Besides it being my birth month, I was looking forward to October because of the promise of colder weather. Somehow it did deliver as promised, but in odd trickles and intervals. There were some mornings that were as vibrant as summer, but there were also a precious few that were as muted as Autumn. 

It was a quiet month, for the most part. It was mostly us swinging along with the rhythm, having gotten the hang of things, sort of. 

Ibis and Abu Dhabi - In reality I was quite anxious about this trip more than anything. Besides it being our first time in Abu Dhabi, it was the first time I'd be attending an organized race that we sponsored and I hadn't the faintest idea where to begin. It turned out I was psyching myself out for nothing - the entire event was as painless as a dentist visit.

What made the trip even better was our short stay in Abu Dhabi c/o Ibis Hotel. We had a last-minute booking done online and we arrived at half-past 9PM - far too late to enjoy anything in the city, yet we had a great time just the same. We had dinner at the poolside bar and restaurant in the 2nd floor, entertained by the friendliest staff we've ever met! Topping all of that off, we slept in THE softest bed ever. I loved the fluffy comforters! As you can see from the photos above, the room we got is actually an apartment-type one, complete with a kitchenette and a dining set, and a washing machine. We nearly booked in for another night! Surely in the future, Jed and I will be staying in Ibis again. 😂

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So on the photo on the left I was actually trying to take a photo of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque while inside a moving cab. Obvs, I failed and got a nice shot of these date trees instead. During the summer we found that the date fruits from these trees were in fact harvested and either sold or kept for consumption. Neat!

The other photo is of the ramen we got in Ibn Battuta Mall while we waited for our bus to Abu Dhabi. I've already forgotten the name of the restaurant but we got it for cheap and was surprisingly pretty good! It even beat Motomachi's ramen, I'd say. We also got some of their (teeny-tiny) gyozas and chicken pops. I'm pretty sure I'll be ordering their ramen again when we return to Ibn Battuta.

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Name Days - Soon after we got back from Adu Dhabi we had another reason to break out the booze: my (and Emman's) birthday! I'm not sure how Jed is faring as far as his experience living with two flaky Libras is concerned, but I think he's still sane to a degree. To celebrate, the three of us headed to Dagat-Dagatan and had a birthday seafood buffet, with a complimentary cake to commemorate our Name Day. 😂 I was so adamant on getting us two cakes instead of one because two people were celebrating but their one-cake-per-table policy got in the way, lol. It was completely fine though; we just stuffed ourselves some more with their seafood selection. 

It was one of the more low-key celebrations I've had in a while, which I didn't mind one bit. Having another year to celebrate and being with good friends and my dearest Jed is more than enough.

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Random cravings and whatnot. I remember eating out a lot at the Sandwich Club and bingeing on falafels and green mango shakes. I also discovered that Carrefour had some of these falafel wraps so I've been having these for lunch almost everyday since. This month I also noticed a spike in my liking for sweet things like cupcakes and cookies, ugh. But whether it's because I'm unconsciously stressed out or something, I can't point my finger at it. 👯

Sun, sand, sea - typical summer cliche, the premise that awaited me when I stepped on the bus to Subic for a weekend trip. For most girls in their 20s, a trip like this would be more than thrilling. In this summer heat though all I could think of was lounging in my air-conditioned room, reading a novel or two to escape the warm weather. Just thinking about the hot sand between my toes made me reluctant to hop onto that bus.

(I spent the night before in a panic, packing up whatever I could wear to the beach that I found that wasn't in the hamper or in the back of my closet.)

That morning I was already in the right mood when I ended up botching my make up and gave myself the panda eyes when I sneezed while applying liquid eyeliner.

(I was already thinking this was a bad sign. Should I even go? I should just go back to bed.)

Fast forward to a couple of washes and a few trials later, I found myself sitting at the back of the bus bound north to one of the most popular summer destinations in the country.

I've only been to Subic once in my life, when I was 7 years old and my family still retained the tradition of going out of town whenever a balik-bayan relative would arrive. Nowadays I don't see that balik-bayan relative anymore (probably doesn't want to take us to free trips anymore), but I still recall the waves and waves of tourists and vacationers cramming in what little space the semi-white-sanded beach could offer. I remember distinctly the taste of the ocean when I fell off my floater and nearly drowned when I mistook a plastic bag for a jellyfish because I'm paranoid like that. 

We got to the yacht a little after lunch, with the sun at its apex and the smell of the ocean was strong. After getting over my initial fear of toppling overboard the yacht with the help of a few cocktails, I mingled a bit and watched as the group swung in the deck to the thud of the sound system. It was mesmerizing, almost trance-inducing, the way the young women rocked along to the buzz of the DJ in their brightly-colored bikinis. 

The crowd we were with was a lively folk. I had resolved to keep with my mood and be a casual observer in the party, but it proved impossible - the energy of the party reeled you in with a kind of youthful zing you could only get when you let the music (and the alcohol) do the talking.

As we neared The Lighthouse nearly everyone was gearing up for the real show. It was a haze of glow sticks, Jaegerbombs and Red Bull, paint, and frantic dancing. In partial darkness you can feel the pulsating rhythm of the beat and the lights, and you are helpless to its frenzied tempo. Even with your blood alcohol level shot up from all the Jaegerbombs, you cannot forget a night like that.

View of The Lighthouse from afar, taken from the yacht we rode to get there. #AshexPlaces #WheninSubic #RaveCruise2015 #partyhard #justwriterthings #workperks

A post shared by Ａｓｈｅ。 (@_subliminalwish) on Mar 15, 2015 at 1:09am PDT

In the time it took for me to get off my seat and join the chaos on the dance floor, I had taken in the scent of the rave, of the booze - intoxicating.

It was the charm of the summer night life saying hello, and I was pleased to make its acquaintance. 

The night wore on and wound down though it was only a few minutes shy from the sunrise before we finally unplugged the music and, reluctant as we were, we spent the last dim hours we had left washing down the liquor and paint, and watching the sun take a peek through the horizon. The ocean mimicked my heart's pace - turbulent and serene at the same time.

Walking away from the beach and back to the bus took a while. As I bade the cool salty morning air and warm sand good-bye, I made a promise to return to the embrace of the sea breeze, back to the DJ's turntable that stirred my heart beat. Back to the cool water, to the pandemonium of the nightlife by the beach, to Jaeger, and to life.

Lately I've been finding it much easier to make updates at the end of every month with a photo blog entry; the memories of the past weeks easily compiled in one post seemed more appealing to me rather than making an entry every time something happens. Don't you think it's much neater this way?

That being said though I do think it's time for me to make a weekly post of what went on just to properly chronicle my life. Shorter updates = easier to digest, IMO. But we'll see.

We kicked December off with a short visit to UP Town Center, a local mall in Katipunan, for an errand run. We've been trying to get more things done since the past month now that we have more time on our hands. Checking this mall out sounded like a good plan at the time. (It was.)

In the end we got to buy some essentials, and then some. We're putting of buying Christmas presents until next week though. :))

The following day we were Batangas-bound to celebrate my grandmother's birthday~ *throws confetti* It was just a small celebration between family and close friends. The rest of my family went back to Manila while Jed and I stayed behind to keep my grandmother company for 2 more days before commuting back home.

During our stay we were joking about making side trips here and there just for the hell of it. It was a fun idea to poke at, dropping by either Laguna or Tagaytay just for a day trip before heading to Manila. As the days wore on though a quick getaway sounded more and more attractive - until we found ourselves getting off at Olivares, Tagaytay before chasing a jeepney ride to Sky Ranch!






Being spontaneous yields its merits: I got a great 360° view of Tagaytay from the Sky Eye, and a lovely taste of the cold weather to boot~! The best part was we didn't have to spend more than 1000Php for the whole trip!

The next week came in with us receiving some hella good news. We headed back to Eastwood to meet up with our officemates and had lunch at T. G. I. Fridays.





As if pigging out on burgers wasn't enough for us (it never is), the next day we set out to have lunch at Dohtonbori. I swear, their okonomiyaki is something else. AND THEIR ULTIMATE CHEESE OKONOMIYAKI, OMG. Yes, all caps for emphasis! Never leave Dohtonbori without tasting this best-seller and a couple of their gyozas. :D



On the final week of December I was able to get some half-priced tickets for The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City. I've seen the reviews and have always meant to check the place out but we never had the time before now. I'm really glad we were able to explore the place! #culturedAF




Welp - 2016's been fun, yeah? Looking back I think this is the most I've ever lived, blog post or none. But I'm certainly not going to stop there. I'm on the hunt for more adventures, and 2017 is pretty promising. Here's to chasing down everything I've ever wanted~!

Have a Happy New Year!

Didn't I tell you we'd be back? ♥

About a year and a month ago I told myself I'm fine with us being 'just friends'. (But I wasn't.) 

And I thought that didn't really bother me. (But it did.) 

Because, really, I was happy to be called his best friend. (But I wasn't.)

So I went on with my days and told myself I wouldn't think too much about it. (But I did.)

Exactly a year ago I decided I wasn't fine with us being 'just friends', and now here we are. 

To celebrate our first revolution around the sun as a couple, Jed and I decided we'd try out Loreland Farm Resort and Luljetta's Hanging Gardens and Spa. We saw their page in Facebook and thought it was quite beautiful we had to book right away! 

I made my reservations for Loreland via Agoda and paid with a card, but you can call them directly to get a room reserved and have your payment method arranged. I think you can pay via bank deposit or transfer. 

For Luljetta's though you'll have to call them in advance and let them know when you'd like to book for a visit, especially if you'd like a massage included in your package. You'll also have to pay them in advance so that your slot is reserved for you.

Although you may walk in they'll accommodate you according to how many people have reserved for that day and if there are any free slots left, so best make sure you'll be tended to by calling ahead of time - plus it's polite y'know!

If Jed were to write a blog post, the first entry would probably be about Rossa. This is the second bunch he had bought from them and he would always rave about their exemplary service, from the inquiries down to the delivery. I'm quite flattered he thinks I'm worthy of receiving bouquets as beautiful as this! ♥

Snaps below are a mix taken from both Loreland and Luljetta's btw!

Antipolo Suman + Lemongrass Iced Tea - apparently a house specialty, this dessert took me back to my childhood! As a kid we used to make frequent trips to Antipolo to attend the mass - a practice well-ingrained in the Filipino culture. You can read more about it here, or consult your good friend Google. Anyway, back to the suman: we used to hoard these in large batches because we couldn't possibly get enough! You can enjoy them by simply dipping them in sugar, but the addition of cashews, mangoes, and latik really brought its flavor to a whole 'nother level, and pairing this with lemongrass iced tea was pure genius.

The Infinity Pool at Luljetta's offers a stunning view of the cliff side and a glimpse at Laguna de Bay. You can also see the Angono River, and parts of Taytay. It gets more stunning at night when the city lights up and the expanse of land is dotted with twinkling lights from houses and buildings.

This place is seriously so photogenic. And don't forget the stunning view from Luljetta's infinity pool! We were so happy with our 3-day stay we decided to book another visit for Jed's birthday. Lol. Can't wait for November!

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Loreland Farm Resort | Luljetta's Hanging Garden and Spa
Brgy. San Roque, Antipolo City, Philippines 1870
Website | Loreland Farm Resort
Website | Luljetta's Hanging Gardens and Spa
Book via Bienvenido Tours