inomero (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} inomero) wrote,@ 2008-12-01 23:59:00 |
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One Long Day
What do you do when your schedule for a Sunday involves 2 great activities 12 hours apart?
If it were up to me, I'd spend the time in-between sleeping. But that's just me. And sometimes, I need better influences in my life and I sleep too much for my own good.
When others are involved however, it's time for carpe diem. Seize the day! And that's exactly what Nei and I did. We crammed a million activities and about 85 kilometers (as per my odometer) into what was to be a very long (but nonetheless fun and productive) day that leaves my body aching up to now as I type this.
The day began with the Milo Marathon whose call time was at 5 AM to be on time for the 6 AM starting gun. Yes, I am at it again. And I'm back with a vengeance. I'm out for my certificate and my marathon moment.
I pick Nei up at 5:15 AM and we're at the venue by 5:45 AM. The long day has begun.
My performance at this marathon was better. Comparing my stamina from the marathon last July, I was able to sustain a constant and steady jog from start to finish. It wasn't fast. I finished the race in 55 minutes and 12 seconds. I worked up a good sweat and I got my adrenaline pumping. It felt good.
However, just like the last time, I forgot my number. Again. But this time, I left the number in my car and not at home. I was happy though that no one from the marathon staff dampened my reverie this time. At 200m to go before the finish line, I decided to sprint. This was it! I ran toward the finish line. Losing my thoughts in an imagined "Chariots of Fire" theme, I darted toward the finish. And I made it. I got my marathon moment.
Of course it's not all it's cut out to be. There is no yellow ribbon, there is no cheering crowd. In its stead, the finish line is a bottleneck of sweaty (and some smelly) race finishers squeezing together (and pushing and shoving) and lining up for their certificate. I'm happy though. My race was complete. Considering my performance, I'm thinking that with a little more training, I'm down for the 10K next time. And maybe next time, I won't forget my number.
At least this time, I've got a great Milo story to tell. Hah.
From there, Nei's and my plan was to have a nice breakfast somewhere. We were thinking of a Pancake House breakfast in Legaspi Village. Because of the traffic however, this wasn't to be. We ended up with brunch at the Legaspi Village weekend market.
The place rocks. The wares are so-so-- I'm not big on wellness products, which there are lots of-- but the food choices are overwhelming. There is a smorgasbord of food to be had. Lunch was a hard choice. I was happy though to have scored a bottle of Dulong in Tuyo Flakes for the house, which was really good.
From there, we proceed to Alabang for the St. James bazaar. I'm a fan of this bazaar and I try to go every year as part of my Christmas tradition. I always manage to find a few great items for gifts and I'm never disappointed. More than anything though, I was pretty pissed off with the guards of Ayala Alabang. Once again, the fault is my own but they did nothing to make the predicament any easier. See, in my haste preparing for the marathon at 4 in the morning, I brought everything but my wallet. Thus, I didn't have any driver's license to give to the guard of Ayala Alabang. Nei was offering her IDs (seeing that I didn't have any ID on me either) and I was willing, at that point, to leave the registration of my car with the guard. I was pretty upfront with the guard-- I told him that I came all the way from Pasig just to go to the bazaar and it would be a waste of time on everyone's part if we couldn't get in. I was offering as well all other documentation they needed. I even went as far as to talk to the OIC.
I was very pissed though when the OIC shrugged me off with a, "E 'di mag-taxi ka na lang". Rude. But I opted to take the high road and walk away.
At this point, sleep was catching up with us. The waking up early combined with the run and the heavy meal made for a very good downer. We decided to catch some ZZZs in the car while waiting for Lieza who we were supposed to meet, but who would now take us into Ayala Alabang seeing that taxis were charging exorbitant rates in the Town Center area.
When we finally got to the bazaar, the place was bedlam. It was huge. It was hot. It was insane. But I was happy to have crossed 50% off my very short shopping list. Fighting through the crowd though was tiring.
And then from Alabang, we went cross-country to McDonald's West Avenue for the surprise birthday party of my officemate. I haven't participated in a McDonald's party in years and I've forgotten how fun it was. Even moreso now, I think. Considering that the invitees were adults, it allowed every one to feel like kids again. And I realize now that I am hella competitive in party games. Haha! And since our CEO was there as well, I can say that it's not everyday you get to pluck 5 strands of white hair from your CEO in order to win a "Bring Me" game.
And to wrap up the day, Nei and I ended with a cuppa at Kopi Roti at The Columns. By this time though, we were pretty out of it and the Teh Tarik was more out of force of habit for ending a long day.
It was pretty fun though. I fired my first salvo into Christmas shopping (yes, Christmas is really here) and the day was pretty productive. I'm thankful though that today was a holiday. I needed the time to recover from the weekend!
* * *
Got myself my Christmas gift. And I journeyed far and wide for it!
I got myself JBL Soundstage III speakers for my iPod. See, I'm not really into earphones. I usually enjoy my iPod plugged into an FM transmitter in my car and for months, I've been hankering to enjoy my playlist in my condo as well.
I've been putting a little cash aside every month for my speakers and when the 13th month pay came in last Friday, I was all set!
I went to the Power Mac Center in Greenbelt after an hour of convincing myself to get it over and done with. Regardless of whether I put aside money for it, parting with hard-earned cash is still a painful process. I spent another half-hour there trying to figure out whether I wanted the Sound Stage Micro or the Stage III. Price, of course, was a major consideration. But this was all for naught as it turned out since the Power Mac Center in Greenbelt didn't have the Micro or the Sound Stage III in black. I figured that since I was shelling out, I'd buy the color I wanted and not what was available. So I had the saleslady scour the Power Mac Center branches within Metro Manila.
The end result was me dragging Nei to SM North Edsa to get my speakers. And they're all set-up now in my condo. The first gift of the season is a Christmas gift to myself. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
What do you do when your schedule for a Sunday involves 2 great activities 12 hours apart?
If it were up to me, I'd spend the time in-between sleeping. But that's just me. And sometimes, I need better influences in my life and I sleep too much for my own good.
When others are involved however, it's time for carpe diem. Seize the day! And that's exactly what Nei and I did. We crammed a million activities and about 85 kilometers (as per my odometer) into what was to be a very long (but nonetheless fun and productive) day that leaves my body aching up to now as I type this.
The day began with the Milo Marathon whose call time was at 5 AM to be on time for the 6 AM starting gun. Yes, I am at it again. And I'm back with a vengeance. I'm out for my certificate and my marathon moment.
I pick Nei up at 5:15 AM and we're at the venue by 5:45 AM. The long day has begun.
My performance at this marathon was better. Comparing my stamina from the marathon last July, I was able to sustain a constant and steady jog from start to finish. It wasn't fast. I finished the race in 55 minutes and 12 seconds. I worked up a good sweat and I got my adrenaline pumping. It felt good.
However, just like the last time, I forgot my number. Again. But this time, I left the number in my car and not at home. I was happy though that no one from the marathon staff dampened my reverie this time. At 200m to go before the finish line, I decided to sprint. This was it! I ran toward the finish line. Losing my thoughts in an imagined "Chariots of Fire" theme, I darted toward the finish. And I made it. I got my marathon moment.
Of course it's not all it's cut out to be. There is no yellow ribbon, there is no cheering crowd. In its stead, the finish line is a bottleneck of sweaty (and some smelly) race finishers squeezing together (and pushing and shoving) and lining up for their certificate. I'm happy though. My race was complete. Considering my performance, I'm thinking that with a little more training, I'm down for the 10K next time. And maybe next time, I won't forget my number.
At least this time, I've got a great Milo story to tell. Hah.
From there, Nei's and my plan was to have a nice breakfast somewhere. We were thinking of a Pancake House breakfast in Legaspi Village. Because of the traffic however, this wasn't to be. We ended up with brunch at the Legaspi Village weekend market.
The place rocks. The wares are so-so-- I'm not big on wellness products, which there are lots of-- but the food choices are overwhelming. There is a smorgasbord of food to be had. Lunch was a hard choice. I was happy though to have scored a bottle of Dulong in Tuyo Flakes for the house, which was really good.
From there, we proceed to Alabang for the St. James bazaar. I'm a fan of this bazaar and I try to go every year as part of my Christmas tradition. I always manage to find a few great items for gifts and I'm never disappointed. More than anything though, I was pretty pissed off with the guards of Ayala Alabang. Once again, the fault is my own but they did nothing to make the predicament any easier. See, in my haste preparing for the marathon at 4 in the morning, I brought everything but my wallet. Thus, I didn't have any driver's license to give to the guard of Ayala Alabang. Nei was offering her IDs (seeing that I didn't have any ID on me either) and I was willing, at that point, to leave the registration of my car with the guard. I was pretty upfront with the guard-- I told him that I came all the way from Pasig just to go to the bazaar and it would be a waste of time on everyone's part if we couldn't get in. I was offering as well all other documentation they needed. I even went as far as to talk to the OIC.
I was very pissed though when the OIC shrugged me off with a, "E 'di mag-taxi ka na lang". Rude. But I opted to take the high road and walk away.
At this point, sleep was catching up with us. The waking up early combined with the run and the heavy meal made for a very good downer. We decided to catch some ZZZs in the car while waiting for Lieza who we were supposed to meet, but who would now take us into Ayala Alabang seeing that taxis were charging exorbitant rates in the Town Center area.
When we finally got to the bazaar, the place was bedlam. It was huge. It was hot. It was insane. But I was happy to have crossed 50% off my very short shopping list. Fighting through the crowd though was tiring.
And then from Alabang, we went cross-country to McDonald's West Avenue for the surprise birthday party of my officemate. I haven't participated in a McDonald's party in years and I've forgotten how fun it was. Even moreso now, I think. Considering that the invitees were adults, it allowed every one to feel like kids again. And I realize now that I am hella competitive in party games. Haha! And since our CEO was there as well, I can say that it's not everyday you get to pluck 5 strands of white hair from your CEO in order to win a "Bring Me" game.
And to wrap up the day, Nei and I ended with a cuppa at Kopi Roti at The Columns. By this time though, we were pretty out of it and the Teh Tarik was more out of force of habit for ending a long day.
It was pretty fun though. I fired my first salvo into Christmas shopping (yes, Christmas is really here) and the day was pretty productive. I'm thankful though that today was a holiday. I needed the time to recover from the weekend!
Got myself my Christmas gift. And I journeyed far and wide for it!
I got myself JBL Soundstage III speakers for my iPod. See, I'm not really into earphones. I usually enjoy my iPod plugged into an FM transmitter in my car and for months, I've been hankering to enjoy my playlist in my condo as well.
I've been putting a little cash aside every month for my speakers and when the 13th month pay came in last Friday, I was all set!
I went to the Power Mac Center in Greenbelt after an hour of convincing myself to get it over and done with. Regardless of whether I put aside money for it, parting with hard-earned cash is still a painful process. I spent another half-hour there trying to figure out whether I wanted the Sound Stage Micro or the Stage III. Price, of course, was a major consideration. But this was all for naught as it turned out since the Power Mac Center in Greenbelt didn't have the Micro or the Sound Stage III in black. I figured that since I was shelling out, I'd buy the color I wanted and not what was available. So I had the saleslady scour the Power Mac Center branches within Metro Manila.
The end result was me dragging Nei to SM North Edsa to get my speakers. And they're all set-up now in my condo. The first gift of the season is a Christmas gift to myself. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
