So almost three months have passed since the new year started and I haven't really blogged as much as I have in previous years. This is because I had a bit of a health scare earlier this year and my doctor told me I should take it easy. As such, I've declined a few invites for social gatherings in the last few months already and when I get home after work, I normally just chill and watch TV.
That said, I've still had more than my fair share of meet-ups and gatherings with family and friends. Most of these are reunions or birthday celebrations. First, I had dinner with one of my closest friends in high school, Ed, along with Joyce and Mitch. I last saw Ed around 9 years ago and I told Mitch on our way home that the wonderful thing about great friends is that even if you don't see each other for a while, when you do finally catch up, you pick up from where you left off. It's too bad that Ed had to leave soon after that because our other very close friend, Eugene, came to Manila a couple of weeks after he did. It would have been awesome if all three of us got to catch up. More recently, we had a family reunion when my cousins Charmaine, Joy, Jessyca, and Onel all came home at the same time. Onel left the country only about a year and a half ago but the last time I saw his sisters was almost five years ago so it was a wonderful family reunion over dinner at Romulo Cafe. Most of my immediate family were also able to join, making the evening even more special.
Then of course there were the birthday gatherings. Anna celebrated her birthday in Manam in Podium followed by coffee in Starbucks Reserve. Raffa celebrated his birthday in Chino in One Bonifacio High Street (it was my first time to eat there) followed by coffee and dessert in M Bakery. Gary celebrated his birthday in Akira in Shangri-La mall followed by coffee and dessert in Cafe Lyon (formerly Dome Cafe). What made Gary's birthday extra special was that it served as a reunion with Mike and Rona as well. It must have been years since I last hung out with Mike. Rona on the other hand I probably last saw when we were both still in college. Finally, Ginia celebrated her birthday in Dillinger's.What made this celebration extra special to me was that I saw Rene, the manager of Ponti where my band used to play. He asked me to jam with the band - Norby and Kiko - and I sang Live's Lightning Crashes for the first time in maybe a decade. (I saw a short recording of that performance and I am clearly very rusty when it comes to performing that song LOL.)
Finally, I had my first summer outing with my ex-teammates in Pansol. While overnight stays in Pansol often include a lot of drinking, my doctor told me not to have any alcohol so I couldn't drink with my friends. That didn't stop the enjoyment though and my friends still invited me to participate in King's Cup. Since I couldn't drink alcohol, someone volunteered to take the shots I was meant to drink just so that I could still join. I can't recall now who ended up having to drink the disgusting concoction that was prepared throughout the game but it was a truly hilarious and rowdy drinking game, even for those of us who weren't drinking.
Now that I've written this, I realize I haven't been taking it easy as much as I thought LOL. That said, I continue to be thankful for having so many wonderful people in my life and for having the opportunity to spend quality time with them.
Speaking of singing, I've also been to karaoke twice this year already, both times in Rockstar in SM Aura. First was with Marie, Eliza, and Meg. We sang about a dozen Queen songs and also ran through the playlists of Ed Sheeran, The Corrs, and Meghan Trainor although the song of the night was Tina Paner's Tamis ng Unang Halik. :) Then more recently I went again with Doms, Zaza, Eric, and Yuan (Lou joined us for dinner at Providore but he had to leave early). This time around, the song of the night was Brother Louie by Modern Talking. When the title of the song came up, Doms and Zaza said, "what song is that?" and I just told them that they knew what it was. As soon as the music started playing, they did know it and when we hit the chorus, everyone was singing along. :)
That said, I've still had more than my fair share of meet-ups and gatherings with family and friends. Most of these are reunions or birthday celebrations. First, I had dinner with one of my closest friends in high school, Ed, along with Joyce and Mitch. I last saw Ed around 9 years ago and I told Mitch on our way home that the wonderful thing about great friends is that even if you don't see each other for a while, when you do finally catch up, you pick up from where you left off. It's too bad that Ed had to leave soon after that because our other very close friend, Eugene, came to Manila a couple of weeks after he did. It would have been awesome if all three of us got to catch up. More recently, we had a family reunion when my cousins Charmaine, Joy, Jessyca, and Onel all came home at the same time. Onel left the country only about a year and a half ago but the last time I saw his sisters was almost five years ago so it was a wonderful family reunion over dinner at Romulo Cafe. Most of my immediate family were also able to join, making the evening even more special.
Then of course there were the birthday gatherings. Anna celebrated her birthday in Manam in Podium followed by coffee in Starbucks Reserve. Raffa celebrated his birthday in Chino in One Bonifacio High Street (it was my first time to eat there) followed by coffee and dessert in M Bakery. Gary celebrated his birthday in Akira in Shangri-La mall followed by coffee and dessert in Cafe Lyon (formerly Dome Cafe). What made Gary's birthday extra special was that it served as a reunion with Mike and Rona as well. It must have been years since I last hung out with Mike. Rona on the other hand I probably last saw when we were both still in college. Finally, Ginia celebrated her birthday in Dillinger's.What made this celebration extra special to me was that I saw Rene, the manager of Ponti where my band used to play. He asked me to jam with the band - Norby and Kiko - and I sang Live's Lightning Crashes for the first time in maybe a decade. (I saw a short recording of that performance and I am clearly very rusty when it comes to performing that song LOL.)
Finally, I had my first summer outing with my ex-teammates in Pansol. While overnight stays in Pansol often include a lot of drinking, my doctor told me not to have any alcohol so I couldn't drink with my friends. That didn't stop the enjoyment though and my friends still invited me to participate in King's Cup. Since I couldn't drink alcohol, someone volunteered to take the shots I was meant to drink just so that I could still join. I can't recall now who ended up having to drink the disgusting concoction that was prepared throughout the game but it was a truly hilarious and rowdy drinking game, even for those of us who weren't drinking.
Now that I've written this, I realize I haven't been taking it easy as much as I thought LOL. That said, I continue to be thankful for having so many wonderful people in my life and for having the opportunity to spend quality time with them.
Speaking of singing, I've also been to karaoke twice this year already, both times in Rockstar in SM Aura. First was with Marie, Eliza, and Meg. We sang about a dozen Queen songs and also ran through the playlists of Ed Sheeran, The Corrs, and Meghan Trainor although the song of the night was Tina Paner's Tamis ng Unang Halik. :) Then more recently I went again with Doms, Zaza, Eric, and Yuan (Lou joined us for dinner at Providore but he had to leave early). This time around, the song of the night was Brother Louie by Modern Talking. When the title of the song came up, Doms and Zaza said, "what song is that?" and I just told them that they knew what it was. As soon as the music started playing, they did know it and when we hit the chorus, everyone was singing along. :)
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