j a n s e n. i. s. m.

A couple of Sundays ago, Rodel invited me to join him in Enchanted Kingdom, with his younger sister AC, his special friend Icaru, Jhoana and Ryan – Icaru’s bestfriends, as well as Mimi, a friend from college. I’m not actually a big fan of carnival rides per se but Rodel confirmed that a high school classmate “A” will be there performing with his band and this in Laguna, instantly I had a change of mind.

Last time, I was in EK, this was almost 2 years ago, I was with my circle of friends from college and I enjoyed every minute we had there. Now, there’s something about being in the same place but with a different group and different reason for coming. I began to ask myself, will I not feel OOP with this group? Will “A” acknowledge my presence? Will I have fun at all? Surprisingly, at the end of the day, my answers were all positive. This was also the first time, I went to EK with my own digicam, so here are some of my favorite snapshots.

• You do not have to ask anyone for direction to the restroom.

• “Hurry up kids, I think we left your mom somewhere in the water”.

• EK also stands for Everywhere Koreans.

• Apparently, this is the woman who controls the Anchors Away through telekinesis.

• “Oh, go ahead guys, I prefer just looking at this one, not riding at all.”

The following weekend, this was a Saturday night, we finally met up with Jhayr, our college friend who is home for vacation from Dubai where he spent a year working there. He looked very much same since we last saw him, as if not a year has passed. No gold chains, his hair is not blonde but he now drives an Innova. We initially planned for an overnight swimming in Postema, but cancelled it due to bad weather. So we settled for Padi’s Point, a resto-bar in in Cavite City but last minute changes, and we found ourselves seated in the car driving our way to Manila.

Our first stop — Blue Wave in Macapagal Road. I’ve been there a couple of times, but never really sat there to watch a band performance and drink ice-cold beer. Despite the raining, we were able to enjoy the outdoors, the great music (we even danced on our seats), the feast (pork sisig, nachos, calamari, buckets of beer) and the reunion with Jhayr itself.

When the band was almost finished with their last set, it was time for us to get the check, pay and leave. It was still early in terms of ‘gimik time’, so we hopped back to the car and instructed Jhayr to cruise on EDSA, turn left to Ayala and with God’s grace we were able to reach Greenbelt without a police car behind us.

What better way to counter the alcohol but with caffeine, we were supposed to hit Starbucks but it was full, so we settled for Seattle’s Best Coffee. I find the Greenbelt area less intimidating this time. Perhaps it’ the fact that this was around 3AM, there were not lots of people and most shops were already l closed. Or maybe, it’s the fact that I’m with my closest friends sipping coffee and wishing the day will never come to an end.

Inevitably, it did but at least we have these memories to keep.

• The best smile will win a brand new red Innova

• The Place to Be — Bazzo Bar in Blue Wave Macapagal

• Jhayr’s beer blushing as usual

• Judie and Jayson doing the coffee toast

• The Seattle’s Best Coffee Boys