Open book...the aftermath

Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.

--Douglas Adams

After a day and half in Loyola Retreat house (no, not loyola cemetery), I come with this blog entry.

My body is in pain. Lulaley, ang mga ibon, making melodies and "hyperness" is now taking effect. But instead of drinking medicine, I type this. I don't have anything else better to do since our trip to the mall was postponed (the reason I'm so excited to go back home). Now, Im'ma tell you what happened in the retreat house.

Alright, where to start...I arrived in school with just a small bag with me. It is small for me because the others (my classmates) seemed like they packed their bedrooms, no, their houses, in their bags. Their bags were gigantic compared to mine. I got excited when I saw Trisha's boxes of donuts, thinking "when will I lay my hands on my donut?".

We boarded IJA's bus (bus it baby!, yeah!) and went on with the trip. It was pretty long, and boring. We watched "Shooter" on the way. My classmates brought with them portable DVD players and laptops so pirated dvds were very available.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I was relieved. Alas, solid ground. Sir Benj was nauseatic the whole trip, he was so pale. I don't get dizzy in trips; I just wanted to go to the comfort room. We were oriented by koya (we call him that. No, we aren't racists) while the Guadalupe students left. The place was huge. It looked like a place for haunted movies. Good! I was prepared for that. I brought with me my white night gown. Haha! The place isn't haunted. But it needs re-painting.

We reached our rooms. I felt like a prisoner. Haha! No, really, because the rooms have just the adequate amount of space for 3 people (I shared the room with 2 others), there is a sink by the far left corner of the room, a desk opposite that, and a cross above the desk. We have two beds and one of them is springy! I like it. I jumped up and down and up and down.

The thing that I hated most in the retreat was koya's bell. Everytime it rings, I say "Oh?! Time na? What the...". The first time it rang, t'was okay. But the next rings were ugh. Anyway, it was fun :D We gather in this place then sang songs and talked.

The talk which I think will last in my memory was about the bads. B for Barkada. A for Alak. D for Drugs. S for Sex. The things people resort to when we have problems. I'm most guilty to the S part. Kidding! Most guilty to A. I really resort to liquor when I have problems because I know I won't get drunk. You know. Just the right amount to send your thoughts flying but you still keep your sane mind and laugh at those who drank more than they should have. The retreat made me "try" to turn away from that. I told God I will turn away from liquor if he grants my one and only wish. Haha! I bargain with God at all times.

We had our confession too! It was great!

I really liked dancing and singing the lively songs. The boring ones, I didn't sing them. I did lip sync. Haha!

My favorite part about the retreat would be the FOOD! Siopao, (I forgot our lunch ulam, though I remember it tasted good. Just insert it here) with nilaga, pineapples, Special Mamon, Adobo, with tinola, Oranges, Trisha's handa, Hotcilog and Bananas. Oh yeah, midnight snack was also great. I'm scared of starvation, my classmates are too. But, yeah, we were fed every 2 hours. Who said eating a balanced diet is hard? I wished I live there because of the food. But every joyful moment ends, and when that ...bell rang, I had to be a hamster to store spoonfuls of food while cleaning up.

I slept early, to my surprise (I was bloated and exhausted, primary reasons). The people outside won't stop running down the corridors. Girls in towels, boys in boxers and briefs. I also conclude that boys and girls cannot be separated. We will always find a way to reconnect even if the staircase is blocked and our flashlight dim because they are out of batteries. "Lights out" means nothing.

I hated shower times so the 2nd time we took a shower, which was 4:30 am, I was the first to go to the cubicle. The 1st time, we went last and the bell was already ringing and I wasn't dressed yet. So I decided to wake up early just to take a shower.

I didn't have to be the open book I thought this retreat will force me to be. When the forum came, I just zipped my mouth. There is one thing I wish though. I think that wish will never be granted. I'll just have to forget about it. But in every darn day I wish for it and end up disappointed. But koya said, don't keep hatred, so I let go. Wish me luck on this. Haha!

All in all, I enjoyed it! Yeah! Haha! Wish I will remember this in college. It was fun and I was actually thinking of having our reunion there in the future. And then we party! Haha!

Yeah, that's it. Thanks for reading!