Hoppin' and Munchin'

It’s past 3 a.m. and I’m still awake from the happenings that begun around the late afternoon until 2:30 a.m. I left the house at 5:30 p.m. to catch my 7:30 p.m. seminar briefing in Makati. This was the first time I was going to ride the MRT by myself. To do this, I had to give myself time to walk all the way to the station, squeeze in through the MRT crowd during rush hour, make my way to the Ayala station to go to the greater Makati area and find that particular conference center near Greenbelt. I guess I asked the wrong people because it felt like it took forever (around 45 minutes) to reach my destination, more like I circled the whole 5 malls. Good thing I was wearing my reliable travel shoes for the ride. This first time was not so bad but I am planning to shorten my travel time to go here when I go for the actual seminar in November. I need to find that shortest route. I also found out that it is not a nice experience if you miss out your MRT stop. It’s either you pay double to get to the other side or find a stop that has a middle portion to switch to the other side.

It was time to go “bar-hopping” with friends when we were dismissed. I never actually survived this long whenever I go out. It was probably a mix of the company, the GCs and the locations that made this night one of the most, for me, enjoyable and fun-nest night out. I have been to Il Ponticello once and it will always be the place where I lost my first eyeglasses. This time though, the place was not packed so we had a nice chill-out mode going on. The songs that were played would make you groove, sway and sing your heart out with matching actions to the Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls. I think at some point, we all, boys and girls alike, liked, hummed and sang (sometimes even imitated the dance moves) those love songs of boy-bands and girl-bands of the 90s. It’s rare to be in a place where people dance and happily sing these “corny” tunes lyric per lyric (we also don’t find people singing them in karaoke nowadays and risk looking like an idiot). Next we visited Sidebar, which had wilder music and kind of like a semi-party posh crowd. What got my attention was the DJ and his digital player hooked to an Apple. I wish I knew what the buttons, switches and discs were for because I tried listening to the music but there was no or little difference. My conclusion was that a DJ was only needed during the intro of a new song. He looked cool though with his high-tech gadgets. One major issue though about Sidebar was that their glass washing station was exposed. The issue was not that it should be hidden but the way they (it got me thinking that it was the same for all bars) washed the glasses in the same soapy tub then to a water tub and let them dry upside down. The routine took about 5 seconds in all. So much for fast and efficient service. I am guessing the outside part where we drink from sometimes don't get washed anymore. I will be drinking with a straw from now on lest I want to contact some disease. Our party of four did not consume the GCs with all the alcohol we can order even though this trip was coined as “bar-hopping”. We decided to try out the food for a late dinner, particularly the Gambas and Pizza of Ponti and another Pizza with Gruyere cheese over at Sidebar. A good thing though about these “bars” was that they do not have entrance fees and you can dance quietly to the music all you want (dance at your spot, sitting on your seat or in a corner, no set dance floor). I liked the overall chill out session while we talked the night/morning away with our friends.