Kabarkada/Barkada – as the name implies, these people are my kumpares. We go back from our High School days in La Salle Greenhills and still managed to maintain a good friendship even if all of us are living our separate lives. These are the people that I’ve been with from the time that I haven’t really established any identity yet up to now that I am quite comfortable with myself. They have been there all the way as I change interests and girlfriends in my younger days (Yuck! As if I’m that old!)
Teka-teka/Katambayan/Tikling-Cogeo – actually there are a lot of names that can describe this group. These are my friends back in my Ateneo days. Teka-teka-teka is the name of our yahoo groups (don’t ask why; long story). In college, you need to have a space in the university that you can call your own (at least for your stay there); that would become your tambayan. Thus, they are my katambayans. All of us come from different areas, but most of us come from the Tikling-Cogeo area here in the East side of Manila. These are the people that implicitly reminds me to maintain that level of idealism to achieve a lot in life and not to settle to just being average. We have also managed to maintain a healthy relationship even after college because we are able to take time out form our schedules and our current lives to meet at least once every quarter.
AAT friends/family – AAT stands for Accenture.com Adventure Team. These are my colleagues at work that eventually became my good friends. We really are an adventure team because we’ve traveled to so many different places (Baguio to Boracay) which helped us get to know each other outside the confides of daily work. They are my punch bags in every bad day at the office and they are also the first to know every major milestone in my career. They make working enjoyable for me.
SFC friends/family/brothers/sisters – These are the people that I interact within the community that I belong (Singles for Christ). This one is a broader group because this constitutes a lot of people from varying walks of life, ages and lifestyles. They are my comrades in service, spirituality and fun. To be specific, I can also use ‘chaptermates’ to point to a more specific group in SFC – the chapter that I belong to in SFC. They are the people that I interact regularly. It’s a different kind of friendship that I would not even try to define. You’d have to be SFC first! Hehe.
Whew! Looking at these, I am quite pleased and thankful that I have maintained good relationships throughout the years. They are all still actively participating in my life right now and I feel blessed for that. Oh well, end of legend!
