What a day

It's not very often that you end up being more exhausted and having a fuller day when you are on leave than when you are working, but that's exactly what happened to me yesterday. Then again, a lot of people do experience this when Christmas is right around the corner, so I guess I'm not all that unique. :)

It started out when I took my car to the shop in Bonifacio Global City to have it looked at. I would get my car back at around 4pm so I decided to do personal errands over the next several hours. BGC isn't that big and I did have time to spare, so I decided to take a 10-minute walk to the bank to pay my credit card bills before heading to Early Bird Breakfast Club to try it out. I ordered an Eggs Benedict:

Eggs Benedict at the Early Bird Breakfast Club

The verdict? I thought it was just okay, considering the price (P420). Along with the coffee, I spent close to P600 here. My poached eggs were a tad overcooked - the silky yolk didn't start spilling over everything when I cut into it - but the shoestring potatoes were a unique twist.

After polishing off my food and coffee, I made my way to The Spa in Bonifacio High Street to get a gift card that I planned to give out for Christmas. I then headed to Conti's so I could place an advance food order that would serve as my family's noche buena and Christmas food. There was a relatively long queue of people at the take-out counter - as there always is during the Yuletide season - so by the time I had placed and paid for my order, it was already close to 1pm.

I had a couple of errands to do in Market! Market! but I also knew that Ender's Game would be showing in SM Aura at 1:35pm. I only had a couple of days to catch it because the Metro Manila Film Fest starts on the 25th but when I got there, I realized it was being shown in the Director's Cut theater, which meant I would be in a crowd of only a couple dozen people and I would get to sit in a lazy boy with free popcorn but it would cost a whopping P350. After thinking about i, I decided it would be a new experience so I got myself a ticket. It was an interesting experience (it is definitely comfortable having a lot more space!) and the movie was a decent sci-fi flick with pretty good effects.

After the movie, I went to Market! Market! to look for Dulcelin since I wanted to get their strawberry cake for Christmas. It took me a while to find it - apparently, there is no Dulcelin shop but instead, Dulcelin items are sold by Pelican Farms. Unfortunately, the only dessert they had ready was the mango torte; everything else is for pre-order. So I went into the mall to look for the place where I bought my watch before to ask if they also sold batteries but apparently the store is gone. It was at this point that I got a call saying that my car was ready for pick-up.

I wanted to watch Frozen as well but I had to pick up my car first. So after settling the bill and heading to the mall to catch the 6pm showing of Frozen, I saw that my right headlight was not working. Bummer! I called my service attendant and he asks me to bring my car back to the shop. Apparently, my headlight was busted and I needed to replace it but the shop was about to close so I was told to just return later in the week. What a hassle.

I still had enough time to make it to Frozen. Two movies in one day! This was a pretty good Disney movie, with excellent character development and a very unique take on the Snow Queen fairytale. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up winning Best Animated Film at the Oscars.

As if my day wasn't long enough, I decided to go grocery shopping after my second movie. Thankfully, malls and supermarkets stay open a bit longer nowadays. I then drove to Aristocrat along Jupiter to buy a Torta Delos Reyes chocolate sansrival cake (I only got the small one since I am still hoping I can get a strawberry cake from Dulcelin in Times Street).

Torta Delos Reyes (photo courtesy of http://www.aristocratbakeshop.com.ph)

I had a hot, hearty dinner at around 10pm before I got home. Despite the full and productive day, I still have a lot of stuff to do. While I have almost completed my Christmas shopping, I am still missing gifts for all the kids I plan to give presents to. I also still have to return my car to the shop. I also need to have batteries replaced in a couple of my watches. Nevertheless, I am happy that most of my to-do list has already been crossed out. Hopefully, I can get some much needed rest during the Christmas break. :)