Monday, January 19, 2015

Must love holiday breaks

After the ten-day Christmas break came another holiday a.k.a. Papal Visit shortly after. Honestly though, I hoped there was a much longer gap between the two long weekend breaks. Anyway, Papal holiday weekend started last January 15 and officially ends today which means that tomorrow, everything is expected to go back to normal. :) Not that it's significant or anything but I just feel like sharing how my Papal holiday break went.

January 15, Thursday.
I just stayed home. Was able to really relax and enjoy my "still-tidy-since-new-year" room. I also spent an awful lot of time downloading new songs, mostly RnB. Apparently, there really are a lot of good songs out there since 2009 that I haven't heard of being that I'm a self-proclaimed RnB music lover. The playlist sounded a little mono-something though, where every song sounds like the other; pretty much having a distinct similar beat and melody for each artists that I now know, not to mention those unnecessary "Ooohs and Aaahs" adlibs that they occasionally made on the intro. It could have sounded better without it but heck, the songs were still good... Good enough to help me through every tiring day at work, I assume. *bigsmile* 

Also, I finally finished reading Me Before You. It was a really good read. As in, really good. I loved it because it's so easy to visualize. It's as if you're there like a silent audience watching things happen as you read the contents. I even found myself occasionally wondering "Ano na kayang nangyayari?" whenever I need to stop reading. Crazy, right? I think that's what's lovable about books. It only happens to you when you read it. You have a choice. You are in control of how far you will go and how far you will let its story get to you. Anyway, the story was both heartbreaking and beautiful. Tells of how love makes you face things/occurrences that are beyond your own comprehension and still agree on it because you know how much the person you love badly needs it. You have to read it to understand what I'm trying to say. I'm no spoiler. *wink*




January 16, Friday.
Mitch's birthday was not until the next day but since we have more important things to attend to (as he puts it) a.k.a. Papal Visit and my friend Ida's wedding, we decided to celebrate it the day before. We had scheduled a dinner with his family at Yakimix. Since Mitch was really not much of a planner, we didn't have anything concretely planned before the dinner. We ended up going to Quiapo and watched the live coverage of Pope's mass at Manila Cathedral which was publicly aired there via the giant LED screen. After the mass, we went to look for an eye clinic to have my eyes checked up. I've been experiencing dryness of my eyes and occasional headaches while at work for a couple of months already. An optha advised me to get an eyeglass with UV protection to minimize the dryness of my eyes and the headaches. So I did. Price of eyeglass on malls was so expensive compared to that of Quiapo's. I once canvassed an eyeglass worth P3,000 inclusive of frame, multi-coated lens, and checkup at an eye clinic in Trinoma. Well, I got mine for just P1,300 at Quiapo with the same inclusions, mind you. It's waaaaaaay cheaper! Thank God for Quiapo.

Four-eyed lovers, eh?

January 17, Saturday.
Today was Mitch's 29th birthday. Today also marked the first wedding I've attended for 2015. Congratulations are finally in order for my Nanay Ida and his now husband, Tatay Dodi. Ida was my mentor in dancing way back in college when we were still together with UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company. Now that we're both done with college, let's just say some things do not really change. She's still my "nanay". Finally, after "n" number of years, our family have been completed.

The ceremony was held at Sta. Rita de Cascia. It's a small church located inside Philam Homes which could really be perfect for intimate weddings like theirs. The motif was Navy Blue and Yellow Gold. Reception took place at Bella Ibarra, an events place along Quezon Avenue. Their wedding was by far the simplest wedding I've attended BUT it was also the most "focused-on-the-couple" one. Attending their wedding made me realize that it's really not the size of the place, or the beauty of the chandeliers or the presence of the drapes, or the elaborate table setups, or other whatnot that gives beauty to the wedding but the couple itself - that happy glow that they both  wear as they officially become each other's better halves. Other weddings I've attended to were all beautiful but Ida's wedding was an eye opener for me. It made me realize that it is still possible to have a beautiful wedding without unnecessary upgrades on packages availed from wedding suppliers. Because at the end of the day, all you need and want in your heart is a wedding where you will stand in front of an altar beside the person you truly love. That, in itself even without a grand reception, is already a celebration of your love. Nanay Ida and Tatay Dodi is now starting to live happily ever after.

Photo grabbed from Nay Ida's FB account.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the reception early because I had to go to Taft Avenue for the Pope's mass at Quirino Grandstand the next day. Mitch, the birthday boy, picked me up at Fisher Mall. With many roads already closed as early as 8 p.m. Mitch wanted to make sure I'll get to Taft safely. Boyfriend duties. *heartheart*  At least, we got to spend a time together during his birthday. Luckily, going to Taft was stress-free. It took us one hour mainly because Mitch was a choosy commuter. Lol. My parents and I together with Mitch and Adot, his brother, booked two rooms at Leeson's Residences, a condotel near Quirino Ave, as a preparation for the Papal visit. We assumed that it'll be a really long day at Quirino Grandstand so we thought we need all the sleep that we can get. We were right. Mitch's sisters and parents were booked at a different hotel. My brothers weren't able to come with us, unfortunately.

January 18, Sunday.
It was a long, tiring yet a victorious day for all of us. Please see previous post re Papal Visit 2015.

January 19, Monday.
Today was literally a rest day. We just stayed home. Mitch and I had scheduled a double date with Karlo and Jaic, our couple bestfriend, few days ago but we had to reschedule. I just spent this day cleaning my room, updating my journal, and well, blogging. *smile* I think I had enough rest. I managed to cross out almost everything in my "to do" list for today, including this. Do I hear an applause? *grin*


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