the (whatta) weekend that was

had a nice decent weekend in and out the city. quite busy actually, but in a nice need a little bit of everything for the balance busy sort of way. here a few highlights:

5k race

race for the kids—i joined the big brothers big sisters 5k race/walk fundraising event saturday morning. and though the pace was quite slow and manageable, i did not finish the whole 5k. well, "could not have finished" is more like it. by the time the race started it was almost time for me to be somewhere downtown. and so, all i was able to do was more like a 5 minute stroll. ridiculous but it was good nonetheless. im sure the 25-bucks i paid for the shirt and number will help the great organization. well, at least i hope so.

upstate barbecue

office barbecue upstate new york—was in the office on the dot ready for pickup to head upstate new york (although it wouldve been better if i did finish the 5k of course). driver brought us all the way almost 2 hours northwest of manhattan to warwick, NY. rolling hills, farm houses, open fields, trees that were starting to turn—really nice country. and the final destination, officemate's dad's house was really nice. was more like an estate actually (of course it helps that he's an orthopaedic surgeon). the bbq was well-attended. officemates brought their wives, kids and yes even their dogs (nice, nice). good to see. and, the good food (especially the ribs), perfect weather and overflowing wine made the event too.

driven

chauffer-driven—a driver brought us back and forth to warwick from the city. thought it would be quite an uncomfortable 2-hour ride being alone with the 2 top creative directors in the team (yes, surprisingly, the jason tends to put on his usual quiet face in the office). but it was a great ride after all. the conversations flowed from what manhattan was like in the older days to what it was like working for ogilvy manila (and my stint as a copywriter and how i liked philosophy), from the old euro office culture (and how they would have these who wants to sleep with whom the most contests before "sexual harrassments" was an issue) to trying to make the current creative atmosphere more fun (coz obviously having the nerf gun war games and mabel the creatices' dog around isnt fun enough). was good to spend some "private" time with those folks (of course, julian was asking how i was with the office and giving his "you know you're one of the best so we wanna be sure you're happy." bs but good to hear bs talk). and of course, it felt quite good riding a chauffer-driven GPS-equipped car. (but i still prefer the subway or biking or walking, really.)

sarvangasana

yoga class—started sunday with a great yoga class. second 2-hour class of the course and it actually is getting much better. the asanas flow much better and more naturally. and im slowly beginning to feel how yoga (though really relaxing and calming) could actually feel like a workout. towards the end of the class, we were introduced to the shoulder stand (which is good for keeping the heart rate down, etc, etc..) and that was quite a challenge. could not hold the pose so i was starting to shake and lose concentration. (and actually began laughing. oops, how unyogi. well, who says yoga cant be fun anyway.) yoga's been great—i can really feel the benefits. better posture, a calmer more peaceful vibe, a greater openness to other people, and a weird compulsion for kindness (i even helped a blind grandmother cross the street, although i did make the stupid train station attendant really know how stupid he was too. welcome to keeping one's balance, new york style!)

picnic

CP picnic with strangers—headed up to the great lawn in central park. met up with julia. we were looking for filipinos whom we've never met before. (as usual, im the easiest to invite, always up for any party/picnic invitation, even from people ive never met before.) turned out to be a great picnic (but as usual in true annoying filipino style, people arrive late). most of the folks were from CRC. good crowd actually. nice and friendly. finally, i was able to pull the i'm a taxi driver bs ive been wanting to do. made believers of some of them (although of course you-are-what-you-do slave that i am, i ended up saying that im really an art director eventually, in the middle of wows and ohs.)

jasmart

food trips—aside from the ribs and barbecue upstate, the KFC and junk food at the picnic, the weekend was filled with a considerable amount of food trips. i discovered this mexican diner type near the apartment. of course, i couldnt understand a thing from the menu. but it was good nonetheless, at least i could practice my very minimal spanish. and the something something rojo tasted very much like caldereta which i like a lot. went to the new york milkshake company in the east village as well. didn't try their overhyped and overpriced milkshakes but i did enjoy their grilled provolone cheese sandwich a lot. discovered the soy luck club in the west village near the yoga place. the name could have been better but the place is quite trendy but unpretentious. and the soy mint mocha i got was really worth it and went really well as a pre-yoga boost. might just make a sunday ritual of it. saw myself in jasmart, the east village japanese grocery/deli as well, and discovered the great taste of aloe vera juice. it really does taste great. and little did i know, it has lots of benefits too. i hear it may prevent cancer and could treat diabetes and immune system problems. try it.

doubt

pulitzer-winning broadway—last stop for the weekend was the pulitzer-prize winning play Doubt. "Set against the backdrop of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, DOUBT is the story of a strong-minded woman faced with a difficult decision. Should she voice concerns about one of her male colleagues, even if she's not entirely certain of the truth?" it was a great play. great acting. really tight script. it was a nice nice way to cap off the great weekend. although i really wish broadway and tiimes square weren't as packed with tourists. oh well. can't have it all, i guess.

well, that's the weekend that was. back to work now and contemplating on whether i should donate blood to the office-sponsored drive. i think the weekend sucked the life out of me. (or maybe im really just afraid of the needles. even the mention of it makes me queasy. eeeewr.)

good week ahead, everyone!