Unveiled: Regina Iustitiae Anniversary Party

Regina Iustitiae have come a long way since Anna, Dev and Pat started it in 2005.
I was part of it's second batch so I pretty much saw how it came to be.
And despite of all the issues within and outside the sorority,
we pulled through.

at one point in time, i almost gave up on the sisterhood.
but i'm so glad i didn't.
coz now i'm super proud to be part of it.
so i guess ganun lang talaga.
there will always be tough times, clashing personalities, and harsh critics.
what matters is how we stick together.
we fight, we forgive, we forget, we even sometimes ignore.
but we never quit on being a sis.

To all the sisses who worked hard to make the party a success, i'm so proud of you!

To my sisses who are taking the bar, especially my batchmates,
goodluck and god bless.
kayang kaya nyo yan!

mike, me, dev and gelo below the sorority logo

me and momsy with batchies maj(top) and ria (bottom)

left to right: pat, nad, me, jelo, mon and ace

mon, gelo, mike and ace

me, papa jay, buns and dev

Mari's Poker Party

for the past 10 years,
there has been one event that we,
both my bff's and college friends,
all look forward to:
Mari's birthday party

Any party hosted in the Castillo's residence is famous for two things:
food and booze

i took joel with me for the first time at mari's
i told him, masarap ang food dun.
sabi nya, siguraduhin ko lang daw.

haha. saying 'masarap ang pagkain kina mari' is actually an understatement.
back in college, gusto ko na magpa-ampon sa bahay nila,
para tumaba naman ako.
you see, mari's family is involved in the restaurant/catering business.
and mari's passion is cooking.

so during the party,
simple buffet lang on one corner, mga 4-5 dishes,
pero si joel, amazed.
lahat daw kasi masarap.

true true.
i don't know what's with that house that makes every meal masarap.
swear, kahit lucky-me pancit canton, matatakam ka pag si mari ang nag-serve.

ff family
clockwise: me, sara, mari, paul, miguel, joel, lik and shel
(tyns, we miss you)


with regard to the drinking naman,
kahit anong trip mo,
if you want steady lang or drunk till you drop,
pwede. just remember to take the puke outside.

i remember in college,
hard drinks ang trip ng tao back then.
so ang line up ng drinks: tequila, ginpom...
gagapang ka talaga.

now, nag-mature na kami. beer nalang.
may redhorse or sanmig light depende sa trip mo.

dlsu friends
from left to right: pie, johnsy, me, zette, johnny, tina, joey and mari


oh. and may bagong trip sa castillo household:
poker.
complete with the velvet-y round table with cushioned ends.
you'll really get that casino vibe.

paul and sara's wedding


finally!
the moment we've all been waiting for...
the biggest event of the year...
Paul and Sara's wedding day!!!

the wedding mass was at Nuestra Senora de Gracia Parish.
that's the church in Guadalupe, near Loyola Memorial.
uber nice.

it was really old looking so i love it.
and there were only 2 columns
so although the church wasn't that big,
the aisle was relatively long.
it was the perfect church.
and if sara and paul hadn't gotten married there, i would have.


the bride and groom with their parents.




the reception naman was at The Loft.
It was on the 38th floor of the Manansala in Rockwell.
Mejo na-confused lang ako kasi sabi ng driver "sa ter-ti-et"
So hindi ko lam kung 30th or 38...

the bride and her maids

sara! kami rin penge!

second dance nalang to.
first kasi yung footloose nung gradeschool sila

ready... set...

go!

oh no!



after the reception, we - mari, shel, joel and i
went to the hotel suite with the newlyweds.
ang epal namin no?
well... ganun talaga... we're that close.



so na-postpone ang honeymoon till we had mcdonald's dinner,
and until matapos ang bubble gang on tv.

oh! the suite in makati-shang was really nice.
it even had an office.
it was so nice, we couldn't help it...

congressman pagkatipunan

congressman pagkatipunan at work

congressman pagkatipunan on the phone with the president

congressman and his 'sexy'tary


but my favorite part is the photo booth.
coz i'm really annoyed with photographers who force you to buy your pictures.
so here, they have this booth na mag-pose ka lang 4 times tas they'll print it instantly.
astig!
tas ok pa kasi unlimited pictures.
so pila ka lang ng pila for the pictures!




Solo Flight

This was my first time ever to fly alone. Naturally, i was scared.
So I took every precaution to make the flight bearable, if not comfortable.
First, I made it a point that my flight schedule did not involve 5 hours waiting time in any airport.
Second, I brought books, magazines and sudoku puzzles.
And third, I only have a handbag as my carry-on.

But no amount of precaution could prepare me for this trip.

The day before I left, my travel agent informed me that flight was moved.
I had to leave 5 hours earlier than scheduled.
This meant that I have to wait for 8 hours in Vancouver airport for my connecting flight.

When I got to Calgary Airport, I found out that I have excess baggage.
The lady at the check-in counter was nice enought to allow me to put away some of my stuff and carry it with me.
So now, I have my handbag and a relatively heavy paper bag.

But all that did not break my spirit. I have my books to keep me entertained.
And my carry-on isn't that much still. I just looked like I went shopping.



But I was sad. I was leaving my family and the city I've fallen in love with.
To keep my emotions intact, I went to the bathroom.
I planned to cry a little there - atleast no one would see me.
While I was inside the cubicle, and tears where ready to fall,
the lady in the next cubicle gave out a nasty fart.
It completely broke my 'emo' moment.
And I had to run out of the bathroom (just in case it's smell is as nasty as it sounded)

I had the most comfortable seat in the plane.
It was on an aisle seat just after the bathroom so I had plenty of legroom.
I love it!

When I arrived in Vancouver, I met a Filipina.
It was her first time in 10 years to go back to the Philippines.
2 minutes after that, we found out that our flight's delayed.
our wait will extend to 9 hours.

We couldn't sleep for the fear of losing our things.
And we couldn't find coffee coz it's midnight and everything is closed.
Good thing that the Twilight book is so entertaining. (yes... plugging...)



with my new friend Wenny


the flight to hongkong was the worst.
it was a 13 hour flight and i sat between a fat smelly caucasian guy
and a really tall asian guy who was blocking the aisle.
intense personal space violation. i barely slept.

The last leg of my trip, in fairness, was better.
Although I had to walk a mile in the hongkong airport (i went out in gate 72 and my connecting flight is at gate3)
I barely felt the wait. (2 hours max)
And i finished Twilight.
In the plane i had legroom again. Plus, the seat beside me was empty.

The flight to Manila was turbulent though.
I had to let out a scream once. Super humiliating!

Anyway, I got through the baggage claiming conveyor and through the immigration unscathe,
It was nice to hear everyone speak in tagalog. Astig!

payless last day


since i'm coming back to the Philippines,
i had to say goodbye to my second home here in canada:
the Payless ShoeSource store at Southcentre mall.

the people there have been great to me.
as a retail newbie, they were very patient,
teaching me all there is to know working in a store,
making my first few weeks in a foreign country as bearable as possible.
and though most of them are way younger than me,
they made me, the foreign girl, feel like she belonged.





the store

lauren, jenn, mike

with kris and steph

with amber

closing time