Our Cebu Pacific 9:40 a.m. flight from Manila on September 5th went smoothly. Even though I was capable of walking, my wife, China, insisted that I use the wheelchair to conserve my strength for the four-day visit to my hometown.
We were picked up by my high school classmate, Ollie Maridone Abata-Sarmiento, and Nida Buenafe from Negros Now Daily. If it weren’t for my wife, China, I wouldn’t have bothered our friends. These days, for practicality, we’ve become regular Grab clients whenever we need to get to the airport. I know they were not there for me but for China.
My wife wants to eat Kansi at Sharyn’s but Ollie took us instead to Biboy’s, for a change. Biboy is Gabby Cuñada’s brother, my classmate. Incidentally, they and Nida are relatives. We ordered kansi, pantat, and sinugba na bangus, topped with salty egg which tasted so good. Gerlyn Regalado joined us but left early to return to her work at the Capitol. Biboy treated us to a delightful dessert — a creamy cake from Dumaguete — which then prompted Ollie to order a freshly brewed coffee. We promised to handle dinner since Ollie had covered lunch. However, that plan never materialized; exhaustion got the better of us, and we ended up turning in early.
After our lunch, Ollie went to pick up her T-shirt from Ben Gonzales’ shop on Rizal Street. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique design — it featured the year 1988, which coincidentally was the year our batch graduated from La Consolacion College in Bacolod. Later, we visited the Negros Now Daily office for my first time. The staff there were incredibly accommodating. During our visit, we had a delightful trip down memory lane with NND’s marketing director, Dolores Miranda, who happened to be a year ahead of us at UNOR. Ollie also regaled us with stories of their escapades in Vietnam, where China found herself stuck at the exit of a Vietcong tunnel. Fortunately, Michelle Gasataya-Purvis patiently helped her out of the pit while Ollie and Zoe couldn’t contain their laughter.
China never completed her Mass Communication degree, as she opted for a more comfortable life at home after becoming pregnant with Osmund in 1989. Despite this, she maintained a close bond with Ollie and the ‘That’s’ group — a name inspired by the popular song “That’s What Friends Are For”. Besides the individuals mentioned, there are other members as well. Monet, Angie, and Zoe reside in the National Capital Region (NCR), while Concon lives in the USA. If you were part of ‘That’s,’ you’d undoubtedly share countless hilarious moments, as they’ve accumulated decades of camaraderie. Each member has their own unique personality, and these differences have only strengthened their friendship over the years.
I signaled for them to leave because Ollie needed to pick up her daughter, Zia, from La Salle after dropping us off at Go Hotel. I was pleasantly surprised by the hotel’s cleanliness and the well-thought-out room locations for customer convenience. The staff were accommodating and professional. Once we settled into our rooms, we told Ollie to call it a day. We were tired and still full from our lunch — rest was essential for the busy day of activities awaiting us the next day. ||
