Milestones and sticks and stones
Wow, it’s been a week since I had last connected on the Net. So where was I all along? I was in Cebu for the Ad Congress.
Yep, first time in Cebu. First time to ride a ship too. It was fun on Superferry 1 going to Cebu. We got to enjoy the view on the deck, the expensive food, and we even got invited to the bridge. Funny, a lot of the engineers and the crew knew that it was our first time (or maybe they saw how giddy we were). Naks, may special privileges pa kami ‘coz we got invited by the captain and the engineers to check out those radars and maps. It’s like being in Strange Brew…
So there, we arrived in Cebu morning of the 16th. Checked in at the hotel a day earlier (we found out we were booked from 17th to 19th pala), then proceeded to Waterfront. Well, actually I’m not really an official delegate, but I get to meet lots of people from the industry, thanks to our media manager, and got freebies as well. Cool! We then ate lunch at Ayala, at a stall called
Sugbahan where we encountered a slight problem: our food accidentally
spilled on the floor, and the crew refused to give us another for free.
Exchange of words ensued, but both parties were pretty calm (nagtitimpi
na lang siguro) until the manager had no choice but to replace the
dish.
In the afternoon, we went to a bar called Table 7 where the cake sucks. But we were entertained by the rehearsals of Jacqui Magno and Chad Borja. Yes folks, he is still alive.
Later that night, we met Jan aka Puti, Sir Carlo’s cousin. He bought us burgers from Gotham (his business) then ate at Irie (also his). He taught us the "proper" way of drinking red wine and he gave us a taste of his cocktail. I forgot its name ‘coz it’s in French, but in English it translates to "holy shit."
Later we went to Vudu, a popular gimmick place in Cebu. That place is so
similar to those bars that play trance and house, like Ipanema in
Libis. It’s something Noddy will surely like. Funny, the people there
were dressed as if they attended a prom or something. Lots of girls and
gays as well.
So after that (wala talagang kapaguran!) we went to another bar called Veranda (now this ain’t his), with an interior which is like 70’s Bistro but a lot smaller and with house music, no bands. There he taught us the "proper" way to drink scotch — actually it was one-part scotch, one-part water on the rocks. Having hated scotch for a while, I was surprised (and so were my officemates) to have enjoyed this drink.
Thursday. Again we rubbed elbows with other people at the Waterfront in Cebu, got some more freebies. By lunch, Sir Carlo dragged Rina and me to Ayala where we ate at Oh Georg. Goodness! The appetizer was amazing, and the pasta servings were so big! It’s like the plate was forever full! And yeah, we saw Angel Aquino there.
Evening, we went to the QTV party where I unfortunately didn’t win anything. After that, Talits, Ten, Rina and I had a meeting with the Business World people. Then after that, Jan aka Puti treated us again at Vudu. And yeah, before that we went to the KTV nearby ‘coz we were just itching to sing. Naks.
Friday. Woke up really late. Sir Carlo, Ten, Rina and I met with someone from Mega who treated us lunch at Café Georg. Wow, it was 2pm… and that was brunch! In the afternoon Pol, Fluxx and us three girls (Mama Talits was at Waterfront) decided to shop for pasalubong. We ate at the famous AA Barbeque for dinner where we had Lechon Baka, Manok Tagalog, oysters, clams and a lot of side dishes. Wow! After that Pol and I decided to rest at the hotel, while Fluxx, Rina and Ten went back to Waterfront for the GMA party. By 12am I called my grandmother to greet her "Happy Birthday." Not long after that, Pol, Fluxx, Rina and Ten surprised me with three packs of spaghetti and a paper flower (kinupit sa Waterfront). Wehehe! That was the one of the coolest gifts I got. And they really did catch me by surprise.
Saturday. After mustering a lot of courage since I said yes yesterday, I went snorkeling. As in oh my gosh! I don’t know how to swim and I’m going snorkeling?! Pol was going for a dive in Mactan. Ten didn’t want to miss the opportunity, so she and Rina decided to go snorkeling and prodded me to go with them. I was really hesitant at first, but since it was my birthday, I would have wanted to do something different. And that was it. Despite encountering lots of jellyfishes, the experience was real cool! Cute fishies, lots of corals and starfishes. Went snorkeling for about an hour all in all (we had to get back to the boat ‘coz we were itching, no thanks to the little dikyas). After that we went to Mactan Shrine and bought some gifts and took pictures, too. And I got to see Elgin, a high school friend who was also attending the Congress.
That night we attended the INQ cocktails and party, and the Araw Awards. It was a frustrating and entertaining experience. Gave me a bit of a challenge too, to think of ads like that. After Araw, we went to the Solar party. A few drinks while waiting for our name to be called in the raffle (to no avail), then we went back at the hotel.
And then comes Sunday. The most stressful day of all. To make the long story short, Ten, Rina and I almost didn’t make it to Superferry 17 because of ticket problems. But it was resolved, and we boarded to Manila the last minute.
By Monday morning we were back in Manila, with pain all around our bodies and really amazing experiences in our minds. I never thought that it would be this fun… and my birthday would be the most fulfilling experience I’d have.
And now, we’re back to the real world. Sucks, but hey, I’m glad to be back, too.
