saturday's twofold birthday bash

saturday night, off the grill, timog ave, and not a lot of people, yet. the night began with a couple of minutes of choosing where to sit. finally a winner, and we took our seat and got the party started. in the company of our good friend san mig light, the night will only get better...

it started with five people on the table. and after a few messages from the birthday girl, the five became seven, then nine, then ten, then twelve, then fourteen. the night had its fair share of misfortunes though. midway through, the lights went out. at first we thought its part of the act, an introduction perhaps of the performing band. the next thing i saw were waiters handing out candles. this short-circuit sh*t was for real. but no worries. with friends, good conversations, and a kick of alcohol, i can't even remember how long the power breakdown was.

*i don't know the name of the performing band. all i can remember was the male vocalist's goatee (upsetting my own goatee) and the female vocalist who looks like a dude.

two of our friends mentioned another birthday party happening at another friend's house. yeah sure, we'll drive by. not really knowing if that was possible, i didn't bring wheels so we were at the mercy of our ride's owner slash driver. he's not from our school and may not be interested in going into a stranger's party. but i guess the numbers game had its way, and a cooperative steering wheel brought us to a second birthday bash.

the doors opened, old friends, old schoolmates jam-packed the place. swimming in a sea of familiar faces, the nostalgia was great. hugs, pounds and handshakes were everywhere. and why not? i wont be seeing them for a good couple of months or even years. different lives and a faded communication line only hints of a get-together of rare proportions.

one last thing. on my jeepney ride home, i paid my fare with a P20 bill. i was seated beside the driver and he probably detected an alcohol intake on my part. he gave me my change, it was P1.25 short. normally i would just forget about it and just think of it as my way of charity. but the alcohol was in charge of my brain at that point, so i asked for my P1.25. i thought, i may be drunk but im not stupid. another round of beer please!