The Christmas of Forbidden Questions: Keeping It Casual, Keeping It Real.

- December 29, 2011, Thursday.

- My high school classmate Dwight once again opened his house for our classroom reunion venue. This was the third time that he did, and the only way to thank Dwight for this was for us to help with the food and drinks. Nellie and I were in the beverage committee, non-alcoholic sector.

- Nellie and I arrived at the venue at 7pm, and were welcomed by Dwight, Kim Carmela, and Mark. Not long after, Ian arrived as well; this was the first reunion he ever attended. Hurray for you!!

- I bought my agal, taqiyah (songkok,) and keffiyeh (shemagh) with me, since Mark wanted to know the feeling of wearing them as a combo. I think....he enjoyed wearing them (??.)

- More people soon arrived, and we started to eat. To us who were present in one or both of the previous Christmas reunions, we were presently surprised to see a remodeled/renovated-and-roofed roof deck.

- Nellie went through the CDs available, and chose one with a nice playlist. At least that set a party-but-not-too-wild-party mood for the whole night.

- Just before the main highlight of the night, I amused myself again by playing with Nellie's hair, something I did quite a lot during high school. Because I had several props with me, I was able to do other-worldly looks to Nellie.

- Ian introduced a game to us, which name I had forgotten. Here's the mechanics:

a. A person starts the game by asking another person an opinion question involving the participants. (Ex. "If you were stuck in a deserted island [with any one of the participants], who would you choose?" The question should be asked in secret.

b. The second person goes to the person chosen as the answer, with no explanations, and asks another random question in secret.

c. If the other participants are interested in knowing what the question was, one of the participants should drink a tiny sip of whatever. After one sacrificial person drinks, the question will be revealed. (In this case, before Person 2 asks another person, one should take a sip, and Person 1's question to Person 2 will be revealed.) This of course makes things interesting.

d. The game can go on and on. (We ended the game with the last person answering the question, but not asking a question anymore to the person-of-choice.)

- Ian didn't expect that the questions asked by all of us would be rather....controversial, although not taken personally. Still, I find some of the answers agreeable to some of the questions. Ian jokingly asked us to stop the game and move on, before things may get a little out of hand, but everyone was a good sport I think.

- The game ended around 11pm, and we were all back to chatting, as some people prepared to leave. Other people chose to remain and maybe drink the night away. I was a bit concerned with Dwight since he partially lost his voice (from talking the whole morning, he claimed,) although he was coughing a little bit. I told Dwight to rest.

- At 11:45, I hitched a ride home with Bernadette, together with some others. I arrived home quite earlier, I think, than last year's reunion. I felt happy that this year's reunion seemed better than I expected, and it was more casual and relaxed than last year's reunion. We were only 17 this year, the least of all three reunions so far, and I think people would agree with me that it would've been merrier with more people around. Still, it was nice seeing everyone again. :D:D:D:D To more reunions. :D:D:D:D

"Mom, I'll Be Gone For A While....A LOOOOOOOOOOONG While:" Shopping And Dinner

- December 27, 2011, Tuesday.

- I invited my friend Riezeryl to go to Tutuban with me after lunch, since I wanted to go out again, as always. Riezeryl agreed to go with me, and told me to meet her at 1:30.

- Riezeryl later postponed our meeting to 2pm, a typical occurence when going out with Riezeryl, but I still met her at 1:30 at her house. At around 2pm, we went to Tutuban to look for her much-wanted-and-needed rain boots. Instead of finding rain boots for Riezeryl, I was able to find myself Chinese dance fans. Coincidentally, the store was co-owned by my former high school Chinese teacher. A bit awkward, but a nice encounter. I bought two lotus-petal-colored fans. Yay!!

- Riezeryl and I went the extra mile and tried to hunt for boots at the outside street bargain, to no avail, but surprisingly, we found our way to 168. Since we were already in 168, I showed Riezeryl the Thai store that sold some souvenirs and clothes from Thailand; Riezeryl has a growing interest in Thai cultures. I also showed her the Thai restaurant (Charya I think) at the food court, and urged her to try some Thai food. We had Pad Thai, Thai fried rice, some chicken satay, and a glass of Thai iced tea each. I think she enjoyed her first Thai food encounter (or at least she thought it was her first time.)

- We later tried our luck with the rain boots and an added item to Riezeryl's shopping list, a jacket, but again to no avail. We headed back home at around quarter to five.

- I spent the rest of the afternoon at Riezeryl's house, and soon-to-be house (coincidentally my former house, right across Riezeryl's current apartment unit.) I toured my old house again, slowly being renovated to be Riezeryl's family's new home in a few months. At their current unit, we watched Teen Spirit and A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song while munching on some cookies.

- My neighbor Charmaine dropped by later on since we'd be meeting another friend for dinner, and that Riezeryl insisted that Charmaine visit us/her, since she wanted to see Charmaine. Unfortunately, Charmaine and I had to leave less than 15 minutes after Charmaine arrived.

- Charmaine and I had to cross the street to meet our friend Samuel for dinner. Samuel invited me and Charmaine for dinner last night, and luckily, both of us were available. The three of us had dinner at Shakey's, and talked about all sorts of things. We all wanted dessert after our dinner, but since Shakey's ran out of ice cream (the key ingredient to all their desserts,) we had to leap to the nearest grocery to buy some ice cream.

- The three of us planned to hang out at our building's poolside area, but it was already closed. Instead, we had no choice but to hang out at the elevator-front chairs. It was a desperate move, but a fun one too, since we were able to catch our neighbor-and-friend Bless on the way home with her sister. Bless asked her sister to leave her with us, and so the four of us talked for several hours more, until it was quarter to midnight. I feel that we could've gone on and one if it were earlier, or if time didn't matter that much. Oh well, it was a great afternoon-to-evening. One of the semi-tiring-but-not-so-tiring-and-very-enjoyable days I've had this Christmas break. :D:D:D:D

The Eye of the Chomper: Food Food Food

- December 22, 2011, Thursday.

- As always, I got bored today, and thought of inviting my friend Nellie for an afternoon out - especially after recalling that she was free from today onwards. (YEY.)

- My dad offered to drive Nellie and me to MOA, and passed by Nellie in Chinatown at 2:30pm. Heavy heavy traffic. Gah. We all arrived at MOA at around three, and my dad let Nellie and me go our own way, while he pondered about the deeper meaning of life elsewhere in the mall.

- Nellie and I first looked for gifts for this one-year-old kid's birthday party. We were later met by Sol, Nellie's special person, and after that was settled, we checked out the "MOA Eye," the newly-made ferris wheel overlooking the Manila Bay.

- A 10-minute ride at the MOA Eye was worth 150php. The ride moved so slowly that it was honestly the least-horrifying ferris-wheel ride I've had since forever; I am normally scared of ferris wheels because they make my tummy turn upside down. A nice view of the jolly and colorful bay-side could be seen, as well as the vast Manila Bay. I think the best time to ride the ferris wheel would be when the sunset is halfway through the horizon, and the bay-side restaurants and attractions/rides had just been well-lit. Oh yeah, I grabbed some ice cream on the way to the ferris wheel. Teehee.

- After the relaxing ride inside the giant wheel, we went to Cheesecake Cafe to grabe a slice of cheesecake each. I had a slice with fresh fruits on top of a basic cheesecake. Hmm, not the best cheesecake I've tasted, although not the worst I think.

- The three of us walked around for a while, looking at nice things, especially those in Muji. I never knew Muji was in MOA already until today. Yay for a closer branch. Hahahaha.

- In less than an hour, we were all set for dinner. We decided to eat at Lugang, because of its reputation outside the country. Many people seemed to be eager to try out the restaurant too, so we had to wait for around 10 minutes before we were able to grab a seat.

- We had kung pow chicken, Taiwanese stir-fried noodles, and an order of xiaolongbao. Although this had nothing to do with the quality of the food, I found it funny, interesting, and "appropriate" to the ambiance, after I saw the names of both our servers. Our first server was named Jade, and our second server was named Gold. I told Gold about this, and even asked if there were other servers with such "glittery" and "precious" names.

- The food wasn't exactly, hmm, different, although edible. I'm not sure if we should've ordered something else, just in case the other dishes were better. This being said, our dessert, a giant strawberry yogurt sherbet to share, made us feel better about our evening meal.

- I left Nellie and Sol to wander around after dinner, since I needed to meet my dad across the hallway, and get ready to go home. I'm happy with how the afternoon (to evening) went, although I could've done more with Nellie if we had only went to the mall earlier. Still, yay for the giant not-scary ferris wheel!! :D:D:D:D

Golden Christmas, Fortunate Evening: Where Did Everyone Go??

- December 21, 2011, Wednesday.

- Bless and I had a hard time organizing tonight's dinner because everyone seemed to be busier this year. It was the first Christmas where most people in the group had jobs, me included, while those left in school were still battling with their theses, or for some, we weren't sure what happened to them due to lack of communication.

- We planned to have maybe a casual gathering at a pizza place, but Genevieve wanted us to have a more formal sit-down dinner, although she ended up not showing up tonight at the last minute because of her thesis.

- There were only five of us tonight, and boy, what a banquet we had. We had a platter of noodles, fish, rice, soup, and an oyster cake. We even wanted to have a regular salt-and-chili crocodile meat, just so we'd know how croc meat tasted like, but it wasn't available tonight.

- In the middle of our dinner, my friend Tiffa dropped by to hand me her Christmas present. It was nice seeing her again after 2 weeks (??) I think.

- We ended dinner at around 10 in the evening, after noticing many customers finishing their dinner too. Bless and I walked home to burn some of the food we ate, and we really did feel the Christmas spirit after passing by some carolers, bibingka sellers, and teenagers inside the nearby church practicing their dance for a Christmas party (at least that's how it seemed like to me.)

Bob Becomes Ben: Coffee And Burgers

- December 20, 2011, Tuesday.

- After a rather tiring afternoon of errands and shopping with my mom, I rushed to Starbucks to meet my friend Audrey, and supposedly another friend who didn't show up. I bought along a box of pizza with me since I was really craving for pizza recently.

- I arrived at Starbucks at 5:30, and had an iced "hot" chocolate. I told the barista that my name was "Bob" - just because I felt like a "Bob" that time.

- I had a nice light chat with Audrey the whole late afternoon. Part of what made it interesting was talking about an unusually-aura-ed group of people seated behind us. (They didn't seem to come from around the area, and according to Audrey, they had this "filmmaker" aura.)

- My friend Clarisse texted me that I needed to hurry up, since I'd be meeting her, and our post-birthday-girl Margarette for a dinner out. I gave Audrey the last 5 slices of my large pizza (I bought it for us to share, until she told me she was allergic to flour, among all the other things she's allergic to.)

- I dashed off to ride a jeep to Clarisse' store, and changed my shirt to a sort-of-Ben-10-ish long-sleeved black-and-white shirt. Not long after, Clarisse and I rode off to Cajun in what-was-formerly-known-as-Retiro (Amoranto Street.)

- Margarette arrived minutes later, and ordered typical American food to eat, which I think was unlikely for us to do; we're used to being served other....uhm, non-American dishes. It's nice to go back to the "stereotypical American" dishes though. Marga and I had a burger each, and Clarisse had spaghetti and (little cute) meatballs.

- As always, I had my sudden hyper attacks, and wiggled and jiggled as we ate and talked. Clarisse was always the reserved and calm one, while Marga was the "gigil" one (as "gigil" has no direct English translation.) I just hope the restaurant crew didn't see us doing our, um, thing. Haha. I also think my green iced tea matched my "Ben 10" theme. Haha.

- Our brief get together ended at around 10pm, and Marga was kind enough to drive us back home. It wasn't long before we arrived in our familiar area, thanks to handy shortcuts Marga knew. At least the traffic, despite being a big hassle, gave Marga and me more time to talk inside her car. Teehee.

- I am so round I can roll on the floor involuntarily.

Christmas Rehearsal Chaos 2: Strings and Bows Will Break Your Bones

- December 19, 2011, Monday.

- For the past few days/weeks, I had been keeping in touch with the musicians for this year's production. I arranged for us to have an initial rehearsal today, so the musicians would be able to practice by themselves during the Christmas break.

- My pianist, flautist, 5 (out ouf 7) violinists, met each other this morning at school, together with me, and headed back home at around 9:20. Before starting our rehearsal, I let them introduce each other first, so they'd get to know each other. I introduced myself too (accompanied with a powerpoint presentation teehee,) since some of them have just met me for the first time.

- I taught them how to play their parts, and tried once in a while to join them together as an ensemble. Since it was the first day of rehearsals, obviously there were some parts gone wrong and what not, but it was honestly really really great for a first rehearsal. Too bad the other two violinists weren't able to come today. It would've been more fun. :) :) :) :)

Curly Birthday: Rolling On the Floor Laughing

- December 18, 2011, Sunday.

- The other day, Melissa invited me and a few friends to her house today to celebrate her twenty-first birthday. She asked us (or is it just me??) to come at 2pm, and we'd spend the whole afternoon hanging out at her house aside from the obvious tummy-stuffing ritual.

- I arrived today at 1pm, surprised to realize that I was the only guest there. Melissa was out too, because she needed to pick up something from elsewhere. Melissa's sister Kim was at home, and gave me their dog Barrack, so I'd have something to play with while waiting for Melissa.

- Melissa arrived 20 minutes later, together with our batchmate Siennalee. Siennalee left not sooner than 10 minutes after she came, because she needed to attend to some matters; she promised to drop by at around 6pm.

- We all soon settled down to eat, and Melissa's other guests, some college classmates, and cousins like my friend Simon and his brother, EJ.

- The bulk of the afternoon was spent by eating once more, and watching various Korean music videos, courtesy of Melissa. The ever-enthusiastic Melissa kept on laughing and laughing until her hair became curlier, and she almost rolled on the floor. Ah, typical Melissa, just the way we like her. Haha.

- I left Melissa's house at 6, not being able to meet Siennalee again, since I had to do something at home. Still, I enjoyed my afternoon with all of them, especially the wonderful food - Melissa's aunt cooked most of the food. :>:>:>:>

Semi-Batch-Reunion? : A Party for Two, and Crashing A Party for A Lot

- December 17, 2011, Saturday.

- I invited my friend Tina last night to have dinner tonight, since I haven't seen her in a long time. Since both of us were having a temporary Christmas break, Tina was able to agree at once.

- I had a bit of rest today after a whole morning-and-afternoon of rehearsals for the theater org I'm affiliated with (MASCKS,) and so I was up-and-about again for tonight's dinner. I wore my vest and boots, since it got a bit colder, and it might rain again like earlier today.

- I went to Tina's house at 6:20pm, and walked towards Binondo, without any idea where to eat. We later decided to eat at Mr. Ube, partially because of my noodle craving (once again.) I also invited Tina for a short Starbucks trip afterwards, so I could use the gift certificates given to me by my boss for Christmas. (Thank you boss!!)

- On the way to Starbucks from a short and hearty dinner, we passed by Yellow Cab, and saw a bunch of people I knew - friends from another class having their class reunion. I stopped by to say a brief hello, and went on to Starbucks with Tina, where we saw Oliver.

- Tina and I had a lot more to talk about during our stay in Starbucks. Must be the ambiance, I guess. Some people from Yellow Cab occasionally went to Starbucks to buy a drink, or to use the restroom, and/or stopped by to have a brief chat with us. I promised them that we'll be passing by Yellow Cab just before Tina and I go home.

- I saw my friend Pei Mei's husband at Starbucks, and told me that Pei Mei was at Yellow Cab with her classmates. I ran to Yellow Cab to say another quick hello, and once again promised that Tina and I will pass by after we leave Starbucks for home.

- Tina and I chatted a little more until we realized that is was almost half to 10. We left Starbucks at once, and passed by Yellow Cab, again, to stay a bit longer than my previous "visits."

- Tina and I wanted to stay longer, but it was getting a bit late. We both had a nice breezy walk home, not to mention a walk with more stories. I loved how this night turned out to be way better (and longer) than I/we expected. Too more reunions, hopefully. :D:D:D:D

Christmas Rehearsal Chaos: The Christmas-Color-Coordinated Jungle Animals From The Backstage

- December 17, 2011, Saturday.

- What could be a better way to start the Christmas break than by getting together and rehearsing for a production? Well, I could honestly mention a lot more things, but Christmas rehearsals has surely been one of my Christmas-break rituals for several years now. I have enjoyed performing, and much more teaching it, so why not start the break with a blast?

- The school was closed today, so instead of having a "grand" rehearsal at the auditorium, we narrowed it down to the main cast, plus me, and decided to practice at Justin's place.

- The cast met at the school gate this morning at (supposedly) 8am. We were all set to go at around 8:30, and our member Mikhail and his parents offered to drive us to Justin's house. Clarice, Kimberly, and Ralph stayed behind, while waiting for another member -- to no avail. They arrived at Justin's house without the missing member, Jeremy.

- We all had a fruitful morning, doing some script-reading and internalization. Since Ms. Isip wasn't around, I was left to be the "substitute adviser." Well, at least I had only a few to handle, and not a big battalion of members like originally planned. Jeremy also made it to Justin's house moments before lunch.

- We had some pizza and mojos from Shakey's for lunch. Everyone was silent while we were eating, becase the food arrived late. Oh well. Performing is a tiring craft -- a tiring but rewarding one that is.

- We promptly resumed our rehearsal after lunch and continued until 3pm. Afterwards, while waiting for Mikhail's parents to arrive, we hung out at Justin's room, together with his dog. Mikhail's parents arrived around 4pm, and we once again hitched a ride back to school.

Rainy Chinese Afternoons: Chinese Noodles, Chinese Tea, Chinese People

- December 10, 2011, Saturday.

- After my morning agenda at UP Diliman, I had, once again, a free Saturday afternoon. Saturday afternoons, or Saturdays in general, had always been the "special day of the week" for me since way back when. My Saturdays almost always spelled fun, excitement, and productivity, or its not-so-total opposite, relaxation, leisure, and friends. Usually, it's a mixture of both.

- Today, I decided to meet my curly friend Melissa again, and have a leisurely stroll at Chinatown. I went to her house at 2pm, and chilled for a while until Melissa finished preparing. Her dog was glad to see me, as always, which is one of the reasons why I like to go to Melissa's house. Melissa and I also prepared some kalamay from Bacolod, although I didn't have some; I was still full from a semi-late lunch.

- Just as we were going to leave Melissa's house, my graduate-school friend called me up because she was lost in Binondo with her sister. They couldn't seem to find their way, and they weren't able to see any Chinese restaurants too. I had a hunch that she and her sister were in the Sta. Cruz area, near the Quiapo-Chinatown border. (And yes, they got lost there.)

- I asked my friend to meet me and Melissa in front of the Binondo Church. With that seeming to last forever, Melissa and I, and later joined by Kimberly (Melissa's sister,) did some errands. Even after those errands, my friend and her sister still couldn't seem to find their way, so Melissa and I sat at the back row of the church, while watching a wedding. Kimberly on the other hand went elsewhere to buy some ice cream, and would meet us soon.

- My friend and her sister soon arrived after getting lost at the edge of the world. She finally found out where the "mainland Chinatown" area was (near the church.) Melissa and I gave both of them a short tour, and familiarizing them with the restaurants around Ongpin, and the restaurants' specialties.

- Melissa and I, joined once again by Kim, went ahead after knowing that my friend and her sister more or less knew their way around Chinatown. The three of us went to Mr. Ube to satisfy my noodle craving as well as Melissa's, and spent a good one hour there, talking, laughing, and Melissa's hair getting curlier by the minute.

- We later left the restaurant after Melissa wanted to have some ice cream. Kimberly showed us this new milk-tea-and-dessert place at the new Mandarin building, where she bought her matcha ice cream earlier that afternoon. On the way there, we passed by Shirby's store, and luckily, Shirby was there. :D:D:D:D

- The milk-tea-and-dessert's place was The Tea Life, and is owned by two mainland Chinese women. It baffles me how they can do business especially since both of them cannot speak a word of Filipino. Although most of their customers are Chinese people, both overseas and mainlanders, there were still some non-Chinese customers who'd want to try out their products.

- The lady recommended the green tea milk tea as my "first" Tea Life drink, since it was a bit mild, and "pure-tea" flavored. Kimberly had another ice cream, while Melissa tried their rose milk tea. I was able to try out Melissa's rose milk tea, and still think that Little India's rosemilk was still superior. My drink however, was one of the best and the "most natural" milk tea drinks I have ever had. I could distinctly taste the green tea leaves, and my drink wasn't very sweet too. The tea was "easy to drink," according to Melissa, and was affordable too. The store has opened for barely a week, and they're planning to have a bigger store if things go well.

- We later left the store after Kimberly was about to finish her ice cream, and hung out at the al fresco area beside the building. I thought it was a good set for a Koreanovela, except that the river below was very dirty, occasionally with black blobs of whatever rising to the surface.

- I left for home at around 6:40, enjoyed the evening breeze, while my feet suffered from the tiny puddles from the rain earlier today. Well, my yellow boots saved the day. :>:>:>:>

And So I Start My Theater Dharma - And Indian Tea To Soothe My Throat

- December 3, 2011, Saturday.

- As most Saturdays, I started my day with my piano lesson (no more getting stuck in the elevator) and finished at 9am. I soon went to the highlight of most Saturdays - getting ready for a busy theatrical Saturday.

- I caught everyone finalizing the cast and crew for the play, and waiting until 10am to formally start the session. The singers were handled by Nica, the hosts/interviewers were handled (at first) by Cleo, the actors by Clarice, and Cindy, one of the hosts, by me. I had to start working on Cindy as early as now because of a few French lines she needs to know for the play. I gave her a crash course in French.

- I asked Cindy to practice her lines at the side, while I gave much pointers to the actors, and re-auditioned some performers just to make sure that they were really fit for the role. Some of them needed a bit more work - although qualified - but some really went beyond my expectations.

- We ended our morning session at 12, and some of us stayed behind and had lunch in the viewing room. We rested a bit after lunch, and worked on the major revisions we'd be doing for the script. We had more time to "play around" since there were only a few of us there, but I'm proud to say that we managed to be productive until meeting was "adjourned" at 3pm.

- My next agenda was to meet my friend Melissa to buy some Chinese tea for her Indian friend, for Melissa to teach me how to make "proper" Indian tea, as taught to her by her Indian friend.

- I met Melissa at her house at around 4:30pm, and went around Chinatown to look for some Chinese tea. Unable to decide which Chinese tea we'd buy for her, we found a "Chinese tea sampler set" in Eng Bee Tin; each of the six small, well-adorned, and properly-labeled cans contained a small amount of powdered tea.

- Instead of going back to Melissa's house, we decided to have a little "snack" at Cafe Mezzanine. No one seemed to be around but us, so Melissa could laugh all she wanted, which made her curly hair curlier.

- We walked back to Melissa's house at 5, and was welcomed by her really playful dog. (I wanted to take her dog home I swear.) We browsed through some stuff while Melissa boiled the water for the Taj-Mahal tea I bought 3 years ago (but didn't know how to properly make Indian tea.)

- Melissa finished making tea in less than 5 minutes I guess, and browsed through some more stuff through the computer while I was soothing my dry throat (from all the talking the whole day.) Indian tea is really the best. :D:D:D:D

- I went home around 6:20, a bit tired as always, but very fulfilled. Now, I'm beginning to think that somehow, theater is one of the places I can call my home.

Oh, Such An International Friday - Another "Trip Around the World??"

- December 2, 2011, Friday.

- I never expected this day to be one of the most interesting Fridays I've had in a while. I guess I could say that this day seemed to be internationally-themed, which obviously tickled my multicultural hyperness.


I. Lingo de la Lingua Europa

- This week, Europan language institutes, as well as academic institutions collaborated in order to celebrate the week of European languages. For each day this week, certain Euro-language-related events took place a venue a day; today was "Ateneo's day."

- The lineup of events for Ateneo included free demo language classes, talks, and booths by the Euro-language institutes. I was fortunate to visit the language institutes' booths during my lunch break, and was very glad to see LV, a colleague during my internship in Instituto Cervantes de Manila.

- Later on, Aurore, a French professor from UP, who was also affiliated I think with the French embassy, wanted to show us this giant shrimp-like moth in the parking lot. Since we had nothing better to do, LV and I followed Aurore back to the parking lot, and saw this larger-than-my-palm moth stuck to a big car. The saffron-white moth's paper wings seemed fragile, and a bit wrinkly, and its body still looked like its caterpillar body. A bit freaky, but awesome.

- After going back to the language-institute booths, I was able to get some freebies (yay!!) from the different language institutes. I got a baller and keychain from Goethe Institut (German,) lanyards from Allicance Francaise (French,) and awesome bookmarks from Societa Dante Alighieri (Italian.) I didn't get anything from Instituto, especially since I already have a lot of Instituto goodies from my OJT and other Instituto events I attended. Haha.


II. Auditions

- After work, I rushed to visit my high school alma mater to attend (and judge) auditions for the upcoming production of MASCKS (my former theater club.)


- I think today was the first time I seemed to be "stern" during auditions, and I felt like some were a bit scared by my not-usual smiley-and-colorful aura. Well, things went well I think.

- I later met CKSC alumni Jan Carlo and Sandy at the CKSC lobby. Carlo and I had a rich conversation about languages and other theater related stuff. I decided to go home around 6:30, since I had to attend my last agenda for the day.


III. Soiree

- I met Marga and Michelle at the Kamayan-Dad's-Saisaki restaurant near Robinson's Place. We decided days earlier to have a tiny get together there, and Michelle suggested that we eat there, since the restaurant featured Filipino, Japanese, and Western cuisine.

- Marga and I met around 7:45pm, and waited a long time for Michelle, who got stuck in traffic. Marga seemed to be in a bad mood since she was hungry, and finally stood up to eat 30 minutes later.

- I liked how the restaurant had Christmas freebies when people would order drinks. Marga and I each got a stuffed-toy Christmas sock, and Michelle later received a stuffed-toy candy cane. Cute.

- Michelle arrived around 9:30pm - in a really nice dress - and was able to maximize her 30-minutes-before-closing eating time. Needless to say, we also had a lot of multicultural conversations - and multilingual ones too.

- We finished dinner after closing time, and went to Robinson's to walk around before finally hitching a ride with Marga home. I am still tired from a fully-colorful-and-multicultura/multilingual day, but I can't help but be happy, since it's one of the best kinds of fun I've had in a while. :D:D:D:D

A Whole Day of Theater Madness: Script-writing Can Be Fun -- And Crazy

- November 26, 2011, Saturday.

- Just as my Saturdays are for this semester, I started my day out with my usual "good-vibes" Saturday morning rituals. My morning agenda was to attend my piano lesson and MASCKS.

- Just when I thought I was up for a normal "awesome" Saturday, the first thing that welcomed my morning was getting stuck inside the elevator of CKSC. The elevator didn't seem to move even after I had pressed all the floor numbers. The arrows didn't seem to mind me too. Worse, the fan of the elevator wasn't on. Minutes later, I heard newspaper ruffles, obviously "signs of life from the outside world," so I banged hardly on the elevator doors, hoping that the person outside would hear me. The elevator lights suddenly shut off, and on again, and the doors opened. To my relief, the person outside was Mang Domeng, one of the school janitors who knew how to operate the elevator. I was able to ride the elevator safely to the music room, and an hour of piano-ing passed by quickly.

- I dashed off to meet the members of MASCKS at the ground floor. Since today was an optional meeting - we'd be meeting only to polish the plot and start writing the script - we expected, and had a small number of members who attended.

- We all took off from our lunch-meeting's progress last week, and continued to make more concrete plans, such as casting some of the roles. Later that morning, we were joined by Clarizza (friend/batchmate-turned-teacher) and her students from the Writers' Guild.

- We all had lunch at around 12-ish, and ate at the newly-opened Eat Fresh nearby. Clarizza and her students chose to eat elsewhere, and I didn't know whether they'd join us for the (extended) afternoon session or not.

- Unlike the previous Eat Fresh in Masangkay, this Eat Fresh at Abad Santos was air conditioned, and had different dishes not found in the former branch. The signature Hong-Kong fried noodles were still available, along with various rice toppings, dimsum, dimsum-on-a-stick (Hong Kong "street food,") soup dishes, and other dishes that were good to share.

- We continued "work" during lunch, talking about characters and scenarios that could be added. Cleo finally joined us after the parol-making contest, and so we had one more brain added to the group.

- We quickly went back to our room, and had a "quiet" script-writing session; we were still full from lunch, and were in the mood to have an early afternoon nap. Our energy levels boosted up after Clarizza and her student Ryan, who also happens to be my friend, decided to join us.

- For some reason, I had more ideas and inputs after I started playing around with Jordan's sky-blue scarf, and had cookies and chocolates sold by the girl scouts who visited us. The high sugar content of the food, and my innate joy to play around with light cloths made me think more. Using the cloth to play around with Cleo's hair helped a big deal too. Teehee.

- We ended our meeting at around 4pm, and spent a few minutes walking around, and talking to some people. I later decided to visit my neighbor Dianne, since she told me yesterday that some of our friends were going to hang out at her house. I went there just in time, since they were already preparing to leave. Still, I was just in time to eat some noodles Dianne's dad bought from elsewhere, and to meet their friend Albert. It was funny when he started using "po/opo" with me, until I told him that we were batchmates. Haha.

- I arrived home at around 5:30, still tired and crazy from all that theater madness. I was glad that we had a lot of progress, but more progress was still needed for the story, and other nuances. The cherry on top of the day, meeting friends and Dianne at her house, also made this day a little bit more interesting.

- This is why I love my Saturdays off. I get to be myself.

Pinoy Shops the World: The 45th International Bazaar with 2 Mexicans and a Lost Key

- November 20, 2011, Sunday.

I. Reminders and Preparations

- Last week, I remembered to check out the schedule of the annual international bazaar, organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs, the embassies and consulates in Manila, and other local industries. I was to be held today, from 9am to 7pm, at the PICC tent.

- Last night, I was thinking hard of whom to go with, and I decided to ask my friend Michelle Hernandez, a Mexican-Filipina who happened to be a long-time friend and former schoolmate. Michelle was glad that I informed her about the bazaar, and unhesitatingly agreed to go with me.

- This morning, she sent me a text message, saying that her dad was interested to go too, since he wanted to check out if the Mexican embassy set up a stall at the bazaar. I wasn't able to see the list of participating embassies and consulates, so I wasn't able to tell them in advance about the countries that would be joining the bazaar.

- I decided to wear a Philippine-theme look, because I wanted to be "a Filipino travelling/shopping around the world" for the day. Haha.

- I had quite an adventure finding Michelle's house at around 10:40am, since I haven't gone to her house alone. The first time I went there was 3 years ago, in preparation for Michelle's debut, and I was ignorantly following my friend who knew the way to her house.

- I got lost for around a minute, and fortunately, someone from the other street knew Michelle's dad, and told me where Michelle's house was. Soon, I was standing in front of two doors. Not sure which door was to Michelle's house, I just called her up, and her helper opened the door for me.

- I went upstairs and saw Michelle's dad, Miguel, and waited for Michelle to finish preparing for the trip. Michelle was also kind enough to give me some goodies from Mexico. TEEHEE.

- We left the house 10 minutes later, and off we went to the PICC tent.



II. The Bazaar

- We arrived at the bazaar at around 11:20, and Michelle's dad paid for all our tickets. We entered the tent, and looked at the directory, so we'd know if the Mexican embassy had a stall. Unfortunately, Mexico didn't join this year, but some of the other Latin American countries did, such as Colombia, Chile, Argentina, etc.

- The first stall that we passed by was the Japanese stall, and the ladies there noticed, and admired the Ifugao vest I was wearing. Yay for nationalism, and for being a Filipino.

- The three of us first visited the stalls to the right of the center. Aside from Japan, other stalls to the right were China, Morocco, Vietnam, European Union, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Syria, etc. Many local stalls were present towards the far end, near the eating area.

- Aside from shopping, and bargaining (if applicable,) I also had fun practicing the languages I knew, and of course, that usually softened the hearts of some vendors. That usually meant having bigger discounts (again, if applicable.) Haha. Even a simple "hello" in a foreign language would usually excite them.

- Michelle and I had lunch at Mexcali, since I wanted to try out a closest-to-authentic-but-still-not-authentic-Mexican stall. Both of us had enchiladas. Michelle's dad bought a chorizo burger from the neighboring stall.

- Michelle and I spotted the Paris Delice stall. Paris Delice is a French bakery and deli located at Makati Avenue, and is owned by two French men. The two French men, who also happened to be the bakers, were present at the bazaar. I went there with Michelle, talked to the French men, and bought Nutella buns/donuts.

- The three of us later found a spot to eat. I thought my Mexican lunch was great, although Michelle's dad, being a hardcore and full-fledged Mexican, told me that Mexicali's food was crap. I'd believe him, since I'd say the same thing to "imitation" Chinese food/fastfood elsewhere.

- Aside from my Mexican lunch, I also ate the Vietnamese rice rolls, and later, the Nutella bun/donut I bought. My goodness, the Nutella in anything is divine. Hahahaha.

- After lunch, we continued our quest for bargains and foreign souvenirs. I was amazed that among all the stalls there, India had the biggest stall - I occupied four spaces. Since the sherwanis and kurtas from the India stalls cost a fortune (one was priced 9900php,) I ran back to the Bangladesh stall to buy the less-expensive sherwani-and-pyjama set.

- Other countries from the left side included France, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Greece, Canada, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Chile, Argentina, Romania, Belgium, Colombia, etc. I had fun at the Russian stall because I was able to practice my (rusty) Russian with the people there; I don't really have much opportunity to practice my Russian here, except from online chats with Russians I think. (The Russians gave me a discount for the postcards I bought. TEEHEE. YAY RUSSIAN.)

- Michelle's dad had a fun time in the Heiniken stall, as well as stalls from other Latin American countries, while Michelle was very much interested in looking at accessories, maybe clothes, and sometimes shoes.

- The Sri Lankan stall also wanted to give me a discount for knowing how to say hello in Sinhala ("Ayobuwan!!") Sadly, I wasn't too keen on the shirt's design, and the sherwani from the Bangladesh stall kinda ate up all my money. Michelle also took the time to talk to the Sri Lankans, and admire the saris the women were wearing.

- The other far end also had more local stores. The eating area at the other far end had higher-end restaurants/stalls such as Kashmir, and Ya Kun Kaya Toast.

- Just as we were about to exit the tent, we saw our alma mater's dean of student affairs. :D:D:D:D



III. The World Trade Center

- Michelle and her dad decided to go to the World Trade Center's "Noel" Christmas Bazaar, to check out what they have there. I tagged along, also curious to see what the bazaar offered.

- The Noel bazaar was just like an ordinary "tiangge" place, but it also had a lot of interesting things, like the buy-one-take-one popcorn, and cotton-candy machine.

- We didn't stay there for too long, since some of the things there can be bought elsewhere for lower prices.



IV. The Climax

- We were all set to go home at 5pm, until we discovered that the car keys were left inside the car. Michelle's dad had several attempts of opening the car door, later with help from the guard and a driver.

- Michelle's dad asked us to get a cab back to their house to get the extra car key, and go back to the World Trade Center parking lot to open to car. Luckily, we didn't wait long before we were able to hail a taxi cab.

- Michelle and I had a fun chitchat time inside the cab, quickly got the car key once we arrived at their house, and had more chitchat time on the way back to the parking lot.

- The whole round trip took us around an hour. So much for sunlight.

- We were able to open the car soon, and off we went to Michelle's house. In order to relieve our stress from the small mishap, Michelle played Thalia songs in the car, knowing I like Thalia's Mexicanovela songs, until we arrived to their house.



V. The Dinner

- Michelle asked me to stay for dinner, so I could taste Mexican tortillas. Fresh tortillas and cheese tortillas were prepared, as well as a bean-based filling.

- While the food was being prepared, Michelle showed me the costume she wore 4 years ago in our Ramayana play. She suggested that I wear the sherwani I bought from the Bangladesh stall, so we could have an "Indian" picture together. Haha.

- We later had a small dinner, with Michelle's dad telling me all about the Mexican cuisine, and how hard it was to find Mexican ingredients here in the Philippines. I understood where Michelle's dad was coming from, especially since I also found it hard to find Indian ingredients here, but that was before I discovered Assad (and neighboring groceries) in Manila's Little India.

- After dinner, Michelle asked me to take home a few tortillas and some of the bean sauce, so my mom could taste them too. I hurriedly fixed my things, and was accompanied by Michelle's helper back to Tutuban, until I was able to ride a tricycle home.

- A day of international fun has come to an end. I am tired and not-so-prepared for another week of work. Still, it was great to meet many people from around the world, share their culture and mine, have a few laughs and free samples, and live in a happy-and-peaceful world.

My Saturdays Back: Someone Has Returned, And A Slow Starbucks Afternoon.

- November 19, 2011, Saturday.

- Things have been a bit strange lately, since I just (successfully) finished my first week at work. I'm not sure why I feel strange being inside Ateneo again, probably because I am now a research assistant instead of a student. I am glad that my boss allowed me to have my Saturdays off (given that I add an extra for hours during my 40-hour week.)

- I celebrated my first Saturday by attending my piano lesson, and afterwards, a comeback at my beloved MASCKS. They had a dance workshop, and the new adviser, Ms. Nica Isip, was able to invite two dancers to hold the dance workshop.

- I didn't join the workshop, since I was busy documenting the whole workshop, and meeting with Cleo for the play's plot and development. I also had a good time meeting up, and getting to know new members of the club. I was surprised that some of them knew me, despite being the first time meeting me. MASCKS alumnus Charles also passed by, since he attended an orientation at the nearby Little Theater before he passed by. We were glad he stayed to join us, even for a few minutes.

- After the meeting, some of us had lunch at McDonald's and discussed, and finalized the play's plot. We finally came up with a nice play after two-hours of lunch. I do hope I can help out more in MASCKS this semester.

- I went back to CKSC soon after, and hung out at the Music Room for around an hour, while waiting for my friend Jessica. I saw Clark and etc. at the Music Room, and just chilled.

- I met Jessica in front of Ersao at around 3pm, and walked all the way to Starbucks. I was glad that she wasn't busy today, and agreed to hang out with me. She wanted us to spend the afternoon at Starbucks, since she was collecting stickers for a Starbucks planner.

- After a week of being in Starbucks (was there last Saturday after Pei Mei's wedding,) Starbucks still hasn't fixed its air conditioning system. Jessica and I were still fanning ourselves with Jessica's handy fan, and at least our drinks were cold too.

- We stayed at Starbucks until 5:10, and walked back to Ersao, where we parted ways. I went to CKSC again for a while, stayed there for around half an hour, talked with some people, and went home. I do hope to make my succeeding Saturdays more interesting, as a way to air myself from the things I do at work. :) :) :) :)

Red, Orange, Yellow: Bringing Summer Love and Oriental Eccentricities to an Autumn Wedding

- November 12, 2011, Saturday.

- My friend Pei Mei finally tied the knot today with her husband Peter. I had been waiting for weeks for today's event, but a lot of things certainly made the day more interesting, and productive, in terms of my social life.


I. The Pre-Wedding

- I woke up at 8am today, got dressed around quarter to 9, and prepared to go to my friend Simon's house, which was conveniently located near the Binondo Church. I wore my golden Tibetan shirt, my golden pipa necklace, and hung a Chinese jade ornament through my belt, and added color to my golden-and-black ensemble.

- I rode a pedicab to Simon's house, and saw Neil, Jenesa, and Lester hanging out with Simon in his room. While they were chilling, I was panicking over Pei Mei's last-minute request of burning the background music in a CD. Simon didn't have a blank CD, so I ran to the quite-near-but-not-so-much CD-R King in Salazar, bought CDs with orange designs on them (teehee,) and ran back to Simon's place. Thankfully, I had a shirt underneath my long-sleeved garb, so I removed my golden Tibetan shirt, and just wore the black shirt I had underneath to CD-R King. By the way, the background music Pei Mei asked me to burn was the one that will accompany me and my violin during the couple's entrance during the reception.

- Simon quickly burned the file to the CD, and I had time to practice my piece twice. It still amuses me that I decided to add Chinese ornaments to my violin and my bow, to add "Chinese accents" to my rather Western instrument.

- We were all set to go to the church at around 10:20, 10 minutes before the ceremony started. I left my violin in Simon's house, and off we went to the church, excited to see our other batchmates.


II. The Ceremony

- Just before we entered the church, Pei Mei opened her car's window, and asked us to go inside the church and sit. We were amazed by Pei's look, even if we only see her neck up from the car window, because of her very ornate and Indian-like/West-Asian-like headpiece.

- Once inside, we were all welcomed by a wave of oranges, yellows, and reds. Even better, we were welcomed by familiar faces that, as for me, haven't seen in a long while.

- The ceremony started at around 10:45, and felt rather emotional after seeing Pei Mei walk down the red carpet. She was a celebrity to us today, and she was also the bride that we sort of "sent off" to her husband whom we barely know.

- Our friend Krisan wasn't around today, since she's out of the country, but her sister Monica came to attend the ceremony, and drop off Krisan's share for our big and awesome gift, as well as the greeting cards that we're supposed to write on for the gift.

- I acted like a semi-photographer today, battling spaces with the official photographers of the event. I felt the need to take good photos, since this not only was the first time that I've attended a batchmate's wedding, but Pei Mei herself is a very dear friend to me. She'd been my classmate all throughout high school, my council-mate, and my MASCKS-mate too. She played the role of Rani Sumitra, one of the queens of Ayodhya, in our Ramayana play in Feb 10, 2007 (Pei Mei's birthday too.)

- We spent much of the time talking at the back of the church, and clapping for Pei Mei as she walked the red carpet once more, on the way to her bridal car. Our friend Jeff dropped by too, and our friend Vanna couldn't make it to the reception.


III. The Reception

- We went back to Simon's place to rest a bit, and pick up the stuff we left there. We later walked to Quintin Paredes' Pacific Centre, and looked for "The Royale Shark's Fin Seafood Restaurant."

- While my other friends were catching up and having fun, I was in one corner, standing by, and waiting for the hosts to open to reception. I was tasked to coordinate with the hosts, and the sound-guy for the CD I burned in Simon's house, and test the mic that I'd be using for my violin. Quite nervous, as I haven't handled my violin in a while, I quietly practiced in my little corner, as Pei Mei's brother, Harry, occasionally stood by my side (literally) and watch me tinker with my violin. I also entrusted my camera to Michelle, while I was practicing, and when I'd be playing my violin already.

- The afternoon event started around 1:30, with people starving as the family and hosts waited for all tables to be filled up. The bride and groom marched from the entrance to their seats, as I played my violin with much effort; I was too distracted and deafened by the two hosts that stood right beside me, as well as the series of poppers that crackled near me. Good thing I was able to successfully play the piece - not my best performance, but it was good enough (I think, I hope.) I was asked to play again before I was allowed to sit. The song I played is entitled "Le Yuan," by Zhang Xiao Han ("Paradise"/Angela Zhang;) Pei Mei chose this song, and we were able to find a nice instrumental version that served as my background.

- As the food started to arrive, my fun started with teasing and talking with my batchmates. I frequently hopped from one table to another, since we all occupied two tables. While playing around with the thought of going out after the reception, the others decided to have a minireunion - they were all classmates in high school - plus me, of course.

- The reception ended after the usual series of platters of food, wedding games, the couple's song, other intermission numbers, the cake-cutting, and the hosts constantly making the couple French kiss (I'm glad Pei wasn't suffocated after F-kissing for that long.)

- At 4 in the afternoon, the thought of going to a mall to watch a movie seemed impractical, so people decided to go to the nearby Starbucks to chill.


IV. The Post-Reception Reunion

- Simon and company, with me, decided to go to Angelo's house, another friend/their classmate, and as if he'd want to join us with our mini-reunion in Starbucks. The others went ahead, and hoped that we'd come with Angelo. Angelo wasn't able to attend the wedding because his grandmom passed away recently. Still, Angelo agreed to hang out with us in Starbucks, and told us to go ahead while he prepared himself.

- We marched to Starbucks, surprised to find out that a part of Starbucks' air conditioning system was busted. As all Starbucks branches, looking for spaces to sit can be a problem, especially during the busy times of the day; the ten (??) or so of us had to squeeze ourselves with two small tables, which added to the place's heat. These being said, I took off my golden Tibetan shirt, folded it, and did away with my black t-shirt underneath. I bought a cold Christmas drink (the toffee one,) and tried out Starbucks' Christmas smore; I think the smore tasted alright.

- We spent the rest of the evening talking more, and complaining about the busted air conditioning system. Some of them also had magazines; I'm not sure where the magazines came from.

- We all decided to leave after people realized that it was going to be dark in a few moments. Simon and company, on the other hand, decided to have another post-wedding hang-out in Simon's place. I tagged along.


V. The Post-Post Reception Hangout

- We ended up in Simon's house, as planned, and chilled, literally. Thank to Simon's room's air conditioning system, we were cooled off in minutes, while checking out some movies, games, and our mail/FBs/Twitter accounts. The others were planning to stay until late in the evening, and so they had food delivered. I wasn't planning to stay long, so I didn't order food.

- The others also planned to download movies/series to spend the night, while we all played around, chatted, and at some point, with me showing some of my FB photos to Neil; I don't know why I did that. HAHA. But LOL?? While waiting for some films to be downloaded, our eyes were glued to 9gag.

- I left Simon's place at around 7:45, since no one was at home, and I also wanted to rest from a long, and panicky-started day. I'm also glad that Simon's parents still recognized me (I think.)

- I later arrived home, approximately 12 hours after my day begun, and I'm obviously as tired as hell. My hands were full the whole day, did a lot of walking under an unusually hot autumn day, and my two layers of clothing (plus the squeezing and air conditioning fail of Starbucks) added more heat to the weather. I am still drained from everything that happened today, but the spontaneity of my friends today made the day more colorful than the summer hues of Pei Mei's wedding's theme. :D:D:D:D

The Foodie Chinatown Walk: Hot Under the Sun

- November 11, 2011 (11-11-11,) Friday.

- My friend Tiffa asked me the other day if I wanted to meet her and her friend Peppy for a walk around Binondo. Seeing that I finished my week's to-do list a day earlier, I decided to give myself a break today, and meet Tiffa and Peppy.

- After my weekly piano lesson, I walked from my school to Binondo, braving the "summer" heat - a weird thing for "autumn" - and met the two of them at the door of Binondo Church. My whole body was heating up, especially since I wore my neck-covering Chinese shirt over a white t-shirt.

- I told Tiffa and Peppy that we'd try out Dong Bei Dumplings at E.T. Yuchengco Street, just behind the big Binondo Church, so I/we could cool off, and at the same time, try the restaurant's dumplings. Dong Bei Dumplings has been regarded by many as one of the best dumpling places around Binondo. It's a shame that both Tiffa and I haven't tried out the place, since we were both Chinese; in my case, Dong Bei Dumplings is located right across my grandmother's place.

- We ordered two sets of Dong Bei's basic kuchay dumplings, and an order of their xiaolongbao. I was thankful to find out that Dong Bei had xiaolongbao, since the only xiaolongbao place I knew of was Jade Garden all the way in Greenhills.

- Dong Bei's noodles and dumplings are all handmade. People are sure that they are, since the people there make the dumplings right in front of the customers. Aside from their fresh dumplings to be eaten inside the restaurant, Dong Bei also sells frozen dumplings that they also made themselves. Dong Bei's dumplings are inexpensive and indeed delicious. Their dumplings are quite small, but each medium-sized dumpling was loaded with greens, and hints of salty meat. The dumplings' fillings were not overly-seasoned, and can be eaten alone, but their garlic soy sauce, especially mixed with their chili sauce, brought out the dumplings' flavors more.

- After cooling off in Dong Bei, the three of us walked Sta.-Cruz bound from Ongpin, seeing the lesser-known parts of Ongpin. We passed by this certain small food-place near Sta. Cruz that my friend Marc introduced to me two years ago; the place sold sugarcane juice - by cup or by bottle. Peppy hadn't tasted sugarcane juice before, so we bought a cup each. Each cup was worth 15php.

- We continued out walk to Sta. Cruz, and walked through Escolta. We went to Calvo Building to check out the small Escolta museum, but the caretaker wasn't around, so we weren't able to check out the small museum. We went ahead, and visited Sin Jian Bookstore to show Peppy the store's Chinese books and other Chinese school supplies (takai, xiaokai, Chinese paint brush, etc.)

- In a few minutes and several blocks later, we were back in Ongpin, and walked to Soler's Golden Fortune to have a "real-deal" dimsum afternoon.

- We spent the remaining afternoon in the restaurant, and waiting for Tiffa's driver to pick us up at around 6pm. Just before Tiffa dropped my home, we headed back to Dong Bei, because Tiffa wanted to buy a frozen pack of dumplings for her family. I guess she was that impressed with the dumplings. As for me, it was great to reward myself with dimsum after a busy week. There's nothing better than having dimsum to add a "dimsum" (little heart) to a stressful week.

Korean Act - Back in a Hanbok: Revisiting Koreatown

- November 7, 2011, Monday, Eid al'Adha.

- My friends Eric and Chabert wanted me to take them to Makati's Koreatown. Although we were supposed to go last Saturday, before Eric's last minute back out, Eric suggested that we could go today since it was a holiday; our Muslim friends were celebrating Eid al'Adha today.

- The three of us met at the EDSA LRT Station at 11am, and rode the MRT to Guadalupe, and rode the jeep to Rockwell. Since Eric and Chabert were complaining a bit about the heat, I just told them that they needed to prepare themselves of a "scenic walk" from the Powerplant Mall to the dead end of Polaris Street outside the Rockwell village.

- After showing Eric and Chabert the house-with-a-pet-monkey, we immediately went to Masan, and entered the restaurant as I hadn't in a year or so. My usual waiter was coincidentally by the door, and greeted me like he always did since the day I first went there in July 2009. He even told me that he was glad to see me again after more than a year of not seeing me.

- We had so bulgogi, dolsot bibimpap, so bulgogi (with complimentary lettuce, peanut sauce, and fresh garlic slices,) haemul pajeon, and a generous amount of mandu/dumplings (given to us for free.) The unlimited side dishes also enticed Chabert and Eric's appetite. Teehee.

- While eating, Chabert and (surprisingly) Eric's vanity took advantage of my camera. I, wearing my hanbok, also took advantage of the nice interior. We later finished our last slice of pineapple, paid the bill, and went on our way to Wang Mart.

- Wang Mart was as cool as always. It was still big, and I think they would be handing out presents to people who visited the store on the 11th, 11:11 (at day or night,) and if ever, even on the 11th second (11-11-11, 11:11, 11.)

- We bought our Korean ice cream, and visited the other side of Burgos Street. To my shock (err, not so much,) some of the groceries, as well as the book-rental-and-Korean-souvenir-shop, were all closed down.

- We walked all the way back to Rockwell to cool off, and look at some stuff. I also saw a college friend there too. Yay. We soon passed by a small amusement zone for kids, and Chabert insisted on trying a certain ride there. Eric and I gave in, and spend the next 60 seconds or so swaying and swinging around.

- After that seemingly awkward ride - three young adult men riding a small kiddie ride, with parents and kids staring at them - we dashed off to other parts of the mall, and left at around 3pm.

- I arrived home at around 4pm, which I think is earlier than my usual coming-home time. I think it's great that I get to rest more for the rest of the day, and I hope that I'd get to have more adventures before work starts next week (and hopefully I'll still be able to have adventures then.)

Gift Hunt: Wedding Edition 2011

- November 6, 2011, Sunday.

- My friend Jenesa texted me yesterday that she and our friend Simon would be going to RP to buy a gift for our bride-to-be-friend, Pei Mei. Since I was going to share the gift's cost with Jenesa and Simon, plus two other friends, I decided to go with them. It's also an excuse to go out again, and do some important errands.

- I met Jenesa today at Starbucks Binondo at around 12:30, and waited for Simon to arrive. The three of us rode a jeep to RP, got off at the wrong street, seemed to have gotten lost, found our way, and arrived at the mall at around 1pm.

- Starting our search in the department's store's appliances area, we deviated from our original plan of buying fancy kitchenware to something else. I won't mention the present, just in case Pei Mei reads this (although I'm 99.99% sure that she won't,) but I'll just reveal the gift during the wedding blog next week.

- We were able to find a suitable and an awesome gift in less than 30 minutes (the price was "awesome" too, but yay for people sharing the cost.) Being way ahead of schedule, we decided to eat, since Simon hadn't eaten a lot for lunch.

- We chose to eat at Jack's Loft, since all our cravings can be conveniently located there: burgers, onion rings, desserts. We spent the next almost-40-minutes chatting around and finishing our food - Jenesa had a hard time finishing her good-for-two salad. We later had dessert - a heavenly warm chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream for me, a moist and rich cheesecake slice for Jenesa, and a good-old sugar-dusted waffle.

- The next agenda on our to-do list was to find Jenesa a dress and matching accessories for the wedding. I felt flattered that Jenesa trusted my fashion and color instincts. We were able to find the dress and accessories quickly, that we had more time to just go around the mall and chill.

- I spotted the Gong Cha stall at the Midtown Wing, and I told them that I wanted to try Gong Cha's milk tea. Simon also seemed interested, so we all went there, and sat near the well-lit railings. Since Jenesa didn't buy a drink, she told us that she'll be headed to one of the wellness centers there to have her eyebrows plucked (??.)

- Simon and I had a great time catching up; I haven't spoken to him (a lot) since grad school I think. He didn't change a bit, even after I saw him "grow up" during high school. We also laughed about how people would usually spell Simon's name wrong, which I think is weird since "Simon" is a pretty usual name. Most of the time, his named would be spelled as "Symon."

- Jenesa came back just after we finished our drinks, and did some more Jenesa-errands, and picked up our beautifully, and neatly-wrapped present. We rode a taxi home, and surprisingly, I am not as tired as I expected. I'm currently excited, nervous, and hyper for this coming Saturday's; this Saturday's the real deal- our friend Pei Mei will be wearing the long white gown.

Elem BFFs Unite: Soul Brother and Soul Sister on All Souls' Day

- November 2, 2011, Wednesday, All Souls' Day.

- My good friend Marielle asked me the other day if I'm available one of these days, so we could hang out. We haven't seen each other in a long time, and we don't usually hang out too. Normally, we just talk when we see each other, or online.

- Today, I asked Marielle if she was available one of these days, and she asked me if I was available today. Good thing I was. I suggested to go to MOA, but Marielle wanted to go to Trinoma, since she hasn't been there before.

- After lunch, I had a quick stop at UP to fix some matters, and immediately rode the jeep afterwards to Trinoma. I waited outside Tokyo Tokyo just as she asked, and we met around quarter to three.

- Marielle wanted to eat, specifically at Krispy Kreme, but it was full. After a few more rounds outside and inside the top floor, we decided to try Five Cows, just beside Yakimix. After seeing the menu, I realized that Five Cows seemed to be the cross between Pancake House (minus the pancakes,) and Icebergs. Marielle decided to have a bubble gum flavored sundae, while I had a burger and a banana ice cream thing. I liked their burger because the bread used wasn't the usual dough-loaded hamburger bun, but a lighter type of bread; it made the hamburger look like a normal sandwich.

- Our mouths wouldn't shut in Five Cows, even as we ate. We had a lot to talk about, even the ones we already talked about online. Talking to people in person would always make a big difference, especially with the expressions, gestures, and all that energy.

- After eating, we realized that we didn't have much space for Krispy Kreme, deciding to maybe go there after a few rounds around the mall. Both of us ended up doing some errands, window shopping, and ultimately, buying something from Oxygen. I bought a shirt that was discounted 600php less than the original price. I nearly died of happiness. (I saw the same shirt in another branch, but it wasn't on sale, and I think it didn't have my size, so I guess it was a lucky day for me.)

- We both left Trinoma at around 6-ish pm. I first accompanied Marielle to the jeeps going to where she was staying, while I tried to take a different route home, by going to SM North, riding the jeep to Roosevelt LRT1 on the way home. (Just like what my friend Cristina and I did the last time I went to Trinoma.)

- I really do hope that this will be the first of many adventures I'd have with Marielle. It's nice to hang out with her, just like the times when we were assigned to sit beside each other during our oh-so-colorful grade school years.

Spending Halloween Afternoon In Chinatown: VERSION 2011 :D:D:D:D

- October 31, 2011, Monday, Halloween.

- I was supposed to go out today, but it got cancelled last night, so I wasn't sure what to do today. I still wanted to go out, but didn't know whom to go out with, and where.

- My friend Melissa messaged me earlier this afternoon, and told me that she was alone at home with no one to talk with. Bored as hell, she wanted to go somewhere nearby. I suggested to have dimsum at the nearby Golden Fortune, so she could experience my all-time-favorite afternoon dimsum tea parties.

- I arrived at the restaurant at around 2:30pm, and leisurely read a book on Hinduism while waiting for Melissa. Melissa arrived 15 minutes later, after preparing herself and getting a bit lost on the way to the restaurant. After we ordered some dimsum, I showed Melissa my book on Indian folk dances, since both of us had been spazzing on Indian textile and fashion last night. Well, I can't blame her for liking Indian textile, since Indians can really make intricate, and detail-loaded fabric. Saris, cholis, lenghas, and salwar kamizes made from those textiles give more justice, form, and elegance to the fabric.

- Aside from the usual dimsum, Melissa ordered some century-egg siomai, something I've never had, because Melissa was craving for century eggs. Not surprisingly, she eventually ordered a small plateful of century egg slices.

- We talked about the paranormal in the middle of our meal, which I thought was quite appropriate for this time of the season. I haven't felt Halloween this year, since most people have started to be busy on Christmas, and I myself still have a bright and joyous hangover from the recent diwali. Oh Indianness, you color me.

- We decided to sweeten our palate by visiting the Korean grocery in Chinatown - until today it still baffles me to find a Korean store in a Chinese enclave - to have some ice cream. Fortunately, Ms. Choi, the owner, was present today; I haven't seen her since summer I think, or even before summer.

- Ms. Choi greeted us with a warm smile, as always, and talked to us after Melissa and I bought our watermelon-shaped popsicle. Knowing Melissa and her love for all things Korean, like a lot of my friends, she readily talked to Ms. Choi while no other customers were around.

- I called Ms. Choi "nuna," or elder sister, when she told me to call her "ajuma," or auntie. I told her that she still looked like a nuna, but she informed Melissa and me that she was already 43, ready to be married, and her only secret to looking young was her BB Cream. (Oh, Korean facial care products, you win. Haha.)

- We were at the store for more than an hour and a half, just because Ms. Choi was very enthusiastic to entertain us. After she found out that Melissa was taking culinary classes at the Korean Cultural Center, she brought out her recipe book, and gave some pointers to Melissa. Melissa even bought a bean-paste thing because she wanted to try to make a sort of Korean bean soup.

- Soon after, Melissa and Ms. Choi were talking about K-Pop and KDrama, which led to Ms. Choi taking out her laptop and showing us some clips of the shows that she likes to watch. Hahahaha. She even asked for our USB if we were interested to watch. I coincidentally had mine with me, but the memory left in my USB was not large enough to support the size of the clip; I just told Ms. Choi that since she told us the title, we can just look for clips at home.

- Melissa and I finally left the store at around quarter to 6, and while Melissa walked home, I had a stopover at my friend Shirby's store, had a little chat, and walked home.

- The sky turned dark quickly, and the crescent moon - exactly the one Shiva has on his head - was smiling from the night sky. The streets were more quiet because of the holiday, and I had to be careful that no one, dead or alive, was following me. I came home safe, but hopefully, "nothing" followed me home.

Blue And Orange: Ateneo And CKSC

- October 27, 2011, Thursday.

- My tiring and cultural diwali yesterday did not stop me from going out today. Even if I were really tired, I still needed to visit Ateneo to talk to one of the professors in the Comm Dept for hopefully a job fit for me. Since my friend Kevin wanted to hang out with me, and since he was also in school that day, we met up at the chemistry building after my interview, and waited for Kevin to finish his chemistry thingie.

- It took Kevin quite some time to finish his work, so I camwhored inside the cool mad-scientist-like laboratory, and tried very hard not to touch and play around with the possibly-dangerous things there.

- Kevin was about to tell us to go have lunch when he realized that the small, bottle-cap-like mettalic sample was missing. We spent around 10 minutes looking for the small metallic cylinder; Kevin found it at the other laboratory where he got his lab apron.

- Kevin and I walked to the new building across Ateneo that had all these new restaurants, and a Fully Booked branch. I decided to eat at Bon Chon, since I've been hearing people fussing over the food there.

- Bon Chon is a modern Korean fastfood chain, boasting their fried chicken. Personally, I think it's a higher-end and Koreanized KFC. I ordered a spicy chicken-with-rice meal, a solo order of garlic chicken wings for Kevin and me to share, and three bottles of Mogu Mogu (coconut, lychee, and grape.) Kevin on the other hand ordered a fish-with-rice meal.

- I passed by Fully Booked after lunch and saw my friend Patty, and rushed to CKSC and visited some people. Not long after, I hopped to Ersao to have a second lunch with Clarisse and Marga.

- My second lunch with Clarisse and Marga was, as always, a ton of laughs. The inevitable anecdotes from yesterday and high-pitched Bollywood madness also encouraged rich chuckles. These are just some of the ways that we try to cope up with the oh-so-beginning-to-be-complicated-life. Oh, Clarisse also let us taste her Halloween chocolate-mousse thing (forgot how it's called,) but it was very yummy. The mint-chocolate biscuit that served as the "tombstone" also added a nice touch both to the presentation, and the taste.

- We all left Ersao at around 2:40pm, since Marga and Clarisse had other appointments to attend to. I on the other hand, had an appointment with the current adviser of MASCKS to discuss some matters for the theater group. After talking to her, I hung out in the music room until the dismissal bell rang.

- The last agenda of my afternoon was the intersection basketball game of my friends from IV-1. I was eager to watch them since I wasn't able to catch their first game last week. Well, our side lost in the end, but I think our players really played well. Henry was also one of the highlights of the game, because he, although not that "athletic," had really good attempts of shooting the ball. Oh well. :D:D:D:D

- After arriving home at quarter to six, I realized that wearing a blue-orange (and white-black) combination was appropriate for today. All colors represented both my college and high school alma maters. Haha. Well, I like looking like a ball of sunshine, to literally (and forcefully) brighten up someone's day. Haha.

"My First Real Diwali": The Third Wheel, The AIESEC People, The Real Deal!!

- October 26, 2011, Wednesday, Diwali.

- Diwali is the Indian festival of lights, thanksgiving, and triumph. It's also the only Indian holiday I celebrate, despite not being Indian. I wanted this year's diwali to be special, although I couldn't think of a much more "authentic" way than to visit good-ole Little India. I invited my friend Marga, but my other friend Melissa wanted to tag along too, so I let her. (She told me that she badly missed Marga, and she wanted to see how diwali is celebrated; Melissa has a lot of Indian friends from school, so she's quite familiar with the Indian culture/s.)

- The three of us met at around 1pm at the UN LRT Avenue station, and headed towards the Hindu Temple at the far end of the Mahatma Gandhi Street. Oh right, I wore my short sherwani today and a matching scarf, so I'd "belong" with the other nicely-dressed Indians.

- One of the staff, Ate Narcing, seemed to be toooooooooooo happy today. I saw her (by-far) biggest smile, and she even took time to accompany us to the prayer hall, and gave us some prasad (food offerings that are being given to people too.) I was also glad that she was familiar with my face. After all, I've been visiting the Hindu Temple for a number of times since my first "adventure" there with my friend Tina last 2008.

- Like always, I explained and cited stories of the gods and saints present in the temple. Today was also the first time that I talked to an Indian in Hindi, and the Indian wasn't surprised. I always get surprised looks from Indians when I talk to them in Hindi.

- After taking some snaps, we walked to the line of busy groceries across Unilever, so I could shop for what I needed to shop, and buy some sweets and samosas for Melissa and Marga to try. I'm glad that Assad and the other groceries had supply of Amul Kool rose milk and cardamom milk. Haha.

- While having a heavy "snack" in Assad Cafe, Marga received a text from Mady, the VP of AIESEC Philippines, to text a certain Hitesh Suthal, who was alone in the Philippines for diwali. Being as enthusiastic as I can be, I taught Marga how to greet in Hindi. Hitesh replied quickly, and through a few text exchanges, we found out that Hitesh was planning to visit the Hindu Temple this evening. Overjoyed with excitement, Marga and I asked permission if we could accompany him, which Hitesh soon agreed.

- Melissa had to go home that afternoon to do some errands I think, but Marga and I chose to hang out in Robinson's Place while waiting for Hitesh. On the way to Robinson's, we came across Miguel, a semi-long-lost friend who we haven't seen/spoken to/hung out with for quite some time. (I saw him last year during my birthday celebration with Karel.) Apparently, Miguel was on his way home.

- Marga and I went around RP for about an hour and a half, before going back to UN, and waited for Hitesh to arrive. We first waited at Times Plaza, and later, at McDonald's, where Hitesh wanted us to meet.

- At around 7:45, we met Hitesh, and surprisingly, Mady. We exchanged brief initial greetings, and rode a trike to the Hindu Temple.

- The Hindu Temple was definitely more colorful, bedazzled, and alive. Hindus came in and out with their new saris, salwar kameezes, sherwanis, and other nice clothes. I also came across Ashok Maharaj, who I think still recognized me from my multiple encounters with the nice man. It was also nice to see Baba Kartasi singing chants, and playing the harmonium (a kind of keyboard-accordion instrument.)

- Hitesh kindly explained to us the significance of diwali, and narrated excerpts from the Ramayana - a story quite dear and memorable to my heart. Hitesh told us that we missed the grand prayer (sort of like the Catholic/Christian mass I assume,) since we arrived a bit late. Instead, Hitesh taught us how to do a simple puja. It was also during that time when I found out that Hitesh was an Indian from Jaipur, and Mady was a Pakistani Muslim from Karachi.

- Seeing both Mady and Hitesh together, good friends respecting each other's culture/s and religion almost made me tear up. I was touched to see both of them like that, because I thought that if that same respect and friendship was observe at a massive scale earlier on, then the Pakistan-Indian conflicts might have ended differently. Well, no one can change history, but the example of Hitesh and Mady's friendship might lead to a better future.

- After doing the simple puja, we were given some prasad (again) by the kind lady outside with her nice chestnut-chocolate salwar kameez. She seemed to be a very jolly, old woman.

- The four of us went downstairs to light the candles, the "most symbolic" part of diwali. I was excited to light my first diwali candle, well, since I haven't experienced a "real diwali" before.

- After lighting the candles, we hung out at the temple, and just kept talking until Htiesh made us realize that the LRT might close in a few minutes. We continued our talk during the long walk to the station, and finally said our (temporary, I hope) goodbyes at the LRT station. Hitesh and Mady were EDSA-bound, while Marga and I were North-bound.

- My legs right now are very tired. I had been walking since this morning, but all that walking was worth it after celebrating such an awesome diwali. I never expected this year's diwali to be "more authentic," since the initial plan was only up to my afternoon adventure with Marga and Melissa. Meeting Hitesh and Mady tonight also gave me more insight on South Asian cultures, but more importantly, Marga and I made two new friends. Since the possibility of NOT meeting both of them today was high, I really think that encountering them tonight was perhaps one of destiny's sly tricks on all of us.

- More diwalis, more lights, and more food (YAY.) Happy Diwali everyone!! Diwali Mubarak!!

Oh Drag Me Again: Makati with Genevieve

- October 24, 2011, Monday.

- My friend Genevieve asked me today if I wanted to go with her to Makati for some errands. Since I had nothing better to do with my life, and I wished to go out again today. Ironically, I hesitantly agreed at first, because Genevieve wanted me to go with her the moment she messaged me. What made me decide to finally go was when she told me that we'd try out the Philippine National Railway (PNR) to Makati.

- I met Genevieve in Tutuban at around 1:30pm, and initially decided to take a jeep there, since we missed the 1pm train. Since Genevieve badly needed to take the quickest way to Makati, we opted to ride the PNR train again. We brisk-walked towards the station in Tutuban, and was able to catch the train 5 minutes before departure.

- Catching the PNR train will always be difficult since trains arrive an hour after the last one. Still, I think it's cool that the government was able to upgrade the PNR trains, and develop some new routes. Plus, the trip from Tutuban to Buendia was only 10php per person.

- After getting off at the Buendia station, we walked to Cityland, the building behind RCBC Plaza; Genevieve had an appointment for an underarm whitening session. Gladly, the salon was still able to accommodate Genevieve despite her hour-long tardiness. I on the other hand, ate a "small" meal in the neighboring Country Style, and walked around travel agencies, collecting brochures, and inquiring about some details. No, I am not going to travel any time soon, and yes, I wish I were going to travel.

- Genevieve finished around 30 minutes later, and both of us walked to Greenbelt for Genevieve's second errand. Since Makati was obviously a place with nice buildings, Genevieve, and architect major, went nuts again. We stopped walking every 5 steps, just because Genevieve wanted to measure something, comment/critique on certain structures, and other architectural stuff. Well, at least she didn't take my camera in the middle of the street just like our Escolta visit a month ago. Well, it's fun seeing Genevieve do that (again, as long as she doesn't bring my camera in the middle of the street,) and it's great that I learn some things from her about architecture and city development.

- We finally reached Greenbelt, and Genevieve dragged me to the Globe Center. I think it had something to do with her load. While waiting for Genevieve to finish her transaction, I had a quiet time with myself and the thick, magazine-like travel brochures I got.

- Both of us walked to Glorietta afterwards, and looked for a place to eat. We saw Ivan Dorschner, the PBB celebrity, and he was whiter than my baby bottom. (Forget I said that. - And now you can't. HAHA.)

- We finally decided to eat at the newly-renovated Food Court, since we had many options to choose from. Genevieve had a Japanese meal, while I was happy with my fresh buko salad from the buko place there. (I badly wanted to eat something from the New Bombay stall, but I was still a bit full from my "small meal" at Country Style.)

- Genevieve wanted to have yogurt afterwards, so I accompanied her to White Hat for a "yogurt treatment." No, I didn't buy myself an order, even if I wanted to have myself some yogurt too. Haha. (I was full anyway.)

- We were both set to go home at around 6:30, after passing through a few sales, and was luckily able to get into the first MRT that arrived after we came to the platform. Yes, for non-commuters, the MRT is hell during rush hour.

- Yey once more for an adventure, and I hope my friends and I will be able to try the PNR train to Bicol soon. Haha.

Ateneo Day?? : Greenhills, Glorietta, Gilbert.

- October 22, 2011, Saturday.

- My other Atenean companions to Korea (yes, including Sir Sev,) organized another reunion for this evening. Since Sir Sev wanted to eat at Kaya Restaurant - how appropriate - we all chose a more commuter-friendly branch for Ceej and me. We were all set to eat at Kaya Restaurant Glorietta this evening at 6:30pm.

- Coincidentally, today was also my last day of my bloody UP semester, and I wanted to celebrate by having a me-moment in Greenhills; I've been itching to visit Greenhills since a few weeks ago. I also came to know last night that my Stephenian friend Audrey, and Atenean friend Rap will be somewhere in Greenhills around the time that I'd be there, so I really hoped to bump into them during my "rounds" in Greenhills.

- I arrived at Greenhills at around 2:45pm, and looked for nice (and more importantly, AFFORDABLE) clothes in Shoppesville. I was able to find a nice shirt, but really had a difficult time looking for a sophisticated and plain cardigan. (Yack, fashionista. :|:|:|:|)

- A part of me also died when I found out that my favorite boutique in Theater Mall was also closed down. It was the store where I bought my "SHINEe shirt," my "bubblegum Indian shirt" (I wore it this morning to school, coincidentally - foreshadowing??,) my plain white Chinese-collared polo, among others.

- Another reason why I wanted to visit Greenhills badly, was because I wanted to try out Happy Lemon's green tea rock salt with cheese. I ended up buying one order of that, and an order of Mocha Cocoa. I guess the store's name was appropriate since I was literally smiling while sipping my drinks, and was "high" even after finishing my drinks. The green tea had a peculiar flavor for a tea, since it was a "salty" drink, not like the usual sweet drinks. I wasn't fond of cheese being used as an ingredient for drinks, but this drink was an exception. My Mocha Cocoa on the other hand wasn't all-too-special, although I enjoyed it too.

- While sipping my Mocha Cocoa drink on the way back to Shoppesville, I read Rap's message that he was done with his badminton session with his high school friends, and was walking about the mall. I looked up after reading the text, and LO AND BEHOLD, Rap and his friends were walking towards me. I said my long hellos to Rap, and another friend Mikko, and hostaged them for a little while after Mikko told me that EJ, another high school classmate (who also happened to by my coursemate,) was in Greenhills. I called EJ, and found out that he, together with other coursemates, already left Greenhills hours before. Too bad.

- Rap and his friends were going to Savory Chicken to have a late lunch (I think??) and I told him to order Savory's chicken. YAY.

- I walked around Shoppesville for a last round, and was able to buy a Filipiniana-ish necklace. (It also matched my Thai-imported-but-oh-so-affordable shirt; I didn't wear it though. Haha.)

- I also saw former schoolmates Joe and Didi. Lol at Greenhills being Ateneo-infested.

- I left Greenhills at around 5:20, and rode the train to Ayala, and met my companions at Kaya. Lexie and Ceej came first, then me, then the couple Guada and Mel. Sir Sev came last.

- All seven of us had a great Korean dinner. It was also inevitable to compare Kaya's food with the much more authentic Korean food in Korea (obviously.) Guada even joked about demanding for silver Korean spoons and flat chopsticks for us.

- We stayed in the restaurant for around two hours, after a lot of rice, meat, and laughter. Sir Sev advised me to teach for a living, which might be a sign that I should teach. I don't know. :|:|:|:|

- We all went home at around 8:30, and gladly I was still able to catch the train home. My legs are still tired, since I had been walking around Greenhills the whole afternoon, only sitting for a minute outside Happy Lemon to take pictures of my green tea rock salt with cheese. Sitting for two hours in Kaya exercised my lungs from all that laughter (and my tummy.....) and the MRT crowd exercised my patience. (HARHAR.) I wasn't able to meet Audrey though. Still, yay for a good adventure day, and hopefully, life will be better from here.

Glittergagement: Red, Gold, and Smoking Rainbow

- October 15, 2011, Saturday.

- My old friend Pei Mei and I had a little chat through Facebook several days ago, and gave me a heart attack after she told me that she'd be getting engaged today. She specifically told me to avoid wearing red since her gown will be red, and her wedding's motif is red as well. It figured that it'd be a good time to wear the blue-and-gold tangzhuang I bought in Korea months ago, especially since one of my uncles passed away recently, and I wasn't in the mood to wear something bright and cheerful too.

- Pei Mei told me that today's engagement ceremony will begin at around 10am (but advised me to come 30 minutes later,) and lunch will be served around an hour after.

- Today, I arrived at President Tea House at around 10:45am, and still I was one of the earliest people to arrive. I even asked the waiter where the engagement was going to be held, and he pointed me to the open-but-barricaded area. Being doubtful, as only around 5 people were there, I asked the waiter again, and he told me the same thing. I waited for more than an hour before people started to come in. It was also nice to see my friend Marineth there. I never knew that she and Pei Mei knew each other.

- While the engagement ceremony was being set up, and people I don't know started to come, Pei Mei's brother Harry say beside me and entertained me and Marineth with card tricks. Although he's still practicing his tricks, I can say that he's good. Well, at least coming from a person who knows zero about magic tricks. Haha.

- As this was the first ever engagement I've ever attended, I took notice of the rituals of a traditional Chinese engagement. First, the rings and other jewelry were exchanged, followed by the exchange and giving of other gifts, and later, the eating of eggs and noodles. The ceremony itself was brief, and Marineth had to constantly remind me to take photos, since I was busy being entertained by Harry's tricks, or by talking to Marineth.

- We all waited a really long time for the food to arrive. Marineth and I were a bit annoyed by some of the mainland-Chinese guests who smoked indoors. I know that that is acceptable in China, but it seems that the mainland people have a hard time adapting to the culture here. Marineth and I were surprised (and relieved) after one of the other customers, a lady, mustered up the courage (and irritation) to go to our barricaded side, and reprimand the smokers, and told them that is was illegal in the country to smoke indoors. Gladly, the smokers listened to her (but smoked again after the lady left the restaurant hours later.)

- The food arrived at around 1:30 (??), long after Marineth left. Too bad she had to leave early for work. Coincidentally, her seat was soon taken by another friend of mine, Zenny.

- People started to leave at around 2:45 or 3, and Pei Mei asked me to stay, so we could discuss the song she wants me to play for her wedding next month. Pei Mei and I, together with her fiance and co., walked towards a computer/camera shop in Benavidez, owned by Pei Mei's soon-to-be sister-in-law. We went to the second floor of the store, which served as a makeshift house, and discussed the song, with the help of youtube.

- Later on, I was able to escape Pei Mei's fiance's smoker friends after Pei Mei asked me to accompany her to her store in 999 mall, and accompany her to 168 to shop. YAY for shopping. I wanted to buy a lot of things, but either the clothes didn't fit me well, or they're too expensive. HAHA.

- I went home at around 5:30, and hoped that my lungs are alright. Other than that, I'm excited for Pei Mei's wedding next month. My Ramayana Queen will indeed be a real queen after her marriage. (Pei Mei played Rani Sumitra in our Ramayana play 4 years ago.)

Roundtrip Dinner: "Mom I'm Going Out With A Friend For Dinne....Oh Look I'm Home."

- September 29, 2011, Thursday.

- My friend Timothy gave me an "urgent" text message around quarter to 7pm, asking me where I was, and asking me to reply "asap." I thought it was an emergency when all he wanted was to have dinner with me. Haha.

- Timothy wanted to have dinner at World Chicken, located at 168's food court. I kept on telling Timothy that the restaurant would have been closed by then since 168 closes at around 7pm. Still wanting to try our luck, we walked to 168, talking along the way, and rushed to the food court, only to find out that what I claimed was true.

- Instead of eating at World Chicken, we bought food at the Cantonese Dimsum House, which was about to close too, and bought a dimsum-rice combo each. We sat at one of the comfortable spots, and ate while we chatted some more.

- It was great to have hung out with Timothy again. We never actually hung out except for the first time I ate out with him and Jenesa. Timothy used to be one of my actors in my high school theater group, and he did a great job portraying Ravana, the main antagonist in the epic Ramayana.

- Timothy informed me that he couldn't stay too long because he needed to go to church. Since I didn't want him to be late for the mass, I tried to finish my food quickly - but not too fast - so we could walk at a normal speed on the way to his church.

- We talked some more on the way to his church, and I walked home after passing by his church. I passed by the chapel near my house to give thanks for a certain job offer this afternoon (which I hope will work out, if ever.) I arrived home with a stunned looked from my mom, because she didn't expect me to be home so quickly. Well, more chill time this evening. Haha.