Nice Sunday...

Sunday was pretty much a repeat of what I've been doing since I arrived in Manila last Thursday.

First, I went back to the house in QC. It's the house where I grew up. It was where I stayed for the a little over 3 decades. It is home.

I decided to head to QC early since I thought of going to Mass with Mom. As expected, she was already up and about when I arrived at our home. My two brothers were both still in deep slumber. It's not surprising because it is a Sunday after all. Haha!

Mom and I went to Lourdes Church for the 8AM Mass. The church and the school hold a very special place in my heart as those places played a significant role in my growing up years. It was just nice to be back at my "old playground."

Following Mass, we went back home to prep for lunch. Well, the preps was done by my Mom and my second brother Raymond. I requested for Filipino food and they were more than happy to grant my request. Haha!

It was quite a feast - pansit Malabon, lumpiang ubod, barbecue, Andok's litsong manok, pancit bihon, inihaw na bangus, halayang ube. Yep, Filipino fiesta it is.

My cousin, some nephews and nieces also joined us for lunch resulting in a very happy meal!

In the afternoon, I met up with two ex-colleagues - Bernice and Shy. We decided to just meet up at Gateway since the said mall is somewhat nearest to us three. Haha!

I can't remember the last time I saw Shy. Haha! It was really great seeing her again and meeting her eldest son - Kyle! The boy is now 4 years old and he is such a cutie! He's sure to be a heartbreaker when he grows up. Haha! We spent a few hours just chatting and chatting with some dessert and drinks on the side.

In the evening, I met up with another very good friend - Carlo. We had dinner at Cafe Adriatico, where I had callos again! Haha! I dun think I've ever had callos in Singapore. That is why when I saw callos on the menu of Lorenzo's Way, I immediately ordered it.

Usually, dinner will be followed by coffee at Coffee Bean where we would stay for hours and just have an exchange of ideas on anything and everything. Last night though, I asked Carlo if we could go have a karaoke session instead. I was quite sure Carlo would be up for it. He's also the perfect person to be invited to a karaoke session as he is one gifted guy when it comes to singing.

So, from Gateway, we headed to nearby Timog to go to one of the karaoke bars. Carlo told me we had four choices. See, he's the perfect guy to go karaoke with. And for two hours, we just sang our hearts out. Wahahaha!

By 10, I bid Carlo buhbye and headed back home. I knew Mom would still be awake when I get back so that's some more time with her no matter how short.

Definitely a good Sunday!

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!

Happy Sunday night...

Just got back home a few minutes ago.

Sunday night was good. The rest of the day was so so.

As usual, I woke up early today. Undecided whether to go to the gym or do some Christmas shopping, I went to the 9AM Mass at St. Anthony's first. As Fr. Terence gave the final blessing, I decided that I would skip gym and just head to Ikea. Tey is a big fan of the hazelnut chocolates and I always make it a point to bring a few bars for her and Moneigh on the very rare occasions that I fly back to Manila.

I messaged HB Boy if he was free to accompany me to Ikea. His reply came around 1PM and I was already on my way back. Haha! As I expected, he was asleep the entire morning... and asleep again the whole afternoon. He has been indisposed the past week. His situation only started to improve last Friday. Good that he's recovering.

In the evening, I met up with PG Boy...yes, PG Boy, for dinner. He went to Portugal just recently and he wanted to meet up so he can give me a souvenir that he got from the trip. Awww... Haha! He got me a handpainted tile from Portugal. He still knows the things that I like. Haha!

We agreed to meet up at 7PM at Plaza Singapura. I must admit. Omw back from Ikea, I was feeling lazy to make the trip to the city. I wasn't tempted to craft some lame excuse to postpone the meeting. I was just lazy to make a trip. Period. Haha!

We had a quick but nice dinner at Papparich. We didn't talk much about each other's lives, except for work. We talked a lot about our friends. Hahahaha! What's up with his friends, what's up with my friends. Lol! I dunno if it was a conscious effort on both our parts. I didn't want to ask him whether he's dating anyone. I didn't want him to ask me whether I'm dating anyone. I'm ready to be friends and to hang out. I'm just not sure I'm ready to talk about that aspect of our lives just yet. Haha!

From Dhoby Ghaut, I passed by Yishun first to meet up with HB Boy. I messaged him to ask if I could pass by, to which he replied yes. Yesterday, he gave me his present. He made me guess what it is. I guessed correctly. He told me specifically what it was. I haven't opened the present yet even if I know what it is. Yeah, I have a high EQ like that. LOL! I told him I'll open the present on the 25th so that I have something to unwrap on Christmas day.

It was good though that I knew what his present for me is. That made it easier for me to get a present for him. My gift ideas were either a bag or wireless speakers. I knew he needed both. On a number of occasions, he told me that he needed a new bag and that he would like to get wireless speakers. On one of those nights that we were taking the train back home from gym, he mentioned that he already bought online the Tumi bag that he likes. That meant I should just get him the wireless speakers. I already have an idea what speakers to get him. I asked Tipz's speakers are. Bloody ex! Lol! I would buy it... maybe for a partner, not for someone I'm dating. Hahaha!

In the end, I got him the speakers same as Tipz's. I think it was meant to be given to him. I went to one shop and when I saw how much it cost, I decided to just go with my original choice. I went to another shop and I saw that the speakers were priced a lot, a lot lower than the first shop. Thank goodness for promotions! Hence, I decided to just get the UE Boom speakers.

It was a good decision. I put the box in a wine bottle gift bag. When HB Boy pulled out the box out of the bag, he thought it was wine or some alcoholic drink since I told him that's what I got him. Luckily, the packaging of the speakers does make it look like it's some alcoholic drink. When he realised what it is, he just turned speechless. Hahaha! I videoed his reaction and I wish I could post it... but cannot, cannot.

Seeing his reaction and how extremely happy he was with his present made the present really worth it. :)