That Old Familiar Feeling...Part 2

where was I? Oh yes...

"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!!!"

and so for the next few minutes I felt like a moviestar, a politician, and a member of the royalty -- waving to adoring fans left and right. hahahaha to tell you frankly i found the situation very awkward. while the freshmen had no inkling who i was, the other upperclass students were waving and greeting me with "Sir!". Some of them were caught a bit off guard by my sudden presence and didn't know how to react (though I was going to find out later on).

and so i made my way inside the office and was greeted by a surprised staff who were glad to welcome me back. It seems that I hadn't left UNO-R when I was greeted by my old colleagues and mentors.

One reaction stood out among the others. While others were going "Welcome back!" or "Kamusta ka na?" or "Grabe, naglain na gid hitsura mo" or "Nga-a naglaba buhok mo?"; Raylyn took one look at me and went "Ngeeeeeeeeh!"

hahahahahahahaha...the reaction was so her...

The first few hours were spent chatting with the faculty, which was once in a while interrupted by another hugs-and-kisses greeting from another faculty member who had just come in. It felt nice to see familiar faces and be in a familiar location. Everybody was busy because exams were coming next week -- the busy atmosphere was something I could relate to, a familiar feeling that I didn't realize I miss...

It wasn't long before I got to see Alon and Gracie again. and both their reactions were WEIRD...Alon didn't recognize me for a second and I was standing right next to her...Grace gave a curt "Hi, Mike" like I hadn't left the High School for six months. hahahaha the difference a few inches of hair could do....

But after the initial weirdness, we got down to business. all the "Kamusta" and the old friendly banter ensued, then the ladies had to excuse themselves for they had classes or other business to attend to. Sige lang 'ga, kadto na to sa klase mo..." or in Grace's case "Lakat na 'to kay manakop ka pa late!"

As for me, I had some unfinished business to settle with Sir Harry. And the rest of the morning was spent poring over the pages of the yearbook graduate profile drafts...here I am at the High School office, being my usual busy self.

Parang walang nagbago...

TO BE CONTINUED

Stand Alone 1.17

That Old, Familiar Feeling...(part 1)

i beg the indulgence of the wayward soul that finds its way into my thoughts posted in this my blog...may pagka-senti ni dyutay ang mga posts ko for this week until the end of the month...feeling balikbayan daan si ditch. hehehehe

whenever one finds himself back in the place that he has considered home for such a long time -- and considering that this person had just come back from several months of "self-imposed exile" (baw!), there are just a few places that immediately beckon to this long-lost traveler. Places that have been considered havens of most cherished memories and one just had to make the pilgrimage and indulge in the ambience of past memoories if for a fleeting moment...

in less metaphysical terms, there are just some places that I had to visit once I got home. Sort of like a self-imposed itinerary. And these places are chosen for various reasons, most of them sentimental (others monetary hehehehe)

Now that I've made "bisa" at home and to my loving family circle, I just had to visit my next most memorable place...none other than my Alma Mater the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos.

cue Alma Mater Hymn...ready one, two, three...

It was the strangest feeling as I was coming through the gates of UNO-R. I half-expected that I would be accosted by the guard and then made to leave an ID and register on the logbook like any ordinary visitor to the school but I wasn't having that...I swaggered in like I owned the place (or rather, like I was still employed by the University and occupied a/an (quasi)administrative position in one of the departments hahaha)

Maybe it was because of the "aura" I projected that the guard didn't dare to hinder my entrance with an "Excuse me sir? Visitor ka? Bilin di anay ID sir..." and so I entered the portals of my Alma Mater unmolested. The guards still knew me gale...

whew

Coming back to UNO-R after just six months I immediately noticed a lot of new things...like the new information booth advertising the wifi zones on campus, the retiling of the Caritas et Scientia Park (daw wala pa man five years nga gin renovate na, renovate naman liwat?), the covered walkways, the multitude of tarpaulin banners hanging around campus, the directories and the "you are here" maps...basta, kadamo ko bag-o makit-an...

But all of those were to me only fleeting landmarks as my goal was to reach the High School Department. I wanted to see my former colleagues, my old friends, and my former students again.

My pace quickens...maybe it was excitement, or maybe it was just because I was hurrying so that I would not be seen by my formers students which will result to a mob of fans gathering around me. (daw feeling artista ba...hahaha)

But despite my best efforts, my timing was still off. I was walking along the corridors at the exact moment that the bell signaling the next period had rung, and the students who were exiting the computer lab and pouring into the hallway were the first to glimpse the long-haired me.

I could hear whispers behind my back...

"Daw si Sir Ditchella man na?...Oo, si Sir Ditchella gid!"

Then came the inevitable...

"Siiiiiiiir!"

ITUTULOY....


Stand Alone 1.16

Ang Pagbalik/Ang Pagbabalik/The Return

OK, so the title is a bit OA. hahaha since I consider this a special post, i'm presenting the title in the three languages (or is it two languages and one dialect?) that I know.

After more than six months, I am once again HOME. It took a while to get adjusted again to the comforts of home, though. After having been acclimated to the cramped conditions at the boarding house, for the first time I felt out of place in my own house. Daw nanibag-o ko di sa Bacolod...but given a few days, I'll be getting my groove back again hehehe...

I didn't realize that I missed my family terribly. Seeing them again was a welcome relief from the mostly anonymous and casual faces that I see on campus (except for the relatives I see here in Manila, which is not often -- except for pebi, that is).
The welcome onslaught (as in sa airport terminal pa lang non-stop na ang wakal-- English pa na) of my nephew Brian was like a breath of fresh air to me, along with my sister-in-law Nang Jen and my niece Irene. And of course...the dynamic duo of Mama and Diding hahahaha

I'm Home...and I get to hear and speak Hiligaynon again. Ma-miss mo man gale ang makahambal Ilonggo nga dire-diretso...Now I get to watch TV non-stop (though I found that several months of going cold-turkey on TV viewing made me a bit disinterested wih cable TV now. But anyway there's still enough time to "re-learn" the habit)...Now I get to take a break from the challenges of academics and enjoy this respite from the pressure of research works, readings, exams, lectures...for now, the "stand alone complex" will be a thing of the past...

This few weeks will be another adventure for me...and I'm just getting started...

Stand Alone 1.15