Remains of The Day (Yesterday)

So the end of the calvary is near. I'm ecstatic at getting my life back, and there's no other way to do it but with a vengeance.

Yesterday, the trifecta of running junkies from the consulting office--that's me, Bry, and Jer--got a little nostalgic running around the Ateneo de Manila campus with a bunch of teeners. We were there to support Jer's nephew, whose grade 7 class was having its family day, the highlight of which was the "Crossover Run for Gawad Kalinga", a charity fundraiser that was supposed to kick off at 6am but actually sputtered to life at 9am! Anyhow, it was fun, I actually got 5th place in the women's open run, for which I got a prize of two boxes of Enervon Prime (yes--that's milk for "old timers"!) Hah. Ateneans sure know how to take care of their constituents. What a riot, that place.

Now this Maroon has never gone the blue way, but I had a ball walking about and discovering the nooks and crannies of the grade school area (although I only got as far as the sort-of dorm, I think, lest I actually be trespassing on sacred ground). I got there a little early and decided to fix myself up a bit as it looked like the party was gonna take some time to get started (and hell, was I right). Snatches of flashback deluged this sleep-deprived head as I strolled past the buildings in search of the elusive ladies' room (hey, I just realized it's an all-boys school). Along with the rain that greeted the wee hours of the morning, the smell of the damp grounds and soggy grass was surprisingly invigorating. The gentle slope of the paved road, the brownness of tree trunks lining the street, the vague familiarity of glassed-in student message boards, everything brought on soothing reminiscence of an era long gone.

Fast-forwarding a bit, I was also thrown back to the time when the Buencamino Kid and I went jogging in these parts in between our midnight oil sessions. I remember during a rest period, we were lounging on the steps of some church or other similar-looking edifice, and somehow the usual light banter turned serious, and I was trying to avoid being argumentative and not give in to the sudden barb. I should have seen it coming; we were too much alike, and at the same time so very different. Eventually BK and I sort of withered away, but not until a few years later. It's a little sad, actually. Good thing there's running then.

Yes, I just had to turn unnecessarily maudlin. Never mind that then. To end, I have to say Ateneo was really pretty, as always, and being marooned in the place for a longer period than I signed up for, it felt like a communal haven that cosseted you from the ills of modern society. Never mind the socio-cultural implications of what I just expressed. I say this with fondness, and even with a little whimsy. Sometimes I do wish I went to an all-boys school. (As a boy, that is, you.) I'm sure it would have been a blast, even more so than going to an all-girls school. I dunno. I just feel there's a freedom to boyhood that's more all-encompassing and evocative of the spirit of youth. Either that or Soms, my McLovin-loving buddyboo, just had way too much fun in his heyday.