It’s 12:30 midnight. What am I doing here sitting in front of my computer?

Well, I’m going on a daybreak trip to Manila with my brother and sister. Tagging along with me is my daughter, of course, because it’s a Saturday and there are no classes. No problem for us because we might just be leaving Manila late in the afternoon and arrive in Dagupan in the evening. Then we have one whole day on Sunday to relax and get ready for Monday, another school and work day.

We are set to leave at 4:00 a.m. I am a nocturnal person, and the more I am kept awake now by the anticipation of this trip. We are using my brother’s car, and his house is a good 20 minute drive from here. I’m afraid I might oversleep (despite alarm clock!) and be late, and big brother would as usual, fume! So I decided to wait for 4 a.m. I think I will just prop a pillow at the backseat and doze off till we reach Manila - which is about 3 to 4 hours car drive.

I seldom go to Manila. Quite ironic because my in laws are residing in Quezon City. Most of the time it’s hubby who takes the trips by himself when there are family affairs or when he needs to see his best friend Alan Paguia. Yes, Alan Paguia is my husband’s best friend. I’m sure his name rings a bell to most of you, Alan being the one who opened the Gloriagate scandal by exposing Garci’s tapes (was it two years ago?). A graduate of Ateneo de Manila College of Law, Alan is a strongly principled man. He won’t budge from his stand for as long as he knows he is fighting for the cause of justice. Too bad he is mostly misunderstood and misjudged. Until now, his bar suspension remains at the Supreme Court.
They were high school buddies. They were not classmates but they were members of the same organization, the Student Catholic Action (SCA) group. Hubby was then a student of Sergio Osmeña High School while Alan, I think, was from Quezon City High School. In those times, they went to several SCA conventions together and that was how their friendship grew.

Alan’s wife, Pilar, is from Mangaldan, Pangasinan. Her family owns the famous and original Romana Peanut Brittle. Perhaps, it is her being a Pangasinense that brought me and hubby close to her as well.

Pilar and I have one common “complaint” whenever hubby and Alan meet up. It is their “litany of reminiscenses”. LOL! One of them would start: “O, di ba, noong araw…” (Did you know that during those days….) Funny thing is - they just keep repeating the same stories over and over but never seem to tire of it!

But I admire their enduring friendship. It is seldom that one is able to keep high school friends. (I also have several high school friends with whom I maintain communication up to now.) After graduation everyone gets busy with their own lives and before knowing it, they are already drifting farther away from the rest. Ah, but again, I say - such is life.
Time check: 1:00 a.m. Ummm… still three hours away from the trip. I guess I need to take a catnap. Till then….