Last weekend, I met up with my former colleagues from ePLDT, a meeting long awaited after each one of us left the recruitment team of Ventus, formerly Vocativ. Maloy (Ma. Luisa Panlilio-Chua) our consultant, Grace Grampa, Ryan Manzanero and I, worked together for several years. To me they are more than officemates, they are my family.
The lunch-date was set up when I accidentally bumped into Maloy at Park square 1 in Glorietta. I was on my way home from my medical checkup and she, on the other hand was on her way to Island photo to have her pictures developed.
It was a very big surprise for me to see my "Mommy Maloy" because I thought she was in the US for a much needed vacation. Like me, she was mourning the death of her sister.
As usual, I arrived late for our luncheon date. My good friends used to complain about me arriving late most of the time for work before, but of course they were very understanding since I was residing in Cainta back then.
We ate at AVENETO PIZZERIA, an Italian restaurant at Glorietta Mall. We've been planning to eat here since god knows when, and finally after 4 years we convened at the resto we've been wanting to dine a long time ago.
I was equally nervous and excited to see my good friends after all this time. We have different lives now but nothing will ever change the good and bad times we had together. Seeing them that sunny afternoon was no different than how it was years back.It seems that nothing has changed. Ryan is still handsome as ever. Gracey, still prim and proper. Maloy, still candid and humorous and prides herself of her senior citizens card which we benefited a 20% discount from our bill. [Thanks for the treat Maloy].
We stayed at the resto for almost 5 hours; obviously we had a lot of catching up to do. From reminiscing the times we had at the PLDT MGO building, to the daily hassles we encountered with our job, including the robbery that happened with one of our applicants as the culprit, and of course when after several years of being together, one by one, we left for better reasons. I was the first to go, then Grace, Maloy finally retired and Ryan moving to another role.
Despite the distance, time, and the many other things that had happened in our lives, we were still connected by a bond that I guess will forever draw us near to each other, and that bond is what we call friendship. We will think, support, pray for each other without having to prove or say that we are friends come what may.
Sheer Probability
13 years ago
