gifts. people. friendships

my recent trip to cebu has certainly, certainly (stress, not a typo) made me more convinced and assured that gifts come in all shapes, sizes, colours and forms.
even before booking my flight to cebu, i already knew i will have fun, but what i had was much, much (stress, not a typo) more than what i expected.

14. shawn perez espina

i have known shawn when i was living in cebu, back in the late 80's, enjoying the freedom one gets earning from a career (more an adventure, for me). i was ready to see the world, armed with a diploma and a working contract from a multi-national, a driver's license, i took the first chance i got to hop to an island. and it was cebu.

shawn was then an intern, fresh from med school. my job was with a pharma co, so all my friends and acquaintances were in that circle. those times are but a blurr now, but one thing remains clear in my memory and that is, shawn was a good friend, and i was right, he was and still is. but what surprised me more, is that shawn and i also share the same passion, now: painting and farming.

thank you, shawn, for the hospitality and the kindness.

15. jenjen, rachel, alan

cervini and eliazo

if i would be given a second chance to go to college again and live the college life again, i, without batting an eyelash, would pick to live in eliazo hall. dorm life at eliazo was simply the best, and being neighbours with cervini is an additional treat! bwahahaha!

i had dinner with alan, jenjen and rachel, on my first night in cebu. actually, this trip was like going down nostalgia lane. so when the four of us had dinner at abaseria, there was no avoiding that route. bwahahaha! it was so much fun to reminisce and make fun of our own experiences (well, not ours alone. we did talk about other people's, too. bwahahaha).

thanks, jenjen, alan and rachel for the shared memories and laughter.

16. marilou, chinqui, sandy, zeny, ellen,(lilit, majo and rudjen)& i

roommates reunite!

that is how the headline should be. the reason why i went to cebu is to meet up with my roommates! after 27 years! oh, my! after college, we somehow lost contact with each other, but fate would have it that after 27 years, we will meet up and see each other again, in cebu.

it was such a happy reunion!

ellen came all the way from new york, sandy came from manila, zeny from cagayan de oro,

marilou is based in cebu, so she hosted our sumptuous dinner (crabs flown all the way from surigao and cakes flown all the way from butuan, what a jetset of a feast! bwahahaha!)

and chinqui, who is of this moment in cebu, was gracious enough to initiate and make this reunion possible. i know lilit, who flew in from london, would have joined us, but was kept from doing so because of some urgent matter. rudjen will know about our reunion in sfo and of course majo, too, soon, in paris. and i, i had to take a 7-hour bus trip, stay overnight in manila, fly to cebu, to attend this important reunion. and i would not have missed it for the world.

the moment we saw each other again, after 27 years, was precious. memories, laughter, dreams. . .these things and more, pervaded our conversation.

the food at cyma was ignored, not because it was no good, but because we were so excited to see each other, we could hardly take a bite.

we then had coffee and more stories, walked our way to marriott and i met, for the first time, ellen's beautiful kids.

after the dinner at marilou's, we bunked with sandy at the shangri-la, and true enough, it was a remote place and what made it a paradise (at least for me) was the fact that i was with my roommates.

room 202 and room 204.

after this, my recent trip to cebu, i know, without any doubt, that the people i meet, the friendships we create are not by chance but rather, by design. . .

and i submit.