Meet. Eat. Chitchat. Repeat.

Meet. Eat. Chitchat. Repeat.

The above is basically a good description of what I have been doing since I arrived in Manila on Thursday night.

I have not had a chance to see a lot of friends as I've been spending most of my time with my Mom. I have my work colleague/friend Alexie to thank for making me make a trip to Manila on December. I was blessed enough to be invited on what is probably one of the most important days in a woman's life - getting married.

If not for the wedding, I would have probably stayed in Singapore for Christmas and New Year for the nth time. Hehe!

25 December

What was supposed to be a surprise for my Mom ended up being a semi-surprise. My flight arrived on time. I breezed through immigration (thank God for no horrible queues!). What took so long were baggage claim and getting to Makati from the airport. I was in cahoots with my brother in trying to get to surprise my Mom. In the end, my brother had to tell her that I was in town as my Mom was starting to bug my brother as to why they were still at Greenbelt when it was already almost 9PM. Hehe!

When I finally arrived at Greenbelt, I gave both of them a hug. And as Filipinos, my next question was, "Have you guys eaten? Where do you want to eat?" We walked a bit to Greenbelt 5 and had a late dinner at Lorenzo's Way. I'm not sure if I've had a meal at this restau but I have to say the food is awesome! In particular, I loved the callos! I got all excited when I saw the callos on the menu. I suddenly remembered it's a favorite! Haha! It was definitely a good welcome back dinner and an even more awesome Christmas dinner. Unfortunately, my youngest brother Andre was not able to join us since he had work.

26 December

The day after Christmas was just as exciting as the 25th because of two things. First, I met up again with my best friend/sibling from another mom Tey and two of my very good friends/ex-colleagues Monet and Rhyz. Second, 26 December was the big day for Alexie and Jasper. The wedding was to be held at Tagaytay Highlands. Because of this, Tey, Monet, Rhyz and I decided to include a road trip to Tagaytay for lunch and dessert.

As expected, there was a jam heading to Tagaytay. It seemed like everyone had the bright idea of heading to Tagaytay for lunch and dessert. We initially planned to Antonio's Grill but decided to change our plans when we saw how bad the jam was. Monet suggested we go to Pamana instead. More Filipino food! Yay! I was definitely not going to complain. Similar to Lorenzo's Way, the meal at Pamana was just awesome. We ordered nilagang baka, seafood kare kare, Bicol express, crispy pata, and pancit bihon! It can't get more Filipino than that! Haha! Actually, it can but anyway, we were extremely happy with the dishes we ordered.

After a quick dessert at Starbucks, the girls then drove me to Tagaytay Highlands. On the way to Highlands, it drizzled for a bit. I thought there would be no sun as the clouds looked very ominous. To my extreme delight, it was very sunny over at Highlands. I was slightly late to the Mass but I arrived just in time before Alexie and Jasper said their vows and exchanged rings.

It was a very beautiful wedding. Almost everything was just perfect. If there was anything that didn't go as planned, I wouldn't know what it was. The chapel was beautiful. The priest was good. The reception venue was great. The food, awww, the food was fantastic. The wedding singers could have been contestants of The Voice Philippines (They were that awesome!). Above all, the couple looked very much in love. I am truly happy to have been invited to such a joyous occasion.

27 December

Today, the only plan was to meet up again with Tey. We agreed to bring out our Moms (#WidowsofManila) to lunch. At the same time, we thought of having lunch with one of our good friends from university, Ella and her hubby Gino, and their kids Soleil and Estelle. We had brunch at Early Bird Breakfast Club in Century (I forgot the name). The food was again yummy! I had chicken salpicao, while Tey had longganisa. Good friends and a great meal always results in a lively conversation and get-together. It is always a joy to see Ella and Gino and their kids. For some people, they got their friends-for-life friends in high school. Without a doubt, I got mine from university. I will always be grateful to have known these girls. Our friendship goes way back to 1996. Hahaha!

After lunch, Tey dropped off my Mom and I at Greenbelt. Mom and I spent some time just walking around and buying presents for her sister, Tita Didi. Tired from the walking, we went to Cafe Breton for some dessert. It's great that Breton is still around. The size of the crepes are not like what they used to be. I am happy though that the taste is still as good as during the days I went to Breton in Nakpil.

Mom and I then parted ways. She headed back while I went back to Tey's place, which is where I usually stay when I'm in town.

Today, I am at our home for lunch with Mom, my second brother as well as my youngest brother. I'm looking forward to the food...naturally. I am also looking forward to see my grand nieces - Arianne and Hannah. Lastly, I am also looking forward to having wifi all day!

It is so difficult to find wifi areas in Makati CBD. What is up with that?! Chris told me that he got a sim with data services for just P1K. It is good enough for 30 days. I was initially tempted to get one but decided not to do so anymore since I'll be flying back to my adopted home in a few days.

Seriously though, I've realised how dependent I've become on mobile Internet. I'm so crippled without it. Argh!

HB Boy and I have not been able to have our usual Whatsapp exchange. The few times that I managed to go online, I was happy to see messages from him asking how I was doing. He's still a gray area, that one. I like it that he's been checking up on me. I just dunno if he's doing it as a friend or as a person I'm dating. I really hope for clarity on our situation soon. Haha! If he's just interested to be friends, that's fine. Don't go showing extra care and attention to me as I will read those gestures the wrong way. Anyway...

The other thing to look forward to today is meeting up ex-colleagues Bernice and Shy and good friend/brother Carlo!

It'll be another day of... Meet. Eat. Chitchat. Repeat. Haha!