one day to go

happy rizal day to all ye citizens of the islands. a day before the last day of the year, 'tis the day when them spanish colonialists decided to finally put an end to the life of a worldly island midget and hopefully, silence a nation's longing for (gasp!) self rule! only to have the midget immortalized as asia's first democratic country's national hero... or so the monument in the city square says. to all the fans of our bro jose, to his cult who think he's the reincarnation of christ in asia and to the people who claim to be his long lost (but can never be forgotten) children in europe from past (sex)capades, happy death aniv to all of you!

it seems to be reunion week for me this week. in just a span of a few days, i got to hang out with both my college and high school gang, over meals of course. first, my interior design buds from college. it was fortunate that even if all of us in the gang have gone separate ways, fate had it that we would all have a homecoming of sorts this year. i was back from eating crude oil-stained desert sand, the melloida was back on vacation from schooling at parsons, and jodie (though she didn't get to attend) was back from chicago from her first year of marital bliss. though the gang can never be complete without vikki (more about her later), seeing and mingling with the same old faces, with the same old antics certainly brought back fun times. never mind if we were older, fatter, thinner, gayer, happier, sadder, married, bored, stressed, attached, single, employed or vacationing, none of that really mattered. it was good enough that we had each other at that moment, sharing great times and having a good old solid laugh. (pics courtesy of richie)

ian and melloida

see anndee laugh. see anndee laugh REALLLY HARD!

pretending to be AI finalist jasmine trias. anndee and mel.

my fave pic of ian laughing.

richie, anndee and me.

mark, me and richie.

at the JBL showroom. Interior designed by anndee and mark.

i met my high school buds last night at greenbelt 5 over dinner. though the food wasn't as spectacular despite its price, the company was sure worth me having masseter spasms from chewing the TOUGHEST rack of baby back ribs i have ever had! though we weren't the original brat pack anymore, it was still good to see faces that have been a constant sight for you during the times when you were most awkward.... ugh, high school! over platters of beef, wine and wood (how my ribs felt like while i was desperately trying to swallow it without getting splinters on my esophagus), we talked about our lives. how motherhood has changed one, how grey hairs have made one, and how still being unable to drive has kept one where he is still until now. of course, we also gossiped about what has been happening with our fellow members of the alumni, most especially what has happened to the popular kids at school. i have mention that i belonged to the geek squad, so, we weren't really the coolest and most respected back in the day. so now that favoritism, blind teachers and butt kissing parents are finally out of the way, you cannot blame me for feeling some happiness on hearing stories of people FINALLY getting what they deserve.... bwa. ha. ha. HAH! :)

i got to chat with vikki yesterday before i had to go and get ready for my dinner. she's currently spending time with ozgur (the BF) in turkey where he's based and working. we got to spend a few minutes talking about what has been happing to us these past few days, though the conversation was mostly one sided. with her stories of turkey, i really didn't want to interrupt her momentum, most especially when she stated talking about how HOT turkish men were!!!! (MOMMY!) it was good to hear her voice and see her on webcam, despite the lag (she talks faster than what my broadband speed can take). i miss her terribly.(pics from ikki)

vikki and a fucking flock of pigeons!

vikki with a telescope overlooking the river bosphorus