THINK OF MARVIN

Every once in a while
I\'d see his smile
He\'d turn my day around
A guy with those eyes
Could stare through the lies
And see what your heart was saying
Think of MARVIN but laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way, hey, yeah
When you think of MARVIN
Laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way

A friend of a friend
A friend \'til the end
That\'s the kind of guy he was
Taken away so young
Taken away without a warning

Think of MARVIN but laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way, hey, yeah
When you think of MARVIN
Laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way

I know you and you\'re here
In every day we live
I know him and well he\'s here
I can feel him when I sing

Hey, MARVIN (MARVIN)
Where are you now
Are you far away from here
I don\'t think so
I think you\'re here
Taking our tears away

Think of MARVIN but laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way, hey, yeah
When you think of MARVIN
Well, laugh don\'t cry
I know he\'d want it that way, hey, yeah
Well, I know he\'d want it that way
(Want it that way)
Hey, MARVIN (MARVIN)
Hey, MARVIN
I know he\'d want it that way
Hey, MARVIN (MARVIN)
Hey, MARVIN
I know you\'d want it that way
Hey, MARVIN

lorraine lozano
lorz012@yahoo.com
0916-4579657

i fumbled through songs which i barely had time to learn and i kept telling myself that i had no reason to be nervous despite the full house crowd because it was just like any other gig that i had played before... and i should make sure that it feels that way both for myself and everyone else. i thought that, after all, we all got together to celebrate a life as much as we came to mourn a loss. it was a shared mood, as evidenced by eulogies that were punctuated by laughter. we mourned in a fashion typical of the friend we lost, after all, if marvin was a dvd, he would have been filed under \'comedy\' (not under \'musical\', thankfully).

listening to everything that was said, stories told from different timeframes and heartfelt testimonials, we didn’t really discover anything new... though the characters and settings changed, the general idea remained the same, and it was wonderful to learn that marvin, in all those different retellings, was very much the same person that i knew. i may have known him to a lesser degree than some, but the accounts have shown that i was a friend of his as much as everyone else was in that room.

that he was consistent was to his credit, but despite this, he seemed to revel in contrasts. i think it was one of the things that made him such an interesting person. he dealt with character contrasts without delving into contradictions or irony, most notable of which was his serious-funny dynamic (and pretty much everyone can attest to this, i think). he sought to do everything, overachieving in most cases, succeeding in more, but with a laid back demeanor typical of a slacker. this bought him the opportunity to feign ignorance whenever convenient, and he did this so often that it became reflex for most to not believe him whenever academics got discussed. i think he enjoyed playing the idiot genius, especially given his often self-deprecating sense of humor (jokes that everybody thought was corny but laughed at all the same). he spent his money sparingly but he never asked me for discounts. he was reserved and expressive, frank and subtle (at least sometimes), and endearing where he should have been irritating. his mystery was never confusing.

all these said, i believe that the wake was but a fitting tribute, because while the tragedy is evident, remembering his life made for a tragic happy ending. i cannot help but remember the flak he got when he put ‘perfect’ on heavy (and loud) rotation that it eventually earned him the in-house moniker of ‘mr. perfect’. i also remember wishing him a ‘perfect’ life on his last birthday card. it’s funny, really, because the stories that were shared only underlined his humanity, and i knew that he knew (that i knew, that everybody knew, ad infinitum…) that perfection is half a fantasy and half a lie. after all that was said, i think he still deserved his moniker because, in all aspects, he was perfectly human, and that is all that we can ever really hope for in the end.

rest in peace marvin and know that you will be missed.

with love from the invisible chinese satan

ronan
phulboss@yahoo.com
headstrong

I was one of the few who were able to say a few words sa wake ni Abs (this is how we refer to Marvin). Although I wasn\'t really able to say what I felt, or what I really wanted to say.

I kinda messed it up a bit. When Yeng asked me to talk sa eulogy, sabi ko \'wag ako. Kung alam nga ni Abs na magsasalita ako, matatawa yun...alam nyang walang kwenta ako sa mga ganun e. At kung makakapag-salita sya, sinabi na nya malamang \"Vistan, walang sense yung sinabi mo\"....at tatawa na lang kami. I didn\'t want to screw things up....sori pare, alam mo na naman...

I\'m really gonna miss Abs. Most of my memories would include him one way or another. Sa school, sa apartment nila, sa gimik, out of town trips, lunch-outs... it\'s hard to imagine him not being part of our barkada anymore.

Kapag nag-uusap kami... mga plans namin, mga pangarap sa buhay, mga pag-mumuni-muni...ang term parati ay \'tayo\'....yung buong grupo, mga magkakaibigan. Nabawasan na ng isa...

We never really got to say to him how much I value our friendship I guess ganun talaga mga lalaki... dinadaan sa ibang paraan ang mga \"cheesy\" sentiments.

How I wish I could shake his hands again, bump elbows and give him a pat on the back... my way of saying \"salamat sa pagiging kaibigan\"...

but as I always say....Abs, I WILL see you when I see you....

allan vistan
a_vistan98@yahoo.com
0917-5351548

Eulogy >> edited version...

Good evening. I am Lorraine Lozano, one of Marvin’s officemates.

I’ve known Marvin just this September 2004. We’re not from the same team, so we barely talk during my first month in Headstrong. We started talking and being friends around October because of Jasmine Trias. He bought this meal he doesn’t really like from Mc Do just to get the Love ko ‘to cd, yun na yung start ng pang-aasar ko sa kanya. That same day, HR emailed something about welcoming the new hires. The email included pictures and a short description of each new hires. It was written there that I am a good cook, simula nun di na nya ko tinigilan sa pangugulet na ipagluto ko sya ng kare kare. We had that first one-on-one-3-hour-long talk on the 20th of October. From then on, we started chatting everyday though we’re just cubes away. We started eating lunch and snack almost everyday. He’d always invite me sa pantry when he’s stressed out from work and all his raket. Then we started texting every night. We were always together, even on Saturdays kapag wala syang raket. It’s odd though, that he was there everytime I needed someone to be there. He was there to make me smile during the times I was going through something. Di sya nagbibigay ng seryosong advice or something, but his mere presence and semi-corny hirits helped me a lot.

Despite being the secretive person that he is, he tells me things that i want to know. Actually, kinukulet ko lang sya para magkwento sakin. Sabi nga nya, open book na ang buhay nya sakin, ako lang naman daw tong hindi. I was always hesitant in telling him anything. And I will forever regret that… that I was not able to tell that I feel the same way for him.. I was not able to tell him how much he means to me… how much I wanted to be with him and how much I love him… I’ve been wanting to tell him that, pero ayoko through text, naisip ko Monday na lang (Jan. 24) pag bumisita ulet kami sa hospital. So I decided to write a letter. I made that letter on Saturday (Jan. 22), around 7 pm… not knowing he was having his first cardiac arrest. I was supposed to give him that letter on Monday (Jan. 24), together with the rosary I bought for him and the Get Well Soon card the entire team made for him. But it was too late… he was already gone…

Naiinggit ako sa mga friends nya who were able to spend so much time with him. Sa nakita kong mga pictures nyo with him sa mga out of town trips nyo to the simple Star City gimik with him… buti pa nga si Benny may Valentine memory with him eh… ako wala.=( still, I’m happy that once in my life, someone like Marvin came and made me happy… even for just 2 months…

I miss you Marvin. We all miss you. I’m sure everyone from the team will agree that the eLearning team will never be the same without you around.

Lorraine Lozano
lorz012@yahoo.com
0916-4579657

hm..so this is how you looked like. i haven\'t deleted your name off my Yahoo Messenger list. as you said, \"talk to you next time :)\"

joan
jong@inq7.net
www.churchtower.blogspot.com

I miss our fun and serious chats and talks over the phone. Thank you for being there with me through good and bad times. Sorry at na-reveal ko yung hidden message mo hehe! Before you left us, nabasa ko pa yun sa inbox ko...all the emails. I will surely miss you man! Kahit nung la ka na, lam mong tinext kita! Pero all I can say Marvin that you will stay in my heart and you will remain special to me. Pare, mahal kita! Kita-kits na lng sa langit! Share ko na rin yung personal website mo na puro pictures: http://marvinabs.ploghost.biz . Surely you don\'t need to search for that signs of life...kasama mo na si God, complete na buhay mo. =) Because of you I will be re-starting my angel collection, I will name my first angel after you....be sure to guide us! Miss na miss na kita :( Love you Mabs!

Tikoy Tan
tikoytan@yahoo.com
0922-8004594