Last August 31, 2004 I had an unexpectedly great evening. It was the 18th Birthday of Rachelle Ann Go, the Winner, and one of my friends, from Search For A Star.
Initially, I was supposed to attend the event with another friend, and Grand Finalist, from SFAS, Iris Malazarte. But due to the heavy rains (and other personal reasons), she had to back out at the last minute. I was pretty frustrated because I wanted to attend the party, yet I was worried that without Iris, I might get left out.
At the last minute, I decided to go with or without Iris. Despite my hesitations of driving in the pouring rain, I braved the slick roads to get to the Philippine Stock Exchange Center in Ortigas, where the party was to be held.
When I arrived, I summoned all my confidence to go in the Ballroom. Inside, I learned that I was going to share a table with my other friends from SFAS: Grand Finalists Melo Valeña and Camille Relevo. It was a great relief, for once, to find familiar friendly faces. I was able to exchange a few pleasantries with them before another friend and SFAS Grand Finalist, Tina Braganza, arrived (with her mom and brother).
From then on out, I had a grand time. We caught up with each others' lives and bonded more than we ever did before. Two other SFAS Grand Finalists (and friends), Genevieve Villabroza and Raymond Manalo, would also drop by our table to chat.
I especially liked the time I had with the girls (Tina, Camille and Jenny). I missed these 3 gals, since we all bonded before the Grand Finals of SFAS.
Jenny was especially sweet as ever. She's just so precious! Iris and I treat her like the baby of the group since we met. After the Grand Finals, Jenny and I were able to communicate only through chats and text messages. But she was always very expressive and very thoughtful. She never failed to express how much she treasures our friendship. She's such a darling! If I'd have another younger sister, I'd like it to be her.
Tina and I were not that close during the Grand Finals of SFAS, but we were friends. She's got a voice that many would kill for. She's also a very pretty young lady. Besides the pleasantries we used to exchange during the Rehearsals, Mall Shows and Tapings of SFAS, we really did not chat a lot. But last Tuesday evening, we made up for all the lost time and bonding of the last 6 months. I found her to be very accomodating, bubbly and lovely person. She engages you in a very animated conversation. She reminded me so much of Iris. We even went on a mission to take a picture of her with her Ultimate Crush, Franco sumthin-sumthin. She made my night a lot of fun!
Camille and I used to talk a lot. She was also Iris' "Twin Sister." They were both funny and nutty! Although Camille was the more silent one, she still had a lot of funky stuff up her sleeve. She also had the best baby talk in the group! For a while, Camille lost touch with most of us. She was kept busy by her band and her studies. For a time there, Iris and I thought that she deliberately hid from us. But during Rachelle's Birthday, it seemed like nothing happened. Although she was a bit silent for a time, she warmed up and joined our little chatter. I missed that old Camille!
Towards the end of the very long program for Rachelle's Debut, we took loads of pictures to remember the event by. We had crazy shots and tons of group pictures. It seemed like we weren't going to see each other for another 5 months! It was pure craziness and fun! I am sure to remember that day for a very long time.
Since Rachelle was extremely busy entertaining her many guests, we were not able to chat with her for a long time. She did, however, take some time away from the maddening crowd to pose for a few pictures with us and exchange some repartees. I wish we would've had a lot more time to chat with Rachelle, but, of course, she had to attend to her other guests.
Right now, I miss all of them... Tina, Camille, Melo, Mon, Shin and Baby Jenny. I miss those times when we used to just hangout in Starbucks (Bayview), or anywhere for that matter, and talk about anything. Of course, I also miss the other SFAS Grand Finalists, Iris, Sweet, Sarah and Jerrianne. It's been like a lifetime since I last saw those kids. I hope the time would come when we would all be able to hang out again.
Now, when would that time be? I wonder...
By the way, I uploaded our pictures from Rachelle's Birthday on my Online Album at Snapfish.com. To view the pictures, just click here.
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