Paeng, Paul and Rlyn

It was inevitable that during this trip to the States, Cecile and I would meet up with my friends from UST High School and Arts and Letters while here in the East Coast. While I would have wanted to meet more friends and batchmates, one big fiesta gathering didn’t appeal to us as this would not really give us “quality time” in catching up with our friends. It would be hard to be talking to many in a big gathering. Small and intimate was better. Thus, we shared precious moments and a few discoveries with Paeng Adriano, Rlyn Alvarez-Stalamasky and Paul Henry Albano! Photo shows all of us as we closed down the Japanese restaurant.


Paul had made reservations at a Japanese restaurant near the Rockefeller Center. He had organized the gathering. Cecile and I were coming from MOMA that Friday afternoon. Paul had given us train by train directions on how to get to the restaurant coming from the Met Museum


By 8pm, we had arrived. We were greeted in Japanese but more smiles and hugs from Paul and Paeng who had arrived ahead of us. The last time we saw Paul and Rlyn was in December 2003 while it really had been so long since I last met Paeng, my Section 324 classmate from UST High School. That was the year when the entire batch was moved to the Central Seminary after the old building was gutted down by a fire during the 1st day of school.

Rlyn arrived a few minutes later, as she was coming from “Clinton” territory! She and Cecile sat together while I sat besides Paeng!

Paeng is really like an “encyclopedia” of high school stories. He has kept in-touch with almost all of the batchmates. And would mention names, careers and love stories. But the surprise discovery was finding out that the late Tom Flores was the youngest brother of Cecile’s mom and that Mary Jane Gariffo is Cecile's cousin! Wow! Diba we meet certain people for a purpose? Guess… that is Paeng’s message to us during this trip. Photo show Paul, me and Paeng describing a story

Bitin ang kuwentuhan and we really didn’t want to part ways so we extended the reunion for coffee. Lito Vergara had buzzed Paeng through the night but unfortunately, we didn’t get connected.

Maybe, during this nearly 6 hours, some of our HS friends like Bong Lopez, Armin del Rosario, Raul Siasoco, Bien Perez, Roy Roque, Aped Santos, Antonio Mangabang, Juanito Bocalan, Cecile Cabahug, Chi-chi Jalijali, Ami Rosales, and other suddenly thought about us, as their names popped in and out of our kuwentuhan. Photo shows Paeng and writer.

Maybe, old college friends like Marianne Sandejas (now reportedly married to a politician in Pangasinan), Amy Pacheco, Jojo Guadiz, Vincent Paul Justo, Perlo Chua and others also suddenly, for a moment, remembered their days at the Faculty of Arts and Letters.


Thank you to Paul, Paeng and Rlyn!