I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!
We had a surprise birthday celebration for a friend's 50th birthday. It was a heartwarming get together with friends I grew up with.
I always look forward to our get togethers. Even though it doesn't happen often, we usually just pick up where we left off. That's what decades of friendship entails.
During his thank you speech, my friend said he suspected something was going to happen. He was told to wear running clothes because that's where the family was doing this afternoon. He thought there might be a get together with us since we're all in the same area. He was surprised to see relatives from far away and his colleagues. It was a big happy surprise.
I was just checking if McDonald's had caramel sundae when I chanced upon their offer for "Friends" collectibles. I haven't been buying toys for sometime now since my display cabinet is full already. But... I can always squeeze in some more, right?
I got Sweetie to order a burger too so we can get two. I got Ross and he got Joey. Cutie!
I was so sad to hear about the passing of Matthew Perry. I watched "Friends" a couple of times already and Chandler Bing is one character I will always remember. I watched the show on and off when it was broadcasted on TV. A friend years later gifted me with a set (I think it was best friend Darwin who gave it to me).
I watched the whole series following a bad break-up. I was feeling much better by the time I finished all 10 seasons. I think the show helped me look ahead and move past the pain. The way the show made me laugh is probably the secret to healing.
Central Perk Singapore
I still actually watch "Friends". I re-started watching it during the pandemic through Netflix. I play it whenever I can't think of anything to watch. Never mind the bad puns that people flag about the show. Those things were funny when it was created.
Replica of Monica's kitchen.
Rest in peace Matthew Perry. Thank you for making me laugh and for being part of my healing journey. :)
I have several sets of friends. My school friends, my former work friends, my neighbors and special friends who have been an anchor since we got home. Mayo Clini and Carnegie Mello University has this to say about friends -
"Having friends and strong social support is good for your health. Studies have show that those with friends have less stress, fewer cardiovascular problems and stronger immune systems."
Pandemic buddies <3
Since the pandemic isn't over yet, my social life has been limited online. Well, it wasn't so different from when I lived in Singapore since I communicated with my friends back home online. What I missed most was having people around. Whenever I was at the office before I would eat lunch with work friends and sometimes we'd go buy coffee for merienda. Whenever I managed to go home I'd meet friends for dinner or coffee.
It's been difficult to meet up with friends. We've had to be extra cautious since I'm immunocompromised. I've only had one lakwatsa with friends since we got home. We met up at Sonya's Garden in Tagaytay. That was a really happy day. Despite being cooped up we had so much to talk about. It was a great day and I wish we'd be able to do it again.
Keep good friends, especially those who understand you. They will stand by you. Send you food and help during emergencies. And the best thing about having great friends? They will also pray for you. Keep good friends so you can keep smiling and laughing everyday.
We finally got to watch "Friends Reunion" the other day. We didn't have an HBO subscription so had to figure out how it works. Just signed up for a month because I want to try out Disney+ too. Anyway, so we finally watched the "Friends Reunion". Ahhh the nostalgia was really strong. It brought back nights when I'd watch it for laughs.
I watched the series on and off via TV. I was in my 20s then and it was the time I used to watch movies I'd rent from Video City. I eventually got to watch the whole series when my best friend gave me a DVD set. If I remember correctly it helped me get through a breakup. Friends was really good company and they made me laugh.
As the creator said, the show was created for that time in our lives when friends become our family. That's probably why I loved watching the show. It was a reflection of who I was at that time. Me and my childhood friends had grown up at that time. We had all graduated from college and had jobs. We'd come together every weekend to hang out much like what Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe and Joey would do.
And much like how Friends ended, we all had to part ways eventually. We all used to live in the same village. Now we live in different parts of the world. I expect, much like the cast of Friends, it's going to take a long time before we all get together again. Hmmm... maybe on my 50th?
Last night I met up with my work lunchmates for dinner. It's been seven months since we've been to the office. My lunch mate the last seven months has been Sweetie (when he's home). Sweetie's reports to the office now 4 times a week so when my lunchmates asked if we could meet-up I was happy to oblige.
We met up at McDonald's (it's just across where I live). When we were complete it was just like yesterday when we had lunch. Soon enough we were laughing like how we usually are. "Food consciousness day" was cancelled for the night and we binged on fastfood.
As much as I'm used to being home and socializing online, I realized hanging out is part of who we are as humans. We are meant to socialize and have adventures together. My lunchmates are precious to me since they keep me sane during work days.
This was a year ago when they kidnapped me to join Phil's birthday celebration.
I just met with two of them last night, but we're usually a bigger group. We have to follow the limitations so we can't meet as a big group just yet. We're hoping that we can all come together by Christmas since it looks like none of us will be able to go home.
An evening full of laughter is what I needed after a long work week. What about you? What's your lunch set-up everyday?
We waited for this wedding for over a decade, approximately 14 years I think.
Leejay, I met you while you were still part of the children's choir (together with my crazy neighbor, Jajah, who was your best bud back then). I tried really hard to find the photo where you guys had on white togas and a huge purple bow, but it escaped me.
Denz, I met you in our alma mater while you were part of Harlequin Theater. You became my friend for life when you brought Alan, my thesismate, to my house at two in the morning. And then eventually you joined the choir.
Who would have ever thought that someday the two of you would tie the knot. Well... I did. Jajah did. Everyone else did, except the two of you. And that's why we just let you be when you started having coffee time on your own (notice I did not term it as "coffee date"). We knew that something was brewing, but you guys were taking your own sweet time.
I wasn't surprised when one day I received a call from Denz. He told me he was falling in love with Leejay. He didn't want to since you were best friends and he didn't want to ruin your friendship. At last! I thought and I was one of those who encouraged him to pursue Leejay. And when I got the chance, I gave Leejay some unsolicited advise to take the chance and get in a relationship with Denz. Now na!
Well, you guys made up for it and here you are, MARRIED! It was truly a pleasure to witness how God wrote your love story and here's the video I put together with the help of Jajah, Ate Edith, Kuya Yul, Ate Rose, JM and Jay. I shed some tears while making the video because I realized how much you guys have been part of my life.
Take care and may God bless you with many, many kids!
Finally had time to meet up with my high school buddies today. There's just 5 of us in our barkada and probably around 15 in our extended one. We usually meet-up for Christmas but with work parties and family reunions, it was just hard to bring all of us together.
One of my best buds arrived from China. She arrived on the day I left for Singapore last week and I just arrived in the nick of time for our annual Christmas get-together. Time flies so fast we just realized today that we've been together for more than 23 years now. We were just high school freshmen when fate sat us in class together. We figured that since we were all seated together then we'd be friends (it was that simple before!). So for all four years of high school we ate together everyday at the lunch counter.
We all had varied interests and we practically did not see each other when we went to college (to think we all went to the same university). What kept us together though were some traditions we started off in high school. Here are some:
1. Valentine's day - we weren't popular in high school and we were definitely wall flowers during high school dances, so we made a pact that until we marry we'd celebrate Valentine's day together.We still have two singletons so we continue to celebrate Valentine's together -- usually a day before or after now.
2. Christmas - I don't really know how it started, but for many years now we each create our own wish list and send it to each other and we buy our Christmas gifts based on that and that reassures us that we received gifts we really like during Christmas. And, of course, we always get together for the holidays.
3. Bridal Showers/Baby Showers - we do this for each other depending on who's getting married/having a baby.
4. Summer outings/out of the country trips - we do this every once in awhile and our brood's growing so we try to make sure that we go to places where the kids would enjoy.
5. Always have something the same - it may be pajamas, a blouse, a bag, Christmas decors or whatever catches our fancy. Every year we get something the same. Mababaw lang but it keeps us together.
We don't really see each other that often nor do we keep tabs each other through social networking sites, but our friendship has so far been fun and meaningful through the years.
I met up with my colleagues from a previous job last night. We met at our old hang-out place, Wendy's Parksquare, where we used to spend only PhP200 every Friday night. I don't know how five of us would get filled up with just PhP200, but we did. (Remember my blog "Songs fromWendy's"?).
We decided to meet up last night because Jihan's home from Abu Dhabi. We haven't seen her for a couple of years now and not everyone was present for my wedding last Christmas so it was the perfect opportunity to see each other again.
I will not be surprised if Wendy's bans us on our next visit. We were really rowdy. We just couldn't help but laugh about how things were in the past. It was definitely just like old times (without the booze though!) and everybody was just the same save for the fact that half of us were already married and have kids.
Things were so different for me seven years ago and I never really planned what I'd be by this time. The only thing I envisioned back then was the fact that I didn't want to be working in an office by the age of 30 (and I did!). Seven years ago I actually had the time to curl my hair whenever I wanted to (I even had a curling iron in my office drawer!) and I led a routine life. Everything was almost the same week in, week out, save for the gimmicks every once in a while.
I don't have a routine now and I can say that I'm definitely happy in all aspects of my life, but one thing I truly miss are my old friends. Good thing though I have several barkadas who I meet every once in a while. I thought I'd make a post about last night's reunion after sifting through our jurassic photos. It made me a bit emo and nostalgic.
Those were the days :)
2003. This photo was taken after our annual Christmas party. I had my hair up because we had to wear Filipiniana attire to the party (I think I was part of the party committee bleh) and this photo was taken just before we left for our after-party-party.
2004. This photo was taken after the annual Christmas party (again). Portia curled my hair because I was unfortunately one of the emcees (errrrr!).
2005. Some of us had moved on to other companies by 2005 (I was still working for the same company) so we just met up at Market Market.
2006 (I think). One of our get-togethers. Not really sure if it was in `06.
2007. Still looking young! This was at Max's Market Market.
2009. Didn't have a get-together in 2008 and just managed to meet-up on my wedding day. Some were not able to go due to unavoidable circumstances. This was the team though that managed the coordination for the day. It was the reason I didn't have to hire a wedding coordinator.
2010. Thank you Wendy's for not kicking us out last night! Haha.
My brain's been muddled up lately with a lot of things (isn't that usual?) and I just don't really know what to blog about! Too many things buzzing around my head and I just couldn't get a handle on what I should post about. Well... I did manage to post something on my work blog about the newest gadget on iGoogle (Blogger Play) after realizing I haven't done a post for 2 weeks already and something about bridal showers in the Twisted Wedding Planner. See? Sometimes it's really better to have a niche blog, at least you know what exactly you should post about. Sigh.
So, I'm doing a random thoughts post. Pffffttt.
1. "You'll just know," is what all my married friends told me when I asked them about "How will you know if he's the one?" And after ranting about my ideal guy, my type of guy, whether it's better to be single or married, I finally have an answer! Yes! The sky is fantastically falling! I finally have a love story to tell. And, I think, my Dad's poem for my Mom (which he wrote about 50 years ago) says it best. You will just know. And for my Gtalk contacts... sorry for being so mushy and cheesy the past few weeks. Tao lang po. LOL.
2. Love is simple. I always believed that love is not complicated. That when it comes, it just falls right into place. No hitches. No hassle. No apprehensions. No anxiety. And the best thing is to be with your best friend. I've met a lot of guys. And I've even made a list on what kind of guys to stay away from based on my experience. It's gotten so bad that I really given up and I was entertaining spinsterhood thoughts on my way back from the US. LOL.
3. Rachel Anne Wolfe and the Aquarela Band. Attended Rachel Anne Wolfe's "Cool" album launch at Fully Booked last October 12, Friday with Sweetie. If you're a child of the 80s I'm sure you'd remember Rachel Anne Wolfe since she's one of GMA's stars. I was quite surprised that she sings (well I don't really remember) and she's still very pretty. She was very down to earth and very much into the internet like her brother, Richard Merk who couldn't stop saying "Google made my life easier!" when I met him.
I also met the Aquarela Band couple, Miguel and Evelyn Juteau, who does bossa nova. I've only listened to a sample of their work in the Multiply account and will most probably borrow Sweetie's CD. I think it would be interesting to listen to since the snippet showed me a different take on bossa nova music. Too bad I missed Sitti's recording of her new album! Arggghhh. Jetlag!!!
I was too shy to have my photo taken with Rachel Anne Wolfe, but I managed to have one taken with the couple (Photo by Jay).
4. Meeting a famous composer. When my best friend and I started hanging out last January, I've experienced meeting a number of celebrities because of him and I've always been starstruck (and when you're in a roomful of media people, it gets quite obvious hehe). Ewanko ba ambabaw ko kasi eh. And when I met famous, award-winning composer, Trina Belamide (she "Tell the World of His Love", "Now that I have You", "You've Made Me Stronger) among others), I was starstruck again. Sweetie's always full of surprises, I dunno who I'm going to meet next. Hehehe, I don't think I'll get used to it ever.
Here's one of her award-winning songs (Overall Second Prize, 1999 USA Songwriting Competition) -
5. My brain's really mashed up, so here are some photos from the past week -
Taste Asia "3" with Jehzeel, Andrew, Karlo and Miguel. Thanks to Bella of SM Hypermarket for assisting me when I did some grocery shopping! (Photo from Andrew)
At Bonifacio High Street with Andrew, Jay (a.k.a. Sweetie), Juned, Rico and Sasha. (Photo from Andrew)
My second family during Mabel's despidida de soltera. "So who's next?" my Mom asked. (Photo from Micholle taken by Sweetie). (See? Miguel's taller than me now!).
Christmas ain't over yet for me since I missed a lot of holiday gimmicks because of my trip. Every few months or so my colleagues/friends from E-Yellowpages get together to catch up, reminisce, help someone in need, fix a wedding or we get together just to have a few drinks. Of course, Christmas is not complete without a get-together. We finally had our Christmas gimmick last January 18, Thursday at Giligan's, Market Market.
What's great about my colleagues-turned-friends is we never miss a beat. When we get together it's as if we still see each other everyday. We may be working for different places now, live in far-flung places (Laguna, Caloocan, Paranaque... we're literally apart), live different lives, but there is a bond that would always be there. Most of us have moved on to greener pastures:
Jap - Sykes, still very much the same (I miss your Monday morning stories!) / Dave - DMCI with a baby in the way / Ruth - housewife and hoping for a baby / Portia - Market, Market (I miss our lunch chikahan!) / Anne, Haydee and Jako are still with DPC / Eug - Digitel / me - Google
