A Hearty and Happy Lunchdate
I had a hearty and very happy lunchdate yesterday at Sitio Filipino in Podium...but not with beloved h2b John! Lest tongues start wagging wildly, let me clarify that the lunchdate was with my barkada way back college...Jan with hubby Dan and baby Jada (don't u just love their names), April with my inaanak Miguel (and the lola in tow) and Wench, who hurried her doctor in an outpatient operation just to make it to our meeting... and I have to call it a half-day from the office (unpaid leave!) just to be with these bunch... talk about loyal friendships huh!
Our friend Jan texted me Wednesday afternoon and asked if we could go out together. I said fine, what time, expecting it would be a dinner gimik. Then she replied "Lunch tayo nila Wench somewhere Ortigas." I replied back, "Ba't naman lunch sa ortigas pa? 'lam nyo naman working girl ako!" (as if naman may ginagawa sa office aside from blogging and checking out W@W mails... hehehe!). Sagot ng aking friend: "Mag-half day ka na lang." Ay ang galing ha! Nagtitipid na nga ako ng leave in time for my wedding (6 na lang VL ko) tapos pag-half day-in daw ba ako! So i asked, "Punta ba sila April (who will be coming from Dagupan) and Wench (from Batangas naman)? When she replied yes they're coming, there's not much I can say but yes too. Eversince these three got married (ako na lang bukod-tanging single!), we seldom get together na andun lahat, most of the time someone can't be there due to family reasons. Kaya go na rin me, even if this would mean half-day ako without pay! Ouch! Laki na naman deductions ko nito! I replied to Jan, "O cya, half-day na nga lang! Kung di ko lang kayo prends!"
So yesterday after the ISO Meeting of QMRs, I just checked out a few emails then left the office shortly before 12nn. I chanced upon an FX going to Megamall outside Pacific Star Bldg so I just took this ride and decided to walk my way from Mega to Podium, lapit lang naman. Our meeting time was 12:30, I got there just in time expecting that Jan and Dan were already there because they are just staying in Renaissance Towers. But, as always, not one of them was there. Hay naku! Parang di nako nasanay sa kanila. So I texted all of them and asked saan na sila. On the way na daw. Ok, i just reserved a table for six in Sitio Filipino and seated muna in one the nooks there as I wait for our table to be cleared. Gutom na ko! Grabe tagal nila! I have already texted John informing him I was in Podium for a lunchout with my college barkada. O di ba? Bait ko nagpaalam pa kay h2b! ;-)
Finally after ten years of waiting (hehe! exagg!) and looking at the door for any one of them to arrive, I saw my inaanak Miguel boringly walking outside Sitio, obviously still sleepy. Then I saw April and her mom, so I waved at them. At last, may makakausap na ako! SO beso-beso, then chika-chika na! Parang ang tagal na naming di nag-usap ni April eh Wednesday night lang we spent 2 hours on the fone when she called me up asking directions to Podium ("Sencia ka na sister, tagal ko na di na nakagala sa Manila eversince lumipat kami Dagupan."), then had chika galore up to 12mn (thanks to PLDT's unlimited 10 peso call promo)! I asked her, "Ba't nga ba nagyaya si Jan ng lunch?" April replied, "Eh kasi po etong si Jan Shiela eh nagpabinyag na pala ng anak nang walang inimbita! Palagi daw kasi nailalabas baby kaya kelangan ma-binyagan agad." Ah ganun! Cya pala may utang sa amin tapos ako ang magha-half day! Loka rin 'tong frend ko! ;-) But I was excited to be together again, after so many years. The last time was during Jan's wedding, but we did not have the chance to have real bonding time (as in be our usual selves) coz we had to be behaved on the wedding. Hehe! ;-) Wench and I kinda gave Jan a wedding shower, a wholesome one...just the three of us coz April was not make it then.
Back to Sitio...Shortly after, Jan and Dan (with baby Jada in his arms) arrived. Then Wench arrived na rin. Finally we got to order food!! Good thing it did not take long for our food to be served. Sarap!!! I specially liked the Crispy Fried Hito. I normally don't eat hito because I don't like the itsura of the fish and I thought it was malansa. But April and her mom told me masarap daw yung ganung luto so I tried and I liked it a lot! Nothing of the fishy smell nor taste (I dipped it in vinegar full of garlic and onions!) The others are equally delicious.. the kare-kareng gulay, lumpiang hubad (with which Jan joked me "Bakit lumpia order mo, dapa lalaking hubad!" With that, April added "Wag ka mag-alala Jan. Meron na cya lalaking huhubaran! Malapit na!" GRABE!!! Buti na lang my inaanak Miguel who was seated beside me does not understand Tagalog (inglisero po ang bata at 6 years old lang ha!) Ganun ba talaga mga married people? Mga green-minded na! Hehehe! All I can do was laugh at them! Sus! Kung kasama ko siguro si h2b eh namula na yun sa hiya! Super shy pa naman si John! Kaya nga daw siguro di ko siya sinasama sa mga gimik namin kasi baka daw umatras sa kasal once he get to know my barkada! Grabe mang-asar mga frends ko (sabagay ako rin!)...typical students of Eng'g (the pinaka-alaskador college in UP)...not to mention we're all members of ACES (the most notorious org for CE studes), except Jan who's from GPs (another wacky org for ME studes naman, she's one of the only 2 female members!).
Yesterday the butt of our ribbing is our friend Wench, who just had a cyst removed from her chest, just below her right breast, but was still there because she just can't miss that meeting daw (she even demanded her doctor to hurry up on her stitches!). As always, we kept on teasing her, she just have to beg us not to make her laugh kasi masakit pa yung tahi nya! When Jan and April learned that Wench will be one of my hosts in our reception, together with April's hubby Concon (my blockmate in 1st yr college), they all asked me if I was sure of that. "Joy, once ka lang ikakasal! Baka gusto mo maging comedy and kasal mo pag si Wench ang host!" Oo nga noh! I was thinking pa naman aside from her, I'd like to have my friend Mark or Gilbert (Concon's frat brods ) as her partner. Baka instead kami ang i-roast ni John as couple, si Wench na lang alaskahin ng 2! Ay grabe! Kaloka yata un ah! ;-)
We were so engrossed with our kwentuhan that we barely noticed we were the only ones left in Sitio. As in the waiters have started cleaning up. We left the place around 3:30pm. Merienda na nga lang kulang... but then we were just too full (both from the food and from all the laughing)! We all had a real good time, and I did not have any regrets taking the half-day off! I just could imagine how will it be with these friends on my bridal shower!
I'll surely miss those get-togethers, probably one of the last (wholesome) gimiks I'll have as a single woman. Sigh!!! I guess the next time we'll be together will be on our wedding day.... Have to remind them to be prim and proper... behaved dapat kasi baka masira ang poise, naka-gown pa naman! ;-)
For sure we'll meet up again after the wedding... finally I'll be joining them as a married woman na rin... greatly relieved of the fact that at last they'll stop teasing me as the only single among the group...but surely willl be missing those times when we were all still in college... young, carefree and single! ;-)
