| The Sunday Club Chronicles | ||
Sunday, May 06, 2007Sunday Club All Over the Place Due to fortunate circumstances, Caren was given a Sunday off work so the Sunday Club resumed with what was yet another fun and unusual trip around Quezon City.After listening to all the funny kwentos from and about Ate Triccie, Kuya Dondi, Caren and Bam went on a little road trip. We first drove around Marikina. Actually, it was more of we weren't really familiar with the area... but we were impressed with the road work. The flyovers and turns are neatly done that we actually wondered if we were still in Manila. Finally, we found our way to the Ninoy Aquino Wildlife Park. We wanted to take a look at all the illegally smuggled animals that somehow got left in transit in the Philippines. So they were confiscated. Since we don't have the money to send them back to where they came from, they were given a place at the park to live as if they were in the wild. Unfortunately, the wild life area was already closed. All we saw was a lake, which, according to Kuya Dondi, is where they keep the crocodiles.    We paid a visit to The Winery after that. It's this really exclusive and expensive but hightly tasteful place in a house in Horseshoe Village. If you want to impress a girl, this is the place to take her. The restaurant is within the compound of the house. And in the basement is a function room with a private room and bar, and a place to keep their wine.   Since it was still early for dinner, we went to Camp Aguinaldo and walked around the area. We saw the sunset, saw lots of stars, saw the nice new church. That was our exercise for the day.   After all that walking, we met up with Ate Pebs, Kuya Nicky, Pop, Wappy, Jem, and Trey for dinner at Omakase. Sarap! 
Wednesday, April 11, 2007A Tribute to Traditional Baguio  I'm not sure if this is the best Baguio trip but it definitely beats last year. It was different in so many ways. 1. WE WERE COMPLETE! Well, almost complete. But it was great that Ate Triccie and Olli were with us from Spain, Matteo was up and excited for his first time in Baguio, and Kuya Dondi and Caren were allowed to Baguio too. 2. We kinda didn't fast on Good Friday. Haha! We did, but we didn't. Basta, the whole trip was an eating trip. 3. There were so many traditional Baguio events that were extinct for the past how many years that were brought back just to make newer memories... Thanks to Mama Vicky, Kuya Lito, Ate Boom, Kuya Mandy, and Kuya Nolette and Ate Char! BONFIRE!    Many thanks to the organizer, Kuya Lito, for all the fun on Saturday night. It was like old times. The complete Sunday Club had a big bonfire with lots of food (marshmallows, hotdog, chips and dip, etc. etc.) and were all just in the garden til 1 am waiting for Easter and talking about anything and everything. Oh, and massage time with Maricris. The setup was really romantic. According to those who stayed at Hotel Elizabeth, the garden looked like it was filled with a whole bunch of electric lights. They were tea light candles to light up the place. And of course, we took LOTS of pictures, some of them dramatic, some with funny captions such as "The Whale and The Walrus".   EASTER EGG HUNT! Thanks to the organizer, Ate Char, the kids (Macie, Matteo and Regina, along with 3 of Macie's friends) got to enjoy a fun-filled Easter Egg Hunt in our very own garden. There was food, there were fun activities like paint your own Easter egg, and there even was storytelling time about the first Easter by Teacher Bam.    GOOD OL' BAGUIO ACTIVITIES Of course, there was the usual trip to Minesview, market, Sabado, ice cream at the Filling Station, and buffet at Country Club, but there were the old activities like bowling and mini-golf. Thanks to Kuya Mandy and Ate Boom (who's now Macie's flavor of the month), all of us kids (Regina, Macie, even Bam and I) spent afternoons doing the recreational stuff. Macie didn't even sleep siesta or bother looking for her parents. For as long as Tita Boom Boom was there, all was well. Then there was horseback, thanks to Kuya and Ate Char. Bam, Regina and Macie really enjoyed that one, even Matteo.     THE HOUSE The House was a haven of sorts. It's the coldest place in all of Baguio, with the most beautiful fireplace and the nicest garden. That's where everything occured simultaneously: poker, Mahjong, Cranium, picture-taking in the garden, bubble blowing with Macie, and EATING. Special thanks to Mama Vic for keeping us a home in Baguio for many more memories to come.   -Caren
Sunday, December 24, 2006The First Last Misa de Gallo  Galeng ng Sunday Club! At 3:30 in the morning, everyone was awake. Turns out we all pulled all-nighters just so we wouldn't have a hard time waking up, or worse, not wake up at all. So at about 3:50 am, Kuya Dondi picked us (Bam and I) up for Misa de Gallo.We went to mass at the Our Lady of Montefalco Church in Pasig. Parts of the church are still under construction, but the main structure is already built. Upon entrance into the compound lanterns in threes lined the wires, and lanterns also lined the driveway leading into the church. A giant Christmas tree made of lights stands at the front of the church, which is still under construction. Inside, the altar is positioned highly with a belen at the side.   It was a different experience for us, slightly provincial (but in the city) compared to the Santuario de San Antonio that we're used to. And because it was the last day of Misa de Gallo, as well as it was a Sunday mass, there were LOTS and LOTS of people that day. Some drawbacks: the mass was in Filipino, we were getting really sleepy, and we couldn't understand anything. So anyway, after taking pictures of the place (parang turista), we had breakfast. Kuya Dondi bought pandesal and spicy cheddar with paprika spread at Pan de Manila then we ate it at Valle 2 with blended milk. Yum!
Wednesday, December 20, 2006Wednesday Night ShoppingDear Sunday Club, The next time you think of ousting President Dondi and Yours Truly, THINK AGAIN! - Still Your Sunday Club VP, Caren It was one of those spur of the moment activities where Kuya Dondi just texts and we all jump in. Except that everyone had something else already planned and I was the only one available. So at around 8:00 pm, Kuya Dondi picked me up and we went on a Christmas shopping expedition around the Ortigas area. We parked in that open parking beside Podium and it was an entire walking trip from there. We first stopped by Podium to check out the art gallery at the Basement, and some of the stores at the mall. After checking out potential gifts for certain people we crossed Megamall and walked our way to Shangri-la. We spent most of our time checking out the stuff at Debenham's. Nice store. It made us feel like we were in the States. But since all the gift ideas were up in the air, and Kuya Dondi had finally made a decision on one gift, we crossed Megamall again and walked back to Podium, which was closing by then.   We ended the night at Metrowalk. First it was an early midnight snack of choriburgers at Bun-On-The-Run, then Kuya Dondi played one game of DOTA (addicted e!) while I got Starbucks (addicted din!) and checked out the tiangge.
Sunday, December 17, 2006Cubao Day For the first time after a long time the Sunday Club officers were complete. Thank God for Christmas breaks! So after a hefty lunch and some good ol' Assumption kwentuhan (because our Blessed Marie Eugenie was canonized today), Kuya Dondi, Wappy, Bam, Regina, and I went to the Marikina Shoe Expo in Cubao. There were a number of stores displaying Vintage stuff: old cameras, records (which Regina thought was a giant CD), vintage coke cans, lunch boxes and clocks, and old books. We didn't stay there for long since most of the stores were closed. So we went to the National Bookstore in Araneta after that. Wow! Four floors of books! It's actually a bit overwhelming when there are that many to select from that none of us (with the exception of Regina) bought anything. After all those books, it was time for what Sunday Club is really all about. A bit of exploration through a road trip. It was a choice between "eat" and "art", to which "art" surprisingly won by a majority vote. So Kuya Dondi took us to the Boston Gallery which houses contemporary art, some of which were created by the same artists who began their craft at the "Pinto Gallery". The beauty about their kind of art is that it is interpretative and full of emotion. Since the gallery was closing (or it was already closed and they only let us in to view for a short while), we drove around New Manila for a bit, passing Balete Drive and making up "stories" just for fun. Until we finally found our way back to EDSA for a dinner out at Korea Garden. - Caren
Sunday, December 10, 2006From Antipolo to TimogAfter weeks of same old, same old, the Sunday Club resumed with a bang. We had a full afternoon of exploration, Kuya Dondi, Bam, and I. Wappy came later on. Plus the weather was nice, like Baguio with a bit of rain.      First off was a relaxing drive to Antipolo. We went to the "Pinto Gallery" owned by Dr. Joven at the Sierra Madre Grand Heights to take a look at the paintings. They were of very interesting contemporary art by budding young artists, most of whom began their craft during their teen years in the 80s. The main gallery showcased a fusion of western and Filipino oil paintings by Joy Mallari (see photos above). The most amazing was the one entitled "Ama Namin" in which she painted a series of the same face with the mouth moving to the words of the "Ama Namin". (Click on black and white painting above for larger view.) We toured the compound of Dr. Joven, which I find very picturesque. We weren't quite able to explore the entire area due to the rain, but we were able to visit his house which displayed more paintings by young Filipino artists, some of which have gone around the world and back. Afterwhich we visited his chapel that housed a replica of the statue of the miraculous Christ who swung his poisoned feet in order to save the man who kissed it daily.    The story behind Dr. Joven was that he befriended a group of these young artists back in the 80s (please correct me if I'm wrong). During that time, these artists would hang out at his place in Antipolo and they would just paint and draw together, probably like a jamming session with canvass and paint. He then developed them into national artists who are slowly making their mark as icons in the real world, who knows, maybe someday like a Baldemor or Manansala. After that interesting art tour, we drove around U.P. to kill time before an early dinner. We went to the observatory to look through the telescopes. Unfortunately, it was closed due to the rain. Never mind that, we went to the Bahay ng Alumni to check out the art gallery there. More of those interesting paintings, this time by more known artists. And then we stopped by this restaurant just to look at the menu and the place, still somewhere in U.P., which is a less expensive alterna  tive to Chocolate Kiss. It loo ks similar to Cafe by the Ruins in Baguio.After picking up Wappy at Tomas Morato, we ended the day with dinner at Behrouz in Timog. The food was good - beef kebabs with humus, yoghurt sauce, roasted tomatoes and onions, in pita bread. Thanks, Kuya Dondi! - As told by Caren
Friday, December 01, 2006Nail Tropics ClubNo, we did not form a new club. We just successfully recruited a new member into the subgroup of the Sunday Club that goes to Nail Tropics every two weeks... KUYA NICKY! So at 2:30 pm, Ate Pebs, Bam, Kuya Nicky and I spent an hour or so having foot spas and manicures with short massages at Nail Tropics Libis. That was total relaxation, really sarap, and Kuya Nicky won't admit it because he still thinks the cleaning of the nails part is just girl stuff. Fyi, there are guys who regularly go there. Since we all enjoyed that bit and KN made us pagbigyan, we went with him to Metrowalk after and had some choriburgers. Bun On The Run is back in business! Medyo mahal na nga lang (P65 per burger) but it tastes the same and did not shrink. And then we spent the rest of the afternoon watching Twilight Zone.
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