The Amazing Dagupan Weekend Trip

The weather last Friday wasn't too promising for my weekend trip to Dagupan, but who knew that despite the cloudy skies and my financial drought I'd have one of the most awesome weekends ever?

Friday
I was having second thoughts about the trip because it had been raining the entire day, with no signs of letting up. I haven't even packed a thing–not a single piece of clothing, not even my toothbrush. I was chatting with Tricia on Yahoo Messenger the entire time and she was having some difficulty getting a driver (her mom wouldn't let her drive long distances). I was thinking that if the weather doesn't let up at all or Tricia couldn't get someone to drive, then maybe we should just cancel the whole thing. Hey, I didn't want to get stranded somewhere in Central Luzon, did I?

But Tricia did get a driver and so the trip was on. She picked me up from the Meralco Ave. gate. We were already on our way when she suddenly said that her girlfriend, Camille, would be coming, too. We made a quick uey and picked up Camille from Makati.

Nothing much happened on the way to Dagupan because we were all so tired. We just made a quick stop at Jollibee somewhere along the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) for dinner, and then at a pharmacy to buy cold medicine for Camille.

A few hours later, Tricia and I found ourselves in familiar territory. I think we were supposed to stay at Gina's place that night but we didn't feel comfortable knocking on their door when it was already way past midnight. So we decided that we should just get a room at Star Value Inn and split the bill. The receptionist looked bored as she wasn't particularly friendly and the accommodation wasn't all that, but the only thing we cared about was having an airconditioner, two beds, and a water heater. And so after taking turns in the bathroom, we called it a night.

Saturday
I woke up at around 8am before my other two companions did. It was raining outside so I felt slightly cold while showering. I was already dressed up and ready when Tricia and Camille decided to get out of bed. Gabby's Christening wasn't until 11 that morning so there was no rush. After all, we were in the heart of Dagupan City, where everything is only 10-15 minutes away.

We checked out at 10:30, arrived at St. John's Cathedral 10:40. Since it was still early, we decided to pass by our grade school and high school campus to see how it looked like now. It was only less than five minutes away, anyway.

Tricia and I were surprised to find our old high school filled with students in their regular school uniforms. There didn't seem to be any special activities going on; it was just students loitering around during morning recess. The high school building was a glorious mess! We noticed that they haven't even changed the name painted on the side of the main building yet, despite the fact that the school changed its name about six or seven years ago. I decided that the school admin was still unabashedly cheap.

We were about to just leave it all when I saw Mr. Samson, my favorite high school teacher! He was sitting outside the school cafeteria by his lonesome, reading a newspaper. Man, I just had to jump out of that car and greet the old boy. He still looked the same, though slightly older. He was 71 years old when he taught me Physics and Calculus in my senior year, so he'd be pushing 80 soon, no? Wow! And he's still there teaching the same subjects! Now that's what you call brain power. Ah, well. It's a shame I forgot to take a picture of him.

Anyway, we went back to the church and the Christening didn't start until about 12:30pm. *sigh* Filipino time, what can I say? The proud parents, Gina and Micky, were there and so was Jeffrey (our high school valedictorian). Jeff and Tricia stood as godparents along with Gina and Micky's other friends. I proxied for Gladys, who got married later that day (a lot of the high school peeps, including us, weren't invited–boo).

Gabby's so cute! He had these uber-chubby cheeks that, if he weren't a baby, I'd be pinching 'til he turned blue! His hands were always closed into fists and people were saying that he'd grow up to be a boxer. Hehe.

Anyhow, fast forward to picking up Nemy and then all four of us going to my Dad's place in Bonuan. This was the first time I visited my Dad in about three years, that I almost forgot what his house looked like. (I'm such a good daughter, huh?) When I entered the place what struck me was that it looked almost exactly the same, except that my college graduation photo now hung on the wall behind my father's desk. It just felt a little sad that my brothers' pictures weren't there, too. It wasn't simply because they didn't give our Dad a copy, but moreso because I knew that they weren't on good terms with each other (long story there). Anyway, I had to hold back a tear when I saw my Dad. He was a whoooole lot thinner compared to the last time I saw him. He told me he got sick, but everything should be fine now. He's not allowed to eat fatty stuff and all that crap food. I didn't stay very long but we still got to talk and he did give me one piece of advice: "If you're gonna get a boyfriend, make sure he's older because men take a longer time to mature." Hahaha!

We were supposed to have dinner with Vida (plus Jose, the boyfriend) but we couldn't reach her cell. We drove all around town trying to look for her, but I guess she just didn't want to be found. So we headed straight to Matutina's for dinner. I believe it was Camille's first time there and she seemed to have enjoyed the food as much as Tricia, Nemy, and I did.

A couple of hours later we found ourselves driving to Joshua Tree, where we met up with Vida, Jose, Allan and Oliver. When we entered the place, we found that Angeli and Joya were also there! Soon after, Noy and Bugoy also came! Mini-reunion, FTW! And what's a good high school reunion without alcohol and a whole lot of sex talk? Hahaha! We had shots of that "Power" cocktail (I've yet to ask the recipe to that wonderful drink) and they had rounds of beer while I drowned myself in my Tequila Sunrise. (Tricia will upload pics soon!)

Sunday
Our group at Joshua Tree was the second to the last one to leave the place. We decided to leave because they were already closing, and that was around 3:30am. But since we felt that it wasn't enough, everyone agreed to hang out some more over at Noy's place where we continued our nostalgia trip. At 5am we were basically beat, and since people had things to do in the morning, we finally parted ways.

Haaaa… That night was made of pure win. >__<\m/

At 2pm we had lunch at the Plato Wraps Dine-In place and I had pancakes. Hahaha! I guess I just craved breakfast food that day. After that we hung out over at Nepo Mall. I bought myself an extra shirt because, obviously, I didn't pack enough clothes. I was only expecting to stay in town until Sunday afternoon. But since Tricia and Camille planned on leaving Monday morning, I decided to just go with them. Besides, I was so tired; I didn't feel like taking a bus to Manila.

The decision turned out to be a wise one since I started feeling ill a few hours later, and I ended up with a slight fever that night. My head was throbbing so bad and I was really, really warm. They were planning on going out for dinner and then karaoke, but I told them that I couldn't and that they could go if they wanted to. Well, they left to go eat dinner with Vida, but then they decided against karaoke and brought me some medicine and food and kept me company instead. Yup, they're great people.

Oh and I think Tricia saw a ghost that morning. When I felt a little better, I went out to the balcony where they were hanging out and she was telling us that around dawn, when it was still dark, she saw Allan standing by the window. When we asked him, he said he didn't look out the window until a couple of hours after sunrise. Creepy!

Monday
Tricia, Camille, and I left Dagupan around 7:30am. Again, nothing much happened along the way. Soon they dropped me off the same place where Tricia picked me up a couple of days before, and that's where the amazing Dagupan trip ended.

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That afternoon, I watched The Bourne Ultimatum with Pao.

I heart Jason Bourne's arms and back forever. <3