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.)