The Road to 40 Day 233/365: Slow Down Sunday

After another 5am ending to last night’s session, I wasn’t going to be surpised if I lost half of my day.

I opened my eyes at 11am and saw Che standing in front of me. She said that she already told our friends that we’re going to be late for the 12nn lunch and will instead make it around 1pm.

I maintained that we could theoretically make it by 12nn, but Chiro and Ten were coming to pick up Tia, so we were going to wait for them.

We left at around 1pm and reached in about 30minutes.

It was a long table, so there was a discussion amongst the girls, and the guys had our own talk. Ivan said that we’ve seen each other more now that they’re in the Philippines compared to when they were still living in Singapore.

While 20 minutes away by car doesn’t feel too far, in Singapore, it kinda is. So we weren’t really able to get together with them as much. When they moved here around July, we were staying in BGC, where they lived. I told Ivan that since we were in the same bubble, it was only natural to meet them at least once that time.

If we still couldn’t make time for each other despite the proximity, then it meant that we really didn’t like each other.

After a long lunch at Fino, we moved to Forget Me Not for some coffee and desserts.

Nino and I planned on this being a whole-day thing with maybe some drinks on the side. But our wives all had a certain social battery that wouldn’t be able to handle that much time.

We were still able to navigate our conversations to move to their house before we said our goodbyes. We gave the kids their gifts before Steph and Ivan left.

Since we were late partly because of my 11am wake-up time, Che didn’t really like me to drink anymore. As we were talking, Nino offered his liquor, because he said he would love to drink it with someone who appreciates the flavors it might offer.

We opened his Fundador 12 years to try out a bit. Personally, it had good flavors, with dark chocolate being the most apparent one for me. But even with just one sip, the alcohol was felt throughout my whole body.

We didn’t drink much, obviously, because we wanted to call it a night so that we can get a bit of rest. If possible, I would have taken Vino and Che home and get a “car wash” with Nino.

Years back, I told Che that I was going to get a car wash with Nino, and we told Josec about it. We decided to meet up at Nino’s house so that we’d arrive at the car wash at the same time.

By the time we met up, we felt that it was a bit late for a car wash and decided to sit and drink for a bit. We wanted to just “try” Nino’s Blue Label. One drink became two, then three, then four. Soon, it was 2am and we finished the bottle and we went for another.

I think we left sometime after 3am, full of laughter, stories, and alcohol, but our cars were left uncleaned.

However, I understand that there has been plenty of alcohol consumed over the past few days, so I didn’t push my luck by telling her I’m going back to si Nins. After all, we’ll be seeing each other again tomorrow.

We went back home to find Uncle Owe and his family sitting at the dining table. Che greeted everyone before going up to fix some of our bags for our upcoming flight back to SG.

Tita Oyes also came and brought some of the food she cooked. Her kimchi soup was good and light. I’ve seen recipes of kimchi jiggae using tuna instead of pork, but this was the first time that I tried it. I could try doing this when we’re back in SG.

Tito Vic came a little later. He was apparently heading off to bed, but saw Uncle Owe’s message from an hour ago.

Growing up, they would regularly get together on Saturdays, which was how I met my cousins. As I grew older, I was able to sit at the adults’ table, and our relationship evolved into a more mature one.

Now that I’m living in Singapore and the other cousins have lives of their own, it’s been difficult to get everyone together like we used to. I’m happy that even for just a while, I was able to laugh with my elders again like we used to.

I went up to Che, who was already watching Dynamite Kiss. She caught me up so that we can watch it together.

At some point in the night, my half-brothers arrived with their partners. I went down to greet them and talk a bit, but I couldn’t stay long since we were still watching our K-Drama.

It’s good to see them doing well for themselves. They lost their mom a few years back, so it’s just been the two of them ever since. I see them once in a while when my dad brings them over, but we don’t really have much of a talking relationship.

For me, as long as they’re good, I’m fine with it.

I went back up so that Che wouldn’t have too long of a story for me to catch up. We watched a few episodes until our eyes can’t anymore.