Farewells

Hazel's Despedida Party

April 24, 2007

Max's Jupiter

As all journeys begin and are bound to end, farewells are always due. One to give our friend a wonderful memory to hold on to as she moves on to her next adventure, and two, to celebrate the great experiences we shared while still together.

And the one we collaborated to throw for Hazel was a blast!!!

She had a lot of guests to wish her well. And the week long work done for her Farewell Scrapbook was all paid off seeing the sparkle on her eyes upon receiving it. *Ehem ehem*

Thanks to everybody who wrote touching messages, and shared a part of them in that little scrapbook project for Hazel. ;) You should have seen her teary eyes and know that she appreciates the good thoughts we all put in there for her.

During dinner time, the flow of food, stories, and fun chatter was unstoppable. But of course, pausing for a quick camera click was always welcome. Here is a photo of The Cookies taken with Hazel's camera.

This is my most favorite Cookie picture as of the moment. Do you see fat Cookies here...? Hehe.. Thanks, Hazel! Keep that camera shooting. ;)

But Hazel wasn't the only one treated for a surprise. Yen and Stan planned out a little surprise for me, Jet and Fred, too. A huge card of well-wishes from our team at AIU-RP. We were really touched as we really didn't expect it. Thanks for the great effort, Yen and Stan. We all know how busy everyone is, but you still went out of your way to set it up for us. Doumo!!! ^_^

What better way to finish off a fun evening but with a group picture... with Piolo Pascual...?! :D

Thanks for putting a nice cherry topping on my big pot of AIU-RP golden memories. ;)

I will surely, surely, SURELY miss everybody here. Sniff. Sniff.

Officially Missing My Cookie

After this weekend, there'd only be one weekend left before I fly out. And I am officially starting to miss my Cookie. :'(

I just couldn't imagine not seeing him at the end of the day. In the 15 months we have been together, he was always there to fetch me after work. On weekends, we often go out even just to have dinner, or go malling to window shop, or see a movie. And all these, I won't have in Singapore if he doesn't come after me soon... :'(

Sigh. The sacrifices we have to make often takes too much a toll on us. Double sigh.

The worst thing about leaving is that I will leave someone behind who means the world to me. The best thing about it is I know this experience will make better persons out of us and will pave the way to our perfect future together.

Saturday All-Day Gimmick

April 14, 2007
9:00 am - 11:00 am
Blue Rackets Badminton, Makati City

The morning was spent hitting some shuttlecocks at the courts. It has been a million years ago (an exaggeration) since I last played. If I remembered correctly, the last badminton game I played was the Championship game for the AIU-RP Badminton Tourney held last year. See, I told you it has really been a long "rest" for me from playing.

We all had tons of fun at the badminton courts - The Cookies, Stan, Yen, Astrid and Hazel. Well, we just played for fun really as we were just after the "sweating it out" part and enjoying each others company. Hehehe... And we are proud to say, both goals have been achieved! *wink*

We shot tons of pictures, too. The Cookies brought a camera. Stan brought his camera and Hazel brought hers. Astrid had one, too. We are self-confessed photo-crazed people so there is really no point to elaborate why everybody had a camera that day! :P

And here is a great "jump shot" from the girls. ;)

But the best part of this badminton game was that, finally, my Cookie played. And I didn't have to coerce him. Promise!

Hep, hep, hooray!!! :)

He said he enjoyed playing the game, and I was really ecstatic about it. Too bad he fell in love with the game a little too late already. But hopefully, we'll get to play more over there. :D

12:30 pm - 4:00 pm
Redbox, Greenbelt 3, Makati City

After a whole morning of sweating it out, next stop was at Redbox in Greenbelt 3. We availed of a lunch set and 3 hours of free singing! ;) Of course, I belted out my favorite Mandy Moore hits. Do you need me to elaborate? :P

There was a dance portion, too. But that's for "private" viewing only. >:)

We even called for the waiter to take this nice photo of the group. We really looked like we were having fun. Hahaha.. Just kidding! Of course, we were having fun. :P

And again, tons and tons and TONS of funny pictures!

Here is one of my Cookie's many photos. How cute, right? He is wearing a newly purchased shirt from Nike.

After soaking the one he wore that morning of sweat from badminton, he really needed to change, and thus, a new outfit and consequently a badly wounded credit card. :P

After belting it out at Redbox, people craved for ice cream. We trooped to the Glorietta Food Choices. But in the end, nobody had ice cream. Hehehe... Some more chit chat and we had to say goodbye for now.

The Cookies went ahead to do a little shopping. And a quick "merien-dinner" at T.G.i.F's. A nice photo of the Cookies while waiting for the big plate of Mexican Nachos we ordered. ;)

And that concludes our Saturday all-day gimmick. Truly, a memory worth treasuring. Naks! ;)

A Cookie Photo Slideshow

Dinner @ Teriyaki Boy, Greenbelt

April 10, 2007

Teriyaki Boy, Greenbelt 1

The Cookies had a craving for Japanese food. Then I remembered, Teriyaki Boy has just opened a branch at Greenbelt 1. So, it's the best time to check it out.

Since my Cookie was really hungry, we ordered for one Teriyaki Boy Chicken (my Cookie's favorite), California Maki (which they really don't make in Japan), Pork Gyoza, and 3 cups of Gohan (Japanese Rice, or is it?)

And I am a believer of the saying, anything tastes great when y ou are hungry... Hehehe... :P

The picture on the left is a photo of our dinner table. If you noticed, my Cookie uses a spoon and fork. I prefer chopsticks. Well, yes, my Cookie is hungry, you'd probably think this to be the reason why he used a spoon and a fork to eat. But actually, he never uses sticks. According to him, his ultimate "weapon" for eating is a spoon, mine is a fork. A little Cookie trivia there! ;P

A little souvenir photo taken with my Motorola SLVR L7 to freeze this Cookie moment. The resolution is bad, I know. But it is still a great Cookie moment. Hehehe...

Also, compared to the Teriyaki Boy across The Landmark, here, they play Japanese music. ;) But still nothing beats Tokyo! Tokyo!'s rice-all-you-can deal. :P

The Bonifacio High Street Adventure 2

April 9, 2007
Bonifacio High Street

The last day of the long holiday was spent grazing the malls - Bonifacio High Street, Serendra and Market! Market! The Cookies were with my Shobe and Cousin Rose. And did we have tons of fun!!! :)

My Cookie took us for a drive. It was nice, long and slow but nice. ;)

We had lunch at the Texas Roadhouse Grill (again). Since I was really happy the first time about the Seafood Marinara, we ordered that again. But this time, it failed me... The last time, everything blended well, the pasta, the tomato sauce, the shrimp and squid. That time, the food was much too spicy. The chili flakes messed it all up... I was really disappointed. Sigh. We also ordered the Grilled Pork Belly and the Sampler Platter (Onion Rings, Buffalo Wings, and Chicken Fingers). My sister said, Friday's version of the Grilled Pork Belly is better, and I think I agree with her. The Sampler Platter is adequate, but not if there are more than four people dinning together as it will not suffice, very small serving. Did not even gave the word "platter" justice... Sheesh...

Note: The above photo is taken before the pasta, reason for the nice smiles. :P

After lunch, we visited some of the stores in Bonifacio High Street while walking towards Market! Market! In Market! Market!, we watched the movie Miss Potter, starred by Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor. Nice movie, a good mix of visuals and dialogues. It is based on the life of children's book author Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit.

After the movie, we had some more time to stroll the malls. But there really is nothing much to see. Just the usual mall, and lots of people moving about. So, we decided to head back. A quick stop for some picture taking at Serendra and the Bonifacio High Street signboard.

Also, we dropped by Krispy Kreme to get some pasalubong. And we were headed for home. This is a picture of the Cookies with the Cookie Mobile. ;P

A little Princess Cookie commentary on my Cookie's driving. His driving has really improved a great deal. Smoother breaks. Every once in a while I sense his hesitation but compared to the previous drives we had, this one is definitely a better experience. Hehehehe... ;)

And that concludes a delightfully loooong weekend. :)

Something Pretty

The best thing about vacations is staying up late and sleeping in until late in the morning. Agree...? Hehe...

So while spending some alone time with my laptop, I thought of putting together something pretty for The Cookies. Well, it is just something I cooked with a little creativity and a lot of help from this really nice digital scrapbooking software.

Sample # 1: Something Formal

I used earth colors for this one. A nice contrast with the deep red letters for our names. And a formal and heartwarming title in sync with the theme. Nice...? Yeah. I like. Hehe...

This will be be a good design to put on the invitation's cover page. And probably a design best suited for a Barong Tagalog motif. What do you think...?

It is a little conservative but definitely not outmoded... Yeah?

Hmmm... Pretty... ;)

Sample # 2: Something Fancy

This time, I went color crazy. Pastel!!! Hehe... My love for the color pink is just too obvious, right? :P

This one is more fun, more fresh, more youthful. A tinge of playfulness. So, a well fitting title is also given to suit the theme.

Hmm... may not be a hit if put on the invitation cover, but may get a second look beside the menu at the reception tables... Hehe...

This one is a bit too fancy... But still, pretty... ;)

The Bonifacio High Street Adventure

March 31, 2007
Bonifacio High Street, The Fort

It was a fine day. A nice day to just drive around and go cruisin'. So, that's what The Cookies did. My Cookie drove us to The Fort. Yes, finally, he is driving! Hehehe... It is a 45 minute drive from his place to The Fort. And believe me, those 45 minutes was already an adventure on its own. >:) *Peace!*

Our first stop at The Fort was Net Square 2, where my Cookie goes to office. We were supposed to get something from his office but then he left his drawer keys it the car. It was almost 2 pm, so we just skipped that and went to the Bonifacio High Street to grab some lunch.

My Cookie took me to this place - Texas Roadhouse Grill. He said it just opened store that week and the food was nice. So, there we were waiting for our food to be served - buffalo wings and seafood marinara pasta. To forget our rumbling tummies, it was photo shoot time. ;)

How was the Texas Roadhouse Grill experience...?

Well, the food was great and less expensive compared to the Makati restos the Cookies usually visit to dine.

The place was great. The cowboy and cowgirl get up of the servers plus the saloon ambience of the place is indeed engaging. And if you noticed, the backdrop of The Cookies photos is actually a wheel of some sorts. The one you see in carriages, I think.

And the service is great, too. The Manager frequents our booth and asks if everything is alright. Probably because the place is new so they had to really please their customers to make sure they come back. :P

Hopefully, they'll put up a branch in Makati, in Greenbelt or Glorietta, and keep up the good work. ;) But looking at their current spot at the Bonifacio High Street, I can say their customer base will pick up soon when all the stalls in that "mall" opens and the place becomes fully operational.

After a filling lunch, we went on malling. We went into several of the shops there. There were hobby shops, clothes places, a photo place for kids. Krispy Kreme is there, too. On our way home, we bought some doughnuts for pasalubong. They have this new product, egg-shaped doughnuts. Very apt for the Easter season.

We walked the lenght of the Bonifacio High Street. Then through Serendra, until we reached Market! Market! a the other end. And having enjoyed the serene walk at the Bonifacio High Street where there were only like a handful of people walking, the queue at the mall entrance was a "culture shock". Hehe...

We strolled the mall for only a short time because the tons of people moving about is just suffocating. A quick stop over at this cotton candy place and we headed back for the car.

It was a nice drive home. It was a great day. I am surely looking forward to the next Cookie adventure at the Bonifacio High Street which is on Easter Sunday. According to my Cookie, Krispy Kreme will be holding an Easter Egg Hunt! Fun!!! :D