It's funny how some things don't seem to change, even after years and years.

Mela and Mark had organized a little quasi-reunion of us Honor Section students from high school Friday night at Dencio's Sucat. For such an informal gathering, a lot of us were in attendance---there were easily more than 25 of us on the two tables. And man, was it noisy in there. I would imagine the atmosphere to be a bit more restrained as many of the erstwhile Honors Section went to Ateneo or UP for schooling, and those campuses aren't really far from each other. Was I proven dead wrong or what?

The same people were hanging out with the same posses and cliques, just like in high school. Apart from a few faces most of us looked exactly the same, apart from some weight gained or lost. Some couples that began in high school were even still intact---quite admirable, I should say. Our two Denises were already newly employed, too.

Denden was in her first week working as a financial analyst in a bank (I just forgot which one), and it seems she was enjoying herself despite confiding that most of the stuff she encounters in the office flies by over her head. Knowing her, I'm pretty sure she'll work it out in a month. She did say that she was planning to stay for just a year, then move on to another job.

Patrick had become valedictorian---I suppose that really shouldn't come as a surprise, given people were badgering him to forget studies and work on girls this time around. Most of us had already graduated already, save for the DLSU people and others who began their medicine courses in other colleges.

I did notice some...er, changes, more in me than in them. I noticed that for once I'd become more relaxed with just being myself, without feeling I had to get everyone's attention somehow. I was content with talking to just a small coterie of friends. Also noticed that some old crushes back then didn't hold a candle to the bevy of beauties from DLSU. I think these are proof that I lived in a very small world back in high school---one that revolved around the school way too much.

I'm glad I got to see these old friends again. Still, I have to say I prefer college life more. I had made better and more lasting friendships in my four years in DLSU than I did in thirteen years of DLSZ.

By the way Marmar mentioned that all of us Honors Section students had become relics: the program had been canceled, along with many of the lessons we used to study.
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The next morning I was in Alabang playing badminton with Benjie, Grace, Francis and Marmar.

I have to say I was impressed with Benjie and Francis in particular. They were moving really well, performing consistently good drop shots and well-aimed smashes. Grace and Marmar were competent players as well. With a little more training we'd all be better at the sport. I was even inviting them to the DLSZ Alumni Association badminton tourneys, which I once joined---just for fun.

After 7 months of not playing my body aches and hurts all over, but that's my fault.
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Mela was particularly excited about Friday's reunion.

While chatting on YM we were mulling over what would happen in the near future. She told me she was a bit scared that people had very high expectations of her, as if it had been predetermined that if it's from Mela it should be really good.

I was in turn scared about what would happen when we graduated from college. We've taken for granted that there would be something more or less sure to look forward to in the past, such as grade school expecting to get into high school, or high school on to college. After college however, the chaos factor plays a greater role simply because we're literally on our own, left to our own devices and free to do what we please---of course, within the limits of time and finances. That just means that there's more uncertainty thrown in---and that's unsettling for me. That comes with having to adjust to a new grind, different from what we've been used to for the past 17 or so years.

Perhaps there was a reason why you organized this reunion, I told her. Maybe it's because you wanted a place you could go back to if and when things go wrong. In hindsight the problem of that analogy would be that this "place" is nothing more than a loose collection of people, all with their own agenda to follow and lives to live, so going back there also has a chaos factor thrown in too.

At the reunion Aimee seemed to read my mind in advance and had an ingenious answer: an e-group for all of us. So much for that chaos factor. Heheheh.
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Just when I had vowed to save money and not spend on anything major until I had financed my total debt to AVON, along comes a MAHQ.net review of the Master Grade Zetaplus A1/C1 model kit that had me wondering where to get one. (And here I was thinking that I'd restrict myself to an MG Nu Gundam for Christmas, or an HG 1/100 Gundam Astray Red Frame for kicks.) I was pleased to hear that the transformation mechanisms were more solid this time, thanks to tighter manufacturing tolerances for the parts and screws provided for the legs' interior assemblies. I wonder how long I'd take to build it though.

Looking for an MG Zeta Gundam had become hard enough---what more for the Zetaplus? I will ask around and find one.
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April 22 can't come too soon. Los Angeles, here I come.