Surprise, Surprise!

"Surprise!" they exclaimed with huge smiles on their faces, holding out the mouthwatering Red Ribbon cake that they bought just for me and waving two blue balloons in the air which they had painstakingly blown themselves. All along, this cake was actually mine. It was I who was driving when we had dropped by the bakeshop to buy it. My friend even had the nerve to tell me that we had to shell out some bucks for it, when in fact, it was really mine! Hahahhaa! Good one!

Posing with my birthday cake

Wow! I get to blow another candle on my "toot-toot-th" birthday!

As soon as they burst into their jolly, out-of-sync version of the "happy birthday" song, my heart skipped a beat, my eyes lit up, and my lips broke into a wide grin all in one instance. What I thought was a despedida get-together in Mcdo Libis (very near our workplace) for one of our friends who was about to go abroad turned out to be my very own birthday bash! It was touching indeed. And no matter how many surprises my different loved ones have thrown for me during the past years, they still managed to come up with new ideas and to catch me off guard.

The balloons were one-of-a-kind. Hehehe...

Enjoying our McDo meals together

I may have other sets of friends whom I have known a lot longer, but there's always room for more. And with this simple gesture of love and friendship, I felt that my bond with these girls had grown to more than just the passing-through kind. It was, hopefully, a camaraderie for keeps.

Until this day, the balloons which have shriveled to four times its original size continue to glide around on my bedroom floor. The words "Happy Birthday, Olive!" with the child-like drawing of a girl are still quite readable and still bring a smile to my face whenever I come home.

Thank you so much, girlfriends! =)

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Bloggermate's Gift

Thanks to my good friend and bloggermate, Jan, who not only inspired me to start my own blogsite and start writing again but also tagged me with this wonderful award:

I'm so touched. It's my very first. Hehehe.... Thanks, thanks!

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A Night of Nostalgia

With my left hand, I took another spoonful of my yummy Red Mango green tea-flavored yogurt. And with my right hand, I sent a text message on my cellular phone. Then I looked up to join the conversation once more. "Anu 'yun?" I asked my long-time girlfriends. They were laughing about something.

"Alala mo 'yung Xavier fair?" asked Dyan.

"Ah oo!" I answered immediately. "Nagsuka ako non, diba?" As soon as I had said that, everybody in the table burst out laughing. I was at a lost.

It turned out that earlier, Dyan was reminiscing about the time we had all gone to the Xavier school fair back in our high school days. She said she had thrown up in the middle of the field, so we had to leave immediately. Then Lea had butt in, claiming that it was actually her who had thrown up. "Wag ka mang-angkin ng suka!" she had said. Plus she even remembered being handed an empty bottle of mineral water where she could throw up in. Now wait a minute... now there's a familiar detail which I know had happened to me. "Ako 'yun!" I argued. I even recalled the cause--- eating too much Spanish bread at Minik's house!

We were laughing our heads off like crazy, oblivious to the people around us. We had tears in our eyes! Even Brian (Minik's husband) and By (Lea's husband) were laughing so hard. Of all the things to fight about, it had to be something gross. Well, I won the battle. Hehehe.

Back in high school (uhm...euw? hehe...)

More than a year ago at Minik's wedding
(sadly without Karla anymore)

Last night was certainly a night of nostalgia, as we reminisced once more about funny and unforgettable moments in our past. Unbelievable exes... petty quarrels... taxi moments...our surprise party for Lea's 16th birthday where we had arranged a "16 Roses" dance with the boys (we have to wrinkle our noses as we recall this)...

These four girls (Karla, the fifth one, lives in Australia now) have been my closest friends for almost 15 years and are very dear to me. It's amazing how time flies. For a short while, it was like we were back in high school, chatting loudly and laughing uncontrollably. I can't believe three of us are married now, two with kids, and one expecting.

We had met up at around 6:30pm yesterday at the new Eastwood Mall and had eaten dinner at My Thai Kitchen. From the second we had ordered our food, it was like a marketplace of crisscrossing dialogues across the table. And because we girls have not been complete for quite some time now, it was a riot as expected. Our topics had jumped from gown designs to breast pumps, from Hayden Kho videos to masteral theses, from in-laws to the SNN spoof in the TV show Banana Split! Together with the ever hilarious side comments and anecdotes from the two men (minus my equally comical fiance), it was truly without a boring moment. Fun and chaotic would be more fitting, I guess.

Dessert was just as delicious in Red Mango, where we continued our frenzied conversations. The luscious yogurt and boisterous laughter was just the perfect blend to wrap up a usually work-filled Monday for me. Such simple pleasures always bring a smile to my lips.

Until our next get-together, girlfriends! =)

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