At this moment, I am wondering if attending official family reunions would really be fun.

For 21 years, I never had an idea on what the Lapitan clan does every time a reunion is set. I remember we would receive invitations every year for this so-called family reunion that ceased several years back for some reasons I’m not interested of knowing.

Our family is close only to our immediate relatives. I don’t know my second- and third-degree cousins, except if we are introduced by chance. Or sometimes, I just assume that a classmate is a relative since he/she bears the same surname.

In Los Baños, my surname appears to be as common as my name. Here, you would find Lapitan’s Bakery, Lapitan’s Meatshop, Lapitan’s Lechon and much more. There’s a Lapitan whatever almost everywhere.

In conversations with UPLB professors, town officials, and other professionals, they would often ask, “Are you related with Dr. Lapitan?” “Are you the daughter of Prof. Lapitan?” “Do you know Sir Lapitan of IRRI (International Rice Research Institute)?” I’m not exaggerating, but I think there have been almost a hundred instances when I was asked if I know certain persons with the same surname as mine. Unfortunately, I don’t know them all.

However, I am aware that many of our relatives are categorically successful in their respective fields.

I have this assumption that a family reunion is just synonymous to a payabangan session.

I wish my mom could tell them “Hey! Karen took Math 11 only once! Some of her friends took that twice!” or “Karen got 1.0 in her PE (Physical Education) class! That’s how bright my daughter is.” or better yet, “Karen can’t get enough of her Statistics class. She enjoyed it so much! So she decided to take that subject twice.” Bwahahahahaha.

***

On the Elec clan, meanwhile…

One of my cousins just arrived from Singapore after presenting her medical research, funded by a top pharmaceutical company. For two years now, she has been busy acting as a pediatrician slash oncologist for a public hospital in Manila while attending to her other medical commitments. She is now married to a businessman-lawyer-doctor (Oo. After mag-grumaduate ng Biology, tumuloy ng Medicine. Tapos nag-Law at ngayon, tinatapos ang kanyang MA sa Business Administration. Peste.)

Another cousin is a few months away in finishing his degree in Political Science (under the famous Fullbright Scholarship Program) in a top university in California. He is now working on his thesis. Nag-ikot siya sa Asia para malaman ang iba’t ibang political landscape. Isa pang peste. A few months ago, he asked me if I’m interested to study under Fullbright so he could help. Tinawanan ko lang siya. Bwahahahahaha. Parang nakakainsulto. Hehe.

***

Now, I realized that I have been giving my surname (and middle name) a disgrace.

Unfinished degree.

Unfinished thesis.

Absolutely, I’m FALLING BEHIND everyone. But at the back of my mind, I really don’t care.

I’m falling behind Marian Rivera, that’s my only concern. Ahahahahaha.