What's the buzz?
I can't stand all the sneezing anymore. It must be the crazy weather or the little sleep I had the whole weekend. That's the problem with me. I usually find it difficult to get some snooze because I want to make the most out of my days off then I'll regret it later when I get sick, nod off to sleep in the bus on the way to work or when I yawn incessantly while at work.
Life has been good lately. So good that I cannot find a reason to complain or whine about things. I have this blissful smile on my face at times that I cannot feel thankful enough. Far from living a charmed life or getting half of what I wished for, I am just content with every little thing that is happening to me. Okay. I told Gladz that I feel like I'm drowning in boredom and I don't find any excitement in what I'm doing. Miraculously, I feel happy. Instead of feeling so fed up with the humdrum life I live, I keep on finding things to smile about. That's how blessed I feel. When I'm extremely bored with work that I feel like walking out, I get a message from Augy or Gladz and I feel so invigorated enough to finish one whole night. During the weekend, I now have the choice whether to go out or stay home.
I was only supposed to have breakfast with Augy in Market! Market! after work. The whole night seemed like an eternity. I kept fiddling with my phone during breaks to ask him if we could have breakfast before I go home to sleep. I didn't leave right after work because I had to help out with the Halloween decorations. I spent two hours rolling newspapers to wrap with brown and black crepe paper to make into vines so we could turn our stations into a miniature creepy garden. Mark and Owen bought chips and chocolates that we munched and chewed on while talking about our kleptomaniac slash psychopath teammate who was missing in action as usual. I made a hasty escape to the washroom before seven o'clock to powder my nose and to put on lipgloss before hailing a cab to Augy's office.
Before breakfast, Iryn invited me to join her and Karl for a drive to DLSU-Dasma and Tagaytay. I gave my nod to the drive to Dasma since I live near the university. I decided not to go to Tagaytay since that would mean enduring exhaustion until the afternoon.
Excitement bubbled up inside me the whole morning. I felt like my feet would snap from walking on high heels. I felt stupid about not asking the cab to stop right in front of Heaven n' Eggs when I was wearing my fuschia thong sandals that made me look really tall when I'm not. I winced and grimaced as I made my way to the restaurant. I pulled out a chair, plopped down and leafed through the menu that the waiter handed to me when I got there. It seemed like an eternity before Augy arrived. I went mad thinking whether I should order waffles, pancakes or adobo flakes with rice. We decided to get a table inside the restaurant and I finally made up my mind to feast on adobo flakes, scrambled eggs and rice. We snapped pictures using his phone before we were served our food. When the plates were placed in front of us, we attacked them with great gusto. I swallowed my resolve to go on a diet. Why is it that I end up going on a binge when I'm with Augy? Shame on me when my man's trying to be fit.
One of God's blessings
One of the things I cannot live without
Iryn texted me to say that Karl's cousin was in the office. I didn't get to meet her because she had to leave right away. Augy told me that Iryn spoke to him about bringing me along to DLSU. I was so happy that he allowed me to go instead of insisting that I go home right away to sleep. Iryn arrived at past eight and we stayed outside the resto to chat. Karl arrived a few minutes later and we waited for him and Augy to finish puffing on their cigarettes and talking before going to the parking lot where Karl left his car the night before.
It was sweltering hot when I sat in the backseat. The discomfort was momentary since Karl turned on the aircon and we left for Cavite. We didn't know what route to take to get to the university before the office closes. I didn't want to be a know-it-all since I'm terrible at directions. Karl decided to pass by Paranaque then Zapote to get to Aguinaldo Highway where the car moved slowly like a turtle until we got to Imus. I was so sleepy that I ended up talking in gibberish and had Karl and Iryn howling with laughter all the way to the university. They certainly won't forget my quirky comments about the house "na masyadong mabrick" and the road from Salitran to DLSU "na sobrang liit, walang dumadaan na sasakyan".
I realized how I sorely missed college when I saw all the teenagers walking around, giggling and chatting with their friends. When you get to the real world, there is no time to act carefree and reckless. I should have been warned that when I was still studying then I would have partied and shopped more to make up for all the responsibilities that I need to deal with as a young adult (gags). Karl joked about the branches and dried leaves from the typhoon-ravaged trees around the campus that I can lug all the way home for our team's Halloween decor.
I decided to tag along to view the house Iryn told me her friend rents out to people. I texted Augy and cajoled him a little so he won't raise hell about my staying up so late. Karl agreed to let me tag along with the conditions that I shut my trap the entire time and I treat them out somewhere for lunch. Both conditions were impossible to accomplish since I talk A LOT and I did not bring cash or my trusty plastic with me.
We talked and laughed for an hour all the way to Tagaytay with Iryn reminding us to point out the Petron gas station near Josephine's. Karl joked about the number of Petron stations in the area. I know only of one in the intersection going to Batangas and Amadeo. Josephine's is located on the road to Batangas and the house we were looking for comes before the restaurant. We decided to go straight to the house first before eating a late lunch.
The house is so cozy with three bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms. There is a Jacuzzi adjacent to the master bedroom and the floor area would serve as a perfect place to hold drinking sessions at night. There's also an expansive balcony that has a good view of the lake and volcano. The caretaker, Mang Edgar and his family lives in a shack behind the garden. Iryn and I took a picture in the balcony using my phone because her digital camera ran out of batteries after snapping pictures of the house. I felt so sleepy that it took so much self-control not to lie down on one of the beds and close my eyes. The three of us sat in the balcony envisioning a good nap. I pictured myself on a hammock while the cool Tagaytay breeze lulled me to sleep. It didn't help that it drizzled outside. The house had old family portraits placed on walls and tabletops. It had furniture from the 80s that made us think wistfully of the old times.
Nearing 24 hours without sleep
After 30 minutes, we left the house with its Akai music equipment that reminded me so much of my dad's old records and our own scrapped player. Karl wanted to eat at Starbucks, but we decided to go to Dencio's so they could eat rice then head to the former for coffee. Karl had to maneuver the car to the parking lot behind The Grill then weave out of the driveway to get to Dencio's. We were ushered to an outdoor area of the resto where we settled on a table for four. I ordered a ripe mango shake since I couldn't shove any more food down my throat after the filling breakfast in Heaven n' Eggs. I watched Karl and Iryn finish off sisig, bulalo, rice and calamares in one sitting. We shared stories about Pritos Rings and Chickadees.
After the meal, we headed to the washroom where I was aghast to find my face looking dark. Iryn told me that she looked tan too. We surmised that it was just the mirror playing tricks on us. She asked me to snap pictures of her and Karl in the garden. I didn't want to have my picture taken because my face was oily and my eyebags looked humongous. Upon stepping into the garden, I realized that it was a bit sunny. I pulled out my umbrella, but decided to close it after Karl howled in protest. I had to admit that I looked weird holding an umbrella and taking pictures when the other diners were enjoying the sun. I only took two pictures of them because Karl didn't even want to have one taken anyway. Iryn just convinced him to play along. I couldn't wait to get out of direct contact with the UV rays too so I trudged back to the car as fast as I could. We agreed not to go to Starbucks anymore since we had little time to spare.
It took us only 15 minutes to get from Tagaytay to Dasma. Iryn dozed off while Karl and I were chatting about Xbox. She had a hosting stint to attend to in Robinson's Place Imus at three. I was feeling groggy at that time so I was relieved when I got down in Salitran. I said my thanks for the fun road trip then took the jeepney ride to our village.
I remember falling asleep before four in the afternoon and waking up at past seven to eat dinner with my lola and brothers. My parents were in Mindoro and the househelp moved out so it was a quiet dinner for four. Gem and I spent the night watching videos in Youtube and tweaking with my Friendster profile. I ended up sleeping at five in the morning.
It's the second weekend I spent in Tagaytay. Last Sunday, Iryn and I had lunch at The Grill. We ate pork sisig and barbecue before hanging out in Starbucks with our grande Java Chip Frappe. We were there from half past one to five in the afternoon. We talked, took pictures and talked some more before going home.
Enjoying our frappe
A portrait of a woman enjoying her life
Since I didn't want to get a sermon from my lola about not being home most of the time, I spent the whole Sunday in bed with a little work in the kitchen and time spent watching wrestling with my brothers in between. I took a nap this afternoon so I wouldn't feel too lazy and sleepy to blog in the evening. I ended up sleeping for another hour after dinner before watching a tribute for the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Youtube with Gem. I ended up sniffling again and it jolted me awake that I found the energy to check my Friendster account and blog. Too little time with so many things to enjoy. I just don't know how to find the time to do all the things I want and still get the right amount of sleep that my body needs. I should be conscious about aging and stuff, but I feel like I'll regret it if I sleep during the weekend so I stay up until my eyes droop and I only have a little strength left to crawl under the covers.