So long, NU.

I felt compelled to write something, somehow.

Tonight saw Tibs and me huddled in the little corner of our bedroom listening to NU 107.5 jocks bid their final farewell. After Huling El Bimbo was played we listened till there was nothing but static.

It was the first time that I never got tempted to cut the silence off and babble. I just let the silence linger. I guess Tibs was having his moment too just like me. When static hit, I felt like I was seeing the last 15 years of my life flash by. NU somehow summed up the best years of my life.

It was my Uncle Totie who introduced me and my sister to rock and roll. Although, he was more of the BON JOVI kind still he was kind enough to show us that we could crank up our radio dial to the farthest right and have a blast listening to better music.

NU kept me company throughout my angst-driven teenage life. It also provided me with enough music knowledge so that the shy me could reach out to people of my kind and make friends.

In college, NU kept me sane on afternoons I'd wake up swimming in melancholy due to a bad hangover. It served as my caffeine when I had to cram for exams. I don't know why I associate UP with NU but this sign off somehow brought back memories of my final days in UP. It was sad. It felt like I am closing a chapter in my life.

In the first few years of my working life, it was NU that somehow kept me away from drowning in depression while struggling to make it the corporate jungle of Makati. I just had to bring a radio with me on each of the apartment moves I'd make so I won't miss home so much. Listening to that side of the dial somehow chased the homesickness away. It always felt like I was close to home. The songs they'd play would somehow always bring a fond childhood memory. And it always made me feel like I was being hugged by my dear sister. Drama no?

I never learned to play any musical instrument. But NU made me realize how important music is to my life. I've made a lot of friends because of music and I even met my husband because of music.

Now that I've thought about it, NU was a force that drove all the major turning points in my life. That should make me really grateful then, shouldn't it? I am. GRATEFUL. And I feel lucky to have been a part of that era when the HOME of New Rock kept the airwaves alive by providing listeners with the choice of better music.

I hope though that in Maia's generation, a new Home of the New Rock would emerge. Because I would love it if she would also learn to appreciate music. The way that NU 107 taught me how.