beauty inside and out.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Cutie

I've always found this picture cute. Guess who? Haha!

feistylittle bitch
1:40 AM

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Post-Halloween Escapades

We had our team building last month. I just didn't get to blog about it because our computer was driving us bonkers. My mom had to have it repaired and after what seemed like an eternity, she brought it home last night. Gem sent me a message while I was at the mall waiting for my turn at the atm.

***

I love beaches. My name says it all. When Ren, my supervisor informed the team that we will have our team building in her hometown, Bataan, we got really excited. The excitement waned after a few days though. I didn't have approved vacation leaves and I dreaded the exhaustion I would feel after two days of traveling and swimming. My batchmates made me feel guilty about not coming saying that it might be the last one we'll have with the whole team intact. I ended up packing my stuff two days before our departure. I decided to bring my black and white swimsuit because I'm saving my red one for my postponed Bora trip. I vowed to bring just enough to fill my Herbench bag. When we went to Bulacan, I had to cram my clothes in every little space available. I didn't want to make the same mistake so I made sure to just pack the essentials.

We left Makati at 8:00 in the morning. Tippy didn't come because Cathy got sick so we had enough space in the L300 for everyone. The weather in Manila was horrible so Erika, Brendo, Owen and Gi decided not to commute to Morong, Bataan. I took a nap right after we left the office. They were laughing at me because my pillow was still wrapped in plastic. I didn't want to have any dirt stuck on it on the way to the resort. We stopped by Farmer's Market in Cubao where Ren bought talaba for pulutan that night. Will accompanied me to the ladies' washroom which was quite yucky. I'd rather contend with that than punish my bladder for four hours. Right after leaving Cubao, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I woke up when we arrived in Double Happiness (Pampanga). It's a place where Victory Liner buses stop by so that passengers can eat their meals, buy pasalubong and empty their bladders. Right after urinating, I went back to the L300 to sleep. After a few minutes, my friends arrived saying that they had me paged thinking that I got lost because I just disappeared while they were posing for snapshots.

We arrived in Olongapo an hour or so after. We got lost while looking for the road to Bataan. We found ourselves in Ocean Adventure. We had to turn back in order to get to the right road. My friends were munching on cornik and pastillas when I woke up. I stayed awake to marvel at the view. It was like traveling through a forest with big trees, vines and endless roads. I found out that Morong is an NPA-infested town after passing through checkpoints. Ren pointed out a lake to us and Brendo grew excited with every winding road and every picturesque sight that we passed by. We stopped over Ren's house to get some cooking utensils and meet her mom who had to go to Subic for her company's planning session. While sitting down in Ren's living room, Owen and Anggueh rushed to the house exclaiming about the beauty of the city hall and the church. We all decided to walk to the centuries-old church across the street. I found it pretty. On the way to the gate, we passed by a tricycle terminal. A man was struck by Erika’s beauty. He greeted her when she walked past him.

Man: Wow! Pang fashion model ang beauty. Anong pangalan mo?

Erika smiled at the man and shyly said:

Pearl...

I walked with my mouth left open while our other friends roared with laughter. Erika started laughing when we got to the church's door. She loves pulling pranks on me when she gets the chance.

We peeked through a small gap on the door because it was locked. We satisfied ourselves with taking pictures in front of the church. After a few minutes, we rode the L300 to get to the Waterfront Resort. We rented five rooms and I ended up sharing with Anggueh, Gi and Erika. Our room didn't have an electrical plug in it which sucked big time because I had to go to the guy's room to charge my phone's battery. I changed into comfy shorts and shirt and took a nap. I woke up at 4:00 in the afternoon and ate lunch in the open cottage near the seashore. When Kat woke up, I took a shower and wore my swimsuit. We took pictures in the beach and swam. We stayed there until 6:00. No one's allowed to swim at night because of the big waves. We all moved to the swimming pool and took more pictures.

I felt so sleepy that I took my pillow, wore my white coverup and took a nap in the open cottage. I woke up to Ren's voice calling on everyone to eat dinner. I went to the dining pavilion and partook of the spicy spare ribs, pork chop and rice. It was a sumptuous meal. Hal, Erika and Kat were hogging the videoke machine while we kept on eating. When we got tired of talking and eating, we carried the bottles of alcoholic beverages and food to the beach. The driver made a bonfire for us and we toasted marshmallows and hotdogs. It was scorching hot so I kept my distance. We just kept taking pictures and improvising ways of toasting the marshmallows without getting burned. When I got tired, I went to our room and took a shower. I stayed by the beach for a few minutes before telling Kat to wake me up before sunrise so we could walk in the seashore and take snapshots. I slept for a few hours until I was roused by the sound of somebody puking her guts out in the washroom. I sneaked a peek and saw Ren drunk and sick beside the toilet bowl. Gi arrived and wiped her with a towel. We asked Ren to lie down on the bed and she mumbled that she would only sleep for 15 minutes. She passed out and she didn't answer back when I asked her to move a little to the other side of the bed. Anggueh entered the room carrying a cup of coffee that she placed in the dresser thinking that Ren would be able to take a sip after. Mark arrived a few minutes later with the shot glass for Anggueh. I went back to sleep after they left. I squeezed myself into a tiny space between a sand-covered Ren and the cold wall.

After about two hours, I heard the door open and I saw Gi upon opening my eyes. She asked if I saw Erika. I told her I didn't and went off to dreamland. I didn't know what convinced me to scramble out of bed after a few hours. When I went out of the room, I saw Arcie leaving the room she was sleeping in with Joy. She informed me that the others were in the swimming pool. I walked with her to the pool and saw Erika swimming stark naked. I waved at her and said, "Hey, bitch!". She answered in Japanese so I knew that she was really drunk. I found out that Erika got burned in the bonfire after tripping on her pants. She was trying to remove it when she lost her balance and fell straight into the fire. I was so shocked when I saw how huge the burned area was. She was oblivious to the pain though and she kept swimming. Arcie told me that she also slipped while running after Anggueh outside the shower room. She fell on the floor with a loud thud.

Ignoring Erika in her drunken stupor, I munched on a bag of Chippy beside Will and Anggueh. Gi went to the dining pavilion to eat and Brendo followed suit. Owen, Hal and Mark left to go to their rooms. I was left with Arcie, Will and Erika. Erika walked out of the swimming pool in a daze and Arcie decided to go back to their room. Will and I hauled the food and bottles that were left by the pool and walked in the dark. One of the resort employees turned off the lights since it was already 4:00 in the morning. I sat in one of the chairs in the dining pavilion and talked to Brendo. After a few minutes, Erika appeared from out of nowhere and took a porkchop from the casserole. She was talking in Japanese while Brendo and I looked clueless. She tore the porkchop into pieces and motioned for Brendo to eat. Brendo declined saying that he already ate. She threw the pieces at him and went to the table where the other dishes were placed. I saw her holding the casserole and then she just walked right in front of Brendo and started throwing the meat at him. I ran to her side of the table and asked her to stop. She just smiled at me in the dark. Afraid that she was going to hurl the casserole at me, I ran to the boys' room screaming. Owen was sitting in bed while Brian who was feverish was sleeping in the upper deck of the bed he shared with Will. Will was taking a bath in the bathroom. Owen told me to relax.

Owen: Pearl, yung Erika sa labas hindi yun yung Erika na friend mo sa office.
Pearl: Oh, okay.

I went to my room and took the milk and mamon to the boys' room. I was trying to avoid running into Erika who was running wild around the resort. Brendo entered the room and I asked him to lock the door. I sipped on my straw and took bites from my mamon while they updated me on what really happened to Erika.

I went back to my room and saw a white figure running right smack into the waves. I rushed to the boys' room and panicked that Erika might drown in the sea. Owen told me to sit down and relax so I did for the second time. Brendo opened the door to take a peek. He forgot to lock it because a few minutes later, it opened and Erika's head popped. She smiled at us and went to the mirror. We thought she wasn't drunk anymore. However, she started speaking in Japanese. She looked at me and smiled.

Owen: Pearl, lagot ka daw sa kanya mamaya.
Pearl: Huh? Oh no. Hindi nga.

They laughed at me right after Erika went out of the room. Will asked me to cook Yakisoba. We went to the dining pavilion and took the packs of Yakisoba out of the plastic bag. We used a small flashlight so we could see through the plastic bags. I felt somebody breathing right behind us and I screamed in surprise. Erika was right there looking at us. She scared me several times. We let her walk around the resort while we cooked and ate Yakisoba. Will told me that somebody was moving inside our room. I ran inside and I saw Ren in the bathroom washing her face. I told her that Erika's leg got burned. She went outside just in time to see Erika frolicking in the outdoor shower. She was about to take her towel off. Ren draped it around her and took her to our room. She sat on the bowl while Ren poured water on her. After a few minutes, she was back to her normal self. She was sobbing in grief upon seeing the burns on her leg. She was mumbling about killing herself if she got scarred. Ren and the driver rushed her to the health center near the church. When they returned, I asked her about the name she gave the doctor thinking that she used my name again. Ren told me that she was the one who gave Erika's information. She passed out while the doctor was cleaning her burns.

Erika: Nagising ako sa reality nung narinig ko na tinanong kung anong age ko. Sabi ko 22…

Pearl: What?! Bakit?
Erika: Ano na lang iisipin nila pag nalaman nila age ko tapos ganito pa mga ginagawa ko? Kaya sinabi ko 22.

We didn't get to ride the banca to an island where pawikans lay their eggs because of what happened to Erika. Ren decided to stay in Morong for another day. We dropped Brian off in Olongapo after purchasing chocolates in Puregold. I bought a pack of Twix for my family, Cadbury for me and Augy's mom and Chunky Chips Ahoy for Augy and my brothers. We were all exhausted but happy. Erika was absent for two days to recover after her accident. She's officially scared of bonfires now.

***

Anggueh told me that she almost drowned when Erika pulled her to the deep part of the pool. She was gagging and panicking while Owen just stared and them and said, "Ay. Si Anggueh nalulunod". He was nonchalant about what was happening until Will saw Anggueh and pulled her to the side of the pool where she gasped for air.

feistylittle bitch
11:47 PM