Dressed up. Dressed down.

Discovering Downtown

The good thing about doing field work for my job is the chance to explore little nooks and crannies that you don't usually frequent. As a Marketing Officer for an international school, it is my duty to hop from one school to the other to make sure that word gets out about the school's offerings. The past year has been a wild roller coaster ride of career talks and school fairs, motivational talks, lunches in moving vehicles, and entertaining a mixture of flattering and nerve-wracking questions from students.

Yesterday, after a long time, my team and I set out to Pateros Catholic School to conduct room-to-room talks for their senior students. It was an entire day of non-stop marketing spiels, stand up comedy, and a battle with dizzy spells. Though I feel much better than the other day, the flu is still lingering in my system-- teasing me from time to time with aches and pains. 

From 8 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. I spoke to about 350 students from 7 out of 9 sections (I had to sit 2 sections out because I was getting chills already). It was insane! 

Oh the things we do for....

Never mind. Haha.

Going back to my story, after waving goodbye to giddy gay high schoolers jumping up and down screaming my name: "Bye Ate Czarrrr!" we rewarded ourselves with an afternoon snack right in the heart of Comembo, Makati City! haha.

Say hello to Mac's neighborhood goto/mami place:

Mamihan sa Comembo!

This place is known for its delectable servings of lugaw. Didn't get to try it because of my no-rice diet.

So I ordered a serving of my favorite tokwa't baboy instead! (Php 18.00)

 

Teammate Aya and I ordered the same thing. We also shared a bowl of piping hot mami!

Team Time-Out! L-R: Mac, Aya, and Ms. Cielo

 Who says yummy can't be affordable? These are the moments that I enjoy the most about getting out of the office! Despite what many think about karinderyas or local food joints, this place was clean and they're very spiffy about cleaning up after each customer. The merienda crowd was a diverse mix of nearby residents and motorists. We kept on poking fun at our teammate Aya who was all dolled up. It felt like she was out-of-place in such a rugged scenario. Haha. But I'm happy that my teammates are all cowgirls and cowboys, they're up for any challenge-- especially when it comes to food.

Upscale Ups!

 

Ironically, I had dinner at Resorts World that night with Mr. P and his college lab mates from U.P. We usually get together with these guys when there's an important occasion to celebrate (like a birthday or an engagement). That night we met up to get Liz & brooks' invites for their March wedding. I was so thrilled to receive personalized "mail"!  

Taken via Instagram

You know I'm a sucker for DIY projects and weddings so I couldn't help but ask Liz how she put together her beautiful artsyfartsy invite! Since they're both hands on with their wedding, she personally did the layout for the envelope with Adobe Photoshop-- incorporating the details of a snail-mailed letter! Each envelope has a "Tagaytay" postage stamp on it (where the wedding will be held). And another "stamp" for the details of the wedding. Each envelope also has a special print inside which Liz also handcrafted. The wedding invites with an elegant script of the couples' names was sourced from Cebu. It even came with the directions to their wedding venue. 

Anything handmade is a true work of love and it always warms my heart when someone gives me something that's handcrafted. I'm really excited for their garden wedding! Which reminds me-- I badly need to look for something to wear! It's time to work on pegs with my best bud/budding stylist ARDC! haha.

We ate dinner at Parmigiana Italian Kitchen and exchanged travel stories, wedding planning updates (both Liz and their other friend's), and work woes. Haha.

I wasn't able to snap much photos from the dinner because everyone was famished and I was still feeling a bit congested. But I did manage to snap a photo of my favorite dish of the night!

Shrimps, arugula, and Parmesan pizza! 

The boys then hit the casino for some beginner's luck after dinner. I'm not a huge fan of gambling but being there was quite an experience. I didn't really fancy much about the game but Mr. P happily took home Php 600.00 in winnings after 30 minutes of playing--without even shelling out cash from his own pocket. We even got free parking thanks to his friends' RW points! Haha.

It was quite an action-packed day of highs and lows!