5 THINGS ABOUT BEBI A

Bebi A and I have been friends since our college sophomore years. Our freshmen year is a totally different story; yes, we were block mates but we didn't instantly get along. She is among the brat pack and the smart ones in our block, whereas I am just that shy, average girl from the province. She has always been very vocal and straightforward, which is the reason why I knew she didn't liked me then; she doesn't hate me, but she doesn't like me either. And, then one day I was hanging out with our common friend during the cinemalaya festival in Manila, she joined us and we really can't remember how we started to become really good friends, but the bottom line is that we've grown together being each other's best friend. When we became friends, there isn't really no other way around it, we just know that we really are friends, that's it. Bebi A is kinda like a double edged sword; if she became your friend, she will stick up for you no matter what or no matter how far she has to go out of her way for you. But if you hurt her and the people she loves, she will get back to you, three-fold. 

We're really a trio; bebi A, mamee Sue and I, and we've been through a lot and we can really say that we know each other very well.

And these are some of the things I know about Bebi A:


1. She is passionate

when she was still a 'Kolehiyala'

She pours her heart and hard work in whatever she does. Back in college, we're among the batch of intense multi-taskers; she was a cheerleader, an org officer, a school paper editor and all the other things that she does for others on the side. And with all this, she never lacked the heart and strength to give her best in everything she committed herself to. She even came to a point that she didn't even know how she got through all her deadlines; she just sailed on and deliver whatever she can and with that, she never disappoints. As if all of her responsibilities on hand is too much, she still finds time to party a bit, to be a good confidant and be a girlfriend to her Popo.
And now, she is living the life with the same boyfie from college, kuya Carl, in Singapore, she is also a budding entrepreneur and is pretty much able to do or buy whatever she wants for herself, her mom and all the people she loves. She really works hard in everything she does, so she really deserves whatever she has now.

 
2. She is multi-talented

The fierce cheerleader that she is

She is a dancer, a good story teller and a closeted singer! Haha. Her more known talent is dancing because she’s a cheerleader and she always say that she can really express herself whenever she dances. And, we can really tell that she enjoys it because she will go through hell just to be able to perform during NCAA competitions before, she had an injury once that caused her to not compete and it really broke her heart. She may be our alma mater’s cheer leader but we, her friends, is her proud cheerers/fans and we’re really proud of her!

Okay so we’ve laid out her first talent, but only few people know that Bebi A also has THE VOICE! She sings really well! She may try denying this, but hey! I say she has it. She also has this effortless power of reeling people in whenever she tells a story, may it be a very silly joke or more serious stuff. She has the gift of timing and proper punchlines.

3. Her heart belongs to Kuya Carl

I am a witness of how bebi A really loves her Popo (Kuya Carl) since college until now. They've had their own share of relationship dilemmas, but one thing I know is that they are perfect for each other. And they are willing to endure some hardships for each other. Bebi A and Kuya Carl may sometimes be both stubborn and they might stumble from time to time when it comes to their relationship, but all I know is that she loves Kuya Carl very much and Kuya Carl really loves her too.

Even for me, an outsider looking into their relationship, I can’t see a future with them not being together. I have witnessed their love, their difficulties and how they compromise. They have really grown together in their relationship and that is true love, they have that and more because they got each other.

4. She is a good daughter

Tita Lynn visited Bebi A in SG!

Her graduation day!

Bebi A is overflowing with love and when I met her mom, tita Lynn, I knew why. She may not have her father by her side growing up, but she has a mother that compensates all of that and never made her feel that something is missing in her life. She may have been a rebellious when she was younger, but who wasn’t? We all go through that phase in our lives, but at the end of the day there’s just one arm we go to when everything is done and that is our mom’s. The thing that made Tita Lynn great is that she never asked for anything since Bebi A moved to Singapore to pursue her career growth, but she doesn’t really have to because Bebi A will do anything that she can to help her mother out or to just simply make her enjoy the luxurious things she wants her to enjoy. It is really evident that she tries everything to give her mom not just a more convenient life, but a luxurious life even and they both deserve it. Bebi A, and all of us, may not be a perfect daughter but she is a damn good one!

5. She is not my bestfriend



Junior College

Senior College

Bebi A, Bebi J and Mamee Sue

Year 2013

She is my sister. She may come as really straightforward and often misunderstood as bitchy at times, but underneath that tough exterior is a really sweet and caring person. And, her being frank makes her a good friend, she tells you things as it is; no sugar coating. And, she really goes out of her way to help a friend and fights with them, even for them, when she needs to. The most important thing about Bebi A as a friend is that she accepts all her friend’s flaws, she never judge them and she can be as crazy as hell and she wouldn’t even care. She is a really fun friend because it’s like she always has an adventure to tell, or a blooper to laugh about.

I can never forget that time that our friendship, Bebi A, Mamee Sue and I, almost ended, we rarely fight but when we do it’s really a big one, It broke my heart to see how a very good friendship might be broken, but we love each other and we value our friendship more than anything; we talked, we cried, we hugged it out and we came out of that situation stonger, our friendship has reached a new level. We’re sisters; we irritate each other, we sometimes disagree and fight, but after all the drama and confrontations, what remains is our love and respect for each other.

So she is not my bestfriend, she is the sister that I never had and I love her so much for being just that!

A: SHE'S ALL THAT!

On my computer’s desktop is a file named “Sched_BLAAAAH” and inside that are scheduled topics until the end of May 2013. And for today, Bebi J and I agreed that I will write about my experiences as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) at a very young age of 23. I thought it was a good topic. I would really want to share with y’all the lessons I’ve learned and the things I discovered about myself in this whole journey of trying to be independent in a foreign country. However, it is my best friend’s (bebi J’s) birthday week, and I want to take this time to share some of the discoveries I had about her through our years of friendship. Surprise, beeyotch! :D

I don’t remember how it all started. But I do remember that we weren’t close during the first few months of our freshman year in college. I remember sitting next to her inside one of the offices in the campus while waiting for other friends, but we wouldn’t really talk. We were block mates (being block mates basically means we were classmates in every subject we had) in first year college, but she wasn’t one of those people I really hung around with. It is also quite vague to me if we started becoming close at the latter part of our first year in college or if it was during our sophomore year. I just remember going to this place called “Harbour Square” with her and another friend, and I remember us laughing and just having a really good time. And then I remember going home and exchanging text messages with her, and then just feeling at ease, and wanting to share some more stories with her. And the rest, as people normally say, is history.

I have known bebi J for 9 years now and though that may not be considered long enough for me to even write an entry like this, I find those nine years enough for me to get to see so many sides of her. So without further ado... Jaz.

Nothing makes her happier than being with both her parents

I have shared way too many skype convos with her about her wanting to always be with both her inay and tatay (mom and dad). And it breaks my heart that sometimes, no matter how much she wants it to happen, it just can’t. And whenever I see her photos hanging out with her ‘rents, there is just this glow in her eyes that you don’t really see all the time. She loves them so dearly, and when they are apart, she misses them so badly. She couldn’t be happier when their trip back to Doha, Qatar was confirmed. And now, I know that beyond her smiling face in her photos is an even happier heart.

With her inay and tatay

With her inay and tatay

She is her tatay’s hero

I will not go deep into what the situation was, but from how she handled it, she showed me a whole different meaning of the word “sacrifice”. She was employed and she could see a quite promising future ahead of her through what she was doing before, but she sacrificed that opportunity to take care of her father. And there was never a time that she regretted that she did what she did. She knows her priorities, and it’s always family that comes first for her. She was there when her tatay needed a personal nurse, a companion, a stand up comedienne, a friend, and most of all, a daughter. And though it made her sad that she couldn’t get to continue what she was doing before, she knew that what her heart wanted was to be there for her tatay, and that just was enough.

Hahaha! Funny tatay!

Patience is one of her virtues

I have seen her become upset about something, but I have never seen her rave about anything. It’s amazing how she controls her anger, and how she just seems to be always calm and collected even when there is much to worry about. The only time I saw her “panic” was when we took too long at the salon (to have our hair done for an event that evening) and she still had to take an exam in the afternoon, and she was already 30 minutes late. English 2, bi? Haha!

Confidence? She’s got that!

My best friend, as she would put it, is on the “plus size of the fashion spectrum”, but you think she’d give a damn about that? Heck no! She knows it and she embraces it. And I love that about her! But one thing I love even more is how she proves to everyone that she is sexy and she knows it; by dressing how she wants to. She would buy these short dresses or skirts, or revealing tops, and wouldn’t give a single eff about what other people would say. I know some “free size” (including myself sometimes) people that couldn’t even work a simple black dress because they’re too worried about other people’s opinion.

She has a good voice

She just doesn’t want to admit it, but she sings really well. She played Effie White which was Jennifer Hudson's character in the movie “Dream Girls” for a presentation we did in our senior year in college. Fun times! The only problem is, sometimes, she just would be really conscious and shy about singing, and just would refuse to let her real voice out.

Water, sun, sand… and pool

Just like a typical student, she enjoys summer and semestral breaks. She would always try to convince us to go to their province for a couple of nights of sleep overs and also for some swimming bonding at the local resorts around their area. There was even a time we rented the pool of a motel near their place just to get to swim. I’ve lost count as to how many resorts we’ve already visited, but the most significant would be our first time together at the White Sand beach at Puerto Galera summer of 2007. 

Puerto Galera 2007

With some friends at a resort in Laguna, Philippines

Crazy

Oh she’s no angel. Wouldn’t be friends with her if she was anyway. We’re not proud that we sometimes skipped classes back in college, but I’d say it was worth it. Let’s all be honest, we all have our fair share of “I don’t feel like attending that class,” moments. And everytime we’d skip a class, we’d just hang out, it didn’t matter where, just as long as we were doing nothing, together. Haha!  We also enjoyed quite a number of beer bonding with many different sets of friends. We have shared so many first times in trying different types of booze and we had this night when we just did some crazy moves on the dance floor. She may not be a very big fan of dance floors and led lights, but she sure enjoys nights out with friends.

She is a really good friend

Our friendship, like what I said earlier, has gone through many ups and downs. And I am very blessed to have a friend like her who stuck with me and put up with all my crazy and stupid nonsense. She was always there to listen, and was always there to lend a helping hand. She never judged me, and would always forgive me (for being a spoiled a$$ b*&tch) even before I ask for forgiveness. She was there to support me and cheer for me, and she has many times, went out of her way to be there for me when I needed my best friend. She never kept a record of the wrong and negative things that happened in our friendship, but she kept track of all the fun and happy memories we’ve had.

2006

2007

2009

2009

2010

Thank you for spending 9 years of friendship with me. I wish you had an amazing birthday and that you have an awesome birthday week. I wish you plentiful of blessings and more birthdays to come! I’m looking forward to counting more years of friendship with you! Let’s make some more happy memories, bi!


Spread the positivity! Happy birthday week, bi!

- A! :)