Polu Kai & Wilgin

Two Names to sum up the weekend.

SATURDAY: Afternoon at Galleria to pick up Twilight books for Sis while taking advantage of Lola's NBS employee discount. After this it's the bargain basement Nicholas Sparks books on hardcover.

Later tonight it was time to meet her circle of friends at the Hawaiian-themed Polu Kai restaurant in Serendra (but not before hanging out at Fully Booked). One of them (belated B-Day celebrant Pearl) was escorted by BoiT to her ball when she was a sophie in ICA. Tonight was a post birthday and prewedding dinner w/ fiance Mark. To complete the roster there was Tanya (niece of not-name-dropping-just-stating-fact Lani Mercado), her beau Jay (saxophonist), Leslie and Vince (commercial model and current ambassador of MSG--seriously).

Food was similar to your average big-family meal resto, save for the half-off cocktails menu for first time customers (she had a mai tai). After dinner it was a nightcap at CB&TL and occasionally receiving texts from Ma. Sigh.

At least this time a good excuse for the lateness was to be had, namely getting lost on the road again (really hate driving out of The Fort at night) before finding our way back to Ortigas. The long winding trip gave us an opportunity for A Talk. Boundaries weren't exactly set, but she knew where I stood on things. While she hasn't fallen, at least she's leaning in that direction. While I said she scores Yes answers on my 3 Qs to know when I'm into someone (plus the uncanny amount of things we have in common), she said I make her laugh. One down, 3 to go. And no besos this time. We're moving on to body contact.

SUNDAY: TinTin's wedding day. She met Wilgin at the wedding of 2 other Beijinoys, Ajin and Edison (who were present, along w/ Joy, Eileen and Ivy at both ceremonies). Vows were exchanged at the church in Damar Village (I did First Reading, Boit on Responsorial Psalm and Wilson on Second Reading). 'Son and I spent most of the ceremony commenting on the camera and video people. The lady photographer stood out mostly because of her hunched, s-shaped frame, like someone externally following her spinal curvature. If this was the long-term effect of lugging around 2 bulky digital SLRs w/ big-@$$ lenses attached to them at a time, I would've invested either in hiring an assistant to let him handle impending scoliosis or buy a push-cart.

After the wedding we stopped by the newlyweds home, located on the 3rd floor of a vertical condo almost similar to the one I stayed in in Beijing, only less cramped. The multi-colored blips and faux crystal cover on the ceiling lights were enough to convince me that a Chonker thought of the design. (The 2 40-inch Samsung LCDS were a good distraction.) Snacks were served in the form of sodas, bottled water, mamon and chiffon cakes.

Reception was at the Makati Shang, where they set up a snack stands (mildly spicy mixed nuts and mild wasabi-flavored potato chips) and a water bar outside the Rizal Ballroom.

We were again treated to the hosting skills of Michael. Didn't win the Bingo game, but at least they decided to forego any bouquet/garter-centered games.