Akira Kurososawa Moment

I woke up from a very strange dream.  Actually bizarre is how I would describe it.

I was dressed to my usual Mafioso nines.  The Mafiosi black coat, tie, shirt and shoes is my trademark for formal occasions.  I was in some event in a hotel ballroom.  The venue was full but I did not recognize any faces.  I casually walk past them to the stage with the curtains still drawn down.

I climb the stage, go under the curtains and in there was a sound technician in a fedora hat and a formal suit as well.  He was tweaking some control board.  I stayed with him, looked at what he was doing.  He repeatedly asked me “Sir, are you ready”?  It seemed liked I was being primed for some performance. 

A very classy lady, older than I broke the curtains and asked for some music to be played.  Something “happy” was what she asked for, with a very happy smile.  The technician agreed and she left.

After some time the curtains opened and there I was.  The audience was a mere crowd of about 20.  There could have been more.  They all raised their glasses and cheered me.  The were raising their glasses to congratulate me.  I was happy.  I came down from the stage and posed for photographs with the crowd.  They had no faces.  I left the ballroom.

As I passed in the lobby, I saw some relatives and friends in various parts of the hotel - at the cafe', at the bar.  Those that I came across kept congratulating me.  I was smiling but had a feeling of what was happening.

It was my wedding reception.

As I passed the lobby I felt I was going to my hotel room.  Suddenly this fear was growing in me.  Where was my bride?  The other question was WHO was my bride?  I began to sweat.  Anxiety was building up.  I make my way to the rooms on stairs…..

I woke.  The room was darker than usual for day.  The skies were gray because of the passing storm. It was colder than usual.  Unaware of the time, I realized it was past lunch on a Saturday.

I still lay in bed looking at the ceiling.  Wondering what was real. My hands felt sweaty.  It seemed so real.  Bizarre.

Dreams are said to be representative of one’s subconscious.  They are what they are.  Could be a summary of experiences. A flashback.  Could forebode something.  It could also be a just a dream.

I lay there staring at the ceiling after realizing what I had woken up to.  Details were still fresh.  The feeling was there.  I still try to ascertain which was real-me on the bed or the hotel thing?  I just had an Akira Kurososawa like moment......

Before I rise, I ask myself, what are dreams made of?  

As I write this, mushy music plays in harmony with the dark skies and falling rain.  I ask myself again what are dreams made of?

The LSGH '87 Boys Got Outta Town!

What a trip!

The view from 300 meters up in the sky.

Dolphins yonder!

I just came home from a day at the beach with my High School classmates in Anilao, Batangas, South of Manila.

Cold Saporrro for breakfast!

This is the first out of town trip I have had with my High School buds in awhile.  Actually, i have not been out with other sets of friends for quite some time, period.

Our host and chef!

After months of planning, the stage was set.  My classmate Peter reserved his rest house in the one of the richest dive spots in the country.  We were ready.

We got there at about 1100H, after almost three hours of driving.  Quite quick considering it was a holiday Friday.  The party was starting for couple of classmates that arrived earlier and  as early 1000H Captain Morgan Rum and Mountain Dew was for breakfast.

Blue Steel!

Fun, fun, fun!

Buddy's Ribs Chef & owner Dong DlR!

One by one the others came.  The food was being readied.  Fish caught the same day were hitting the charcoal.  Exotic Sevilla & Sons sausages,  Brontosaurus patties from Brothers Burgers, a top burger joint, ribs from Chubby's Rib Shack made its way as well courtesy of classmates in the food business.  Another highlight was the Chicken Pork Adobo ala Yam.  Nobody knew Lorex could cook!

Butanding! 

The Scotch, vodka and beer were flowing like a river.

Sup homes?

This was just the start of a great day.

The sun was up.  the wind blew.  We stayed in one place most of the time.  Classic, old school '80's and '90's funk blared, from Sting  to Milli Vanilli to the Backstreet Boys.  We saw schools of dolphins also frolicking with the reggae we were playing by that time.

Perfect.

By mid-day food enough for seventy (70) famished men was on the table, the grill was on full steam ahead.  Men's food....mostly MEAT was ready to be devoured!  The Lorex Yam adobo wa all gone.

#1 of 40 Burgers

Nineteen strong, that is how many we were out of a class of 400.   To say that the food was too much was an understatement.  Those that could not make it sent even more food.

LSGH 1987!!!!!

The "Good" Boys

Party on! We stayed at the beach the whole day.  The wind blew our way.  It was hot but breezy, the company made it not just bearable but extremely enjoyable.  Dong DlR even brought his toy, a  drone to take pics of us from up in the air offering us a more majestic view of where we were.

Diet?

Beber mas!

Nineteen of us sat, drank, bonded, caught up, laughed, choked, passed out.  The biggest bottle of Jose Cuervo was no match for Martin A.

All that happened from 1000H to 0600H the next day.  It was just so much to hang with each other.  Some slept early and rejoined the crowd by the cabana.  Some stayed the whole time.  

Man, this is what I miss.  Being with the guys I grew up with.   The guys I shared so much history with.  The same guys that are so much part of me.  Hang ups and insecurities were checked in far, far away.

I was truly home.

I led the prayers before meals.  It was like how we did when we were in school. It turns out that going to a Catholic does rub off on you a bit somehow.  I always thank God I went to La Salle Green Hills and finished in 1987.

In the course of the marathon, the food still overflowed, the beer was cold, the BBQ was hot and the friendship was TRUE!  It was so much fun to see my old buds, catch up and just hang with my old La Salle crew again.

Scrumptious Sevilla Sausages

Chubby's ribs

In between the pandemonium.  We managed to discuss things we would like to do for our class.  Charity projects, scholarships, supporting classmates running for office, visits to old teachers were just some of the "serious" stuff that we discussed.  It was also a productive meeting amid all the fun.  After all these years, we were still "Men for Others . 

TEQUILA!

Time flew.  It zoomed.  Sunset came.  The Sun rose.  We were still at the Cabana.  Dolphins swam by many times.  Early the next day we rested for a few hours and woke to a brunch for champions.  More meat, fish and too much soda.  The beer was still cold but we had our fill.  Amazingly some Scotch remained untouched.  

It was time to go.

On the road back i was with a classmate that I have not been with for a while.  We caught up more.  We got lost.  Missed exits but it was all good.  We blamed Waze.....

Look at the blood red sky!

The sun was setting.  In the horizon I looked.  Something dawned in me.  I thought "Dang, that was a great time!".  I almost did not go to this one but at the last minute I figured I should.   We only live once and we will be dead much longer.   At our age anything can happen and this could be my last time with my buds - I certainly hope not.

Thank God for giving me such a wonderful bunch of friends.  I look forward to our next escapade in Nasugbu, hosted by another classmate Munding.

I can almost already smell the roasted calf.....

Memories of Green & The Coolest Chicks on Earth

What are cool chicks?  These are the kinda girls that guys like to hang with, dig their humor, hip, smart and of course pretty.  The ultimate cool chick example of back in the day would be Cindy Crawford. Bodaciously beautiful, foxy with an Engineering degree.

And we come back to St. Scholastica's College (SSC) of Manila, Class of 1987.

Prior to our 25th HS Anniversary I wrote a piece about high school freshman memories with SSC '87. Years later, it was unearthed again on Google by an old SSC friend. By  coincidence I shared the same post with another SSC friend while on a business trip.  

Memories of Green

Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences anymore.  A classmate thought it was a good idea to scribble another one. So here goes.....

Sophomore year was a blur to me because I hit the books being on probation. I had to study..... A lot of things were going on in LSGH.  Some nitwit teacher got kicked out because of extortion charges - cash; booze and even a live peacock.

The next great adventures with SSC I recall was in junior year. 3-S was our sister class. We had interaction set with them at where else? In SSC! 

I recall that being in another notorious class (I wondered why always I ended up with the fun Motley Crue.... ), LSGH 3-J!  The notorious bunch that made teachers walk out, made rushing for the bell from Gate 9 like an Olympic event, the same guys that were busy cramming for Chem in the morning at Greenhills...with beer, to the tune of Rico Mambo.

3-J in Baguio

It is hard to imagine that our batch produced productive members of society. Some became professionals like an architect, dentist, a few became politicians, soldiers, pro bodyguards, many turned to be entrepreneurs and some just became good at what they do.  One even got into exotic dancing for a bit.  If you knew us  back in the day, at the time I am writing about, you would not even dream that adolescent retards like us would amount to anything someday.

Preparing for the activity, our Adviser Alma Rose and the Guidance Counselor Ms. Grace reminded us on our etiquette - basic stuff like brushing teeth, not farting in front of the girls. Y'know, the very basics.

Off we went.  LSGH 3-J in full force led by the likes of Dene H., Rey E., Big Mike D., Mel Lara, the Sarasolas, Noric, Donray, Rey E., Joey U., Lorex Yam, Jun A. and a very healthy Lloyd Dizon to name a few, paving the way to the concrete jungles of Leon Guinto, Manila. Across DLSU where most of us wanted to go in a year or so. 

We were good to go. Shoes shined. Plain white undershirts without underarm holes. Some even wore their brand new then trendy, synthetic leather, fungus breeding Bla-blas. Petroleum jelly on the head was so first year. The "wet" dandruff causing Dippity Do gel and fire hazard styling mousse look was all the rage for hair of 1985.

We ventured where the traffic was heavy, the roads were tight, to a school that was older than ours.  As I aged, I imagine how terrified our teachers must have been to have us behaving like a congress of baboons as we invaded SSC.  I think it was Ben Pablo or Joey U. that brought a gallon of that cologne Drakkar that we all shared right before leaving La Salle. The bus trip reminded me of a psychiatric ward in transit. You get the picture.

As mentioned in my previous post, I knew quite a few from 3S and SSC in general. Cherie, Freida, Steph among others. The rest like Irene Y., the future SSC Student Council president and others that I cannot recall anymore. (Hey its been three decades....)

And then it happened. We landed in St. Scholastica's, a female dominated school.  No men's room in plain sight. We met 3-S. We surprised ourselves by trying to be gentlemen that we were trying to be trained to be. Behaved. Polite. Speaking in modulated voices a couple of octaves lower than usual. We were black belts in the La Salle martial art of "Por ma-do".

Nobody farted, yet.  

I also remember that the Scholastica's nun was fairly young and kinda groovy. She seemed relaxed about us meeting her class. We were unusually behaved.

We had icebreakers, some games and we all hit it off. None were torpedo. Lorex Yam was leading the attack ala Spartan. We all spoke Greenhills English pare, ala Lorex.


Then there was that "getting to know you" game. I remember this is where I lost it. It was about describing yourself using the letters of your name. So the future SSC Student Council President/Valedictorian smart girl used $10,000 words like superfragalocious and other words like, uh, like umm, you know... the fancy, hyperbolic speed, space age types of words. She was a walking dictionary. We were just lexicons...of love.

My classmate Jojo (not his real name) then took his turn and described himself confidently and said something  like "I am Jojo,  J for jolly, O for Obedient, J for very Jolly l and O for very OK."  I was floored. Completely lost in belly up laughter. My flammable mousse riddled hair was disturbed. I had to retouch it later on. Jojo had too much "Drakkar".

The whole day went smoothly.  Our class kept in touch. Crushes were born.  Crashes came after.  Notes were sent to SSC and they wrote back. In fact, I was in charge of writing the "official" post interaction class note to thank 3-S for such a great time.
That note had our signatures. Right before signing and sealing for delivery I checked it again. Beside a classmate's John Hancock was a scribbled arrow in another classmate's  penmanship that led to a caption in all caps BOLD that read "Ang Batang Ututin".  I could not make changes to the note anymore due to time constraints so off it went to the concrete jungle world of SSC in Leon Guinto.  Cheggy has long reformed since. Munding recovered from that gastric prank, eventually. 

Someone farted after all, par avion. 

We ended up crashing the SSC HS Dance later that year. I remember  hooking up with 3S and the rest of SSC friends there and getting down to some Thompson Twins, those two nut jobs being Head over Heels and tripping to that Brit Hippie singing about installing microwave ovens and wanting MTV.  

What a blast. I remember hitching a ride back somewhere with Lorex and some other classmates and I am sure we did not go home. Was that place called Moviola, Spongecola or .....

That was just some highlights of junior year, the same year Marty McFly rode that DeLorean from, 1985.

Senior Year came and I resolved to hang with as much classmates in our last year. That was also a great excuse to crash soirees and parties with ALL girl schools.  On weekends I ended up losing the funeral parlor uniform and hanging with whatever class would invite me for parties or just hanging out. That was most of 1986 for me.

Most of the time I ended up with SSC parties. There was also this one soiree with SSC at Ińaki's place in San Juan that was another rockin' event. I met even more friends there like Bambi B.. When Ińaki came home, 28 years later I visited the place again and it felt like that day, simply nostalgic!

Aside from my native  4-D, my class was the entire LSGH '87!  Why, even the nerd patrol invited me sometimes.  Often it was Ińaki Jose, Vince A., Raffy Intac,  Harvey B. among others. 

4-D Class Night, Antipolo, nice shorts Asis!

We would crash SSC parties at Cris Abad Santos', Irene Y's and Margot C's places in the area near SSC by Singalong across Demy's place.  I also remember being stuffed at Dina Marie Santos' house. For some reason her place was like my own home. Overflowing with grade A grub! There were even times that we all crashed in the girl's living rooms until dawn way after Stargazin'.  That was eons ago.

Singer and SACB Pres

Senior year at LSGH. Soirees. The school fairs. A great play we produced. We beat San Beda in double overtime. I tore the late Coach Tatang Mendoza's pants when I carried him after that victory.  I hosted GALS and SSC sang "Ang St. Scho ay narito na.....", Going stag at the ball. Stargazer. Isis, ZigZag, Rumours - the song and the club. The nasal Euro-disco sound of Mike Francis with Gilbert Montagne', Shake! Body Body Dancer. Mixed tapes.  School. Friends. So many friends. So much memories. Life was and still is good.

Before the age of the internet, when we were in college, when regular mail took months, I lost touch with most of LSGH and SSC friends. I guess it's just part of it.  We all went our ways. I would bump into classmates or SSC friends here and there, at parties, bars or clubs but that was it.  I went to school with some of them. Some I actually had a chance to work with. Some classmates dated, some even married, unmarried and are still married to SSC '87 batch mates. 

SSC batchmates also became great in their respective fields. Lawyers, Physicians, great wives and mothers.  Like some of my classmates (wink, wink) some got into high fashion (Aaay!),  Last I heard, Cherie' still models while being a global venture capitalist. Some got in various lines of business, one even became a fuel magnate, many became entrepreneurs, some excelled in sports. Why one even flew jet planes and another flew Harleys. One is a fashion icon cum footwear mogul that sponsors polo matches every year and I get to go even if I don't play polo, pare (I only used to play water polo with my sea horse Lucio before he died.). All of them remains pretty to this day though.

Tennis star/Golf Pro

About a decade ago I hosted a few LSGH parties at my place. It was a start of our "coming home".  More years passed. Eventually I reconnected with some SSC friends as well . 

A Lotta LOVE!

Leading to 2012, our 25th year, there was a resurgence of reunions.  One of them was the joint Golf Tourney "Kulasa at Lasalista", a resounding success even to a non-golfer like moi'. The preparation meetings were parties in itself.  It was great to see Maya, Paola. Mel and the rest after so very long.


Strange. With SSC '87 friends I feel that years can pass without being in touch and when we do meet or touch base it's like we met yesterday.  The last friend I talked to was for like 5 hours over the phone and she was overseas.  That was like after 15 years of not hearing from each other. I just don't experience that with the few other female friends I have, only with SSC.

Party at Harvey's..look at Deck. 

Some still regularly invite me to parties  that I strive to go to because the company is always great and the food is also totally awesome.  Food and superb company is my kryptonite.

Walang Kupas!

Often I wonder why SSC '87 were really cool chicks. They always seemed so easy to talk to. No frills. True. They dug guy jokes, even the gross ones and yet they still had that elegant feminine flair.

Timeless...

Was it because they were the first bunch of girls I met? Was it because they did have "style" and still had their feet on the ground? Was it because they were fun and so easy to make friends with?  

Maybe it was because they were part of my youth,
my magical youth.

Longest Drive!

Walang Kupas. That was the SSC '87 slogan for their 25th.  Like Coco Chanel once said "Fashions fade, but style is eternal."  

SSC '87:  Timeless. Cool chicks, with style and attitude to boot!.  They will never fade. Walang Kupas, for sure. 

The Pilot and the Artiste'

In the same year Marty McFly rode that DeLorean to, the year 2015 this is pretty much my last retro piece on my high school. Someday soon maybe I can write about newer memories as we approach our 30th year and beyond.
As of this writing I am in Mindoro. Hosted by Irene Y., another old SSC friend for potential business opportunities. This is proof that friendship does lasts.

As I come closer to the end from the beginning, as the creaks in my body begin to need WD 40, as the hair falls, I still wonder what lies ahead.

So TRUE!!!!!!

I never married, don't think I ever will. I would be honored though to grow old, watch a lot of sunsets together with one from St.Scho, '87, coolest chicks in the world, since my youth, way, way before 1987.

Kulasa at Lasalista 1987 Wang Chung tonight!

"In my mind's eye, one little boy one little man, funny how, time flies. ...." -Smith/Orzabal, 1985

Check my other posts!
Serendipity
The Bodyguard
The Visit
NINAK!

"El sol se levantará mañana y quién sabe lo que traerá la marea"

I aged another year last Thursday.  46 years before at about 0800H my mom brought me into this world via C-section at a private hospital. My father was not there to see and feel the momentous occasion because he was a young Navy Lieutenant and was aboard ship that time.  The world rejoiced on that day.

I do recall when I was a boy, my Grandfather, a retired Army Colonel telling me how my dad was jumping up and down like a cracked up baboon when he saw me first at the nursery a few days later.  I think that meant to be a good thing.  I think.

Fast  forward forty six years.  30 years and a day after “Back to the Future premiered, the year when its sequel “Back to the Future 2” was supposed to have happened, hover boards, auto fitting jackets, Nike’s and all.

As years pass, birthdays become increasingly non-eventful. Quiet.  No more wild parties.  The highlight was a simple dinner with my crew and some coffee after.  Fewer and fewer people remember.  The few though are the ones that matter the most.  That is more than enough.

Almost half a century in and I am still alive.  Been in several fights, accidents, got shot, bungee jumped, got hospitalized, did all the crazy stuff.  So far, here I am still standing upright .  Man, when I was a kid I thought of people in their 30’s as dinosaurs and here I am. A dino myself plus a decade.

Each year, I usually pause and reflect on my birthday.   I review my little  lists - Bucket List, Happiest Moments and Blessings List.  Often, I update.  Mostly I add to the Blessings of which I am always grateful, add more times to the Moments and tick off done items in the Bucket List.  Strangely, though I make some additions, as the years pass the Bucket List does not seem to be all that long anymore.  I still his have to fall in love, sky dive, backpack Europe, date a black woman, become a standup comic, get married among some of the things still left to do listed in there

Also on my birthday, I add an entry to my blog. I also  usually go to a church to pray,   give thanks and ask for guidance.  Everything I have, the people I hold dear, the opportunities, the material stuff – everything was given to me by Him.  To add,  I truly am grateful for each day.  Life is short I realized.  Being dead is much longer.

Gosh.  So much has happened since 1969.

 

Back then, not everyone had a phone.  Smoking was allowed almost everywhere.  The air was cleaner.

These days, people are so connected its annoying at times. Snail mail is almost obsolete.  Same sex marriage is no big thing.  Everything is on Google.  Space tourism may be a reality soon.  Sperry topsiders are chic again.

46 years. I Forrest Gumped it this far, somehow.  I am still here standing.  Many have fallen.  Many that seem to have far more to live for have gone ahead to the great beyond.

Whenever I try to plot my life, I reaffirm that there has to be a God.  For only He can put me at this place at that time to do this, get my education, place me here to do that, to lead to this and so on and so forth in the “space time continuum”.  No rocket scientist can draw a line to plot anyone’s life.  We are all pawns in a cosmic game of chess. 

Daydreaming of going back in time is a habit.  I would love to have made some changes in choices made, lottery tickets I bought and all but that’s about it.  I can just dream about something no one can change anymore,   The future is what we can still shape.  We move forward to do so.

 

In retrospect, my life does have its share vicissitudes.  I look at the good, not forgetting the bad and the lessons that comes with it.  The good, bad, the not so good, the outright bizarre, my life would just be that is a nutshell.  A hodgepodge of all that.

Ces’t la vie.  That’s just the way it goes…..

"Anything can happen.  Anything happens all the time.",  I got that from that movie “This is where I leave you”.  I believe so.  It is all part and parcel of the adventure of life.  That saying made an impact on me not just in a romantic sense but the way I am living my life.    

 

The Spanish say "El sol se levantará mañana y quién sabe lo que traerá la marea" - "The sun will rise tomorrow and who knows what the tide will bring." 

My sentiments exactimondo like Tom Hanks said in Cast Away, “So now I know what I have to do. I have to keep breathing. And tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring in.”.

Succinctly put.  I keep breathing.  I push on. God knows what the tide WILL bring to my ocean of life.

Someone also said "Each day is a loan, spend it wisely".  Better get out there and tick more of those Bucket List items, crash those parties, cherish friendships.  We are all paying for that same loan. What if it was the last time for us?

 

Anything happens all the time.  Thank you Lord for all Your blessings.  Life goes on.  The sun WILL rise tomorrow.  The adventure continues.

 Like Forrest, I still run. Happy Birthday to me.