Among the things one comes to expect from a reunion is being surprised at how much our re-united friends have changed. If you happened to know us from our uni days, you'd see from the pic how different we are now. Most notably, the bellies. (Actually, despite all the changes, a lot of things still felt the same. But let's save that for another entry.)

BTW, that reunion lunch plus the wedding lunch the week after were the biggest reunions so far. To me, at least. Apparently, gathering 40+ people from all over the world is too difficult. No, I kid you not. London, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussel, Johannesburg *or was it Cape Town*, Singapore, Balikpapan, Ujung Pandang, Bali, Papua -- I know, I know, the last two are not cities, just bear with me, will ya -- just to name a few. Man, we gotta be the most dispersed classmates in the world!

(The Teen Titans aside, of course.)

In the past few years, I've had my share of surprises. Some were good ones. A kid we -- sorry, they -- used to make fun of in high school now owns a company and employs some of, uh, them. A skinny shy, bespectacled boy who helped in the school library is now courting a sinetron actress -- of course, whether she really acts is a different matter. That guy must've read too much of Crimebusters.

Some were not so good -- initially. My former band members are now parents and can no longer entertain a "Dude, whatcha doin' today? How 'bout some jammin' at five?" invitation. A friend once confided how her once-best drinking buddy did not drink anymore. "Such a shame," she said, "he used to be fun and cool."

Which somehow ticked me off. While I could understand her blurting out like that, I disapproved her "used to be fun" comment. Come on, people change. What was "fun" then might not be so fun now. I once thought sneaking up at night for a peek at the shady hotel rooms next to our school was fun. I once considered showing up at work in torn jeans cool. Not anymore, no.

(What do you know, just as I am typing this, After Skool Rocks is on. Freaky!)

Not only do people change, they have to change. Illegal drag-racing might be cool when you were 17. Would it still be as appealing now if you found out your teenage kid were one of the racers? I used to think diets were only for supermodels, now look at my cholesterol level. Hell, I dare you to ngeceng a la Denny Malik at Blok M now *sup, Dettol?*

So lemme tell you -- and myself -- that there's nothing wrong with changing. No shame in becoming more caring, more mature, more predictable. It would be a shame if we don't allow ourselves to change just because others don't want us to. It is arguably a good idea to listen to ourselves and people close to -- and love -- us more than to an old buddy whom we see once every 10 years.

After all, a bald Andre Agassi won more grand-slam tournaments in 7 years than a long-haired Andre Agassi did in 11 years.

Current music: Alice Cooper - Poison
Current mood: happy