They Call Me Baet: Nostalgia (part 1)

It’s 4AM. I’m still watching “House”. The man says, “He must be really good.” “How did you know?”, says Cameron. “If you are a jerk, it’s either you are a genius or unemployed.” I basically know all the plots already, but I still laugh at Gregory’s sarcastic humor and enjoy the nitty-gritties of the cases. The dialogues are subtle and the characters complement one another. “That’s absurd!. I love it.” How I love Dr. Gregory House! Sometimes I think that he is my kind of guy. Funny. Sometimes I wonder why I get attracted to uniquely “interesting” people. Well, that’s another story.

My thoughts wondered for a moment while the team was doing their usual brainstorming. “Like I always say, there's no "I" in team. There's a "me" though, if you jumble it up.”, says House. I checked my watched, and kinda remind myself of my schedule tomorrow. It’s almost 5AM, but I guess insomnia will let me stay up for at least another hour. It’s weekend, but I won’t be able to sleep much the next day. I promised Peter that I will head one the final interviews for the applicants at 10. I know I’ll have trouble getting up early (Yes, 10AM is early for me) Poor applicants… my patience will be extremely short tomorrow. I hope they have at least memorized the Constitution.

Last year, I made some applicants cry. I thought, some of them were cursing wordlessly, while others were staring at me blankly. Other members even asked me to visit other rooms to intimidate the kids. “PAANO KA NAKAPASOK NG UP? MATALINO KA BA? EH, BAKIT SIMPLENG TANONG LANG HINDI MO MASAGOT! KELANGAN MO NG CLUE? WAG NA! KASE AND CLUE, PANG-BOBO!” Pamatay! Just imagine House delivering those lines. Haha. Some people think that when they got into the university, they were someone special. But the truth is, in UP, you have to break that cockiness and realize that like everyone else, you’re just a normal student. Once you’ve broken that wall, you’ll start gaining real confidence.

When I was an applicant myself, I was very quiet. I almost never spoke when I was in the tambayan. Silently, I observed every person. Some members looked nerdy, some tried to be funny, while some are simply funny. I thought staying quiet would spare me from catching the members’ “special” attention. I was wrong. I had my share of “special” welcome from a few members. Rodel Abuy even flung my sigsheet to the air. I can’t really remember the reason why. Leslie, Gaylord and others were asking me something at the same time. I answered, “Yes” to a question, and then suddenly Gaylord cried, “Ano? Bading si Uda?” Pfftt! There goes my sigsheet. I excused myself with grace but started to cry after a few steps.

During my own final interview, lots of members were talking at the same time…. trying to intimidate me. They failed… not because I was invincible but because I couldn’t hear them. I was looking through them. Finally, most members grew tired. The interview was already focusing on the “juice” of the Consti. Anuar/Buni was the head of the interview. My interest grew as the interview progressed. I found myself gradually tasting the “juice” itself. I cried after the interview. This was a revelation to the members. A crybaby was actually covered with an intimidating façade, which was not intentional. Dulce said, sometimes my eyes look scary when I stare. I didn’t know.

Well, I hope the interview goes well. It’s past 5. I’m not a resident member anymore but I couldn’t just leave UP Kalilayan. I still want to be present in most of the events, projects and get-togethers. There’s simply no place like Kali—a home away from home.