ACTIVITIES

UP Campus Volt-in/Welcome, Ariel B
October 7, 2005, UP-ISSI Lounge

by Nina Saldana

It doesn't matter if the rain was pouring like crazy that it caused monumental traffic jams in some parts of Metro Manila. To me, this volt-in was worth the trip from Las Pinas because I knew I would be seeing people I have never seen for a long, long time.

Batchmates from the UP Campus had been pretty silent the past few years. Most of them missed the two big volt-ins in May and July. Yet it was like a dam was opened when a couple of people from the campus started working overtime to track down and invite fellow batchmates in their area to join the egroup. It was heartwarming to see these low-key people as they planned this event by themselves.

Around 41 people turned up, with balikbayan Ariel Barrozo (and friend Nubie) dropping by to join the fun. It was a night of songs and laughter (nope, the rain was pouring even before the group started singing, okay?)...and great food and drinks. The UP boys were belting it out early on. The group joined in as Ann Claire arrived with a bagful of videoke CDs, passing the mike so each one get to sing a line or two. When I left the group was still singing (probably till their throats were sore) but hey, it was videoke night...and who cares if you can carry a tune or not?!

We spent a couple of serious minutes as Batch President Rico Santos and Committee heads Frannie Villanueva, Anne Jimenez-Manso and Chagoo Filoteo-Blas discussed Homecoming plans in a nutshell and then it was back to serious singing again. The ever gracious El Presidente put his golden voice into good use too as he serenaded the group.

My heartfelt thanks to the hosts, the UP Campus group, who made it such a memorable night to drink and be merry. Never mind the floods outside. We were drowning in fun in there.

[More pictures at Flickr]