friends

What is it about HS and reunion that can both make anyone excited and anxious at the same time. We all have our awkward phases and most of them occurred during secondary schooling I know I did. Next year our batch will be 20 years removed and we're all looking forward to it.
God bless the internet as it had made the challenge of reconnecting with old friends easier, thanks to networking sites such as Friendster, Multiply, MySpace. Last month alone, I reconnected with old classmates in HS and Elementary. My grade school classmate sent me a message just because she remembered my name. With our upcoming reunion, those who are overseas can instantly be informed about the latest developments. But you already know that... I'm really thankful that on another level, reconnecting with old friends can be a wonderful experience. The years may have passed, but seeing a smile that you thought you've forgotten can certainly brighten up my day. I can't wait till we can finally meet, face to face, for another time.

In a totally different topic, the long weekend was not as productive as I hoped to be. I took some work home to finish but I wasn't even able to start it. I attended the baptism of my friends 1st child. This I can say, whatever morals we all adhere to in life, it always take a backseat when it's our friends that are involved. We can always look the other way for our friends. I also spent early Tuesday morning at the emergency room of UST hospital because I had an episode with acute gastritis. I couldn't recall if it was too much pasta or some bad calamare that I ate but my stomach started to hurt around 11PM Monday. I tried to sleep it off but the pain was unbearable. I took some pills to no avail. It was an hour later when i couldn't stop vomitting that I woke up my Mom and asked her to accompany me.
The emergency room was almost empty except for 2 other patients that came in ahead of me. The nurses were in a lively banter on what to order for their snack. Even after they gave me an IV of drugs that the pain subsided. I was released around 4:30AM and light-headed ME still reported work, aching tummy and all. When I got back home that evening, I should have gone strainght to bed but I had a chat with an old friend, and after awhile, everything's ok again, and i hope it gets better.

stranded at home

It's been raining all week and this scene always greet me every morning. It's the same thing today and I guess I have to stay home again and work.
I've been watching the 2nd season of "How I met your mother" and thoroughly enjoying every episode.


Cobie Smulder's (Robin) sure is very pretty!

sick day

I did not report for work for the 2nd day now. I could have been at work today if not for the "flash flood" that happened earlier. I was already out the door with my rain gear amid the downpour when my Mom shouted that the floodwater was creeping in from the back of our house, and when I looked toward the street, half was already submerged. I texted my boss that I'll be a bit late for I shall wait for the water to subside. It did recede after an hour and I left the house only to be met by the thousands of students in the streets as classes were suspended. I waited and I waited. After 3 hours, alongside students and office workers, I decided to return home and just tell the office i wouldn't be able to come in today.
I also didn't report for work the previous day 'coz I had the flu. It's already full blown with my muscles, throat and head's aching. It was last Saturday after gym that my throat started to itch. If I hadn't misplaced the locker key and have been able to take a shower instead of roamin around the air-conditioned gym searching for the key for over an hour, maybe I could have avoided this. Inspite of this, i still went jogging early Sunday and by sundown, in the middle of coffee with my friends, I've already got a nasty headache. I still reported for work Monday coz I had to present some drafts to my boss and stayed in the office till around 8:30 PM. my flu got worse during the day and my boss gave me the day off yesterday to rest and report back today, which I couldn't because of the rains. My fever's gone and my muscles and joints aren't aching anymore. My throat's still sore from the coughing and my voice will tell you that it looked like I was singing the night away.
I' not a workaholic but I sure hope the rains won't pour till I get to the office.

Bangkok 2

It's already nine days since I came back and I still haven't finished posting my photos of the trip. This is the first test of the digital camera my Mom gave me. didn't realize that I DO NOT have a steady hand as I should, my camera confirms it. The pictures, most have the red waving-hand blur warning symbol.
We woke up early on Saturday, the day of the wedding. Most of the preparations was finished, except for the decorations for the bridal car, which was for us to do 'coz the coordinator will just meet up with us at the Church.
The ceremony went well, except for some pre-ceremony no-nos that would have been avoided if we're back home but being here in, it has gone unnoticed till moments later. The catered lunch was great! I was surprised to see a sweet pasta dish in the buffet, as if it was out of place, but that too was laso delicious. Desert was the native halo-halo made up of multi-colored rice noodles with ice and sweet coconut milk. Luckily for me, only the bouquet was tossed for the ladies as I am slowly gettin' annoyed of this traditional wedding ritual. Better get hitched soon or stop attending weddings for the meantime.
It rained, midway through lunch as the monsoon seasons' also starting to creep in. The tents that covered the grounds surrounding the church gave ample protection from the rain except at the joints where the cake was positioned earlier. While preparing to go back to the house, I noticed the father of the bride handing the leaving guests "goodie bags of the days buffet" for them to take home, something i thought was inherently Filipino. We finished packing up and went home around 4pm. We were all tired and we just spent the afternoon and early evening showing Mem pictures of his husband back when they still have no idea of one another.
One more for prosperity.

We started early the following day, as we have a 3 hour drive ahead of us to go tho Samut Sokhran. We visited an area with several (9) temples which is part of the Unseen thailand tour and if you get to visit all , it will bring you good luck. Luckily, we got to visit 6. Hehehe.


We dropped by Damnoen Saduok Floating market for lunch. Only a handful of the boats remained. We were informed that if we arrived at around 7am, the waterway would have been full of them, with nary a space between. I just browsed for some pasalubong and found some jingling purses and silk wallets. After lunch, we visited 3 temples of our 6 total and went straight home.

at Damnoen Saduok Floating market with Sandy and uncle.

tryning to haggle 'in tagalog"

Bangkok 1

Our very late flight from Manila was delayed by 2 hours, so we arrived at Suvarnhabumi International Airport at 2:30 AM, local time. I've scheduled everything so tight that I went directly from the office to the airport. My college buddy Jaime had an excuse to travel to Bangkok because of Mhel and Mam's wedding. We had planned to take the trip on late October but Mhel had other things in mind. We were met at the terminal by Mam and Sandy, all weary and hungry. No food was served on the plane as the cost of the ticket didn't cover meals. It's a good thing i brought some crackers i purchased at the waiting lounge.

We slept at the extra room of the couple's townhouse. It's the eve of the ceremony and we have a lot of things to look after. After eating a lunch of Pilipino dishes which was prepared by Mhel's Mom, who flew in a few days earlier, we went to St. John's church in downtown Bangkok to witness the last final preparations and to have the couples new car blessed by the priest. We arrived with the wedding coordinator and her staff making the finishing touches . The reception will be held on the church grounds so a tent was erected in anticipation of some rains on Saturday. The coordinator was Thai who converted to Catholicism to get married, similar to my Mhel's fiancee did. She established her wedding planning business shortly after to assist would be Catholic brides and avoid what she herself experienced.

After church, the couple took us to a popular restaurant (so popular in fact that I forgot the name), and all of us had our first taste of authentic Thai food. Our meal was pre-empted by having a shot of ice cold tamarind juice before the main course. Expecting the worst, as I do not really eat spicy food, I was relieved to realize that Thai food is not spicy but hot. You'll be able to tolerate the spiciness and will just feel it's hotness after a few minutes, when you start to perspire. We were served with Thom yum soup, sea bass cooked in tamarind juice with coconut meat and vegetables, it's almost similar to our sinigang, and it's also the only dish I remember in it's native name.

The restaurant was beautiful, similar in ambiance to our Dencio's or Gerry's grill. Most of the eating areas are al fresco with the servers in native attire. After dinner we all went back home as we all should rest for the next day.

Preview

i've been able to hie off to Thailand for a few days to...












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