PEOPLE: Haw are yu May Fren?

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I spread cheer and fun wherever I go, and I know that. But not all the time, minsan nakakatawa aq, minsan parang tanga lang +_+… kasi I am not perfect, and that makes me human – imperfect. Ganyan din ang mga kaibigan ko, hindi perfect, pero totoo. Kahit may mga defects, at least authentic (lolz, parang original at class A lng ah heheh). But how can you define friend? Is it just a shopping or coffee buddy? Yung tipong makilala mo lang at makasama mo lng ilang beses, friend mo na? o di kaya, friend ng friend mo, na sumama sa grupo nyo, friend mo na din? Ganon ba un?

Sabi sa Merriam Webster dictionary (o diba, I googled it pa), “a friend is a favored companion, someone who is not hostile; in other words, acquaintance. Ang babaw lang pala ng kahulugan. Kasama. A very shallow statement  about friend. Syempre, dictionary will give the easiest definition for us to understand the meaning of a certain word. But Why don’t we try to put some depth ? Yung lagyan natin ng mas nakakaantig na kahulugan (nax, ang lalim nga!)

According to George Elliot "Friendship is the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words. When two people share a strong bond of mutual understanding, respect and love it lays the foundation stone for an everlasting friendship. This bond just gets stronger with time; the trust between the two people grows and so does the attachment.” Hmmmm. Gets nyo nman diba? ang lalim hindi ko na eexplain +_+ By the way, hindi kami friends ni George Elliot, hindi ko din sya ka FB. Siguro isa sya sa mga Psychologist na nag aanalyze ng definition friendship and relationship.

Pero it’s true. I definitely agree with his statement. Friendship gets stronger in time, shares a strong bond, respect and love.  I know, we have different point of view when defining the word “friend”. And yes, there are lots of them that you cannot elucidate anymore. Kaya nman, I formulate this blog for me to explain how I define friendship. So I would like to introduce to you my girlfriends.

Umpisa tayo sa pinakabago.

Nidz - Arlene - Tinz - July - Joy L. - Rhei - Juna - Joy B - Mafets 

Tada! Eto kami. We call ourselves Flat 12 beauties. We started our friendship 2 years back. Lahat kami QS, lahat kami engineers. I can’t recall anymore how everything started, all I can remember is ang pagkain ng isa, pagkain ng lahat, ang bed ng isa, bed ng lahat (kaya kami nasisiraan ng bed), ang pinakmaliit na room, pagkakasyahin ang 6 na tao. Walang KJ, lahat jologs. Walang maarte, walang plastic. I am proud these are my real buddies in Qatar. Nauubos na kami, pero hindi ibig sabihin papalitan na nmin ang nawala. Tama na sakeng sila lang ang nakakaalam ng secrets ko =)

Higher HH - Tin - Deb - Lorna - Anne - Con - She

Middle HH - Lit - Lot - Lei - San - Dhel - She

Lower HH - Love - Chay - Sarah - Jovy - Khyte

  Tin and Lit

Deb - Lorna - Anne - Con - Lot - Lei - San - Dhel - She - Love - Chay - Sarah - Jovy - Khyte

Dubai. Isa ako sa mga aktibong member ng Singles for Christ when I was working in Dubai. At dun ko nakikilala ang Original Household (HH) ko, na nagkaroon din aq ng sarili kong lower at higher HH. Kung iisipin mo, “wow, Singles for Christ. Mababait na bata”. Oo mababait --- kapag busog (lolz!) mahilig kaming kumain pare pareho. Yun yata ang common denominator nmin. Tatambay lng, kelangan my chicha, kapag nag HH, parang may buffet table na. Tanda ko nag Bar kmi minsan sa isang sikat na hotel. Habang ang lahat fries and chips ang nasa table, kami kanin at ulam hahahah! Minsan nman, ung isa sa lower HH ko, nagsponsor, para kaming may libreng pakain sa mga mahihirap sa park. Pero kahit na gutom, busog, o busog na busog, isa lng ang alam nmin, were not just friends, we’re sisters as well.

Chanet and Aubrey

CK Cariaga - Zabat

Cosa Jhen

 Chanet - Aubrey - Weng - Ck - Jhen

 1998 College Days - I met a lot of people when I was in college. But I can say that these girls really know who I am. Mahabang panahon ang 5 taon sa college. Madaming tao ang makakabangga at makakaunahan sa pagsakay sa tricycle. Pero sila, hihilahin ka papasok, kahit para na kayong sardinas sa loob. Kung bakit puro jologs ang mga friends ko, hindi ko alam. Siguro kasi, alam ni Lord ang trip ko – weird. Mas pipiliin ko pang magkulong na lang sa kwarto habang hinihintay na matuyo ang elmer’s glue na pinahid ko sa braso, saka ko aalisn, kesa makisalamuha sa mga taong straight mag isip. Mas weird ang kasama ko, mas Masaya ako. Gaya nila.

JO - NE - HAI - SHA - NI

Jojo - Neil - James - Sha'de - Nicko

Raiza Joy - Reliza - Elizabeth - Faith - Lea

High School. Eto na. I still couldn’t believe that these people are still my friends for so many years, and counting. Minsan nga naiisip ko, hindi pala lahat ng kaibigan, katulad mo. Minsan, iba sayo, para siguro ma experience at Makita mo, anung difference nyong dalawa. Meron samin, maka Back Street Boys, meron nmang Nsync. Merong maka Eheads, merong Rivermaya. Merong maka San Miguel, merong Alaska (usong uso pa sa HS ang PBA nun). Pero kahit ganon, we maintain our friendship. In fact sila ang mga ginawa kong alalay during the wedding. Sabi ko bawal tumanggi kasi badluck un sa marriage. Ang ending, parang mas excited pa sila sa bride. we are so much different from one another. I cannot see any common denominator in us. But that’s the beauty of true friendship I guess. It surprises you a lot. 

 

 

Ma. Charisma Porcuelo Ortaleza-Bolisay

Kung hindi ko kaya nakatabi ito nung kinder para magkopyahan ng red color para sa gumamela, sino kaya ang best friend ko? I can’t think of anyone, sya lng kasi ang kulot na may bangs nun :D Since 1988 – I moved from different school, work in different places, pero every time people I asked sino ang best friend ko, “Charisse” lang ang naiisip kong name. isa din sya sa alalay nung wedding (bumawi lang aq kasi sa wedding nya, ako ung maid hehehe). Ngayon, sya na ang adviser ko about starting a family life. we didn’t have continuous communication during college days, pero when we revived it, everything seems so normal, kahit sa totoo, pareho kaming may sayad, ang difference lang, saken halata, sa kanya, hindi masyado. :D

And that’s it. These are my real, true, best friends. These are the people that I can connect with my feelings, people I respect and trust. Konti lang sila diba? I am not a peer collector. I would rather spend time over and over again with the same people for the rest of may life wearing my oldest, worn out clothes,  than meet someone new, and impress with who I am and what I know. Hindi ako mapili sa tao, I am not just good in face recognition. And for me, it’s not a weakness but positive attribute. Why spend memorizing someone’s face, when you know that in time you will just have a heart with someone that is true. Hindi ko kelangan ang isang barangay na kaibigan at kakilala. Hindi aq politiko na mangongolekta ng boto. Okay na sa aken na konti lang ang pangalan sa listahan ko, at least I know that they’ re the best in God’s eyes. Bigtime.

I don’t’ consider my friends as diamonds, precious nga, hindi nman rare. Isa pa, ang value nyan, pabago bago, minsan mahal, minsan mura. Gusto ko dinosaurs, kasi extinct, pang museum ang dating, dapat I honor, dapat ipreserve, kasi sila - priceless na… +_+ Kaya sa mga totoong Dinosaurs ng buhay ko, Thank you, Bigtime! *_+

Note:
I also have a lot of guy friends, but I would like to honor these ladies first. :) 
"How are you my Friend?" is the favorite line of Indians in the MIddle East, at paborito ding gayahin ng mga Pilipino +_+