...Sinong Best Friend Mo?...

(originally part of my previous blog... pero nun humaba na, hiniwalay ko na)

Listening to Boys Night Out (Mon-Thurs 6-10PM on the Magic) the other day, they had this topic of "sinong best friend mo?".. Then it made me realize, how do you become a best friend of someone? If you have a best friend, does it necessarily mean that you are the other's best friend as well?

It's long been an issue for me, claiming that by saying one is your best friend, it doesn't follow that you are his/her best friend as well... Thing is, because of everything that has went through with you and your friend, you find him/her as being your best one, but don't feel bad if he/she does not feel the same way for you. After all, there are other people in their world.

Still, it made me think about who my best friend is. And this might turn cheesy, especially if you're reading this and you see your name. Still, I'm going to write this down for you to know that you are my best friend. (Mei explanation sa gitna)

Grade School to High School

Back in grade school, I had playmates in Don Pio Esguerra (wonder whatever happened to him), whom I play Power Rangers with in Olvera Park, with the twin slides. I was always the Green Ranger. I forgot who he was. Red? I constantly go to their house to play SNES back in the day... At some point, I think we had a falling out, him choosing to be more of a geek (he was the valedictorian of our batch) and me choosing to be... a Power Ranger. haha..

Then there was Christopher Quioge. The guy was a nerd, he was smart, but he knew how to have fun. And fun was all we had. He left after 5th grade, and is now a hot commodity in where he is now. I barely know him now. No more of the nice-guy nerd, now it seems to be a bad-ass punk. 

Mario Dy-Lliaco (may he rest in peace) was always my boy. Since the power ranger days to the Mortal Kombat on PS1, he always rode with me on my bike. We played sega at their place, burned catterpillars, and played from house to house. He was such a great guy, and he left for Australia. He came back but even before we could catch up, he died. And I wasn't there. I didn't know.

Then there was JV Cafuir, who I don't know if anyone remembered. He introduced the band "Ultra" to me. Ok. It was a boy band. We lived in our own world and closed out everyone else. But it didn't last as long as we thought.

I had my first actual barkada in grade 5, when I was with the fearsome foursome of me, Vincent Dote, Mark Catungal, and Sergei Fabregas. And the honorary member of our foursome was Nothello Sales. Anyway, we were such headaches in 5th grade that our adviser broke us up in 6th grade. Each one went to one section. Sergei and Mark (Sergei being the most behaved and Mark being the naughtiest) were put in one class. But that was the end of us.

I met Eman Ontangco and that was probably the longest friendship I've had with a person. I visited my grade school when I was high school and he was the guy I was always with. All crazy fun. But as the years went by, I knew less and less of him, and we eventually became reduced to people bumping into each other on a Sunday mass.

High School Days

New school meant new friends. But I never had anybody to claim as my best friend. But there was this one guy, John Paul Palomo, who was my seatmate back in 2nd year. He asked me anything, from classroom notes to girl problems (like i was an expert or something. i was a nerd, demmit!)... We had a whole tropa of misfits, me being the most behaved of the group, and we all decided to take the less-effort majors for our final 2 years: computer or drafting. Unfortunately, they all failed computer. And all of them went to drafting. But JP was most appreciated because of a line he told me on one of our joketime/serious moments: "pare, kung ndi kita katabi, ndi ako papasang 2nd year." Half meant, half joke.

Then during my final 2 years of high school, I grew close to the class. I had Gilbert Flor who was a bully, but was a pretty emotional guy. I hated him. Until recollection when we all opened ourselves up. He was the first guy to talk to when it comes to serious stuff.

Now here's where I draw a line. Up until this point in my life, none of all those people nor did I, ever claim that we were best friends. But then there was Gershwin Zabat. He was my brother. Not my "bro". He was a brother. Almost a brother from a different mother. I went to their house for no reason, or for school reasons. We hung out in times of need or for just hanging out. We talked seriously when there were serious stuff to be talked about, and we joked when there's not reason to be serious. He was my best friend. But I don't know if it was appropriate to claim that.

How did I figure out that he was my best friend? Well, there was one time I either bumped into him or something, and I introduced him to whoever I was with, saying "____, si Gersh nga pala, best friend ko nung high school"...

But as it seems, he stays that way, "best friend ko nung high school". After high school, though it was the time when I actually thought of him as my best friend, we rarely got to talk. Heck, I was one of the last people who found out he was going to be a dad. Though he is my best friend, it seems now that I'm trying too hard to insert myself into his life, trying to know who he is, or who he has become, when there's a whole other world he has built his life unto.

It's not that he's no longer my friend. It's just that, he's not that kind of friend I would've wanted him to be. I'm happy for the guy, and I still have college to write down..:p

College and Now

I was a boy who kept pushing myself into extracurricular politics and was lovesick during college, so I never got to have that one friend. I had my time with Budz Felipe, but I don't know, we just eventually went our separate ways. By separate, I don't mean no longer friends, but we're not as tight as back in early 2nd year. We were the PE Tag Team duo.

I have Chanchan Cruz, who took care of me in the council and in the party.

I have Kuya Ags, who has and continues to be the padre de familia and chairman of the board. And though madami nang hijo, at least I could still keep the title of "first". haha..

And then there was the classroom. When I lost the presidency, I had big things in mind. But DOTA changed everything. And it was the start of everything. Imon Olgado, the old guy that he is, has in effect, become my best friend. This is one guy who I can communicate telepathically with. I mean, we could laugh with a whole room of people not knowing what we're laughing about. He was/is my DoTA-mate, my basketball-mate, and my prank-mate. He's got his flaws, sure, (and big, they are) but still, he's my "bro".

Upon graduating, and organizing reunions, I got to bond with other classmate (oo Robert, kasma ka dito) but among them, the next best friend I think I have is Kali Quiñones. He's the serious-type of guy who I share valuable insight with. There are stuff he justifies that I think are wrong, but the way he justifies it makes it seem he's right. Which I like about him. It's like debating with myself. Well, to my mind at least.

Amidst all the male friends I have, I have a "bro" type of friend in Issa Sandoval. I didn't know how to classify her. She's a person who I have a conversation with randomly about anything, and there are times that she uses me as a "portalet", which actually later on becomes a two-way advice portion about current crap that's happening in each of our lives.:p Then, thanks to the genius of the awesome Barney Stinson, the Bro Code comes up with a provision that states "a bro need not be a dude." And I think that's what she is. "Not a dude". Wahahaha.. Plus I got 2 slaps on her. haha.. Sucker.:p She bet against THE gambler. Hah!:p Till our next slapbet.:)

And last, but not the least, my bestest best friend would have to be Rachelle Anne Marcaida. We've been through the best and worst times of our lives, together and with our own personal issues, heck we even died together in a car crash. I get irritated by her, but still, at the end of the day, I just want to know when I'd see her again. She'd have to be the person that knows me best. If your mom is getting jealous of someone, you know that that person is a huge part of your life. And unlike the previous friendships I've had in the past, I wish that this one lasts more than just a phase of my life.

 

This lengthy blog was made, inspired by the Boys of BNO, but most especially to let the people I've mentioned know that I consider them my best friends. Para kung magkabanggaan tayo somewhere, I could introduce you not just as a mere acquintance, but rather, a "best friend".:p para wala nang gulatan tulad ng nangyari sa min ni Gersh.:) And, it became lengthy because it was fun to reminisce the people that have been a big part of my life at one point, and try to remember how it faded... And it gives me this chance to thank them all for being a big part of who I have become. Anjan pa man sila o wala na, close pa rin o ndi na, at least at one point, we were tight, and you helped me go through what I did during those times.:)