Parties and Reunions

Tito Erwin celebrated his 70th birthday and my family joined him and many other guests at the Diamond Hotel for this milestone occasion. He asked me about a month earlier if I could be the party emcee and I agreed so I was a bit (a lot?) stressed out that evening haha. I had a call with his daughter and my cousin, Carissa, who explained the program and the theme to me and from there, I was able to prepare my opening spiel. I know I could've done better but I guess it was a decent effort for someone who isn't a professional and Tito Erwin and his wife Tita Maritie both seemed happy with my hosting job. The official program ended in the late evening and the guests danced to music performed by a live band. I would've loved to stay longer but unfortunately, it was a week night and I had an early day the next day so I left while many people were still partying on the dance floor. Still, I'm happy that we were there to join Tito Erwin and I'm also happy that I got to see many of my relatives.

Tito Erwin's awesome birthday cake

That wasn't the only big party I attended recently. My friend Rona also celebrated a milestone birthday at the Valle Verde Country Club just a couple of weeks later. It was an '80s theme party and I originally wanted to buy a costume but I didn't have time and by the time I started thinking about it more carefully, I realized that any costume I order online might not arrive on time. Thankfully, I managed to find items in my wardrobe that, when put together, kinda looked like an '80s-inspired outfit. The great thing about that party is that our group of friends actually joined in the dancing once the DJ started playing music after the program and we all danced the night away. Rona had dance instructors lead the dancing and we grooved to songs that had popular moves in the Philippines, such as Shake Body Dancer, Just Got Lucky, Name Game, and of course Rico Mambo.

Trying some '80s dance moves in my '80s-themed outfit

I also got to meet up with a couple of my British friends who visited the Philippines. My friend Tim, who I got to see in Japan, flew to Angeles City in Pampanga for a weekend and they stayed at the ABC Hotel. The coolest bit of this hotel was the swimming pool and lounging area on the roof deck.

Pool area at the roofdeck of ABC Hotel in Angeles City, Pampanga

I also got to meet up with my friend David, who also flew to Manila with some of his colleagues for work. He was asking for venue ideas and I suggested that we have dinner at Sunae in BGC. This restaurant offers Asian cuisine which I thought they would appreciate and it also has a nice vibe. I think my choice was pretty good because everyone enjoyed the food. I'm also happy that I got to see David again. 

I do have several more get-togethers lined up in the near future so I am pretty sure I will be writing about those soon.