the long wait ended last 23 december, 0525 in the morning. i finally arrived in manila for my christmas and new year holiday break. sarap ng pakiramdam, naiintindihan ko na tuloy yung mga ofws na kaka-land pa lang ng eroplano e gusto ng tumayo, kunin ang mga gamit at tumakbo palabas ng eroplano! hehehe!
since my break is only 10 days (inclusive of saturdays and sundays), gumawa na ako ng schedule (knowing me) kung anu-ano mga gagawin at pupuntahan ko in the next 10 days – basta ang objective e ma-maximize ang bakasyon, maka-spend time with family, friends and loved-ones, at me-enjoy ang mga pinoy stuff na na-miss ko, lalu na yung feeling of christmas na di ko masyado naramdaman sa jakarta.
23 december, tuesday
sinundo ako ng pamilya ko (oo, kumpleto sila – mom, dad, bro) sa naia 3 since cebupac flight ko. after that, we went straight to shell-magallanes para kumain ng breakfast, saan pa e di sa jollibee (kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?!). had my favorite super breakfast joys – longganisa, tapa, pancake, fried rice, at nag sundae din ako – yung bago nilang variant, black forest yata yun or something. while having breakfast, it was a catch up time for the four of us, kahit lagi ko silang nakakausap thru text, email or ym, iba pa rin yung tipong kaharap mo silang nakakakwentuhan. after that, we headed na to my “home” mall to do my gift shopping for my inaanaks. but since it was early pa, sarado pa ang glorietta at rustan’s, so nag-starbucks na lang muna kami sa 6750. since i’m one of those people na nauuto ng starbucks mangolekta ng stickers tuwing pasko para sa planner, i asked the barista to give me a sticker card since la pa akong nasisimulan – good thing, less ang requirement pala this year, but apparently, di rin ganun kaganda pala yung planner – its way too simple compared to that of last year’s, so mejo nawalan na rin ako ng gana to do starbucks marathon in the next 10 days just for the planner. at exactly 10am, we entered na the mall (kakatawa, parang mga katulong! hahahaha!). went straight to rustan’s kids section to find gifts for inaanaks and pamangkins sa cousins. in 2 hours time, kumpleto na ang gifts ko para sa mga bata (galing ko noh?!). while the toys were being wrapped, we headed muna for lunch at dad’s. nagsimula na ang aking lechon feast! sarap! naka-tatlong balik ako ng main course at dalawa ng desserts – masarap pala ang puto bungbong ng kamayan (i just realized)! after kumain, bili lang konting groceries, claimed na the gifts and headed home na sa laguna. wala akong ginawa sa kotse kundi matulog simula makati hanggang alaminos – bagsak talaga, considering that 2 hours lang ata ang naging tulog ko sa eroplano. pagdating sa bahay, we just had a simple dinner, then natulog na ulit ako.
24 december, wednesday
energized! first lunch with a couple of college friends – mela and cris. mela just got home din last week from shanghai, while cris naman went straight to palmera’s from makati to meet us up. saya ng kwentuhan – di mo alam kung saan mo sisimulan, not to mention na distracting ung masasarap na pagkain – crispy pata, crispy tilapia and sinigang na baka! hahaha! after that, nag-coffee rin kami sa cafe aviano and the lunch ended at 6pm! 
balik sa bahay ulit and spent time with the family – attended the mass together and enjoyed the noche buena feast and gift giving. but the biggest difference that night was that from 4, we became 5 in the family – my bro’s gf spent the eve with us as i will become a full-fledged tito soon! exciting!
25 december, thursday
christmas day! it was a pretty standard family (i.e. including titos, titas, cousins, pamangkins, etc.) celebration starting from lunch to dinner. in short, puro kainan, kwentuhan at regaluhan the whole day! had fun catching up with cousins, pamamngkins and inaanaks. side story – never give a gift to your inaanak that you don’t know or will have a hard time assembling for him – i gave gino a high-tech (complete with assembly stuff) hot wheels toy – syempre kailangan may gumawa for him since it’s not so easy for a 7-year old kid to put it together, unfortunately, weakness ko ang mechanical stuff (whahahaha), so he didn’t have a choice but to force his dad to set it up for him!
26 december, friday
hectic! time to meet the complete group during lunch at kusina salud, san pablo. fun din, walang katapusang kwentuhan! good thing din that we chose the said place (though quite far) coz super masarap yung food (second time ko pa lang kumain here) – the best ang lechon, binagoongan, sisig, sinigang na baboy at crispy bangus! plus, the ambiance is perfect – it’s a blissful provincial air surrounding the endearing place.
after lunch, derecho na sa manila since meron akong dinner commitment this time sa first batch ng jollibee friends naman. so after enduring the afternoon traffic of south luzon express way (buti na lang it’s my bro in charge of the wheels – hehehe!), i made it to cyma, greenbelt to meet up wena and coleen for a fun dinner and coffee session at coffee bean. (sidebar: by the way, salamat pala sa gifts! if ever nababasa mo to coleen, i got the gift na pinahabol mo kay wens! hahaha!).
almost 2am na kami natapos – geeez, i need to remind myself that i had to be in the airport at 0930 am the following day. so we packed up and i stayed in my friend’s flat (adrian), para maki-squat for the night.
27 december, saturday
beach mode! it’s boracay vacay for me, aids, nons, mels and josh. this had been planned na even before i finalized my sked of going home, so it was an anticipated trip. i was also excited considering that the last time i was in bora was in 2003 pa, and my first time was way back 2000 pa! ang tagal na! also, since i love lounging around the beach, kahit 3 weeks ago lang e nasa bali ako, iba pa rin yung bora with your close friends.
so it all started with waking up early and dragging yourself to the bathroom! waaaah! after that, went straight to the airport na – major highlight is eating 2-pc chickenjoy and extra rice for breakfast! hahaha!
1230 pm, we reached caticlan and another 30 minutes passed before feeling the powdery white sand of bora’s station 2! wala na kaming sinayang na oras, derecho kain na sa smoke, ikot sa d’mall, lakad/tambay sa beach area at naghintay ng sunset sa harap ng jony’s (kahit umaambon) while enjoying their famous fruit shake variants (note: tried the new bananatella, but for someone na mahilig sa rich taste, nabitin ako sa lasa ng chocolate).
after mag-chill, umulan na nga ng malakas – punyeta! blessing in disguise naman that we had to find a shade at we got near gasthof… so we decided to have dinner na and enjoy the famous ribs of the said place! sarap! it’s the best meal that i had during the entire bora stay!
after the dinner feast, gimik time na. there were only 2 places na pinuntahan namin the first night – juice bar and boom bar. tama laid-back relaxation lang sa boom with reggae acoustic music sa background at mga foreginers na mukang mga tanga sumayaw na pang-aliw! hahaha! had lang my usual rounds of vodka mix. main highlight is the kwentuhan – love life aspect! go mels, punta ka na ng mexico! hahaha! the very looong day finished early morning the following day actually, around 3am na.
28 december, sunday
have to wake up early to maximize the 3 days and 2 nights. so at exactly 0900 am, we were at real coffee already to enjoy a sumptuous light breakfast (well, para sa akin light lang ang omelette at pancake). sayang lang, ubos na ang famous calamansi muffin pagdating namin… 
then, tamang lakad-lakad muna sa station 1, pa-picture sa kung anu-ano (kakatawa, kahit pangatlong beses na kong nakakpunta bora, di pedeng walang picture sa grotto ng station 1!) at tamang painit sa araw. pero nung nakakita na ko ng massage station, wala ng isipan, higa na agad para pa-masahe.
para naman ma-enjoy ang privacy ng beach, we decided to go to puka and nami. very wise decision, we had fun fighting the waves of puka while enjoying the serene breeze of the isolated place, while we also had a great time looking into the perfect view that nami offered – not to mention the yummy foodies that we truly enjoyed. the next time i go back to bora, i’ll check-in sa nami, perfect place if you’re so damn tired na of the busy atmosphere of stations 1 to 3!
tapos, magsu-sunset na ulit… syempre kailangan ceremonial ang viewing ng sunset since finally hindi na umuulan! so, we went back to station 1 to do paraw sailing while seeing the sunset up close – in the middle of the ocean (teka, ocean nga ba ang tawag dun?! haha!). while into it, mas enjoy as we were having red wine and there’s the beach music in our background habang umaandar ang bangka! eto nanaman yung moment na masasabi mo sa sarili mong: “this is the life!”…
then finally, dinner and inom na ulit. since it will be the last dinner, we decided to eat at aria (pizza, pasta and fire dancers on the side), then for drinks naman, we revisited station 1 (disappointing though, sobrang jologs na nga ng cocomangas side) and went back to station 2 to settle at hey jude. the night ended pretty early (around 0130 am) since our flight the following day was in the morning, mahirap ng hindi magising!
29 december, monday
beach is over! went back to manila early morning (but before that, managed to finish a tapsilog and logsilog meals at the caticlan airport). after an hour of plane ride, we went straight to aidrian’s flat where i quickly had my bathroom routine as i need to make it to rockwell before 1400 to catch up with the second batch of jollibee friends for lunch. fortunately, i made it past 1200 in c2, powerplant and saw kay, trix and wens. feels like 2005 again – jollibee days na hagalpakan ng tawa sa mga nakakatuwang kwento at chismis! hihihihi!
latter part that day naman was with monde friends. we met up at high street for dinner at claw daddy (first time ko dun, not bad but kinda overpriced – first time ko rin malaman and matikman yung san miguel premium beer – ok naman, parang watered-down heineken at smooth na san mig light) then drinks at texas grille.
twas nice knowing and seeing na after years na nagkasama-sama kayo sa trabaho, nakakapagkwentuhan pa rin kayo na parang same level nung year 2000-2004! parang walang nagbago! considering din that some people went out of the country (like kim and wen, by the way wen, salamat sa pagbabasa ng blog ko, ayan inextra kita! hahaha!), going back to manila to meet up and make kwento with old friends is like a pleasant and exciting routine that you won’t get tired of! salamat din tony for organizing and pau for the ride!
30 december, tuesday
glorietta and sm makati day – kailangan na mamili ng pasalubong pabalik ng jakarta. but of course, for the day to be more productive, i met up with another monde friend (sheila) over lunch at tgif. tamang usual bonding and kwentuhan which lasted for three hours…
after that, i headed home na to laguna na puno ang trunk ng kotse ng used clothes, groceries, gifts at dragon fireworks.
31 december, wednesday
new year’s eve template! attended mass, lighted the fireworks, ate media noche with the family.
01 january, thursday
while writing this blog entry, i just realized that i need to plan my life for this year… let’s see what i’ll come up with, but perhaps my mantra for 2009 can be encapsulated by the picture below
by the way, for more pics – please check out my facebook and friendster accounts…
Posted by lifedefiningpicks 
