KAIBIGAN
It was just like any other yuletide day, walking around the mall with a couple of friends after having lunch at our favorite place to eat. I came across this shirt that says in bold black letters: “Friendship is like pissing your pants. Everyone can see it, but only you can feel its true warmth”. It was an instant hit to me and my friends and after that, we had a long exchange of similar jokes. In this heavily populated world of diverse, crazy and funny looking humans, it’s nearly impossible not to any friends. According to a world census, there are at least six billion humans in this blue planet, so six billion and still counting, we’ll surely have at least one lucky soul to call as a friend. Considering that, I would like to state that, it is a human birthright to be inducted into this world of relationships, partnerships, brotherhoods, families, and best of all, friendships.
It was the cold yuletide season of 2008 that we managed to gather for a week-long reunion back at home base. Again, the usual smoke of the cigarettes, the funk of drunk and beer-breath buddies, and the puke reeking bathroom down the unlit hall stunk. Thank God almost all of us had clogged noses. The music that passionately jamming bands made, the laughter of beautiful and tipsy people, and the noise of wooden skateboards as they hit the concrete in every failed attempt of a trick. Yes, chilly and celestially blessed nights with the warmest of friends. last meet. That was the loveliest evenings I had with my old and new friends. Stories, something we didn’t ran out of. From the solo escapades, to the group adventures we had. We told all the stories, from the new ones worth sharing, to the old ones, worth retelling.
It’s been almost a year since college started –changing my life. A lot of us changed. Even my haircut had a dramatic and traumatic transition. My hair was once a six incher hair lock that was forced to be cut short because of ROTC. Blending in with my friends became harder since my semi-bald head contrasted their beautifully flowing black hair that touched their shoulders.
I think that from my descriptions of our appearances, you’d get a hint that we are some sort of musicians. We’ll you’re correct. We are a group of local musicians, playing anything from the complex accents of Jazz to the blasting beats of Metal. Everything goes in this homey bunk of ours. We grind our skateboards on rusted-red handrails, show off our shiny new instruments, take pictures of everything stunning and leave everything hideous in the blurred background, trade items from hats to shoes, eat pansit with much gusto, drink, smoke and sing like hippies in a flowery commune from three in the afternoon, until three in the morning
This place is where I developed my love for music. Here, I learned about, gave and received a better respect of being a musician and of being a member of a community. Here, I can speak my heart out and project my thoughts without the satire and all that unnecessary sarcasm. Here is where love, freedom, tolerance and equity exist with or without peace. It became our own little alley of twisted paradise
Paradise might sound too good to be true, but believe me when I say that it is possible, it can happen, it does happen, and it should happen for all of us. The best things in life are free. To be given the opportunity to friendship is our human birth right, It is our Filipino birthright. To piss our barong pants or whatever goes for the women, and feel the true warmth of friendship.
and this..
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