1st Month

Work has occupied most of my weekdays and weekends for the past 4 weeks and finally I get a breather.  This is the first weekend that I relaxed and enjoyed the City and the lifestyle!

Friday night started out with some tsimis (gossip) with Marly at the hotel lounge.  We listened to live music, drank our P500 ($10) free flowing wine, and chatted up the girl next to our table.  We met again for our weekend breakfast with a slight headache.  

My schedule suddenly opened up due to rescheduling so I headed to Podium for lunch, a movie, then a bookstore.  I found Julius Caesar for P30 and another English book for P50.  All told, P80, less than $2!  Since Caesar was so thin, I figured I'd start the book with some Golden Spoon yogurt P120 (more than the great work by Shakespeare of course!)  By the time I left the mall, Caesar was killed and by the time my agent came to get me at the hotel, my $1 book was almost over...

After a whole day of relaxation and house hunting, what do I need?  A nice long two hour massage, perhaps? 

I drifted into sleep early and woke up energized and determined to not confuse my activities and be at every place on time despite Manila traffic.  Cheryl picked me up at lunch and we visited Gale's house on the Wack-Wack golf course.  I have never seen a house so resort-ish in my life!  The house was featured on a magazine!  The chef cooked amazing Japanese food and I was surrounded by this amazing, happy, and big family!  Before the family game started for the mid-autumn festival, I was hauled over to see more properties in the area.  

Then, it was dinner at Sharon and Kevin's place.  The house had high ceilings, decorated with simple, elegant, natural art pieces and furniture.  "This is what I am looking for!" I told the host and hostess.  The dinner with Sharon and Kevin's friends were fun, easy-going, and delicious!  How I miss the sound of sizzling pans, aroma filled kitchens, and dinner conversations with friends!

Manila has treated me well so far after the first month.  It's been challenging, exciting, stressful, fun, and interesting!  I'm  cautiously optimistic that I will really enjoy this City!