Palad Mong may Kapal

I miss Ateneo so much now, just as how I miss LSGH. I miss my friends there the most. They made the whole college experience amazing. I remember going to school for nothing, just to hang out at the bench. I am also glad that my friends from highschool and the "Usual People" as how I would call my Cue barkada are still really good friends of mine through college and until now. College is also where I experienced the whole band thing. I made plenty of mistakes too that I have learned to appreciate because Ateneo is where I really saw the biggest growth in me as a person. I experienced everything that I had to experience as a teenager (except those addicting drugs. A person does not have to experience it ever. I got nothing against those who occassionally take them. In fact I have a hundred friends who use them. It just isn't for me.). Studying psychology, 18 units of philosophy and another 18 units of theology helped a lot with that growth too.

I miss the really nice maintenance people, Xerox ladies and the manong guards who have been really some of the nicest people. Thank goodness that my Philo group mates an I were able to throw some of the employees a small thank-you dinner party in KFC, complete with acquaintance games and souvenirs. I wrote them a poem, but I don’t think we had the time to give it to them anymore.


Palad Mong may Kapal

(Handog itong pasasalamat sa inyo,
mga tapat na manggagawa ng Ateneo.)

Dinggin, damhin, namnamin at simsimin
alay pasasalamat na yaring amin
mga makapal na palad nawa'y madama
ang rikit na hatid ng hiling mong tuwa.

matimyas na bukal ng matamis mong pawis
ang sumisikal sa paaralang nagnanais
na manapa'y madiligan ng 'yong kabutihan
tantong tungtungan nating kapatagan.

Payapa ang tibok ng bawat takipsilim
malinis ang dapithapon at pagsapit ng rilim
mundong mumunti'y maayos hanggang gabi
lilok niyo ang kagandahang lubos nakangiti.

--Jason Pastoral


Two of the most memorable parties of my senior year (and college in general) were the real badass ones that we organized. The first was a called Eden: A Fashion Fete of Heaven and Hell and we had it at the rockwell tent. That was arguably the best party experienced by our batch, thanks to sultry models (and a gorgeous crowd), a decadent theme that borders on clandestinity, and a free-flowing variety of booze. The other really memorable one was very different, the KFC party with sila manong and manang. These things kinda make you feel more actualized--or a little preview, which is a pretty good thing already.