Henjie’s face lit up when he saw that his pair was...

Henjie’s face lit up when he saw that his pair was finally assembled. He wore the same split-second glee I used to have when I first had my Havaianas.

It felt good to share the flip-flop love to him. It felt equally good to drag my other best friend Levi into the same Havaianas world: they (finally) got their first pairs on the golden anniversary celebration of the brand.

Being a part of Havaianas history is awesome; my Havaianas love affair, a culmination of drama, heartbreak, love, and ecstasy, still lives on everday.

It continues with this new pair (joining the rest of the hibernating Havaianas in my closet).

I initially wanted the three of us to go to the Make Your Own Havaianas event together; something I randomly dubbed as a “bestfriend activity.”

It didn’t happen because it was too cheesy. It didn’t happen because Levi and Henjie showed hesitation at first.

“Dili man ko tig-tsinelas oi,” Henjie said. Levi echoed.

Among the three of us, I was the only one who was fond of flip-flops. This roots back to my laid-back university lifestyle, where going to school meant dressing up like going to the beach everyday.

It was scorching in UPMin back then. It still is.

But I digress.

The supposed-to-be bestfriend activity didn’t happen because I made my own Havaianas Saturday morning—to avoid the snake of lines and the crowd.

Nevertheless, I gave my two buddies my company when decided to go for it in the afternoon.