Friday night, August 18, 2006—After an hour or so at Nitwitz Internet Café, Malou
and I proceeded to Centro Folk Haus. It
was almost 11 PM when we enter my favorite watering hole. Resident acoustic singer Cris is belting out
The Speaks’ “High.” Haven’t been in this
place for quite a while but I immediately recognized familiar faces in the
crowd. Mayor Doc Boy Flores with some
City Hall employees, former HS schoolmates, ex-basketball teammates and
everybody’s favorite waiter (or shall I say, waitress?) Udoy, a.k.a.
Jessica. Cris continued his set with
Alamid’s “Your Love” and Green Day’s “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Later on he did what he does best, regaling
the audience with folk and country classics from Dan Fogelberg, John Lennon, John
Denver, The Eagles, Jim Croce among others. He ended his set with CSN’s “Just A Song Before I Go”. Shortly before 12 midnight, Nene, Joemar and
a female friend arrived. Nene chatted on
our table for a while. After two rounds
of San Mig Light and chicken nuggets, Malou and I decided to call it a night
and went home.
Saturday afternoon, August 19, 2006—We attended the wedding of Mea Ann and Dennis at the
San Isidro Cathedral. Malou was tasked
as one of the readers. Reception was at
the Kaamulan Folk Arts Theater. Lots of
food.chow!chow!chow!bochog!!!!
Sunday afternoon (til evening), August
20, 2006—Calvin invited us to
the birthday bash of her daughter (and my binata) Pampi. It was actually a double celebration since
Calvin’s younger sis passed the nursing board exam. After eating some lechon and rice….inuman
na! Leonilo bought a bottle of his new
favorite drink—Fundador. Edward started
the shot glass rolling while we’re watching the 2006 PBA Rookie Draft. Kelly Williams was the top pick after being
plucked by the Sta. Lucia Realtors. Letran’s Aaron Aban, the pride of Sumilao, Bukidnon, was the # 7 first
round pick of the Alaska Aces. I
immediately texted my good friend Jim Baula who was drinking with his buddies
somewhere in Kisolon. He replied that
they were all happy with that piece of good news. After the Rookie Draft, we continued our session
at the terrace. I set up my mp3 player
and portable speakers to blast our eardrums with some good rockin’ music. My mp3 player was loaded with some 90s
alternative stuff so we were merrily drinking with The Goo Goo Dolls, Bush, Oasis,
Silverchair, and Third Eye Blind’s musings in the background. As usual, conversation pieces are always
consist of good old high school memories, future plans and even religion and
politics! With our heads dizzied by the
brandy’s lethal dosage, we decided to go home even before fully consuming the
second bottle. Another night of good
alcohol, good music, good friends and nice conversations.
Monday, August 21, 2006—It’s every employee’s favorite
day—holiday!!!! The nation
commemorates the great Ninoy Aquino’s death anniversary. We played our quarterfinals game in the inter-purok
basketball tournament as part of Sumpong’s fiesta celebration. The game started way past 10 AM and the heat
was quite intense. But the sun’s
ultraviolet rays didn’t match our intensity as we whip our opponent to enter
the semifinal match against Purok 3, scheduled later that afternoon. I think I played a solid game, registering
double figures in scoring and rebounds. Luck was however not on our side in the afternoon game. Our team led for most part of the ball game
until fatigue factor creeps in on the crucial part of the fourth quarter. We eventually lost the game and have to
settle for the fight-for-third place match.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006—Fiesta sa Sumpong!!! I decided to take a leave so that I can play on our scheduled game for
third place. Mao na gitawag na “for love
of the game”. Again, it started at
almost 11 AM so it was already the second straight day that we played under the
sun’s scorching heat. Good thing we
dictated the game’s tempo early in the first quarter and never look back after
we took the lead. I sank only a couple
of baskets but grabbed more than 10 rebounds and blocked 4 shots. As expected, we won the game and scheduled
our celebration later in the afternoon. I assisted in coaching the Purok 1 team in their championship match
against Purok 3. These guys were my
teammates when we became champions during last year’s fiesta and I was somewhat
happy that they successfully defended the crown. It was already late afternoon when my
teammates and I met to start our drinking binge. Winning the game (even if it’s just for 3rd
place) is always a good reason to drink and get wasted.
