i am such a big fan of my mom’s relationship with her college friends. even though they all have their own families, and one of them is currently residing in England, they still remain close and constantly keep in touch. they always manage to have reunions and catch up with everyone. we, their children, are truly amazed and inspired by their friendship through all these years.

because of my mom and her “barkada”, i’ve always believed in true friendship that will last even as we grow old, yet, we stay young at heart.

in high school, i have this circle of friends and we call ourselves the AKaBz… (the story behind the name is quite long. it involves our eating habits…and pigs. so i’m not gonna blab about it anymore.. hihi) we’ve been close since our sophomore year (HS) and i’m extremely proud that we still have that tight bond between us even after 8 years! considering our number (all in all, we are 17), you wouldn’t think that we would manage to preserve our friendship especially that we went to different colleges and one of us has been living in Ireland since our junior year (HS). got something in common with my mom’s friends huh?

½ of AKaBz on our high school days

this is just another proof that friendships can indeed last when you want them to. even some of our high school batch mates admire how tight we still are.

on august 27, 2010 (friday), the results of the Nursing Board Exam came out, and all 7 nursing graduates from the AKaBz passed! an achievement like that was definitely something to be proud of and one of the greatest moments ever. we just had to celebrate and share that feeling with our new RN friends!!!

thanks to facebook, an impromptu reunion was planned in just one night. the time and place was set right away. i honestly didn’t think i could make it because i already had other commitments on that day. but, you know what they say…if there’s a will, there’s a way.

on august 28, 2010 (saturday), we had what we always call our “Babes’ Night Out” (in this case…Babes’ DAY&NIGHT Out, since the celebration began at lunchtime). we met up at Bubble Bee Tea House. i wasn’t able to go there at noon because of other appointments, but i came at around 4pm. we had so much fun catching up, playing some games, and just chilling at the place.

as the night came, we decided to find another place to hang out. our initial plan was to just stay at the condo of one of our friends, but unfortunately, her sister’s barkada got there first. so we drove to Cabanas to do some karaoke, but when we arrived, some of us got hungry…again, so we went to a “silogan” across the street. while the others were ordering their food, i checked out the place right beside the “silogan”. it was perfect for the remaining hours of our night out! the other girls agreed. and so, we spent the rest of the night at CentroX.

unfortunately, i still had work to do for our school’s BSIE acquaintace party on the next day, so i had to leave earlier than the rest. such a bummer! we only have get togethers on special occasions and i wanted to make the most of it. but at least, i got to be with my girls that night. and for that, i’m really happy. although some of us weren’t able to make it on such short notice, it was still another unforgettable adventure for us AKaBz!

congratulations to the new RNs! and shoutout to our future international RN, Clairee, who is currently in Ireland!!! we love you clang!

it’s overwhelming to witness our friendship grow so strong. i remember when we were still in high school and our problems involved boys, grades, gossips, feuds and misunderstandings and one of us leaving the country. we’ve had our fair share of issues and drama within the group but we were able to surpass them all. seems like only yesterday when we graduated high school. and now, we’re celebrating because some of us are already professionals!

i’m so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life. that’s why i treasure the friends i have. my college barkada (d’ hacienderas) are also very dear to my heart. and i want to have not just 8 years of friendship with them…i’m rooting for “forever”! naks!!! i also want to take this opportunity to thank all my other close friends who have been there for me through thick and thin. you know who you are…

“True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation.”

- George Washington

i’ve got tons of things on my to-do list this summer. i just hope i can accomplish everything on it. i’ve got to finish my reading list already, then i still have to catch up with my fave series, and a lot more… but on my first week of summer vacation, i didn’t start on my list yet. i decided to just chill and not plan anything. i stayed up so late at nights and wake up at noontime the next day. (i know, i’m pathetic! ) i just ate, slept and watched t.v. for one week. then, right after 7 days of being a useless couch potato, it was time to get the party started!!!

last sunday (march 29, 2009), my high school friends (AKaBz) and i had a little “impromptu” get together. we didn’t really care if we prepared or not, we just wanted to be able to see each other and catch up. only 7 of us were able to come to our not-so-planned pool party. some had other commitments. but it was still fun! (we are 17 all in all… yeah i know, such a big number… parang sorority nga eh. pero i’m proud to say nah we never fail to gather ’round when we have free times… iba-ibang schools na kasi)

(clockwise from front center: kathy, jo, steff, aileen, kim, ME!, marinelle)

i hate my hair! hehe...

peace!

(L-R: kim, marinelle, aileen, jo, steff, ME!)

click for more pics

yesterday (march 30, 2009), secondhand serenade was at the ayala center cebu. he had a mini-concert at “the terraces” and of course, i wanted to watch it. i wasn’t able to get tickets because i was too late when i inquired at the concierge and all the tickets were already claimed. but you can still watch even without tickets. it was really sweet that two of my best friends came with me. my high school friend, steff and my college friend, maidee. even though steff and maidee were not really fans, they still accompanied me to the concert.

(L-R: maidee, ME!, steff) i love these girls!

view from the second floor terrace

waiting for the concert to start

ang daming tao...

here are also some of the videos i took. this view is the best i could do. the place was already packed when we arrived there. the audience were really singing along! (including the guy beside me) john vesely even said that this crowd was the loudest from the philippines. haha!

btw, for the past days, i’ve been really addicted to this game called CrazyKart! haha!!! i love it!
and thanks to Mia for tagging me and giving me those awards. but i’ve already been tagged with the same awards in Award Winning?. but thank you so much!