the one with the long weekend

last night i met up with friends who just got back from their two-week long vacation. while most of us had to deal with deadlines and work issues or the manila peninsula mutiny, my friends went back-packing around visayas and had the chance to visit and take roughly 900+ photos of exotic places and pristine beaches in cebu, boracay, bohol to name a few. ive missed my friends while they were gone and im glad to see them back in manila, safe and just a little bit harmed :) they brought not just stories and photos with them back from their trip -- they also have pasalubong for me :) from "yaya lorie" i got a pair of earrings and from "manang mavic", a cellphone charm made from sand art. both from boracay, a place i've never been to by the way.

upon seeing me both of them asked how i have been and at first, i can only say that ive been okay... i was trying to think of something more exquisite than that but nothing came to mind... i guess i was hesitant to say anything because surely, none of what i have accomplished or done lately can compare to their amazing trip. eventually, i finally came up with a few. so lately, these were the highlights of my life most of which happened during the 3-day weekend:

1. with my friend kitkat, i was able to take a two-hour tour around the marikina shoe expo and found interesting thrift and antique shops, quaint accessories and clothing boutiques selling mostly hand-made accessories and retro outfits, bookstores and art/coffee galleries show-casing local works such as lomo photos. there was even a bazaar going on that day and several artists from the group "ang ilustrador ng mga kabataan" were there selling their artworks drawn or painted or printed in practical items such as shirts, wall clocks, notepads, bookmars, pins at a somewhat fair enough artsy price. my friend bought me bookmark :)
2. i was able to visit trinoma for the first time (yay) and had so much fun. the mall has really well thought of landscapes (complete with fountains and wooden bridges and ponds and cooling mists) and very spacious interior... the activity center is much like the glorietta mall and at some point you can't help but feel a bit of dejavu. there's a huge landmark store at one side of the mall that makes shopping even more convenient. lots of restaurants to dine in and dessert/coffee places to try afterwards. my friend and i loved the "bananalicious" dessert from conti's. parking can be a little difficult, but that's something you have to deal with sometimes almost anywhere else right? in summary, trinoma is definitely a cool place to hangout with friends or family especially this christmas. im hoping to bring my parents here sometime soon especially at the fourth level where they held free shows every saturday night. not to mention fireworks too :)
3. had a little bit of gastronomic adventure too. at marina, i tried steamed oysters with hot sauce. at dr. pepper steak, well i tried beef pepper steak with lots of pepper on the rice. pepper steak i like. steamed oysters, not so much. in any case, im glad to have friends who are adventuruous with food. i realize im not much like them and the only time i am able to try new things is when im with them (or during team-buildings). i usually just order what i already know i like. you know, like sinigang :)
4. i was able to watch a disney movie wherein the lead character had a name the same as mine. "enchanted" was really fun. watch it if you haven't.
5. was able to help my dad with removing virus from our PC. there were 33 viruses and one trojan. tsk tsk. no wonder the browser would hang after opening just around two sites returned by search engines.
6. i was able to teach my dad how to use Yahoo! Messenger, Chikka Messenger (PC to Mobile Phone), compose an email as well as reply to an email. this is supposed to be something big for my parents who had spent years being afraid of the computer and moreso the internet. really huge step.
7. i had a guest who watched 'under the tuscan sun' with me and who volunteered to wash dishes for me later on. sweet :)
8. maybe last but not the least, we had a reflexologist (a really good one) come over our house for a massage. my mom was having sinus and throat problems lately and did not want to take medication until she's tried other organic, natural way of healing such as reflexology. the massage was very relaxing and helpful. ate gildred has been doing reflexology massages since the '70s and have doctors as her patients as well. i was diagnosed as having UTI and high sugar level in the blood (must be all those iced tea and the bananalicious thing), then was advised to eat at the right time and not skip meals, to drink two glasses of warm water each morning and to wait for 15 minutes before drinking liquid after each meal. that last item should help me digest food properly. of course, lessen intake of sweets.

so that's it. story of my life while my friends were gone. not bad, huh? i had planned to do a few things more during my long weekend but that did not push through... i guess we can all agree if i say that, truly, long weekends are never long enough :) but still worth looking forward to each time :)

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