Some Stroke of Bad Luck at Tagaytay

Papa's birthday is February 25, a national holiday, and then followed by my birthday. I wasn't able to greet him because there's no signal in his hometown. I was waiting for Papa and Mama to call me, but they didn't. Also, I was hesitant to celebrate my birthday because my grandpa passed away on February 10. It doesn't feel right to be happy, but I realized, it also doesn't make sense not to be happy and grateful for the gift of life. I know my Lolo will be happy to see me happy.

The initial plan was to cook a Carbonara and buy a cake only. Two days before the sad news, Antoni, Argine, and I had a video call on Messenger. Argine shared something and was sad about this and that. The three of us had been together since LiDAR (previous work) until Cebu days. Argine is the only one who's still in Cebu. With that, Antoni and I told her to come over and celebrate our birthdays together.

February 24 is a holiday in Cebu; February 25 is a national holiday; February 26 and 27 are weekends. So we told her to file a leave on February 28. She immediately said yes - from no plans on birthday to must-have-an-itinerary.

Before I write about my recent Tagaytay getaway, let me share with you first some stroke of luck in Tagaytay.

Standing Position

Since we're from General Trias, we rode a tricycle and then a jeepney to arrive at the bus stop, which is on the Robinsons Pala-Pala. Since it was a national holiday, passengers were swarming and the buses were always full.

Travel time lasted for an hour because of traffic. For the first time, I experienced a standing position in riding a bus in Cavite for the whole travel period. I only had four hours of sleep, so the standing position didn't stop me from sleeping. Yes, I've acquired such skills during my college days.

Walking Uncomfortably

It was already past 1 PM when we arrived, and we were all starving. It took me not more than five steps to feel something happen to my shoes. I wasn't able to check it right away because we were crossing the road. By the time we crossed the road, my left shoe had been like a hungry crocodile, ready to devour his prey.

I didn't know how to feel at first: sad because my 4-year-old Reebok baby is giving up on me or happy because why not? Sometimes, our little misfortunes can lead to laughter.

Antoni went to the nearest convenience store to buy a Mighty Bond, while Patrick went straight to the restaurant for a reservation. Several minutes had passed since Antoni put something on my shoes, still, the sole wouldn't stick. He again checked the label and guess what, he bought a glue remover.

I was thinking of buying a pair of slippers or maybe buying a pair of shoes in Hacienda. But I realized I didn't have a budget for that. My brilliant engineer instructed me to tie the shoelaces around, so my shoes will have support. I was thinking of doing it, but it never occurred to me to use the shoelaces instead.

Right Shoe

We were at the Sky Ranch, strolling around. It was crowded, but we still pushed to go in there. I was hoping I could see the sunset while riding the Ferris Wheel. We still had our next destination so it was just quick fun at the Sky Ranch. We were heading to the exit when I tripped over. And there, the sole of my right shoes opened.

I was so close to crying because I love this pair. Antoni gave this to me on my birthday, in 2018. Also, it's the only pair of rubber shoes that I have. I bought one during Christmas, but I decided to give it to my youngest sister.

Matcha and Espresso

I've been meaning to have coffee with a view. I've been to Tagaytay four times already and I didn't get the chance to go to Starbucks because it's always full of customers. However, Antoni proposed to go to Twin Lakes and have our coffee there.

Twin Lakes has Starbucks. I ordered the Matcha and Espresso fusion because my system needs coffee and I love Matcha. After the picture taking, I ate first the cake I ordered (heavenly delicious) and then drank my Matcha-Espresso. And the three laughed at my face. The taste was horrible, and it smelled like a fish, a strong one. They laughed again because regrets were all written on my face.

I have this habit of finishing the food or drinks I have because throwing or not finishing it feels like I'm throwing my money. However, for this drink, I decided not to finish it.

After chilling in the Twin Lakes, we decided to head home at around 7:00 PM. We waited for more than an hour for the bus to arrive. It was cold and windy, and I was wearing shorts. Before the day ended, I received messages with a series of bad news.

It keeps on coming. It's one of the inevitable of our lives. I didn't want to ruin my already full-of-misfortune day with those messages, so I watched Netflix together with Argine.

The next day, on my birthday, I experienced pain in my right foot. It's tolerable, but enough to make me uncomfortable. I was hoping to go hiking with Argine and Anthony but decided to postpone it. Plus I need to have a new pair of shoes. Anthony offered to buy me one as his gift, but I declined the tempting offer. This time I'll buy shoes with my money.

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