Of Birthdays and Friends

Last week was a most hectic time for me and team marketing, for it was golf week. Our company holds an annual golf tournament for our customers every year to coincide with our company's anniversary. Marketing is the de-facto organizer for this event, and it can really get very busy!

And so I had two hours' sleep last Friday and ran all over the place coordinating things til 7PM, all the while I not having a decent breakfast or lunch because with all the tension that comes with being an organizer, you can hardly find the appetite to eat. And so you can just imagine how totally drained we were after this event.

I went home to Makati and I decided to sit for a while before packing up to go to Baguio. Bad idea! I fell asleep and woke up at the 7:00AM Saturday sunshine! I left for Baguio at lunchtime and arrived 7.5 hours later. I practically spent my birthday in the bus.

But a pleasant surprise awaited me at home. I was greeted by this birthday banner on the wall. Isn't that sweet! And I had two guests: my best friends since way back in high school, Sonny and Leo! We had a lot of fun catching up.



We had a simple dinner of my favorite tinola which my wife cooked and had a couple of beers while we caught up with each other's lives. It was already 2:00AM when we called it a night. What fun! We promised to meet again before the Halloween vacation is over.



The following day, we went to my parents and brought with us a simple food celebration for my father's birthday, which was still going to be on the 29th but we decided to celebrate it on the 28th instead so it can be a double birthday celebration. My father was actually requesting for a brand of red wine but the liquor ban due to the upcoming elections caught us unawares so that will have to wait.

Monday was quite uneventful apart from being my father's birthday and the local elections. We exercised our right to suffrage and then we were supposed to be on our way to La Union but my wife postponed it. So I stayed at home with baby Jo-Lo and his cousins.

I have limited access to the internet at this time so my next post may be after the Halloween vacation already. So until then, have a meaningful All Souls and All Saints Day ahead!

Blogger's EB

Last Sunday was a fun day for two families as the Ballesteros family met the Zafra family in Baguio City. Aside from being a small reunion (Arnold and I once lived in the same apartment here in Manila), it was also like a Blogger's EB because I have a blog, and so does Arnold (aczafra.com), his daughter Arianna Shay (happy birthday!), and Jo-Lo.

My wife with Jo-Lo, and Arnold's wife Sharon with daughter Arianna

We met for lunch at O Mai Khan near Rizal Park in Burnham, then proceeded to Oh My Gulay (which was closed!), then took a cab to john Hay for coffee. We went to the butterfly farm (I'll post photos of that next time) afterwards.

Darn, I want a camera like that!

When we went to John Hay, I remembered there used to be a firehouse at the entrance (I think this was called Gate 3 before but is now the main entrance). This is gone. There was also an indoor skating rink nearby with flooring made of wood. That's gone as well. In its place is a food and coffee place. At least, the basketball courts are still there. Nearby this is the butterfly garden.

Inspite of these changes in John Hay (and I love musing about the past and saying that the old John Hay was the best), I found myself enjoying the pine trees, the cool weather, and the company of friends and family.

For more photos, head on to Jo-Lo's blog.

In the blink of an eye...

... lives are lost, and we are once again faced with the fact that terrorism can hit anytime, anywhere. Our prayers for those who perished in yesterday's Glorietta 2 Mall bombing.

Links:
Inquirer.net
ABS-BCN News