merienda buffets

i realized: this last quarter of the year, merienda buffets have become significant in my life.


it all started when my friends and i discovered the merienda buffet here in our very own building. for less than 80 bucks, you can have puto, dinuguan, pancit, various kakanin, arroz caldo, etc. to your tummy's content. with food being the universal people-bonder (that's not even a word!), we shared a lot over these merienda buffet sessions: from personal things like what's going on in our families, to stuff at work like movements and changes. conversations like: how my mom has plans of staying in the states for good, my friend's breakup, talks of hitting it big in the casino (hehehe), staffing issues (no, we do not talk about work all the time), and a whole lot more. apparently, it is not only us who proceed to the merienda buffet whenever we want to bust our guts. as i have recently discovered, other teams are into it too. my new team had a birthday celebration of sorts in the same spot. it was a very festive and yet economical way of celebrating. kudos!


earlier i had another merienda buffet moment, this time it is with someone and someplace new. apparently, masas in greenbelt 2 has its own version of the buffet. the food being served are very similar, although here they have halu-halo (which i dont think they have here in our building). upon hearing the invite, i decided to drop everything here at work and troop to greenbelt to meet up. before you say, "work abandonment!", might i remind you that i am on leave today?! good.


anyway, it was a sound decision on my part to have met up. as of this writing, i am still full! personally, i liked the dinuguan here in our building better, but their pancit is yummy. the sago't gulaman needs a little more syrup, but i guess that's just my sweet tooth talking. anyway, enough about the food. let me tell you what happened during our stay in masas. our conversation was very interesting: esoteric, if i may say so. we talked about card reading, past lives, meditating, visualizing, the secret, all that stuff. it was great finding someone who is into these kinds of things. i learned a lot of new things during my hour-long stay. for instance, in terms of getting what you want, you have to be very specific. you should visualize it exactly as you would like it to happen. allow me to cite an example: say you would like to have P50,000 in savings by end of march 2008. how would you like to receive this? you have to be very specific - is it in the form of a check being handed to you? or a direct deposit in your bank account? visualizing helps in obtaining what you want, according to my friend.

of course, i tell my friend that this should be taken with a grain of salt. while i am all for using your mind, tapping into it and maximizing its use, i still belive that we should start acting to make things happen. you cannot merely think yourself into a way of becoming/being (hope that made sense). if there is something you want to achieve, you work for it. sitting down and visualizing would help a lot, true, but so would physical activity.

anyway, at the very least, i had a wonderful time. it is very refreshing to meet up and have nice, long conversations with someone interesting. it doesn't hurt that you're both hot either! hehehehe. greenbelt 2 in the afternoon has a different vibe - while you have your usual yuppies dressed in corporate chic, you also have other people living nearby hanging out for snacks, wearing slippers and shorts. it's not as stuffy and elitist as greenbelt evenings. but it's all good, it never bothered me anyway. meaning, i dont give a rat's ass if i hang out there looking like shit.

on our next meetup (i wouldnt like to call it a date), i would like to head over to our alma mater for some classic street food - isaw, fishballs, etc. that, or in Chocolate Kiss. maybe even both.

later.