catching up series: ASDS in 2015

ASDS what? That was your question, right? ASDS stands for Apple, Sheena, Dwin and Silina. All of a sudden we have a name for ourselves so I'd adopt that here on the blog. And being the OC human being that I am, I will take time to add that label to my previous posts. Once an OC, always an OC. 

So ASDS in 2015. I was able to do a separate post for our first meet up of the year 'cause at that time, I still haven't planned on doing a consolidated post for each group of friends. But now, fortunately, I thought of a way to make my life easy so congratulations to me. Hahaha! Anyway, it was one holiday back in February, we had dinner at Yabu then coffee at Cafe Benne, Eastwood. Or you can check out the link above to read a little more about it. Hehe! After that, Sheena and I had a little fall out. I'm not exactly sure why she got mad but if I recall it right, she got pissed when she was inviting us out and I turned her down for some reasons. Medyo clingy kasi sya. Hahaha! So it was just Silina that I often see. Visited her thrice already but it was only during the third time that we got a decent photo. We ate at Bigoli but we had to leave early because of her work. The highlight of the day was when she pretended to be me and sent Sheena a message. Haha! Nagkabati kami ng wala sa oras. That was in September already, several months of friendship hiatus.

Fast forward to December, we met again. Dwin wasn't able to make it because of the holiday traffic. Or he really didn't wanna see us? Whatever! Haha! It was a night of laughter over pasta and pizza at Linguini Fini and coffee at Starbucks. Joel made it for coffee too. He's Silina's better half. And yes, sya na ang may lovelife. Hahaha! We exchanged simple presents too. I gave them succulents, haworthia attenuata to be exact, and reminded them not to kill the poor plant. Haha! By the way, I have yet to write about my succulent addiction. I'll do so as soon as this catching up thing is over. So many other things to write about actually -- health update, plans of going back to work, bohemian fascination, fashion inspos, new favorite songs and movies, and there, the succulent obsession. Seriously, must finish this catching up thing FASTTTT.

joel's special participation

giftsiess

And then we also met last month. I contemplated adding that here pero hindi kaya ng pagka-OC ko 'cause technically, that's 2016 already -- and my post subject says ASDS in 2015. Hahaha! That calls for a separate post says my obsessive compulsive self. Ciao!

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movie nights x impromptu sleepover

I HAVE TO. I really have to. I mean, write about these despite the fact that they happened more than a month ago already. I've been neglecting this blog, obviously. At one point, I even thought of declaring an official blog hiatus. Hahaha! Who am I kidding? Just the thought of needing to catch up in the near future makes me wanna barf.

Anywayy, have you heard I actually watched TFIOS twice? It's funny how I had an entirely different plan at first but uh, apparently the world isn't a wish-granting factory. Hehe! Gusto nyo yun? Maipilit lang! :P And in case you're wondering, I originally challenged myself to watch the movie alone, and of course just once. I felt like it's the best thing to do since I knew for sure that my tear glands will betray me. I read the book twice -- okay, maybe thrice -- and I always sob towards the end. *dies in shame* But while I was deciding whether or not to take the self-imposed challenge, the universe unexpectedly took away the liberty from me.

Change of plans. I had to catch the most-awaited film with Tin and Jhov. Gawdd, the sacrifices I make for friends. Hahaha! I was with Jhov, the resident movie buddy {case in point A, B, C and D!}, when I first saw it. And my thoughts on the movie? :) I expected it to be faithful to the book and boyyy, WAS IT FAITHFUL! I'm not eloquent enough to do a movie review nor do I know the standards of the people who do them but for me, it was a great adaptation. Josh Boone made me cry just as John Green did. It was such a tear jerkerrr!

WAIT. At this point I realized I have more thoughts about the movie but also, I have decided not to drone on. Who knows, I might join the book & movie review bandwagon soon. ;) Anobayaan, kakasabi ko lang na I'm not eloquent enough. Ang gulo ko? Hahaha!

But one more point just in case that review thing doesn't push through -- AUGUSTUS WATERS IS ANSEL ELGORT!!! He killed it! He really did! The charm.. The confidence.. Sya talaga yun, promise! Hehehe! And to think, I was disappointed the first time I found out that he'll play the role of Gus. I actually felt the same way about Shailene and well, uhmm, I still think someone else can do it better than she did. Plus, she looks too matured for Hazel. IDK. Maybe I just don't like her, period. But I'm still hoping I made sense. Hehe!

Going back to my TFIOS sesh with Jhov, shopping followed after the movie. Naging shoppingera na talaga ang lola nyo! And just like the usual, I was her personal assistant slash stylist. She's a Uniqlo fan, by the way, and I hate how I can't get her to prefer Forever 21. She said she gets overwhelmed with the latter; I get bored with the former. Oh well. Anyway, we capped off the day with tsismisan over early dinner.

polish selfie x OOTD

For my second TFIOS night, I was with Tin. It was rather impromptu because we had absolutely no plans for the day. The popular VLeague photographer just wanted to visit me. Yun lang naman. Gusto lang naman akong bisitahin ng sikat. Hahaha! So she traveled all the way from their civilized home to our rural area to spoil me with donuts and coffee. Then while catching up, the idea of watching TFIOS -- re-watching for my case -- was brought up. And since I'm such a great friend, we went ahead. :P

Now this is something I'm so proud of. Hahaha! I didn't cry the second time I watched the movie! I finally got immune with the story. Aba ay dapat lang naman. Hehe! Tin didn't cry also. Ang pusong bato lang? But I guess it's just a matter of how you let yourself get involved with something. It has always been my technique when I don't want people to see me cry -- I do not take things by heart. Simple, right? But with TFIOS, I kind of indulged myself. Pagbigyan nyo na 'ko, paminsan minsan lang naman. :)

thanks Tin for this mash-up! :)

short F21 stint

Come parting time, Tin and I had a little arte-artehan. I won't divulge the whole story but in a nutshell, eto yun: ANG CLINGY NAMIN! We prolonged the night by staying in a nearby Jollibee that's open 24 hrs. And no dull moments still, kahit antok na antok na ko by that time. In the end, let's just say I WON and she ended up sleeping over our house. We're spontaneous like that!

The next day, we spent almost the entire morning playing and hammock-ing with Faye. We had a couple of hilarious videos but they are for personal consumption only. Sorry, folks! There's no way I'd ruin this post by sharing my bagong gising look. I hope y'all understand. Hehe! Of course, I'm kidding because it's not like you would want to see. Anyway, I missed the blogosphere. Blog hopping in 3..2..1! :)

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late night whatevers

Finally got to be with my college friends again. Yaayy! Guys, we got to give the credits to Jhov for bugging Jun to treat us. She started a few weeks ago with a simple puntahan-ka-namin-libre-mo-kami-SB threat {yes, I prefer to call it threat} but it got postponed several times so we ended up with a nightlong catching up. We last saw each other July of last year by the way, so it's understandable. Too bad Nok wasn't able to make it this time. We missed you loads, baks! :*

Anyway, I was the first one to arrive but Jhov showed up shortly after. She dragged me to places 'cause I had no business in the mall whatsoever. It was okay with me until she availed free trials in Watsons. Naloka akoo! First, she got her hair curled and then next.. free eyebrow shaping and eyebrow makeup tutorials. Hahaha! Muntik ko na syang iwan sa inip. :P

We then looked for a place to dine. It was almost 9pm and if we won't be able to look for a place, we had no choice but to leave the mall. We found out that Starbucks is open until 11 and Jay J's until 12. So, we were good! Jhov and I settled at Bake and Churn while waiting for the others.

this is why it's bad to make me wait :')

Next to arrive was Mhoi. To speed things up, we proceeded to Jay J's and placed our orders while waiting for Jun and Den. Fortunately, it didn't take long before the two arrived. It's funny how we were teasing Jun that we ordered a lot and that he'll be the one to pay for everything when prior to that night, he already said that only our coffees will be on him.

Contrary to what we were making him believe, we only got a group meal good for five persons. That's a platter of rice, crispy pata, kare kare, sinigang na bangus, pancit canton and a pitcher of iced tea. We got a bucket of beer and squid head for pulutan too.

Our food arrived on time, thank heavens. I initially wanted to take photos of everything, yah knoow, for documentary purposes.. but they were attacked by hungry dinosaurs. Hehehe. And speaking of the food, think Gerry's Grill and you'll have an idea of what to expect. I loved their kare kare the most. On nom noom.

And guess who paid for the bill? Jun, of course! Jhov shared too but it was mostly him. Thanks Kada!! Thanks a bunch to Den also for allowing Jun to feed our starving tummies. May the good Lord bless your bank account more.. para alam mo na! Hehehe.

Mhoi

Jun and Den ❤

We transferred to Starbucks to grab our coffees - courtesy of Mhoi this time. Jhov and I accompanied him in placing our orders and when we came back, Jun was playing Flappy Bird on his tablet. I've been reading tweets about it but I was never the type to jump right to the bandwagon. But this time, I got curious. I tried to play the game using Mhog's phone and I got so pissed. Nadagdagan na naman yung listahan ng frustrations ko sa buhay. My highest score while we were in the coffee shop was seven, Jun said I should at least make ten. Shusshh. 

Since the guys went all the way to SM Fairview from their far-flung places,  they didn't want to end the night as early as 12am.  Just how weird that phrase is? Night? Early? 12am?? Hehe. Anyway, Jun called my sister {yes, they are friends too!} to ask for another place that's open until past midnight. My sister suggested the commercial center Pearl Drive, so off we go!

We found the KTV Studio Five. They offered expensive packages at first but after we declined, a staff approached us to let us know of their hourly rate. If I'm not mistaken, that's P85 per person per hour, minimum of 2 hours and on top of that, you have to grab food/drinks worth P300. No problemooo, said my rich friends so we went on.

For the first thirty minutes or so, I was preoccupied by Flappy Bird. Pero ipinagpalit ko na't lahat yung mga kaibigan ko sa ibon na yun, di pa rin ako nakasampu. Bwisit! I made 9 though, 1 point short of my goal but I had to let it go.

As soon as I ditched the game, I started selecting fun songs for everyone to sing. The funniest was when we sang Uncle Kracker's Follow Me. At first aliw na aliw kami, then we realized sobrang paulit ulit na sya. Haha! The next song on queue was Waterfalls then Mhog and I sang in unison.. "Waterfalls and everything is alright." ♫♪♪ Hahahaha!! Tawang tawa kami sa mga sarili namin. Mhoi and I also kept dancing. We only had more or less three moves and we would adjust the tempo of our movements depending on the song that's playing. I can only imagine the riot if Nok was there.

Den.Mhoi.Apple

Den.Jhov.Jun.Mhoi

If there's one thing I didn't like about Studio Five, that would be the owner's rudeness. We were already told by a staff that our time was over when she passed by and knocked our open door several times. As in dumaan lang tas nangalampag. She didn't say anything, she didn't even check the room. By that time we were already preparing and Mhoi was just finishing his song. Dbaa??! It was made worse by the fact that I easily get annoyed with rude people. I mean, I'm never a goody two-shoes but rude.. never! Another staff pacified our my annoyance, apologized and explained that she's the owner and she has always been strict with time. Well, one can be strict without being rude. Anyway.. I just asked the staff to take our group picture so we can finally drag our butts away from Pearl Drive.

thanks a bunch, guys!

Got home past 2am and messed up my body clock for three freakin' days. Just today I'm back to normal so here yah gooo.. a blog post! :)

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wetpooh once again

Few days after my birthday, I met up with one of my closest group back in college - Wetpooh. Did you just raise your eyebrows with what I said? Yes, Wetpooh! Hahaha! I was lucky with my block mates in college 'cause we were really bonded. At one point the groups called themselves Wetpaint, Wetsaks, Wetpaks and of course us, Wetpooh. Sobrang korni if you think about it but at that time tuwang tuwa kami sa mga sarili namin. Hahaha!

Anyway, we really didn't plan this get together but when Lia greeted me on my birthday, she gave the idea of seeing each other. Being the kaladkarins that we are, go naman kami. We went to Eastwood again. Apparently most of us are comfortable with the place. I once lived there while Lia and Tricia once worked there. Yeah, that's how I remember it.

Tin was the first one to arrive and I was next. We roamed around Eastwood while waiting for the two. We even saw Chito with Neri and then Sam. Since we haven't decided where to eat, Tin and I stayed at Starbucks first. 

When Lia and Tricia arrived, we stayed at Starbucks for a while to start catching up. Funny how when Tin and I were telling the two about Sam, Tricia suddenly saw Sam arrive in the coffee shop. Speaking of the devil moment. Only that it was a good looking one. Hehe. :)

Need I say what happened next? Syempre, nagpapicture kami. It was actually my first time to ask for a photo from a celebrity. Nadala lang ako sa kilig ni Lia. Hahaha! After that, I kind of like Sam already 'cause he seemed nice. Fan girl bigla?

fan girl moment ♥

We then decided to have dinner at Friday's. I have to be honest, it was a bit difficult to make the conversation going. I guess because we didn't see each other for a really long time. It's true what they say, the more you talk to each, the more you'll never run out of things to talk about. We are the exact opposite, that explains.

Despite that, I'd say we were still able to catch up - a little about love life and a lot about work. At our age, we are supposed to be talking about kids and building our own home but apparently we aren't. Is it just us o di na talaga uso mag-asawa ng maaga? Haha!

on nom nom
love the dessert ♥

By the way, here's an OOTD. Maisingit lang. Hahaha! It was few minutes of fun taking our parting photos. Andaming bloopers.

Tin - Tricia - Apple

Tin - Lia - Apple

After our Friday's stint, we dropped by J.CO to buy pasalubong. I even almost lost my phone there 'cause I left it in the wash room. I went out ahead of Tin and I left it in the sink. Jusmio! Good thing we still have good Samaritans and someone told Tin I left my phone.Whoever that girl is, God bless her. :)

As we head home, Lia dropped Tin and Tricia to where they'll catch their ride home. On the other hand, Lia and I had extended kwentuhan 'cause she sent me home. Thank you so much, Bullie! :* We call each other that by the way. Another college ka-kornihan.

Thanks again, girls! 'Til next time. :)

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birthday double up

Whuut? It's almost September! Time flies so fast. You've probably heard that line bajillion of times already. It's like few weeks back I was celebrating my birthday with friends and now I'm almost two months late with my blog update. Yes, my birth month happens to be July. Shussh.

Moving on, I had to celebrate my birthday a little early because Mhog and I share the same birth month. He's born July 9 while I, July 17. We checked the calendar for the perfect day to go out and poof July 13 is exactly in the middle of our birthdays. Perfect, indeed.

Originally, our plan is just to chill at Nok's place then buy food somewhere near when we get hungry.  But when everyone's in their place already, Nok had the brightest idea ever.. go to TriNoma! Parang sinundo lang namin syang lahat then off we go to the mall. Ang swerte ng baklaaa! :)

We chose to dine at Max's. Of course, we were catching up while eating. The last time I saw Jun and Job was when we trekked Pinatubo. Mhoi and Nok? I can't even remember the last time I saw them. Close friends pala ah? Hahaha!

the magic of Mhog's phone

thinner days, gaawdd

One of the topics we had that I can clearly remember is health. Grabe! We were a bunch of 26 to 27 years old people but some of us are taking meds like that of a 40 to 50 something aged people. Palibhasa, as the generation continues, palala na ng palala ang lifestyle - bad habits, vices etc. A reality check once in a while won't hurt.

ayaan, antatakaw pa :P

Nok.Apple.Mhoi

So anyway, after our dinner we went strolling. We stayed the longest at the beauty section of the department store. Hala sigeee, subok ng make up ang dalawa. Hahaha! I, on the other hand, just watched. Mhog and Jun walked around, obviously bored. Ang ending? Ako pa ang napabili ng eye liner recommended by Jhov. Hahaha!

girls will always be girls :P

Jun and Job had other commitments so they had to leave early. Mhog, Nok and I spent the rest of the night at Starbucks. Endless kwentuhaaann with a touch of seriousness. I'm really close to these two because back in college, the three of us used to belong to a group we refer to as Barag and with the tag line "Hindi nabibili ng pera ang kaligayahan". Hahaha! Ang kakornihan ng college days. Bow.

Nok gave Samantha as her name. ugh.

We ended the night when Nok had to leave already for another commitment aka gimik. :P

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THE tin pe benito ✌

Yeeess, I am friends with the popular Tin Pe Benito. With over 4 thousand followers on twitter, 20 thousand plus views on tumblr and Google suggesting "tin pe benito photography", who would argue with me? She has indeed gone a long way with her VLeague career. I am so proud of you, my sister from another mister ♥. 

Moving on from my grand introduction, we met last month for what seemed to be an endless dinner. You can't blame us! We can't even recall when was the last time we've met. I am guessing December of 2011 when we went to Tagaytay. I can only be wrong if we had undocumented meet-ups last year - meaning no photos, no blog entries. I doubt though. You know me. :P

We had dinner at Holy Cow - her treat! She had a career milestone last November and she's supposed to treat me back then. Obviously, life happened and we only got to meet last month. 

on nom nom

It was a long night of catching up, laughter and cam whoring. And with cam whoring, I mean a very serious one. Thank goodness we were seated at the backmost couch and we didn't have to mind the world. But honestly, we rarely do when we're together. Just plain awesome craziness!

selfie :P

and here we gooo

Past 9 pm, we were forced to leave Holy Cow. Still not satisfied, we transferred to Starbucks - my treat! There's just no stopping the kwentuhan. Or should I say the picturan? Funny how it's so hot in Starbucks but it was still jam-packed. One barista explained that they were having a problem with the ventilation system. Obviously, kuya! Fortunately for us, we were seated near the entrance and I had my trusty pamaypay.

more annoying wacky faces

If I remember it right, we left past 1 am. The lola in me prevailed and I was so sleepy already. No regrets. Because this time, I won't let the year end without seeing this girl again. After all, we both agreed I owe her one. 

And oh, here's an OOTD! I made it a goal to post more OOTDs and so far I've been doing good. Way to go, little miss lazy!

current favorite dress

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treats here and there

I really shouldn't be blogging right now for obvious reasons that it's 11am already and it's only Thursday, meaning I have work to attend to but.. my dysmenorrhea is currently killing me and only my hands and brain can function. Picture me lying in bed almost in comatose but still using my laptop. Kawawang bata. And before I completely surrender, let's now make this quick!

Couple of treats from last month. And why not? It's the season of giving already. ♥ :)

First one's from my former team lead. She's back in the PI for her second wedding. They managed to meet us several days before their big day for a quick Starbucks treat. We went nuts for the stickers. Hahaha! And by the way, their wedding is also on my long list of drafts. You've got to wait for that! Minsan nyo lang ako makikitang mukhang tao. xP

thanks Ags and Jon!

Next, Silina's treat! She also visited PI last month but she's back in the US now. I regret not pushing with my plans of getting inside her maleta to be carried abroad too. Hahaha! Moving on, we had dinner at Blufish then we headed to Starbucks for more chika plus coffee on the side. It's also the night that I got my Starbucks planner. Yahooo! Worthy of my few thousands and occasional palpitation and some other coffee jitters. Sinabi naman kasing bawal sa 'yo and kape, neng! 

thanks Silina! :*

Again, Christmas is the season of giving. This is the perfect time for us to show how grateful we are for our blessings. Giving is more fulfilling than receiving. At ako, willing akong ibigay ang fulfillment nyo. Guys, what are you waiting for? Ilibre nyo na 'ko! Libre libre libre! :))

*Blabbed before I unintentionally dozed off.

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long day for walkway

Rise and shine, everyone. ☀ What are you up to today? I bet this is just another office or school day for you. POOR YOU! *evil laugh* Because if you'd ask me what I'm up to today, I'd say I'm spending my third day as a bum. Oh yeeess, dear. I just said BUM. How I love to hear the word. But no, please don't think I lost my job. I just asked for a two-week vacation leave because.. uhmm.. I'm going through some personal dramas. This life is driving me insane for no specific reasons I can pin point. Insane, indeed. :P

So for my third day bumming, I decided to face my blogger duties again. I have a loooonng {yes, that long really} list of back logs. Inspite the life dramas, there's still a lot going on. I honestly don't know how I managed to still go out with people when all I really want is to bury myself under my comforter. But no worries, friends. I AM FINE NOW. I promise. :*

Anyway, first on my list is my not-so-ordinary Holy Week. Sure dear, you can count how long has the Holy Week been over. Haha! So moving on, I {or we, whatever} didn't have the usual Visita Iglesia. Instead, we visited Walkway 2012 at Bonifacio High Street. And guess what? We arrived at BCG (Bonifacio Global City) at around 12noon. Yung tipong sukdulan ang init ng araw. And if you have an idea of the place you'd know why 12noon is not the perfect time to roam around Walkway and visit the stations of the cross. Sooo.. fasten your seat belts as I make kwento of our long day just to wait for Walkway. Ooh, that ryhmed. :P

First stop. Lunch at Tokyo Tokyo, Market Market. Ano ba, paulet-ulet? paulet-ulet? Hahaha! :)) We stayed there for quite a long time. Perfect for catching up with life stories. If I haven't mentioned {obvious ba, miss?} I was with my sister and a friend whom I didn't see for months. Kwentuhan, daldalan, picturan. Pero camera shy si friend, so sa picturan part kami lang ng froglette sister ko. :D

pinagbiyak na ilong :P

 
Next stop. Timezooneee! I missed shooting so much. Masamang magcompare, pero mas namiss ko pa ang shooting kesa sa friend ko. Charot. You know I love you, Jhov! :* We were beating each other out. Luckily this is my blog, so I'm declaring myself as the winner. Woot Woot! Better luck next time, losers. L-)

the kind of  'fun' that's worth all the sweat

And because we got tired.. next stop.. Starbucks. You know, conyos like us usually kill time at Starbucks just chillin'. You know, like, uhmmm.. Hahaha! At ayun nga, dahil conyo kami, wala kaming iPad at naglaro na lang kame ng SOS. Haha! I truly believe that only boring people get bored. I thank you, bow. :P

please don't think she's hiding because of legal cases

Oops. We're not yet over. Our last stop before finally visiting Walkway, the movie house for Hunger Games. Have you seen the movie? If no, go buy a pirated DVD. You have to see it. It's nice. I didn't read the book so I have no expectations. The movie alone got me interested in the whole story I ended up researching about it at home. Haha!

may the odds be ever in your favor
photos {except for the tix} from Google

AND FINALLY!! Walkway 2012.

Walkway is an interactive stations of the cross put up by Church Simplified. There are 14 stations each explaining what Christ had to endure to save us. Towards the end of each station there is an "Act" part where you'll really get to reflect on your actions especially towards other people. I have to admit I am not that religious but visiting Walkway somehow made me feel lighter and on a cleaner slate. It was just a matter of how you participated in the entire activity. As for me, I took it by heart seriously. ♥

the not-so-usual stations of the cross

It was indeed a long, not to mention expensive, day-out but it was worth it. Christ is worth it. Do I get an Amen? ♥

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