It is usually a "Saturday Agenda". (The only exception was when we celebrated Lovella's birthday which fell on a Friday.) I am a Saturday kind of girl. Without intending to, my best friend Lovella and I seemed to have scheduled at least one Saturday Agenda every month since November 2015.
A long long time ago when we were both living in the same city (Makati), putting together our schedules to find a common time was close to impossible. But as the adage say: You don't find time; you make time. Nowadays, we find that Saturday is just perfect for catch-up and some celebration. Lovella will usually end her Friday shift and take a nap in her office until the morning of Saturday. Kudos to her for staying alert and enthusiastic throughout our Saturday agenda! In my case, I make it a point to really wake up earlier than usual.
In the past months, I have shared The Saturday Agenda posts to my Facebook friends instead of here in my blog. To avoid being redundant, I will no longer repeat them here. If that makes you curious and you do want to see how we spend our Saturdays and try putting together our stories through the pictures and captions, add/follow me in Facebook and check out these posts :)
- The Saturday Agenda (12-December-2015): Last Hurrah for 2015 - Last Saturday catchup with bestie, Lovella. Bye 2015 and hello 2016 soon...
- The Saturday Agenda (23-January-2016) - Chase the sunrise. Pick a random place for brunch. Catch-up and brainstorm.
- The Saturday Agenda (27-February-2016) - Transitio 1945: It's February; Mahal Ko Ang Pilipinas [It's been quite a while since my last TSA post, and since it's almost the end of February, the besties decided to cap it with another culture trip to celebrate our love for Pilipinas.]
- The Friday Agenda: (11-March-2016) - Birthday celebration, another culture trip: Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
For this post, I want to pick out and share with you my top four favorite shots from the above Friday/Saturday Agenda Facebook albums. The foodie shots were taken by me while the "emo" shots of yours truly were taken by Lovella.
Click to "Read more".
Click to "Read more".
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| On Facebook: Tic-tac-toe: If you want to try a bit of everything, you get 10 treats of your choice here. Can you guess the flavors and which ones are my choices? |
On the tic-tac-toe grid (bottom plate): The green one is "green tea" - my choice, and the reddish one is "mixed berry" - Lovella's choice.
These choices alone, speak a lot of our preferences AND differences. We are complete opposites. Lovella is not very fond of anything green tea-ish while I've always loved its strange "other-wordly" kick. It takes me to Japan in seconds and needless to say, I'd pick matcha beverages whenever I get the chance.
On the other hand, I tasted the "mixed berry" and immediately exclaimed to Lovella: "Sour-sweet! This is so you!" Hahaha. I will never get her fixation with sour-sweet things. She told me that she cannot tolerate the extremes and thus, her tendency to prefer what's in-between.
Wait, there's more...
For the remaining eight flavors (top to bottom, left to right):
- Chocolate truffle - my choice
- Affogato (flavor of the month) - Lovella's choice
- Panna cotta - mine
- Macadamia - mine
- Vanilla - mine
- Passion fruit - Lovella's
- Burnt caramel - Lovella's
- Frozen berries - Lovella's
My default and favorite (when all else fails) will always be "vanilla". Its simplicity and understated elegance embody what ice cream is (in my books). For Lovella...hmmm, it's got to be something with berries in them. Peace, Vel!
Now, I will let you judge us based on the flavors we chose.
I just realized that in lieu of devouring a pint (okay, maybe half) of ice cream in those high-end ice cream bars, this bit-of-everything option is more exciting. You taste a lot of flavors and you can actually get a sneak peek into your friend's personality based on her preferred flavors :)
The tic-tac-toe at Gelatissimo costs Php 270. For 10 flavors, that seems like a steal in my opinion.
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I Thessalonians 5:18: Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (English Standard Version). In layman's terms, "In everything, give thanks".
"Celebrate small successes along the way" is number 7 in Franco del Rosario's 7 Musts in Raising Standards. I've always tried to keep this in mind, for myself and my team. No success is small enough to not deserve a celebration. Most of the time, I spend my own money to make my team feel rewarded upon reaching a milestone or delivering the final work product. We may not get official awards and recognition for what we did. After all, the bars of excellence are set really high and I'd like to believe that great teams are in plenty supply in our firm. But for me, it is important to actually show my team how much I appreciate their contribution. This is my 'thank you' for their teamwork and dedication to get things done. This premise for celebration is not limited to my teams. I do this for myself, and with friends.
Finally, the Wholesome Salad. This was one of the orders in our January 23, 2016 Saturday Agenda. Yes, it's true. Something really healthy can actually taste good. For me, watermelon was a revelation. I didn't know that adding this to the salad can make it very refreshing. The presence of sunflower seeds and cucumber lit an imaginary light bulb for me. They served as inspiration for my salad lunchbox which started the following week.
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On Instagram/Facebook:
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It was dark at past six o' clock in the evening and it was almost improbable to get any decent shot. But this one turned out just right --- yours truly wishing/praying by this fountain, with that "light" perfectly poised over my head like a halo or a divine reply.
What a perfect way to capture this Saturday agenda in one picture. Attending Transitio 1945 was one of our attempts to get to know and appreciate our country better. I will rehash what I've posted in my July 18, 2015 Saturday Agenda: Understanding your roots will prepare you for the world.
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| On Instagram/Facebook:Chasing liberty: Because the things you're scared of are usually the most worthwhile. #freedom #ootd |
After roughly 10 years in Metro Manila, I am still a scaredy-cat. You can easily trace my comfort zone in the map. It runs from Guadalupe Nuevo (near EDSA-Kalayaan) to Bonifacio Global City (BGC) and ends in the borders of the Makati Central Business District (just around Ayala, Dela Rosa, the little streets like Perea, Palanca, Rada and Herrera, Paseo de Roxas, Leviste, Salcedo and Makati Avenue). Unless I am compelled to, I prefer to stay within this comfort zone.
I am scared of traveling in Manila (in case that confused you, Manila is only one of the cities that make up Metro Manila) - particularly Pasay, Binondo, Quiapo, Sampaloc, España, Malate, and adjacent places. Yet, this particular Friday Agenda was actually in Manila (Taft, Padre Faura, and Intramuros areas). With the help of my best friend Lovella, we navigated, got lost for a while, believed in the good of humanity and asked for directions, and found our way. Yes, we survived!
While I put on a brave front most of the time, there are still things that scare me. I'd like to believe though that the list has gotten shorter with age. Change is inevitable and there is a bigger world out there. Outside of our comfort zones --- literally and figuratively. Venturing a bit further is actually liberating. It's scary at first, but the adventure and memories are all worth it.
Will pause for now, dears. Happy Saturday!
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