How My Brain Works…

This season is not really the time to go to the beach, but last weekend, we had an unexpected opportunity to do just that.  Ryan and his Xavierian friends had planned to celebrate the end of the periodical tests and the start of a week-long break with an umph, and what more celebration can you have than spending it in a private island with unlimited food and drinks, and best of all, no parents?! 

Grande Island Resort in Subic was their destination of choice.  Aside from the fact that the resort is owned by Ryan’s friend, its proximity to Metro Manila is perfect.  But Ryan had one major predicament…the need for a chaperone!  Mike and I didn’t have the heart to break this teen’s chance for adventure, so together with Allen, we volunteered to keep him company on the trip.  However, at the last minute, Allen backed out on us, and that’s when all the problems started…

As most of you well know, Mike and I were seldom allowed to go out on our own, much so if we spend overnight together.  Even with the fact that we’ve already been together for almost 7 years, that still is definitely a no-no!  But then everything was already planned, and Ryan already had his heart set on going.  There’s no way to go but to push through with everything.  So even with all these hassles, we still headed on our way, but not without first reversing the roles each one of us was supposed to play…the one whom Mike and I should look after turned out to be our unwilling chaperone for the whole trip.  Hehehehe!!!

The guys picked me up at 5:30 in the morning, then we went to Corinthian to meet the others.  We left for Subic at 7am.  Traffic was good and so we arrived around 9:30.  The boat ride to the island took about 30 minutes.  Upon arriving, I did my first step toward adventure…I went to sleep.  I was dead tired from the previous work days that I was totally knocked out.  I already woke up late in the afternoon.  Mike and I went for a slow stroll, just relishing the view and the fresh air. The island was so peaceful, apart from the occasional bantering and teasing voices of excited and over-eager teens enjoying their time off.  The stillness of the night paired with the sound of the waves crashing on the shore really brought tranquility to my mind.

Mike and I were supposed to stay there ’til Monday but as always, work got in the way that we had to cut our stay short to Sunday evening.  We almost got stranded because of the threat of another typhoon.  The Philippine Coast Guard nearly prevented our boat from taking us out of the island.  Luckily, everything went on smoothly.  Tito Boy picked us up at the port.  We arrived in Manila around 11:30 in the evening.

The weekend was tiring, but anything that would get me out of Manila and let me spend a lot of time with Mike is always a welcomed idea.  I was glad of the chance, and I’m looking forward to more of it.

Moving on…Saturday morning, the four of us were still stuck together in the condo.  Since we still got our leftover pizza from the previous day, that’s what we had for breakfast and lunch.  Allen had to do some errands for his oh so long-time crush, and since he can’t drive (God help him), Mike had to go with him.  Ryan and I were left behind.  He played an RPG game on PS2 while I read my book.  Late in the afternoon, both of us got bored with what we were doing that we decided to take a nap.  When we woke up, we were shocked to see that it was already dark outside, and what do you know…another day had passed and it’s night time again!  What a productive day that was!

Mike got back in the condo around 8:00 P.M. without Allen.  Upon entering the door, we already saw that smug look on his face.  The reason behind it…he finally was able to buy his much-awaited PS2 game, Silmeria.  Too bad for Ryan ‘cuz he was driven off from the console by his big brother (what a bully!).  Good thing he was able to bring a book and a PSP as back ups.  While each of us were doing our own thing (Mike with the PS2, Ryan and I with our books), we came up with the idea that we’ll go to Libis for dinner.  We texted Allen to inform him about the plan and he agreed much too eagerly.  You know why?  ‘Cuz he was bringing Elgie with him (that’s his long-time crush).   Not only was he able to bring Elgie to dinner, he was also able to convince her to go see his condo!  Allen was in Euphoria that night, I tell you!  Heheheh!!!

We arrived in Libis around midnight.  Something Fishy was so full at that time so we just strolled around as we waited for the crowd to thin down.  We were able to enter the restaurant between 12:30 to 1:00 A.M.  I ate ’til my tummy can’t take in anymore.  All of us were stuffed that we felt so bloated that night.  After eating, we took Elgie home to Montalban, then we went back to Makati.  We were so tired that night that we immediately fell asleep as soon as we got back (not that soon, I think ^_^).  That was our last night of sleepover.

We woke up early on Sunday morning.  We needed to get back to the house as soon as possible because we had to get ready for Jae’s concert that would be held in Philam Theater on that afternoon.  The guys dropped me off at my place.  Sad to say, power was still out.  But then, it was like a feast when I got home.  We got so much food on the table that I thought my mom was so happy to have me back!  We had 2 dishes of prawns, 2 whole crispy pata, and so much more!  I thought they prepared for my return.  It just turned out that they cleaned up our fridge in fear that power will not return soon and all the food in there will be spoiled, so they had to cook everything.  Hahahah!!!  So much for my ego!

After lunch, my mom and I prepared for the concert.  Mike, Ryan, and Mark picked us up around 3:00 P.M., then we went straight to Philam Theater.  The Mary The Queen Children’s Choir’s concert entitled "Munting Tinig Para Sa Pagkakaisa" started at 4:00 P.M.  The performance was magnificent!  I enjoyed every minute of it, and so did my mom.  I was so proud watching Jae up that stage!  She’s already grown so much in the past 6 years that I’ve known her. 

To Jae and the rest of the Mary The Queen Children’s Choir, Congratulations!

After the concert, my mom and I, together with Mike and his brothers, had dinner, then they dropped us off at our place.  I was so hoping that electricity would be resumed as soon as we get home, but sad to say, we still didn’t have it.   I wasn’t able to sleep the entire night!  At 4:30 A.M. on Monday morning, power was finally back.  Dammit!!!  And I was supposed to be up at 5:00 A.M!!!  ONLY THIRTY FRIGGIN’ MINUTES OF SLEEP LEFT!!!  Argh!!!  I was sooooo pissed off, I cried!  What havoc Milenyo had caused! 

But then, as I thought about it, because of Milenyo, I had the best weekend of my life!  It wasn’t really a total disaster after all…at least not for me!  ^_^

Now, where was I?  Oh yeah…Well, the guys picked me up with nowhere to go to in mind.  But what we knew for sure was that we were all bored and hungry.  We drove around, looking for a place to hang out.  We started at the Timog-Morato area but then when we got there, the place was like a long dark tunnel with no light in sight.  Next, we went to the Araneta Center but then the stores were already closed (but that place looked like Christmas because all lights were lit!).  After that, we went to Eastwood City, but too bad ‘cuz Something Fishy was not serving (now, that’s some news!).  Everywhere, everything was closed, even that Pares thingy along Santolan!

We let the time pass cruising around the dark when Allen received a call that would change the course of our evening and the whole of our weekend.  His friend informed him that electricity was up and running back in the condo.  He was so happy that I wanted to kill him because ours wasn’t back yet (yup…green with envy!).  We drove back to Mike’s house to get his PS2 and some of his things because he decided that he’s gonna sleep over at Allen’s.  When he got back to the car, I was surprised to see Ryan tagging along.  He was sleeping over too!  I got so jealous of the three of them that I told Mike to bring me back to my house because I too would like to get some things.  Besides, I really wouldn’t be able to sleep at home without the AC on now, would I?  Thankfully (and surprisingly), my mom allowed me to go…probably because she wouldn’t want to see me throwing tantrums over the absence of electricity. She wanted to be spared of my obviously imminent mood swings due to heat and stress had she not allowed me to go.  So, without any drama between me and my mom, I got my things and we foursome went straight to Makati. 

Along the way, more trees were blocking the roads and a lot of debris were still scattered around.  We arrived at the condo around midnight, still hungry, so we bought food from Ministop (the only store which was opened amidst all the chaos).  Upon reaching the unit, we immediately turned the air conditioner on (aaah…heaven!), then Ryan played with the PS2, while Allen toyed with the PSP.  Mike and I were just reading some cheesy books.  When it was finally time to retire (and that was around 3:00 A.M.), Allen slept in his room while the three of us were cramped in the living room.  Ryan took the sofa, so Mike and I shared the floor.  I tell you, sleeping on that floor was waaaay better than sleeping on a bed while sweating profusely!  Besides, I had one big bear of a man to cuddle with through the night!  I couldn’t ask for more.  ^_^

Friday morning, I called my mom at home to ask if power was back.  Unfortunately, or rather fortunately (^_^) it still wasn’t.  Around lunchtime, Mike, Ryan, and I went back to their house, but not before encountering yet again another disaster.  When we got to the parking lot, one of the car’s tires was flat.  We were just so glad that the car was able to bring us to the condo first before the tire burst.  Thankfully, the guys managing the parking lot were kind enough to give us some help.  About an hour after, we were on our way.  EDSA was totally jammed!  A lot of billboards were destroyed causing a sloooooow-moving traffic.  Anyway, we reached Mike’s house after about an hour or so when normally, it would only take 15-30 minutes to get there.  The brothers got more stuff for their "camping" (they brought with them a cooler for ice tubes, some pillows, blankets, and clothes).  I also wanted to extend my stay at Allen’s but I was quite apprehensive because I doubted whether my mom would still allow me or not.  Not wanting to miss an opportunity for another sleepover (being an only child, I don’t get that a lot!), the guys brought me to my house so that I could again ask for permission.  I knew I was already pushing it with my mom, but I was so glad (and even more surprised than ever!) that she did not try to be difficult at that time.  Needless to say, she allowed me to go back to Allen’s again.  So, I too got some of my stuffs (good enough for 2 more days…just to be sure), including a huge air bed that would accomodate three persons, so as not to sleep on the floor again, then we went back to the condo.   We were so hungry that day that we ordered 2 boxes of pizza from Pizza Hut.  Thanks to palm card, we got two extra boxes for free!   Four boxes of pizza for four people….hahaha!!!  Don’t worry, it took us 2 days to finish all of them.  When we were stuffed, the guys continued to play their games while I settled on reading my book.  It was definitely a blissful night except that my phone’s main battery already died down, and my spare battery had only a few hours to live.  Good thing Mike let me use his other phone (’til now, it’s still with me…hehehe!!! I missed using the normal keypad instead of a stylus for input).  Nevertheless, our sleepover was better that night because we were satiated, and more importantly, we had a bed to lay on.

Have to stop here for a while…I just realized that a lot happened to me over that weekend that I had to write it in several parts!  Whew!  So sorry for holding out on you guys who are interested enough to know what I have to say.  Anyway, just wait for part 3 because for now, I really have to go shopping with my mom.  Ciao!

Just about a week ago (has it been that long?!), we experienced the most destructive storm in eleven years.  And during those fearful and heart-stopping moments, would you believe that I was still in the office?  Yup…IN THE OFFICE!!!  It sure hell was scary!  Imagine being on the 39th floor, and feeling the whole building swaying with the wind that’s howling like the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park!   Not only was I scared…I was also dizzy as a drunk due to motion sickness!

My usual shift ends at 3:00 P.M., but due to the weather condition, we were allowed to go home around 1:00 P.M.  Since I was so anxious to leave that swinging building, I went to my parking spot which was on the 5th underground level…USING THE STAIRS AAAALL THE WAY FROM THE 39TH FLOOR!!!! We were having power interruptions, and also considering that the building was swaying…I took it in my better judgement to not use the elevator (duh!).  Luckily, I survived the ordeal, but my legs punished me with incredelous pain for 4 days after that!

Ortigas Center, Addition Hills, and the Greenhills area (based from first hand observation) were in total chaos.  Tree branches and even whole trees were blocking the roads.  Debris were everywhere.  Due to the strong winds and heavy downpour, Mike advised me to go to his place and let the storm pass instead of going straight home.  Afraid that my itty bitty car would be lifted and thrown somewhere by the wind, that’s exactly what I did.  I stayed at his house ’til about 5:00 P.M. doing nothing (power was out), then when we got hungry and bored to death, Mike and I, together with his siblings Ryan and Jae, went to Jollibee along Ortigas.  On the way there, all of us were so shocked to see that the huge post in Madison Square was knocked over by the wind and was blocking the entire gate of Greenhills North.  The one in Ash Creek was already leaning.  Also, the newly erected Belen at Greenhills Shopping Center was all messed up.  The sights were really overwhelming!  Anyway, when we got to the food chain, it seemed that everyone in the vicinity was in there!  It was so full (in the restaurant and lining up out at the drive-thru) that the service was soooo slow!  I didn’t mind waiting because their aircon was working when no one else’s was.  What pissed me off was that they had no ice cream, which what Ryan, Mike, and I were craving for (I’d been craving for it for the longest time)!  Jae was glad though ‘cuz she wasn’t allowed to have any because of her upcoming choir concert (more of that later).

After dropping off the trio at their place, I went home only to find out that the rubber tree at the corner of my street, which had been there since forever, was uprooted from the ground!  It was lying there blocking the entire street!  A lot of people already attempted to cut that tree.  Who would have thought that Milenyo would be the only one to succeed?  Anyway, as expected, power was out.  I had nothing better to do than listen to my iPod and sleep, and I did both simultaneously for two hours.  A few minutes after waking up, Mike called me up.  He too was on the brink of insanity due to extreme boredom, so he would go to Allen’s place to pick him up (because he’s also having the same predicament), then they would go to mine if I wanted to go out with them.  Heck yes!  In fact, I was pleading for them to hurry up and get me out of the hellhole!

What happened after that will have to wait ’til the next post, so just stand by for the moment…(assuming that there are people who actually read this blog!)  For now, I’m gonna claim my bed for a deep deep slumber. Sayonara people!