Day 1: 2021

There’s no point saying I will write more (i.e. at least once a week) because that clearly did not materialize since January 5, 2020. To be fair, it lasted for two weeks before things fizzled.

My last post was a birthday post in April, the first for everyone to celebrate their birthday during a pandemic. That is for those who were lucky enough to celebrate their birthday this year. The year 2020 was our generation’s annus horribilis. A volcano eruption in January, the start of the pandemic in the Philippines in March, and the worst flooding (Ulysses) in my hometown in November since 2009. I wrote back in July 2012 that I developed trauma during heavy downpours, and it only took me a trip to work in Pampanga 2 months ago that I might have PTSD.

Bye 2020! Bleh!

While in April, there about 4,600 cases with 297 deaths in the country. As of January 1, 2020 it is now at a staggering 474,000 cases with more than 9,000 deaths. These are more than numbers. These are 474,000 people who did not see the year change to 2021 with their families.

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Zombie movie on Valentine’s night

Mon and I were both on halfday leave in the office for Valentine’s Day and it was a sudden decision as well. For today, I wanted a Valentine-related outfit, but alas, I can’t bear to wear anything red nor too dressy. The best thing I can put on, then, was this polo shirt with a black heart on the chest. I also wore this pair of YSL sneakers for the first time. =D

Maroon cardigan, gray Play by Comme des Garcons Black Heart polo shirt, blue L.O.G.G. by H&M skinny pants, Yves Saint Laurent multicolor high-top sneakers, vintage Mulberry wexford briefcase messenger bag

From the office, we just walked to Greenbelt 3 because it was very difficult to get a cab. We had no choice because we still have to claim our tickets for the movie and waiting for an elusive cab to come would definitely eat up our precious time. It was a nice night to walk anyway, because it was quite windy.

Arriving in the Greenbelt area, we immediately noticed how crowded the whole place was. It was dofficult to walk from one place to another, and all restaurants were brimming with people eating and queuing for an available table. Yikes. We had to get our movie tickets first and good thing we have already reserved the night before because if we were to get the tickets right there and then, we’d end up sitting separately or not at all.

Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Greenbelt 3

The rare occasion when he had his picture taken, with his face full on

As mentioned, every restaurant in the area was full, and the only place available where we can eat was in Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Greenbelt 5. We had no extra time to spare waiting because we had less than 40 minutes before the movie started from the time we got the tickets. We immediately ordered for the most possibly-satisfying food they have on the menu and not all of them were even available. Well, we had little time to eat anyway, even if it was our quickest Valentine’s dinner ever. LOL

The only pasta available that night - Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Greenbelt 3

Blueberry cheesecake - Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Greenbelt 3

The quickest Valentine's dinner we ever had - Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Greenbelt 3

We barely finished our food, when we found ourselves walking back to Greenbelt 3 for our 8:35 PM movie. We chose ‘Warm Bodies‘, as it was what we were supposed to watch instead of ‘Mama‘ last Saturday. I can’t even remember seeing the trailer of the movie before, but all I know was it features Nicholas Hoult (who played Beast in ‘X-Men: First Class‘ and a favorite model of Tom Ford, and even starred in the latter’s first ever film ‘A Single Man‘ — and yeah, he is also Jennifer Lawrence’s boyfriend).

It was tagged as a “paranormal, romantic zombie comedy’, which was a peculiar but very apt description of what we saw on screen. It was told in the point of view of R (Nicholas Hoult), which after a usual hunting spree with a pack of zombies, fell in love with the human Julie (Teresa Palmer), who was also out with a bunch of humans including her boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco) and bestfriend Nora (Analeigh Tipton) to forage for medical supplies. The zombie pack attacked the group and R ended up eating the brains of Perry, which eventually reinforced his attraction towards Julie.

I particularly had a good time hearing the hilarious timing of John Waite’s ‘Missing You‘ played on vinyl, during the key moments of the film, particularly when R first laid his eyes on Julie. I knew the song very well because Tina Turner’s version was once use by my old squad as music in one of the most amazing choreography I have ever seen. Anyway, the movie really had lots of funny moments, particularly when Julie was pretending to be a zombie and was acting a bit too much, perhaps based on a canned knowledge of how zombies move. LOL It was also good to see Analeigh in the movie. She was my favorite contestant in Cycle 11 of ANTM, and I was really heartbroken when she got eliminated. I did not realize how tall she really is, not until this movie, because she looked quite small next to the other contestants and Nigel and Ms. Jay. Analeigh has been doing good in her movie career, and her screen time in this movie was well spent. Excellent comedic timing and she was really hilarious in every scene that she was in. Julie, who I first thought to be a blonde and can-actually-act version of Kristen Stewart, looked very familiar. Searching Google after the movie, I was right in guessing that she was the love interest of the protagonist in ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice‘.

Tickets for the 'Warm Bodies' movie

After the movie, we went to another Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Greenbelt 3 to have a quick snack and a drink of coffee (Mon opted for a non-caffeine drink). I was surprisingly full from our quick dinner and I even had to push myself to eat this cookie and biscotti. LOL At almost 11:00 PM, the place was still bustling with people but we were lucky to get good seats inside, near the window.

Quick drink and a quick snack - Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Greenbelt 3

Black heart on Valentine's - gray Play by Comme des Garcons Black Heart polo shirt

When we were about to go home, we passed by the row of high-end stores and I was delighted to see Prada’s display window, with Sasha Pivovarova in it. Last October 2012, I expressed my delight to see the new mother doing fashion work again.

Sasha Pivovarova for Resort 2013 on the display window of Prada Greenbelt 3

I’m not a fan of flowers and Mon was fully aware of that. Instead, he gave me this stuffed heart which I will be bringing to the office with me. Happy Valentine’s Mon and thanks for the sweets as well! =D

Chocolates and a stuffed heart from Mon

Making people happy: Christmas with the family

We waited for the clock to strike 12:00 AM last night and the kids were more excited than the rest of us. Barely days when we searched for their gifts, they just tore the wrapper off and I was personally delighted to see their happy faces. There was a time when we were not so used to celebrating Christmas this much because my siblings and I were all grown up already and my parents were both out of the country. But the previous years until now when we already have little kids at home, my mother make it a point to make them feel excited for Christmas.

Brie with her doll house

JB with his toy telescope

Anyway, Mon went to our house for Christmas and he was with his little sister, Lot. The last time we saw each other was during Big Bang’s concert last October here in Manila. It was her first time visiting our house and she was excited and nervous at the same time. I think she had a great time as she had a good time playing with my niece, who normally does not click right away with new people.

Mon and Lot with my niece Brie

Anyway, it took them a longer time travelling than staying at out house. The traffic in Metro Manila was crazy and it was quite difficult getting from one place to another. We had a 7:35 PM movie to catch in Gateway Mall (‘Sosy Problems”) and we arrived slightly late for the movie because it was already the opening credits. We then went to Taco Bell to have a quick snack and Krispy Kreme to buy some donuts for both of them to take home.

Taco Bell after watching a movie

I got home pretty fast and Mon kept on asking me whether I already went up to my room. I had no inkling that something was waiting for me because I stayed quite longer downstairs where all of them (except Brie) was still awake. When I reached my room, I gave a loud laugh when I saw this:

Mon's Christmas letter to me

For the first time ever, I gave him a card/wrote him a letter, which I gave to him last Sunday before he went home with a “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS” note on the flap closure. =P I was so used to him giving me such for more than four years already, and to think I just gave him my FIRST EVER was extremely shameful. Well, there’s always a first time for everything. I surely gave him more of a surprise than me receiving a card from him. Never too late.

It’s almost 12:00 AM again and I want to end this Christmas day by exclaiming how happy I am to be with the people I love. Christmas is always a good reminder of the meaning of family and close relations. And yeah, giving as well.