| 12:10p |
My 32nd Birthday
So it was my birthday yesterday. Rather than spend another drunken evening (which I always find reason to regret the next day), I decided to spend a quiet day with Piglet instead. Actually my birthday celebration started a couple of days prior when Piglet and I had dinner at Nanbantei—this Yakitori place in Greenbelt. Despite my misgivings on the cost, I was pleasantly surprised that it was actually affordable. We ordered some Salmon Sashimi and a set meal with 21 sticks of assorted Yakitori. We both have big appetites but there were left-overs. Nothing went to waste though as I took them home and turned the bits and pieces into some fried rice the next day.
Anyway, back to my quiet birthday. Piglet actually had the day planned from morning to evening. Anyway, the day started with a hot breakfast at Kenny Roger’s. Huh, you say? Well, we always pass this billboard in the Makati underpass advertising breakfast at Kenny’s with free-flowing coffee. The ad always causes us to crave pancakes but we never found the time to go. So on my birthday we did it. I had oatmeal pancakes with bacon while Piglet had oatmeal pancakes with fresh fruits and cream. Not to be outdone, she also ordered extra bacon and some French toast. The verdict? Not GREAT but definitely good.
After a heavy meal, we went to Greenbelt church to pray and then she took me around the mall to get me her birthday gift. She got me two shirts since my wardrobe was seriously dwindling. She has impeccable taste so you can imagine that I love my gifts. Then we went back to the condo to loaf around a bit. It was then that she admitted that she wanted to take me to watch Transformers but that another option was for both of us to get massages. Now I’ve been waiting to watch Transformers but I was already planning to take her next week as part of this date I’ve been secretly putting together. Besides, we both needed massages to rub away all the stress we’ve accumulated at our day jobs. So I opted for a relaxing home massage…but before that…we needed to have lunch.
She surprised me by bringing me to Alba’s for their buffet lunch. I’ve been talking to her about the buffet a Alba’s and how much I miss it so I was practically jumping out of the cab when I realized where she was taking me. I’m crazy about the restaurant’s conchinillo and Alba’s didn’t disappoint. I must have gone back for five servings—I didn’t care about my cholesterol level anymore. I also had a little Paella (not so much to fill me up with carbs though as I wanted to attack the buffet table further), a lot of baked clams, a lot of chorizo, some callos…can’t remember everything I ate but it was all good.
We went home stuffed and I went on the Internet while she caught up on some much-needed sleep. After she woke up, we called in for massages. I then told her that I’ve already had too much fun and we can choose to stay in and watch DVDs for my remaining birthday. But she insisted that we go over to the newly-opened Trellis in Makati after the massage for a couple of beers.
Not one to say no to beer, we went over to Trellis (I’ve been dying to find out if their sisig is as good as it was reputed to be) and ordered some drinks. Unfortunately, I think my taste buds have been acclimatized to Metro Manila’s crunchy sisig. It was okay but I still prefer the sisig in local watering holes. Anyway…Piglet and I were just talking when she mentioned something about the smoking area. My eyes drifted towards the area and to my surprise, I saw Rosie, Mega and Daph walking in. Soon after, Kat D. walked in as well. It was Piglet’s birthday surprise for me!
It was the perfect thing to round off the day. Some booze, food and good conversation with my closest friends (Andy and Corinne went off on their South East Asia trip the day before just in case you were wondering where they were). We didn’t stay long because all of us had work the next day (and Piglet and I wanted to stay in a little *wink wink*), but over-all---one of the best birthdays of my life.
To everyone who greeted me, thank you. To my friends who came over for my small birthday surprise, thank you. And to Piglet who has once again made me happy on my special day, thank you. |