Friends Forever with Ime

Robert and I arrived at the Greenbelt 3 around the same time, parked at the same area but he parked his Club1 BMW faster than I did my Honda HRV. Hey, I was parallel parking- and I'm a girl. Anyway, you can tell when someone is your friend when they'd wait for you and tell you you did a good parallel parking job. Then they'd wait for you while you retouch your make-up before alighting the car. Ha-ha. Women are incorrigible. We have more white matter on our brain cells.
















Cielo: Dinner alert! Ime is here from Malaysia on a limited engagement. Don't miss it! Dinner at MASAS, Greenbelt 3, 7ish PM. Bring your happy self!

Other attendees: Robert (actively dating), Robert (happily married and proud dad), Cha ( still unabashedly madly inlove with her honey, after having 2 kids with him), Ime (the lady/balikbayan of the moment)





We were shocked, amazed at how Ime has lost weight, and looked gorgeous. She really did. This is the reason why we women want to be thin. The chin comes outprominently, making the face look softer, more feminine;the waist creates curves and gives a shapely silhouette- wearing the right dress makes the waist even tinier. Sunken cheeks emphasize the eyes, illuminating the rest of the face. I had the same reaction to a girl from the office who took Reductil 15mg daily for a month, and subsisted on butong pakwan and water when she got hungry. She just looked like a different person, a really lovely girl who took time to create a look- she wore earings and blouses compared to when she just wore jeans, rubber shoes, had no make up on and basically just let herself go. Ok I have to stop raving about Ime, but guys, I have an assignment to search for 2 dates for my girlfriends and 1 gorgeous "young" girl for Robert.

Back to Ime. Even amazing was her story of how she completed a 21 km run, in 2.5 hours in, Malaysia, in what is otherwise known as a HALF-MARATHON FINISH. I've never had a friend who ran the marathon, or half-marathon. We're so proud of her who told us though she kept going to the gym regularly, she didn't touch the treadmill, didn't go on practice jogs, or even a 2-km run. She had nobody to run with (not a marathon buddy, not her sister, not her close friend), just her trainer who literally left her on her own pace. Her officemates in Kuala Lumpur told her they encouraged her, but told her, it will not be surprising if she would not be able to finish her run.

"What kept you going?" we were all eager to hear the story.
"I was tired after running for an hour across the road which was treading up and down a hill, and I asked God why I'm doing this. Why am I running in a marathon, in Malaysia, on a very hot day?" "I could not understand it myself, and when I finished the run, I could not believe I did it. I was only able to do it because I asked God for strength. I prayed and prayed while I ran. Otherwise I would not have finished." Have you ever heard someone tell a story like that? We were in awe.

Later she also told me how her friend from the office supported her with her gym efforts. Her friend was pregnant and does not accompany her to the gym but she would ask how Ime did at the gym that day, supported her in her choice of food and would always encourage her. When Ime went on a vacation in HK and regained the pounds she lost in the gym, the friend did not reprimand her but told her she'd go right back and lose it, and then some more. I thought this was a marvelous friend. A friend supports us in our endeavors, and they are the first ones to realize how important certain things are for us, and they would be there however which way they can, with positive reinforcement, moral support and encouraging words. Ergo, the theme of the night to "bring your happy self. " Stay away from nasty people. If you feel bad being around somebody, that somebody's not good enough for you.


While we partook of the pritchon, sinigang na baka, sisig, bicol express, grilled tuna belly and the boneless crispy pata, the HOTSEAT was thrown from one party to the other. The topic: The Ex

After all these years, we were only able to openly ask and tease each other about the ex without the fear of doing it openly becoming too painful. Any breakup is painful, and our thoughts flowed from one type of breakup to the other.
Can exes become friends?
Why do some people find the need to reach out after a breakup, the nerve, and why being dedma may work.
Why do some people, however good they are, really act like jerks in relationships, in my relationship?
Can one accept an invitation to be ninang to the friend's ex?
Can one accept an invitation to be friendster to the friend's ex?


The whole night was light and enjoyable, we had wine at Uva's which turned out to be disappointing only because they close at 11, so we decided to go to Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to sit down and cool down. We didn't order this time, and decided to spend the night at Armi's, no Cielo's, no Charmz's place to continue girl talk. We could have yakked all night, but my late nights with Tita Carmina and Tita Vicky (more on that later) were catching up on me, and I finally dozed off at 2 AM. Yobel's whispers and Ysa's "Nanay" woke us up at 6:30 AM, but their kiss and tight hugs made our day special.



MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6945/1374/320/Photo-0010.jpg" border="0" /We thank you Lord God for the gift of friendship, for giving us this wonderful blessing. For this chance to journey through life with people who supported us once when we were young and naive, and still have them with us, supporting and loving us after 16 years.

You have blessed us with good things and plenty, and surrounded our table with friends.

May we continue to inspire and share our goals and accomplishment with others, though this can be few and far in between, and though we are nation's apart. Help us to learn how to become more supportive of our friend's endeavors, and lead each other to a path to growth.