however, that didn't work too.
don't ask me why. (",)
26.2.06
[j.s. promenade '06 correspondent's special report: part 1 of 2]
"mike, palinis naman ng sapatos, please!" "ayoko nga. ikaw naman gagamit eh."
fine... i muttered to myself, while looking up at our 17-year old wall clock. quarter to five. oh damn, i'll never cram again in deciding whether to participate on social gatherings.
then i rushed down the stairs, brush and rag in hand, where my pair of dirty school shoes lay. start scrubbing... i don't have a choice... dad's shoes must be size ten...
the next time i looked up, the pair still resembled school shoes, and the time was five minutes to five. i dropped the cleaning paraphernalia aside and went straight to the bathroom. they won't be expecting me because of my shoes, anyway...
ouch! why didn't i notice the heater set at 80 degrees celsius? maybe it's all part of growing up. just like the five o' clock matter that's close to making me freak out...
i emerged out of the shower room five-quarter. oh well, i'm already (in)famous for being like this, right? but dad better arrive here early or else i'm going to strangle myself with this tie, i said to myself. was this part of growing up too?
beep beep beeeeep!! dad just arrived, luckily just in time, because i was about to choke myself with my cravat. however, he really didn't fare better than i did... not until he reknotted it for the seventh time, when the clock read quarter to six. at least we were now ready to go... =======
six-thirty: a miracle happened. no, we didn't fly through commonwealth avenue, but it was definitely a surprise when i found out that the doors to the function room were still open.
"gab! ang aga mo!"
right there at the entrance of the function room stood two of my classmates whose first names started with the letter d: one wore fiery red, the other, periwinkle blue. i suspected that they were also victims of prom-cramming, so i gratefully escorted the one wearing red through the carpet.
upon fixing ourselves at the designated position, i heaved out a big (silent) sigh of relief. my partner, who held a rose, picked two petals... "itago mo yan ha. gusto kong makita yan sa monday."
gab! ba't naman may flowers ka dyan sa notebook mo??? ahh... ang ganda noh! hindi ko kakalimutan yung mga nagbigay nyan...
=======
"miles! pahiram ng salamin!" i mouthed to a girl wearing a black gown. she drew out of her bag a silver-framed pair.
wow. i reminisced last year's prom, when i wore exactly the same outer apparel, except for my red tie and the glasses.
what will be the difference between today's and last year's? as i pondered on the idea, i secretly picked a yellow daisy from the table vase decors.
ah, yes. the color of my "brooch". =======
promenade (n.): a social ball exhibiting formality and grandeur; held for a school class towards the end of the academic year; traditionally a coming-out event to adulthood.
the venue: celebrity sports club, capitol hills, quezon city. the first word makes it attractive. ambiance suited for a promenade. lights are way too blinding, however. ventilation is ok. somehow looks smaller compared to gazebo royale. sun cellular signal became a myth.
the program: just like what is expected on a prom: lengthly processions, rose and candle exchanges, dramatic speeches. too much dead space, and otherwise, worthless time spans. started late; in for a cramming session. and i nearly forgot: awardings and cotillion de honor. and the dance, of course.
teacher participation: alarmingly high. minor downside of the event.
student satisfaction: unsatisfactory.
the food: it turned out to be the same with our saturday dinner. the spaghetti and nachos were saviors.
the sound crew: major meltdown. i'll expound on that later.
g_b got tired of senseless ranting by 19:16. |
it was just about now when i noticed that people write things about themselves in the profile section of their online diaries. then i looked at my former blog sites, and, it was like... whoa, am i really that weird?
so maybe it's time for a bit of change, a touch of conventionalism. for once, at least.
well, you see the guy in the picture? yeah, that spectacled boy running in haste? that's supposed to be me, j. gabriel de leon y limpin... what does j stand for, you ask? it's for me to know and for you to find out if you still don't know.
i'm a 16-year old boy who wears a pair of glasses, sports unkempt hair, and usually dons loose clothes. i might look a bit plump in the drawing, but in actuality i'm a tall, dark, skinny, frail guy who always forgets to drink his milk and take his breakfast. up to know i still wonder how come i stand at five-feet-eight-inches but weigh only 102 pounds...
way back then, i was a small, plump kid who showed a lot of promise. during parties, my mom and dad would usually strut around and boast of how intelligent, how healthy, how handsome i was. for eight or so years, that had been the case. i got my share of respect, like this little prince...
then came a heartbreak, and high school.
inexplicably, i suddenly became a complacent and idle guy who fell in love with my personal computer too much, even to the point of forgetting if i already had dinner. i was transformed into a student ridiculously full of potential but never getting to use the stuff. i developed a very healthy sleeping habit that made me garner the honorable distinction of being the student earliest for the nth class.
high school went on, heartbreaks pursued at will, and down to oblivion went that once promising young kid. so much for the pride of my parents.
today, i still look back to him. in fact, i'm trying to revive him, after four years of dormancy, or something more like stagnation. impossible, yes, but it's worth a try. too late, maybe, but i'll prove that it's not.
