27th

I usually don't give a big fuss about my birthday. Every year, there are no parties, no celebrations, nothing-- just a simple dinner with the family. I treat it just like any other day. I mean, what's so special about it anyway? Everybody gives you extra attention, which does nothing except make me feel awkward.  

This year, however, was different. 

I realized that my birthday is an opportunity to celebrate the blessings I received through the years. It's a brilliant excuse to gather all the people I love in one place and to enjoy each other's company. Although my parents were away on a trip, and it was just me and my brother at home, I still felt complete and very much loved. On the eve of my birthday, I celebrated with my close friends at Tacoway, and the following day, there was a simple celebration in the office. There were a lot of surprises that I didn't expect, especially from people who took the extra mile to make me feel special. I've never felt more loved. Of course, the day didn't end without me thanking the Lord for everything He has given me, as I do everyday. 

See? Celebrating my birthday isn't so bad after all. In fact, it was awesome! Next year, please come sooner!

La Union 2019: Day 2

We woke up bright and early the next day, excited for brunch at Choka (this was mostly just me, lol). We had a wonderful view of the sea while enjoying the dishes we ordered, which was my primary consideration when I chose this place. And have I mentioned that it was insanely hot in La Union? We couldn't bear the heat that we desperately looked for a place with air conditioning. There was only one place we could think of-- Coffee Project. When we arrived, the place was full! We had to wait for around 30 minutes before we got to be seated. Unfortunately for us, it was still scorching hot even with the air conditioning on!

The entire afternoon, we just lounged in our hotel and swam a little. And for dinner, we had ribs at Mommy Lu's-- the best ribs I've tried in my life! The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce was amazing. Really, our experience would've been awesome if not for the smell of a dead rat that lingered during our meal. Lol. Still, the ribs at Mommy Lu's are the best! We then had a few cocktails at Surf Shack before calling it a night. Note to self: order a pitcher of Pink Eye next time!    

On our last day, we decided to stop by Baguio on our way back to Manila. We had a nice, sumptuous lunch at Hill Station, and ordered some hot chocolate at Chocolate de Batirol so we have something to drink during the long drive back. When we checked Waze, we were surprised to see that it would take us over 6 hours to get to Manila when it was supposed to be only 3 hours! Apparently, Kennon road was closed so we had to drive all the way back to La Union and take an alternative route to get to Manila. Lol. The trip was short but sweet. And I'm glad to spend time with these people who I've known for more than two decades.

I'm traveling to Japan with the same group of friends this September, so stay tuned!

La Union 2019: Day 1

Summer was the perfect time to go on a beach holiday, and I went with none other than my high school friends! Compared to our other trips, this one was not planned in advance. In fact, we only decided that we were going to La Union less than a month before we leave. Lol. On the day itself, I took a 12-hour land trip from my hometown (Legazpi) to Manila, and spent another 5 hours from Manila to La Union. Whew! 

We were starving when we arrived in La Union so we stopped by Grumpy Joe's for lunch. We didn't know that their serving size was enormous so we ended up ordering too much. Lol. For dessert, we drove to Halo-halo de Iloko for some (yes, you guessed it!) halo-halo. The queue outside the restaurant was very long so we just decided to have the halo-halo to go, and ended up eating them in the car. We were tired from the long drive, so we checked in at our hotel and rested a bit. Just before sunset, we went to the beach at San Juan for some surfing. Unfortunately, the waves were too small-- we decided it wasn't worth it. We walked around the beach to pass the time, and had an early dinner at Baybay Seafood. Our seafood boodle dinner was amazing, and very affordable! I'm not a fan of boodle fights, but this one was one-of-a-kind. The seafood was so fresh and the sauce tasted great. Naturally, I ate a ton! We ended the night early but still managed to squeeze in a bonding session in our room before going to bed.