Relax

In the last couple of weeks, I had (no kidding here) 2 key investigations, 3 business trips, 4 workshops and 5 work-related telecons. I must have missed the partridge-in-a-pear-tree to make the set complete; it probably got buried in my inbox somewhere.

But despite the work, I'm thankful for the opportunities to relax.

In my last business trip to Malaysia, Cris took me and Frat to one of his best-kept secret places to chill out: the SKYBAR. It's located on the top floor of Traders Hotel. Inside, it's got a relaxing atmosphere with the subdued lighting, soft music, a 25-m lap pool in the middle and a jacuzzi pool on one side. It also has a spa on its mezzanine. The place is open air, but overhead beams give the place a homey feel and make it appear enclosed. It's best feature though is the spectacular view of the Petronas Twin Towers overlooking KLCC park -- the place has glass walls on the side facing Malaysia's most-known building.

Anyway, we got seats by the windows and Frat treated as to two rounds of 'Tiger Towers' -- it's just Tiger beer in very, VERY tall glasses -- and unlimited wasabi-peanuts. We chatted a lot --- it's actually my first time to have an open chat with 'adults'. We talked about regional economies, leadership at the workplace and future options (career and marriage --- Cris was evading the latter topic). I was surprised to find myself finishing my two glasses ahead of Cris and Frat, hehe. Maybe it's because of those peanuts.

Last Saturday it was the 2nd Chairman's Cup for Badminton, held at The Zone in Makati. I just got back from Malaysia then. My problem everytime I return from a business trip, my biological clock is all messed up because I always fall asleep on the plane, no matter how long or short the flight is. The day before the tournament, I had insomnia.

In the elimination games, I and my partner won our first game fairly easy (me: awake for 26 hours straight). An hour later, our second game ended in a draw --- we could have won it except that my mental state was already bad and I was playing the game purely on instinct; hell, I had a lot of unforced errors on my serve. Fortunately, we had a 90-minute wait for our last elimination game. I took that chance to sleep underneath one of the bleachers (and skipped lunch). When I woke up for our third game, I felt totally great (thanks to those power napping tips!).

Anyway, we qualified for the finals. The finals game in our level was an exciting match-up. Unfortunately, our opponents had a series of mishaps during the game (one of them got hit on the face by his partner which resulted to a minor cut on his forehead, and later on, his partner got leg cramps twice). We won the championship trophy after 3 sets. =)



We celebrated later that night at Sherwin's house. Geland poured some brandy for everyone (mostly to me, Jourdan and Ferdie, but Ferdie had to leave early) and poured again and poured again. When we adjourned, all of us were drunk but Jourdan was worst. Hahaha... his speech was slurred and was walking like a drunk Englishman so Geland had to escort him home.

On Friday, my best friend booked appointments for him and me at a spa along Roxas Boulevard (Senko -- it's a very decent place, in case you're about to ask). He thinks that both of us could use a break and could use the time to discuss with me his hesitations on his next big step forward (changing careers). He told me that he needed me in my most relaxed state when I dish out my advice.

And what else makes me relax?

- Alone-time at Starbucks
- Emails from my parents and sisters. Even if there's a nagging tone in their messages, reading through them makes me feel nostalgic and homesick hehehe.
- Receiving happy xthday messages daily. You know who you are. =)
- my Xbox360
- long phone chats with MJ, or Ube, or Tin
- browsing through Lissa's blog

Happy Wednesday to all! =)

Lucid Moment

After a hectic evening with my best friend last week when his wife delivered their third son at Makati Med and going over his personal 5-year plan to manage his family and potential career change:

"Dude, thanks for being my best friend."
And I blurted, "No need for that, Kits..."
"Shut up, let me finish."
(ooops...okay....)
"Really, I am very thankful in having you as my best friend. I really wouldn't have survived college, employment-hunting, settling with Marge and raising my family without you. You were there for me when my parents separated, when I got Marge pregnant, when we were troubled financially, raising my family... (he's getting teary-eyed at this point)... Really pare, thanks."

I was sort of smiling already at that point.

"What are you smiling at?"

"First time I've seen you cry."

"Tangina mo, pare."

Hahahaha.... and we were back to our schoolboyish behaviors.

Tidbits

The FLU

I was pretty badly knocked out by the flu last week. It took me 5 days to recover but I managed to do it without antibiotics. Also, I had to come to work on the last two days of my flu bout because of very urgent work items.

So urgent that my colleagues had to apologetically call me up and 'requested' me to check my mails and attend meetings and telecons because they're in a schedule crunch at that time.

Going back to my flu, Tuesday night was the worst. I was having very severe chills and body pains to the point of deliriousness. Gawd, I thought I was going to die that night.

And I lost 3 pounds. No exercise, 4 days of liquid+juice+gatorade diet, and 14+ hours of sleep per day. I've been absent from the gym for more than two weeks now, so I'm back to square one on my program.

But I learned some new tidbits regarding the flu:

1) You cannot take flu and cold medicine for more than 5 days. These meds have a high strain on the liver, and it can lead to liver damage.
2) You cannot have alcohol if you're frequently on paracetamol and ibuprofen. San Mig Light + Biogesic = liver damage.
3) Colds can cause symptoms of sore throat IF your nose is blocked. The mucus secretions for your colds have nowhere to go, hence they drip down to your throat (gross!). If you're on cold medicine for 5 days already, you can't take any cold meds further.
4) My doc recommended that I go to a sauna to unclog my nose. Hahaha. But having a nebulizer or looking over a pot of boiling water will have the same effect.


WEDDINGS

I attended Normann and Jenny's wedding two weekends ago. It's the biggest and most posh I've attended so far. Guest list is over 800 people! Congratulations Normann and Jenny.

Only a handful of the college friends were invited, so I'm pretty flattered when Normann called me up weeks earlier for his wedding. He even had my invitation delivered to me.

Back in college, Normann is one of the few guys who weren't bashful in asking for my help for reviewing in exams and going over their projects and thesis papers. I've always declined his (and his parents) offers of monetary compensation for my time. To show his gratitude (despite my protests), he'd usually take me to various country clubs and road trips (like the 'day-trip' to Baguio Country Club).

Pin's wedding is coming up next month. Advanced greetings, Pin!


OVER CUPS OF COFFEE

Ube was in town last week, and we had a long chat at Starbucks Batangas. Initially she was hoping for a scrabble game but we couldn't find two other players to play with. Anyway, it was really nice chatting with someone about anything in general who is not from my workplace.

We talked about my friends and her friends, and discussed in length about MJ. Hahaha. We also talked about when will my next trip to Cebu be (probably Sinulog?) and when will be her next time in Manila.

Last Saturday night, Chie joined me, Tin, Buddy, Chard and MJ for coffee at Starbucks Fort. Haven't seen Rhichie in a long time. All of us were perspiring heavily that night from all the laughing at Rhichie's remarks (mostly on MJ, haha). Too bad he had to leave at midnight because he's got a party to go to.

Chard was with Kat by the way. She's the latest addition to our group.

Oh, and according to them (a private joke that night), apparently a couple of gays were checking me and Rhichie out that night. Ngak.


XBOX-ing

Last night, I played online on XBOX Live (Splinter Cell Double Agent). I was simply awed with what Microsoft was able to do for the XBOX360.

I played about a 5 games last night. Hehehe... I teamed up with a guy from Korea and a girl from Australia. We went against 2 French guys and a German gamer.

We won 4 out of 5 games, haahahaha. Asians rule!

It's a good thing I got the headset for my XBOX last weekend. It was pretty intense gaming with me issuing out the orders to my squad, and them reverting back on what they're doing.

Later tonight I'm hosting the connections for some Pinoy XBOX gamers. Apparently I have one of the faster connections available.