A Monday-To-Tuesday Affair

“If there’s a grand entrance, then there’s a difficult exit…” - Cassey

I just came home after a tiring trip from Pampanga playing chaperone to my mom, so I’m just gonna blog about some things that kept me busy over the past two days; more of like a two-in-one post, actually.

Monday night was reserved for my gurl Cassey. As she had posted in her blog, we had a total 1000-peso worth of Portico GCs to spend which was due to expire the next day. So we agreed to meet up for dinner. Originally, it was supposed to have been lunch, but due to conflicts in her sched during the earlier part of the day, after-office was our only option. We had a Chicken Fusilli (Spiral pasta in pesto topped with bite-size chicken strips, with serving size good for sharing by two.), MixedGrill (Kebab, Portico-style, with beef tenderloin, chorizo, and pork tenderloin in a skewer, served with garlic sauce and veggie fried rice.), and Strawberry-Melon fruit shake duo (served in a mini-pitcher that’s good enough for two.). By the end of our meal, we were both so full, not just because of the good food, but also because of all the kwentuhan and catching up with whatever’s up in each others’ lives as well as those of friends (and not-so-friends).

We did a couple of rounds doing some window shopping along High Street after our meal. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s a weeknight, that’s why there were only a few people that time. Shucks, it made me miss the nightlife terribly! Most of all, I miss hanging out with my gurl while we go clubbing until the early break of dawn. *Sigh* Living in the far South does have its downside. Too bad Mike couldn’t join us; he’s on shift at work that night so he’s only available for meet-ups during lunch. Nevertheless, we still have GCs to spend so it’s gonna be pretty soon, I’m sure.

Come Tuesday, I was supposed to go with mom in Pampanga while she takes care of some stuff there. We planned to travel at night, hitching a ride with some other relatives who are going as well. And since we didn’t want to waste the earlier part of the day, we decided to spend some time at the movies at SM Mall of Asia. We watched Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! since she haven’t seen both movies yet. I, on the other hand, have seen both movies already but didn’t mind seeing it again. She was in the mood for some Kenny Rogers smoothies, so we had lunch at Kenny’s, and then a scoopful of ice cream at Häagen-Dazs for light snacks in-between movies. Afterwards, we met up with our relatives and off we go for a long travel up North.

Ice Cream + Movie = A Fine Saturday

“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself the villain…” – D.A. Harvey Dent a.k.a. Harvey Two-Face

My Saturdays are usually spent lazing around the house or running errands for my mom in the grocery or sweating away at the gym (Which I am rarely able to do now since I moved back in the South.) But this time, I spent the first half of a so-called weekend in an Italian ice cream parlour and watching a movie with Kim over a bucket of popcorn.

Since Kim was a big comic superhero fan and I’m in the mood to see a movie as well, we agreed to meet up at Greenbelt 3 to see Dark Knight, the much-awaited sequel to Batman Begins which was shown in Manila sometime two years ago. He’s got tickets to the 2:20 p.m. screening, and since we were more than an hour early for the movie, I suggested we grab something cold to do with the humid weather in the metro, say an ice cream. Good thing I saw an Italian ice cream parlour nearby and we checked out the place. Gelatone by Pagliacci is located right across Grappa’s in Greenbelt 3. It’s a quaint place and good enough for some quite talk or if you would like pasta to go with your gelato. (They serve a couple of pasta dishes as well, with servings good enough to be shared by two.) We were both not that hungry (Plus, we were looking forward to a bucket of popcorn at the movies later on!) so we just ordered a scoopful of gelato, strawberry for me and coffee almond for him. *Sigh* Gelato just never disappoints my palate. I’m pretty sure Kim enjoyed his choice of flavour as well.

After we were done with our gelato, we went up to the cinemas and lined up to buy popcorn. We originally planned to share a bucket to save money, but I thought that one bucket may not suffice our craving because I munch on popcorn at the movies just like a man, as my dad would always laughingly say. (Yeah, yeah, blame it on the famous Diaz appetite! Hahaha!) So we got a bucket of buttered popcorn each, just in time for the theatrical trailers to start rolling.

Just like its title, Dark Knight was overall a very dark movie – both literally and figuratively speaking. Since the very first Batman (Which starred Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer – a movie I’ve watched with my parents all the way back in 2nd grade.), the entire Gotham setting has always been very dark and somewhat, in my august opinion, a little eerie. As for the villains in the story – the psychotic/schizophrenic Joker and White-Knight-turned-corrupted-disfigured-vigilante Two-Face (played by the late Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart, respectively) – you’re sure to expect dark and twisty antics that usually lead to tragedy in the life of the superhero, in this case, Bruce Wayne a.k.a. Batman (played by Christian Bale). Only this time, Batman shared the tragedy with Two-Face. Common denominator: Rachel Dawes (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal). And it never helped that the silver Lamborghini got smashed by a truck either! Overall, the action scenes were good, Batman’s hoarse voice when in costume could do a little more improvement, and Heath Ledger was at his finest in his last role before his untimely death last January. I’d probably give it a 3-star rating, not because I don’t think it’s not enough of a very good movie, but because I think the makers of the movie could have played and experimented a little more with other elements, like humour perhaps or even a little bit of sensuality. Still, it was a pretty good flick and is worth the money you’d by the tickets and the popcorn for.


I would have wanted to stay a little longer for some more kwentuhan over coffee or snacks, but since I’m picking up my mom at the groceries back in SM Bacoor, I had to leave and head back home early. I had a fun Saturday – tiring but fun. I hope there will be other chances for movies with Kim. The guy’s a movie buff, just like me. By the way, it’s our third movie already; looking forward to lots more! ^_^

A Detour To The Movies

"It's my last night of freedom... which is what some might see it, but for me it's the last night before the greatest adventure of my life." - Sky

There’s nothing special about this entry; I just want to write about a movie that got me hurrying up straight into the cinemas after my 1-hour flight from Dipolog City back to Manila, luggage and all.

It was purely by accident: I was going to watch Wanted with Ryh (Check out my previous post) when the theatrical trailer for Mamma Mia! was shown, and I immediately fell in-love with the movie and told myself, “Damn, I’m sooo gonna watch that movie!” In fact, I was able to download the full soundtrack two weeks even before the movie was scheduled for screening across Manila. I originally planned to watch it on its opening date with one of my girls or even my mom, but since I was engaged in another activity that time, I promised myself that I’d watch it as soon as I got back. And I did. ^_^

The story was basically about a young girl, Sophie (Played by Amanda Seyfried), who’s about to get married to Sky (played by Dominic Cooper) and her out-of-the-ordinary ploy to gather all three men (Sam – Pierce Brosnan; Harry – Colin Firth; Bill – Stellan Skarsgard) who were all once involved with her mother, Donna (Played by Meryl Streep), hoping one of them is her ‘real father’ so that he could ‘give her away’ on her wedding day. Lots of comedy and LOTS of singing, the setting is set on a Grecian island, where one will see lots of seas and skies. I won’t answer the question as to who the real father is supposed to be or if there’s a happy ending for Sophie and Donna – that will just spoil the fun now, won’t it? You’d better watch if you want to find out! ^_^


Now I’ve seen quite a number of big screen adaptations for popular musicals, like Phantom of the Opera, High School Musical, Chicago, and Moulin Rouge. They were all quite good, actually. But nothing was as enjoyable as Mamma Mia! to date. I’m not really sure if it’s Meryl Streep getting jiggy with the Abba songs (Think Mamma Mia, Money Money, Super Trouper, amongst others.), or the ever-savvy Pierce Brosnan, but after watching the movie I felt elated and content because the movie compensated for all the buzz and talks it created among movie critics and the press worldwide. Who would have thought that the cold and relentless she-boss in The Devil Wears Prada would be able to pull off a singing stint with an Abba hit? Talk about versatile!

As I was on an FX ride going home, I couldn’t help singing the songs from the movie in my head. I dunno about the others, but it’s the kind that gets a song stuck on your head for at least a couple of days, or even for another week maybe. My mom didn’t know I’ve seen the movie already; heck she’d raise her eyebrows on me when she learns that I headed straight to the cinema instead of home after a tiring flight. Most likely, she’ll want to watch it me; I wouldn’t mind seeing the movie again, even for the nth time. It’s one of those rare movies I’d never get tired of watching over and over.

The Sweet Escape (Part 2)

Clear skies, calm waters, and good company – yep, it was a fine day to do some island hopping. The party was supposed to leave around 10 a.m. since we were informed that it would take at least another hour to reach the island. My roomies and I had our breakfast at around 8:30 a.m., and since we’re not leaving for at least another hour, we took the chance to bask in the morning view of the beach and the surroundings and took pictures of ourselves as well. (This is the point where Ryh had her infamous “jump shot” taken. It took me at least four or five takes before getting the shot right! ^_^)

Good morning, Dakak! ^_^

At around 10 a.m., we were aboard the van that took us to the mini-pier where our boat was waiting. There were 22 of us altogether. There were monoblock chairs for each, and we were wondering why on earth were there big white towels in each chair. Manong Lisandro, the friendly tour guide for that morning, explained that since the boat didn’t offer any protection against the heat of the sun, we could use the towel as makeshift cover in case the heat becomes unbearable. Ooookay. So our group sailed away going to Aliguay Island. Everyone was ecstatic and giddy throughout the boat ride, despite the heat of the sun that’s building up by the moment and the wind that’s blowing a little too harshly on our hair. Pictures here, pictures there – those who brought their cameras with them just couldn’t get enough of their photo ops. By the way, we saw four dolphins along the way – sweet! ^_^

Photo ops before the island tour

Some more photo ops... ^_^

CPG crew

When we got to the island, the water was incredible – it’s somewhat a mixture of blues, greens, and dark navy – really enticing and, I must say, incredible! At this point some put on their snorkeling gear and everyone got to the beach and into the water. Knowing myself too well, I opted to limit my exposure to the seawater to prevent some skin allergy breakout. Some more photo ops for the next hour or so, and then we had lunch (The island tour came in with packed lunch of two-piece fried chicken with rice. You have to purchase the drinks separately, though. Geez!!!) By the time we were on the boat ride back to the resort, everyone was steady and no one seemed to be in the mood to talk and take pictures anymore, probably because of the scorching heat of the sun plus everyone’s tired and sleepy. In fact, we looked like a cult of Rizalistas because all of us had the white bath towel draped over ourselves to protect us from the sun. It was useless anyway; by the time we reached the resort we were all burnt and brown in the skin. (Oh well, at least I finally got some tan for this year! Hahaha!) Ryh, Kim, and Mond spent a couple more hours dipping in the pool but I was too tired plus my skin is tingly coz of the sunburn that I got. I rested a good deal at the cottage then went to join the others for dinner. After dinner, we engaged in rounds of gin shots plus lots of kwentuhan and okrayan on the Kinabayo Festival thing.

We've got our stunnas on!

Rizalista cult?!? ^_^

Sun-kissed!

Tagay session with the crew

The next day, we set out to have a heavy breakfast as prep for the flight ahead. Sometime 12:45 p.m. we were boarding the Cebu Pacific flight back to Manila and homeward bound we were. It was drizzling when ours landed in Manila Domestic Airport. I got my checked-in baggage, and together with Kim, Ryh and her boyfriend Raymond, we lined up to hail airport taxis going home.

Photo ops before boarding

Until next year! ^_^

Whew, posting this entry was a handful! I wonder where we’ll be going to for next year’s departmental TCP. The good thing about next year is that the rest of my girls in the office will have been able to join since they have been regularized already. I’m already looking forward to that one. You know what they say, “The more the merrier!”

^_^

The Sweet Escape (Part 1)

The previous weekend passed by as if in a blur – while the rest of the country is torn between occasional rain and sunny days, some of my officemates and I are in the southern part of Pinas under the semi-scorching July sun, amidst blue waters of Dipolog, and passing round shots of alcohol coupled with heavy smoking. (Honestly, I skipped the smoking part… haha!) I mentioned in my previous post that we will be going to Dakak Resort in Dipolog for our departmental TCP. It's more of an informal company outing for three days/two nights.

Day 1: Ok, I won’t dwell much on the pre-departure stuff since most of you know the airport drill already. As usual, airport staff and crew are in their grumpy selves. *Sigh* By 12:21 p.m., our plane has landed in Dipolog City Airport. After some more photo ops at the airport, we got into the van for what seemed like an hour’s ride going the resort. While in transit, we noticed a peculiar sign that says “Kinabayo Festival”. Say what?! Yep, you heard it right! (Now, why do I have the slightest idea on what the green-minded peeps out there are thinking right about now?!? Hmmm… *wink*) I did a bit of research on the web, and as it turns out the Kinabayo Festival is an annual festival held every July 24 and is being celebrated by the City of Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte. It honors St. James The Greater, and how it was believed that his apparition atop a horse guided the Spanish Christians into victory against the Moro pirates that flooded Dapitan back then. (How’s that for some Kinabayo Festival 101? Hahaha!)

Kodakan before boarding for Dipolog

Posing with Cebu Pacific crew

Roadtrip going to Dakak Resort

Going back, so it was not actually a pleasant ride all the way to the resort. The road is very (And I mean VERY) steep and massive (Again, I mean MASSIVE) road constructions are on-going along 90% of the way. It almost kinda reminds me of the Baguio roadtrip minus the safety rails and the smooth asphalt road. When we finally got to the resort, I must say that it’s worth the travel because the view is awesome! Clear, blue waters and white sand that line up the shore, plus they’ve got nice outdoor pools in case one prefers to have some dip inside the resort. And since the place is not as commercialized as the other resorts (the likes of Boracay and Puerto Galera), it’s far from crowded which gives ample space for some private moments and more photo ops with the beautiful Dipolog waters. Am I exaggerating? Hardly!

SMART - CPG Crew

Beach 1

Pool

Beach 2

After lunch, we went with our respective groups to settle in our assigned cottages. Ours was room 1-B. I was roomies with Ryh, Ms. Cathy, and Ms. Lily. Good thing Mond and Kim are just a few steps away. They were our next-door neighbor, together with Sir Lester. We rested for another hour or so inside our cottage while the boys slept the entire afternoon away, then Ryh and I decided to explore the resort. Call it another one of the many bonding moments with my favorite ‘pare’. After some time we decided to go back to the cottage and take a bath before heading for dinner, after which we proceeded to enjoy the rest of the first night with videoke, dancing (Sir Elton actually had the convention center opened that became our makeshift ‘disco’ hall.), alcohol (I only had 1 bottle of San Mig Light… dunno why but for some reason I wasn’t up for more alcohol intake that night.), and cigarettes (Now this part I intentionally skipped. ^_^ ).

With my 'pare' ^_^

Tagay/Videoke Session

So far so good for our first day in Dakak. The next day was all planned out for some island hopping, swimming, and some more tagay sessions with the rest of the crew. I’ll be posting about it on my next entry. Watch out for it!

^_^

I'm TOO Sleepy... But I Wanted To Post This Anyway

Numb.

Tired.

Migraine.

These are the top three things that are sure to come whenever I’d go on some rushed shopping spree at a crowded mall, say Glorietta, for some swimwear and other beach essentials. Just like today.

As I am composing this blog, I’m just hours away from my 10:45 a.m. flight to Dipolog via Cebu Pacific together with 38 others as we hold our departmental TCP (Team Celebration Program) in Dakak Resort. Ours will be the third and last batch for this year, which happens to be my first TCP since I started working for SMART. (Ryh and I haven’t been regularized in our positions yet last year and were not qualified when the 2007 TCP was held.)

Going back, I had some pending deadlines at work so I decided to spend the earlier half of the day at the office, attending to some last-minute details on my week-long presentation due next week for the new application that will be launched for the department. Actually, I’m supposed to meet Kim at Glorietta because he’s gonna do some shopping as well. Around 12:06 p.m. I got an SMS from him, asking where am I and what time will I arrive. Ok, that’s my cue to go. (The guy’s gonna have a haircut so I still have at least half an hour to hold-up.) Traffic at this time wasn’t bad so I arrived at Glorietta after what seemed like 10 or 15 minutes. We met up at G4 and since I’m good for some kanin-at-ulam combo, Kim suggested we have lunch at Mangan. (Geez, I’m a sucker for Kapampangan food! ^_^)

We ordered Sarsiadong Tilapia and Garlic Pugo Inadobo. It was my first time to actually eat quail, and I discovered that the taste of quail meat is actually a lot similar to that of chicken as we know it. Only, it comes in a much, much smaller size. (One whole quail will still be a bit smaller compared to the breast part of an average chicken. ^_^) We shared a regular-sized Bibingka with Quesong Puti and Salted Egg (Though it didn’t taste much of kesong puti.) for dessert and bottomless iced tea. Nonetheless we were both so full by the end of our meal.

Sarsiadong Tilapia

Garlic Pugo Inadobo

Bibingka with Quesong Puti and Salted Eggs

Since we only have the remaining half of the day to do all our shopping, we decided to split up and do our own shopping. Funny thing was, we’d bump into each other for like three times without having to text or call the other, informing where we are. Small world, eh? We even bumped into Ryh somewhere in G3! At around 6 p.m. we were both tired and wasted from walking to and fro, but we were able to come up with decent buys. Kim actually got himself a new pair of pricey shades plus some shirts and boardshorts, I think. Meanwhile, I was able to buy a Speedo top with matching yellow bikini bottom and a white cover-up. I also bought two new shirts, by the way, plus some other beach essentials which I’ll need for the three-day vacay.

My first Speedo! ^_^

Yawn.

I’m way too sleepy to come up with a decent closing for this one. Will just update you on whatever’s gonna happen on the next three days. (Geez, I’m really praying for blue skies!)

ZZZZZZZzzzzz.........

A Not-So-Manic Monday Lunch

This week’s Monday was unusually slow, so I opted to spend at least an hour and a half of lunch with Yang, a really good friend whom I met when I was still living the ‘dorm life’ in Manila. Her office is just right across mine so I dropped by for some long-overdue kwentuhan over lunch.

As soon as our foods were placed on the table, she fired away with updates on her love life, and whatever I’ve been missing out on her so-called ‘stoic’ roomies. She’s currently together with someone who’s in their province (They both hail from Cagayan Valley, by the way.) on what could be defined as the classic long-distance-relationship thing. Surprisingly, though, my friend seemed resigned with the whole idea. She quips, “Siguro dahil alam mong malayo yung isa kaya hindi ka na nag-e-expect ng constant communication…” (Hmmm, that got me thinking.). I jokingly asked her whatever happened to her, being the sort-of demanding girlfriend that she was before (I should know, we were roomies for, like what, more than a year?) She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders, admitting that she, too, was a bit surprised that she was taking things coolly. They’ve only been through their first month together but from the look of things, seems like they’re doing pretty good. Ahhh, yes! It’s what you call basking in the bliss of a new love… Sigh.

Then our topic shifted to that of her current roomies at the dorm, one of which I am VERY MUCH familiar with. Stoic – that was how she described them, and I laughingly asked why ever did she come up with such a word. “Promise, hindi nagsasalita si _ _ _ _!” I was in utter disbelief. (As in?!) And then she explained that their new roomie, who’s a freshman at Benilde by the way, is something of an introvert (?) with only a sideways or downward nod as her means of communication. (Well, at least to her roomies, that is.) On the outside, she dresses up like an Avril Lavigne wannabe, the kind which you can call an emo girl. And then there’s the other girl who’s got some serious attitude problem, being a combo of a spoiled brat and an introvert all bottled up inside her. I was listening to my friend as she ranted away, mentally thankful that I had moved out of that place. I urged her to find another place to stay lest she couldn’t take it anymore. She said she’s currently looking, but it’s not like it’s gonna be that easy. So true.

Time flew away quickly, and before we knew it people have gone back to their offices, leaving the place almost half-empty. (We ate at Food Patio by the way, which was on the 7th floor of their building.) She’s having her birthday bash really soon, and I plan to be there. Good thing she’s planning it on a weekend. Soon enough we had our farewell beso and I got back to my office. Lunch with her actually made my Monday. ^_^