Tagaytay with friends old and new...

Friday and Saturday of the long weekend was spent at Tagaytay with friends old and new.

Earlier during the week, Tey, Engel and I agreed to head to Tagaytay for the long weekend. We decided to invite Xzenia, Jeff, and Errol to complete the cast of Will & Grace or Queer as Folk or Gimik (LOL!). Tey's nephew Ken joined us so it was cool having a little kid in tow. We were supposed to meet up with Winston in Tagaytay, but it turned out that he didn't go. Jonjon was supposed to go with us, but flaked at the last minute when we were waiting for him at Sta. Rosa.

Still, it turned out to be a fantab overnight out of town.

The original plan was to have dindin at Sonya's Garden. Engel hasn't been to the place and he wanted to try it out. I made reservations at the fantab dining place. Unfortunately, we didn't make it in time. Thanks to the heavy rain that poured on our way to Tagaytay, we reached the city around 8PM. Ugh!

The good thing about this though is that everyone agreed to just have dindin at Sanctuario. It was fantab because I got to visit and see good friend Sean. We haven't seen each other in ages, and I knew he had some juicy chismax for me. Haha!

After stuffing ourselves with Sanctuario food, we headed to the Cliffhouse for dessert and coffee at Cafe Breton.

From there, we headed to Sean's beautiful and cozy home which was a short drive from Cliffhouse. Hmm, it has changed since I was last there. It's still the same home, but it is different.

We hung out at Sean's home until 2 in the morning. It was an enjoyable time just having some drinks and good conversations.

The following morning, we were supposed to have breakfast at Sonya's but that didn't push through again because we all woke up late. Jeez! I'm going to get blacklisted already at Sonya's. Hehe!

Since it was already nearing 11AM, we just headed to Leslie's for a full brunch. It's good we got there early because the place wasn't that busy yet. We got to pick a nice table, which had a fantab view of the Taal Lake. Thank you Lord for clear skies.

After the Filipino brunch, we finally drove to Sonya's Garden where the girls brought bread and other stuff. Photo sessions were in order, definitely.

We then headed to Caleruega since Jeff and Engel have never been there. It was more photo sessions, and some "people" watching. Hehehe!

We headed back to Manila afterwards. I reached home before 8PM. Aguinaldo was slightly chaotic. Haha! I was dead tired by the time I reached my house.

Would've wanted to still go out, but I had to wake up early today. Planning to do some work. The coming week is going to be crazy.

At least, I got to spend two days outside of chaotic Manila. I couldn't be more thankful.

How was your weekend? :)

Long weekend getaway...

Some random photos to give you an idea of how the Friday and Saturday of my long weekend turned out.

Thank you, Hanschen, for producing these photos.

You never fail to amaze me.

On the road with the Magsaysay girls...

Even with only a few hours of sleep, I was still able to drag myself out of bed and get ready to meet with the Magsaysay girls.

The last time I saw some of them was at May's house when she invited me and Shy for dindin. I was still selling my iBook to May, too. One more reason why I had to go to her house. Man, that was ages ago.

So when May emailed that we're going on a road trip, I immediately penciled it in my calendar. It's always, always fun to see the girls.

We met up at Times Plaza. May was the first to arrive. Our meetup time was 7:30. Since I saw that I still have a couple of minutes to spare, I dropped by the 7-11 store to get me a tall cup of French Vanilla (my absolute fave) for some caffeine fix. Cathy arrived a couple of minutes later. Shy, on the other hand, was the last to arrive. Hehe! In fuhr, consistent siya. Hehehe! We will just meet Lenly (along with hubby and kid) in Tagaytay.

It was a rather pleasant drive. There was hardly any traffic, and there weren't that many peoeple in Tagaytay either. I dunno if it's because of the Taal Volcano alert. Initially, there was concern whether we should push through with the trip because of the alert. I just told the girls, "Di naman siguro iyan puputok while we're there. And even if pumutok siya, we'll already be in Sta. Rosa by the time the lava or whatever reaches Tagaytay." Hehe!

Our first stop was Lourdes Church for Sunday Mass. The new church has a very nice altar, I have to say. I have childhood memories of the place because the annual sacristans gathering used to be held at the Capuchin seminary next door.

Anyway, after sanctifying ourselves, we went to the Greek restaurant along the highway to satisfy our hunger. Hehe! Because I didn't have proper breakfast, I was really hungry . When we got to the restau, Lenly and her boys were already seated and waiting for us. We ordered gyros, cheese and olives, moussaka and the yogurt drink.

The good lunch was made even better by the company I was with. Lenly and Ginny talked about the upcoming migration to faraway Canada. Huhu! Their 2 yo old kid JM entertained us all with his cute antics. Cathy was being cougar over JM. Hehe! Peace, Katya. Shy and Mayo jumped in the conversations. I listened. I watched. I talked. I ate. Hehehe!

Since it was Father's Day, Ginny and Lenly had to leave early. They probably had plans with the little one. After bidding them goodbye, May, Cathy, Shy and I headed back to Manila.

We had two stops though. First was to get a photo of the Taal Volcano and Lake. The skies that day were sooo clear and gave a fantastic, fantastic view of the small volcano and the lake. It was just too perfect to skip. So we stopped by the highway and took some photos of the panoramic scene.

Our second stop was at Paseo de Sta. Rosa. The plan was to just go cool ourselves at Starbucks. We ended up wandering around the place and checking out all the outlet stores. Wahahaha!

As for the dessert and cold drinks, that became a full meal at Sugarhouse. Harhar! We were too hungry after all the walking, and the meal we had at Mano's Greek Taverna was rather light. Hehe!

It was a very nice Sunday get-together with the girls. We had a very interesting and long conversation after one of the girls broke some news. I've yet to fully feel the impact of the news. Hehe!

The drive back to Manila was also free from heavy traffic. Yey! We got back early evening, so that gave me enough time to do a little work.

Nice, nice weekend!

Unplanned dindin at Sonya's...

Tagaytay planning...

Big shoutout from Tagaytay.

Planning's going well. Day one was not as toxic as I thought it would be. Haha! The four teams of the group presented their accomplishment for the previous year and the targets and strategies for this 2010. This year is going to be quite challenging, especially because of the elections. But it's good because this will be quite a learning experience. Haha!

Uhm, anyway, we finished on time yesterday so that gave the group a chance to have some bonding time. We headed to the Cliffhouse and had late dessert at Cafe Breton and fray from Fling. Of course, being Public Affairs people, camwhoring was definitely part of the night's activities. Hehe! The restaurant or inn across Cafe Breton had beautiful interior - crisp, clean and white. The couch was gorgeous and it was just perfect for a photo op. Hehe!

After the sweet treat, we went back to the hotel and spent a good couple of hours hanging out and chatting with friends from abroad. Wifi connection was really good so I got to Skype with former colleague Rej (who's in Singapore), and another friend who's in Toronto. Gawd, I just love the Internet. We got to talk for a loooong time for free. Definitely good, huh!

Today, we started quite early. Schedule for this morning include recapping and alignment of programs. Later this afternoon will be the continuation of more quality time for the group. Hehe!

I'm tired and sleepy because I slept at 2AM(!!!), but I'm really glad with how things are going. And again, I'm thankful to be where I am right now. It's challenging, but it's really fun and every day is a learning experience.

Back in Manila tomorrow. Hope you all have a nice Friday.

Tagaytay weekend with Pahinungod gang...

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good.

Friday night was spent hanging out with the usual suspects from the office. We went to our own version of the “Ally McBeal” bar near the office. OT (for Odd Table) along Valero is the other “office” for us and several other colleagues from work. Haha!

What made this nightout quite special was the fact that Tey joined us already. It’s sort of her comeback and I couldn’t be more happier that she was somewhat ready to hang out again with her “boys.” Hahaha!

I was supposed to meet Winston and Errol after OT. That didn’t push through because I was a bit tired already, and they weren’t really up for Malate as well. The night ended pretty late though. I think I got home around 1 or 2AM.

Saturday afternoon. I found myself boarding a bus bound for Tagaytay. It was my first time to take a bus to Tagaytay, and the trip was quite good. I slept through most of it. Having worked for a volunteer organization for the first three years of my career life has made me a pro in sleeping almost anywhere. As soon as I found my seat, it didn’t take long for me to fall asleep. Hahaha!

I didn’t even notice whether the traffic was horrible considering that it was a long weekend. I left Manila around 3:30PM and I reached Tagaytay by 7PM.

It was the post-birthday celebration of Pahinungod friend Joi, and a bunch of us Pahinungods headed to her home in Tagaytay to party. It’s always nice to see friends from Pahinungod. They remind me of that thing which I really love, and hope to someday do again. Joi is also a really good friend who I always enjoying hanging out with. I remember when I went to Singapore last year, tambay time with her and another Pahinungod friend Jean was one of the best things that made the trip really memorable and enjoyable.

I was hoping to see my friend Sean who also lived in Tagaytay, but something was wrong with the network in Tagaytay. I kept calling both numbers but I couldn’t get through. Oh well. Sayang.

Anyway, we spent the entire night just talking and drinking and doing karaoke and drinking. Haha! The following morning, we took a short road trip to Sonya’s Garden for some photo op, then to Mushroom Burger for lunch. Afterwards, it was time to head back to Manila.

Surprisingly, the trip back was much faster. It took only about two hours. Quick, huh?

When I got home, I just hit the bed to get some proper sleep because I was planning to head out again that night. Wahaha!