Armi: My Chinese Bestfriend

Twenty-eight years ago, I first met her in a kindergarten classroom. She was so pretty and I was envious of her chinese skin. Pearly white and flawless.
I like her shiny hair and her cute dimples when she'd smile.
Inside our classroom, we sat side by side with our dainty chairs. She was full of inquiries and I was selective of my answers. I was quiet and she was instigating me to talk.
In my innocence, I wasn't open to possibilities that she'd become my closest friend.
After classes, either my mother or my yaya will fetch me. I failed to note who would fetch her.
We exchange notes; read each other's papers and were together for snacks. She was good at talking/baring about who are my childhood-classmate crushes. She had crushes too. And funny, we had similar crushes back then-- those males in our classrooms who are academically great and topping the teacher's lists (and our attentions too.)
There were actually three of us who shared this childhood friendship (which I never thought would surpass time and this far.)
For this blog, I'll just talk about her.
At 6 years old, I would sneaked out of our home just to be with her in their residence which is three or four blocks away from our former apartment in Davao city.
We played with her toys and I read their chinese cartoon komiks.
I would make up my teddy bear with her water colors.
Duh! And you can imagine how I practiced deafness to bear my mother's blahblahblah when she saw how vain pink teddy has become so coloritti. You know what I mean.
I invited her for lunch... my 6th birthday, and the next thing we knew, her Chinese parents reported to Davao city's police station that their daughter was abducted. We overheard this in DXDC radio station's report and we panicked.
"Hear that? They announced that you are kidnapped. Let's stop eating and I'll go with you in your home," I blurted then.
I remembered that she was quiet, maybe not knowing what to do or maybe comprehending what is kidnapping all about. At 6, my idea of kidnapping is to be abducted by monsters and to be lobbed in some dark underground as giant snake's food.
But we went out nonetheless. Along the road, a white vehicle stopped and and someone disembarked to immediately get hold of her. And off she went home.
Hahaha. God! I only learned recently how police had manhunt operations in some suspected places to locate her; raided them!!!
I couldn't believe how such simple birthday celebration caused terrible effects to other families. What a chinese friend! Haha.
Of course, we were twinklers. We enjoyed being girl scouts. But most of all, we enjoyed playing at the school's playground after class hours with our male classmates.
Huh, those are indigenous games not played nowadays by millennium children. We were lucky that we were born at a time when we have the joy of flexing our muscles and who-cares-about-scars post-games smirk.
We were also together in fooling young high school cadets with our cutie lies just to create a rat-hole where we could escape from our campus and shop at Felcris department store (located in front of our school because they are crazy about jack and jill and oishi products).
But destiny separated us. My family transferred to Davao del Sur. I also changed school and I miss them.
I wouldn't forget that there was one occasion that I purposely passed at Sta. Ana Central Elem. School just to see them for one last look.
I realized that I have not much to tell them when I saw them. Just plain smiles and simple goodbyes.

I was about to finish my college of law days when I met them again--Armi and Wendy. Wendy arranged a short meeting we had at a chinese restaurant in Davao city. Wendy, at that time worked for a United Nation's program in the Philippines (now in USA as a nurse) while Armi works in a bank.

I visited their respective offices once. They were great with the nature of their jobs.

I miss them. Being reconnected thru web, I saw how far we have gone and how experiences made us tough. Recently, my chinese friend wrote a letter. Its a letter that kindled all the past and which made me realize how we are threading on same thoughts, including the manner on how we deliver ourselves... Haha. So, I decided to post it here to tell the world how proud I am to have her as my bestfriend.
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"Dear Vio!

i miss you...thanks to all these technologies...we could all get in the loop...

i see that you are still active in politics. i just hope na dili naka mag adtu-ay sa camp sa abus kay wingig naman sila pang isip maski kinsa na man lang i-kidnap. i really envy your job vio. diba i told you what you are now is what i want for me kaya lang nahulog man ko sa corporate world of business.

i resigned last 2006 after giving birth to lizzie my second, wala nako balik. I availed of an early retirement grant. 11 years in banking, wala man ko nadatu and dili na pud ko happy. when it's not what you want in the first place, masuka jud nimo sooner or later. gikapoy nako ug project with cover-up sophistication and aura na all-comfortable ang office banking set-up. maka-bugo and kapoy halok lubot sa mga datu na ang uban, ma-as ug batasan, perte. it's not the kind of career that i wanted to grow old to. added insult to injury, mga office politics, esp. if maka officemate ka ug bugo, harsh ayo ko no! hahaha, bitaw, pongot maka officemate ug mga tigulang who would not embrace changes, in short, gahi mga ulo. i settled to be a housewife for two years and i've never happier until now... with the global financial crisis...luoy nako sa ako bana, so i opted to work again but dili nako makabiya sa ako baby so i tried a work when they would be sleeping and i would be working, yes your right! call center agent. i did just last may 2008 until november 2008 lang pud. hehehe...kapoy. wala'y social life. enclosed ka sa cubicle for 8 gruesome hours. okay man the experience, okay ang pay, it was worthwhile to deal with the americans man pud. i took it as if mga trainors nako sila in building-up my english communication skills! worth it that way. americans are warm people but some are really bugo pud. they believe na hawud sila mag english, citizen of the world na sila. so i end up being ousted for having an irate attitude. i would be doubly good when the other person on the line is good but na, i could be double monstrous when provoked also. like nangasaba si kano, 'how could i attend to his needs when I'm filipino to begin with, when i don't know exactly where denver colorado is or when i have not been to america at all!", baw linti...nangatol ako tiil lami manipa! but of course i kept my cool but i lost my big mouth, tubag ko oi "with your query sir, one does not need to be in denver or have gone to your country an elementary grader can actually trouble-shoot your concern. do you have a child with you right now? they are good with tv sets and all these technologies. your child may be able to help you in your shortcomings with your cable system. try it sir and please do call us back for further assistance. thank you and good day!"
hahaha...bahala na kadawat ko ug memo basta nakabalos ko! and i have so many bruhahaha experiences pa and like them all! funny gyud vio. honestly mas na miss pa nako ang 6 months in call center than 11 years in banking.

these are some of my updates. murag taas-taas na...next time again.

i hope to hear more about your doings lately. do keep me in the loop. please, ayaw jud adto sa camp sa abu sayaff ha...

i still am browsing here sa net for home-based jobs...hope to find one soon...

miss you, warm embrace to your bebe and baby!

best regards,
armi