despedida - adikz style

last night the adikz gave me one delightful surprise.  a going-away party na hindi ko alam, plinano nila ng ilang linggo sa mga pm nila na evicted ako kasi nga gusto nila akong i-surprise.  kaya pala lately matumal ang balitaktakan sa tsatrum.  yon pala may pinagkaka-abalahan sila. 

in all honesty, i was wishing to myself na may gagawin sila anyday now dahil nga aalis na ako towards the end of this month (yon ang pagkaka-alam ko huh!).  syempre, as a friend, plastic ako kung sasabihin kong hindi ako nagi-expect ng kahit kaunting seremonyas to give me some chance to say goodbye to the group i consider as my very very good friends.  i'd be devastated kung basta na lang nila ako pinalayas at hindi nila ako binigyan ng ganitong gimik. demanding na kung demanding.  but it's already a practice.  it's part of the whole cauldron of friendship. at masakit kung aalis ka at nakatingin lang sila sa yo sabay sabing 'wala lang'. heheh... ouch yon to the max!

a couple of weeks back, may nakapag-bulong na sa akin na on the 20th daw may mangyayari.  aside from the date, wala nang ibang sinabi.  akala ko lang, may gimik kung saan. 

but after that, nalimutan ko na sa dami ng pre-departure activities.  shopping, pagbabagahe ng mga pinamili, the formalities in tasnee and sisco (na nakakaburyong), idagdag pa ang mga hirit sa trabaho na gusto yata akong pigain bago ako pakawalan plus - the biggest issue of em all - yon ngang visa ko.

a few days ago, nagsabi si matt na samahan ko raw syang bumili ng car accessories para sa bago nyang baby na si caRIO.  kahit tinatamad ako at pagod, i can't say no to him.  i owe him a lot dahil sa mga walang sawa nyang pagda-drive at paghahatid sa akin kahit saan ko i-request. kaya sige go kahit pagod and the hot/humid weather is killing me. 

before leaving jubail, naalala ko yong bulong sa akin na 20th.  pero hindi ko naman maitanong kay matteo kung may konek yong nagbulong sa akin dati dito sa lakad namin.  baka i-eject ako sa kalagitnaan ng highway.  besides, sabi ko i'd just play along and see kung anong mangyayari.  kung talagang bibili nga lang ng car accessories.  at susunduin si marco para mag-dinner kaming apat (with tito b na kasama namin sa car).  treat daw nya (matt) na hindi ko naman pinagdudahan (now i realized i've so much trust on you matteo huh!).

nong dumating kami sa khobar at nagsimulang mamili ng kung ano-anong aksesorya ang matt, nawala na yong doubt ko.  besides, early that day, most of the adikz said na busy sila sa kung ano-anong activities.  maccoy and pops wanted daw to go to manama.  ren daw will bring shiela to the dentist.  ricky is still in dubai and weng is going to the hospital for some regular checks.  at ang dalawang closest fwends ko - raoul and ega seem to be so absorbed with their new ipads. 

kaya pumapasok man sa isip ko na baka yon yong sinasabing 20th, i was also thinking na baka walang koneksyon.  or, kung may koneksyon man, they must have decided to move it to some other day.  dahil na rin nga sa hindi pa naman sigurado ang visa ko and knowing the situation, i could be spending another week, or month (knock on hardwood! heaven forbid!) before i can board a plane.  kaya mas naniwala akong hanggang 4th st lang kami and possibly end up in a resto somewhere in khobar.

bandang 8 pm, susunduin na raw namin si marco.  ok sige. harurot si caRIO sa daan. o, akala ko sa baher.  bakit ibang lugar.  ay hindi, ibang lugar yong pinuntahan nila.  ok sige ulit.  go.  hanap kete hanap nong villa.  then ayon na.  lumabas ang marco.  after a few minutes, heto at kasunod na ang mga adik!

at that point, i was genuinely, honestly surprised.  lalo na nong makita ko ang preparations.  tserman and ega was so busy in the kitchen cooking up a mouthwatering seafood festival.  ang dining area may set-up pa na pang-sosyal na catering.  may nagsi-setup ng wow, tv at computer na parang pagtuturuin pa ako nong training na ginawa ko for 2 days sa trabaho! all i was wishing for is a simple dinner, basta makasama lang sila.  and yet, here they are, tired and super busy with a grand preparation.  nahipo ako... este i'm soooo touched!

the place was nice.  food was superbly delicious, as always (syempre luto ng chef raoul).  konting kantahan.  ren in his tito sen element was so clever, binalikan ako with his 'poem' na isi-share ko sa inyo later coz it's so funny.  romy showed his being true blue bulakenyo with his longer poem na pwedeng pang-panitikan. then everyone was asked for their messages na pabaon nila sa akin.  kahit si alec na natutulog eh ginising pa at ang walang-malay na si vinz ay naka-3 short yet meaningful words na pinakawalan. 

despite the technical glitch doon sa video presentation na super pinag-hirapan ni ega, i finally watched the vtrs na buti na lang at naka-off ang light dahil hindi nakitang medyo nage-emo na ako. 

-  maccoy, alec and pops' message was simply sweet and honest and full of love.

 

-  ren and shiela did something hilarious at saludo ako sa effort - conceptualized and executed like an indie film! hahaha

-  marco had his moment na iintindihin ko maige ang mga sinasabi when i got a copy of the vid

-  princess sofie sang abc for me

-  wing's message was unique dahil may bogus ym chat na nakakatuwa and in the end showing keng, kviel and zstan.. galeng!

-  romy also spent time to contribute something kahit busy rin sa trabaho

-  junc, linds, berlin and bitoy sent a message from the comfort of their palatial house in pinas (kaya lang wala ako narinig from linds! hahahha)

-  and finally tserman appeared in a yellow barong with his i-pad na naka-upo pa sa rocking chair habang nagbibgay ng message.  at pagtapos tumayo pinakita ang tuhod kasi naka-shorts lang pala! absolutely funnyy!!!! hehehehe

it's almost 3am nong mabigay sa akin ang spotlight, pagod at inaantok na karamihan.  baka hindi na naintindihan o narinig ang message ko kaya ibo-blog ko na lang sya after this one.  meantime, let me just show off the gifts i got (sencia na sa low res ng pic, libreng samsung cam lang ng tasnee ang ginamit eh! hehehe).

again sa lahat ng mga adikz na nagpuyat, nagpagod, nag-effort, naki-tawa, naki-saya, naki-drama, naki-kanta - a BIG BIG THANK YOU!!! i've nver had such a wonderful despedida before.

MaccoyPopsAlec-RickyWengSofie-RenShielaVinzAvvy-Matt-Romy-Ariel-Bong-Marco-Junjun-Marvin-John-Ega-WingKarenKvielSztan-JuncLindsBerlinBitoy-Raoul

the three symbolic gifts from John

a diamond-studded gift from cariaga family - grabe baka ma-hodap ako neto! hahaha

the biblical reminder from Raoul which means a lot to me specially in this decision i made (though i still have to ask him kung saan ginagamit yon! hahahaaa)

and the signed photo of the whole adikz group...

from the bottom of my usually rock-hard but unusually overwhelmed heart,
THANK YOU!