Although Facebook and other social networking have been around, I don’t know why I was reluctant to join in. I spend an average of six hours a day in the web, reading blogs, emails, listserves, and visiting various sites. Compare in the mid 90s, I spend less hours these days, then, sometimes i stayed 10 to 14 hours in the various chatrooms of AOL especially after AOL lifted its per minute rates.

This year maybe different. Last week, I finally decided to join the Facebook community. Lo and behold, the first faces that popped up were my friends during my UP and activist days in the Philippines. Then, I received “Hi MC, ikaw na ba yan’? Kumusta na?” from Melindres Jaramillo Lim, a former student of mine in UP Baguio.

Wow. This Facebook is good I said to myself. I can get reconnected to my friends I have not seen or heard in years. I quickly wrote back to Meldy’s wall-to-wall, shared my excitement and asked her if she could link me to Glen Alvarado, her classmate and boyfriend.

I did receive a response right a way. But I was thrilled that I posted “MC is enjoying FB serendipity. He cultivates and discovers the Art of Unexpected.” The next day, Meldy wrote “OMG, I guess you did not know…sadly,Glen (pulmonologist) passed away from a heart attack on Dec. 23, 2006. He left behind, Malu (his wife-anesthesiologist), 19 & 10 yr/o sons. I’ll surely keep in touch. ”

Signos not serendipity. I was shocked with the news although belated. Glen is one of the person I wanted to get connected to in this social networking. The last time we met was in 1980. He was one of my favorite students in my first freshman class on my first year of teaching at the UP College Baguio.

Signos ba ito? Meldy added “We haven’t really kept in touch. Impulsively I called him up for the first time after we parted ways on Nov. 6 ’06 at his office (premonition?) and sensed he sounded tired already despite him just having started his office hours…that would be the first and last time I would hear his voice…If it’s any consolation, Blinky (Leo) Romero had put up this website for his grieving friends: http://www.flickr.com/groups/glenalvarado ”

In the middle of my day work, I visited Blinky’s flickr account “A tribute to Glen Alvardo” and perused every message posted. Nalungkot at napaluha ako sa pagbabasa. I wanted to write my own message to share to flickr’s “A celebration of the life of Glen Elmer Alvarado, by his family & friends,” which were posted 26 months ago.

Signos nga, Meldy post entitled “Out of the Blue.” “I have lost touch since I married and settled here in NJ. My nurse at the office however has been insistent that I should get in touch with him for old times’ sake! I have not spoken to him in 20 years and just out of the blue call him up? In the first place, what would I say?What would Malu think? What would my husband say? My nurse’s detective work paid off ‘coz she was able to get his office numbers through the web.

On November 6, mustered enough courage to dial his number from home with hubby’s permission. He was seeing a patient then. Thanks to the smart thinking of his receptionist, knowing that I was calling overseas, interrupted him. Don’t know if he obligingly took my call, BUT definitely sensed from his voice that he was already exhausted considering that he was just beginning his day. Glad that I made that call and heard his “malumanay” voice again. Told him we should meet each other’s spouses and kids and exchanged email addresses. Never heard from him again.”

“Never heard from him again.” I will never hear directly from Glen about his journey. As his former teacher and mentor in life during his freshman year, deep in my heart there is this urge to know how Glen (and his batch) has become after 30 years. Facebook is aptly designed for this pursuit. And I have just begun.