May 26 Going 27
Sidebar: Until now, I cannot fathom that it was only a year ago since he became part of the “family.” With the many things that have happened, it does feel like centuries already.
It has been the tradition in our inner circle to come up with a birthday surprise. J’s actual birthday fell on a Tuesday and since we are usually together Monday nights, it was quite easy gathering the flock. The challenge is how to keep the surprise a secret.
Knowing J’s gift for prognostication, he knew what was coming and at the back of my mind, I knew he knows… and he was making it easy for us. First is the extension of our game so that we will finish near midnight already. Then he wanted me to drive (so I have control of our destination after the game and he never questioned where we were going). Then he would try to distance himself when I would try to talk to TA for the next steps of our plan. (Later, he would show me a text he composed as proof that he knew “my plan”).
Since I was with him most of Monday night, the birthday “paraphernalia” are with the others. My task was to bring him to MK where his birthday surprise awaits. To cut a long story short, we were enjoying Persian food when he turned a year older. Then we dished out the requisite card, the cake and the dessert. We only held off the gift giving since his official celebration is not until the weekend
Footnote: TA made a funny dedication on J’s card: You are 33 now…remember what happened to Jesus Christ and Alexander the Great when they turned 33. Bwahaha!
Celebrating One’s Birthday…J-Style
It was months in the making and it was a feat in itself that we did not have (the usual) photo finish for this. After meticulous online research and one rewarding ocular inspection, the venue was secured a month before. (J, from the start, wanted an overnight stay at a private resort. That way, people will have fun just drinking the night away and not worry on driving home later.)
The invitation and guest list was finalized 2 weeks prior. The Committee on Food (also know as his former sales group) was set-up a week before. It was only the booze that we have to procure during the 11th hour. The carpool assignment was nailed down earlier as well.
The invitation drew “wows” from the recipients. It was proof that J meant business when it comes to having fun.
The timing was near-perfect: it was the end of the month. But we still have some last-minute work to do so it was quite late when we started our journey to Pansol. J and I have to make three stops before we were truly south-bound. The other carpools have to wait and have dinner at Petron SlEx so we were able to catch-up and were actually the second to arrive at the venue. But we were so famished that we bought some roasted chicken along the way and immediately pounced on it, san utensils, upon arriving at the venue.
The venue is a private resort at Miramonte Village. It boasts of a swimming pool, three air-conditioned bedrooms with two queen size beds, a big kitchen with gas stove and ref, a barbeque grill and a 3-car garage. And of course, the staple in every gig we plan: a videoke machine. The venue can accommodate 30 people but we only expected around 18. But then some people have to bail out on the last minute because of personal alibis (hehe) so the final count was 13.
The others soon arrived and we immediately unloaded the food and started making late dinner-cum-booze matches (ano ba ang English ng pulutan?). The rollicking celebration for J’s birthday was swinging in no time. Here are the highlights of the event:
1.The videoke-fest. It started with the so-called personal anthems (ok, mine was Pain In My Heart). Then the signature hits (TP with Barry Manilow, birthday boy with Kalapana). We even competed on whose rendition of Half Crazy will score the highest (the winner was C and surprisingly, I was second). We were so addicted with videoke singing that we had to bring the mike and song booklist near the edge of the pool so we can sing while swimming. The song of the day was Broken Vow (I think we sang it 246 times). But the best performance of the night was MM who brought the house down with his wacky (to say the least) rendition of Superman and Tubthumping. It has been immortalized on video for blackmail purposes. It will soon appear on YouTube with the caption: MM After Just One Shot of Tequila.
2.The Survivor Pansol Moments. Though we planned everything meticulously, sometimes you tend to forget some things…important things at that. I packed a knife and can opener just to be sure. We also reminded the grocery people to buy plastic utensils. But what we forgot were the tongs for grilling and pots and pans for cooking. So we were grilling food using just barbeque sticks to turn the meat and the coals around. Then we had to fry hotdogs using the casserole from the rice cooker. When B (the expert in grilling) left early, T, J and I struggled at first with making a decent coal fire but soon lunch was happily grilling.
3.The booze session. MM and I went out to get some ice and mineral water. The group was already gearing up for the tequila shots when we left and when we came back, we have to catch up on four rounds. MC was quite efficient in serving the tequila that we finished one bottle in less than an hour. Beers and vodka were also served so we were wasting away in no time. However, we consumed only half of the all the booze J prepared.
4.The swimming. To clear our heads of the booze, we decided to make good use of the pool. The water was so deliciously warm that we didn’t mind if we were already turning into prunes. Our pool games include getting the thrown coin from the bottom of the pool. This will lead to teaching B (the weakest link…hmmm…sino kaya to?) some lessons in diving. It was frustrating at first since his body refuse to sink but after birthday boy taught the proper technique (he is a Lozada, after all, haha), he was retrieving the coin like a pro...professional golden retriever, haha. We also made good use of C’s underwater camera gear and tried to take underwater photos of each other. It was difficult to multitask underwater: you have to sink, breathe, swim, project and smile for the camera and take the photo.
5.The UFO (Unidentified Floating Object). One of the girls (name withheld to protect her identity….bwahaha) had a Cosmo Confession moment. The three of us were in one corner of the pool when J noticed a floating object and jokingly shouted “Jellyfish!” I countered the joke and said it was a condom. Then to push the joke further, I said that it was one of those silicon implants girls place on their bras. Turned out it was indeed THAT and the horrified expression of “her” face was priceless (pasalamat ka kami lang ang nakakita, haha).
6. The Kuya Germs Moments. With all the fun we were having, it was inevitable that we might not catch some sleep at all. But I think it was MM and TP who first crawled into the beds. Then the girls who did not swim. Birthday boy took a shower near dawn and I said I’ll be next. When I realized it was taking him forever, I went upstairs only to find out that he has dozed off. I decided to catch my forty winks as well and we were only awakened when some people have to leave by early morning. I think we only slept for less than 2 hours. The Kuya Germs Award goes to C. She barely slept and still managed to a have a videoke concert by mid-day. She tried to sleep at the boy’s room but there would be three little tykes (J, B and TP...in that order) who will disturb her sleep (minutes apart) because they have to get something from the room.
7. The Pool Side Gossip. I will keep mum about this. After all, what’s an overnight bonding session without the token gossip and drama? Good thing the drama did not get in the way of the fun.
We had a total three sets of swimming sessions and innumerable turns at the videoke. Too bad some people had to leave early because of work or personal matters they have to attend to. The rest of us wrapped up before 5pm.
With the lack of sleep, the impact of the booze and with bodies battered from swimming, it was a huge effort just to drive home. J and I failed to keep each other awake while driving that we decided to stop at gas station, meet TP and have some sort of night cap and chase the clouds of sleep away.
Hands down, J raised the bar for birthday celebrations (pressure on C...who’s next on the list). And he has added another feather to his cap: event planner and consultant. Trust J to know how to have a good time. This is another one for the books.
