Groom update on requirements

This morning I took a cab to the old St. John the Baptist a.k.a. "Pinaglabanan" Church in faraway San Juan. Didn't bother taking Betsy (my seven year old Mazda 3) along because I'm not a fan of driving around in circles in odd places. Yes, San Juan is a blooming city, I know, JV Ejercito's done a marvelous job and all, but I just have a thing against uncertain places.

If I can take a cab or get there via public transport the first time so I can familiarize myself with the roads, then that's what I'll always do.

Once at the freshly painted-looking church, I took a quick look inside and gave thanks. There was a baptism going on by the altar, and I couldn't help but picture myself, some twenty-odd years ago, being held by my mom and my dad, with my now unknown godparents around. Wonder how we all looked back then. It's a shame that my parents didn't keep any photos. Oh well.

I went to the Parish Office which had the feel of a university's cashier's office-- you know, big glass window with a small circular hole where you're supposed to communicate with the person on the other end? Yeah, it was silly. There were a bunch of tables inside the air-conditioned room, all women and one girl. Didn't bother to ask if they were nuns off-duty, just asked if they could help me secure my baptismal certificate.

They asked me to fill up a small slip that asks for your name, birthday, date of baptism and purpose. Once done, I gave it back to the kind old lady and she went to her workstation and keyed in my details.

"Anak, wala ka sa records namin. Dito ka ba bininyagan?"

???

I quickly said yes, since my parents used to live just around the corner. She said that my name wasn't in the computer records, and that if I was sure of the dates-- June or July 1985.

Panicked, I called my mom to double check and asked if I was indeed a Pinaglabanan kid. My mom, dumbfounded, said yes and that my sister was baptized at Christ the King church so I was definitely christened at this church where the old lady claimed I wasn't.

Peeved, I asked if they still had the ledger or notebooks from the 80s. The old lady asked me to wait, looked annoyed and went back to another part of their office. She came back carrying a huge black book that had a bunch of names, dates and addresses-- all handwritten. We went over a couple of pages before I was able to recognize the first three letters of my name even if it was upside down.

Cost me only Php 30 to get a copy that states "For Marriage", asked for another one "For Reference" and was on my way. Mom called to tell me to leave the church a generous tip-- but by the time she did I was already on another cab around the Santa Mesa area.

Next time then. Baptismal certificate, birth certificate and CENOMAR-- done. All that's left is Confirmation-- will visit my Alma Mater probably by next week. :)