Another Year, Another Challenge, Same Old Friends...

From left, me, Arnel, Gina P, Thess S, Gina L and Joy S in front of Banapple

Happy New Year to everyone! That's the very first 3 words that everyone said when the clock struck twelve lat January 1st. It's another year and so far we're thankful that everyone of us didn't get any injuries while playing with local fire crackers. It's tradition in the Philippines to spend time with loved ones during new year and pop some fire crackers over a bottle of beer. As a result, those that were less careful are rushed to hospitals with missing fingers, while others have to bear the scars of a boomer gone wild.

My college friends in the University of the East have been planning to see each other as early as first week of December. There were a lot of activities that each of us has to accomplish so some of us has to beg-off. As a result, we finally fixed a date last January 2nd at the Ayala Triangle in Makati. What? I don't know where that place is. I'm familiar with Glorieta as our common meeting place in the past but the Ayala Triangle, I've never been there! I was sending words to my friends that I'm not familiar with the place but will definitely show up no matter what happens. We're going to Banapple, one of the hang outs at the park.

To make sure I'm refreshed, I took a very long nap immediately after lunch and made sure I'm awake just in time to get to the meeting place. The nights are a little cold so I have to make sure someone's at my back to keep the cold out. That means I have to bring along my wife who is also dying to see my friends which she became fond of conversing with. So off we go to Makati and let's just make sure we can ask someone where that place is.

The only landmark that was mentioned to us was that the place we're looking for is close to Manila Peninsula. So what I did, was position my motorcycle as the car park that is just behind Manila Pen. We asked the taxi drivers and other chauffeurs that were around, but they seem to don't know where Banapple is.Finally, one of the security guards told us that it's just across the street, which is known as the Ayala Triangle. So! Finally, we hit the jackpot! We're in the right place and has a wonderful space to park our Honda motorcycle. All we need to do is bring our helmets with us, cross the street and look for Banapple. The Ayala Triangle is the big open space between Manila Peninsula Hotel and Paseo de Roxas. It's the big open space where the Makati Stock Exchange is situated. The city government finally converted the place into a park for everyone to enjoy. That's the very first park I've encountered that has trashcans for pet droppings. It's more like the Luneta park in Manila. The only difference is that Ayala was able to preserve some of the old trees that used to grow there. In addition to that, there's a lot of space and place now where anyone can jog and have a cozy shade to rest when needed. There are children running around in the blue grass that covers most of the park and some of them would try out the remote controlled toys they got for Christmas. In one stretch, you'll find a row of eateries that has been serving people. One of them has to be Banapple.

Finally we found the place and immediately noticed the gang. They're all there, just in time to order our dinner. We have to queue up at the cashier to order and then the waiters will serve our orders when done. I had pork with hickory sauce and so did my wife, Gina. The others has the same except for Thess Silva who wanted Tuna on Rye.

It was a wonderful time to catch up from the last time we met. The last time I was with the group was way back February of last year. That was the time when Fr. Joandre Beltran was around with Dong Mayo. We had a bonding trip in Tagaytay and boy! That's one memorable trip. This time, the gang had to start telling stories about what happened to each one of us in the past 6 months. It was nice to know that Thess and her husband Ely celebrated their wedding anniversary in Japan, and Arnel "Pebbles" Poblete, shows off his newly acquired Nikon camera which he got in their US trip last summer with wife Gina Gonzales Poblete. Most of the stories that circulated in that small table were related to our friends that they met in the US, like Fr. Jojo and Lefie. Gina makes sure that every time a group gathering happens, she brings with her some token gifts that Lefie gave for the group. This time she had the chance to distribute it to everyone.

It's not an invisible nightgown, it's Lefie's gift!

Gina pointed out how Lefie didn't change over the years and that their meeting was very short, because Lefie's children were looking forward to a side trip to an amusement park. Gina then described how different life is in the Philippines and how lucky we are here, considering the fact that our relatives are all within reach. The case is very different for Filipinos who are working or living in the US of A. They spend most of their time in work and their closest relatives is in another state. We're talking about hours of air travel before they'll finally meet. In our case your immediate cousin may live in the next street or in the next city. But it's something that we all take for granted. That's also the reason why Filipinos abroad are very happy to have a relative around to talk to. Joy Sanchez told us that he left his job in the call center and will dispute some procedures that were implemented to her. She talked about the treatment that she got which made me open up my sad fate as well last December. Eventually we compared notes and talked about the next steps we'll do in our own careers. I remember the wish I always have when I was working in the PLDT call center. I always wish that I'm free on new year and Christmas day. We really have to be careful what we wish for because we'll never know how we'll get them.

Lefie with Fr. Joandre Beltran

After dinner, we decided to part ways again and call it a night. But the night was still too young and so are we! So as a result, after the long walk to the parking lot, the group decided to look for a place to have a cup of coffee. We ended up walking back to Banapple and tried out the next store, Bfast. It's a place that serve breakfast meals anytime of the day. We wanted to try out the other stores but all are filled up with people. When we arrived in the Triangle, there weren't much people in the cafes. But as dinner time approaches, you'll have to literally wait outside to be accommodated in any of the eateries. Bfast wasn't filled up with guests so we finally found a spot to have a cup of coffee.  We started discussing plans regarding what we'll do when Fr. Jojo comes back early this year, and what are the plans for the Baguio trip this February. We can't polish things up because there are still certain details that we have to clear out with Jojo to make sure that all is smooth sailing for all of us when that day comes. We decided to focus on that topic by the end of this month when we meet each other again. By that time, we'll have the answers we wanted.

A text message came in, and that's our cue to end the night for good. Ely and the other kids are just around and will soon be in the side street to pick up Thess. Gina and Pebbles' car is not very far. Joy will hitch a ride and be dropped off somewhere close to Marikina, where she lives. My wife and I also got a text message from my sister in law, saying that we have to meet a grumpy woman before 8 p.m. So that ended our short get-together that was not only fun but also filled with love for each other.