It all started when I, along with some recently graduated Aguman members, weren’t able to join the official Semstarter swimming party last May because it was held on a weekday. The weekday schedule did not mesh well with our schedule. Being the “pabida” that I am, I joked that we will just organize our own swimming party, haha! Months after, we decided to actually push through with that idea. Of course, it really wasn’t our ‘own’ party because everyone was invited. We just spearheaded the occasion.
Naturally, I was the self-appointed coordinator, haha. Planning the thing was fun for me. Images of Monica organizing Rachel’s surprise birthday party come to mind. Tuscan-style finger foods, anyone? Haha! Special thanks to my awesome sister Ate Joi for helping me with the grocery shopping and the cooking, and for Kuya Dennis for being my service, hehe!
We had Three-Cheese Tuna Penne courtesy of yours truly, Creamy Carbonara courtesy of Andre, Pork Lenggua courtesy of Ate Joi (Actually, it’s not really lenggua since the meat used was not really pork tongue, but Ate Joi cooked it lenggua style with cream, corn and mushrooms), and Chicken Asado courtesy of Yek’s mom. I also mixed Skittles Vodka in five separate bottles (one per Skittles flavor) which was actually a bigger hit than I expected, but not really for its taste but for what is caused! Haha! Rej also brought some ice cream.
The topic for most of the whole-day affair was mainly ‘catching up’. Like I said, many of us haven’t seen each other for months and years and so the usual questions were “Where ka mag-work ngeni?”, “Boy! Komusta na!” and “Ta y kayi (insert name of an old Aguman flame here), komusta na kayu?” followed with a naughty smile by the person who asked and a boisterous laughter by the rest! Haha!
It really felt like we were just in the old Aguman tambayan, especially with the structure and setup of the cottage. We ate, talked, joked, teased and laughed like we were in the old Aguman tambayan. The only difference was there was a swimming pool nearby. In some moments, it even felt like there was an application period going on. We were a mixture of young alumni and resident members – in which some of the younger ones never got to meet the older ones because by the time the former entered the org, the latter have already graduated. It really was classic Aguman tambayan fun.
Days prior the event was quite stressful, but with a tinge of excitement, haha! It was stressful because coordinating a party is never an easy task. But the thing is, it was more stressful mainly because of all the many weekends of the trimester, my subjects chose the weekend of our swimming party to pile up on assignments and machine problems. More so, sudden cancellations the night before (and even on the day itself) were unfortunate and disappointing. Most of them had the basic courtesy to inform me first hand, but I couldn’t help but still feel down because these people who had to cancel for valid reasons were the same people for whom we planned this party. Plus, logistically speaking, it meant some details for the party had to be adjusted. I ended up shouldering the excess costs. But at the end of the day, it was well worth it. A fun day well-spent with long-time buddies – you can’t put a price on that.
Let me end this post by sharing some juicy details!
*The party was initially dubbed "Swimming Soiree" even as it was to be held during the day, simply because yours truly wanted a rhyming title and that I didn't really realize that a soiree is held during the night and usually at one's own home. At least I really knew how to pronounce it! Haha!
*Two alumni were competing on whose pasta was more delicious. In the end, it was a tie. Or was it really? Haha!
*One alumnus quickly gulped three shots of concentrated Skittles Vodka. No wonder he behaved ‘badly’ after.
*Two alumnae came to the swimming party in sort-of party dresses. But they did bring swimming gear.
*One alumnus put pork lenggua sauce on the spaghetti noodles instead of the creamy carbonara sauce. “Eh sa masarap rin naman eh!”
*Two alumni and three members never actually swam. So they just manned the cottage! Haha!
*The cottage for the swimming party was reserved a month before. But as it turned out, it seemed the said reservation was good for the whole resort because no other guests were swimming with the AguPips in the public pools!
*The only noises to be heard throughout the whole resort were the frantic antics and the videoke wailing of the AguPips.
*In classic Aguman humor, old love teams were revived. AguPips really love their own brand of gossip and romance. Heck, even a new Aguman pair was born right there and then!
*An alumnus and a resident member, whose batches were 6 years apart got too cozy for comfort. Talk about “Love in the Time of Alcohol” (Gulapa, 2009).
And some quotable quotes:
”It was so much fun to see the alumni again and bond with them without being terrorized. Hahaha!”
“Ot minta ku pa keni nung ali ku mag-swimming ne?!”
“Kaya ba nag-med si Jean para gamutin ang sakit ni Dennis?”
“Wuy Cy, antayu ing panty ku?!”
“Oh, ikatamu mo? Antalu reng resident kids?” Everyone looked at Anj.
“Oh, asan na si Ngot, hindi ba siya darating?”
“Hoy! Sige, mag-swimming lang kayo diyan, basta huwag kayo mamamatay!”
“Aydamo, Porsh! Kapayat mo!” This was actually uttered by a number of people, hehe!
Photos courtesy of Cyrille, Denesse, Michael and Dawn. ;)
For more pictures, click here.
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