Long overdue

I know, I know. It's really been awhile. But never. I'm an important person, busy and hectic. Hee. The last time I wrote here was before my one week Manila vacation. And a lot of things has happened that is worthy of a blog entry. And because it took this long, I am sure to miss a lot of details. That's me! 

Here goes: 

1. First on the list: My first visit back home - THRILLA IN MANILA - that's how I"d call it. Can I just say - oooohhoooh my geads! One week is definitely not enough. The fun is overwhelming I can't even begin how to describe it. Only a few know that I was coming home. So first, of course my family. But before I continue, I would just like to point out that I'm in a bar, alone. And showing on TV is a pinoy teleserye dubbed in Khmer. O diba. Henihoo, going back, I arrived in Manila at around 430 am. I got a cab all excited to surprise my familya. And surprised they were. I went inside our house and my mom's awake already. She was shouting like hell, hugging me so tight. She then proceeded to the rooms of my siblings waking them up from their peaceful slumber. Everyone eas excited with my arrival. Hugs and kisses there. And then, they all just went back to their rooms and slept again. Love it. Wala Lang. Hi!!!! And then, sloopers. By lunch, when everyone's awake, I made a serious request to go to Jollibee to quench my thirst for chickenjoy and gravy. And I had LOTS! We also had dinner as a family in glorietta. My treat of course. And I love it! Seeing the smiles from my family is priceless. Lovely day it was. By evening, it was now time to surprise my chums. My accessory to the crime - Monster. Thanks Mons! The chums were all in barcino's greenbelt 2. Monster's reason for the gathering was to have one last hang out for Maite and Drach as single peeps as they will be tying the knot in the coming weekend. They were upstairs. So when I was going up the stairs, the first person to see me was Drach. I went inside and hugged everyone like there's no Tom. Oh my god. If I could just rewind time to that specific moment, I would. To see the surprised faces of my chums, awesome! Then, of course, fun times throughout the night. The next day was for my college friends and buddies. By about 4 to 5 pm, I bbmed my best bud, Ar to say I was in town. He immediately left the office never minding the sabits and went to meet me at Chilli's greenbelt. Of course, tight hugs and how are yous. Of course, the trio wouldn't be complete without Beth. We called her and just like that, she left work also and went to Chilli's. Love my friends! We drank and ate lots of chips. Right after, I was scheduled to surprise my DLSU college gang. My accessory to the crime - ria lim acosta. Thanks ria! I know I was a bit late and ria was trying her best to keep it all in and make everone stay just for the heck of surprising everyone. They were all in plantation in palanca. So, finally, I arrived. So I went inside the bar (by this time, I was a bit intoxicated already) and I hugged each one of them, and again, like there's no Tom. Fun, fun night. The next day, I went to meet my high school barkada. Not really alcoholic but more of coffee-coffee. But it was fun, nonetheless. It was the stories and the catching up that made it really memorable. I thought, we were all getting older and doing our own stuff, paving our own direction in life. And that even if we are all having separate lives, our bonds will never be broken. The next night, I went with my chums again - because Dsj wasn't around the first time I surprised them. We went to Manila Pen because apparently, they have a cocktail drink there that was so strong, you only need to order one. And because I'm alcoholic and stubborn, I ordered four. So by end of the night, I puked. Lots. :)

2. The wedding Actually, my real purpose for coming home was to attend my dear friends' wedding - Drach and Ets. Again, I will say it here - oooohooooh my geads! This was the best and funnest wedding EVER. It was so cool. All of us were drunk. It was one for the books because it was the first time I told my chums. In fact, they were the first to know. I was scared and it took a lot of courage. But I got hugs and love from my chums. Not to steal the thunder from the newly weds, but I think what I had to say was much-awaited. They just needed to hear it from me. And I thank my chums for being so nice about this. Henihoo, the wedding rocked! I would always tell the couple to do it again simply because it was soooooooooo FUN! Miss you Ets and Drach! Also the chums. And I look forward to seeing your cute first born who I assume will be as hairy as you guys are. :) 

3. Death So a week after I went home, I found myself booking a flight back home because my grandad passed away. It was an emotional trip back home for me because I was close to him. He lived in our house when grandma died. It was kind of bitter sweet. Sad that my lolo died. But in weird way, happy to see my family and friends again. Even if it was just a few days of stay in Manila, I found it the hardest leave. The day I was scheduled to go back to Cambodia was difficult. I cried and cried even in the airport. I wanted to just stay and never go back to Cambodia. But my mom encouraged me more and that soon I will be home once again forever. Lots of things still happened after but if I write it down here, it will be too long already that no one will even read this. So, I'll skip to my birthday. :) 

4. My birthday weekend I wanted my second birthday celebration here in Cambodia to be special. I wanted to give my friends here something good to remember simply because I've grown to love them in my two years of living here. Living in a foreign Lang is difficult but they made it a lot easy for me. So I planned to hold my birthday in a boutique hotel, with a pool, and pay for my friends to stay there. It was just a simple gathering, with food and drinks. Little did I know that they were going to surprise me with something. And that something is a video showing all the people I love from Manila giving their birthday messages. From my family to my different circles of friends. I did not expect it and I cried buckets. I have to say my sincere gratitude to Franco for coming up with this. The video was the best! I'll stop here. I think I've given the top milestones in my life since I last wrote a blog entry up until now. And there are only four words that I want to say in all of these: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!