|december2005_revisited|

christmas came and went that i hardly felt it with so many things happening. nonetheless i was able to capture the essence of it. here's my condensed december 2005. better late than never...

|christmas2005_at_the_shang|

      

we had our annual gift-giving slash pajama party at the shang now in its second year. presents were given out even though nikki and daniel who weren't able to make it because of their tight schedules. a fun time for merry-making amidst our hectic schedules and our own personal affairs. i even crammed for my christmas gifts since i was unable to finish my chirstmas shopping spree. next year will be definitely better and advanced planning will be done. one thing's for sure though, it's still going to be a pajama party at the shang.

|cheap_thrills|

  

the night that we had our christmas affair at the shang, i also got my starbucks 2006 planner. so nice that even in the age of personal digital assistants, smartphones and blogs, nothing beats having a paper and pen to scribble down thoughts and ideas and even those not to forget to dos.

|december_wedding|

  

midway december we saw ourselves attending the wedding of our dear friend glenn from highschool. it being a weekday, we took the day off and went to the UP chapel where the wedding ceremony was held. it was also a pleasant visit back to school on a december which for some reason that i could not explain brings a different feeling all together. it's unfortunate that i wasn't able to take a picture of the newlyweds but i was able to take a pre-nup picture of these two who's tying the knot next year. go nikki and daniel! =)

|christmas_2005|

what would be christmas if not spent with the family? well, it would be something uneventful if not something not to look forward to. but mine is differently special and that makes it the most wonderful time of the year. spreading christmas cheer to one another and spending quality time to the people who matter the most. because with them, there are lots to be thankful for.

|a_date_to_remember|

   

my good friend cecille and i took the day off a few days before the end of december and spent some quality time together. we wanted to treat ourselves to something fancy hence we found ourselves having merienda at the much talked about museum cafe* at greenbelt 4. the cafe is located at the ground floor of the ayala museum, hence the name museum cafe or simply m cafe.

the place looks inviting as you can see through it with all the glass and the interiors of the place. since it's an artsy-fartsy place, walls are vibrantly colored with decors from artists that admittedly i am not familiar of. the lighting brings a warm tone to the place as key lights highlight the showpieces of the cafe. it made it look like you are dining in an art gallery. a staff gladly welcomed and assisted us to our seats. food servers were attentive and made suggestions on their "must try" selections. after a few minutes of waiting, they served us with their version of the pesto with an asian twist-- with tuyo (dried salted fish) and white cheese made from cow's milk (kesong puti). we also shared a piece of beef sandwhich altogether and drowned on duhat fruit shake.

for m cafe, i'd give it 4 out of 5 stars for the cozy ambiance, vibrant decorations, modern asian fusion food and good service.

*m cafe is located at ayala museum, greenbelt 4, makati avenue cor. dela rosa st., makati, philippines 1200.

|fireworks_for_the_world|

       

two days of pure fireworks! people flocked to the esplanade along the soon-to-open SM mall of asia to take part in the 1st pyro olympics. there were a number of participating countries in the five-day competition. i couldn't recall what country i attended but we were there during the closing ceremonies where the award was given to australia.

|boogiebusy_nights|

  

i was working late and decided to take a break from what i was rushing on. i sneaked to one of the conference rooms with a view of ayala avenue. apparently it wasn't only me that was working late that night. i took some shots in the dark with the shutter delayed to about 15.0 seconds.

and i'd say my pictures turned out great!

while walking that chilly evening, i took more shots and played around with the settings little by little. i was so happy with the results that i lost track of time, it being almost midnight.

|basket_case_cats|

    

our cats, all eight of them as of last count have their own quirkiness. one early morning, i've seen two of them in action. cat 1 just loves the confined and crampped spaces so much that he's willing to fit himself into this small woven plant basket. cat 2 however had been scheming an evil plot to prey on the two lovebirds but to no avail. as of this writing, cat 2 is praying and hoping against hope that maybe, just maybe this time she'll be successful in having these two birds for herself.

i have so many pictures to share but have little time to do so. even my weekends are devoted to various tasks and responsibilities. i must, i must...make time longer. or better yet, ditch on some of my duties.

i'm looking forward to my first out of town trip for 2006 to mt. pinatubo this weekend! woo-hoo! i'll be back with more pictures to be posted.

|sarap_to.the_bones|

      

i've always loved max's fried chicken. this is how fried chickens should be. i don't know their secret but their success is definitely not a secret worth keeping. their humble beginnings even got to be featured in a local tv program. according to my mom, the very first branch of max's was where they had their wedding reception! cool!

i love their platter meal which consists of the quarter piece chicken, side dish (pancit canton), steamed rice, dessert and drink for Php 170.00 ($3.20). for that, service is good and everyone is attentive to your needs. they make you feel like you're a king. nice, nice! this is one place worth coming back to.

i can't speak for all branches if service is the same but this blog is referring to max's fried chicken in shangri-la mall, ortigas.