Yesterday was a lot of fun! We went on our first ever block outing organized by JV. Too bad not everyone could come though. People who came were me, Nata, JV, Marge, Cla, Athens, and James. Lots of pictures here.

We decided to meet up at Xavier Hall in Ateneo. Hunbun and I arrived around 6:30AM - a little late from the 6:00 AM call time. *hehe* James was the last one to arrive though. Hunbun brought his own car and driver so we followed JV’s car. We had a stop over for breakfast at McDonald’s, Petron.

After a long car ride, we finally reached JV’s old house. We played for a little while on the playground - complete with swing sets, slides, and seesaw. We especially had fun on the “swing-saw“. It was my first time to see such a contraption. Then, we got on our cars again for another long ride to JV’s uncle’s rest house.

The rest house is beautiful - especially the swimming pool area. We rested and stretched ourselves for a while. Then, we played a game of billiards called “Killer” with James & Cla, JV & Marge, Nata & I. James & Cla won with Nata & I coming a close second. I actually haven’t played billiards in quite a long time. Well, I’ve never mastered it in the first place. Afterwards, we had our bountiful lunch! The food is yummy - especially the fresh pineapples.

Afterwards, we played poker! It’s really a fun game but when you’ve constantly been dealt with bad cards, it gets somewhat frustrating after a while. During the game, I opened the Bread Pan I bought. Apparently, all the guys preferred the red Toasted Garlic flavor while the girls unanimously favored the green Toasted Cheese and Onion flavor. Hmm?

At around 3:00 PM, James, JV, and Athens went for a swim. Marge and I honed our very little billiard skills. *hehe* Everyone sort of urged us to play 9-Ball. The game went very slowly since we took a long time to shoot the balls in the pockets. Oh, I won by a very lucky shot! Yay!

Gretch’s Billiard Tips for Self:

1. Powder your hands often.
2. Keep your eye on the balls.
3. Keep your right hand level.
4. Don’t get up immediately after you take the shot.
5. Take your time.

Then, we decided to take a group picture near the swimming pool. Which ended up in all of us wading and having fun in the pool. We had a Pansit Malabon merienda and prepared to leave for Enchanted Kingdom.

We got to EK around 6:30 PM. We made a bee line for Dodgem - the bump cars ride. It was really fun driving and bumping into everyone. We wanted another turn but the line was too long. James, JV, Marge, and Athens rode the Anchors Away ride. While waiting for them to finish, Cla, hunbun and I explored the area. Then, we all went to the Rialto which was showing “Hana Barbera”. It was hot inside the theater area and the show was too “kiddy” for us. *lol* Near it was the 4D Discovery Theater. We had to pay an extra Php40.00 to see the featured thriller, “Escape from Bane Manor”. That, I felt was well worth the money. The 3D glasses, effects, and moving chairs were good!

It was already 8:30 PM by the time we had dinner at the food court. We ordered Domino’s Pizza and potato tots. While waiting for the food, they rode the triple-loop roller coaster. Hunbun and I just rested. I was really tired by then. After eating, we fell in line for the Wheel of Fate. JV, Marge, hunbun and I shared a cart. I was not afraid of heights but I was freaking out when we were hanging near the top. Thinking about it, it was I who suggested that as our last ride. *lol* When the wheel started moving, I eventually got over the fear of us falling to our deaths.

Before going, we had a photo session near the entrance. Marge rode with hunbun and I because her driver was going to fetch her at my home. It was really traffic but we managed to reach hunbun’s house. We switched cars so that his driver could go home early. I arrived home at 11:30 PM. It was a great day albeit I felt extremely exhausted afterwards.

After getting back from Boracay on May 22, 2006, hunbun and I headed to Powerplant. We had dinner at Kaya and watched Da Vinci Code. I was extremely excited to watch movie since I had read all his 4 books. But… the movie was a let down. There was too much focus on Silas and his punishment of himself. On the contrary, the important parts of the book were not given enough screen time. The movie was minadali - too fast paced. Most of all, the “wow” factor in Robert Langdon’s discoveries was simply not there! There was no amazement in how he managed to solve the clues left by the curator.

It was back to work for me on Tuesday, May 23, 2006. The next day I bought a cute brown sheer cover up at Style Centrale in Eastwood. (It’s kind of hard to explain…) Then, I had to go to McDonalds’ Katipunan for an ASG meeting.

On May 25, 2006, hunbun, Dianne, and I went to Tiendesitas. On the way there, hunbun was stopped by a traffic enforcer - good thing we just got a warning. *hehe* Tiendesitas is a really big shopping area with different “villages” or themes. Dianne and I just picked the fashion and accessories villages. It was extremely hot there which was not conducive to leisure shopping. That’s why, I so prefer Greenhills over it. Anyway, I bought a very pretty princess-y prink Juicy Couture jacket and heart stickers. *lol* We had dinner at Sisigland there but I didn’t like it very much. We then headed back to Promenade because we had very late tickets for X-Men: The Last Stand aka X-Men 3. We hung out first at the restaurant area where we had yummy cream puffs from Beard Papa. The movie was okay but too dramatic and non-common-sensical! I mean, why did Wolverine have to kill Jean Grey when all he had to do was inject her with the “medicine”. Also, why did he have to stop and declare his undying love - very much like Filipino movies. *sigh*

The next day, hunbun and I had PT at his house and I had a YM meeting for CompSAt.

We were supposed to go to Thailand last weekend. But that trip was cancelled because we were not able to book flight tickets. So Dihia and Achie Pin treated Mama and I to Boracay! Pictures are here.

Before that… On May 19, 2006, I had a much needed rest and relaxation at home. I already asked for leave from ci-tech because the trip was supposed to be from Friday to Sunday. But I’m not complaining! I was looking forward to the cheap shopping though. *hehe* That evening, hunbun and I exercised with our personal trainer. We then had dinner at QC.

We left around noon the next day for the domestic airport. We boarded a 50-person Asian Spirit airplane. I was quite apprehensive because of the “fly as an Asian and land as a spirit” joke. The flight was okay and the Oishi Bread Pan snack was yummy! We landed at Catiklan where the Friday’s Boracay employees were already waiting for us. We had a short car trip to the Fairways and BlueWater Resort Golf & Country Club’s high class port. (I remember that lounge because we stayed at that exclusive resort way back when I first went to Boracay so many years ago.) We then got on a fairly small boat to go to Boracay main. When we finally reached the shore, Friday’s welcome committee gave us seashell necklaces and cool drinks. They really know how to make the guests feel welcome. Well, for the price that we paid for - they should!

When I first stepped on the sand, I felt how pillow-y smooth and white it was. Really, no other beach I’ve been to compares to it. It’s like walking on baby powder. After checking in, mom and I immediately headed towards our room. It was really spacious and gorgeous - reminding me how much I wished hunbun was there with us. I fell in love with the room and that’s a lot coming from an extremely hard to please girl! *lol* We rested for a while while waiting for the sun to set. When it did, we quickly changed to our swimsuits and went to the beach. (Our mini-hut was just a few steps from the beach.) The water was uber clear and shallow too. We were quite a distance from the shore and yet the water was only waist-deep. With the starry sky above, smooth snad below, warm water and family around, it really was paradise. It would be perfect if hunbun was there…

Later on that night, we went to D* Mall to shop and have dinner. I saw a pretty pink and brown bikini set with matching skirt but I didn’t buy it because I’m too self-conscious to wear a belly-bearing swim suit. That’s one of my main motivation in exercising. *lol* We ate yummy ribs and seafood on the beach. For desert, we had crepes at Le Saint Michel Creperie. (Oh, Friday’s gave us little chocolate truffles to wish us good night. How nice!)

Mom woke me up early the next morning to have breakfast with her. The food at Friday’s is divine! Just the way I like food to be: classy and delicious! Afterwards, I went back to bed. Around noon, we all went to D* Talipapa. We shopped and bought some beach wear there. We also had a late lunch around 3PM. We bought fresh seafood and had a lady named Thess cook for us. She cooks extremely well especially with her sauces! We had a whole lot of food for so low a price! We took a stroll because all of us were so full.

I think we started from Station 3 all the way to Station 1. Of course, we didn’t walk all the way. We rode the tricycle for most of the part. You can really see the class difference in Boracay. The atmosphere in Station 3 was different from Station 2 and totally set apart from Station 1. Our resort was on Station 1 were the finest sand was. The difference in the type of people and stores per station is striking. There were also less and less people as we approached Station 1. I really prefer the soothing and more private feeling there. Station 2 was really hip though with a lot of happenings.

Anyway, we finally got back to our beach and swam again. Of course, that’s what we were there for. *hehe* We had lunch at Friday’s own restaurant. We had sea bass with risotto, special salad, and salmon pizza. Yum! Afterwards, we played in the sand. I really felt like a kid and I love that feeling. That night, the three of us girls had soothing massage from Nigi Nigi Nu Noos ‘e’ Nu Nu Noos Beach Resort massage personnels. Needless to say I had a lovely sleep.

It was a very rainy Monday morning, May 22, 2006. It was so hard to get out of the comfy bed. We were kind of rushed since the boat taking us back to Catiklan was scheduled at 7:30AM. We had a quick breakfast where I had salmon over hard bread. Anyway, the airplane ride back to Manila was horrible… It was gliding all over the place with so much turbulence. I got a major head ache.

But it was a great Boracay weekend. Hunbun and I must really save up a lot of money so that we can go back in the next few years. *hehe*

April 20, 2006 was my first day at Canon… That night, I attended a COA meeting at the Cervini recreation room. *sigh* Late night meetings tire me so! It’s so hard to schedule meetings when you have work.

The next day, hunbun surprised me by dropping in during lunch time. He arrived around 12:00 which was already too late because my lunch time is from 11:30 - 12:30. *lol* We just drove in circles until I had to return to the office. That afternoon, hunbun fetched me to go to Powerplant. We watched Tristan and Isolde which was better than expected. Hunbun loved the war scenes while I loved the romance. I still prefer pure romance movies though.

On April 24, 2006, hunbun and I celebrated our 7th Anniversary together. We had lunch at Heaven and Eggs in Eastwood. Hunbun gave me 7 3-rose bouquets for each year we’ve been together - 7 I Love You’s. To top that off, he gave me a big bouquet with 15 roses. *awww* I really didn’t expect he would be extra sweet. We had dinner at Paparazzi at Edsa Shangri-La Manila. It was a wonderful and lovely day. Hopefully, many more years to come.

We had PT the next day and I had to rush home for a CompSAt EB meeting regarding AVP recruitment. Hunbun blogged about our “Silent Hill the Movie” day.

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