The Boracay Diaries: Day 3, 4, 5
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Day 3: 15 October 2004, Friday
The day started with me taking pictures of the facade of the bar. In my bikini and hat, I strolled to the shore with my camera. It was noon and the sun was shining brightly. I stepped into the water and it was refreshingly cool. A perfect balance to the heat from the sun. I wanted to swim but the girls (Liza, Ricci and Lani) did not want to because it was too hot out and they were scared of getting dark. No matter how hard I tried to convince them that the water was cool, you wouldn't feel the heat and that they can wear sunblock so they wouldn't get dark, they weren't sold to the idea. I wasn't able to go for a dip anyhow because lunch was served soon and after, we began setting up for the event that night.
There wasn't much to do for me. I just had to take care of the merchandising of my sponsors. Basically, that's knowing where to put what streamers where. By around 3PM, Tito Henry asked if we wanted to go parasailing. Are you kidding me? Hell yeah! Now, I never went parasailing before because I was astounded by the price. $45 for just fifteen minutes?! You've got to be kidding me! $45 was enough for a week's worth of pocket money! Here's a picture of us parasailing. I went up with Liza and Tito Junjing. Lani, Ricci and Tito Henry went together. Ricci notes later on that we looked like escort services! Hahaha!
While parasailing was fun, it was actually quiet up there. All of us were just taking in the view and engaged in small talk. I admit I was quiet because I felt dizzy. It was so strange though because I never get motion sickness nor was I afraid of heights. After parasailing, the boat stopped somewhere far from the shore (as it can't go near the shore) and waited for a speedboat to pick us up and take us back to shore. Tito Junjing jumped into the water and decided to swim to shore. I followed suit. Liza, who really had to pee, was in a rush to use a bathroom, decided to jump as well. I thought the shore was near and that it would be easy for me to just swim there but boy, was I wrong. It was actually far! I got tired of swimming and paddling that I decided to just float on my back for awhile before going on. Oftentimes, I'd lower one leg to feel for the ground and twice, I couldn't touch it, which meant I was still far. By the time I felt the ground, I stood up and was surprised to find that the water came up to my shoulders! I've been swimming and swimming only to find out I was in a shallow area already. Meanwhile, Liza gave up easily because she got tired. She asked for the boat to pick her up before leaving. Tito Junjing and I joked that maybe she was able to pee in the water and didn't want to swim anymore.
When we got up, I felt the need to eat to take away my dizziness so I treated the girls out to their first chori (short for chorizo aka longganisa) burger. We sat on the beanbags outside the bar and watched the local kids make a sandcastle while we bonded and engaged in girl talk. When the sun went down, we went to our rooms to change into our party clothes.
By the time I came out of my room, I was wearing a white halter top and a short, flirty, drawstring white skirt. The theme for the night was white. My uncle joked that he was going to wear his white polo and briefs since he didn't have any white shorts. Thank God, he didn't! First up was Rebekah, an acoustic singer who had a powerful voice. She was good! But I was in the mood to party so I couldn't wait for her to finish. But when Real Groove took over the show, I immediately ran to Tito Henry's side, who was also my dancing partner, and started dancing! We rushed to the dance floor but it filled up so quickly, you barely had space to dance and so we got out. Everybody in the Island was probably at our bar celebrating with us because the crowd was just as big as our crowd during Holy Week. Randy Santiago, (yes, the famous actor known for his sunglasses), who was putting up Ratsky's, in Boracay Terraces at the end of Station 1, came to join the festivities and congratulate us. That was pretty nice of him considering that he was our soon to be competition. :p Sometime during the party, I went home to change into a two piece because wearing a halter was just too hot and the dancing made me sweat so much. When I came back, the dance floor was filled with people and we, the girls and I, wanted to dance so I thought of a plan. Take the dance floor to the beach! And so we started dancing in the shore.
My uncle was drunk by then while my titos were tipsy. Before my uncle jumped into the water, I hugged him
Me: (jokingly, knowing he's drunk) Great grand opening (of the bar) in Cebu!
Uncle: Ayoko na! (Thinking I said that we'll open another branch in Cebu)
Me: Hindi! Nasa Cebu tayo ngayon, diba?
Uncle: (Pauses to think for a loooong time then nudges me) Wala naman tayo sa Cebu eh!
Later on, I remembered the time Tito Henry and I would wet our friends with ice cold water coming from the cooler. While everybody hated the feeling of the chilling water run down their backs, they absolutely enjoyed it. We used to do this two Halloweens ago where we'd throw buckets of ice water to the crowd as they danced and they'd scream because of the cold yet they'd chant, "More! More!" (I'm digressing again) Somebody told me to get ice cold water and I poured it to them and that was the start of many "dunking of ice cold water over the heads" episodes.
Randy Santiago passes by and tells us not to dance in the water because we might drown. I think he was a bit sloshed already at this time. Somebody proceeded to make toasts, "To (insert name of bar)!" "To Ratsky!" "To Boracay!" "To San Miguel!" and then, Randy shouts "To Boratsky!!!" We all laughed. (Well, at that time it was funny!)
Pretty soon, my titos and I were all trying to drag people into the water and dunked them fully clothed despite their protests and we succeeded. Two other girls, Chinnie and Babes, who were also regulars in Manila, arrived earlier that afternoon and were already wasted. Tito PV was dragging Chinnie back to shore but somehow, she keeps ending up back in the water and thus, Tito PV had to keep running back to get her.
I was standing nearby talking to Marby, Liza and Ricci, watching Tito PV dragging Chinnie out of the water. And then I said, "See? That's why I don't like taking care of my drunk friends. You end up not having fun and babysitting. Kung ako yan at kaibigan ko si Chinnie, kakaladkarin ko rin siya tapos sasabihin ko, 'Iresponsable kang babae ka! Di ka marunong uminom?! (If I were him and Chinnie is my friend, I'd drag her too and say "You Irresponsible woman! Don't you know how to drink?!)'" We all laughed.
Hours later, Ricci and I were seated by the shore. A guy approached us. Said guy approached me earlier and asked if I was the niece of Francis. I said yes. He asked if I wanted a drink, the beer bottle in his hand. I said, "No, thanks. I don't drink." (sabi nga ni A, baka may antiban yan!). He asked if I was sure. Duh! Of course, I'm sure. Anyhow, the second time he approached me and Ricci, he asked, "Excuse me! Napag-utusan lang po... Pero mayroon gusto po magpakilala sa inyo (Excuse me! I was just instructed... Somebody wants to meet you." I shook my head and said no. I told the guy we're not the type of girls you could just do that to. And he tried even harder, "Kahit friendship lang.. (just for friendship)" Ugh! Now that is even a worse and overused pick up line! I couldn't help but exasperately say, "All the more!" Poor guy left us alone but only to come back to apologize to which Ricci and I say, "It's okay!" I believe that if a guy wants to meet some girl, he should do it with more suave and finesse and not through flatteries and some pick up line. Otherwise, he'd make the girl look cheap.
Shortly after, a commotion was going on outside the bar. The locals who were watching the party from outside crowded around the beach. At first, we all thought it was fight but when we went to look, it was actually a sawa or boa constrictor that a local found. For safety, he tied the snake and put a leash on him and dragged him to the beach. So much for entertainment!
Even more hours later, Chinnie sobered up and since she loved to dance, I asked her if she was game to dance on top of a table. When she said yes, I led her to one of the cemented tables where we each took one and dance to "Shut Up" by Black Eyed Peas (Now, I only do this while I'm in Boracay and I dance on top of tables when the dance floor is crowded because no one else can grab your space). As we were dancing, an Italian man drunkenly danced towards us. But because he was so drunk, he lost his footing. He grabbed onto the monobloc chairs but it wasn't enough to hold his fall and so, in the process, he hits his forehead on the edge of a cement table. He ended up with two lumps on his head and a gash oozing with blood. Yikes! Tito PV joked that we could kill people and that we need to be licensed. Chinnie and I were both passing the blame to each other though we both felt guilty.
Sometime around 2am, Tito Henry was looking for Lani, who couldn't join the festivities because of a tummy ache. He and Ricci went to the room to wake and pick her up. (Funny how the next day, when I told Tito Henry that he went to pick up Lani, he couldn't remember anything). Funnier even when he couldn't remember the next day this conversation that transpired the night before
Tito H: Pakakasalan ko ito si Lani. Cat, ikaw ang honor maid! (I'll marry Lani. Cat, you'll be the honor maid!)
Me: Ano ako?! Mayordoma?! (What am I?! The mother butler?!)
Towards the end of the night, we were all beat but Lani was up and dancing. Tito Henry fell asleep sitting up on the bean bag. To get him to wake up, Lani invited him to dance. He suddenly got up and danced with her. Of course, the next day, Tito Henry doesn't remember this and when I re-enacted what happened the night before. He and Uncle Francis were laughing and laughing. Tito Henry said, "Ang cheap ko naman!" Uncle said, "Para kang babae sa beer house sa probinsya! Walang gusto sumayaw sa yo kaya nakakatulog ka sa kakahintay tapos pag may lumapit sa yo na may hawak na ticket, tatayo kaagad para sumayaw! (You're like a woman in a beer house in the province. Nobody wants to dance with you so you end up falling asleep while waiting. And then when a customer comes to hand you a ticket, you stand up right away and dance!)"
We all went home at 3:30 AM. I didn't drink much that night. In fact, I had only two or three shots of tequila because my dizziness from the parasailing got to me after the first shot.
Day 4: 16 October 2004, Saturday
Tito Henry and I bought lunch in the carinderia next door and ate in the bar. Lunch consisted of Chicken Ciarciado, Lechon Paksiw, some veggies and stories and happenings from the night before (see paragraphs above).
I waited for 3PM where I planned to take the girls to their first (and last) trip to Talipapa and buy pasalubongs. I was surprised how Talipapa has changed in 6 months. More restaurants ala Honeybee's opened up. In fact, they all looked the same, I couldn't locate Honeybee's at first. And I think they raised their prices too! The only pasalubong I got were necklaces for my three little brothers, who texted me to buy them one, and 2 books, which would have cost P700 plus if I bought them in Manila, in the second hand bookstore for only P220!
We went back after an hour and a half to take a swim while the sun set. While waiting for them to change into their swimsuits, I ordered Mocha Rum, as recommended by Cat, from Jonah's. It was soooo good and I told her it sure beats Starbucks anytime!
After dinner, we were sooo in the mood to party. I couldn't wait for Real Groove to take over the show again. When they started their set and shouted, "Happy 2nd Anniversary!!!", we, the management team and our friends, shouted and cheered though our shouts were overpowered by the horn we attached to a coconut tree, which gave out a ship's horn's sound. We were beaming with pride and we were so happy that our event was so successful. It wasn't long before I dragged the girls to the dance floor. Three minutes haven't even passed before the dance floor was so packed with people. We all took turns dancing in the middle of circle. Sort of having our own mini- show down. Tito Henry, who we fondly call the GRO of the bar because of his ability to just befriend anybody, grabbed the Europeans dancing beside our circle and let them dance in the middle. At first, they were shy and shaking their head but eventually, they did dance and you could see in thier faces that they enjoyed it. We also got Mayor Cawaling of Boracay, our guest of honor, to dance with us, in the middle of the circle, no less!
To our surprise, all my uncle and titos joined in the dancing! With the exception of Lito and Tito Henry, they never dance! When uncle arrived in the dance floor, Chinnie started pulling his polo as if to take it off. My uncle signalled all of us to stop pulling and then, suddenly, he rips his polo open. We cheered. Two minutes later, somebody arrives on the dance floor with a tequila bottle and we all took turns swigging from the bottle. The guys, of course, did not daintily swig from the bottle like we ladies did. They opened their mouths and let the tequila flow from the bottles into their mouths.
Now there was this one guy who we didn't know he kept pushing himself into our circle and joining in the dancing and teasing as if he was one of us. Now I know that Boracay is also about meeting people and having fun with them but this guy was just plain annoying! He was always dancing behind me in our tight little circle and whenever he saw an opening, he'd try to get in but not unless I step right in front of him to block him and close the circle. Whenever I do that, he goes somewhere around the circle to find an opening. (Later on, I found out that everyone was just annoyed at him as I was. My uncle and titos were so annoyed that they found a way to subtly revenge on him by getting him drunk. While the tequila was being passed around, Lito grabbed his neck in an arm lock and told him to open his mouth so he could pour tequila down his throat. He gladly followed. Unfortunately for him (fortunately for us), when he start shaking his head to tell us he had enough tequila already, Lito continued pouring the booze. Poor annoying guy had to shut his mouth close yet Lito continued pouring Cuervo. That ought to teach him!)
As much as I loved dancing, I couldn't bear staying on the dance floor for another five minutes. It was so packed that heat was radiating and not even the mist machine could help cool us down. I had to take off my halter top (don't worry, I was wearing a bikini under). Everybody was sweating and because it was so packed, you weren't just wearing your own sweat anymore (gross, I know!). I left to cool down. Five minutes later, I went back on the floor. It was even more packed that one could barely dance. I was standing there and yet I was already sweating profusely. When the girls went back to our table, I brought the dance floor to the beach again where my uncles and titos followed again. The same thing happened as the night before. We pushed those who were fully clothed into the water. Chinnie and Babes weren't drunk this time though.
At one time, Lito and Liza, who used to work together in our branch in Subic, had a little talk and Liza ended up crying (from happiness, I was told). Marby, the account manager from San Miguel, had developed a crush on Liza, was lying on the sand, holding on to her foot. Seeing that Liza was crying, we all went to her to ask what was wrong. My uncle and titos, being the goofs-- and drunks-- that they are, started piling sand all over Marby's shaved head. Despite sand getting into his eyes, he still held on to Liza's foot and just shut his eyes tightly. We all laughed at how he was still holding on. Tito Henry tried pulling off Marby's shorts and that caused him to let go of the foot. Five seconds later, he was holding Liza's foot again. Amazing how he found it even without his eyes closed. I couldn't help but joke, "That's Lito's foot!!!" He let go and ran to the beach as if he was scalded to wash the sand out of his eyes and head.
A few minutes later, our sponsor from Gentext said goodnight to us. We didn't let her go and so we had to drag her into the water and dunk her too.
While we were swimming, Tito Henry invited us again to another "Palitan ng shorts (exchange of shorts)." I declined and told them that I loved my white shorts and if they tried wearing it, it might tear. Besides, my shorts were so small and tight, I bet it could go barely past their knee! While in the middle of splashing water, wading and laughing, the music in the bar stopped. The crowd groaned. All of a sudden, my uncle and tito stood up and walked towards the shore to check on the problem. And then suddenly, music started playing again. And just as the music began playing, they started dancing. It was just so funny because by the way they were walking, you'd think they were the mafia about to hit on somebody.
Minutes later, my uncle retires as he was just too drunk already. Tito Henry and Lito, who were equally drunk, had a show down. The funny thing is, Tito Henry would make some weird dance and when he was done, he'd point both hands to Lito and Lito had to copy him. When he got the dance right, he'd point to Tito Henry with both hands to tell him it was his turn. Their dances included dancing to a bamboo post, lying on the beanbag, flexing their muscles. Of course, the next day, they don't remember doing all of these and that made it even funnier. Later on, Tito Henry made us line up in front of him and he'd make some dance and say drunkenly, "Follow me!" I couldn't follow him because I was laughing too hard and whenever I wouldn't follow him, he'd get annoyed and insist that I follow him. If we tried to dance our own step, he'd say, "Ako ang choreographer dito (I am the choreographer here!) Follow me!" I took videos using my digicam and I just laugh everytime I watch it.
The entire night, the DJ played 80s pop because people were requesting it. My friends and I kept asking for R&B and Hiphop. Finally, at 3am, they changed the repertoire and I invited Ricci, Lani and Babes to dance on tabletops (hopefully without killing anyone this time). While I was dancing, a guy on the table beside us whipped out his camera and aimed it at me. I stopped dancing and told him not to even dare take my picture and when he didn't stop, I threw water at him. He enjoyed it and kept laughing. I kept throwing water at him, trying not to aim at his camera, until he stopped. His friend approaches me later to apologize. He said they were a group of artists who came to Boracay and they wanted to capture the beauty of Boracay... yadda, yadda, yadda... do I want to pose.. no, thank you, I don't do that... maybe my bar can sponsor one of their gallery shows... send me a proposal.. yadda, yadda, yadda. Finally, he left me alone. To atone for my behavior earlier, I gave them a round of beer, on the house.
As I was dancing to my heart's content, I saw an old foreign man watching me and started to approach me. I stopped dancing and turned my back on him. I turned to Ricci and the guy she was with, who she met earlier and was apparently from Manila but worked in Friday's Beach Resort, and said I don't want that guy to come near me. Peter, nice, big guy that he was, got up on my table to stand in front of me. Meanwhile, I hid behind Peter's back (he'd make a good bouncer) so as to give the foreigner the impression that I didn't want to meet him. Thankfully, he left me alone. Shortly after, I headed home as it was 4:10 in the morning.
Day 5: 17 October 2004, Sunday
Nothing much happened as we prepared for our trip home. We all had lunch at Jonah's and exchanged stories about the night before. We sat at the bar after and talked some more while waiting for our chartered boat to pick us up. When we got to the airport, there were so many people about to leave the Island. Since we were a tad bit early, we went to the lounge of Asian Spirit and ordered drinks while looking at pictures and videos taken from my camera. At the lounge, I bumped into the artist from the night before. He really was an artist because his boss approached me and gave me his business card. His boss operated an art gallery. Pretty soon, we were told that we could board the plane already. When they meant "board," it meant waiting in the boarding area packed with people and no airconditioning. It was so terrible, you could smell the sweat! Finally, we were on the plane. As the flight attendants were handing us our drinks, she'd ask, "Sir/ Ma'm, water or juice?" Tito Henry answered, "Tequila!"
With that answer, you couldn't help but feel sad and regret for leaving the Island. The past nights was the most fun I ever had in the Island. It was just so wild. The past days this week, I've heard about how my titos talked about the weekend in Boracay and how much fun we had. Even as I type this, I smile as I reminisce the good memories and couldn't wait for next week where I'm off again to party paradise. Lani, Ricci, Liza and I added each other on Friendster and even made testimonials. Ricci texted me that dancing on top of the table was the most fun experience she ever had. I'm glad because it is an experience they would take with them forever and I was the one who made them do it.
Post Boracay
A picked me up from the airport and it was just so great to see him.When he got out of the car, I just had to hug him tightly and it was hard for me to let go. We went to the 6PM mass in Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park and headed to Greenbelt 3. I treated him out to dinner at Teriyaki Boy while he treated me out to a movie, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
The day started with me taking pictures of the facade of the bar. In my bikini and hat, I strolled to the shore with my camera. It was noon and the sun was shining brightly. I stepped into the water and it was refreshingly cool. A perfect balance to the heat from the sun. I wanted to swim but the girls (Liza, Ricci and Lani) did not want to because it was too hot out and they were scared of getting dark. No matter how hard I tried to convince them that the water was cool, you wouldn't feel the heat and that they can wear sunblock so they wouldn't get dark, they weren't sold to the idea. I wasn't able to go for a dip anyhow because lunch was served soon and after, we began setting up for the event that night.
There wasn't much to do for me. I just had to take care of the merchandising of my sponsors. Basically, that's knowing where to put what streamers where. By around 3PM, Tito Henry asked if we wanted to go parasailing. Are you kidding me? Hell yeah! Now, I never went parasailing before because I was astounded by the price. $45 for just fifteen minutes?! You've got to be kidding me! $45 was enough for a week's worth of pocket money! Here's a picture of us parasailing. I went up with Liza and Tito Junjing. Lani, Ricci and Tito Henry went together. Ricci notes later on that we looked like escort services! Hahaha!
Parasailing with Liza and Tito Junjing
While parasailing was fun, it was actually quiet up there. All of us were just taking in the view and engaged in small talk. I admit I was quiet because I felt dizzy. It was so strange though because I never get motion sickness nor was I afraid of heights. After parasailing, the boat stopped somewhere far from the shore (as it can't go near the shore) and waited for a speedboat to pick us up and take us back to shore. Tito Junjing jumped into the water and decided to swim to shore. I followed suit. Liza, who really had to pee, was in a rush to use a bathroom, decided to jump as well. I thought the shore was near and that it would be easy for me to just swim there but boy, was I wrong. It was actually far! I got tired of swimming and paddling that I decided to just float on my back for awhile before going on. Oftentimes, I'd lower one leg to feel for the ground and twice, I couldn't touch it, which meant I was still far. By the time I felt the ground, I stood up and was surprised to find that the water came up to my shoulders! I've been swimming and swimming only to find out I was in a shallow area already. Meanwhile, Liza gave up easily because she got tired. She asked for the boat to pick her up before leaving. Tito Junjing and I joked that maybe she was able to pee in the water and didn't want to swim anymore.
When we got up, I felt the need to eat to take away my dizziness so I treated the girls out to their first chori (short for chorizo aka longganisa) burger. We sat on the beanbags outside the bar and watched the local kids make a sandcastle while we bonded and engaged in girl talk. When the sun went down, we went to our rooms to change into our party clothes.
By the time I came out of my room, I was wearing a white halter top and a short, flirty, drawstring white skirt. The theme for the night was white. My uncle joked that he was going to wear his white polo and briefs since he didn't have any white shorts. Thank God, he didn't! First up was Rebekah, an acoustic singer who had a powerful voice. She was good! But I was in the mood to party so I couldn't wait for her to finish. But when Real Groove took over the show, I immediately ran to Tito Henry's side, who was also my dancing partner, and started dancing! We rushed to the dance floor but it filled up so quickly, you barely had space to dance and so we got out. Everybody in the Island was probably at our bar celebrating with us because the crowd was just as big as our crowd during Holy Week. Randy Santiago, (yes, the famous actor known for his sunglasses), who was putting up Ratsky's, in Boracay Terraces at the end of Station 1, came to join the festivities and congratulate us. That was pretty nice of him considering that he was our soon to be competition. :p Sometime during the party, I went home to change into a two piece because wearing a halter was just too hot and the dancing made me sweat so much. When I came back, the dance floor was filled with people and we, the girls and I, wanted to dance so I thought of a plan. Take the dance floor to the beach! And so we started dancing in the shore.
My uncle was drunk by then while my titos were tipsy. Before my uncle jumped into the water, I hugged him
Me: (jokingly, knowing he's drunk) Great grand opening (of the bar) in Cebu!
Uncle: Ayoko na! (Thinking I said that we'll open another branch in Cebu)
Me: Hindi! Nasa Cebu tayo ngayon, diba?
Uncle: (Pauses to think for a loooong time then nudges me) Wala naman tayo sa Cebu eh!
Later on, I remembered the time Tito Henry and I would wet our friends with ice cold water coming from the cooler. While everybody hated the feeling of the chilling water run down their backs, they absolutely enjoyed it. We used to do this two Halloweens ago where we'd throw buckets of ice water to the crowd as they danced and they'd scream because of the cold yet they'd chant, "More! More!" (I'm digressing again) Somebody told me to get ice cold water and I poured it to them and that was the start of many "dunking of ice cold water over the heads" episodes.
Randy Santiago passes by and tells us not to dance in the water because we might drown. I think he was a bit sloshed already at this time. Somebody proceeded to make toasts, "To (insert name of bar)!" "To Ratsky!" "To Boracay!" "To San Miguel!" and then, Randy shouts "To Boratsky!!!" We all laughed. (Well, at that time it was funny!)
Pretty soon, my titos and I were all trying to drag people into the water and dunked them fully clothed despite their protests and we succeeded. Two other girls, Chinnie and Babes, who were also regulars in Manila, arrived earlier that afternoon and were already wasted. Tito PV was dragging Chinnie back to shore but somehow, she keeps ending up back in the water and thus, Tito PV had to keep running back to get her.
I was standing nearby talking to Marby, Liza and Ricci, watching Tito PV dragging Chinnie out of the water. And then I said, "See? That's why I don't like taking care of my drunk friends. You end up not having fun and babysitting. Kung ako yan at kaibigan ko si Chinnie, kakaladkarin ko rin siya tapos sasabihin ko, 'Iresponsable kang babae ka! Di ka marunong uminom?! (If I were him and Chinnie is my friend, I'd drag her too and say "You Irresponsible woman! Don't you know how to drink?!)'" We all laughed.
Hours later, Ricci and I were seated by the shore. A guy approached us. Said guy approached me earlier and asked if I was the niece of Francis. I said yes. He asked if I wanted a drink, the beer bottle in his hand. I said, "No, thanks. I don't drink." (sabi nga ni A, baka may antiban yan!). He asked if I was sure. Duh! Of course, I'm sure. Anyhow, the second time he approached me and Ricci, he asked, "Excuse me! Napag-utusan lang po... Pero mayroon gusto po magpakilala sa inyo (Excuse me! I was just instructed... Somebody wants to meet you." I shook my head and said no. I told the guy we're not the type of girls you could just do that to. And he tried even harder, "Kahit friendship lang.. (just for friendship)" Ugh! Now that is even a worse and overused pick up line! I couldn't help but exasperately say, "All the more!" Poor guy left us alone but only to come back to apologize to which Ricci and I say, "It's okay!" I believe that if a guy wants to meet some girl, he should do it with more suave and finesse and not through flatteries and some pick up line. Otherwise, he'd make the girl look cheap.
Shortly after, a commotion was going on outside the bar. The locals who were watching the party from outside crowded around the beach. At first, we all thought it was fight but when we went to look, it was actually a sawa or boa constrictor that a local found. For safety, he tied the snake and put a leash on him and dragged him to the beach. So much for entertainment!
Even more hours later, Chinnie sobered up and since she loved to dance, I asked her if she was game to dance on top of a table. When she said yes, I led her to one of the cemented tables where we each took one and dance to "Shut Up" by Black Eyed Peas (Now, I only do this while I'm in Boracay and I dance on top of tables when the dance floor is crowded because no one else can grab your space). As we were dancing, an Italian man drunkenly danced towards us. But because he was so drunk, he lost his footing. He grabbed onto the monobloc chairs but it wasn't enough to hold his fall and so, in the process, he hits his forehead on the edge of a cement table. He ended up with two lumps on his head and a gash oozing with blood. Yikes! Tito PV joked that we could kill people and that we need to be licensed. Chinnie and I were both passing the blame to each other though we both felt guilty.
Sometime around 2am, Tito Henry was looking for Lani, who couldn't join the festivities because of a tummy ache. He and Ricci went to the room to wake and pick her up. (Funny how the next day, when I told Tito Henry that he went to pick up Lani, he couldn't remember anything). Funnier even when he couldn't remember the next day this conversation that transpired the night before
Tito H: Pakakasalan ko ito si Lani. Cat, ikaw ang honor maid! (I'll marry Lani. Cat, you'll be the honor maid!)
Me: Ano ako?! Mayordoma?! (What am I?! The mother butler?!)
Towards the end of the night, we were all beat but Lani was up and dancing. Tito Henry fell asleep sitting up on the bean bag. To get him to wake up, Lani invited him to dance. He suddenly got up and danced with her. Of course, the next day, Tito Henry doesn't remember this and when I re-enacted what happened the night before. He and Uncle Francis were laughing and laughing. Tito Henry said, "Ang cheap ko naman!" Uncle said, "Para kang babae sa beer house sa probinsya! Walang gusto sumayaw sa yo kaya nakakatulog ka sa kakahintay tapos pag may lumapit sa yo na may hawak na ticket, tatayo kaagad para sumayaw! (You're like a woman in a beer house in the province. Nobody wants to dance with you so you end up falling asleep while waiting. And then when a customer comes to hand you a ticket, you stand up right away and dance!)"
We all went home at 3:30 AM. I didn't drink much that night. In fact, I had only two or three shots of tequila because my dizziness from the parasailing got to me after the first shot.
Day 4: 16 October 2004, Saturday
Tito Henry and I bought lunch in the carinderia next door and ate in the bar. Lunch consisted of Chicken Ciarciado, Lechon Paksiw, some veggies and stories and happenings from the night before (see paragraphs above).
I waited for 3PM where I planned to take the girls to their first (and last) trip to Talipapa and buy pasalubongs. I was surprised how Talipapa has changed in 6 months. More restaurants ala Honeybee's opened up. In fact, they all looked the same, I couldn't locate Honeybee's at first. And I think they raised their prices too! The only pasalubong I got were necklaces for my three little brothers, who texted me to buy them one, and 2 books, which would have cost P700 plus if I bought them in Manila, in the second hand bookstore for only P220!
We went back after an hour and a half to take a swim while the sun set. While waiting for them to change into their swimsuits, I ordered Mocha Rum, as recommended by Cat, from Jonah's. It was soooo good and I told her it sure beats Starbucks anytime!
Me, with Ricci, Lani and Liza, before taking a dip. Yup, that's a Mocha Rum, right there!
After dinner, we were sooo in the mood to party. I couldn't wait for Real Groove to take over the show again. When they started their set and shouted, "Happy 2nd Anniversary!!!", we, the management team and our friends, shouted and cheered though our shouts were overpowered by the horn we attached to a coconut tree, which gave out a ship's horn's sound. We were beaming with pride and we were so happy that our event was so successful. It wasn't long before I dragged the girls to the dance floor. Three minutes haven't even passed before the dance floor was so packed with people. We all took turns dancing in the middle of circle. Sort of having our own mini- show down. Tito Henry, who we fondly call the GRO of the bar because of his ability to just befriend anybody, grabbed the Europeans dancing beside our circle and let them dance in the middle. At first, they were shy and shaking their head but eventually, they did dance and you could see in thier faces that they enjoyed it. We also got Mayor Cawaling of Boracay, our guest of honor, to dance with us, in the middle of the circle, no less!
Gang's all here: (Clockwise from man in yellow) Tito Junjing, Me, Tito Henry, Lani, Tito PV, Liza, Ricci, Marby, Uncle Francis, Babes, Cacay, Chinnie. Not in Picture: Lito
To our surprise, all my uncle and titos joined in the dancing! With the exception of Lito and Tito Henry, they never dance! When uncle arrived in the dance floor, Chinnie started pulling his polo as if to take it off. My uncle signalled all of us to stop pulling and then, suddenly, he rips his polo open. We cheered. Two minutes later, somebody arrives on the dance floor with a tequila bottle and we all took turns swigging from the bottle. The guys, of course, did not daintily swig from the bottle like we ladies did. They opened their mouths and let the tequila flow from the bottles into their mouths.
Me, with my Uncle Francis aka Boss
Now there was this one guy who we didn't know he kept pushing himself into our circle and joining in the dancing and teasing as if he was one of us. Now I know that Boracay is also about meeting people and having fun with them but this guy was just plain annoying! He was always dancing behind me in our tight little circle and whenever he saw an opening, he'd try to get in but not unless I step right in front of him to block him and close the circle. Whenever I do that, he goes somewhere around the circle to find an opening. (Later on, I found out that everyone was just annoyed at him as I was. My uncle and titos were so annoyed that they found a way to subtly revenge on him by getting him drunk. While the tequila was being passed around, Lito grabbed his neck in an arm lock and told him to open his mouth so he could pour tequila down his throat. He gladly followed. Unfortunately for him (fortunately for us), when he start shaking his head to tell us he had enough tequila already, Lito continued pouring the booze. Poor annoying guy had to shut his mouth close yet Lito continued pouring Cuervo. That ought to teach him!)
As much as I loved dancing, I couldn't bear staying on the dance floor for another five minutes. It was so packed that heat was radiating and not even the mist machine could help cool us down. I had to take off my halter top (don't worry, I was wearing a bikini under). Everybody was sweating and because it was so packed, you weren't just wearing your own sweat anymore (gross, I know!). I left to cool down. Five minutes later, I went back on the floor. It was even more packed that one could barely dance. I was standing there and yet I was already sweating profusely. When the girls went back to our table, I brought the dance floor to the beach again where my uncles and titos followed again. The same thing happened as the night before. We pushed those who were fully clothed into the water. Chinnie and Babes weren't drunk this time though.
At one time, Lito and Liza, who used to work together in our branch in Subic, had a little talk and Liza ended up crying (from happiness, I was told). Marby, the account manager from San Miguel, had developed a crush on Liza, was lying on the sand, holding on to her foot. Seeing that Liza was crying, we all went to her to ask what was wrong. My uncle and titos, being the goofs-- and drunks-- that they are, started piling sand all over Marby's shaved head. Despite sand getting into his eyes, he still held on to Liza's foot and just shut his eyes tightly. We all laughed at how he was still holding on. Tito Henry tried pulling off Marby's shorts and that caused him to let go of the foot. Five seconds later, he was holding Liza's foot again. Amazing how he found it even without his eyes closed. I couldn't help but joke, "That's Lito's foot!!!" He let go and ran to the beach as if he was scalded to wash the sand out of his eyes and head.
A few minutes later, our sponsor from Gentext said goodnight to us. We didn't let her go and so we had to drag her into the water and dunk her too.
While we were swimming, Tito Henry invited us again to another "Palitan ng shorts (exchange of shorts)." I declined and told them that I loved my white shorts and if they tried wearing it, it might tear. Besides, my shorts were so small and tight, I bet it could go barely past their knee! While in the middle of splashing water, wading and laughing, the music in the bar stopped. The crowd groaned. All of a sudden, my uncle and tito stood up and walked towards the shore to check on the problem. And then suddenly, music started playing again. And just as the music began playing, they started dancing. It was just so funny because by the way they were walking, you'd think they were the mafia about to hit on somebody.
Minutes later, my uncle retires as he was just too drunk already. Tito Henry and Lito, who were equally drunk, had a show down. The funny thing is, Tito Henry would make some weird dance and when he was done, he'd point both hands to Lito and Lito had to copy him. When he got the dance right, he'd point to Tito Henry with both hands to tell him it was his turn. Their dances included dancing to a bamboo post, lying on the beanbag, flexing their muscles. Of course, the next day, they don't remember doing all of these and that made it even funnier. Later on, Tito Henry made us line up in front of him and he'd make some dance and say drunkenly, "Follow me!" I couldn't follow him because I was laughing too hard and whenever I wouldn't follow him, he'd get annoyed and insist that I follow him. If we tried to dance our own step, he'd say, "Ako ang choreographer dito (I am the choreographer here!) Follow me!" I took videos using my digicam and I just laugh everytime I watch it.
The entire night, the DJ played 80s pop because people were requesting it. My friends and I kept asking for R&B and Hiphop. Finally, at 3am, they changed the repertoire and I invited Ricci, Lani and Babes to dance on tabletops (hopefully without killing anyone this time). While I was dancing, a guy on the table beside us whipped out his camera and aimed it at me. I stopped dancing and told him not to even dare take my picture and when he didn't stop, I threw water at him. He enjoyed it and kept laughing. I kept throwing water at him, trying not to aim at his camera, until he stopped. His friend approaches me later to apologize. He said they were a group of artists who came to Boracay and they wanted to capture the beauty of Boracay... yadda, yadda, yadda... do I want to pose.. no, thank you, I don't do that... maybe my bar can sponsor one of their gallery shows... send me a proposal.. yadda, yadda, yadda. Finally, he left me alone. To atone for my behavior earlier, I gave them a round of beer, on the house.
As I was dancing to my heart's content, I saw an old foreign man watching me and started to approach me. I stopped dancing and turned my back on him. I turned to Ricci and the guy she was with, who she met earlier and was apparently from Manila but worked in Friday's Beach Resort, and said I don't want that guy to come near me. Peter, nice, big guy that he was, got up on my table to stand in front of me. Meanwhile, I hid behind Peter's back (he'd make a good bouncer) so as to give the foreigner the impression that I didn't want to meet him. Thankfully, he left me alone. Shortly after, I headed home as it was 4:10 in the morning.
Day 5: 17 October 2004, Sunday
Nothing much happened as we prepared for our trip home. We all had lunch at Jonah's and exchanged stories about the night before. We sat at the bar after and talked some more while waiting for our chartered boat to pick us up. When we got to the airport, there were so many people about to leave the Island. Since we were a tad bit early, we went to the lounge of Asian Spirit and ordered drinks while looking at pictures and videos taken from my camera. At the lounge, I bumped into the artist from the night before. He really was an artist because his boss approached me and gave me his business card. His boss operated an art gallery. Pretty soon, we were told that we could board the plane already. When they meant "board," it meant waiting in the boarding area packed with people and no airconditioning. It was so terrible, you could smell the sweat! Finally, we were on the plane. As the flight attendants were handing us our drinks, she'd ask, "Sir/ Ma'm, water or juice?" Tito Henry answered, "Tequila!"
With that answer, you couldn't help but feel sad and regret for leaving the Island. The past nights was the most fun I ever had in the Island. It was just so wild. The past days this week, I've heard about how my titos talked about the weekend in Boracay and how much fun we had. Even as I type this, I smile as I reminisce the good memories and couldn't wait for next week where I'm off again to party paradise. Lani, Ricci, Liza and I added each other on Friendster and even made testimonials. Ricci texted me that dancing on top of the table was the most fun experience she ever had. I'm glad because it is an experience they would take with them forever and I was the one who made them do it.
Post Boracay
A picked me up from the airport and it was just so great to see him.When he got out of the car, I just had to hug him tightly and it was hard for me to let go. We went to the 6PM mass in Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park and headed to Greenbelt 3. I treated him out to dinner at Teriyaki Boy while he treated me out to a movie, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
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