to listen to his kwentos so i can take some notes.
last time, he and boo and the rest of the ex-explorers (which i belatedly
remember i was kinda part of pala), were telling old camping stories.
like the time ray dan shot a pig - wild boar daw, kaya lang it was
in a
pig pen, at wala namang fangs. i didn't get the details but he
used a
rifle. he aimed at the pig, shot it, and was vastly surprised
to have
hit it. namatay, and he had to rush home to get money to pay
for it.
or the time in nagcarlan when they were pitching their tent. they
needed
some pegs so they cut down some small trees to make some. next
morning,
they were surprised when the owners of the field they were in informed
them that the trees they cut were lanzones trees!
madami pa, kaya lang i still have to verify the veracity of some of
the
stories kasi nga si ed umali yung nagsasalita, di ba? you can't
take
everything he says as gospel truth. (buti nalang wala pang email
si ed).
like when he ways he had 3 or more girlfriends in up prep. hindi
ko
nalang sasabihin yung mga binanggit niyang pangalan at baka mainsulto
pa
sila. he-he-he.
new report nalang ito: last meeting was at Jerry barican's pad
in
salcedo village, makati. (capital J, kasi daw, he has ALWAYS
spelled his
name with a J, but some friends keep insisting on spelling it with
a G.
isa na ako doon.) ang kaisa-isa naming babae ay si josie
angeles-panganiban. hindi sumipot si lily pineda, si liz, si
junie, o si
felicia. hindi namin alam kung bakit. pero siguro si liz,
kasi ayaw
niyang makisalimuha sa mga matatanda na. the other new face who
showed
up aside from josie, was joey mundo. boyet dominguez also showed
up
after missing the last two get-togethers. ang masaklap lang,
yung mga
dating nandoon, nawala naman, katula nina eq, junie, liz, lily, felisa,
nellie, dewes. si angge met one time with sina joey, manny, boyet,
at
felisa. pero wala naman siya this time.
raul leopando, manny, boyet, jerry, and i had a small drinking binge
one
night at the makati sports club, courtesy of raul. wala naman,
nagpakalasing lang si raul at si manny.
we're planning a grand reunion for those of us here in pinas sometime
in
september or thereabouts (mahirap ko nang matandaan, kasi nakailang
beer
na rin ako by the time we started planning, but anyway armie dela cruz
and josie were taking down the minutes of the meeting.) sabi
ni jerry,
he'd try to get the 3rd floor of rizal hall at padre faura. exactly
where we spent the best years of our lives! (basta kasi nanalo
si erap,
president na si jerry ng u.p.) we all hope he can swing it.
tapos, to
provide music to swing to, ire-revive daw nina boyet at joey yung band
nila sa high school. we'll ask mike pedero to join us, kasi honorary
member naman siya ng class 66, maski nung nasa prep pa tayo.
ang hang
out niya lagi kasama sina joey at boyet.
our grand, GRAND reunion, when we expect all of you who are abroad to
be
here is being planned for next year. when, will depend on you.
do you
guys prefer to be here during your summer vacation or during your
christmas vacation. let's get a concensus going so you have enough
time
to plan your vacation leaves. ang suggestion ko sa venue, sa
sunken
garden, in other words sa lagoon area. hoy, maganda na doon ngayon,
hindi kagaya nung time niyo na madilim at madami kayong pinag-tataguan.
o, sige na. it's 9:00 am at kailangan ko pang kumayod para sa
tatlo kong
anak. i, ehek, we, pala my wife and i, have 3 boys - 11, 8, and
2. late
na kasi akong nag-asawa, kay eto, nag-hahabol pa ako sa inyo.
sabi nga
nina ed, at ray, at armie, dapat sa grand reunion, kasama ang families
natin, pati ang mga anak, para mag-kakilala silang lahat. sabi
ko naman,
for what purpose, anong gagawin nang mga magga-graduate nila sa college
sa aking anakna grade six palang ngayon. not to mention my 2-year
old.
agree naman sa akin si boyet, kasi may 2-year old rin siya.
raul, ray: sorry nalang sa mga kuwento na nabasa nang mga anak
niyo sa
email ko. kasi, dapat kayong kumuha ng sarili niyong email address.
huwag yung nakikigamit pa kayo sa mga anak niyo!
yung offer ko na one bottle of absolute vodka to anyone who can name
the
x-rated moviehouses along plaza sta. cruz. medyo may nananalo
na. si
joey came up with the name cine sta. cruz. pero alam ko, may
at least
isa pa doon. sinong makikihati kay joey?
yung tanong ko naman kung sino yung object of tong linsangan's love
poems
in high school, wala pang sumasagot. isa ring boteng absolute
yun. kayo
sa states, do you remember? pati yata si tong, nakalimutan na
niya. his
memories seem to have gone along with his hair.
see youse. sulat kayo ha? tsaka, don't forget the war stories.
para
makapagcompile tayo nang history natin.
benjie
ps. ed, who was the other guy in short pants? was it larry?
pps. divina, is that you at "BLagua211@ AOL.com"? if yes,
please let us
know you're alive, and well, and fiddling on your violin. if
it's not
divina there, please let me know so you don't have to listen to our
endless chatter.
Won't you guys please answer his e-mail?