My friend Carlo and I decided to “rediscover” the city because we haven’t been here in years. We met up in Cafe du Marc which, although in much need of maintenance, was actually a good restaurant.

A little later, my brother joined us for lunch. He knew I was paying, so he literally ran to meet us. Hehe.

My brother ate his usual “breakfast for lunch” while Carlo got himself a Beef Rendang, which he referred to as “ginataang baka na may curry powder.” I had Chicken Parmigiana, which I said was “breaded chicken na may keso at tomato sauce.” Well, that’s us, we butcher what’s on the menu. ;P

Carlo and I talked about the presidentiables, arguing like we owned the place. Adrian listened, amused, looking at Carlo’s pants and wanting to know where he got them.

We made plans of watching Sherlock Holmes.

Before we left, we asked a waiter to take our picture. But he said something so inappropriate that my brother almost gave him a piece of his mind.

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The waiter said my brother’s arms should be around me – he mistook my brother for my boyfriend! That keeps happening to us. A priest once thought my brother and I were “together”. Eck.

I wasn’t that tall, but I always thought I wasn’t someone who’d look teeny when among other people. But Adrian and Carlo obviously towered over me!

The only coffee shop in town was a Gloria Jeans franchise. Made me wish there were other coffee places to go to…

Eventually, my brother had to leave for afternoon classes.

After my brother left, Carlo and I were off. But we didn’t watch Sherlock Holmes, because, well…

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My friend and I never got to watch Sherlock Holmes because the cinemas here didn’t have it yet. We had a fleeting craving for the city, if only for us to watch Sherlock Holmes. Oh well.

There was only one thing left to do: binge on food. Doughnuts, pretzels, takoyaki  – all in one day.

We also dropped by McDonald’s.

Their cashiers were “analog”; they were yellowed and old. Funny how the employees at the cashier ignored every single question which they did not have an answer to. It’s like they wanted to stick to their “script” and were incapable of carrying on an otherwise human conversation. Their cookie cutter responses reminded us of automated robots.

As we were waiting for a bus home, we saw coconuts and had a sudden craving for coconut juice. Yum!

My friend gamely posed with a coconut in his hand.

We rode a bus home. We ate more food, watched DVDs, and risked getting bitten by neighborhood dogs.

 

Opaque shades
Onyx silver earrings
Lime green shirt
Black biker jacket
Mango suit shorts

Today, I saw a blue-eyed cat, spotted a heart on the pavement, and received a fully-automated call, all in one day.

Interestingly, Pangasinan seemed like a new place to me. I’ve forgotten how people here are different; they smile more often, say endearments more often. I’ve been taking pictures of Dagupan the entire day, still in disbelief about how strange it all seemed to me.

Dagupan City 2010

I met with my brother and we ate at Zola. Nice place, acceptable food, really bad service (oops, sorry if I stepped on anybody’s toes; just being honest).

My brother had a 4-hour break, so we just hung out. He’s all grown up! Seems like yesterday when he was just a little kid in red briefs, haha!

 

Then, we spotted a heart on the pavement…

But the highlight of the day was just about to happen.

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Zola had mind-numbingly bad service. At one point, after a customer has been waiting for more than 10 minutes for a mere menu, she simply stood up to get one herself. Yikes!

But people around us were oblivious to the poor lady waiting on herself. Two students were busy congregating, taking advantage of Zola’s free wifi:

In the meantime, Adrian and I passed time by taking more pictures till we were ready to scram:

   “Sigh… time was taking too long…”

Finally, the waiters gave us our check. And we were off! But where to?

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Surprisingly, even when it was 12 noon, the breeze was chilly. Or was I imagining things?

I decided to ride a jeepney. I suddenly remember jokes from my childhood, where “aircon” means “air continuous”. Being home is like experiencing a flashflood of memories!

On my way home, I saw the most beautiful cat I’ve ever seen! She had blue eyes and a white coat:

  Plus, she was sooo friendly! She purred and licked my hand when I stroked her head!

On the way home, I managed to catch some sun. Bad for the skin, good for the soul. So why not? But I made sure I was wearing proper eye protection (I love my eyes; I read and write even in my sleep).

My hair was in my eye. Lesson of the story: bring a ponytail.

 

But I’ll be going back to Manila soon. Sigh. I’ll miss seeing ponds instead of skyscrapers, kabaleyans instead of strangers, kindred souls instead of weary urbanites. But everything good must come to an end.

What I'm wearing here.

Tinted bo-peeps
Celine shirtdress
Red quartz in silver earrings
Piled on bracelets
Esprit shorts
White flipflops

I’m doing my mom a favor: I’m heeding her plea for me to give their students much-needed check-ups. :)

My mom, the early bird that she is, woke up at 5 am. But she didn’t have to be at work till 8, so she’s waaay too early. And, of course, I had no choice but to wake up early, too. Sigh…

(Quick question: What brand is my bag? )

My mom prepared a big blow-out in her office for her birthday! Food was delicious: Crispy fried shrimp, bangus sisig, grilled bangus, lechon, malunggay pakbet, clams in broth, fruit salad… I was full after the party!

Plains ‘n Prints chiffon blouse
Nafnaf pants
Vincci black bag
Vincci black pumps
Turquoise drop earrings with marcassite stones in silver

“New year equals new black.”

After all, if there’s anything the fashion world is guilty of, it’s that it grows tired of trends easily. Even the color black simply isn’t good enough anymore – at least, for now. Grey is unofficially the new black, becoming a favorite hue of designers for 2010.

3.1 Phillip Lim’s Resort line for 2010 was dominated by a palette of grey. Draping and shirring added particular areas of interest to the rather shy shade of grey Lim used:

To keep an all-grey outfit ineresting, Lim accessorized with brown bags or belts and ornate grey chokers.

 
Do you feel that grey is too timid for you to consider it the new black? Add panache to grey items in your wardrobe by pairing them with metallics! 3.1 Phillip Lim’s 2010 Resort wear used shimmery gold pants to keep a blousy grey shirt urban and hip:

 
Pair different shades of grey together, like in this relaxed 3.1 Phillip Lim Resort ensemble:

Is grey is too dull for you? There are many ways to cheer it up! Wear your grey suit over ruffled tops with pastel or bright colors.

Add feminine chic to grey by wearing it with pink! DKNY’s 2010 Spring collection have grey shirts, skirts, dresses, and suits that are drool-worthy. New Year’s resolution: will buy DKNY before January ends!

   

I love how DKNY’s 2010 Spring collection features loose, flab-hiding cuts. Wearing their great greys will help hide holiday weight!

Hey, even my font color is grey. Haha!