During our pre-Christmas run we chanced upon a crowd in pink and of course we joined in. Back in college rallies and protests were very common in the campus, and we would walk out of our classes to join, partly because we really believed in the cause, and partly because we didn’t like chemistry lab. The most memorable was the anti-fraternity violence protest after the death of Niño Calinao. We were in our Humanities II class that afternoon, when we heard a gunshot that reverberated all the way from the old Registrar’s Office. It turned out to be a case of mistaken identity. Niño wasn’t even part of any blasted fraternity.

The pink crowd was walking through the campus on a Tuesday, and there were very few people. Still, it was an opportunity to show my allegiance. What made it extra charming was that they labelled it as the “People’s Lantern Parade”, the lantern parade being a major UP event on December pre-pandemic.

Had dinner at UP Town after the run. The calories burned from our entire two-hour walk/run must have amounted to two spoonfuls of paella/tapas and a gulp of white sangria. I like watching people waiting in restaurants. In particular I enjoy watching a group of girls at a table waving to a friend who had just arrived at the restaurant, followed by a series of beso. Like there’s so much life and love there.

We were so hungry that our only criterion was: whichever paella was the fastest to cook. The waiter said that someone from another table has ordered the paella with chorizo, and ordering the same food would make them churn it out faster, so I ordered the same thing. The white sangria was fantastic. Gorgovino would be driving and opted for an alcohol-free sangria, so I had his share of rum.

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