Everything Under The Tropical Sun

Ann, one of my best friends (I only have three), and her family are back home. They left for Manila two whole years ago and now they’re baaaaack!!! (Thank God! She is the only one who’s in the Philippines… the other two are in the U.S. and Dubai). Well, they’ve been back pretty much the same time Ivee quit smoking… about a month ago.

Anyway, I’m so happy! We’re not the most social couple but  just having Ann and Juno around makes me feel like my social calendar’s back on track when in fact, we just hang out at their home. These two people are the ultimate butterflies in the social scene. They’re in touch with practically everyone we know and they’re updated on what’s happening with everyone.

If you’ve noticed, I’ve added a new “colon” title to my blog entry: Monday Club. That’s because every Monday, Ann, Juno, my hubby and I would get together and have a certain food theme. Our first Monday was Japanese night. Which, I regret to tell you is about two weeks old when I posted it. Hey… I have to save some of my entries right?

So anyway… last week’s Monday club was cancelled because Ann wasn’t feeling well… Tonight’s Monday club is temporarily moved to tomorrow night (I know, A TUESDAY) because they have to buy school supplies for their kids. School is opening very very soon. It’ll be traffic in the streets of Cebu once again. Both our offices are located next to schools so it’ll be a while ’til we get to adjust to the traffic once more.

ANYWAY… they’re home!!! I’m happy… Juno’s happy… (not sure if Ann is  happy… the jury’s out on that one). I’m glad they’re home.

I had a very interesting chat with one of my best friends, Neptune last week… She said that her mom’s coming home to visit next year and that she’d talk to her husband about her going too. I didn’t really want to hope too much because it’s been over a decade since we last hung out with each other and I really miss her.

We weren’t always close. When we first met, we didn’t really hit it off right away. It wasn’t until that fateful summer of 1993 when practically everyone we knew left town to spend the summer in some fantastic place having the adventures of their lifetime. While Neptune and I stayed on in good ‘ol predictable Cebu. I didn’t have Neptune all to myself though, she joined a jungolf program at the local country club and as bored as I was, I took up tennis (*sigh… I miss my figure way back when) at the same country club.

We saw each other after her her first 9 holes of golf and after my tennis lessons. That was our daytime routine that summer. What did we do you ask? We just talked… and talked… and talked. She’s such a clever and witty woman even back then when we both didn’t know any better. She’s funny and there were no boring moments. EVER. Come to think of it, I can’t really remember how we were able to entertain ourselves that summer but somehow we did because to this day, I still remember that it was one of the best summers of my life.

We’d go out at night… go to this popular (and the only) dance club in Cebu. We really weren’t drinkers at the time but we loooved to dance! It didn’t matter if it was just the two of us. We danced our asses off. But we mainly kept coming back because of this guy (Nep’s crush) who was a really good dancer.

We had all kinds of stupid antics that summer too. In the usual teenage fashion, we met with random guys… prank called most of them. But didn’t really do anything drastic… mild stuff. Hee hee! Those were the days.

That summer came and went but what Nep and I took with us is a friendship that has lasted through the miles. School started, Ann came back and we were a trio again. We graduated high school, went to our separate universities. All the while, we kept in touch as often as we could (except for Ann and I – we went wild in Manila) and Neptune left. I think it was in the middle of our 2nd year in college when they (with her family) left for the States.

We haven’t seen her since. That was almost a decade ago, I think. But the great news is, I was chatting with her the other night and she’s coming home!!! Finally! She’s bringing her kid with her and I could hardly contain my excitement. She’s coming home summer of next year.

Another summer… we’re all so different now yet still the same in so many ways. Finally, another memorable summer I could add to my list. It’s been a while.

We have a long weekend coming up and my husband and I decided to fly to Manila to visit Ann and her family. It’s been a while since we last went there. November last year was the last time we were there.

This time there’s an occasion, it’s Amara’s birthday. Their youngest. For some odd reason, I ended up being the godmother for three of her kids (she has 4… a boy, a set of fraternal twins, and Amara). For a while they couldn’t remember to which twin I was the godmother to. So for years, we just considered that I was the god mother for all three. And when no. 4 (Amara) came out, they got my husband as Amara’s godfather. Just to say that they’re not playing favorites. Hahahaha!

As if there’s a difference.

Of all my boyfriends, my husband has been the only one that they both really, really liked. Though Ann has never been the type to really discourage me from going out with someone she thinks is harmful to me, it was obvious if she didn’t really approve of any of my EXs.

She’s been a great friend. Her and Neptune (who lives all the way in Florida now) are the closest women friends I have from way back. We’ve been friends since high school and have been through a lot since then. We’ve managed to stay in touch although there were times that there were HUGE gaps in terms of years when we communicated, but whenever we did manage to find each other, we’d end up talking like nothing changed.

We always told our BIG news to each other first. When they both found out they were pregnant, two of us always knew first. Neptune even told Ann and I she was pregnant before she told her husband. We’ve always considered ourselves best friends even through the distance between us.

Since it’s practically impossible for me to fly and see Neptune, being with Ann is the next best thing. She’s still an hour away by plane but at least it’s only an hour. I’ve missed her, Juno (her husband), and the kiddies so much! I can’t wait!!!

Me, Neptune, Ann (Over a decade ago.)