Earl had gone to Singapore for the previous weekend to watch the theater performance of The Lion King. I wanted to go too, but I wasn't able to fix my passport and other stuff. It's okay though, there's always future opportunities!
So since we weren't able to have a Caffeinated Saturday, we decided to have a Caffeinated Monday instead. You just have to love our jobs that allowed us to vacation whenever we wanted! So we had dinner at Shakey's, Earl was telling us about his Singapore trip and I was happily wolfing down the mojos!
After dinner, we headed down to Frutti Froyo for some dessert! When the yogurt was all gone, we still didn't want to go home. So we did what we do best: Roadtrip!
We headed to Tagaytay, guided by Earl's sarcastic and evil GPS. I swear that thing hates us. LOL
The trip there was pretty exciting with roads that had no streetlights, suddenly realizing that we were counter flowing, and us making up ghost stories. We went to Tagaytay because we wanted coffee. We ascended upon Starbucks Tagaytay until the place closed then we went to Green ATS, our other usual hang out place when we were there.
Their menu had the weirdest knack of serving up Coconut in different forms: as a viand and a drink. Still though, it was an awesome trip!
Much like the previous Hana Night, this entry comes the day after the event. Hana had wanted to meet up again and she wanted to take us to ChicBoy in Makati. She says that it's a lot better than the Alabang branch.
Again, we forget to take pictures. LOL
A little ways before 11pm we headed on to Edubox and we waited a little bit longer this time since Hana was the one to close off the office. My heart went out to her. It was a Friday, so you'd think people would be dying to go out and party. However, what we saw were some of the employees just hanging out and smoking with their belongings still inside.
I've been to that kind of schedule and that kind of work, I understand the need to relax and unwind with friends. But couldn't they at least take their stuff with them so that the bosses could head home? Oh well, to each his own.
So after Hana closed off the office, we headed to Makati. While in the car, we downloaded any info or happenings that had occurred since the last time we hung out.
We got to ChicBoy and we met up with Richard there. Man of few words, that one. We kept picking on B since he had the urge to go to the loo but wasn't really willing to. Richard seemed nice but he really gave off an aloof sort of vibe. I suppose people just come with their own habits and personalities. Ü
The event of yesterday was originally the reason why B and I flew back to Manila: Edric & Aiza's Wedding!
It seems that the Merville boys were at the right age where they were, one by one, getting bitten by the matrimony bug. B was one of the groomsmen so I made sure that he was dressed accordingly. Our day had an early start since Edric wanted us to be present for the photoshoot. I already had this nagging feeling that B and I would be the first ones there again; true enough, we were.
We went up to the groom's room at the Mandarin Hotel and joked around like old times. Tito Eddy was kind enough to buy some Subway sandwiches for us. Edric seemed very composed and not at all worried or nervous. One by one, the Merville boys arrived. Soon, it seemed that we wouldn't all fit in the room. I was so happy to see the girls again. Too bad that Maleen couldn't be there, she had just given birth and was at the hospital. Martin, though, would be in attendance as he was the Best Man.
There were so many photographers and they were taking so many shots it was like being surrounded by bees. Instead of the familiar buzzing sound, it would be 'clickclickclickclickclickclick'. It was incessant.
Soon we were all headed to Santuario de San Antonio. I knew it sounded familiar! It was where my cousin Joseph got married. It was also where my grandaunt's wake and final services were held. The service was lovely overall despite the priest's Anti-RH ramble. Dude. Seriously? I was introduced to B's cousin Amanda. She seemed to be an affable young lady. She looked like she was pretty happy to meet me. So, yay!
After the wedding, it was time to PARTY! We all left the church to head to The Loft at Rockwell. The food was incredible! Apparently, Rosalie Valera did the catering. I have heard nothing but good things about her and her cooking. I'm sure the Merville people were happy. Nica and I took advantage of the photobooth! We stayed until the morning but did not follow to the after party. B and I were so tuckered out!
Congratulations, Edric and Aiza!! ♥
Technically, this post is for yesterday's happening. It happened so late in the day, though, which is why I had to make this entry for this morning.
In the weeks before heading to Manila, B and I may have let it slip to a few people who weren't in OST that we were coming back. One of such people was B's good friend Hana Lee. I met Hana around December 2008, she was my neighbor for a while when I rented my own apartment. She seemed very nice and I wanted to get to know her a bit better. Fortunately, fate (Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr) was kind enough to facilitate the getting-to-know-you process.
We had kept some contact even before flying to Davao. She was quite aware about Magsie and the other details. When she had heard that B and I were flying back, she was super excited to meet up and hangout.
Hana's job ended at 11 pm. So B and I headed on over to Edubox to pick her up and we all decided to hit up B's favorite Pares place. It was so much fun catching up on the details of the past year.
I admire how Hana knows what she wants and knows how to get it. That's something that not all females are capable of. That night was also pretty informative. Hana told us the version of the 2008 drama fest that she heard.
So I realized that the truth is like a song, there's always a remix. We were pretty shocked at the extent of the lies but we weren't exactly surprised. So that night, B did for the first time what he tried hard to avoid: tell the whole truth; the specific and exact events that he was subjected to.
I was surprised at how large Hana's eyes could get. She also let us in on certain information that left us laughing our butts off. Around 4 or so, we drove her home.
All in all it was a really good night. Plans have been made for a next hang out session!
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Oh, and if *you* happen to come across this entry, I only have one thing to say to you: If lying about everything is the only way you could gather allies and sympathizers, I pity you.
As we had agreed, B and I did not tell anyone that we were heading back to Manila. We wanted to surprise our friends by just dropping by our usual haunt. Turns out that we were the ones that were almost the ones that were surprised! When B and I got to ATC, Earl wasn't there. He was in Casimiro: jamming with his band. Kail and CJ were somewhere around town.
In my usual fashion, I was nearly out of load so B and I had to twaddle to the 2nd level of town to get my phone loaded up. We had tried contacting Earl to get a feel as to where Kail and CJ were exactly since we didn't want the two to realize that we were here. In the end, we had to tell Earl that we were indeed back (poor planning on my part, really.) He immediately called up the other two to pinpoint their exact location. Earl also said that he was heading to CJ's later.
So after being reunited with CJ and Kail at the steps a little ways from Coffee Bean, we made plans to head to CJ's house. I haven't been there since the OST Christmas Party of 2009, so I was pretty happy. Kail moved his Xbox 360 to CJ's so there was a night of gaming ahead.
Moral of the tale? Do make sure that the people you plan to surprise don't end up surprising you! Plans. Plans. Plans.
It was a rather hectic day! As the title suggests, B and I are heading to Manila for a summer full of fun and friends under the sun. B and I opted to go through Cebu Pacific since it was cheaper a lot of the time. I'm still not used to it. I'm a spoiled Philippine Airlines Business Class baby. So it was interesting to make use of other airlines.
The day started pretty early since Daddy wanted to have a lunch with his kids. He dropped by super early. He was supposed to show up around noon but he was already there around 8 am. Not that I'm complaining! It's just that I hadn't had the opportunity to sleep yet (yes, I don't sleep at night) so I took a quick snooze and woke up at 10 to get ready. At first I just thought that we'd head to Pancake House. I always loved their waffles. Still, it can't compare to Waffle House and their huge servings of peanut butter, cream, and syrup.
Daddy wondered why I picked Pancake House, so I said that I thought that was what everyone wanted. Turns out, everyone wanted meat. Big meat. So my dreams of waffles were crushed and we headed to Bigby's. I'm still happy though. I got to munch on their yummy salad and a big rack of ribs. YUM!
Lunch was relatively quiet though, in usual Hodreal fashion, conversation would only pick up when the end of the meal was over. We had tons of laughs aside from the bloated bellies.
As the sun had set, B and I made sure that everything that we needed was all packed and accounted for. Ni-chan and Mattie drove us to the airport. Whenever Mattie would say good-bye, I still feel the tug at my heartstrings. The process for check-in was still fluid. B and I were already seated on our favorite table at the cafe that we always went to whenever in the Davao Airport. I wanted to cry blood at the prices of the food that they were selling. Well, I was hungry and I forgot to have dinner so it was Ham and Cheese for me. I swear that sandwich should have been sprinkled with gold or something to compensate for what they were charging us with. Bleargh.
The flight was delayed for about 20 minutes. Lots of people complained but I was used to it. The last time we flied Cebu Pacific, it was delayed for a couple of hours. One thing I still can't get over is that they sell you food mid-flight. That is where PAL beats them hands down.
I don't remember much of the flight since I just snoozed away. When I woke up, it was time for landing already. B was super excited to see his mom. I was just happy to see the twinkling lights of Manila. ♥
I've always wanted them to meet since I was certain that Aunt Tish could share a lot of lessons with the still grasping about Donna. I was right. They clicked instantly. After dinner, Donna and I wanted Froyo but it was pretty late so she talked us into going to Imus, Cavite. She says she knows a place that serves great blueberry cheesecakes and mango crepes. I was so in!
I've never been to that place and it kinda scared me but I had tons of fun anyway. I totally love the mango crepe and the raspberry iced tea was divine! We dropped Donna off and we were already texting each other about the next trips we were gonna make! ♥
