Since I started working for a foreign business, my schedule had been aligned with that of the client country-- including holidays. It's a win-win situation still because while I get the perk of being paid with premiums working on Philippine holidays, the number of holidays between the two countries aren't much different. And besides being sick, there are just four holidays that I consider absence from work as a must: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday.
Yesterday was Anzac Day which is among the recognized public holidays in Australia. And since it meant another long weekend (I only reported to work three days this week given that Australians also observed Easter Monday last April 21), I had the liberty of time to either do anything or go somewhere else. Realizing that the mall is kind of overrated and knowing that going there will possibly burn my pocket, I opted visiting my alma mater again.
Despite of the fact that the university is currently being evaluated for accreditation, it's a good thing that the schedule was not nerve wracking the day I went to visit. Coincidentally, I was told by my former professor, Ma'am Cez Villegas that Joemar Aquino, a former colleague was also going to drop by so I decided to stay instead. Joemar and I used to be colleagues in the school publication back in college and save for Facebook, I really have not seen him for a while.
Likewise, just like in the past, this impromptu reunion was held over dinner (filled with the usual time-killing conversation) and two rounds of the game of chess at Bean Addicted because Joemar and Ma'am Cez's husband, Jonathan were former chess players. As luck would have it, our municipal mayor, Mayor Gerry Calderon was also in the same place brainstorming over dinner with his staff. While I don't know what have gotten into Joemar asking a photo op with the town's highest official, this one became a lifesaving evidence for me -- as this prevented me from being questioned and eventually scolded by my parents after coming home way past the schedule.
Well, technically, this is a pre-birthday party. The past week had been both kind of fun and loaded at work. But despite that, I still got to visit my schedule for reminders on my list. This week, there are three birthdays marked on my planner, the other two were of my nephews, Felix Arthur and Kyle. Today my former school paper adviser, the then Ma'am Cez Rañola (she's now Mrs. Jonathan Villegas) is celebrating her birthday. And given that her big day falls on a weekend, I thought of dropping by yesterday to see her for some birthday blow out.
Good thing we need not wander anywhere far. After packing up and finishing last minute tasks, off we went to the nearby coffee shop, Bean Addicted to welcome the weekend (warning, a few food shots ahead).
We were not up to having dinner (I had gone by a McDonald's drive thru on the way home before coming to see Ma'am Cez) so we opted to pick something light from their menu. And after a few deliberation we decided to have fish and fries. I guess it's the country's version of fish and chips made famous by the British people. The fish as expected was a bit oily given that it's fried, and the fries differ from the ones that I have tried because it was not salty; something which I have been used to. But I guess variety is sometimes good.
I have been trying to minimize consumption of carbonated drinks with my meals. And this was not the first time I've been to Bean Addicted. During my first visit, this was one of what I picked on their list -- passion fruit iced tea. While I knew I missed it, I was a bit sad as this came bland to my taste ( The one served during my first visit was good, which I totally preferred).
But one of the reasons why we were here besides the food and celebrating was to spend some time for RnR. And what a good partner to laid back conversations is a cup of coffee. Yet, in the case of Ma'am Len, she preferred it to be hot chocolate.
Here's us taken while waiting for our food. Our table was situated outside which was good. The place is ideal if you're after al fresco dining. Besides, their staff are cheerful and had been accommodating and patient to oblige to our requests (talk about good customer service) and it's really one of the things I noticed. There still are items in the menu that I'm looking forward to try so I'd definitely come back some other time. Our group had a wonderful time spent in conversations and tons of laughter. And to me, it helped really wind down after a week filled of multitasking and crazy hours at work I've started on doing a photo of the month project and I think this could make it for this month. :-)
