Last Friday night, we had a little get-together with my close friends from way back Nissan Rent-A-Car days at the Tiendesitas at Libis, Quezon City.  David was looking forward to meeting my friends for the first time. 

We got there before they all did.  David ordered a beer while I walked around the whole place to see if anyone of them was around yet.  It was a Friday night, so there was quite a number of people around enjoying the evening too.  About a few minutes later, I noticed a group standing a few tables away from us, who seemed to be looking around too.  Oh yes, it was them alright….  Noemi, Marisse, Roda, Edwin and Abet were there.  It was great to see them again!

When Marisse called me up a few days ago, she mentioned that there was a special announcement to be made that evening.  I kept asking what the announcement was all about.  Do I hear wedding bells?  Well, I was actually hoping Marisse or Roda had an announcement to make.  Marisse gave me Noemi’s cell number, and I texted her right away to ask if she was coming.  And while I was texting her, there Eloi was, online Yahoo Messenger and asking me about the get-together.  She was so awfully envious she couldn’t be with us that evening!  Bestfriend, I know Cebu is great, but on rare ocassions like these, Libis is definitely the place to be in right this very minute….balik ka muna dito!  LOL! 

Anyway, the good news was that Abet and Noemi have finally decided to tie the knot!  Yehey…Ang Pakner ko mag-aasawa na!    The wedding date: January 19, 2008!  That is absolutely something to look forward to!  Ano bestfriend, are you coming?

The rest of night was wonderful.  It was just like the old days when we were all together.  I guess I just missed them a lot.  David got along easily with my friends.  He gave his words of advise to the engaged couple.  We all updated one another about things that have been happening over the passed few years.  Noemi and Marisse happen to be the godmothers of my Angelee, and I showed them pics of the baby girl who’s now 4 years old.  The last time they saw her was during her Christening!  Tagal na nun!    

Anyway, here are a few shots of that great evening we had together…

                Me, Marisse, Noemi & Abet                      Marisse, Roda, Edwin & David

                    Marisse & Roda                                                       Roda & Edwin

The lovely couple….Abet & Noemi

grabe, bagay na bagay!!!

and all the rest of us.. enjoying the night!

Bros, thanks for that great evening.  Hope we have another get-together like this soon!

Here’s my little quote for tonight…

“No lapse of time or distance of place can lessen the friendship of those who are truly persuaded of each other’s worth.”
- Unknown

My brother Jonas walked into our unit a little before 5am this morning.  I had just gone to bed and hadn’t fallen asleep yet when he came in.  I heard him saying something to Jenjen, our househelp, about one of my staff while I was still working at The Wave Ballroom.  This employee had passed away early this morning.  David couldn’t understand what he was hearing, so I translated my brother’s words to him.  Kulot had passed away. This boy was so young!  He’s barely 22 years old!  I just couldn’t describe the grief in me at that very moment.

Let me tell you about this boy.  JR, or “Kulot”, which means “curly”, as he is fondly called, is almost a brother to us.  He grew up together with our youngest brother, Harold.  He spent most of growing up days hanging around with Harold wherever he went. They were playmates, they were real buddies.   He almost lived in our house!

About 4 years ago, when my mom decided to start a Ballroom-Restaurant business, Kulot wanted to be counted in.  He began as the janitor, the cleaner, and the errand boy.  He worked hard.  For a measly allowance of P100 a day, he was doing more than what we expected from him.  We were so impressed by his enthusiasm with his work.  We then decided to give him a little break.  We began having him trained as a reliever for the waiter at the dining area.  He continuously proved his worth as an employee.  He was trustworthy, flexible and easy to teach. Eventually, we decided that he was ripe enough to become a Bartender.  He quickly learned all the cocktail mixes by heart, and soon enough, he took over the bar completely.  I do admit, I would reprimand him every now and then about his inventories, but that was really all part of his learning experience.

Now Kulot is gone.  Gone at a very young age.    I was so touched when Harold asked me a question I had no answer to…”why didn’t he wait first till another Kulot was born?” I guess, maybe it was his time.  We don’t know.  We will never know when our own time is up.  These are questions that are always left unanswered.  We all need to be prepared.  I just wish he had more time, more time to experience the future, more time live his life.

Whenever I think of things like this, I always realize how fortunate I am to be alive.  Alive at this very moment, to be writing this post.   Let’s all thank God for this life we have, and let’s live each day like it was our very last.

As I end this post, we would like to extend our condolences to the family of the late Virgilio Aguilar Jr., a.k.a “Kulot”.

Here are the last pics we were able to take with Kulot on my last day at The Wave Ballroom last year, July 31, 2006

Good bye, Kulot…

Tears In Heaven Lyrics

Last Sept. 7, 2007, Notre Dame of Greater Manila celebrated it’s 44th Foundation Day.  One of the highlights of the celebration was the grade school field demonstration.  We were required to provide for the costumes that the children would be using during the event.  Being a grade six student, my son was required to war white jogging pants, a plain red t-shirt and a pair of rubbershoes. 

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