My "F"-ing birthday

Nope, I'm not channeling Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles", although I must say that's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. But my favorite quote from a Molly Ringwald film as to be the one from "For Keeps." They were in the middle of dinner and she was trying to find a way to tell her parents that she's knocked up. So while everyone was busy eating, she blurts out: "I'm pregnant, can you pass the turnips." Funny stuff!

But I digress...

My birthday was an "F" day, "F" meaning full. Although it was a Saturday, it was also the first day of classes, which leads me to the first "F"...

FACULTY!


I celebrated the morning of my birthday in school. Had my first class at 7:30, followed by my 10:30 class who gave me a cake from Becky's Kitchen. It was such a sweet gesture.

Then, it was off to a faculty meeting to talk about the activities for the coming semester. One of the highlights of that meeting was Mil's Smores Cake! Everyone was just fighting for a piece.

Then it was off to lunch for the next "F"...

FRENDZ!



It's customary for Grace and I to celebrate our birthday with our D' Frendz group on the day itself. Initially, we were thinking of moving it since Mona and Becca were in Baguio. Then, we thought of just having lunch with whoever was available, and suddenly we found everyone there!



It's been a while since we were able to gather so many Frendz in one venue! And it was great to see everyone again, especially Lezyl, who Tintin describes as our "artista."


(The birthday boy and girl with our artista guest!)

We wanted a change of venue this year, and since we were in the mood for nostalgia, we ended up in Manila. We had lunch at Artistocrat Roxas Boulevard - the original restaurant which has been there since the 1930s. Their Chicken Barbecue and Chicken Honey is still to die for!

Then, we moved to Harbour Square. We had a blast taking "touristy" photos and liked how photogenic Manila is from afar. Harhar.



The Starbucks branch in Harbour Square is surprisingly nice. Plus, it smells "imported."



After lunch and that long, leisurely chat by the bay, it was off to dinner and the 3rd "F" of the day...

FAMILY!

The family decided to have dinner at Isabelo's - a secret restaurant in Marikina. Mona and Bonique (both Marikina dwellers) mentioned this restaurant to me before, and I thought that my birthday would be a good time to try it out.



I'm glad I did! The food was AWESOME! The chef, Portia, was there to welcome us and walk us through the history of her restaurant. Then gave us a brief preview of what she cooked for us. My siblings were all raving about the food and how flavorful it was: from the Italian Paella to the pasta and the chicken, it was indeed a bountiful feast.

And since the place felt so rustic and had a lot of good kitsch mixed in, there was also a bounty of photos taken during that night:









It was one of the longest birthday celebrations that I had. Starting very early in the morning and wrapping up late at night. And there were so many other "F"s in between these 3 occasions, among them: Flowers, Food, Francis, Fidel, Father Michael Martin, and Feasting.

And all these added up to a birthday that's also "F"...

Fabulous, Fantastic and Fun.