This past weekend, my social life was in overdrive - and it's not even over yet.

Last Tuesday, one of our new staff from Davao flew in to Manila for a training. Her name's Melanie and she's 22, making her the youngest staff in our company.

Yup, I've been dethroned.

Anyway, she's working under our department (Corporate Communication and Resource Devt.) and she's also temporarily staying at our dorm room. So, I took it upon myself to play host during the duration of her stay. I helped her get acquanted with things. What I didn't realize, though, is that I would also be having the longest gallivanting experiences of my life. She's a first-timer here in Manila so unofficially, I became one of her tour guides. She wanted to use the golden opportunity to explore the (in)famous city in the country and so I joined her in the majority of her quest.

So here's our list of activities last weekend:

Friday - went to Glorietta and watched a movie. For more details on the movie night, read here.

Saturday - watched Kutless' concert then strolled around Luneta Park. The dancing fountain generated the kind of awed reaction which Mark and the rest weren't able to get from her. I guess in that challenge, I win. (Ha.)


Sunday - went to church (CCF Ortigas), had lunch at Ate Maricor's house, went to Mall of Asia at around 6, then had a late night session with the girls to "celebrate our womanhood".


For Monday night, we were supposed to have dinner at The Fort. But because of the typhoon, we postponed it until tomorrow. (We realized going out for dinner in the middle of an impending storm was not a very wise thing to do. We could get stranded somewhere dark, wet and cold, or worse, brave out waist-length murky floodwaters. It's not an experiece I want to leave Melanie with. I don't want to traumatize her into coming back to Manila. Heck, even I would end up traumatized with an experience like that.)

So for the night, Melanie hit the lights early while I enjoyed the calming moment. I was cooped up in my bed sipping hot choco and watching Hawaii 5-0 on DVD (i missed some episodes). And yeah, blogging.

But despite of this crazy gallivanting weekend I'm not really used to, I felt strangely good. It was like finally achieving that sense of balance in my life. Usually, it's all work during weekdays, sleeping off during weekends, and building an internet social life during nights. But a whiff of fresh air (or in this case, a smog-filled air) actually helped my brain relax. And for once, I felt like a responsible adult. I finished my chores Saturday morning making me guiltless the whole afternoon. Now look at that. Who would have thought I have an ounce of self-discipline on my shoulders?

Plus, I also realized what a great bunch of outgoing friends I have. It's something I want to thank God for. (Thank you, friends =D)

So that's what happens when a Dabawenya visits Manila. You get to be a tour guide for the weekend and experience that rare sense of balance in your life.

God is good.