The Saturday Agenda: Reset and Reflect

Lazy Saturdays are my norm. This Saturday, however, I decided to be just a little busy and came up with this agenda:

3:00 PM - Traditional hilot massage at The Spa Greenbelt
5:40 PM - "Starting Over Again" movie at Greenbelt Cinemas

Both should have been February 14/15 V-day activities but have been pushed back for some reason (which you will read in my previous "Love lots, Gen" post). The massage was booked a week in advance and the movie was supposed to be seen with my good friend Vel but she begged out due to skin asthma attacks (good to know you're well now, friend).

Please click "read more" if you want to know how my first "Saturday Agenda" went.

Since I just got back from Cebu last Friday and I had my laptop in tow, I dropped by the SGV building to leave the work PC so I wouldn't have to lug it with me on a manic Monday.

Thank you for online systems like www.sureseats.com. I was able to book and pay for my ticket without the hassle of long lines. I also got to pick my "best seat" right smack in the middle of the cinema.

With my movie ticket and my work mode for Monday both taken cared of, I headed to The Spa for my massage. I booked for an executive room to have some privacy. If you're okay with sharing, there is an option to have your massage in a common room (no worries 'cause they have separate male and female areas). My first "The Spa" experience was the basic massage which went well. I wanted to try something different so I chose the 75-minute traditional "hilot". Hilot is an ancient Filipino art of healing which are more often attributed to alternative medical practitioners such as the manghihilots and arbularyos. While the spa version may focus more on the relaxation of tired and stressed muscles, a true-blue traditional hilot "employs chiropractic manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoligamentous and musculoskeletal ailments" and is "known to reset dislocated and sprained joints such as the knee, ankle, fingers and metacarpal bones" (Wikipedia).

Once I pulled open the door to The Spa, I smelled the relaxing scent floating all over the reception area. 

I arrived at The Spa a little bit ahead of schedule and was entertained right away. This gave me enough time to leisurely complete all my pre-massage activities. I paid my dues at the reception and was given my locker key and directions to the massage area: "All the way up and to your right (the female room)".

As I climbed up the staircase to the designated area, it felt like climbing up a staircase to somewhere peaceful and serene. 

There are Buddhist symbols on the walls and doors. I entered the female room and looked for my locker. Since it was already my second time and it was all so quiet (no sign of anyone to assist me), I helped myself in getting a petite-sized robe and the smallest pair of "shower" slip-ons (I remembered being given larger sizes in my first visit). 

After a few seconds, someone immediately came from nowhere to assist me and gave me my towel. :)

I love the shower's theme. The stones and the simple bare walls are zen-inspired and work well with the relaxing atmosphere. 

I used the 3-in-1 wash, provided in the bathroom, solely as a body wash (I secured my hair with a clamp). I may disagree with using a 3-in-1 wash for the entire bath but I guess, this is more for convenience rather than a recommended regimen. The wash smelled good, by the way. 

I put on my robe (it was kind of short but it was my choice anyway :) and went to the waiting area. I was given my hot tea while I waited for my room to be prepared for my hilot session. 

I appreciated that little detail that the attendants refer only to the client's locker number to know the service being availed of instead of asking for your name. For me, this is efficient and works well if you want anonymity.

My masseuse was the no-nonsense type and I was grateful that she seemed to get it right away that I needed to be relaxed rather than chatted with. For the next minutes, I took the chance to slip to a brief nirvana - the Filipino version. I remembered being draped with some warm leaves on my back and I loved the warmth of the oil being used all throughout the massage.

I felt great after dosing off for a few minutes, half-asleep, as my masseuse kneaded my tired muscles (more time was spent on my shoulders). Overall, it was just the right spa version of the traditional hilot.

I forgot to ask my masseuse on restrictions after the massage but to be safe, I stayed away from cold drinks and a cold bath for at least 24 hours. The masseuse gave me a little envelope for my gratuity/tip with her name on it. I experienced good customer service so I didn't hesitate dropping my gratuity in the designated box at the reception area. Again, this is another detail that I liked as against personally handing your tip to the masseuse like what is being done in salons, spas, and other service-oriented areas. At least, you do not feel obliged to give gratuity or worry on whether you're being gauged on how much tip you gave. In the Philippines ('cause it's different in other countries and culture), my take is that one shouldn't be pressured to give a specific amount. Only give tips when you're truly happy with the service.

Before I finally exited, I decided to spend some more time availing of The Spa's post-massage frivolities. After all, these are all part of the premium that I paid for. 

After slipping out of your robe and changing into your clothes, don't you just hate it when you step out and look like you've hastily dried your drenched hair using a rest room's drier? Hahaha. Thankfully, The Spa provided its clients with a common area where little bottles of lotions, talc, hair gel and cotton buds are made available to help you get ready for your next appointment. I brought my own toiletries but I couldn't help but try their lotion. It smelled and felt divine (nothing too strong and sticky :)

There are also hair brushes (properly sterilized) and hair dryers which you can use to take care of shower-drenched hair. I didn't wet or shampoo my hair earlier (already did at home before the massage) but I still found good use of the hair dryer to tame some frizz and blow-dry the bed-head unruliness =)

At 4:40 PM, The Spa massage - checked.

After my relaxing massage, I dropped by nearby Rustan's at Greenbelt 1 to get myself some movie snacks. Gone are those days when I'd spend at least 200 bucks on a calories-laden burger, a pack of fried potatoes and a huge tub of soda. It can even go as high as 500 bucks if the friends I went with decided to get a bag of popcorn (sold at movie house prices) and have after-movie coffee. My agenda was to see this particular movie that my office mate had been bugging me to see. Period. Thus, no need for the extra spend on popcorn :)

I got myself a pack of Granny Goose. Unhealthy? - yes. Packed with great childhood memories? - yes, too. I also got another chees-y favorite: Hansel Premium Cheese Sandwich (tastes a lot like Ritz but is much cheaper). With the bucks saved, I got myself my focaccia bread and mini french breads for my next week's bread supply.

Granny Goose chips, Hansel premium cheese sandwich and my bottle of alkaline water. All under 60 bucks!

The movie started promptly at 5:40 PM and I got the best seat at "H9" so I was a happy camper.

Seeing a box office hit on its second week may be too late to spoil anything for anyone, right? Still, out of courtesy to those who may still want to see it, I will not mention any spoiler here other than what one can deduce from the official full trailer. 

As for most Filipino films, you get half of the story from watching the full movie trailer. Starting Over Again is no exception. Based on the trailer alone, we get it that this is a story of a UP professor (Marco) and a UP student (Ginny) who fell in love (thanks to the "sablay", we understand why this teacher-student relationship is no big deal), broke up for some reason, and then found each other again after a certain number of years. The only problem is the guy is now taken, and his lucky girl friend happens to be a perfect "crème brûléee" catch (think Cameron Diaz's character in My Best Friend's Wedding). 

Their fates crossed "somewhere down the road" (could have been an alternative title for the movie) and found that junction for a "this-or-nothing" second chance to confront each other of the whys and whatifs of their previous relationship. The trailer ends with those famous lines: "I deserve an explanation! I deserve an acceptable reason!" See? That's half of the story. After seeing the trailer, I only had four questions:

• Why did Marco and Ginny break up? 
• A second chance means a chance to confront your ex with long buried questions. How will that go between Marco and Ginny? 
• Given that he (Marco) is now taken, how far will she (Ginny) go to win him back? 
• Will Marco and Ginny end up with each other or not? 

Incidentally, these four questions make up half of the story. After some hard-sell convincing from my good friend Maris and the other SGV pips who've seen the movie, I finally gave in.

At 8:00 PM, Starting Over Again movie - checked.

Since I vowed not spoil anything, my last bits below will only be my reflections --- what I felt exactly after the movie credits and bloopers were shown. I will leave the movie review to the critics. I will leave the commendations to the movie aficionados and fans.

Here are my thoughts as I walked quietly from the movie house:

• That confrontation scene between Marco and Ginny where Marco said those famous lines of deserving an explanation...is the exact picture of one of my greatest fears. After what I've learned recently, that is not going to happen in this lifetime. Sigh, a breath of relief. But I will have an equivalent of a karmic debt that I hope to pay back in one way or another. 
• I'm thirty one, only a year older than Ginny in the movie. I may have let the "love of my life" pass me by. But I still have time to give this life my best shot. 
• Contrary to expectation, the movie has the perfect happy ending for me. 

That's all for this Saturday's agenda. If you plan to reset and reflect on a lazy weekend, consider having a spa and seeing a movie. Trust me, however cheesy it may sound, you deserve it.

Take care dears !