Rest in peace, Clarence...

I received really terrible news yesterday morning.

Work friend Engel DM'd me via Twitter that our colleague Clarence was robbed and stabbed to death by by two guys in his own home Saturday night.

I was walking to Greenbelt when I read Engel's message.

After reading his message, I felt my knees wobble and my heartbeat go faster.

It can't be.

Clarence was one of the few people I know from Engel's department (their unit is the other team occupying the floor where my department is). He's always smiling. He's a very nice guy. He's funny.

Whenever we'd see each other along the hallway, we'd always say hi to each other and even stop for some small talk. There was a never moment that he didn't have a ready smile on his face.

So the news of his passing, and in such an inhumane way, was just really hard to believe.

You see something similar in tabloids every day, but this was too close to home.

And I'm sorry but I'm angry at how some of the tabloids wrote the news.

In particular, two tabloid articles had the following titles - "Bading kinatay ng 2 kelot" and "Bading na bisor inatado ng 2 boytoy"

Whattashet?!

And I'm sorry but after reading the different news articles, I can't help but wonder why none of Clarence's neighbors bothered to come to his aid or at the very least, call the police.

All the news articles mentioned that the neighbors were already hearing some noise and commotion coming from Clarence's unit, but no one came.

Dahil ayaw daw nilang makialam. Writing this now, I can't help but get angry.

It wasn't until a neighbor saw blood creeping out of Clarence's unit very early morning that the incident was reported.

I can't help but wonder if Clarence could've survived, if a neighbor bothered to come check on him.

The incident happened late Saturday night. Based on the news reports, Clarence was stabbed not with knives, but with ballpen, fork and ladle. The thought of him bleeding to death, feeling the pain, and maybe even conscious as the world around him turned dark, is just too much.

If there is anything positive about the whole situation, it's that Clarence was smart enough to hide his phone and that he was able to take pictures of the two guys he was with. Good job on that, Clarence.

That should already help the authorities.

Rest in peace, Clarence.

The news here.

THE Victor Platon's Comeback and Simulparty - MNL...

The night-out last Friday was epic!

After a stressful week for the usual suspects, we were all just looking forward to a really fantab Friday (more like Saturday) gimik night!

What made this particular weekend gimik much more awesome was the simulparty in Singapore. Hehe!

Yep, good friend Richie organized the Singapore nightout.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry,one of the happy things I did while I was in Singapore was introducing my becks friends from different groups to each other.

That way, the becks family in SG keeps on growing.

I was really ecstatic when I received a text from Richie regarding the Neil Road Educational Tour. Haha! I loved it! Leave it to Richie to come up with a creative invite. Haha!

The SG cast even had an additional invitee - Chris. Haha! I told Chris about the planned nightout. I gave his number to Richie. I gave Richie's number to him. And that was it.

SG represent - Richie, Mon, Cyp, Jon,Sarge, and Chris. Uhm, not sure why Ian didn't go.

And Manila represent - Me, I-van, Arthur, Edsel, Adrian, JC, Luis, Jofer, Cholo, and comeback queer Ms. Victor Platon. Haha!

It was an awesome night! We started with drinks at BluFrog and from there we moved to our happy happy joy joy place that is O Bar. Haha!

I loved it that Richie gave us a call around 2AM to tell us what was happening in Singapore! Super, super fun!

And I'm glad I brought Hanschen with me because I have pics and videos of the very memorable night! Too bad some photos and videos will never be available to the public. Haha!

As with previous night-outs, we ended the looong night with bfast at Banchetto!

All Friday nights should be like that one!

The next one would be like that again! That's because Cyp and Jon are coming over to Manila for the Chinese New Year!

We're going to paint the town pink! Haha!

THE Victor Platon's Comeback and Simulparty - MNL...

The night-out last Friday was epic!

After a stressful week for the usual suspects, we were all just looking forward to a really fantab Friday (more like Saturday) gimik night!

What made this particular weekend gimik much more awesome was the simulparty in Singapore. Hehe!

Yep, good friend Richie organized the Singapore nightout.

As I wrote in a previous blog entry,one of the happy things I did while I was in Singapore was introducing my becks friends from different groups to each other.

That way, the becks family in SG keeps on growing.

I was really ecstatic when I received a text from Richie regarding the Neil Road Educational Tour. Haha! I loved it! Leave it to Richie to come up with a creative invite. Haha!

The SG cast even had an additional invitee - Chris. Haha! I told Chris about the planned nightout. I gave his number to Richie. I gave Richie's number to him. And that was it.

SG represent - Richie, Mon, Cyp, Jon,Sarge, and Chris. Uhm, not sure why Ian didn't go.

And Manila represent - Me, I-van, Arthur, Edsel, Adrian, JC, Luis, Jofer, Cholo, and comeback queer Ms. Victor Platon. Haha!

It was an awesome night! We started with drinks at BluFrog and from there we moved to our happy happy joy joy place that is O Bar. Haha!

I loved it that Richie gave us a call around 2AM to tell us what was happening in Singapore! Super, super fun!

And I'm glad I brought Hanschen with me because I have pics and videos of the very memorable night! Too bad some photos and videos will never be available to the public. Haha!

As with previous night-outs, we ended the looong night with bfast at Banchetto!

All Friday nights should be like that one!

The next one would be like that again! That's because Cyp and Jon are coming over to Manila for the Chinese New Year!

We're going to paint the town pink! Haha!

Channeling Chanel...

Leave it to Pinoys to create something out of things that would usually be thrown away already.

I attended the kickoff event of the 25th anniversary of the Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines last week, and I saw these nice pieces on display at the entrance to the venue.

Uhm, these are made by beneficiaries of the Foundaiton I think.

It looks nice, right?

When you look at it closely, you'd see that the silver things are actually the tabs from soda cans.

I didn't get to read which community makes these items, but I was really impressed with the craftsmanship of the pieces.

The one beside the Coke bottle actually looks like a 2.55, right? Chain na lang ang kulang. Hehe!

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Galing talaga ng Pinoy!

LV's first Asian face – Godfrey Gao

Just because I'm lazy to write about something more personal. Hehe!

LV's Menswear ad campaign features Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor Godfrey Gao.

He's the first Asian face to land an ad campaign for the luxury brand.

Gao is seen on the print ad with the latest Damier Graphite "Elvis" bag from the Spring/Sumer 2011 collection.

Hmm, it's not difficult to see why LV and several others fashion brands (Chanel did a show in Shanghai) are putting an "Asian" feel to their marketing strategy.

China is obviously a market waiting to be conquered. Hehe!

Hmm, I wonder if we would begin seeing more Asian models on ad campaigns of major fashion houses soon.

On a side note, is it just me or does Filipino model Ram Sagad look a bit like Godfrey Gao? Hehe!

5K at the Greentenial Run...

Greentenial Run this morning.

Though this is just my first run for the year, I can already say that it is definitely one of the best runs for 2011 because of the company I was with.

My usual running friends from work were there - Moneigh (3K) with hubby Anthony (15K) and Engel (10K). Super, super, super good friend Tey was also there to show some love and support. She brought newphews Ken and Mich as well. The latter joined us in the 5K. Twitter friend Marl was there who did 15K. Last but definitely not the least, Nico who did his first 5K and his first organized run. Because he agreed to sign up for the 5K, I told him I would run with him.

Anyway, prior to the race, I slept at Tey's place so that we could go together to the Fort. We waited for Engel to arrive, and left Salcedo a couple of minutes before five. We met up with Nico and friends JV and Roan at the BHS parking lot.

The 5K group was scheduled to stary at 5:50. Uhm, I didn't get to check what time we actually started. Haha!

I was a bit worried that it was going to be a wet run. Saturday afternoon, it was raining. Ugh! I wasn't sure if we would see the sun today. The clouds have been nothing but dull and gray during late afternoons these past few days.

Thankfully, we were blessed with good weather during the run. It would've been awesome to feel the sun during the run, but I'm grateful already that there wasn't a drop of rain throughout the race.

It was still a good run, I have to say. I liked the race route. I thought it would be the usual 5K route which passes along IS, the British School and S&R. I didn't have the time to study the race route, so I was surprised when I saw that it took us to the Buendia flyover. Haha!

If I were to be asked what one of my favorite things about races is, it's when I get suddenly greeted by sunlight. Uhm, it's when I'm running along a particular segment of the race route without any view of the sun, and after making a turn, you suddenly feel the rays of the sun kissing your face. There's just something spiritual about it. Uhm, I won't explain further. Walang basagan ng trip. Basta iyon iyon. Haha!

Uhm, I think there was good attendance despite it not being one of the well-funded corporate runs. Hehe!

After Mich, Nico and I crossed the finish line, we looked for Tey, JV and Roan. As is customary, post-run photo ops were in order. I-vanchy, I couldn't help but remember all our crazy post-run photo ops last year. Haha! You have to run again.

Before parting ways, we all headed to MickeyD's at McKinley Hill for a well-deserved breakfast.

Good run, good run!

Up next, a half-marathon at Condura! Let's go!

Krazy Garlic night with the guys...

Last night, my running buddies and I were privileged to have dinner with the poster boy/model for CB - Sarge. Hehe!

The guy is also a running buddy.

Sorry, the CB posterboy/model is an inside joke. I was on my way to the gym one evening and when I passed through one of the underpasses along Ayala Ave., I had to stop when I saw the guy on the corporate ad for CB.

I thought, "Parang the guy looks familiar. Could it be Sarge? It can't be Sarge. It IS Sarge!"

I paused for a bit to read the corporate ad (impressive career accomplishments,Sarge!) before taking out my phone to get a photo of the corporate ad.

Sarge is based in Singapore for a couple of years now.

He's a really nice guy who loves to party and who knows how to give a good party. Haha! Last December, a whole bunch of running buddies flew to Singapore for the Standard Chartered Marathon. Sarge, who did the half-marathon, hosted an after-race/pre-gimik party at the Marina Bay Sands. O ha! San ka lulugar? Hehe!

Uhm, he's also one of the really, really lucky ones because he gets to come visit Manila every so often. Either because he has to meet clients here or because he got to buy cheap plane tickets.

Because of the frequency that he flies to Manila, I would tease him, "Ginagawa mong parang Cubao or Quiapo lang ang Pilipinas, ah!"

His present trip needed him to stay in the city for about a week so that gave him and us to meet up and have dinner.

Thanks to our Facebook group page, we were able to easily organize a dinner with Sarge.

Despite the heavy rain that suddenly poured last night, the dinner had a good number of attendees. Ponch and Josef were among the first to arrive. Our favorite gal pal Didi was there. Sarge was joined by Reg who came all the way from work in the south. JB showed up with the newest addition to the growing cast, Miguel. Hehe! Chase, despite not feeling well (hehe!), also joined the gang. Marl, unfortunately, had work. I dunno where Jamie and Ros were. The same goes for the other usual suspects.

We had dinner at Krazy Garlic in Greenbelt 5. Since we didn't have a reservation, we had to wait for about an hour (!!!) before getting a table. Note to self: dining out on Friday nights need a reservation. Hehe! I came from an event coverage, and I had dinner there so I just had beer.

It was a good dinner. I don't see the guys that often, so I'm really happy whenever we get the chance to get together. We spent a good couple of hours at the restau just talking about all sorts of things. Hehe!

We finished quite late, but it was really good. And it became one of Sarge's hosted get-together again because he took care of the bill.

Thanks, Sarge! I owe you a tugs tugs night! ;P

First run for 2011...

Another running year has started. *crossing my fingers*

The Greentennial Run this Sunday signals the first of I dunno how many runs this year. Hehehe!

I'm looking forward to doing the run, especially since my last organized run was more than a month ago at the Standard Chartered Run in Singapore.

Have to admit, I miss the huge crowd of fitness enthusiasts, the energy even before the sun is up, the feeling of running on the road.

Uhm, I signed up for the 5K category. I was originally planning to do the 15K with Marlon and Matt. But after successfully convincing (forcing?!) friend Nico to do the run, I told him I'll join him in the 5K category. It's his first time to join an organized run, and I'm excited for him. Haha! Wouldn't it be amusing if Nico would cross the finish line way ahead of me (which I'm sure is going to happen... LOL!)

It's also going to be a nice run because friends from work and Twitter are going to be there - Work colleague Moneigh and hubby Anthony, JB, Marlon, Matt. My best friend Tey will also be there to show some much-needed support. Hehe.

I hope it'll be a good organized run. There were some issues with the registration, and I'm hoping that it's not a sign of how the actual run will be. Hehe! (I got the race kit and the medium-sized singlet is waaaay too small. Eeep!)

Just how excited am I for another year of running? I already signed up for the half-marathon at the Condura Run this February. It's expensive though. P1,150 reg fee for the HM. I only paid P900 for my SG run. Hehe! Oh well, I'm sure though that Condura will be a good experience. It has to be.

As early as now, I'm already planning to end the year with the SG run again. Maybe that can be a tradition. ;P

Here's to another year of fitness! :)

Playmates wanted... hehe...

I-van asked me to post the message below, and because I'm a good friend, I'm doing as requested. Haha!

=== Looking for badminton playmates--Makati area on Wednesday nights. And Mandaluyong/Makati areas on Sat/Sunday afternoons. Any takers? ===

So it seems like badminton will be added to the list of fitness activities this year (or at least for now). Tugs tugs/running buddy I-van invited to play badminton last week, and kaldakarin that I am, I said yes. Haha! (Talk about giving the term "drag queen" a new meaning.)

We had our first game last week at the badminton court near in PRC. Edsel and Nico didn't get to go because of work. Victor was still in Oz. There was still good attendance though because Arthur and Luis joined us. I think the workout and all the sweating came from all the laugh trip rather than the actual games. Hehehe!

Sunday was more serious though. I-van invited to play, and naturally, I said yes. Everyone else was busy. I don't know if the fact that it was a Sunday and that we set the game at 2PM had anything to do with the non-attendance. Hehe!

I invited Marl, Alonzo, Josh, Kit, Adrian, Nico but they all had engagements. Luckily, I-van found another player - Andre - from a "place" one would not really expect to get badminton players. Hehe!

There was still the issue of the fourth player. Hmm, I-vanchy and I decided to just go ahead with the game. We were confident that we would find a fourth player when we get to the badminton courts. Haha! Friendly becks naman kami, eh.

So from Pioneer, we went all the way back to QC to meet Andre. We fetched the guy along Timog before heading to the courts across ABS-CBN.

The gods were smiling at us, because Andre's friends were there. The issue of the fourth player was immediately solved. We met Sonny, Niño and another guy whose name now escapes me. It really is a small world because Niño remembers me from UP Diliman. He was doing his undergrad. I was doing graduate school. Haha!

Not to mention that there were a number of cute guys, and a number of becks as well. Haha!

So we got to play for about two hours. Would have played longer, but I had to go to Makati. Still, I'm thankful that I-van and I decided to go ahead with our badminton plans even if initially, there's just the two of us.

Lesson learned. Persistence.

If interested to join, let's come on.

Uhm, took out Kenny Rankin's song ages ago...

Uhm, just before 2010 ended, I went out with a guy who's about ten years my junior. Haha!

Before you start hurling stones at me while shouting "Cougar! Cradle snatcher!" or whatever, let me just say that I really had no expectations whatsoever from the couple of times that we went out.

It's not because of the huge age gap. The age difference wasn't really that big of an issue for me because my own folks have a 15-year age gap and yet they managed (and are still managing) to co-exist peacefully. Haha!

And I'm at that point (most of the time) where I just want to put myself out there to meet people. Never mind the age. (This isn't to say that I've thrown away my bucket list. It's still very much present in my mind.) I'm just opening myself to meeting new people.

Anyway, going back to the guy, he was very much what an ideal date is - nice, smart, driven, conversant with almost everything, and confident (Admit it! It takes a lot of daring for a 22-year-old to go out with a 28 year old, fine a 31-year-old. Haha!).

Everything was going well until I one time tried to discreetly hold his arm while we were seated side by side. He pulled away and when I looked at him, he just moved his head from left to right to indicate that it wasn't okay.

Uhm, I wasn't hurt by it. I respect the guy.

I teased him, "You're not out, huh?" He replied, "I am. I just not into the whole PDA thing."

That's cool, I thought. No problem with me. That's when I realized that I keep on forgetting that not everyone is as, uhm, comfortable or at ease as I am when it comes to the whole beki thing. I went through that phase. It was my friendship with my becks barkada, the work with Icon, getting to talk to the older badings and kyombers that made me less caring of what other people thought about "us."

I realized that I just don't think I can go back to that way of life where I have to walk on eggshells when it comes to showing affection towards someone I like. I'm not even talking about liplock here. I don't think I'm ready for that. I'm just talking about the usual my arm over his shoulder or vice-versa, maybe a brush of the hands or a quick tight hug just before we part ways.

So I guess, lesson learned. I guess this is one more criteria that's kind of important to me when it comes to people I go out with.

I've removed Kenny Rankin's Hiding Inside Myself from my iPod a looong time ago. No plans of putting it back on the playlist any time soon. Just saying.

Congrats, Len...

The card from Len, one of my good friends from college, made this week end on a high note.

Yesterday, her greeting card from Oz finally arrived but it was only this morning that I opened it. (I have to find the right moment for opening personal letters, greeting cards, presents, whatsoever. By "right moment," I mean no distractions whatsoever. I want to give the card or whatever it is my full attention when I open/read it. Yeah, I'm weird that way. Haha!)

Anyway, I read the really, really NICE surprise when I took the card out of the envelope.

On the cover was a beautiful baby girl that was being embraced by a humongous teddy bear. I thought, "Oh, how cute!"

When I opened the card and started reading, that's when I went "Oh my gad! Oh my gad! Oh my gad!" LOL! OA ba?! But really, in my head, I was going "Oh my gad!" more than three times.

The cute baby on the cover of the card is Len's. Reading the short but sweet message, I learned that Len did not only become a mom, she also became a wifey.

I was totally not expecting that kind of news, but I'm definitely happy for her.

Galing mo, Len, for keeping things under wraps for a loong time, ah. I didn't have the slightest clue even if we have constant communication via FB.

Congrats and super happy for you!!! And thanks for making me a Ninong. Awww!!!

Prayers for my friend Noreen Capili please...

In the blink of an eye, things can change.

I was in the middle of things at work this morning when I received an SMS from my former colleague Mel. It was a message I wasn't prepared for. It was the kind of message I wish no one would ever have to receive.

Her message read "Please pray for my friend Noreen Capili who is scheduled to undergo endovascular coiling due to aneurysm. (cont'd.)"

The last part of the message included some details on the surgery and a religious quote.

It took a while for the message to sink in and for me to fully realize how serious it was.

It was hard to believe that my friend who I just met over the weekend for dinner and good chika time was now fighting for her dear life at the intensive care unit of St. Luke's.

I visited her Twitter timeline and the last message was about wishing people a Happy 1.11.11. I went to her Facebook page, and it was already flooded with get well soon messages. I read some messages that said, "Wake up already, Noreen. We still have to do this or that."

Whoa, it's bad. It's really bad, I thought. For a moment, I just sat still and thought about how it happened, why it happened.

I got a text message again in the afternoon saying that Noreen was already conscious. I don't exactly know what that meant. But I'm just thankful that she's "back."

Bernice also texted me to get more info on what happened, but I had nothing to offer. She was also deeply concerned because she was with us during the happy Saturday get-together.

We agreed to visit Noreen this Saturday. Hopefully, things will be so much better by then. In the blink of an eye, things can change after all.

In the meantime, please kindly include my friend Noreen Capili in your prayers. Please pray for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

Only Girl Beki in the World Room...

Sorry, I just have to share this funny situation that happened to my friend.

After finishing his run over the weekend, he went to the men's washroom to change. He went into one of the cubicles, locked the door and started changing into a fresh set of clothes.

When all of a sudden...

He heard Rihanna's Only Girl in the World play out of nowhere. And it was quite loud, I suppose.

Bekis being bekis, my friend began judging the guy in his head. "Ano ba naman itong beki na ito? Beking beki ang ring tone (or whatever)."

My friend wanted to find out who the brave soul (haha!) was, so I guess he moved much quicker.

While he was reaching into his bag to arrange his stuff, he heard some noise coming from his bag.

He sought out what the noise/music was and as it turns out, the Rihanna song was coming from his own phone. Haha!

Lesson learned?

Friday Tugs Tugs and Sunday Tron Tron...

Friday night (technically, Saturday morning... haha!) was spent with the usual suspects at our usual happy place.

It was a reunion of sorts for the Spice Girls (lol!) because Arthur and Edsel are back in town. The only missing piece of the puzzle is Vic, who's still in Oz.

I invited Luis to join as well. When we bumped into each other at Greenbelt over the holidays, I promised him I would text him if there was a tugs tugs night. The last time I saw the guy was several years ago just before he left for NYC. Government was still very much happening back then. Hehe! So, it was really nice of him to make the out of town trip to Ortigas to join us.

My usual tugs tugs/running buddy from Twitter Marl also joined the gang. Uhm, he'd probably kill me for writing this but let's just say the gimik was something he needed. Hehe! Peace, Marl.

Uhm, I also bumped into Mike. It was good seeing him at our happy place. Mike is someone I met back when I attended a semester at UP SOLAIR. He was a classmate in a subject (or two) and he was one of the smart guys in the class. We crossed paths again during Jaybeecc's party last December, and if he hadn't introduced himself to me, I wouldn't remember. Haha! Jeez! Alzheimer's setting in this early? Haha!

And since I brought up introductions (haha! what a segue!), I met a guy who reads this blog. It was already past 4 in the morning. I've had three (or maybe four) glasses of my favorite poison so I was much more friendly. Haha! Friendly naman po talaga ako. I was watching the dancing crowd. I give a polite smile at a guy nearby. He smiles back and goes, "You're Angelo, right?" And I say, "Yes." The nice guy introduces himself, "I'm Andrew. I read your blog."

That was a good surprise. Uhm, I blog just because I need an outlet from the usual writing that I do. I blog to remember the good (and sometimes, the not-so-good) things that happened recently. It's really more of a random journal. I've met a couple of people through my blog, and I have to say it's nice when you meet fellow bloggers.

Meanwhile, Sunday afternoon was spent with Marl, Chase and Curt (or is it Kurt?). Marl and I didn't get to see Chase before he left for his Christmas holiday, so we agreed to meet up when he got back.

Our agenda was to watch Tron at the SM MOA iMax. I'm an iMax virgin, so I was really excited to find out what the whole fuss about iMax is. Hehe! It was quite an experience. And I found Tron to be a treat for the eyes as well. I've been hearing not-so-good reviews about the movie, but I have to say I enjoyed it. I didn't do much processing on the story. I was more in awe with the visuals and finding out whether the girl who played Gem in the movie was hot model Jessica Stam (she wasn't. It was Beau Garrett).

After the movie, we had late lunch/early dinner at A Veneto. OVer pizza and pasta, the guys thought of catching another movie. I wasn't really up for Little Fokkers or Gulliver's Travels, but I was interested in The Tourist. Angelina fan, sorry.

We decided to get out of MOA, and headed to Greenbelt to catch the 6:55 screening. Surprise, surprise, all seats taken. Whoa! I think the non-MMFF watching crowd was just so happy that the other movies are back so they wasted no time in catching whatever was playing that night. Haha!

The four of us left the cinema and headed to Gelatissimo for some fantab gelato. I got the chocolate truffle, which was just sooo goood! If it weren't so expensive, I would have gotten a second serving. Haha!

While enjoying our sweet treat, I saw Eugene aimlessly walking. Marl and I waved at him, but his mind was elsewhere. Haha! Good thing Marlon had his number. A few minutes later, there were five of us. Eugene was luckier. He was able to get a seat for two movies. He was studying the entire day, and he decided to reward himself with a movie treat. Nice.

The five of us parted ways a little before 9PM. Marl and I shared a cab home. Thankfully, there was no traffic. I got home before 11, and I still had a few minutes to finish two chapters of the Michael Thomas Ford I was reading.

Happy weekend it was! :)

Get-together with the -exes...

Saturday afternoon was spent with some of my -exes. Yeah, three pretty and smart girls. Could I get any luckier?! Haha!

Carol, Noreen and Bernice - my ex-work colleagues from Magsaysay.

During Bernice's last trip to Pinas, we planned to meet up with Carol and Noreen but that didn't push through. Carol had another engagement, while Noreen was busy finishing her script for one of the many shows she was doing last year.

The last time I saw Carol was back in 2006, when she resigned from Magsaysay. (Or was it during her super wedding?) Noreen, on the other hand, I used to see more often. We would go to Sunday Mass at the Greenbelt chapel. But then she got busy with work, I got busy with work and we spent less and less time together. But thanks to Twitter and Facebook, I'm somewhat updated with how the girls are doing.

While having lunch with Bernice last week, I tweeted about our get-together. Noreen saw the tweet and she "reminded" me that we should have our get-together.

We all agreed to meet up yesterday at Trinoma. But since Carol had another commitment (again) and Noreen had to finish writing a script (again) (haha!), Bernice and I decided to just meet Carol for late merienda and Noreen for dinner.

Our group date began and ended at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, the only area in Trinoma that I like. No offense to Trinoma fans. Hehehe! Bernice and I were already enjoying our usual drinks while waiting for Carol to arrive. When she came, the next few hours were spent catching up.

Carol had to leave around 7. Bernice and I left CBTL and went to Oki Oki, a Japanese restaurant where we were welcomed by a very tired food server. Hehe! She must have been standing the entire day. We got a table and waited for Noreen to arrive. We had almost decided on what to order when Noreen arrived. The next few hours were spent catching up.

After dindin, the three of us headed back to CBTL to do more catching up. Thanks for the free Wifi and thanks to Stefan, we were able to check out some Facebook photos, which added more color to the get-together. *wink wink* Haha!

It was an extra nice get-together, I have to say. I've missed them a lot. Although I have to say hindi pa complete ang group na iyan ng -exes. Wala pa the other Magsaysay girls I love. Hehe!

Get-together with the "balikbayans..."

One nice thing about the holiday is people come back home to the Philippines.

It's always something I look forward to. This year, friends from Singapore, Amsterdam and LA came home.

First is Jeaners, my friend from Pahinungod. She's been living in Singapore for a couple of years now. She was in town for the wedding of her sister Gina. I met up with Jeaners when I was in Singapore early December though it was a very quick get-together due to the hectic schedule. I didn't get to see her here because my friend from LA Jimmy arrived on the same day that the get-together with Jeaners was scheduled. It's okay though because I'm going to see Jeaners again very soon.

Jimmy is a guy I met during the days when Icon, the now defunct LGBT magazine which was a little project among our barkada, was still around. We featured writer Noel Alumit in the magazine and Jimmy was a colleague of Noel back then. I can't remember how it happened, but when Jimmy came home to Manila two (or three??) years ago, we met up and that was the start of our friendship.

I've sort of made myself his unofficial tour guide when he's here in Manila. Haha! This year, we went to the Ayala Museum, then Rockwell for Team Manila and dinner at Pepper Lunch, followed by dessert at the Ice Cream Bar. He was in the country for almost two weeks but he had the busiest schedule (which included a trip to HK, Macau and holidays in the province). The only other time I got to see him was the day he was flying back to LA. It's always a joy to see this guy because he's very funny and I love it that we get to exchange stories on how the LGBT life is here and in LA.

Orcom blockmate/friend from UP Manila Trish was also in Manila just before Christmas. I can't remember the last time we saw each other, but I'm sure it was ages agooo! So when she said that she was going to be in Manila and that we could only see her on a particular date because of her hectic sched, the usual suspects - Tey, Ella, Gino, me, Jonrox and Elapie - had to go. One night only ang drama namin. Hehe! Well, Jonrox fell asleep and didn't make it. Ergo, no Elapie as well. Huhu. But anyway, it was really fantab seeing Trish. I'm glad that everything seems to be going really well for her in the US.

Also in town is Bernice, a friend from my Magsaysay days. I took over the position she left when she resigned from Magsaysay. We only met one time. That was when she brought me around to introduce me to people. That was all it took for us to be good friends. The highlight of our get-together this year is getting to attend a yoga class together… after years of planning it. Bernice was the one who introduced me to yoga. Last Sunday, that finally happened and it was just great.

Then, there’s Rejoy from Singapore. Rejoy used to work where I work now, and she is one of the very good friends I have in Singapore. Every get-together with her, whether here or in Singapore, is guaranteed pure fun and laughter.

Another Singapore-based friend Cyprus was also in town for the holidays. We didn’t get to meet up though because he had to fly straight home to Davao. He’ll be coming back though end of January and it’ll be twice the fun because our good friend Jonjon is coming with him.

So, the holiday that passed was really an awesome one. In addition to the get-together with friends from abroad, there is also of course the numerous dinners, spontaneous lunch out, several coffee get-togethers with friends based here in Manila - the Queermas party, the birthday of Zee, the Yakimix lunch with Twitter buddies, the Jungle Ball, dinner with my "brother" Carlo, the Izakaya lunch with the PA girls, among others.

It was indeed a happy holiday.