Ang MgaTsismis sa Hidalgo Street

The "Hidalgo Boys" (this is Larry’s favorite collective term for our own little group) just recently dealt with the demise of Gilbert’s mom.  Most of us were able to attend the wake, but conspicuously missed were the presence of Ivan and Carlo.  It’s been a while since Carlo has graced our house and gatherings with his presence, but it’s understandable, he’s in Canada after all.  but Ivan? well, aside from his constant badgering for "uplak" (I already gave him the chance he wanted, by the way, but he didn’t perform) whenever he’s around, he’s been doing his own things, much like all of us.

After the departure of Carlo, the "Hidalgo Boys" has been more or less doing what they do, and it needed the demise of a close person to bring us together again.  But, who can be blamed?  I actually find it amazing that in spite all of these years, our friendship still stands the way it does.  Now a lot of people can’t or won’t be able to say the same thing about their friendships.  I just don’t know if it’s a good thing, or a bad thing.  But for the most part, I find it a good thing, and trading these guys for a different set of friends will not happen, at least for me.  I know this sentiment is shared by all of us.  No matter how trivial or superficial our activities or conversations may seem, it brings a bout a certain feel of a retreat and relaxation.  We need each other every time the weight of the world seems too heavy to carry.  In a way, it’s a form of an escape to the world we individually move in.

Whatever…this Saturday will be my 27th birthday, and I guess I’m in just one of those pre - birthday funk of nostalgia, reflection, depression and introspection.  To all those who know their place with us, I invite you all.

It’s almost 7pm, but its pretty much like just 5pm back here. Though  the coolness of the air around sips through my layers of clothes down to my very bones, I find it warming to read every messages sent to me and especially resty’s last 2 blogs( I love the man, what can I say?). Good times are mostly enjoyed when you’re around with people that you care about and vice versa, not that I don’t have friends here,( I made a very good few by the way.) but of course nothing beats what I got back home( wink! ). Seeing jp`s wedding pictures, man I wish I could`ve been there, coz I wouldn`t have missed it for the world, except that I have to leave the country a week before. But still, I`m glad it went great and everyone had a blast even though resty said something about being matured, I wish the guys didn’t mellowed at all! one thing though struck me was Larry’s absence, tsk, tsk, tsk.. And one thing I also miss back home is the endless debacle and knowledge sharing of about the NBA, coz this place is a die hard hockey nation! and i’m like a lone island! oh and speaking of islands, summer is nearing and women back here are itching to wear less clothing, thank God for the seasons! and so that’s why my roomies are all but the drooling for the coming month ( I live with 8 guys by the way, with one’s a complete fucking fag of a jerk ). but there’s a house I frequently hangout occupied by 6 ladies ( see the term I used there? ) 4 of whom I’ve grown close with and are quite cool to hangout with ( plus one of ‘em is cute ). so this is it for now, time to put on my jacket, lace up my shoes and I’m off again to conduct my daily routine, avoid misbehavin’ and wear my hidalgoboys pin proud and loud.

February 16, 2008.  JP finally got married. (check out the pictures once it’s uploaded here) All the preparation, all the rambling ,all the hype, and finally, it’s done, its’ complete, it’s over.  The event was full of what was expected.

As expected, we almost stole the show (I think we’re all growing up, hence we were milder) from the newly weds and behaved like we always do. 

JP could not help but partake in most of the things we were doing, even if he gave his bride a mean smooching in front of everyone four times. You’re probably in Singapore as I write this.  Drop by once you’re back in the Philippines.

Rene was his usual  crazy self, taking a portion of the show, and the girls for himself (which was supposed to be for Ivan). 

Ivan was his usual bubbly self, avoiding a set - up job, which he regretted later on in the evening. 

Bin was, well, late and wasn’t able to walk down the aisle as one of the entourage.

Larry was absent, which validates the depth of his relationship with JP.  It’s not a bad thing, they just don’t know each that much.

Gilbert was the consummate photo guy, whenever he wasn’t affected by his sickness.

Another absentee, Carlo, wouldn’t have missed it for the world, save for his flight to Canada (at long last too! Most of us thought he was scammed.  There’s some good left in the world, after all).

And I was sitting on the sidelines, almost teary - eyed (my wife did say
that I cried when Carlo took off for Canada), enjoying everything, and proud to be called the Best Man (I
controlled my tact. It’s like Haley’s comet folks.), but ashamed of the
new hair cut.

Once again, change has happened to two of our foster family members.  It’s been a good start of the year(collectively speaking), and I look forward to the new adventures and stories in the days to come. 

By the way, we have some slots that needs to be filled with the departure of Carlo.  Any takers?

One more thing, where’s the blog of the others? I’m tired of reading what’s here over and over.

One of the fixtures of the Hidalgo boys is leaving very soon, and through Larry’s suggestion (was the suggestion really to make the most out of Carlo’s time in the Philippines, or was it for him? I don’t know), our little group of crazy snobs have been gathering more or less every weekend doing whatever.

A recent event (my daughter’s birthday. Consequently also Carlo’s send - off party.) has passed which practically gave us the excuse to be crazy until the next day doing what we do. It was fun, with a little uneasiness from me (which became unwarranted) arising from Carlo’s "workmates from the airport resto." The party was also supposed to be the celebration of Rene’s second birthday (a tradition that arose a few years back). A set - up was prepared to get last year’s instigators back at the party, with a little bit of spice on the side.  As expected, the outside guys didn’t attend. What was unexpected was the non - appearance of our writer.  It was almost an insult to me (I understand that he may intentionally did not attend in order to avoid last year’s fiasco of sorts), but the one who took it hard was the guy set to leave on a jet plane by next week.

It’s hitting me that one of my superfriends will leave, and I wish him luck.

The point of this post? I don’t know either.

Time’s passed since the construction of this crazy site for the people on Hidalgo… I think we got some fans of sort out there.Technically, most of the members(?) of this group don’t even live in Hidalgo Street…It’s just that them people are so used to molesting the hospitality and vestiges of our little shanty in Hidalgo…

As mentioned in Carlo’s ranting, he’s leaving..and a tradition of sorts has emerged  as his pre-departure hurrah which technically, brings us back to our high school days of yore some new additions…not necessarily a bad thing since most of us can finance most of our "trips", and a whole lot more… Not bad for a bunch of high school social outcasts (Eat that, Chocolate Boys!!!-angst, pare-)…

JP, I urge you to get sown with it…you sohould be here too…don’t mind the blog of Rene, coz it’s the truth…besides, it’s all good…

I’m running out of thoughts, so that’s it.

Every now and then I get to look at our group with an unparalleled sense of pride. To a group of video game addicts to cynical ass clowns back in high school and even childhood friendship tainted with laughable memories of fighting over NBA cards. Sweet, funny, adulterated, street drunk and sometimes downright degrading are the memories shared and treasured by each and every one of us although the latter was mostly with Rj at the receiving end, hats off to you dude, these I take with me as I leave the group for a quite awhile before the year ends. So before I charter off  to rewrite my stars( I’ve always wanted to write that ) Im leaving here a big part of me, but when that time comes, I have this knit group to toast and to drink with even if with me ending up with a snore, cause I am proud to have stumbled upon Hidalgo.

It’s
that time of the year again when the sky just opens up and washes
away the worries of the world, and it washes with a vengeance. Can’t
really get my mind around the fact that it’s been a year after one of
the worst storms I’ve ever seen.

Last
year, that “milenyo” thing just fucked up everyone’s lives in a
big way. But it did bring a lot of good things, depending on how you
look at it. It gave me a chance o have one of those moments on
Hidalgo street, for one.

Para
maiba, kwento ko in Filipino, or my version of Filipino. Ganun e.

Limang
araw walang kuryente. Tang ina. Ano pa gagawin mo? Syempre inuman ang
mga bakla ng Hidalgo.

Di
ko na maalala kung sino sino exactly yung nandun. Basta pag walang
kuryente, walang music, walang kahit ano, inuman lang, ok na.
Nakakatawa naman ma kainuman e.

Nandun
si RJ. Si RJ na naiilawan lang ng kandila at walang t-shirt. Tang
ina, dude. Art. Magdamag yata siya dinadale ni JP. Ampangit.

Dun
ko rin nakilala si Jeorge. Nalasing si Jeorge. Sumuka sa kalsada. Ang
ingay pa. Astigfulness.   

Umihi
ako nun sa gitna ng kalsada, nababalutan ng dilim. Astigfulness.

Wala
si Resty nun e. Nakatira pa sa Maynila with the in-laws. No really
astigfulness.

Hay.
Ulan.

Apparently, I’m the only one with the time, means and inclination to blog here on this profile. I’d like to hear from some of the people here.

Anyhoo, I’m not feeling very nostalgic right now, so I’ll just post the latest thing I wrote. This was done five minutes ago. Ganun dito sa office e. Sula lang ng sulat ng kahit ano.

"Dynamics of What We Have"

I
am going to be within me, around you.
I am going to be around you, beside myself.

I
am going to be beside myself, without you.

I
am going to be without you, by myself.

I
am going to be myself, despite and in spite of you.

Intertwine
with me, as I intertwine with you.
We
break and shatter together, and reborn together we shall be.
I
am going to be a new me, with you, without you.
And
you yourself will be renewed, through me, and through you.

You
are going to be within me around me.
You
are going to be around me, beside yourself.  
You
are going to be beside yourself, without me.
You
are going to be without me, by yourself.
And
you are going to be by yourself, despite and in spite of me.

We
are birthed now. We are new now. We live and die now.

Yun lang.

One
of the most annoying things a girlfriend can do, at least in my
opinion, is during a fight or a break up, she goes and approaches one
of the guy’s friends for comfort, understanding, and a futile attempt
to win over the guy through his friends. This annoys me because I see
this as a shortcut instead of doing the actual work of making up for
the damage caused, specifically if it’s the woman’s fault. This is a
cheap way of avoiding responsibility by doing a “pity drive”.

I
recently encountered such an activity, as the now ex-girlfriend tried
to pull the same stunt on Carlo. Carlo showed loyalty, I think. So,
in your face, you.

Over
the years, this ragged little group have experienced a whole lot of
women trouble. From high school crushes, to lover’s spats, to
unfaithful girlfriends, to as far as marital bliss, when it comes to
love, we’ve been through it all.

Robin,
the youngest among us can speak volumes of this. An on again, off
again relationship that has spanned for almost three years now have
spawned some of the best and the worst moments for this group. Ion
fact, his first girlfriend and his first adventure of “explicit
nature” was also done with the rest of us playing more than just
witness.

Ivan
also has been doing the on again off again dance with an unfaithful
childhood sweetheart, and believe me, it took massive amounts of beer
and hours upon hours of video games to get him out of his funk.
“Defense mechanism” be damned. We’ll get through the latest
fiasco again. It’s what we do.

Carlo.
Well… his love affairs have always been complicated. From ten day
relationships to vague brushes with true love, he still stands.

JP
may seemingly have a perfect relationship, but on those rare times
that things get screwed up, there are night long sessions of NBA or
Smackdown waiting for him.

Me?
I’ve had a girl I loved for five years laugh at me, been with someone
who’s very, very close to the gang, got kissed after throwing up, and
a score of other tales (including that last one I was referring to
earlier).

We’ve
all had shitty love lives, one way or another, but we still had the
time to gather around and watch Resty and Mahilda get married,
providing hope for the rest of us. Despite their shady beginnings,
throughout their rocky relationship (That incident in Jolibee comes
to mind, where RJ’s ineptitude caused Mahilda to utter the words,
“Wag ka nang pupunta sa bahay ha!”)
they still managed to keep their shit together and make it work,
showing the rest of us how exactly it should be done. Perfect moment,
that was.

With
the impending separation of the group, these things always come to
mind, because no matter how much tears and heartbreak and
disappointment come our way, it’s good to know that even at least in
spirit, there’re people we could always draw strength and hope from.
Be it from the unfaithful or the downright insane, we remain. Again,
it’s just what we do.

RJ’s
love story is irredeemable though. I’m not even going to touch that.

It’s been some time since I had another one of these. If not for my broken ankle, I probably wouldn’t have had the time to just sit down and think of the things happening within our little circle. 

It seems that our little group is strating to really grow - up, and just take on life in whatever way that the individuals herein know how (am I making sense?).  This friendster account started just for kicks, but with the goings on, this might be the tangible connection with our small and intimate group of folks.

I’ve been out of touch for a long time, espcially now that I have to deal with "practical, family things."  And sometimes, it just feels good to have the time (now, this has been a real issue for me: finding time) to be in seclusion (not necessasrily in the literal sense) and just sit back and see what’s happening.

Our still - college friend has now officially ended a six(?) year relationship.  I don’t know the full details, nor do I really care about what happened. What I do know, is that people got hurt. I just hope that this is gonna be for the better (both ways, even though I’m really biased).  I don’t want to see you hurting.  I may not always be physically available, but you’re just a door step away.  Anything you need, just don’t ask for some sugar.

My long - time high school friend whom most people have perceived to be stagntating for a period of time now (now that’s just frustration talking, for the attempts made to help him), is now finally moving…for maybe three continents or so.  September 15 is the scheduled flight.  This is really something BIG.  I sincerely wish nothing but the best for you, and I hope you find whatever you’re looking for in the land of strangers. Bold move.

Another long - time high school friend has finally decided to severe ties with his girlfriend. I really can’t say if it was a relationship (I don’t know the details), but I’m glad it’s over. I personally think that this was a move for the better, although more scars will be placed on your battle - tested psyche (or whatever). The move away from south is imminent (or maybe it’s already done). Whatever it is, I wish you luck, and you always got people here that will look after you if the whole world turns its back on you.

I do wonder,though, what happened to the godfather of porn. It’s ben quite some time now, and we haven’t seen him. Maybe stockpiling his wares…who knows?