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.

Japanese Town, French Restaurant, Chinese People: The Blue Boy And Pink Girl Adventure

- September 26, 2011, Monday.

- A few days ago, my friend Cristina asked me if I knew a place that sold Japanese groceries. Popping into my mind the "most Japanese" are in the Philippines, I asked her if she were willing to go to to Little Tokyo with me today. Bursting with excitement, she told me that she'd be bringing her video cam, so she could take a video of me and the place.

- I woke up today with the cloud shedding its tears again, like it did exactly 2 years ago - the day Onday came. This time, Pedring was moderately showering Manila, although I had a feeling that the storm wasn't as heavy as Ondoy. Tina and I still decided to push through with our trip, and were headed towards Little Tokyo at around 10:30.

- After getting off at Magallanes station, and not knowing where the jeep terminal was, I just hailed a taxi. It was raining anyway. I also thought that hailing a taxi would be a faster way to get to Little Tokyo.

- We arrived in rainy Little Tokyo soon, and Tina was amazed at how it really seemed like we were both transported to a small Japanese square. Most of the restaurants were closed, except for Hana, Oishinbo, and Nodasho. Too bad the okonomiyaki place was closed.

- Tina and I first tried Hana, where we ordered takoyaki, fish cakes (err, fish-yaki-like dish,) and an unagidon (eel rice.) Hana is famous for their takoyaki, and their snow-cone like desserts. After eating, I greeted the owner and told her that we ate well ("gochisoosama (deshita)") and went to our second base.

- It was my first time to eat at Oishinbo, and I was informed that their specialty was yakitori (Japanese kebabs.) Tina and I tried to order a reasonable amount of grilled stuff, which included a stick of chicken balls, a stick of grilled potato, a stick of bacon-wrapped quail eggs, a stick of chicken skin, and a platter of deep-fried chicken and pork. I guess I need to be with a Japanese enthusiast the next time I go there, since I wanted to try other things in the menu that didn't seem familiar to me. I didn't want to order a lot because the food was a bit pricey (like all Japanese food,) and because we were headed to out last stop for the early afternoon: Nodasho.

- Upong entering Nodasho, I greeted the kind owner who looked like a typical neighbor grandfather who liked to talk and walk around. I greeted him in Japanese, and he thought I was fluent, so he spoke to me in pure Japanese. Not knowing what to say, I stared at him. He laughed, and understood that I was just being a "pretend" Japanese. He then asked me if I was going to "KAIN????" and I said yes. He smiled, and went back to entertaining his two Japanese guests/customers.

- I've eaten at Nodasho before with my family. Nodasho is famous for their (expensive) sushi platters as well as their big curry hotpots. Since Tina and I were a bit full from all that eating, I decided to order an ika (squid) fry platter, and a puri puri salad. The puri puri salad is just like a typical kani salad, wrapped with rice paper ala fresh lumpia, and served with a fried-sesame-mayo dip. Tina and I were fortunate enough to see our puri puri salad being prepared right in front of us. I also noticed that the sushi counter had a lot of fresh seafood being stored, aside from the usual shrimp/kani/tamago/tako which can be seen in other Japanese restaurants.

- Since it was chilly outside, Tina and I also ordered two cups of Japanese service tea. Their tea was less strong than what we'd have in Chinese restaurants, probably because the tea leaves were also semi-powdered.

- After we paid the bill and greeted the owner once more, we went around the groceries to look for stuff on Cristina's shopping list. In the end, I was the one who was able to find something. HAHA.

- Later on, we quickly hailed another cab to Greenbelt, so we could walk around before coming home.A lot has changed in Greenbelt and Glorietta since I went there last May. I am also glad that there's already a Muji branch in Greenbelt. TEEHEE. (Expensive things. I usually enjoy looking at the things there rather than buying them. Haha.)

- On the way back to Manila, I texted Jane if she wanted to hang out with Tina and me at the new restaurant inside Metropolitan Hospital. Yes, it's one of the hospitals that people go to "to hang out," because of some of the foodie places at the ground floor. Jane agreed to meet us at 5:30, which coincidentally was around the time that we reached Manila.

- The restaurant that we tried was named "Cafe France." The restaurant had the same format as DeliFrance or Le Coeur de France: bakery/restaurant. The food sold there, I think, was a more or less reasonable, although they could add a bit more to their pasta servings. Oh, I also saw some friends who worked there part time. They knew it was my birthday yesterday, and I asked if they wanted to treat me. HAHA.

- Jane arrived a few minutes after Tina and I did. we talked a bit before starting to eat. We had carbonara, fruit tarts, quattro formaggi (4 cheese) pizza slices, and supposedly we'd have a cream puff each. I bought a box of three from Greenbelt. Haha. (In the end I just took the box home since everyone was too full to eat the cream puffs.)

- We talked and talked, and stayed there longer than we expected. My supposedly super mild headache I got early that afternoon continued to pound my skull, which meant that I had exceeded my body's adventure limit. Well, come to think of it I had been going out with several people since my fat Friday night. Haha. I came home, took a bath, skipped dinner (well my meal in Cafe France was sort of an early dinner anyway,) and slept for two hours. HAHA. Well, it's back to slowing down a bit tomorrow. Oh life, you play with me in both the funniest and the most irritating ways.




** BY THE WAY.... I didn't feel like my myself today because I attempted to pull off the beanie hat I got from the exchange gift with my HS friends a year ago. I thought it's be perfect for today because of the weather, and it somehow fit in with my music shirt, my white hoodie vest, my neon orange belt, and my famous/infamous bright yellow boots (that I only wear during rainy days like today.) TEEHEE.

How To Own A Pizzeria: The Double Birthday

- September 25, 2011, Sunday.

- The actual day of my birthday was reserved for my high school buddies (and my family at night.) What made the 25th of September more special was that two of us celebrated on that date - my friend Karel, and I (which meant I wouldn't have to shoulder the whole bill. YAY!!)

- Our friend Genenieve, who unfortunately wasn't able to come, kept on telling us about this restaurant near UST that served regular-sized, to giant 36-inch pizzas. With much researching through the net, I discovered that the pizzeria's name was "Calda Pizza," and is located at P. Noval Street, located near the big Ministop at the corner of Espana and P. Noval. Although Genevieve wasn't able to come, and I think she was the one most excited about the pizza plan, I still decided to eat there just to see if the food there was great.

- My friends and I were supposed to meet around 11am, although I met them 30 minutes later because it took me a while to finish thanking people who greeted me via Facebook. I hurriedly ran to the swimming pool area to meet up with them, and we rode two tricycles to somewhere near UST.

- We first went to Berna's condo near UST before going to the restaurant. After Bernadette came out of the elevator, she asked us why we brought a cake. I really thought she was joking, until she asked a second time while walking to St. Thomas Square, a mini-mall on the way to the restaurant, where we're supposed to meet Karel. Jessica dragged Berna to one side, and whispered that I was my birthday and Karel's. Hahahaha.

- We soon arrived at St. Thomas Square, and met Karel within 5 minutes. Not knowing where Calda Pizza was exactly, we asked the guard of St. Thomas Square who fortunately knew where it was.

- The Calda branch in P. Noval was a bit small, and can seat around 20 people, or maybe a bit more. Since it was a Sunday and no students can be seen around the UST area (although some students were inside UST for extracurricular stuff I suppose,) the restaurant was empty.

- We first ordered a 30-inch 4 Seasons pizza (Quattro Stagione,) and later, a 30-inch Milano pizza. Calda's pizza is relatively less expensive than most commercial pizzas, but I liked how their pizzas aren't as oily as most commercial pizzas. Calda's pizza crust was also thinner than other pizzas, and well-"toasted." Although the toppings aren't as "abundant" as other pizzas, Calda's pizzas tasted light, and the aromatic melted cheese, almost liquid like the pizzas of Italy, wasn't overpowering the other toppings.

- Our friend Nathalie soon arrived, and Marvinson texted at the last minute that he wouldn't be able to come, which made me the only guy again in the group.

- In the end, Karel and I didn't know how to divide the cake between us, so I let her keep the cake, while I took home the leftover pizza. We all went home after around 3 hours of lunch, instead of going to the Rockband place and hang out more; people were busy, sick, or tired. Well, at least we were all able to spend a quiet afternoon - with Calda's radio music playing oldie songs, most of them depressing - but I think it was one of the coziest meals I've had with the group apart from the time they hung out here at home. Hopefully we'll be complete next time, and still manage to have a cozy lunch or dinner. Even better, if we could "own" a restaurant again for a meal. Teehee.

Jetsetter Pre-Birthday PART 4: Late Evening to Early Dawn with Dorenett, Monica, and Marianne :D:D:D:D

- September 24 to 25, 2011, Saturday to early Sunday.

- FINALLY, the last part of my pre-birthday day. Monica asked us a few days ago if we wanted to go to Mercato after the cultural performance in PICC. Since Dor and I have never gone to Mercato - or any of the foodie market places - we decided to go.

- From Manila, we had a comfortable ride to Makati, then Taguig. Upon arrival, the place seemed nice....until we went inside. As expected, it was highly crowded, especially since it was a Saturday night. Dorenett told me that it might be possible to have lung cancer in just seconds of being inside because of all the grilling from many stalls. Still, all the stuff there seemed to beg me to buy them.

- For those who don't know, Mercato is a weekend-market place that opens some time in the afternoon, and around 10pm to around 3am at night (to dawn.) Monica told me that the shops/stalls during the afternoon are different from the ones at night.

- We were lucky to have found a cozy table outside, right in front of the Chinese-owned GuacTruck, a Mexican-Filipino food-truck/van. I just found it amusing that the owners were Chinese, because they didn't look to Chinese, until I heard them speak to their aunt (??) in perfect Chinese. Haha.

- Dor and I went around and bought a pizza with international-fusion flavors, and nachos. On the way back to our table, we saw our friend Cherilyn. Yay!! After Dor and I settled, Monica and her sister went inside and brought back a ton of food. Taco salad cups, bon-chon-ish chicken wings, fish and chips, etc. I also tried stuff from the GuacTruck and I love it; it wasn't too heavy. I didn't want to eat a lot because I might not sleep again like what happened to me the other night. HAHA.

- It was, I think, the first time that I was out with someone on the eve of my birthday. The thought of eating outdoors with friends, in Global City, and on the eve of my birthday, almost let me expect to see fireworks when the clock struck 12. Then again I remembered that people only did that during new year. HAHA.

- We soon went inside and tried some weird/unique- but-delish ice cream. I wanted to buy myself a cup, but my throat was still a bit dry, and I'm afraid that I might have a sore throat today (gladly I didn't!!) Well, I got to have free tastes of the weird flavors, and I liked them - some more than others. Haha.

- We went around and sat near the exit, while my companions finished their ice cream. Just before we left, Monica treated us to mochi ice cream. I had green tea because it wasn't as....sweet as the other flavors. Hahahaha.

- We all went home at around 1-ish, and had a really adventurous ride home. For one, we almost hit a motorist who suddenly swerved to our lane. Good thing the driver's foot was on the brakes!! Haha. I am just thankful that we all got home safely.

- I really really want to thank everyone for making this unique experience/day special. It wasn't unique just because it was the day before my birthday (and ended up on the day of my birthday,) but because I was able to do something I haven't done in a long time, did new things with old friends in old places, met new people, went to new places, and had that "countdown to my birthday" in Mercato that really made my night. To more adventures. :D:D:D:D

Jetsetter Pre-Birthday PART 3: Evening with Dorenett, Monica, and Marianne :D:D:D:D

- September 24 to 25, 2011, Saturday to early Sunday.

- The real adventure, I think, started right after my lunch date with Margarette (sans Clarisse.) I quickly went home to change my clothes and air myself. I wore another red shirt, and brought my Tibetan shirt with me as well. For my evening agenda, Monica was going to treat us in Mr. Ube for an early dinner, since she had Mr. Ube gift cards. Afterwards, Dorenett had free tickets to the Chinese cultural performance in PICC, in celebration of the 62nd foundation day of China.

- I rested at home for a good 15 minutes, while I prepared my things for the night. Err, so much for rest. I rushed to Dorenett's house, a few moments beforE Monica's car arrived. Monica's driver zoomed to Ongpin, so the four of us could have an early dinner before going to PICC. We hoped to get good seats.

- At Mr. Ube, I found it amusing that Monica didn't pay a single cent for all of us, and used "sheets of paper" as payment. Yes, I have seen give cards before, and I know how they work, but using something else than actual money or credit cards/cheques to pay for something isn't something that I usually encounter.

- I realized that we all ordered noodle-soup dishes, and Dorenett realized that she and Monica's younger sister, Marianne, wore the same color. Since Monica still had much to spare, I ordered a lot of drinks to moisten my throat; my throat was dry from all that shouting during the workshop yesterday morning.

- I quickly finished my soup and drinks, before going to the restroom and changing into my golden Tibetan costume for the cultural performance. Monica had just finished calling their driver to pick us up too.

- We arrived at PICC after battling a semi-heavy traffic, and walked brisky towards the theater. Since we were holding yellow tickets, we were flushed to the side of the audience area. We hoped that not too many would watch, so we could move to the center seats. Later on, I was able to spot spot-on center seats, located just below the camera man who was tasked to record the whole performance.

- The cultural performance started around 8pm with the national anthems of both the Philippines and China, and speeches from the VIPs, such as the Chinese ambassador himself. Soon, the emcee came out from the backstage, and introduced the Yi-tribe dancers.

- Based on the title of the dance alone, the Yi tribe dancers danced something in relation to the moon, although the execution of the dance was very fiery. The splashes of yellow, reds, and oranges lit up the stage, aside from the lively hops and jumps the made the people look like dancing flames.

- The second performer introduced was Cao Fu Jia, a really pretty singer, although I fancied her clothes more. Purely red, simple, elegant, and flowy. She sang two ballads. She also tried to sing a Fukien song after those two, since she said that she wanted to "give something" to the Chinese here in the Philippines, most of which come from the Fujian province (my grandparents in both sides came from Fujian too.)

- The third number was another dance number from the Yi tribe, entitled "Treading on Clouds." I've seen this dance many times before via youtube, and it didn't appeal to me, until I saw it live. The women played around with graceful, but with some jerky movements all throughout the dance. The music was mysterious, dark, with occasional syllabic chanting by women. I loved the number.

- The fourth performer was Lorsang Tenzo, a Tibetan male singer, who sang a Tibetan drinking song, and another song entitled "Shangri-La." Aside from the usual Tibetan style of singing, what appealed to me more was the costume he wore, especially since he wore the same thing I was wearing, only with a different color.

- The next performer was a magician named Wu Song Xun. Well, to be honest, I'm not really a fan of magic tricks, although the guy's showmanship was impressive. There was also a portion where he asked an audience member to go on stage for a certain trick. The whole theater laughed after this Chinese dude stood up, and raised his hand, and shouted at the top of his voiceeee "WOOOO!!!!" (MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!) I think the magician had no choice but to let a guy as enthusiastic like him be his assistant. Hahahaha.

- The next number was a fan dance from the Han tribe (the biggest ethnic group of China.) The dance depicted the flowing river through laced fans and the ever so graceful movements, and the playful eye contact, especially of the main dancer.

- A singer named Wang Qun came after the fan dance, and sang two pop-ish ballads. I wasn't too fond of her, although I thought she was wearing a really unique fringed (??) dress.

- The next number was an interesting dramatic dance by the Hani Tribe of China. The Hani tribe can be found in the Sino-Vietnamese border, and is also one of the tribes recognized by Vietnam aside from the Chinese. The dance they performed was a comedic depiction of men searching for their prospective wives, and carrying a woman who a male Hani thinks is fit for him. In the end, the two main characters, who seemed to love each other dearly, showed a funny conclusion to the scenario: since the guy seemed to be "weak" to carry his lady, the lady carried her lover instead!! Hahahaha.

- Another interesting performance was the next one by Yang Ji Qiang. He played the erhu, the two-stringed Chinese violin. He played two pieces, altought the second one, entitled "Horse Race" was more familiar to me. I knew how the song sounded like, but it was way more impressive when watching someone play it live. The piece's difficulty can immediately be seen through the fingering techniques needed to be developed in order to perfect the piece. As a treat to the Filipino-Chinese, he also played "Anak" with his erhu.

- The next portion was a dance number from the Vu/Wu tribe. This tribe can be found near the Sino-Burmese border. Their earth-and-fire-toned dance was participated by two men, and plenty of women who seemed to have danced with their hair. Aside from the dizziness from the constant spinning of their heads around and around, I was baffled at how the women were able to express the mood of the dance clearly through their movement; their long hair/wigs were over their faces, and for the most part, the women hunched their backs to give space to their hair/wigs, and let the hair strands fall gracefully with the help of gravity. It was a dance worth pondering upon.

- The next number were two song by singer Yong Feng. His style of singing was not "modern," and he might have appealed to the older people in the audience. He sang well, I think.

- The last dance number for the night was another dance by the Hani tribe, which depicted a white bird dancing together with the green grass. Because I was very amazed with the pirouettes, and the perfect stances of the white bird, it took long before I realized that the white bird was a male dancer.

- The last number of the night was a song presented by all the performers of the night. They sang "Me and My Motherland/ Ancestral Country." Thinking we could sneak n the backstage to hopefully get a photo of Tibetan Tenzo Lorsang, we positioned ourselves towards the stairs just as everyone was leaving, and the performers were having their final photo ops with the media.

- We followed the sound of Lorsang Tenzo at the backstage, since he was singing while fixing his things. We wanted to knock on the dressing room door, which happened to be slightly opened, but we didn't disturb him after we saw that he was changing his wardrobe. More performers came to the backstage, and we kept on having photos with the "wrong" people. I think Monica turned out to be the lucky one, since she had a photo with the "white bird" who she admired so much.

- What made the four of us leave the backstage was when Cao Fu Jia, who gave us a subtle "what are these people doing here" glare. Dorenett, being the perfect PR person that evening, was about to ask Fu Jia if she could have a picture with us. Because of that glare, Dorenett didn't ask her anymore. Too bad, Dorenett was admiring her beauty and talent during the performance. Haha. Oh, and Dorenett said that she glared at us a second time, although the rest of us didn't see the second glare.

- After the awkward "moment" with Fu Jia, we all decided to leave, with me not having a photo with Lorsang Tenzo. Anyway, he already changed into his street clothes, which defeated the purpose of my having a picture with him. It was nice to hear Lorsang Tenzo sing anyway. :D:D:D:D

- The four of us rushed to use the restroom, I changed into my street clothes too, and we had "final pictorial" by the lobby of PICC, before riding the car once again to our ultimate night-ender. :) :) :) :)

Jetsetter Pre-Birthday PART 2: Noon and Early Afternoon with Marga :D:D:D:D

- September 24 to 25, 2011, Saturday to early Sunday.

- After my reemergence in MASCKS that morning, I immediately went home, left the cake and the giant cartolina, and headed to the train station. I rode to Pedro Gil, and rushed to meet Marga. I think she had been waiting for around half an hour.

- Marga and I soon walked leisurely towards Korean Village in Nakpil street (near the Adriatico corner), and talked on our way there. It would've been more fun if our friend Clarisse were with us. Too bad she wasn't feeling well. :( :( :( :(

- We arrived at the restaurant, with only the two of us as customers. It felt weird, because normally the restaurant was moderately too fully-packed. Since both of us felt a bit adventurous, we deviated from our usual orders, and tried other items in the menu. We tried Korean Village's version of pajeon (savory pancake,) jajangmyeon (black-bean noodles,) samgyetang (the famous ginseng chicken porridge,) although we had the usual grilled beef.

- Marga and I hung out until the restaurant closed at around 3pm, and decided to cool off for another hour in Robinson's Place. Goodness, the sky didn't seem like it, but boy is was terribly hot that time. T__T

- For some reason I really enjoyed walking around and doing nothing in RP, even if it were just for an hour. Marga and I saw a lot of nice things, and would have bought them if they weren't too expensive (even on sale!!)

- Since I felt tired, and still needed to go home, change, and prepare for my long long evening, I asked Marga if it was OK for us to go at around 4:30. Marga had to prepare for something at her house as well anyway.

- I could've hung out with Marga longer if both of us didn't have any agenda later that day, or if I weren't super tired from the lack of sleep. Still, I was able to take it easy yesterday afternoon, and air my head (and body.) Haha.

Jetsetter Pre-Birthday PART 1: Morning with MASCKS :D:D:D:D

- September 24 to 25, 2011, Saturday to early Sunday.

- Thank God for letting my prof give us a research break, and I had a free day the day before my actual birthday. Even better, I was able to arrange many things with different friends, until I realized that I barely had time to rest in between activities. Well, at least I'd be making most out of my day.

- The problem with yesterday was that I didn't sleep well - err, barely had sleep that is - the night before because my tummy was still working hard to digest all the food I ate last Friday night with Eric. The irritating echo of the neighborhood rooster was also another reason why I couldn't sleep, even if I might have been able to, after my tummy was more or less successful in working with all the food I ate. I think I slept around an hour or two. Shucks.

- I woke up around 7 in the morning to prepare myself for my first agenda of the day: my reemergence in MASCKS. I haven't visited the club since I "left" after last school year, and I had Saturday morning classes that hindered me from visiting the club.

- Last Friday, I had already arranged with the current adviser, Ms. Isip, who happened to be as old as I am, that I would be giving the members a workshop. Even if I barely had enough sleep, I seemed to be more than happy to wake up from my bed and fix myself for the morning. I wasn't able to bring cakes to share to the members, since Goldilocks was still closed when I passed by.

- I arrived in my alma mater at around 8 in the morning, and saw some former members lingering around. Still tired and sleepy, I tried to speak much sense while chatting with the members and waiting for the meeting to start. We were soon led to one of the third-floor rooms, and waited for Ms. Isip to formally begin the club meeting. Funny how I could pinpoint which members were new: they were silent, I haven't seen them in previous school years, and they sat as one big chunk at the side of the room.

- The session started when Ms. Isip told everyone that we were celebrating my birthday, side from the workshop proper, and so the session began with an awesome "Genie" dance number by Jordan and company. I had - and still have - no idea how they knew that I fancied SNSD and their dances.

- I also appreciated how some former members having their NCAE review (third year HS) took time to stop by and at least say hello. That was one of the things that really touched me yesterday morning.

- For some reason, Jordan and everyone else was asking me to dance an SNSD dance. I had forgotten most of the parts of "Oh!" so I requested if I could dance "Gee" instead - something I've done a thousand times both here and in Korea. HAHA. Good thing someone had "Gee" in their phone, and someone had a speaker. Hahahaha.

- Just before I began to dance, someone was testing the lights, and I had a hunch what was going to happen next. After a few seconds, someone closed the lights, and Ms. Isip brought a cake with a ton of candles. I quickly made a wish - which I can't seem to remember what - and blew all the candles. After that, Jordan and people gave my this big, yellow, and rolled-up cartolina with messages on it.

- I soon danced my "Gee," accompanied by Clarice, and yes I seemed to have mad a fool out of myself again. Hey, at least I wasn't wearing a barong or a bahag like I had done previously!! Haha.

- While setting up for the workshop proper, I introduced myself to the new members, and later taught everyone how to do a certain clapping game I learned from interpretative dancer Jung Young Doo in our expression workshop during my week-long stay in Korea last June.

- The original version was simple: everyone should form a circle, and one person will clap his hands, directing that clap to a certain person, and the person "tagged" should pass the clap to another member in the circle. Ideally, this should go from slow to fast.

- Ms. Isip wanted to let the members loosen up to each other, so I made a variation by letting the person call out the name of the person tagged. This meant that everyone in the circle should be familiar with each other's names. Initially, we had two circles, and soon, I asked them to make one big circle.

- I later asked everyone to do the original version of the game, the objective being the development of eye contact and precision; the earlier variation's goal was to get to know each other, developing voice clarity, and precision too.

- The last variation of the game that I did was to have the basic clap-tagging format, but with one person saying a word, and the following person saying another word that began with the letter following the first letter of the previous word. (Example: person 1 says "a"pple, person 2 says "b"all, person 3 says "c"oat, etc.) The goal of this version was to practice spontaneity and presence of mind.

- After a few rounds, Ms. Isip took over, and introduced an ageless acting/improvisation exercise. A sheet of cloth was to be passed around, with each member integrating the cloth in a scene, or using it as something else. Some used it as a diaper, a baby, a magic carpet, a mermaid's tail, etc.

- The morning ended with everyone discussing about the play that the club would probably be watching in/near Shangri-La, and thinking of where to eat.

- I decided to tag along with some MASCKS members, and Ms. Isip, when they decided to eat at McDonald's. I ate lightly, since I had a lunch date with Marga and Clarisse (though she wasn't able to make it because she wasn't feeling well,) but I decided to treat the people I was with; we were around 9 I think. Teehee.

- Thank you MASCKS for preparing everything. I really made me happy, let alone surprised. I might have under-reacted yesterday morning since I lacked sleep, but please know how happy and touched I was with everything. Thank you once again for letting me handle yesterday's workshop too!! I hope you learned a thing or two, as I have learned many things from you during that 2-hour session. :D:D:D:D

Fat Night: The 3-Hour Dinner Buffer Challenge

- September 23, 2011, Friday.

- I hadn't seen my friend Eric since March this year, and decided to meet up with him a while ago. I tried to ask other common friends to go, but it ended with just the two of us.

- Eric and I initially planned to eat at Tasty Dumplings, the one beside the Binondo Church, but Eric came home a bit late from work, so we decided to eat some place else. Eric had not tried the Golden Fortune buffet before, so we decided to eat there.

- We arrived at Golden Fortune (the one at the Pacific Center) at quarter to 9, and was surprised to see almost no one aside from the crew. Eric was curious enough to ask one of the waiters, and the waiter told us that the buffet promo would start at 9. The buffet promo is available the whole day, but during the promo hours (2:30-5pm, 9pm-1am,) each head would only cost 338php insted of 488php (or is it 448php??) Still, we noticed that Golden Fortune wasn't as jam-packed as we expected it to be, especially during the promo period. At least it wasn't as noisy as the usual "full-house" restaurant.

- Eric and I ordered a lot, trying to make the most out of the buffet. Eric told me to choose the some of the items with weird and unfamiliar names, so we'd get to try them. We also tried some of the "special broth" in the menu, just because we were adventurous like that.

- As expected, we ordered more food than we can ever imagine, at least more than enough for two men. We tried to master the art of "pacing," so we could slowly, "but surely....err, hopefully," finish our food. Of course we spent most of the time talking and talking and looking at the weird golden mushrooms. Haha.

- We ended around midnight, and I was really lucky to find a tricycle nearby. The guy charged a bit extra, but it was OK; it was raining, the place was a bit far from my house, and he was one of the few drivers who were still awake.

- Thanks for celebrating my early birthday with me, Eric, till next time. :D:D:D:D Tomorrow....err later today....I shall be a jetsetter around Manila. HAHAHAHA.

Chill Afternoon: What I've Been Waiting For

- September 19, 2011, Monday.

- Still having a hangover from yesterday's book fair, I was too lazy to do school work today. Although I had no plans of going out today, and instead organized my notes and had successfully searched for online journals for my long paper, I ended up spending the afternoon with my friend Aurey, who was bored out of her wits at her house.

- We met each other at Starbucks, conveniently located below Audrey's house, so we could just chill and detoxify with the Starbucks ambiance. I'm not really a fan or Starbucks, but I had been craving for the Starbucks ambiance for the last two weeks or so.

- Audrey and I met around 3pm in Starbucks, and talked about everything artsy. I showed her some keychain-turned-necklaces just in case I can give Audrey some inspiration (since one of our friends is a big fan of Thai stuff.) I also showed her the Korean book I bought in the book fair yesterday.

- Later on I taught Audrey some basic French phrases, since Audrey wanted to learn some French. I think she did pretty well. I also fancy the nice journal she uses and brings all the time. Haha.

- We left Starbucks around 6pm, after our short French lesson, my sandwich, and my awful chai tea latte. (Another thing that irritates me is that the name "chai tea" is redundant. "Chai" is the Hindi/Nepali term for tea. Haha.)

- Zen afternoon win. :) :) :) :)

Books and Characters: SMX Book Fair and Cosplay Con 2011

- September 18, 2011, Sunday.

- My friend Tiffany invited me yesterday to go to the SMX book fair, although I wasn't able to because I was too tired, and had a dinner appointment with some high school friends. Today, I thought of going to the book fair, since it was the last day of the book fair, although I didn't have anyone to go with. I was discouraged by one friend, but asked some second and third opinions from other friends. My other friends thought the book fair was fine, and my friend Tiffany told me that she'd be in SMX again for the cosplay convention. Great. Now, I had a reason to go!!

- I left the house around 1:30 and arrived at SMX around 2-ish. I went inside, after paying the ticket, and roamed around the venue. I was surprised to see that the venue wasn't as crowded as I expected, since today was a Sunday, and it was also the last day - everyone knows that Sundays or last-days of any event usually have the most number of attendees.

- I tried to avoid the mainstream bookstores, so I could explore the other stalls for possibly good finds. It was also nice to see that language institutes like Instituto Cervantes and Goethe Institute Philippines attended the event too. Of course, I was able to see some familiar faces in the Instituto booth. (Ahh, OJT memories.)

- I soon chanced upon the Ramakrishna booth, where I was able to buy a Ramayana for Children book, and another Hindu book. They were quite cheap. Haha. I later located the Asia Pacific Publisher's Association stall that sold books from Brunei, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Vietnam (among others.) I was surprised that the books there were a bit pricey, or at least more expensive than they looked. I was able to buy a cute Korean book, and a Thai book that I hopefully will be able to read if I learn Thai as soon as possible. Hahahaha. I wanted to buy more books from that stall, but my wallet was crying, and the books themselves were not as reasonably-priced.

- My friend Tiffany soon texted me of her whereabouts, and was ready to go to the cosplay con above the book fair. On my way out, I stopped by at some stalls selling music books (Book Wagon, and Lyric piano I think,) and saw my friend Razel and her family.

- Before leaving the venue, I chanced upon David Pomeranz, who apparently was present because he was promoting his book. I wasn't able to take a picture with him, because he was seconds away from going up stage to perform a few songs, and yes, promote his book. I was star strucked when I saw him, mainly because of his well-formed nose. Haha. Sad that I wasn't able to take a photo with him, I left the book fair to go find Tiffany.

- As I was going up the escalator, I noticed the sudden shift of crowd. While the people in the book fair were dressed up as casual people, I soon realized that I began to saw more people with wigs and life-size weapons that hopefully aren't real. I was suddenly in the land of anime and sentai, and had a hard time looking for Tiffay, who was also dressed up. I later found her together with her little sister Katkat, friends Peppy and Karlo, and other friends of theirs who I don't know.

- Soon, someone poked me from behind. I turned around, and stared at the person for 5 seconds, errr, more like stared at the "corporate-ish costume" for 5 seconds, not recognizing which character, and stared at the hair, which I thought was a "realistic wig." I later realized that she was my elementary classmate and good friend Sherly, who works in SMX. I quickly apologized and hugged her because I was a bit scatter-brained, and also thought she was one of the cosplayers. Ah, the confusion that happens in cosplay cons. Hahahaha.

- Tiffany and company decided not to enter since the 150php ticket was not worth it. After all, many cosplayers were also lingering around the wide area outside the function hall, waiting for people to take photos with them. I also had fun taking photos of some of them, when Tiffa told me that she'll be changing into her street clothes, so we could go back to see the book fair.

- Back at the book fair, Tiffa and Peppy were stuck in National Bookstore, while I was able to see and sort of catch up with high school classmate Gwen. She told me that our friend Jennifer Hsu was also in the venue, selling artsy books at the back. I soon went to the restroom, and saw Jennifer selling books, and also served as an interpreter/translator to the Taiwanese owner of the store. I coincidentally saw my friend Christine (aka "Chewy,") who was looking at the artsy books Jennifer was selling.

- I was also able to see my friends Ryan and Ricsson in the venue, just as I was going back to find Tiffany and Peppy. I caught Peppy, Tiffany, and Katkat in the long cashier line, and soon left to find other books for Katkat. We passed by the Instituto stall again, and was able to meet former "co-worker" Joanne. In the middle of talking to her about stuff, Tiffany suddenly called me to come quickly, because David Pomeranz was allowing people to take pictures with him, or have copies of his book autographed. I quickly said goodbye to Joanne, and ran to the other booth to hopefully have a chance to have a photo with him.

- I was able to take a photo with him, thank Lord, and Katkat and ate Jaijai (Tiffany's helper) were able to take photos with David Pomeranz too. Well honestly, I'm not really a "fan" of David Pomeranz, but I liked some of his songs, like "I Learned it All from You" and "In Our Hands," my grade school graduation song.

- All of us later met up with Tiffany's mom, and waited for their car to arrive; I was going to hitch a ride with them home, but Peppy had to go ahead. All of us sans Peppy proceeded to the second floor, because the dining area was more spacious. Since I already ate a late snack at the book fair, I offered to reserve our seats while all of them bought food. Just then, Sailor Chibimoon arrived, and I had to ask Tiffany to take a picture of me with the Sailormoon character. Not long after, the Power Rangers' Ninjazord also appeared, and I almost fainted. It was my favorite Power Ranger zord/robot, and it was also the one that appeared in the Might Morphin' Power Rangers movie. Aside from that, it was also the robot I had most "drama" with; I used to want a deluxe model of that robot when I was young, but it was released late here in the Philippines. I used to cry because it was hard to find, and I was fortunate enough to have one, finally. Haha. I also liked the season of the Power Rangers where this robot appeared. Ah, my youth (where did it go??).

- Later on, we met Sandino and his youngest sister, Diandra. They're the siblings of my friend Danica, the one responsible for our carpool group during my Ateneo days. Hahahaha. Oh college, you're now a thing of my past. HAHA.

- Tiffany's mom later informed us that their car was already waiting for us, so we quickly went downstairs, and rode the car. Tiffany and her mom chatted me more during the car ride, especially since the traffic was quite heavy that night. I'm not really a fan of traffic, but at least I got to talk to Tiffany more.

- Today was supposed to be rest-and-schoolwork day, but gladly, I followed my gut to go to the book fair. I was able to see many people who I haven't seen in a while, in a few months, and in a few years. I might not have have a picture with David Archuleta when he came here, but at least David Pomeranz was able to fill that sport - ALTHOUGH I still wish I could've had a picture with David Archuleta a few months ago, heehee. Of course, I was also glad to have taken pictures with figments of my imagination and childhood, and of course, I was also happy to have bought some hard-to-find books in the book fair. Yay!!

The Early "Royal" Birthday: Purple is The Color of the Day

- September 17, 2011, Saturday.

- If I could get any word to describe today, that would be the color "purple." It wasn't enough that 3 out of 4 men in today's morning class was wearing purple, but many other purple things came up throughout the rest of the day. By the way, my professor made my morning when he commented that my wardrobe today was nice, and so are the other costumes I wear in class. I was wearing a purple reau praratchathan (the Thai national costume for men.) I also accessorized my praratchathan with a (fake) gold keychain-turned-necklace with a Thai mythological being as a pendant (I wore the same thing tonight.)

- Today's main event was my first ever "formal but early" birthday celebration, the first-but-informal one being the pizza I ordered for Lennie and Renee during last Wednesday's photoshoot. I invited my friends Nellie, Josephine, and Oi Hing. I was especially glad that Oi Hing was able to make it today, since she's usually drowned with schoolwork and the like, so I rarely meet up with her.

- I decided to celebrate at Cafe Mezzanine, since I always liked its cozy ambiance. Since it was owned by "Mr. Ube," Gerry Chua, the main color of the restaurant was, you guessed it, purple. Nellie was kind enough to give me a large Cadbury chocolate bar as a present, which of course, had purple packaging.

- Aside from my birthday, I also celebrated a late mid-autumn festival, so I had a little "giveaway" to my three friends. I prepared three origami lotuses, each with a Ferrero-Rocher chocolate inside. I didn't want to be to cliche and give out mooncakes, and since 4 different nations - Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean - I decided to give them something they can enjoy, and I thought that circular chocolate was a good alternative to the Korean rice sweets, or the Chinese mooncake.

- We ordered a few dishes, all were supposed to be "light" dishes, which also meant finishing the dishes quickly too. I ordered two extra "appetizers" so we could extend out stay (and our talk) in Cafe Mezzanine. Oh year, during the early part of our dinner, we were able to meet my friend Shirby (and her mom.) I've been looking for Shirby during the last few times I passed by their store. Usually, I only see her mom in the store. Haha.

- At around 7:30, we all went to the nearby President - the big one which used to be an opera theater - so we could have our "traditional Chinoy" mango-sago dessert. I realized that I was getting old, because I forgot to bring Hing and Nellie's gift with me, and luckily one of the waitresses there caught me in time. Sigh.

- We were welcomed at President by a large crowd of people, and a lot of busy staff. Since there were too many people in the restaurant, we had to wait for around 10 minutes to be seated, which meant longer talking time.

- Just as we were seated not long after the wait, we all saw another common friend - Trisha. We all had a short talk before the 4 of us got to settle down and have our big big big big bowl of mango-sago. Just when I thought purple was nowhere in sight, as President's theme was pinkish-red, the woman who brought the bill had a PURPLE pen for me to sign the charge slips. Haha. I liked her pen because it had a nice purple color, and it was easy to write with.

- We all went home around 9pm, with Josephine hitching a ride with Nellie, and me with Oi Hing. It was my first time to hear Oi Hing speak in straight Cantonese, with her dad, and I was amused. Haha. After many many years, there's a first for everything, even with the people you know well. :)) :)) :)) :))

- I've had enough purple for one day, but not enough friendship for one evening. :)) :)) :)) :)) Until then. :D:D:D:D

The "Bonggels" Photoshoot: A Sweaty Day

- September 14, 2011, Wednesday.

- Today was once again a Wednesday, which meant the last day to bum before having yucky Thursday night classes once more (the class is only yucky because of the schedule.) I was supposed to go out with a friend today, though my friend had a sudden thesis consultation in the afternoon, which left me with no one to go out with. I soon found out that my friends Lennie and Renee would be having a photoshoot at Renee's house for their soon-to-open online clothing store. I asked if I could tag along, and luckily they told me I could come.

- I arrived at Renee's house after a long walk, holding 8 rolls of white cartonlina on one hand (Renee asked me to buy them,) and a large 7-Eleven Slurpee and donuts on another hand. I was perspiring a lot, and didn't hesitate to site down on the floor.

- I caught Renee and Lennie during the photoshoot. Lennie was the model, while Renee was working the camera. I was Renee's assistant, and was tasked to help Lennie with her poses after Renee told Lennie certain poses that she wanted. In the end, I just sat down and used Renee's laptop to check my Facebook, while upbeat music was playing (to energize Lennie's model-ish mood. Haha.)

- We finished the shoot around 4, and went back to Renee's room to chill and rest our tired bodies. I offered to have some pizza delivered, and played a game of Taboo while waiting. Taboo is a guessing game in which a person selects a card from a deck, all cards containing words. Each card contains one word to be guessed by the team members, and the player should blurt out words associated with the "mystery word." However, there are also 5 additional "forbidden" words written below the mystery word, all of which closely connected to the mystery word, and cannot be used by the player when giving out clues.

- The pizza soon arrived, and we quickly kept the Taboo cards, and ate. We also talked about random stuff while eating, and ended the day at around 6-ish in the evening.

- I hurried home, since I wanted to take a bath so badly, but I had a quick stop at McDonald's after seeing some friends there. At least McDonald's has air conditioning. Haha. I stayed there to have a short chat, and left for home once more. Right now, I have taken my bath, and I feel so clean and unsweaty. Yay for a fun day. :D:D:D:D

When Archi Majors Steal My Camera: Chinatown and Escolta with Genevieve

- September 13, 2011, Tuesday.

- Like always, I wanted to have another chill afternoon, especially since I finished my school work yesterday. Today, I was lucky enough to have asked Genevieve earlier, so at least we'd be able to do more things before she goes to her 6pm class. Well, Genevieve was also the only one available today, and I thought of not asking her since I knew she had a class today. Since Genevieve agreed to have a chill afternoon with me in Chinatown, we hurriedly prepared, and met each other around 2:30 at our houses' midpoint.

- We walked to Chinatown and bought Genevieve's mooncakes. We Chinese celebrated the mooncake festival yesterday, so mooncakes are still quite in season. After buying the mooncakes, Genevieve told me that she was craving for dimsum, so we headed for Golden Fortune, instead of my original Yellow Cab/ Starbucks plan. Since my love for dimsum will never cease, I went with Genevieve's idea. After all, Golden Fortune was near the place where Genevieve bought her mooncakes.

- I felt strange being in Golden Fortune this afternoon. The tables were all decorated with red and pink tablecloths, and it had an unusual "zen" aura too. Tables in Golden Fortune weren't usually decorated, especially during the quiet afternoons. I liked how the restaurant looked though. It looked more inviting. Haha. Genevieve and I had some usual dimsum, when Genevieve suddenly had the crazy idea of going to Escolta to take some pictures for some school work. Since we had the whole afternoon, I agreed.

- We left Golden Fortune around 4pm, and walked all the way to Escolta to take fancy pictures. Genevieve seemed to be too excited to hold my camera, that I had to watch her back every minute, making sure that she won't be run over by a speeding car - or worse, a speeding jeepney.

- Since Genevieve was majoring in architecture, she wanted and needed to take the perfect shots of the structures in Escolta. She had fun tinkering around with my camera, which I let her have the freedom to do so, only to make sure that she restore the settings back to the original after we're done with the walking tour.

- I had loads of fun strolling along Escolta. I also had the chance to finally visit the Escolta museum located inside Calvo building (the one with the Mercury Drugstore.) The building itself was historical, and what I would consider the "biggest exhibit" of the museum.

- The museum was remarkable, despite being "one small room" - entrance fee is 50php by the way. The colorful bottle collections were separated depending on their use (ink bottles, soda bottles, medicine/pharmaceutical bottles, etc.) The wide display of old photos and old receipts also gave visitors more images of what Escolta used to be during its days as the trade and shopping capital of Manila. The building itself, now an office-and-clinic building, also has one of the oldest functioning (the oldest is in another building in Escolta) elevators in Manila. The kind elevator guy invited Genevieve and me to ride the elevator, so we'd experience the "thrill" of riding in an old elevator. It wasn't anything special (it's just like a regular elevator,) but it was still awesome to ride in one of the oldest elevators in town. Haha.

- After visiting the museum, Genevieve and I continued to walk until the St. Cruz border of Escolta. We went in some of the buildings, and Genevieve asked the guards some things about the buildings they are in, such as a bit about the building's history or structure. I was more than surprised and happy to find out that the guards or some of the staff know many things about the buildings' history, and even some trivia about the places they work for. I think it was awesome that the guards and staff members knew the "historical and cultural value" of the places they work in.

- Genevieve and I soon left Escolta, since it was a few minutes past 5, and Genevieve had to catch a jeepney to her school. Although I ended up tiring myself, instead of having the "chill" afternoon I longed for, I was very much satisfied with my cultural afternoon. Since Genevieve was majoring in architecture, she was also able to give me many input and trivia about the buildings in Escolta. I will have my chill afternoon soon, but it's always a "yay" for me when it comes to cultural and historical stuff. :D:D:D:D

Multicultural Photoshoot: 2 is Company, 3 is a Crowd, 4 is a Soiree, 5 is a Gathering, 6 is a PARETEIH!!

- September 10, 2011, Saturday.

- Due to the upcoming mid-autumn festival (Sept. 12, 2011,) I decided to have a photoshoot of myself wearing the costumes of cultures celebrating the said event (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese.) The photos that I took would be added with greetings, and would in turn become "greeting cards" to be uploaded on Monday. Since I'd have much effort converting the house into a photo studio, I also decided to include a picture of myself in an Indian sherwani for this October 26's diwali, or the festival of lights. I had this crazy idea since I was inspired by the "impromptu" online greeting card I made for this year's Chinese new year; I grabbed an existing photo of me wearing a Chinese polo (tang zhuang)

- I asked my neighbor Bless last night if she were available today. Since she was, and was willing to help me out, I decided to have a little early mid-autumn feast at my house. I initially invited Erlyn over, but she wasn't able to come at the last minute. This afternoon, after my morning Saturday classes, I headed to Chinatown to buy some of my props/ingredients for my photoshoot and feast. I tried as much as possible to stay close and be as authentic as possible to the different cultures and their traditions in celebrating the mid-autumn festival.

- At around 7pm, Bless came down from her house and caught me preparing tteokbeokgi, or spicy Korean rice cakes (a popular street food in Korea too.) It was my first time to make tteokbeokgi, and although it might have lacked a bit here and there, it was awesome for my first try. Haha. Good thing I mustered up the courage to make my own tteokbeokgi today. Haha. Usually though, Koreans serve sweet tteok, or sweet rice cakes (sort of like their version of "kakanin") during "chuseok," the holiday Koreans observe in line with the mid-autumn festival.

- Later on, I called up my other neighbor Charmaine to ask her to come to my house and bring a small container, so she could take home some tteokbeokgi. After coming to my humble abode, instead of taking home some tteok, she hung out with us and assisted in the photoshoot.

- Soon after, I realized that my other friends Margarette and Mary Grace invited me to dinner, and out of hospitality and excitement, I also invited them to come over to have a mid-autumn feast with me (and Bless and Charmaine.) Hahahaha. Mary Grace later arrived, and so did Margarette, together with her cousin Monica (first time to meet Monica.)

- Since I am not really an experienced "home 'party' organizer," I panicked a bit over the amount of food and the number of people at my house. I also didn't want them to think that I had them over just so they could help me with my photoshoot; Bless was the only person I contacted about the photoshoot (and she knows that. HAHA.) At least I'm glad they were able to make themselves at home while I was stressing about my photoshoot.

- I initially had photos with my hanbok, with the bowl of tteokbeokgi as my prop among others, and I allowed them to taste my tteok after the Korean shoot. I also tried to bust up the energy level by playing SHINee songs through my iPod and speakers, and unfortunately, after 5 or 6 songs, my iPod decided to hang!! Oh well. At least we still got to have tteokbeokgi. I also realized that it was Charmaine's first time to meet Mary Grace, after introducing them to each other online last 2009 during the rise and peak of my K-Pop fandom. Bless was also reacquainted with Grace, and soon, Margarette.

- Margarette came just as I was finishing my dinner, before the second shoot. I was already dressed up as a Japanese, in order to pose for my "tsukimi" (tsuki = moon, mi = watch[ing]) greeting card. I was a bit surprised to see Marga's cousin Monica, since Marga didn't tell me that she'd be bringing someone over, but it was great to meet a new friend.

- While Marga, Grace, and Monica were half-assisting, and waiting for me to finish my shoot, I allowed them to use my computer to go crazy over K-Pop videos. At the same time, I was already dressed up as a Chinese, my very own culture, for the mid-autumn festival/moonkcake festival (aka "zhong qiu jie.") Ironically, instead of wearing one of my Chinese attires, I opted to wear my Tibetan garment, very similar to the Chinese garment, since it had more detail, and provided a good contrast for my red-orange-violet background. By the way, all the cloths used as my backdrop were used as former costumes in theater and various performances. I'm glad I invested in those yards of cloths. Haha.

- For the llast in the mid-autumn series, I dressed up as a Vietnamese for my "tet trung thu" shoot. Since I did not have a male ao-dai, I just improvised, and use my bought-from-Korea blue tang zhuang set. Before wearing the tang zhuang, I used my handy-dandy white thawb to create the illusion of a "long-flowing" wear. The male ao-dai looks similar to the female ao-dai, both of which were derived from the Chinese cheong-sam or chang-zhuang ("long robe/garment.")

- After that, I quickly changed into my sherwani, complete with an authentic Indian pyjama, scarf, and even the pointy shoes, for my "diwali" photoshoot. After that, my friends and I played around a little bit, ultimately dressing Marga up as my "Indian wife" and later as my "Korean wife," before wrapping up the shoot.

- Grace, Monica, and I soon left for the nearby Wai Ying, while Bless and Charmaine chose to stay and cuddle up in my sofa. HAHA. I also asked them to help me pull down the backdrop and remove the tape from them. I'm thankful that they agreed to help. (I had the bigger and more tideous chore of folding my wardrobe. HAHA.) Bless and Charmaine left while we were at Wai Ying.

- At Wai Ying, I barely talked, and didn't eat. I just drank my milk-tea jelly almost silently, obviously very tired from the shoot. I enjoyed the shoot very much, and having quality time with Marga and Grace and Monica, just as I had my quality time with Bless and Charmaine before the others arrived. I was also pleased that our helper at home was alert and very helpful this evening.

- This evening, I served my homemade tteok, dumplings - although Chinese - represented the "tsukimi odango" or rice balls/dumplings (odango) served in Japan during tsukimi. In the shoot, the odango was represented by Chinese red-bean rolls (errrr, a sort of "sweet siopao.) They were round and white. I also wasn't able to serve mooncake - for China and Vietnam - but I used the mooncake given to me by my piano teacher as a prop during the shoot. However, I served raddish cake to my visitors; the raddish cake was given to me as a super duper early birthday present by my friend Clarisse. I also served the raspberry juice I bought earlier at the Korean grocery. Haha.

- Thank you everyone for making the shoot possible. I'll edit some of the photos with greetings, and I hope everyone will like them on Monday and diwali (roughly a month and a half from today). Hahahaha. Also, I was able to successfully restart my iPod and it's working normally again. It gave me quite a scare. HAHAHAHA. :D:D:D:D

Blockies' Historical And Cultural Afternoon: Not Too Late To Start College Fun (??)

- September 4, 2011, Sunday.

- This early afternoon, my former (college) blockmate Nina tweeted that she'd be going to the National Museum and Intramuros on her own. She wanted to explore the place since she was never able to visit them (Nina's isn't from Manila), and probably because she was a bit free today.

- I decided to accompany Nina after I realized that I had nothing better to do, and that I could show her around, since she'd be going alone. I asked Nina if it was OK for me to accompany her, and thankfully, she agreed.

- I was ready in less than 5 minutes, and rode the train to UN Avenue, and went to the National Museum to meet Nina. After several text messages and calls - and even a wrong entrance at the Dept. of Tourism - I realized that I was inside the WRONG national museum. I was waiting inside the new national museum, while Nina was at the old national museum which also happened to be the old Senate Building (the one beside the Manila City Hall.)

- I quickly ran to the old national museum, where Nina met me at the entrance, and started going through all the galleries. Since it was a Sunday, entrance fees to both national museums were free. Cameras were allowed inside, as long as they were the "usual" cameras (ie. digicam, cellphone camera,) but SLRs were still not allowed inside for some odd reason.

- Our "tour" started big and famous: the Spoliarium. Couldn't resist not taking photos, despite bad photos as far as I am concerned, but yay for blockie bonding. My college block wasn't really a close block; we were too diverse, but we were all friends, at least I think so. We never hung out like all the other blocks, and we were also the block with the most number of people who dropped out from Ateneo, disappeared from school, and shifted out of AB Communication (Nina being one of the people who shifted out.) It's OK, I still love my block anyway. Haha.

- It was fun to go around the galleries, and talking to Nina about Ateneo stuff and commenting on the artworks and exhibits. I was also pleasantly surprised to know that the old museum was modernized a bit with better lighting, more organized exhibits, and less clutter (and spider webs.) The last time I went to the old national museum, in summer of 2003, most parts of the museum seemed like filthy attics or basements, or museum warehouses. The depressing and dim lighting - or no lighting at all (some galleries relied on sunlight)- also let people see how filthy the rooms were. Since it was Nina's first time there, I told her how lucky she was to have seen the modernized museum.

- We also passed through the old senate hall that was currently being restored. We weren't supposed to go inside, but we still did. We took photos and marveled at the white statues on the walls near the ceiling that seemed like the pantheon of Greek/Roman gods.

- We finished all the galleries and decided to pass by the new national museum just around the corner. Because the exhibits in the new national museum were more interactive and cultural, with more exhibits focusing on the anthropological history of the Philippine society and culture, the exhibits seemed to be more colorful. I showed Nina the Laguna Copper Plate that I first saw in the same museum in 2009 (I was with high school friends when I first visited the new national museumm,) and told her why it was special to me to see the seeming missing link to the pre-colonial and Hindu-Buddhist-influenced culture of the Philippines.

- We finished the second museum at almost 5pm, and crossed the road to visit the historical walled city of Manila. I was excited to take Nina there because we'd both get to immerse ourselves in what once were lectures from our history teachers and professors. I also brought my trusy map, which made me look like Dora. Yay for Dora-ness!! Haha.

- We first had a short stopover at 7-Eleven, and visited the San Agustin Church and the Manila Cathedral on the way to Fort Santiago. Small raindrops started to fall just as we were near the entrance of Fort Santiago, and realized that we had around 20 minutes to see the Fort before it closed. I quickly took Nina to see the Rizal Shrine, which also led to the dungeons and the open area beside the Pasig River.

- After taking some pictures, we both decided to head home, since the rain could get worse, and because the sun set already. Nina took a jeep back to Taft, while I took the risky and tiring decision to walk home.

- The walk home was another adventure of its own. After asking some guards where the post office was located, just to make sure I was going the right way, I passed through some quiet streets and spooky historical buildings. I tried to walk faster than my usual fast-walk, and found Jones Bridge. I passed through the familiar and home-like Chinatown, and arrived home looking like a roasted pig. Haha. Exercise much?? HAHA.

Nihongo No Sekai: Manila Nihongo Center's Open House with Tiffa and Friends

- September 3, 2011, Saturday.

- My friend Tiffany sent me an online memo a week or two ago that Manila's Nihongo Center (The Philippine Institute of Japanese Language and Culture Foundation, Inc.) would be having an open house today, from 9:30 until around 5pm.

- I was initially hesitant to go, due to possible schedule conflicts, and because my neighbor won't be joining Tiffa and me. After today's class however, the morning rain stopped completely, and since I finished the necessary schoolwork to be done, I decided to drop by at the Nihongo Center. The Nihongo Center (Manila branch) is located directly across the FEU gymnasium in Morayta.

- I arrived at the Nihongo Center around 12:45pm, sweating like crazy, and waited for Tiffa and her friends Peppy and Karlo to come back from lunch. While waiting for the three of them, I went around the venue and familiarized myself with the activities schedule for the day.

- Tiffa arrived with the other two around ten to 1pm, and decided to attend the free Nihongo demo class. While waiting for the previous demo class to finish, I was very hungry, and was searching for food. Unfortunately, the only food stall available in the venue was a takoyaki stall. I have tasted takoyaki before, and I know it tastes good, but I have this thing against eating anything octopus; I treat octopuses as my friends so I don't really like eating them. However, as it was my only choice, I bought an order of 4 BIG balls for 50php, and ate them while sitting on one of the sofas. Later on, a lady ushered us to the "eiga" (movie) room, where we were asked to watch a movie/cool ourselves with the air conditioning system while waiting for the next Nihongo class to begin.

- At around 1:10pm, people who wanted to join the Nihongo class were asked to enter a classroom, and wait for the teacher to arrive. Our teacher later set up the powerpoint presentation, and welcomed us with a big and warm "Konnichiwa!!" Our teacher was a Filipina who was fluent in Japanese.

- The 45 minutes of Nihongo was spent on learning basic greetings, numbers, and self-introduction. There were times when the teacher had to call us one by one to introduce ourselves in Japanese, or read a certain number written by the teacher on the board, but there was this girl who refused to participate in the exercises. No one knew why, but at least no one "forced" her to participate. Anyway, I did learn some new phrases that I wasn't able to encounter during my basic Japanese class in Ateneo. (God I miss Ateneo.)

- The class ended quickly, and we were dismissed with a sincere "Arigatou!!" Karlo needed to head home, so he went ahead, while Tiffa, Peppy and I stayed to see some of the other activities I missed during the morning. I wasn't able to catch most of them, like the kimono-wearing or the origami classes, but I was able to witness (but not participate) the tea-ceremony and the calligraphy classes.

- Since most of the booths were closing, we had no other choice but to watch the contests and performances at the small auditorium. Before the main event started, I snuck out to the second floor again to but two more orders of takoyaki (yes, I was still hungry, and the more octopus balls I ate, the more "guilty" I felt.)

- The first of the series of events was the cosplay contest. For a Japanese event, I was surprised that there were only three contestants who participated. Guess what, my "idol" Sailor Moon was there too!! After the really short cosplay contest, there was a speech contest, where surprisingly, I was able to understand some parts of the speeches of some of the participants.

- The last of the series that I was able to catch was the karaoke contest. Sadly, I left after the second contestant (who by the way sung really well....but my ear drums suffered because the speaker was directly above where I was seated.) From what I know, some demonstrations like sumo wrestling were in line also, but I'll just let Tiffa tell me what happened after I left. Haha.

- Yes, I may have missed a lot of the fun cultural activites, especially the kimono -wearing, the tea ceremony, the calligraphy, and the origami class, but at least I was able to join the demo class; it was my priority among the activities. I was able to see Tiffa again after our Little Indian adventure shortly after my India-Nepal-Thailand trip, which of course made my day too, not to mention seeing other friends like Peppy and Karlo. Too bad my neighbor Charmaine wasn't able to come today, but I suppose we'll have another cultural adventure soon, when schedule and school work permit. Hahahaha.

Hopefully Not My Final Destination: Chill Afternoon On the First of September

- September 1, 2011, Thursday.

- Hurray again for another free cut, and I was able to go out and be one with civilization once again. It also happened that it was my friend Margarette's term break, so I was able to meet her up this afternoon. We never really had any concrete plan of what to do today, and the decision to go to Robinson's Place was a top-of-the-mind suggestion.

- I met Marga at the LRT station around 11:40 in the morning, and went to Robinson's to buy movie tickets for Final Destination 5. Having an hour to spare before the movie, we both decided to have lunch. Where to have lunch was another problem; we went around Robinson's for half an hour, before landing in Pancake House to have lunch.

- Although we had less than thirty minutes to have lunch, we were still able to chat and slowly digest our food before the movie. The service was also fast, so we ended our lunch, and arrived at the theater just when the opening credits started rolling.

- The fifth installment of the Final Destination film series was just like any other. The main plot/theme was the same, which was the selling point of the movie, but I wished the movie could have been bloodier. (People don't really expect me to say this, but again, I like my Final Destination movies bloodier. Haha.) The third Final Destination will always be my favorite. (To those who're familiar with the film series, it's the one with the roller coaster.)

- After the movie, Marga and I had a lot of time to spare. We had around an hour and a half to dawdle around the mall before Marga needed to meet another friend at the LRT station for church. Marga and I went around the mall again, only to end up eating at Chocolate Spoon/ Icebergs at the Midtown Wing of Robinson's Place. We talked some more, having lighter, happier topics, before we left the restaurant, checked some stuff Marga wanted to look at, and went to the LRT station.

- It was fun to spend time with Marga this afternoon, even if we could've wanted more time to talk and chill, but it was still relaxing, not to mention tummy-filling. I did not regret watching Final Destination 5, although all that blood and gore were ironies of what I call a "lazy and chill" session with a friend. Because I had fun on the first of September, I hope more adventures will be in store for me in the "-ber" months.