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Saturday, May 19, 2007

Unit 3, Anglo Bldg.

Attending the graduation of UP Medicine Class 2007 unlocked the floodgates to related memories.

I wrote this entry in my old blog some days after we moved out of our med school apartment. It was a task that I wouldn't wish my worst enemy to undertake. Moving out of that apartment was a Herculean undertaking that only my parents had patience for; if they were close to disowning me then, they didn't let it show. Too bad my old computer crashed and I lost all photos that I ever took of and in the apartment, save for this photo of my desk which says quite a lot about the state of my third of the room...

This one's for Johann and Vergel as well, the best roomies a sloppy packrat could ever wish for.


May 1, 2005

Dear Unit 3,

So. Paano ba yan. End of contract na. This is it. Lipat-bahay. Iwan ka na namin. Apat na taon mo rin kaming inampon. Mami-miss kita. Ikaw at-

Ang mga kalendaryo na taun-taon e kung saan-saan namin nakukuha: 2001- Allied Bank; 2002 & 2003- Mercury Drug; 2004- Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, at; 2005- San Juan Food Products, Inc (makers of Joy Hotdogs, Ham, Bacon, and Specialties);

Ang ref na walang naging laman kundi tubig, ice cream, beer, Coke Light, Pepsi Blue, at samu’t saring mga pagkain na may sarili nang buhay, pamilya, at kolonya sa malalamig na suluk-sulok sa hinaba ng pagkakalagak sa kanila dito. Andiyan din pala yung mga nakadikit sa pinto ng ref na bills ng tubig at kuryente na laging disconnection notice na ang itsura bago may pumansin sa amin;

Ang wood parquet na unti-unti nang parang nalalagas na ngipin ng lolong ulyanin. Salamat at naaaliw kami sa paghahanap na animo’y puzzle kung san kagrupo yung napahiwalay na tuklap na kahoy sa sahig. Pero di biro yung semi-matalisod dahil sa baku-bakong sahig;

Tanging litrato sa apartment, matatagpuan sa pinto ng banyo, litrato ng anim na nakatalikod na toddlers, ipinagmamalaki ang kanilang puwet. Pedophilia ba ito? Wala lang. Regalong pambahay ng isang kaibigan namin. Sweet… kanino kya sya mapupunta?

Humigit-kumulang dalawang dosenang pares ng sapatos na bumubulaga sa bawat bisita namin dahil nakasalansan sila sa may pintuan. Klosetang Imelda Marcos kaming housemates;

Ang wall clock ko na frozen sa oras na 4:40. Inabot ng buwisit at katamaran kya di na napaayos;

Ang TV na matanda pa yata kay Alexander Graham Bell pero panalo pa rin. Salamat dahil stuck sa Channel 9 ang iyong channel changer- na-memorize ko na ang mga shows ng Prime Shift. Minsan may sumpong- maski Channel 5 nakukuha. Nakatambay pa ko kahit papaano with Friends at naging The Apprentice pa;

Ang “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” “Lives of Saints,” at iba pang mga libro’t babasahin sa banyo. Pag talagang nagagahol sa oras at exam season, may pakalat-kalat pang dermatograph, stabilo, at Faber-Castel na highlighter sa sink. Talk about multi-tasking;

Ang sofa na nagka-identity crisis dahil ni minsan yata e hindi sya naupuan. Sa dami ng tambak na nakasampa sa kanya, inakala nyang cabinet sya. Ano na nga bang kulay ng sofa na yun?

Ang banyo na nagsilbing takbuhan sa oras ng pangangailangan- stress diarrhea, semi-food-poisoning, sobrang inom, pakikiligo ‘pag walang tubig sa mga dorm- ng hindi iilang katauhan, hindi lamang ang mga tenant ng apartment namin; at

Ang iba’t ibang mga kalat, kalat na libro pala, libro at mga pira-pirasong papeles, papeles na may mga random notes lang na ipinapasa-pasa pag may boring na lecture, notes na nakakabit sa mga regalo, mga regalong di nabuksan, regalong nabuksan pero nalimutan at nabalumbon sa ilalim ng kama, kama na hindi na nahihigan dahil sa dami ng kalat, kalat na libro pala, libro at mga pira-pirasong papeles…

Gaya ng sinasabi sa mga historical places- if those wall could talk… Mami-miss ko ang mga gripe session, sermon session, magkuwentuhan-tayo-til-madaling-araw-kesa-mag-aral-dahil-wala-nang-pumapasok-sa-ulo-ko session, mag-inuman-tayo-til-madaling-araw-kesa-mag-aral-para-wala-nang-pumasok-sa-ulo-ko session, mga pop quiz ng roommate ko, mga true confessions session, post-Sadako takutan session, mga pat on the back session, mga pray with each other session…

Home daw is where the heart is. Where your hat lands on. Sa ‘kin- home is-

Where you toss your tons of books on after a looooong day.

Where you sleep in after a 36-plus-hours duty.

Where you gobble up boxes of Yellow Cab goodies.

Where you study til you puke.

Where you try to study but puke instead because of all the booze (rather than knowledge) you’ve so earnestly tried to wade into.

Where friendships are forged, secrets shared and held sacred, fears assuaged, confidence boosted, defiance squashed, dreams fulfilled.

Bunutin na ang lahat ng naka-plug. I-check lahat ng mga gripo. Patayin ang main switch ng kuryente. For the last time- ilock ang pinto. Hataking maigi. Make sure naka-double-lock. Yung susi- kailangan na palang isurrender sa building administrator.

Good night and thank you, Unit 3.


Lovelots,


PS: May the new tenants treat you better than we did. I know- the once-a-year cleaning was really unfair. You deserve a bi-annual event.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was impossible not to smile and let out an occassional LOL while reading this tribute to our med school detention cell we call our room. Oh don't forget the air conditioner that requires pliers to switch on. Sige na, mukang tanga na ako nakangiti dito sa harap ng SmartBro terminal ng Weesam Express...

Friday, May 25, 2007 4:30:00 PM  
Blogger ian said...

whoa thanks for the reminder! hinahabol na ng junkshop yung aircon na yun hahahahaha those were GOOD times... yes? =]

Friday, May 25, 2007 5:29:00 PM  

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