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

- November 26, 2011, Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- November 20, 2011, Sunday.

I. Reminders and Preparations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



II. The Bazaar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



III. The World Trade Center

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

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

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



IV. The Climax

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

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

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

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

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



V. The Dinner

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

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

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

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

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

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

- November 19, 2011, Saturday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- November 12, 2011, Saturday.

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


I. The Pre-Wedding

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

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

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

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


II. The Ceremony

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

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

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

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

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

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


III. The Reception

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

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

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

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

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

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


IV. The Post-Reception Reunion

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

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

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

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


V. The Post-Post Reception Hangout

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

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

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

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

The Foodie Chinatown Walk: Hot Under the Sun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Korean Act - Back in a Hanbok: Revisiting Koreatown

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gift Hunt: Wedding Edition 2011

- November 6, 2011, Sunday.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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