Crazy, beautiful

That's what my life has been like the past couple of weeks. I have been skipping to the beat of Possibility, Options, and Gratitude. This last weekend alone, there was so much to be thankful for:

• My friends' wedding
• Our free Valentine date (yes, we were able to make it!)
• Our Valentine weekend camping trip (which totally rocked)
• My team's elimination-round win (semi-finals, here we come!)
• A better understanding of myself and what I want
• A greater appreciation for my husband, who amazes me more and more as each day passes
  

Will be blogging in detail soon. As soon as I catch my breath and manage to find a bit more time.

I'm getting too old for this

It's Wednesday and I'm just posting about my weekend now. It took me that bloody long to recover.

Friday night
...was turnover night, but wonder of wonders, we ended before midnight! I thus hightailed it to Harbor View Bistro near the Mall of Asia for AMP's anniv after-party. I didn't get to stay long, and I looked like crap (especially since most everyone else was in semi-formal finery), but it was worth the out-of-the-way trip to greet our new partner/financier. Hehe.

Saturday
Surprisingly, I had practically the whole day free! Mike and I were planning on joining a pick-up game at the Sunken Garden, but 1) it turned out to be some sort of closed practice, and 2) the rain was coming down in sheets! So instead, I indulged in something I hardly get to do on the weekends anymore--a delicious afternoon nap. Ahhhh. I loved getting reacquainted with the TV and remembering how good I am at being a couch potato. I loved reading a few chapters of my novel before going off to Snoozeland for an hour. I loved having nothing to do for a change!

And then I was off to Urda for our regular pick-up game. Afterwards, we headed to Yelle's place for a team goal-setting meeting/mature drinking session. Dondi was voted captain; Greg, Sarah, and I are now co-captains. (I like to think of myself as Dakilang Taga-text though.) We had to pull a Cinderella because we had three games the next day--including a really early one--but, for once, I was the delinquent who stayed out late. Met up with the CADsters at Piedra for some dancing--our first real dance gimmick (not counting Pam Q's birthday last year)! Would've been cool if there were more of us, but it was great hanging out with them nonetheless.

Sunday
The next day, I dragged myself out of bed after getting just three hours' sleep. The sun was just relentless that day, beating down on us on what was supposed to be the Monsoon League. All hopes of rain were shot with puffy white clouds marring an otherwise pristine blue sky and the intense glare of the sun. (I am hesitant to call it "sunshine"--too harmless a name for something so merciless.) I scored about three points in the first game but we still lost. Damn. I would gladly have traded my points for a win. I scored in our two other games--which we won!--and was involved in the now-infamous gulungan sa damuhan scene. How embarrassing. But thankfully, only about half the team was there to witness it, and they were all too busy laughing to remember to take a picture. Bonus: No recap!

That evening, I went to mass with H, who played the part of Awesome Boyfriend and gave me a foot and back massage. I promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Monday, I woke up with a runny nose, watery eyes, a sore throat, and an even sorer body. I ain't gettin' any younger.

Weekend warrior

Date with the BFF
Chingy and I were supposed to watch Mamma Mia! but the screening time we were after was sold out! We ended up having dinner with her co-workers, then heading to Serendra for some cupcakes. H dropped by for a bit since he was in the area, but for the most part, it was quality time with the best friend. We just ate and talked about stuff we normally can't talk about around other people. Haha. We called it a night at 1:00 am though coz I had to get up early for...

Feeling hot, hot, hat
...my first hat tournment! Woohoo! It was oooodles of fun. Leah, Mike, JM, and I were all put on one team, together with another Mike, Christian, Anna, Eng, a couple of guys from BC, a couple of college kids, a middle-aged dude named Cacho with the sickest throws ever, and later on, Kat V and Candy. I think all four of us scored. Mike played awesome, and I think I played relatively well, scoring a few points, except in the second game. Which we lost. Boo!

Oh, we made it to the championship--which we won! Yay!

Part of my personal highlight reel was Christian's hammer throw from mid-field. Looking at the disc hurtling towards me, I was like, "You gotta be kidding me." But I caught it, so yay! Later on, Christian was very Jaguar Po-like in saying that he couldn't resist throwing it since I was open. The instructions I kept receiving from him and from Cacho that day: "Takbo ka lang ha?" Proved effective a couple of times.

Funny conversation on the field:
(Guy from opposing team catches disc at end zone)
Candy: In or out?
Guy: Line.
Candy: Eh di out 'yon.
Guy: In pala.

Acheche.

Den of sin
The family basketball game was called off on account of rain, so some of the grownups just played mahjong, while the rest of us played poker! I was supposed to go to a party, but decided to stay home and spend some quality time with my relatives.

Iggy taught us how to play, and some people partnered up so we could have 10 "players" (there were over a dozen people in the cramped poker room). Hilarious how Kuya Roji and Ate Bing could read their kids--hence, they were cleaning up! The plan was to let Kuya Roji's mom play so that she could take their money. Haha.

My bro and I were survivors that night. Whenever our stash would dwindle to a few measly chips, we would win. At some point, the two of us faced off, the last two standing after everyone else folded. He went all in, and when I called it, he said, "Talaga?!" Sure, why not? It was fake money anyway. Haha. I had a pair six...and he had a pair seven! Damn. I was out. Headed to the kitchen for ice cream. Two of my nieces, depressed over losing all their fake money so early in the game, followed. Mmm ice cream. I got four flavors of Big Scoop for my ice-cream-crazed fam: Vanilla, Strawberry Fields (which I got especially for birthday girl Dawn), Mint Chocolate Chip (which my godson had three scoops of...and seconds), and Midnight Cookies n' Cream. Tita Au brought Rocky Road as well.

Plus we had two kinds of cake!

Bowled over
I spent most of Sunday at home. I wanted to do a bit of cleaning, but was entirely too comfortable being a couch potato. In the evening, my mom, H, and I again joined the relatives at the Eastwood bowling alley. We took up a grand total of six lanes--and we still had to wait for our turn! (We rented a total of 25 pairs of shoes.) I scored the lowest in the adult pool but whatever. No money involved--fake or otherwise!

With the kids...

...With the grownups. I think I am somewhere in between. Hehe.

Afterwards, we hung out at a coffee shop and ate some more. Good weekend!

(P.S. The jeans that were loose a couple of weeks ago are now a perfect fit. Haha. Must stop all this reckless eating.)

I won! I won! (Part 2)

Gasp! It happened again!

This time I won an Electrolux bagless vacuum cleaner at another event. My co-workers said, "Pwede ka nang magpakasal!" Yeah, because I have a sandwich press and a vacuum cleaner-- everything I need for wedded bliss. Haha.

It was a good start to the week. The weekend was pretty great, too. Saturday morning, mumsy and I met up with my bro and his three kids at the Salcedo Market. It was nice just spending time with the family (the very thing I missed doing the weekend before), plus chowing down on some pretty good eats (more on that in an upcoming food blog post).

H picked me up after lunch so that we could attend his friend's wedding. I wore a long, printed dress I bought for a really good price in Bangkok, and got a couple of compliments. Always nice to hear. Hehe. Right after the mass, H and I headed to McDo for a bite, thinking that dinner would be served late. I had me some fries and a super thick strawberry shake! Yum! The snack turned out to be a mistake--once we got to the reception at the Loft in Manansala, cocktails were being served on the deck (lovely as it was nearing sunset...it was hell on my lugay hair though), and dinner came shortly after! I wanted to pig out, but I had disc (adik!)--didn't want to riddle the San Lo field with chunks of squash soup and steak.

Sunday was the last day of games before the summer league finals. We didn't win, but we came closer than we did before (over quota!), plus we had a kick-ass time. As usual!

Ahh, another good weekend. Life's been good.

A good weekend

I realized that I like it when we have games on Saturday instead of Sunday, because I need the next day to recover. Often, I find myself dragging my aching body to work come Monday!

There was none of that yesterday. Both our summer league games were held on Sat--and even though we didn't win (and, in effect, ended our glorious winning streak), we still had fun! Let us not forget--this is the Warriors' primary objective!

After our own games, we watched an awesome Pool A game, before claiming an unused field and playing 10-on-10. It was absolute madness--with so many players, you couldn't tell who your teammates were (especially if you were drunk. Ahaha). I discovered what grass stains were, and managed to tear a hole into my jeans (now I've got me a distressed pair. Must buy new jeans). BUT I had such an awesome time! A couple of times, I actually just collapsed on the field in laughter (di ba, Gladys? Nice pass to Lawee Boy! Hahaha).

We then headed to Congo Grille, where we chowed down on our free crispy pata, as well as sisig and all the other bad stuff you could think of. I particularly liked the sisig--nice and crunchy. (As H said, I am not a fan of "authentic sisig"--the chewy kind.) It was cool just hanging out with the team, and great fun seeing some people--who shall remain unnamed--rather inebriated. (Di ba, Lei? Hahaha.)

Then I headed home and, even though all I wanted to do was stay in bed with my big fat book, had to get ready for a night out. First stop: The Penthouse at Tektite where Jun had a thanksgiving dinner to celebrate his passing the bar exam! Woohoo! Good job, dude!

Second stop: Hai for after-dinner drinks for BFF Chingy's birthday. Met some new people, and had a couple of drinks which surprisingly didn't affect me at all. Malibu pineapple, I love you!

Final stop: At 2:30 in the morning, we ended up at Piedra. Last time I was there at that hour, the place was packed. This time, there was lots of space to move around...people must've been at the beach, soaking up the...rain. I didn't dance much though--the heels weren't made for dancing, plus I had to take care of a certain friend who had a bit too much to drink. Nooneenoo.

Next day, I woke up early, but Hamil didn't, so our plan to go to mass at Gesu didn't push through. But it was cool just chillin' with him the whole day--it was just what I needed to recharge.

If I had been able to spend time with the family, it woulda been a perfect weekend. But as it was, it was pretty awesome.