Mga Happenings sa Bakasyon ni Neish Ayon sa POV ni Ivy

Neish arrived in Cebu City Saturday night. Ate Jette and I fetched her from the airport, went back to Cebu Regal Pension House, chatted for a while, and then we went to sleep. We were planning to roam the city the next day. The plan was to have at breakfast at nine in the morning. We woke up 0830H something. I winced inwardly when I called Kuya Ramon and found out he was already waiting for us in the office while we were just taking turns in the shower. He was a driver in our office and I asked him to drive us around. I was able to borrow a vehicle from the office so we really did not have any problem with the transportation.

Anyway, we started the day by visiting the image of the Sto. Niño at the Basilica de Sto. Niño. I had to go my separate way while Neish and Ate Jette were taking pictures at the Magellan’s Cross since I have do an errand for my brother’s birthday.  I caught up with Neish and Ate Jette at the line towards the Sto. Niño. A few minutes later, Diane arrived. It was the first time that Diane and Neish met personally although they have known each other for years through the internet.  After a quick peek at the image of the Sto. Niño, we attended the 1130 mass where H joined us.

After the mass, we went straight to lunch at AA. We had barbecue, grilled pork, sea shell soup and shrimp sinigang with a pitcher of Fruit Twister for drinks. I was so bloated after that sumptuous lunch. After lunch, we proceeded to Fort San Pedro which was just beside the restaurant. Apparently, it was all our first time to roam inside the old fort with the exception of Ate Jette. Diane is a native of Cebu City and H and I have been living and working in the city for a long time and yet we have never been to For San Pedro. We were tourists in our own city. The fort was established during the Spanish era and served as the city’s wall of defense against attacks. It was in Fort San Pedro when Celine joined us.  She attended an acquaintance party the night before and woke up so late. But still, so happy she was able to join us.

After a lot of picture taking at Fort San Pedro, we went to the Philippine Taoist Temple at Beverly Hills, Cebu City. It’s another tourist destination in Cebu City. After we had our fill of the temple, we went to Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City to visit the Mactan Shrine. Thankfully, the souvenir shops sell sandals and slippers. Did I mention that the strap of my sandals sort of snapped when we were having lunch? It’s not the first time that something like that happened to me but unlike the other times when I’m forced to walk barefoot, my sandal held on until I was able to buy a replacement at the shop. Anyway, the highlight of that Mactan Shrine trip would probably be the story of Celine and the ice drop (pinipig flavor). *grins* And may I just say that the monument of Lapu-Lapu, first Filipino native to fight against the Spaniards in the 1521, if I am not mistaken, looked like it spent too much time at the tanning bed. Yep, it was so...bronze.

To continue, we proceeded to Lantaw Floating Restaurant at Day-as, Cordova for dinner. It was a long trip. We arrived just in time for the sunset. We also had to wait for our table. We were number 8. Fortunately, we did not have to wait that long. And considering how talkative we all are, we didn’t mind waiting.

We had Cordova Express which was a concoction of shrimp and coconut meat in coconut milk, a large slice of tuna panga or jaw, bacasi or eel soup and a pitcher of Cordova Twister which was like AA’s Fruit Twister. It’s just fruit juice with a lot of floating fruit slices. While the food was great, the service was slow. The staff needed to be trained so they can keep up with the large number of diners. The dessert, bibingka with ice cream took forever to be served ad when it was, we wiped it out in less than five minutes. It’s a good thing they have a great ambience and awesome view of the sea and the city. Again, they have to do something about service efficiency.

So after dinner, we decided to go back to the hotel to freshen up and charge and respective phones. Diane had to go home and we dropped her off somewhere in the Universuty of Visayas area. And we were sleeping the entire trip back to the hotel. Sorry Kuya Ramon. Pigs, ya’ know? I went with Kuya Rams to the office to return the vehicle and thank Sir Jigger for loaning the Revo to us that day.

I went back to the hotel to rest, freshen up and charge Roarke. For those who do not know Roarke, he’s my phone. And don’t ask me why I gave him a name. I just want to so I did. Anyway, Neish, Ate Jette, Celine, and I proceeded to Mango Avenue at around 2200H. Mango Avenue is like party central with all the bars, clubs, ktv’s, disco houses, and food joints. We planned to rent a private room at Song Hits for karaoke but there was a waiting list so we just decided to have some drinks at Y.ou. We had a pitcher of Mojito. We also had Quesadilla and Nachos which we consumed in a matter of minutes. After consuming that pitcher of Mojito we went home.

The next day, Neish and Ate Jette left for Dumaguete. I was supposed to be with them but the Office had visitors coming from the National Headquarters and we had to prepare. This is the frustrating part since me and Ate Jette urged Neish to come to Dumaguete in the first place. Cebu was just a quick stop. And I wasn’t there. Pfft! It’s probably one of the reasons why I was such a in a bad mood after they left. Never mind the fact that everybody was so frikkin perfect in their work. I hate perfection. It’s so condescending when I can’t keep up. And since I’m stubborn, I refused to keep up with all the perfection.  Another reason was that they could not understand why I’m willing to spend that much money, it wasn’t much really but Jeanette called me out because of it. According to her, it’s not right to spend too much money just to bond with friends and have fun with them. My point is, first, it’s my money. Second, it’s just money. I will earn it again. But I cannot earn time back. It’s not every day that Neish is here. She lives in Manila. Ate Jette lives in Dumaguete. And while the rest of us are all in Cebu, we were all so busy with our individual lives to even meet up, bond and have fun. So I won’t regret spending my money to be with them. Even if I ended up broke after. No amount of money can replace the laughter, the memories and all the fond moments we had that day. Too bad they cannot understand that.

Anyway, I was able to catch up with Neish and Ate Jette during Neziele’s last night in Dumaguete. I left Cebu in a hurry that I was already in Liloan when I realized that I left my keys at the boardinghouse. And you don’t have to say it. I know what to call myself because of it. I have been berating myself the entire time I was trying to figure out how to break into my own house. I spent almost an hour trying to do it. Jumping over the fence was difficult but it was the easier one. Opening the door was the challenge. Kicking it open was not an option. I have no skills in lock picking, either. I went to Ate Jette’ s house to borrow a knife hoping I could pry the door open. It did not work. So I had to find another means of ingress. I destroyed my bedroom window, the one where the air-conditioning unit was supposed to go.  It was covered with plywood. I successfully broke it after a few whacks with the heel of my palm. But then I had trouble getting myself in as I was too short and the window was too high for me to climb. Fortunately, there was a log in my garden. I dragged it and placed it under the window. After a lot of heaving and pulling myself up, I was finally able to break into my own house, in all my sweaty and dirty glory. I ripped my shirt in the process, too.

Anyway, Neish and Ate jette went to Siquijor the day before. I was so envious of their sunburns. They had fun under the sun. Happy for them, frustrated for myself. I was In Siqiojor once because of woirk so I really was not able to enjoy the island. We had dinner at Why Not. It’s a restaurant by the Dumaguete City baywalk. We had tomato soup, Hawaiian pizza, and a sausage that I cannot pronounce, spell or even remember. It sounded European, though, almost German. After that, we went for a walk and spent time relaxing and talking at the tempurahan, which was in the baywalk area. After that we went home to Judyville. Ate Jette was sick so she slept ahead earlier. Neish and I decided to open the bottle of Tequila Rose. We had one shot glass each. We learned in the morning that Tequila Rose was supposed to be drank in a bigger glass with ice, not the shot glass. And no, it was not supposed to be drank with water. We did. So we’re not really drinkers. :D

Before we went to the airport, we stopped by Sans Rival Cakes and Pastries to get Neish’s orders. And then, we ordered cakes, brownies, and pasta. We ordered one for each kind of pastry available on display. We wiped everything out except for the Oreo cupcake. After that, we went to the airport, said our goodbyes and hoped we can get together again. We are so getting together again. Probably this October. *grins widely while doing a happy booty dance*

P.S.
I wanted to post some pictures but I really sucked at it. So for photographs, please click on the following:
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