PUP Reloaded

Last March, I visited my school at Sta. Mesa, Manila to get my college diploma certified as authentic (one of the requirements for PAEF’s Fulbright Scholarship).

 

Last time I was at PUP was in 2000 to get another copy of my transcript. While I was waiting for the Student Records Section to open, I visited my old haunts.

 

The canteen building is still there — now with a new color. Plus, an adjacent comfort room that urged users to Observed Cleanliness. Reminds me of a bumper sticker — Get Closed to God Not To Me.

 

The canteen was so memorable because it was where a female classmate “proposed” to me. Being the clueless, gutless nerd that I am, I froze up. To date, I’m still thawing.

 

Next stop was our student org building which was now a dance / tambayan area. The Catalyst (the student publication) office is now at the main building. 

 

 

In 1987 – 1991, we had our Catalyst office at the student org building. The mini-theater at the first floor was another unforgettable place because it was dark, cool and I was the only guy in a section of 40 girls (I won’t tell you the sordid details because I don’t want people knocking on my door with torches and pitchforks). Anyway, that mini-theater is no longer there.

 

One new thing that I really appreciated was the development of the university area near the riverbank. They’ve taken a hint with the improvements in the Marikina river and in Manila’s Baywalk and applied those at the river’s edge.

 

 

Unfortunately, the famous (or rather, the infamous) lagoon is still there. They’ve replaced the banks but not the water itself. I sometimes wonder where the dirty water comes from. It would have been better if the lagoon were really clean, teeming with koi, catfish and humpback whales.

 

I’ll probably be going back to the university soonish because I need new copies of my transcript. Maybe I’ll get better photos of places and people.