Reunions with Classmates

College

Last weekend, we had a reunion of sorts with some college friends as Jason and Patrick visited LA. We got the chance to meet up with Trisha as well on Friday night.

Both guys stayed in the apartment that I share with my family. It's amazing how the three of us were able to fit in the living room as we retired at night.

We planned on going to more places than we actually were able to visit. But I had a great time and I hope everyone had as well.

Friday: Universal Studios Citywalk, "Four Christmases" movie.

Saturday: Hollywood, Wax Museum, Guinness Records Museum, shopping.

Sunday: Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, shopping.

Monday: Topanga Mall, Zen Buffett!


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Elementary/High School

I had to wake up at 4am on Friday morning just to catch my elementary/high school friends online. Vicky celebrated her birthday and she invited school and church friends at her house. The party was virtually a reunion for some members of Hope Christian High School Class of 2002.

It's been hard to arrange a get-together among the folks. We went to different universities and pursued different career paths. Everyone is busy with a hectic work schedule. We may never even get the chance to gather everyone together at the same place. So an opportunity where several of us can attend (via webcam on my part) is hard to skip.

Unbelievable as it sounds - I can't even get myself to wake up at 6am on a typical day - I was wide awake by 4:15am. Skype allowed us to see each other via webcam. It is unfortunate, though, that my mic isn't working so I had to type whatever I wanted to say to them.

My shoutout to the folks (even though they probably won't be able to read this):

Vicky - Happy birthday again! Thanks for letting me know about your birthday party. It was perfect timing that I saw you online in YM on that day.

Donelle - Happy birthday as well! Get a project in the US so we can meet up haha!

Rickie - Congrats on your successful visa application!

Delia - Hope you have a quick recovery. And I still haven't replied to your last email.

Smith - Nice to see you again. Wow! this is cool. I saw you almost every day from kindergarten to high school. And then I never saw you again, not even once in college, until now.

 

8 Random Facts About Me.

Got this from Jason. 8 Random Facts About Me.

1. By my count, I only have 25 teeth. I also never grew any wisdom tooth. You might have noticed that the number of my teeth is an odd number. That means one tooth from either my upper or lower set of teeth is missing its opposite partner. I won't tell which.

2. My favorite number is 6. 6 is the first perfect number (1+2+3 = 6 = 1x2x3). Also, according to Martin Rees, there are just six numbers that govern the size, shape, and texture of the universe. If their values were any fractionally different, we would not exist nor would matter have had any chance to form.

3. I am of 50% Filipino and 50% Chinese descent. My dad is full Filipino and my mom is full Chinese. My features give little or no trace at all of my Chinese blood.

4. I've been called Romnel, Rom, Rom-rom, Ron, Ron-ron, Rob, Ram, Rem, Louis, Rommelito, Rominel, Rommel, Rom-ness, Michael by different people at some point in my life. I am so used to having such an unusual name.

5. My favorite tambayans in La Salle were the computer labs and the library. The computer labs are for internet access, of course. I go to the library to check on books that I could read over there or borrow, and to study especially for exams. This applies only when I'm alone. It's a different story when I'm with my friends - the only exception is when there's an exam, in which case, I am back to my hermit-self in the library.

6. I started commuting/taking the public transportation everyday between my house and school in 6th grade. I did this all the way until I finished college. My schools, Hope Christian High School, and La Salle, were both in Manila while I lived in Bacoor, Cavite then. I had to allocate 2 hours from my house to school and another 2 hours from school to my house if I wanted to make sure I'm on time. By the way, we lived in Tomas Mapua, Sta. Cruz, Manila, which was about 3 blocks away from Hope, until I was eleven.

7. My career ambitions when I was a kid were being a/an: astronaut, pilot, doctor, lawyer, engineer, and scientist. Of course, a few years later, I chose to be an IT professional.

8. Throughout college, my favorite dish was sizzling sisig. According to Wikipedia, sizzling sisig is a Filipino dish made of parts of a pig's head (cheeks, ears, nose) seasoned with kalamansi/calamondin and/or chili peppers. I thought of including this item because I just had a conversation with my mom about sisig in the Philippines and how we haven't had one since we left.

Yes, I miss sisig...