July 2, 2010

Good Morning Araneta! (Part 1)

Wahaha! And this is my first blog post about my college life.

Araneta. Araneta. Being inside of this Big Dome was just a dream back then. Mentioned on our history books, being the venue of major concerts, and being the past home court of PBA, who would not want to be in it? With a said capacity of around 20,000, I surely want to be one of the fraction of a percent of the population that could get their butts in to sit in one of the chairs.

It was our Theology1N class when someone from the Office of the Chairman of the College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA) knocked at the door.

“Scholars, scholars,” he said.

The hot topic back then was our requirement in P.E. to watch the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) opening ceremonies at Araneta Coliseum, with tickets priced at P50, (and that was the cheapest.) Good thing, we, the special, so loved scholars of this institution, were exempted at PE and NSTP, for we have review classes for Advanced Accounting to attend to, in exchange for the grade that they’ll give in PE and NSTP.

I have no plans to go, but I want to. But I do not want to spend P50 for a general admission ticket, which seems to me like a place so far far away from the centerstage that we can only view moving dots, where in fact, they are a whole cheering squad. So what is the sense of spending P50. The other tickets are priced at three digits, and with that sum, I considered it a luxury.

“Bibigyan tayong ticket,” my co-scholar said.

That was the talk of the town during our lunch break, that scholars will be given free tickets as sponsored by the VP for Academic Affairs, who was also in charge of bringing us in into the scholarship. He is the father figure in the scholarship program. Some have already received their tickets, while I have little interest in getting one, because I never wanted to waste fare and effort to go to Araneta only to watch dancing dots.

“Pupunta ako!” everyone confirmed.

So as not to be an outcast, I forced myself to join. On the other hand, it is another experience of riding the MRT (or LRT, I still do not know which is which.) and another new landmark to go to.

We got our tickets, and everyone was complaining that it was just only a GA ticket. (GA- General Admission). The second year scholars however, were reminiscing their freshmen moments at Araneta. They are also at GA, and they can remember the sound of drums banging their head like hell. GA was the noisiest part of Araneta as they described, because you’ll sit “with the whole band beside”. “Masaya!” they commented. Though sometimes, what is happy for them is sometimes annoying and uncomfortable to me. Anyways, gotta give it a try.

The next morning was an ordinary one. I have to roll again on my bed before finally waking up, for my biological clock is still asleep, though I need to get up early. Our first year leader asked us to wear blue, when I am supposed to wear brown. My blue shirt sucks, that’s why I do not wear it that often. Our leader said that what we are going to wear should have a significance to Letran, and that is – BLUE. Red is for San Beda, the ultimate rival of Letran. Yellow is for San Sebastian (also called Baste) and Jose Rizal University. I forgot the other colors and the other schools.

Now, I am on the thrill of riding an MRT (or LRT). Wahahaha! The Central Station is just a walking distance from our dormitory, and that makes me have access to some parts of Metro Manila. Along the way, I saw my new favorite, the Waffle Time stand, and I specifically like the Swiss Choco waffle. There is also a Siomai House stand there, but I never tried to eat there yet. Soon, I will! Anyways, it is just my second day to ride an MRT, and the thrill of paying the exact coins to get a card that you’ll swipe in to pass through a turnstile sparks my mind that I am living in New York… (concrete jungle where dreams are made off!!! Sing with me!)

Then, we waited for the next train to come. I have only watched this in movies (Slumdog Millionaire?) and now I am experiencing the thrill of riding in a train. There are many passengers, maybe because the early morning rush hours are not yet over. And since there are many passengers, we patiently stood for two stations before walking on a long footbridge to another station. There, the new train is empty, and I got a chance to sit.

We are now heading for Araneta! Woohoo! And as we pass stations, more and more students come in at the train. First are the red ones, with blood red t-shirts proudly claiming that they are Bedistas. Letran vs. Beda has been a hot rivalry ever since, for blue and red combine to make dead violet, haha!

On the third station, yellow fever comes in – the students of Baste. They are Letran’s first opponents in the basketball event after the opening ceremonies, and for a fact, they are the defending champions in Men’s Basketball, whereas Letran is the defending overall champion for the whole NCAA.

How I love the train ride! It makes me wanna sing in to the tune of Empire State of Mind whenever I see those towering skyscrapers at a distance. Yes, a new world has opened up to me. The soft murmur of rails soothes me, and the female voice that tells the passengers on which station are they in now makes me have that LSS, though it is not a song, it’s a phrase.

At the Cubao-Araneta station, the train went empty. The half-filled train all drained out in that station, for everyone is going to be in the big event. We walked in past Gateway, and to the footbridge leading to the Coliseum, marked by a whole wall picturing the view of Araneta in a full-housed PBA game.

And there goes the Big Dome, big as I assume. We are still outside, and we went down the stairs to fall in line. The line for GA ticket holders is different from those of Patron, UBox and LBox. The line to GA is lengthy, and I have to wait for about two minutes to finally surpass the strict inspections of the guard. Surprisingly, no bottled water is allowed, and that made me wonder why.

There’s a passage, and from those passages are rumbling noises. We entered one hole from the wall, and as I ascend to the GA seats, the noise becomes eminent.

and to be continued.. :)

---oh sorry, it is LRT Line 1 and 2, as corrected by Mr. Manuel Ayson... hahaha :D he was laughing at me because of this. :))

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