Ladies Who Lunch

Two years in a row that we have celebrated our Christmas Party with girlfriends who work in the same office but belong to different functions. What gels us together is our usual lunch and penchant for playing board games and sharing stories during our daily one hour break. We usually congregate in my cube as it's big enough to provide elbow room for all eight or ten of us, as we eat. 

Last year, we had a grand time in Mamou Too (Rockwell Power Plant) and in Barcino (Greenbelt 2). For this year, we shared a sumptuous dinner at Stella in Bonifacio High Street Central. Some of us -- Sandra and I mostly, had a bottle of wine to go with the succulent ribs we ate. 

Me-an and Mars arrived late (work stuff). Nonetheless, the conversation just picked up as if they were already there at the onset. I think it's one of the reasons that this group just rock. 

Everyone is heard. You just have to fight your way to getting everyone's attention. All extrovert women with stories to tell, yapping away every chance we get. But no one minds because at the end of the day, we all have a grand time. 

Beautiful women. Sandra & Dawn.

Equally beautiful set -- Mei, Mara and Erica (Mrs. F!)

In their model's pose: (L-R) Sandra, Dawn, Mars & Mean

A group shot before the exchange gift

Just like last year, we continued the tradition of exchanging gifts. We exchanged views on Twitter, sent DMs for the wishlist and did the confirmation through social media. This year though, the general theme hands down is Gift Certificate. The store varied but the underlying tone is each is just too happy to walk into the store and buy an item using the gift (GC) given.

Mean & Mei

Mara & Erica

GC galore. Look at the faces! Pwede.

Wish granted. Starbucks tumbler to add to Mei's collection.

We found a new lunch buddy and friend, too. Dawn, a gifted writer but on the shy side started joining us for lunch a few months back. And we love to keep her in the group. We gained not just a companion but a friend we wish to have for life. 

I think that years down the road, we would still have our annual get-together to bookend the in-between dinners in swanky restaurants or newly-discovered hole-in-the-wall/quaint resto and the occasional wine and cheese night on Dawn's roof deck. 

2012 has marked another milestone for us. Some got promoted, got married, having a baby and traveled. We look forward to more years of stories, book swaps and travelogues.

Mr & Mrs Flores. Handsome couple, eh?

The couple needed to bid adieu early. Obviously, the preggers might pop anytime.

Here's to a more vibrant 2013 wherever we may be. Cheers! To Kat, we missed you. We know though that you are having a grand time in the big apple -- from Manila to New York, cheers!

Tradition lives on. My Christmas wish is for these lovely people to be chums for life.

XX

Sheng

Happy Endings

Last night, we formally bid adieu to the coolest and hippest boss ever, TJ Nadres. Of course, we were sad but as the man himself reiterated there's nothing to be gloomy about. After all, friendship doesn't have to be confined in the office. 

Fantasizing on all long weekends.

He says that his 13 year stay in Avon can be akin to a roller coaster ride. There were ups and downs, happy and not-so happy moments but definitely worth the experience. 

We held the intimate dinner at Romulo Cafe along Jupiter Street in Makati. The ambiance served as a fitting background to the occasion. The food was unpretentious, very apt for the Filipino palate. But it was served with panache. Just like the man of the hour. 

Almost everyone had a chance for short speeches which were at times emotional, others downright funny. The recollections were of times when he was there when needed whether for work or just personal advice. 

 

And then, for those who couldn't come but have shared memories with him sent pictures. So, Zarah made a scrapbook on a 13 year flashback. Ah, the pictures tell a thousand stories. We saw the progression from small to large. Hi hi hi. 

Thank you, Mr TJ! We will miss your goofy self and your pearls of wisdom. But as we have agreed, we would still see each other for our monthly get-together. And on Monday for our private chill session with our small yet solid OpsDev team. 

Ciao!

XX

Mamou Too!

My girlfriends and I have a rehearsal of sorts. Our Christmas dinner would be on 7 December yet. But last Friday, 2 December, we had this brilliant idea of a Friday pampering night slash bazaar trek. Come night time however, we discarded the nails session as we were all famished. 

We didn't make any prior reservations but we have already made plans to eat at Mamou Too at Rockwell Power Plant Mall. I just can't get enough. You see, I had my first Christmas Dinner with my former roomie Judy at Mamou in Serendra in Bonifacio Global City. The food is just so great that I didn't mind coming back with just a few days in between. 

Girls' Night Out. (L-R) Me-an, Erica, Mara, Armin, Moi and Mei

 
We really don't like to cam whore but we want to look back to this night with fondness. And so we snapped away. To us, bonding means either coffee, food or both interspersed with hearty conversations. Here's what we've partaken.

Linguine Al Nero (P325). Never mind the black ink that may coat your teeth jet black. 

Lamb Tapa with Salsa Pina (P395). Still Erica's order. She doesn't eat much, actually. Lol.

Venison Curry with Buttered Parsley Rice (P395). Mara's scrumptious choice.

Adobo Flakes with Bettlenut Red Rice (P295).

There's a long list of choices in the menu but we just have to order the same -- Mei, Armin and Me. Ha ha.We're crazy like that. 

Then, I had this bright idea of ordering a bottle of red wine. It made the night more festive. And I must say, it made me so buzzed and woozy. I couldn't stop laughing all through the night.

California Red (P1150). Chilled, eh?

All through the night, our dinner was peppered with anecdotes of our life in the office, the latest in showbiz as disclosed in twitter and what have you. It's really good to be spending the night with people you respect and you want to be friends with. 

After dinner prettiness.

We closed the restaurant that night. But the night was still young so we head to the nearby bazaar at the Rockwell Tent. We roamed around, tried some interesting jewellery, checked out some knickknacks and bought some gift stuff. 

As I've said, this is just a prelude. Tomorrow night is our real Christmas dinner complete with exchange gift, the works.

Cheers!