A Hectic but Happy Holiday Season

Christmas is always a very busy time socially and this year was no exception. Not that I'm complaining though. I'm really happy that I got to spend time with many friends, some of whom I haven't seen in ages. Let's start with the most recent one. Yesterday, I joined some of my ex-colleagues for dinner at Locavore. My friend Ana told me that Cholo, who moved to Canada several years ago, was in town and some folks would be joining him for dinner. It turned out to be quite a fantastic evening. I got to catch up with Cholo, Ana, Earl, and Migs. We were also joined by Mark, JP, Nono, Cori, and Noy. I think the last time I saw most of them was when I was still working in my previous job! We all went through quite a lot together so it really was nice reconnecting with all these people with whom I have a lot of shared experience. The fact that we enjoyed my favorite Locavore dishes, specifically the Lechon and Oyster Sisig and the Sizzling Sinigang, made the evening even better.

Lechon and Oyster Sisig and Sizzling Sinigang from Locavore

Later that evening, I caught up with Marco and Cha. They were having dessert when I swung by although I didn't order anything anymore because I was still stuffed. It had been years since I last saw Cha so it was really good to see her with Marco. Since I was double-booked that evening and joined them late, we didn't get to spend a lot of time together. Still, the conversation was great as always.

Christmas with my board gaming friends happened earlier in the month. We got to try some really cool and interesting games that night, including 5-Minute Mystery which is quite possibly my favorite deduction game right now. It's very quick to play and it's cooperative in a way that gets everyone involved so it's a lot of fun! I also decided to bring a Chocolate Swiss Roll which I bought from Dylan Patisserie and I'm glad to say it was a hit. It was a good chiffon cake and it wasn't too sweet. It also looked quite fancy!

Chocolate Swiss Roll from Dylan Patisserie

I had written about my Pizzulu dinner earlier this month and that was also a Christmas get-together with ex-colleagues. After dinner, we moved to Starbucks for coffee and dessert. We also did a simple exchange gift. While we initially wanted to do a more elaborate white elephant set-up, we ended up just doing the basic pick-a-number-that-corresponds-to-a-gift arrangement. I got a bamboo-scented room spray from Mickee. Aside from the planned exchange gift, a few of us also brought some gifts for everyone else. I had yema with pili nuts for everyone, Pao gave everyone goodies from his family's bakeshop, Mon and Chelle gave everyone homemade ube, and Nat gave us black garlic from his garden. Cool! I really love this team and I'm happy we continue to see each other every year, whether virtually of face-to-face.

Another dinner with ex-colleagues happened earlier in the month at Grace Park in Rockwell. Pia booked a table in the semi-private area on the second floor. It was a night of wining and dining as we feasted on several dishes. We ordered a few appetizers to share and almost everyone had dessert but as if that wasn't enough, I ordered two dishes for myself: the Duck Ragu and the Seabass Acqua Pazza. I'm not particularly sure how I managed to eat everything haha.

Seabass Acqua Pazza from Grace Park

It wasn't all ex-colleagues that I met. I also joined Irish and Michelle for brunch at Tyler Cafe along Katipunan. Since we stayed there for a few hours, I started by ordering their incredible ricotta pancakes and later on, Irish and I shared a pizza from Gino's. Michelle had just graduated from her MBA class so she very generously treated us. I also attended a couple of company Christmas parties. Our company-wide Christmas party was actually held in late November and I stayed until the after-party, dancing like a crazed madman to 80's music being performed by a live band haha. About a week later, we had our department Christmas party. The theme? Denim. I didn't have a denim jacket but thankfully, I was able to borrow one from a friend. Since I don't normally wear this kind of outfit, I had to have my photo taken haha.

Denim-themed Christmas Party

I also had one virtual get-together with my high school friends. Lia lives in the US so during the pandemic, we started having an annual virtual party. Even if people are a lot more comfortable to meet up face-to-face now, we decided to continue doing this so that we would have an opportunity to spend time with Lia and her husband Ferdie. Iona recommended a Secret Santa website back in 2020 and we have continued to use it. I ended up getting a couple of shirts that I included in my wish list and I'm really happy with them. We will have a face-to-face dinner as well for those of us who are in Manila, but since some of us will be traveling during the holidays, we decided to just meet up in January for that.