Doña Jovita Garden Resort

Went to Doña Jovita Garden Resort in Laguna with my college friends. After several outings that have passed, I was finally able to join them again. First met up with Gary and Yel at Glorietta. Then we headed to Festival Mall in Alabang where we waited for Ogie, Jonna, and Marj. Rode a bus going to Pansol and fetch Erwin somewhere down the road. Ehe.

We arrived at the place at around 11pm and ate our dinner just then. And it rained pa! Very reminiscent of what happened during our Milestone, eh? Think I have a birthmark on my ass. >_<

The resort was basically divided into two. The area on the left side had a forest feel in it with cottages, gigantic trees, and tree houses. While the area on the right side had a nice hotel feel. Since we're not Tarzans and Janes reincarnated, we chose the most comfortable one for us - the hotel rooms.

One of the rules in the resort though is that the use of videoke ceases at midnight. There were lots of other activities that we could do though, like fishing, horse riding, billiards, darts, etc. But we had to pay an additional cost for each. So we just sticked to the one that really brought us there. And that is to swim. We stayed in the water talking about our lives and other people's lives until our skins got all wrinkly. Hehe.

Going back to Manila, Gary and I took a bus headed to Cubao. We seated at the back portion of the bus - something we later regretted so badly. There was this acrid smell of urine coming from, I dunno, maybe a container hidden at the back of the bus. YAK. Imagine having had to endure that for the rest of trip!

When we stepped out of the bus and stood in front of Megamall, along the stretch of EDSA, I thought to myself: "Breathe in! The air here has never been so fresh!" ^_^

Road Trip

Mary: "Kringle! Gising na!"
Me: "Ha? Bakit?"
Mary: "Tagaytay tayo!"
Me: "HA?!"
Mary: "Hehe. Basta, tawagan mo si Roxie!"

I was still half asleep as I stretched my arms and rubbed the sleep grit from my eyes. I stopped for a moment trying to remember what day it was. Am I late for work? No. Am I supposed to be at the office today? Hell no. Have I forgotten a planned outing? I don't think so. What did Mary just told me?!

Me: "Ei, bakit?"
Roxie: "Tagaytay daw tayo!"
Me: "HA?!"
...
Me: "Seryoso? Adik kayo."

With no real itinerary whatsoever, Boss Chris, Mary, Roxie, and I were off to Tagaytay in no time. We browsed through brochures and decided to check out Sonya's Garden first.



The place was truly a beauty. We walked through the garden's colorful and vibrant floral explosion. Got comfy in every daybed hidden in the vines as we absorbed everything our eyes could behold. I hope when I get back there, it won't just be for sightseeing though. I'll make sure to bring enough moolah for the food and the spa. But I don't think I would use that spooky restroom ever again. Nyahaha.



We then had our dinner at Leslie's Restaurant. Ordered an awful lot of food - crispy pata, crispy kangkong, sizzling something (hehe), tuna belly, and whatnot - all served generously.



We didn't quite manage to wolf everything down though. One by one, we dropped our spoons and forks, sated, and slipped into a food-induced coma.



The moment we recovered from the fit, we're ready for more Kodak moments! A bunch of camera whores, we are!

Hello Diabetes!

After work, we drove all the way to the City Center (now known as Bonifacio High Street) at The Fort just to taste the sugary sweet goodness of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. We ordered two dozens of this obesity-inducing pastry - one box goes to Roxie's family and the other box is for us to devour.



Deciding on what flavor to dig into first was no easy feat. Each variety looked mighty tempting! Especially the one topped off with colorful candy sprinkles! YUM!



Three doughnuts after, April and I already felt uncomfortably full...



...while Roxie felt like she wasn't able to eat her fair share! Hehe. ^_^

We walked out of the doughnut factory deliriously happy...



...and insanely high on sugar!!!

Tsukiden Christmas Party '06

We had our company Christmas party at Saisaki in Megamall. With the theme being The 80's, we had to dress up in 80's style clothes and become a bunch of walking fashion disasters for a night. Having attended an 80's themed party in the past, I knew exactly how to do away with neon-colored tops, leg warmers, and shoulder pads. I jumped into a red shirt, a jumper, and a pair of Chuck Taylor's; Then I sported a cap with an (M) printed on it. Voila! I'm Super Mario, the Koopa-smashing plumber of the 80's! ^_^



Part of the program is the battle between Business Units including the Admin. Each group was given 10 minutes to present anything 80's and Christmas-y. Our Business Unit, CSBU, did a three-part presentation:

Thriller!!! Thriller Nights!!!


At isang kilong pulang asukal!!!


C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-CSBU!!!

With barely a week of preparation, we still managed to land second place. If it's because of biases in judgment or just sheer talent, you decide. Hehe. ;)

After the party, we stayed at Starbucks where we pumped ourselves up with caffeine...

...as we played several games of Pekwa! Merry Christmas y'all! ^_^

Bang! Boom! Splash!

The 4th phase of the VGS project is finally over. Well, for me at least since I really don't have any modules to maintain. And after several weeks of planning, preparation, and debate, our Milestone celebration pushed through at last.

First stop: Gotcha! paintball war games in Antipolo.



The jungle-like terrain was extremely rough, especially if the team is on offense. We had to climb hills laid with dried leaves, branches, rocks, and whatnot, just to get to the opponent's territory. 'Twas a blast pointing a gun, pulling the trigger, ducking, crawling, running like hell, and inflicting pain! Ehe. Out of the 3 games, though, our team never won. Huhu. Nweiz, the war ended with me having two massive bruises.

Hopefully, when I get better, I'd get battered less.

While the others headed to Boss Jay's place for lunch and to get some rest, Isah and I went to our respective homes and did some preparation for our second stop. Thankfully, I managed to squeeze in a few hours of sleep before I freshened up and prepared my things.

We then headed to Solemar del Pansol Subdivision at Pansol, Laguna. We left Boss Jay's place later than planned plus the traffic along Manggahan was terrible. Needless to say, we arrived at the place late, around 11pm, I guess.



The night (or should I say, morning?) was spent with a whole lotta drinking and singing...



Just a thought. Why is it that videoke songs are all boobs and butt parades? You'll always see a video of a girl wearing a skimpy bikini outfit, frolicking at the beach, even if you choose to sing a song like "Lead Me Lord", for example! Very distracting, to say the least.

The following day, we kinda felt the storm's rage for it rained most of the time. But of course, it won't stop us from diving into the hot spring waters.

The night wore on, and 'twas time for us to leave. We packed our things, we took more pictures, we bought some pasalubongs, and we headed back to Manila...