Saturday Swim at Pandin Lake
(09/06/2017: Pandin Lake budget and travel itinerary updated at the bottom of the post!?)
On my last day of being 22 years old, I spent it with friends at Pandin Lake in San Pablo City. Just a 30-minute drive from home, it’s nestled in an area surrounded by coconut trees. It’s one of the seven lakes of San Pablo, and in fact, its twin lake, Yambo, is just a couple of minutes away.
It was my second time at Pandin Lake, and the last one’s more than four years ago. I can tell that tons of things have changed (and increased!) such as the number of rafts in the lake and the amount of visitors coming and going on a weekend. But you know what hasn’t changed? The fact that it’s still so pretty, so pristine, so idyllic.
I cannot imagine a different way to celebrate the day before my birthday.
It was actually raining pretty hard that day, but you know what, I actually loved it! And I know I’m not alone because my friends also preferred that it’s raining. I know how vacations can be ruined when it rains, but in Pandin Lake, the rain is a welcome surprise! It made our swim a lot more fun.
Company Team Building at Camp Tipolo Rizal
Camp Tipolo is a training camp of sort where companies can organize their team buildings. Last saturday, my team was fortunate enough to experience the rough training in the camp. There were a lot of screaming, splashes, laughter and trash talk. It was pretty fun. Haha.
I’ve been to a few team buildings but this one was probably the most intense and challenging. I got to try so many things such as the Tarzan Jump which I sucked, the tight rope which I was good at and the mud crawl which was just plain dirty. What’s exciting about it all was that you know you could end up failing but it’s okay because you’re not the only one. Haha! I didn’t try the the Balancing Log, though, because first step onto the log and I was already quivering. Balancing simply isn’t my thing. [Read more…]
Banapple Payday Date
I’ve been working in Makati for more than two years, but I have to admit that I’ve been unadventurous when it comes to food choices. Though I eat out a lot since I can’t cook at my dorm, I tend to go to the same places everytime. Namely, Jollibee, Chicboy, and World Chicken. This year, I planned to try as many restaurants and fast food joints as possible. I even had a list! Mostly, it’s restaurants that’s quite popular and relatively affordable, but frugal me still deems them quite pricey!
When my officemates learned that I hadn’t eaten at Banapple yet, they promised that we’d go there the next payday. They feel it’s such a loss that I haven’t even tried Banapple yet, Ate Joycy even felt sorry for me. Heh. So last payday, I finally got to eat at Banapple, Ayala Triangle branch.
Steve, Ate Karen, Ayessa, and Ate Marco, my lovely officemates. Yes, Steve, lovely ka. 😀
We arrived at around 11AM and there was already a queue outside! It’s quite surprising since we thought we were early. I guess if you want to be seated immediately, you have to be there before 11. While waiting, we spent some time taking photos and trying to be cute. One thing I should have realized a long time ago is that I probably should not stand next to Ate Karen when taking photos. She’s too tall for me.
And I Feel That Way Still
6 years later, I’m still pretty close to my high school barkada, and I don’t want that to change. Ever. Though we don’t see each other as much and some of them I don’t even see for months(!), there are instances like this when we gather and bond over food and laughter and sometimes, booze.
Karla started working in Singapore on 2010 and this is the first time she came back to visit! It was a bit too short since she could only stay for 7 days. I’m just happy that despite having a really short vacation and having so many people to meet, she still had time to grab a bite with us. Kat was also there! I haven’t seen her since Fifi’s baptism last March. That’s a year already, I think.
We had a late lunch on Soledad (where else), and Kat and Karla were late so Jen (and her boyfriend, George), May, Riya and I ate first. The four of us are actually the ones who see each other quite often (once or twice a month!). Then we ate some more when Karla and Katch arrived. I haven’t seen the two for such a long time! Too bad Eneng couldn’t come because of her hospital duties. /sob I think the last time we were complete was back in 2008 during my 18th birthday.
