Memory Lane: The Elbi Chronicles

I saw this picture while browsing the Internet and bam! It was like being hit by a fast train and  I was transported back to the glory days of my youth. Uhmm… not really. Being a teenager was hard - it was awkward and calculating. College was a mighty challenge, too. And that’s beside the facts that I used to sleep way past my 7 am class; I never took down notes (by the end of the day, I’ll be at my classmates’ front door asking for theirs to photocopy);  I always maximize the number of absences allowed in a semester in every class; I only study a few hours before the exams; and, yes, I often come in late for lectures and labs. But those were not my fondest memories.  

The very first time I walked through the campus gate, I knew at once that I belong there. And it’s not everyday that I feel such oneness with a place or person or idea. Maybe it’s because I’m a rural girl that I find the campus’ idyllic charms so welcoming. Yet, I know it’s the quintessential LB experience. It was my home for 4 years, and I thought I’ll never leave because I never wanted to. A few years later, when I’m finally feeling strangely withdrawn from that life, this.

This blog, created by a fellow alumnus, has a list of nitty-gritty details you’ll only know if you’ve been an Elbi student. I failed at some, which means I’ve been gone a long time. If you share my sentiments, then you better check out the galleries here.

So long as I’m having flashbacks, here’s a few I’d like to take down:

1. I lived in Catalan during my entire stay at Los Baños, a compound inside the campus (then) notorious for "rumbles" and other student-related misconducts. The house itself wasn’t pretty. Seeing frogs inside our bathroom floor was a daily nuisance; once, I almost scooped out a salamander into the dipper while bathing.  

2. I befriended a classmate who lived in Ilag’s dormitory and we made a habit of going to our PE 1 class together. One day, while we were waiting for the jeepney, another girl we know joined us and I was not too ecstatic about the company. Here’s why: we entered the Baker Hall door one after the other, first this girl who even then was appearing on TV ads and up to this day is the most beautiful face I’ve ever seen up close on a human being, then my friend with the flowing red hair and model strut, then I who so wanted to go the other way (there’s another door on the other side) but had to face the number of boys still gawking from where they stand. I could almost hear their jaws dropping to floor. They probably should have been thankful I brought them back to reality, har har.

3. My first night in LB, I was with my high school friend inside her Men’s dormitory (is it still coed?) room  when the power went out. Hearing a few ghost stories about the dorm early on, we ran out screaming. Because it was pitch dark, we didn’t see the stairs so we both fell three steps and rolled to the floor just when the power came back on.

4. There was this Thai restaurant that I was very fond of, Bug-Ong. I never ordered anything other than the spicy chicken toppings and fresh buko juice. I’ve always preferred it over Salad Country, although Sizzler’s is also on top of my list. Especially during the end of the week when I’m getting tight on my allowance, you’ll find me either in Ellen’s Fried Chicken (the Grove branch) or the ever reliable Mother’s. Of course, the staple food for LB students then was Lucky Me! pancit canton

5. My roommate and I both ended up penniless one time that we had to walk from Catalan to Crossing, on empty stomachs and with our throats dried from thirst, to borrow money from another friend.

6. I love The Lib! During my class breaks, I hang out alone at the back of the main library. When I’m too lazy to read notes and study, I waste time counting jeepneys going up to Forestry. My favorite seats inside the library were those hidden desks in between bookshelves at the third floor. I get to take naps there and even have some snacks. I was never the competitive type but I used to get a high from being the first to reserve a highly in-demand textbook from the Reserve section at the first floor. I rarely read them, though.

7. Once while going down the stairs of the Humanities building, I noticed a flock of people strangely looking at my direction. I was too busy worrying about what was wrong with me that I didn’t notice the  guy beside me, holding his bleeding forehead. A student from a rival fraternity hit him with some kind of metal tube in view of everybody else.   

8. My Comm3 teacher used to close the door during her class to ward off distractions; my seat was in the last row and the teacher’s desk was directly adjacent to the door , so when I came in late one day I had to go through everyone. About five minutes after I took my seat, she wrapped up the lecture. On our way out, I asked a classmate what went wrong; apparently, my watch stopped while I was napping back at the apartment so I’m actually 45 minutes late for a 1-hour class.   

9. From the PhySci building, I used to take the dirt road that leads to UP Rural High School and St. Therese chapel as short cut. The thing that I can remember most about my walks there is that the smell of the infamous semen tree seems to hang in those parts even off-season.

10. One of my biggest regrets is that I’ve never been to Batcave.

I could go on and on. This can probably turn this into a series. Or a meme, anyone?