One of our branches celebrated its anniversary yesterday. It's 3rd birthday actually. Everything was perfectly plan, the set up was going right on schedule. The only thing that could have ruined an otherwise perfect day was the unexpected rain. (Although, in this season, rain is always unexpected). In preparation for the unexpected rain, we:

1] Checked www.accuweather.com-- our online weather source (It said overcast and humid- I guess it's not that accurate at all)
2] Followed the superstition that we always swear by-- offer eggs, a dozen Chicken eggs preferably, to Sta. Clara.

We relied on the second point though. Heavy rain poured at 3PM. I asked our bartender, who was tasked to offer eggs since he lived near the Church of Sta. Clara, if he really did offer the eggs. He said he even went to mass and gave a whole tray of eggs. By 5pm, I asked him if he was sure he gave chicken eggs and not quail eggs. He was sure. By 6pm, we all made assumptions that not only were they quail eggs but rotten eggs. Of course, in between those questions, I kept gazing up at the sky, intently asking God to let the rain stop. (I know, I know. Rain connotes blessing.)

Thankfully, the downpour trickled to a drizzle. When I could finally get my clothes, make up kit and shoes from my car, I locked myself in the bathroom for like 30 minutes to change and put on make up. I came out wearing my new flirty, "shake your bonbon" black, flared skirt and a red sleeveless, deep v- necked top and my new strappy high heels. I felt like I came out of a Ricky Martin dance video.

The program went on smoothly. The band we hired got the crowd going and even got people to dance, including me. (I love dancing! Once, I held the record for dancing four hours straight, only stopping for like a minute to take a rest. Unfortunately, lately, I haven't felt like dancing. I thought I was outgrowing dancing in bars. I don't drink or smoke but dancing is my vice, my natural high.) I'm thankful that A danced with me even if he wasn't feeling well and ended up getting dizzy. Regular guests from the other branches came to support the event. At one time, I entered the main bar and felt I was transported to another branch. People were standing up and dancing, hardly giving any space for our waitstaff to move and most of our guests were regulars of another branch. Liquors and alcohol were flowing. San Miguel gave us 40 cases of San Mig Lights and 10 cases of Pale Pilsen. Jose Cuervo Tequila gave us 4 cases (48 bottles) and Johnnie Walker gave us 3 cases (18 bottles). Drinker's heaven, I know. Unfortunately, I'm not a drinker and all I had the whole night was iced tea. My bosses were so drunk. My Uncle, the President, went home by 12mn because he was wasted. Before leaving, he put his arm around me, gave me a thumbs up, said a slurry "Job well done" while swaying from side to side. My other "tito", his bestfriend, our VP for food and beverages, fondly called as our resident GRO, was a goner by 10:30 PM. As usual, while they took care of public relations, going from table to table, I took care of the show.

It was a great night. A successful event, considering it was a Monday night. Now that's two anniversaries down, two more anniversaries (three, if you include the branch that was franchised) and one grand opening to go.