Getting to know...

JHOETTE ARCHEIN M. DUMLAO aka JHOETTE
Vitals: Met in the 7th grade way back in 1990, on the first day of school, me in my plaid skirt and white blouse and Jhoette in his PE UNIFORM!!! Did no one tell this boy he was only allowed to wear that on PE DAYS? = 14 years and counting
Role in My Life: Apprehensive Healer - Jhoette used to tell me, "If you ever need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on...ask Iya, cuz I'm not good at that stuff." Jhoette says he feels helpless when we come crying to him because a boy broke our heart or we're feeling down about life. He underestimates his abilities as a comforter of the down and out. Sometimes he really didn't know what to say. But when I think of all the times he's made me or anyone feel better, it's never his fumbling words I remember, it's him holding my hand and letting the tears flow freely.
Good Times: During our sophomore year at UCI, Jhoette pledged for a fraternity and, to make a long story short, some of us (ok fine, me and Iya) felt neglected and sore about having to deal with his absence in our lives. He crossed over after the fall quarter. On the eve of my 20th birthday, while I was studying for an econ midterm, Reyna ran up to our room and told me to hurry downstairs because someone came to greet me Happy Birthday. When I got to the living room, all up in my pajamas, Jhoette had brought 3 or 4 of his pledges to serenade me.
In his own words: “Do as I say, not as I do.”