I know them this much. One message from an unregistered contact with just a "name" they used to call me, is enough for me to know where I've met them. For I'm never Carms with my childhood friends and Marawi colleagues, never En-En or Shang with my CDO officemates and college buddies.
Here they are.
She is Laarni, we call each other Palang. We're classmates since pre-school until high school, and then boardmates in college. Palang is one good friend. We seldom see each other but when we do it's as if we just talked ysterday.
Here's Ghe Ghe, I so love this woman. She's the reason why I am Shang for we call each other such. Aside from my family she's my number one fan. She knows my strength and my weaknesses. She knew how to appreciate the things that I do have while keeping my spirit high for the things that I don't have. Oh how i miss you Shang.
Meet Diloy(the guy in between me and the woman in red). He's the big brother that I don't have. We argue a lot, we give each other advice. Yes he's the first person who allowed my first taste of alcohol but got mad at me the first time I puffed the cigar. Btw, I stopped smoking already 5 years ago. He's the person who taught me the value of giving words. When he gave you his word taga mo sa bato he will truly fulfill it.
Let's go to my college buddies.No words of thanks enough for these guys. I love them to pieces. When I met them I was a shy student hoping to belong in a world so new to me. They embraced me with love and care. Helped me, encouraged me to survive the stressful days of college. Without them college days wouldn't be fun and exciting. How could I forget those sleepless group study slash night swimming slash eating chichiria slash chismisan. How could I forget those days of delayed allowance yet everyone helped for us to survive our meals. Those times when after prelim, midterm and final exams we rewarded ourselves with a group movie date plus a night with pure fun. Oh my, I've never missed college this much.
We were blockmates and we all graduated together.So proud of this group.
Now here comes my Marawi folks. Marawi City had been my home for years. I thought I'll be spending almost all my life there. Heard a lot of not-so-good-stories about the place but believe me, gradually I learned to love the place. Knowing their culture is one thing but experiencing it is an entirely different thing. Their tradition from marriage to death to their beliefs in Allah is unbelievable and so rare. One of the best achievements I got from there is learning their language. Yes you read it right I can speak and understand Maranao lingo. Now soo much for that lets talk about the people who touched my life from this place.
Below are my previous co-employees, mostly Christians. We're housed together, they are my family there. Since we're not allowed to go out by 5pm for security reasons, so we only have each other. I miss them.
And here's one woman who had been my anchor for so long.
She's Matet. She's the daughter of my previous boss. We considered each other sisters slash partners in crime. I so love this woman who defied Maranao bethrotal tradition and married her boyfriend. One brave woman, right?
Now came the unexpected. I would say that my departure in Marawi was one of the hardest decisions I ever made. To those people who knew my life there, can't believe why I left my job. I gave my boss the shock of her life. I wont elaborate the story of my boss for it's worth a separate entry. I resigned from my job and start a whole new life here in CDO and met amazing people.
With my current housemates, Vangie and Mother Anna. We may seldom talk and dine together at home like we used to but I know we are family.
This woman is Loida, my source of novels and a true friend.
My regional family. Read it more here. I can't help but share this pics of my regional buddies.
My CRT family. I had great time with you guys. Im so glad some of us are reunited.
Nine months ago, news of my transfer to STX shocked me. I was not happy nor sad, I'm scared. Exremely scared. For so long I've been with my comfort zone where multi-tasking was never hard. Ebook reading, email threading, gtalk chatting plus chika galore while on call were so "sisiw". To be transferred in an entirely different support is one tough move. I even lit a candle before starting my training to ask for guidance. Indeed guidance is on my side, for I survived each and every agonizing day and I've come this far.
Thank you to Nolan and Brian, my saviors. I thank God the day HE gifted you both the knowledge of this craft. Saying thank you is an understatement but I will never ever get tired of saying it. You both deserve a tight hug..weeeeeeeeh
Che, thank you for the gift of friendship. We don't know each other that long but we both know we have sisterly connections.
To the rest of the STX pipz, I may not have that much bond with you guys but a simple smile I got from you when at work is just what I needed to last a severe day of troubleshooting, Thank you guys for the company.
Muchas gracias mi amigos, mi amigas! Live on.
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