Crayons to Cravings

My, how they’ve grown. Looking at some old classmates and batchmates’ Friendster profiles, it’s easy to assume that no, they’re not the same people I met or spent time with at school back in the day. They’re strangers, more so now than they’ve ever been. People who purported to be friends back then have moved on to different interests and have more pressing priorities now. It seemed that half our lives ago, the most terrifying thing that could happen was failing a subject, or not graduating, or getting a low entrance examination score.

It’s also surreal to see my picture beside that of another person I considered really close all those years ago, but one that I’m not particularly interested in contacting any time soon, or ever again. Quite a number of people from high school were likewise barely recognizable in many ways; I’m not sure what the hell happened to them between the last time we all left the hallowed halls of the alma mater and the time they created their profiles. But yeah, okay, life happened to them. And I don’t doubt that the same people may be thinking the same thing about me. It’s seeing the changes beyond the cosmetic that’s really amusing, that shows them as more complex creatures with constantly changing appetites. And it’s interesting that they’ve found things that kept them busy, happy or made their presences felt outside the seemingly innocent confines of the school years after.

It’s in school that we first meet people we fancy, look up to, or despise, and while there are incidents and embarrassments throughout those years that are best forgotten, it’s undeniable that we’ve often learned after stumbling. But that’s generalizing it; I’ve heard that some acquaintances are now faring poorly. Others are surprisingly doing extremely well, though, and have begun raising families or have become mentors in their respective fields. But it’s intriguing for me, personally, that the information I know of them now maps a semblance of their lives all those years. Some have obviously gone through personal hells, found or lost God, or, have become the polar opposites of their past personalities. I’d like to know a few of them now, actually, just to see how radical the transformations have been.

Ah, school. I remember a priest who asked me if I masturbated, as part of a strange q & a during confession (I'm not sure if he asked all the guys, but he pleaded to God that I be forgiven for committing such an offense before assigning some penance prayers). I remember the awful CAT marching sessions, which somehow empowered some officers to be verbally abusive and demeaning to the cadets. And I remember a stupid craphead who copied off my test paper but wouldn’t bother saying hello when I ran into him—and greeted him—off-campus.

Sometimes I wonder about them, and the time spent molding us into people that adhered to the rules and mission statements of the schools we’ve spent so many hours of our lives in. If anything, it’s a training ground for encountering and interacting with the Breakfast Club, where we discover ourselves at our purest, most confused, most selfless, and perhaps, most passionate.

LNA Announcement:

For those who’ve been looking for copies of Lexy, Nance and Argus at Comic Quest stores (yes, there are still some of you, thanks!), the comic book won’t be available there, like other consigned items, for a couple of weeks. But do check out Druid’s Keep in Magallanes (landline # 8545332) and Pride Exchange in Malate (landline # 5229429) in the meantime. Try calling them first before visiting, just in case. It will be back in CQ eventually; will announce when that happens.

One With the Cosmos

I’m loving Peter David’s Captain Marvel. It’s heartbreaking that after over thirty issues of the title character Genis-Vell’s gradual development as a superhero, he had to go crazy. As in, cosmically powered, Spectre-judgmental-mental. I wish they’d meet up—Hal Jordan- or Jim Corrigan-Spectre and Genis-- in a nice crossover written by Mr. David one day, but that’s highly unlikely now that Hal’s a GL again and Corrigan and Genis are now in comics limbo. Still, that would make a nice, offbeat team-up/adventure with philosophical and socially relevant layers. And the cosmic characters are essentially symbiotically bonded to other characters; in Cap’s case, Rick Jones is his conscience.

Anyway, back to the book. It’s way awesome and funny. And I love how miss superior, Moondragon, was developed. Heather and Marlo! Woohoo! Nice.