Neighbors.

I first met Shan in Tito Audie's class in Trumpets Playshop Alabang 7 years ago. Because that class was too big (it was an intermediate class) with students ranging from pre-teens (who already knew the basics) to adults, everyone broke into different cliques according to their age. The kids hung out with their friends in the same age group, some other new kids had their own group, and the adults also sort of fell into their own group. Shan and I were with the adults, even if she was one of the youngest there. During that summer, we realized that we lived in the same village, so eventually we went home from the workshop together. Well, usually it was me hitching a ride with her when her mom and sister picked her up from ATC.

We reunited the next summer for Playshop's advanced musical theater class under Jennie. When we started carpooling with Jun, that was when I realized how close her house was from mine. We got closer during those car rides home, and over after-class dinners.

We did get closer during those summers, but of course, eventually people will drift apart. After a couple of months of trying to get together with our other Playshop friends, we got busier with our own lives beyond Playshop. Of course, there were the random meet-ups at Starbucks, ATC or even Lawyn's house, but they suddenly came to a halt.

It's pretty ironic that since 2003, Shan and I haven't seen each other even though we only live about 5 blocks away from each other (and yes, I tried to count it). Through a common friend (thank you, Nina/Maruja), we managed to contact each other again through the wonders of Facebook. While we were chatting a few days ago, Shan and I decided to get together this afternoon, after years of not seeing each other.

Hahaha, it was her birthday the day before, so she invited me to pig-out at her house instead of hanging out at the coffee shop beside her house (which was the original plan). When I arrived at her house, she and her sister immediately offered almost all the food left over from Shan's birthday celebration. Yep, it really was a pig-out afternoon. Pizza, cake, leche flan and a gab session that lasted the entire afternoon until evening. And a teeny bit of my own true confessions episodes came out, wahahaha. What a shock, hehe.

All in all, it was a pretty fun afternoon and evening, talking the hours away. Reminisced the good ol' Playshop days, the crazy teacher rants, and tried to recall the names of our former classmates that we never really got close to. Gossiped about certain issues (ahaha) and laughed off some other rumored that could possibly ring true. Even though it was just the two of us sitting there in the dining room, it was still a blast. It made us wonder why we didn't get together sooner considering we're the ones who live so close to each other. Oh well. I sure hope we could get together with the rest of our crowd again.