Recent Random Thoughts

I had just returned from spending the holidays in Manila. I haven't had time to write any blog entry before I left but I'll try to remember everything that happened since December 17 when I left from here.

Dec 17

Woke up late. Had to ran to the bank before it closed so I can have some pocket money. Then to Embarcadero Cinema to watch "Brokeback Mountain" with good friends. Yves does not show up because he was just getting home from a date! Saw the movie with Marla. She has a new boyfriend and she seems very happy. Ran to See's for the chocolates I am bringing to Manila then to Walgreen's for toiletries. Got home, finished packing, showered and changed and then off to the airport. It is raining like crazy in San Francisco.

Dec 18, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

This bitch sitting behind me on the plane kicked the back of my seat. Twice. I got up, turned around and asked her what the fuck was her problem. I saw the fear in her eyes. The rest of the flight was uneventful. Why is it that the male FAs of PAL on their international routes are like the oldest and ugliest (sorry!) as compared to other Asian airlines? Jeez, guys! Give it up, already!

Dec 19, Manila at o'dark thirty in the morning

Finally arrived in Manila. It's a little warm already. Surprisingly, my luggage comes out in 10 minutes after clearing customs. And off to the hotel. Nothing eventful. The mall is very Christmas-y!!!

Dec 20

Dinner with friends at Bollywood in Greenbelt 3. Jon, a friend from LA who's also vacationing in Manila, joins us. After dinner, Jon, Alvin and I decide to go to West Avenue in QC. Funny night!

Dec 23

Holiday party with MB guys. Met Ron (Alvin's current) for the first time. Nice guy...he doesn't know what he got himself in with Alvin. Hahaha! Then to Bed in Malate. The place is bigger and has a better DJ. Met up with Jon again. He gets picked up by a guy. Hahaha!

Dec 24

Fly to Bacolod to spend Christmas with my brother, his family and his in-laws. Beautiful house in Silay but no air-conditioning. They have four maids and a driver. We ran to the mall to get five electric fans! Midnight mass at big church (? cathedral) in Bacolod. My niece and nephew were having a great time. Inside of church is all decked out. Ornate carvings on ceiling. Full on choir with beautiful organ music accompaniment. Mass said in English and Ilonggo. The kids were getting restless so we went out. Ate puto bungbong and bibingka with them in one of the stalls and drank ginger tea. They couldn't quite get the hang of eating with a spoon instead of a fork. The stall owner sees them struggling so she gives them forks. They smiled back at her. This is what we miss in San Francisco. The smell of Christmas, people dressed up and kids all over! We sneak back inside the church giggling. I almost forgot...my ex (who's from Bacolod) was there, too, hanging out with us. Then back to the house for a traditional Noche Buena. If there is one thing that I would remember most is the quantity of food that night! It seemed like everything that we could possible think of was there: Chinese ham, queso de bola, hot tsokolate drink, more bibingka and puto bungbong, etc. The only thing that we wondered why it was there was spaghetti. Huh? The kids tore open their gifts. My sister-in-law cries a little when she opened her gift from my brother which I picked out. Ha! I went to sleep right after.

Dec 25

I have never seen so many people come in and go from the house. It seemed like every inaanak was present. It was a little exhausting getting introduced to everybody. The kids and I were giggling the whole time. At night, I went to a friend's party at the Fischer Hotel in Bacolod. Met a lot of really cute guys!

Dec 26

After so much thinking, my brother and I decide to fly to Cagayan De Oro so he can meet up with his childhood best friend. His friend moved back after high school, went to college in Manila, worked for someone for awhile until he and his wife decided to put up their own business. They own this huge tract of land and are raising cows whose meat is exclusively exported to Japan. Of course, we bring the kids with us. CDO is like Manila in a way: smog and dust all over, traffic is horrendous and people all over. But it is also one of the affluent cities in the South. Apparently, everyone from the neighboring provinces shop in CDO. They have one huge mall (actually 2 malls connected to each other) and this cool square with restaurants and coffee places. No Starbucks though. They have a Divisoria plaza where food stalls are mixed in with dry goods stalls. It was actually fun to go through it inspite of the number of people milling around. Tried ostrich meat: yuck, too gamey for me! Late night, I went to an "alternative lifestyle bar" (read: gay bar) with a friend and had a great time. No sex but it was funny sticking P100 bills in the guys' string bikinis. Lots of hipon: great-looking bodies with little to no 'face value'. Hahaha!

Dec 27

My bro and the kids return to Bacolod while I take a four-hour bus trip to Butuan City. I went there to meet a friend. More on him later. Butuan is a small city. The mall is disappointing; no Bench store. They have a strip of videoke bars located one right after the other. But it wasn't the place that's important; it was whom I was visiting. I had a great time in Butuan. The people are genuinely nice and warm. I rode a habal-habal and got burned when I accidentally placed my lower leg against the exhaust pipe. Ouch! I guess I will never forget the place as long as I have the scars to remind me. Went to a resort-like place called Jurassic Park. It's a resort carved out of limestones on the edge of the water. No beach or sandy strip to speak off but it was beautiful.

Dec 29

Flight back to Manila from Butuan. It was hard to leave Jeff, my friend...

Back in the hustle and bustle of Manila in an hour. Going to White Party with friends tonight! Anton, a friend from Singapore, is in town and joins us. But first, dinner at Remedios Bistro for binacol soup and sikreto ni Maria Clara for dessert. Hahaha! White party turns out to be the most boring party I have ever been! The place was too big; booze was overly prized (water for P100?) and some unfriendly people. Went to Aristocrat Restaurant for arroz caldo because Alvin was hungry again. Comfort food ever!

Dec 30

To Binondo for Eng Bee Tin hopia. Joel (my papa from work-charing!) asked for them before I left. Also bought some for home. Had a beauty moment with Erwin. Hahaha! Oh my God! Nash (a friend from Davao) shows up. He looks incredibly sexy! Erwin goes home while Nash and I decide what to do. We ended up going to dinner and waliking from one end of Baywalk on Roxas Blvd to the other. We had matching henna tattoos done on our left biceps. We talked. A lot of interesting things came out. We had beer and he sang in one of the videokes. A gay couple kept looking at us because we were obviously together. That night, I was wearing a shirt that said "Define Girlfriend". Hahaha. Went home at 4 am. The only thing that I will say in this blog is this: Nash is one of the best kissers in the world! The rest, I will leave alone... hehehe.

Dec 31

Went to Glorietta with Mightor for lunch. Had to do it this way since we don't have a lot of time left. Erwin calls me to tell me that he found the cell phone I want! He's at the Podium in Mandaluyong with a "friend". Met Erwin and Josh at Shang Mandaluyong. They look good together!!! Got my phone and we hang out for the rest of the afternoon. I spent New Year's Eve at my cousin's house in Forbes Park. Fireworks galore and they lit three very long rolls of firecrackers. Parang Iraq!!! Hahaha!

Jan 1

Met up with Erwin, Josh, Alvin and Ron at Glorietta after lunch. Nash joined us later and Rocco shows up, too. We were going to watch a movie but ended up not going because it was late. Looked all over for Nash's shoes but he couldn't decide on what he wanted. Went to dinner at Greenbelt instead. More chikahan and Nash spends more time sa hotel. Hay...

Jan 2

One last dinner with friends at Green Earth Tea House. Met with Nash earlier and he found the shoes he wanted. We talked for a long time about his and my expectations. At this time, we both agreed that we will leave things as they are and to continue talking by phone, text or YM. Have I said he's the best kisser in the world? Hehehe. And then some. Was hard to say goodbye to him early morning. I saw that look in his eyes...

Jan 3

Last minute shopping and final packing. To NAIA Centennial 2 Terminal and surprisingly, luggage check in was a breeze. 20 minutes at the most and sat for another hour before they started boarding. Pulled some strings and ended up in business class. Fabulous. Back in San Francisco at 7 pm same day I left Manila.