Na-USTe Ako!: Kay Tagal Kitang Hinintay/Si Jeco Na-USTe!

After card distribution last Friday, I decided to accompany Jeco and Raymond in UST for the annual Paskuhan, a Christmas fair held every year in the Pontifical University. In the past weeks, us three had already agreed as to when we’re going to meet up in UST and this is one is a perfect time to do so.

                I left for UST at around 6pm and texted Raymond that I’m on his way. By the time I arrived at Dapitan before 6:30 (After meeting some groovy traffic along the way), I noticed that I’m running out of cellphone load so I went to a nearby loading station to reload, unfortunately, the lady there said they’re loadless, the same with Ministop Dapitan which, unfortunately, doesn’t sell cellphone load.  I don’t want to ask my mom again for additional load after I exhausted the reload I got from the day before.

             I texted Raymond that I’m already in the Dapitan gate so from there, I waited. Unfortunately, Monde didn’t reply to my succeeding text messages as I was waiting for almost half an hour. I decided to look for a loading station within the Thomasian ground, at their famous food strip by the carpark. I paid the reload lady Php 20.00, told her my number and simcard affiliation. Again, for some reason, I haven’t received any text afterwards and my existing load continues to deteriorate.

         The ground itself is jam-pack crowded with people that kept coming in, including outsiders like me. Not just outsiders but also missionaries asking for donations and little carolers trick-or-treating people nearby.

       I was about to give up until I saw at least, one Jamer in the area, Von. Von was with his girlfriend for almost three years. I asked if he had seen Jeco or even Raymond, and he did. But the bad news, it seems like nakakawalaan kami.  It was already past 8 and if the two aren’t able to show up before a quarter until 9, I have to leave.

               I was seating in bench at the quadrangle and I was facing the entrance of the Faculty of Civil Law. Seated with me was a girl with her boyfriend. Because I’m so desperate, I politely asked her if I could borrow her phone to text Raymond, urging her that it’s an emergency.  She lend me her cellphone and texted him right away. When that didn’t work, I went around  to look for them. Von saw me again and said that he just saw Jeco and Monde and pointed them where I  was just then. Coming back from where I was seating, looks like there’s n certainty if we’ll ever see each other so I looked for another person whom I could borrow a phone and, this time, call Raymond. Just as I was calling them, nagkita na kami, grabeh!

It was already past 9pm and I still haven’t eaten dinner. Just so we won’t spoil the night, we watched the ongoing concert at the UST soccer field where the last act for the evening was none other than BAMBOO!! Jeco and I brought along our dSLR’s and took pictures like crazy.

 

         The concert was over at around 10:30, people were starting to leave pero kumakalam ang aking tiyan. We went to McDonald’s within USTe and bought myself double-cheeseburger, a large cup of Coca Cola for myself and another for Jeco who gave me money for his royal thirstiness.

                Outside the Dapitan gate, we were fetched by Monde’s parents who were waiting for us, parked near an old Caltex/Chevron station. Monde’s parents drove past H. Lopez Avenue,  Radial 10 Road (near Letre) and dropped Jeco near the infamous SSS office (where there was a shootout that took place a couple of years ago). I was then dropped somewhere near the loading area of jeeps en route to Monumento in Concepcion, Malabon. I took a jeep ride until dropping myself off near Francis Market, Acacia and from there took a jeepney ride en route to Paco, Bulacan (instead of Polo, Valenzuela for there were none available at the meantime). I dropped off in Panghulo (still in Bulacan) and from there, walked to cross the border before arriving finally at my house past midnight!

 

Remember: There may be One La Salle, there’s also One BENILDE!