My Funny Valentine

February 14 is a red-letter day for most people who are very much in love.... and that includes yours truly. :-)

Last night, my Significant Other (S.O.) treated me for a sumptuous dinner at Sentro, a restaurant located at Greenbelt 3 (Makati) known for its modern Filipino cuisine. What can I say, but, dining in that place just seem to be perfect! From great-tasting food, to courteous service, to nice ambiance.... indeed it was a wonderful experience we had as we celebrated our 2nd VDay together as a couple. First time for us to dine there together, if I may add.

The waiter was kind enough to take us a photo after stuffing ourselves with yummy-tasting food and cool drinks...

The night wouldn't be complete without having some coffee at a nearby Starbuck's coffee shop at the ground level. Thanks to our freebie coupon (included in the freebie planner I recently got), the second drink of the same or lesser price is on Starbuck's. I got myself a hot marshmallow mocha while my S.O. ordered for a mocha frappucino. We enjoyed our drinks as we sat in the coffee shop, engaging ourselves into good conversations.

And hmm.... the shutter-bug in me strikes again once more! I took this one as we were finishing our coffee. :-)

And oh, Starbuck's coffee shops (especially that branch in Magallanes) have been great witnesses to our love story. What started as a good friendship developed into a loving relationship. It wasn't surprising to soon find myself as a....

Streetfighter in Love! :-D

Finally!

After quite a long wait (hmm....almost a month?), I finally got this last night (a few hours ago, that is!) from an unexpected branch. :-)

Well, pardon for the inaccuracy of the date in my photo (hehe, that's Guam and not Manila time so it's 2 hours ahead)... I had dinner with a college friend who's set to leave very soon for a 1-year volunteer work in Papua New Guinea (and oh, she just can't wait to leave the office she's been with since we graduated from college! talk about loyalty, hmm). Ironically, we had dinner at a rival coffee shop which originated from Australia (the country, where, incidentally, my friend recently met her much-awaited boyfriend...yihee!). And because I was so eager to find out if, by chance, the coffee shop across from where we are have an available planner already (I tell you, it's been out of stock ever since I tried to claim my freebie!), I told my friend to accompany me there. The rest is history.... I even find myself ordering a mango tart for my friend and I to share...and...upon the barista's prodding, got myself a brewed coffee, too.

Well, that is one of the interesting pages in the planner as I flipped it open. And so, I am marking the date when I finally got my Starbucks Coffee Planner for 2006....

09 February 2006 (Thursday)
Starbucks
Harbor Square, Manila

A sneak peek at what's inside....

I'll fill out these blank pages in a while!

I'll end this post with another mug shot of my newly-acquired and long-awaited planner sans the "Thank You SparkHope" tag. :-)

Indeed, I hope to find my favorite!

Check this out :-)

I'm happy and proud to share an article which featured my brother and his passion for humpback whales in yesterday's (07 February, Manila time) issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. For details, you may want to check out the following:

Research volunteers await arrival of humpback whales
Posted 03:23am (Mla time) Feb 07, 2006
By Inquirer

Incidentally, he was selected to be one of the Global Fellows in the Marine Conservation for 2006 hosted by the Duke University in North Carolina, USA. Thus, from 10 July to 11 August, he will be attending the Duke University Marine Laboratory's 2006 Summer Term II Integrated Marine Conservation Program. :-)

He was supposed to attend the said program last year (about the same time I was attending my academic program at South Carolina....whew, that was close!). Unfortunately, he was too busy observing the humpback whales and doing volunteer work at the Babuyan Islands when the e-mail notice came. Obviously, there was no internet access in the area so he found out all about it when he got back to Manila. His slot had to be given to somebody else and I know, he got disappointed about that wonderful opportunity.

Well, everything happens for a reason... AND... God is good all the time!

Kudos to you, Kuya Elson. Your dreadlocks rock!!! :D