A Wonderful Time with Old Friends at Vikings, SM City, Cebu

Hello to all fellow Hivers in this community! My warmest greetings to one and all. It's already 2023 and I am still not over yet with my year-end activities in 2022. Please allow me to share this in my blog today.

Have you also attended class reunions and met old friends and classmates in college after more than 10 years?? Indeed, reunions are exciting and fun recalling and reminiscing the good old days!

It was in 2011 that our BSED IV-N 2003 batch of graduates from Cebu Normal University-Main Campus started our Annual Christmas Get-Together organized by our Class President who happened to be a professor in our old Alma Mater. However, due to distance and busy schedules with our jobs and families, usually, only those who lived near downtown, or the city were only the ones able to attend this class reunion.

_{This photo was grabbed from my classmate's Facebook album and was taken during the 2011 IV-N Christmas Get-Together.}

I’m currently living outside the city about 2 ½ to 3 hours travel by bus and since I moved here to work permanently as a public secondary school teacher, I can remember I was only able to attend our get-together once and many of my classmates were still single then.

The venue for this year’s Annual Christmas Gathering was Vikings Eat All You Can Restaurant at SM City Cebu located at Mabolo, Cebu City. SM City is one of the most popular malls in Cebu and it happened to be only about a 3–5-minute walk from the North Bus Terminal (parking place for buses that bring passengers from the Northern part of Cebu and vice versa). I originally had my own errand in the city at this time, so I thought it would be better if I’d stop by to meet my old friends and classmates, too.

Spending almost four hours of travel (originally 2 ½ to 3 hours only) due to heavy traffic jams as the bus passed by three busy towns before getting to the bus terminal, I was really sweating a lot as I arrived at the mall. Whew! A tiring trip indeed not to mention the heat of the rising sun that signaled it was already noon and I was already starving!

The sight of my classmates in their denim attire with bright smiles and an ecstatic aura upon seeing my arrival seemed to have activated and energized my spirit. They seemed very surprised and delighted to see me on this occasion since they never expected me there. I didn’t participate in their conversation in our group chat nor told them I was coming to attend. I was more than happy to have finally met them, too!

The good old days! It seemed everyone had not changed a bit despite each one’s achievements and successes in their own fields. (But the body shape? Yaay! it sure had?) Still, the warmth of friendship was reflected in the way everyone welcomed one another and exchanged friendly hugs and cheek kissing (or beso in the local dialect).

It was already lunchtime and everyone was already in the mood to feast on the sumptuous meal at Vikings Luxury Buffet. With different cuisines to choose from such as Italian (pizza, pasta, etc.), Japanese (maki, sushi, sashimi) Filipino (grilled meat, desserts, etc.) Chinese (dimsum, etc), and many other delicious-looking and freshly prepared dishes, my appetite was more aroused and my mouth began to water. Indeed, dining there makes you really feel you're like a Viking.

_{This lunch buffet costs Php899.00 or (16.11 USD) per person. It's quite pricey, though, but it was indeed a day to pig out!}

And, what else would old friends who had not seen each other for a very long time do? Of course, unlimited kumustahan (in the local dialect which means saying hello and asking how each other is doing), loud chit chats, and waves of laughter.

Even though it was just a short meeting with these old friends, I felt I was able to establish good connections with them. The plans we laid for the 2023 Grand Alumni Homecoming in our beloved Alma Mater which we are going to carry out together signaled a strong bond that we have built not to mention the joy that radiated being in each other's company.

Indeed, life's great pleasures are simply great food and great company!

Thank you all for going through my blog. Until next time!See you around and God bless!