I’ve been a firm believer that everything, absolutely everything, happens of a reason. I might’ve not seen it coming but when two of my friends, who I lost contact with since the pandemic, visited me after my surgery, I knew exactly what I got in return for my PTC. I lose my thyroid but got my back two of my friends. Not a bad deal at all, right? 😅
It required a little of life's drama to be reunited with them and I don't mind. We had a falling out during the pandemic; we didn't get into a fight. It's just that one day, one of my friends needed space for her mental health and whatever she needed back then was the top priority.
Fast forward, Christmas of 2024, we're finally back at our traditional Christmas Dinner with a twist. I'll share the twist later. Christmas dinners with friends are almost always extravagant; we choose an upscale restaurant, one we haven't tried. We dress nicely and eat to our heart's content. Diet can wait until the holiday's over! 😅
Chili's branch in Ayala Cebu had been open for less than a year and all of us haven't tried it. It was the perfect venue for our annual gathering. We called to reserve a table for three; best decision as it takes sometime to enter the restaurant without a reservation during peak hours. When we arrived, the table was ready. Chili's staff were quick to act on customer complaints. There was this group of 4 who barely fit themselves in the table near the glass window; the staff offered to switch their seat with ours since we're only 3 dining that evening. We had no problem with this.
It was difficult to choose which meal to order; each dish in their menu looked heavenly delicious. We decided to order different dish and share them later. Below are photos of what we ordered.
Photo op before eating! 😅
Abaca for dessert
We moved on to the next itinerary: dessert. A few meters away from Chili's is a strip full of coffee shops. There's Starbucks, Bo's Coffee, and Abaca; we chose Abaca. That day my friend received her bonus; it was unexpected and she was so happy about it she couldn't help but share her blessings. She paid for our dessert that night!
We ordered cold Matcha and chocolate drinks and tea and paired it with muffins and chocholate cake. We ended up bringing home the muffin and chocolate cake.
We had our exchanging gift in Abaca. Each one of us should buy the other two a gift; this way we ended up receiving 2 gifts. I had a hard time choosing a gift for them, no wish list whatsoever was forwarded in our GC. I shared my wishlist tho and one of it came true that night. I was so happy to see it! It's been very useful at home for work and entertainment purposes.
Such a huge blessing to be surrounded by people who love, care and understand you. Treasure them for as long as you live because friendships that remind you that time spent apart meant nothing are rare. I couldn't believe how we spent 2 years or so apart, not talking but not hating as well. And here we are back in normal programming like nothing happened. We never talked about the past what matters is that at present, we're happy and united.
Living life intentionally every single day, she believes that there’s no limit to one’s potential. Right now, she’s on the loose for the pursuit of endless holistic self-growth and development. She wants to light the way for others. She believes there’s no better way to leave a legacy than to pay it forward.
Her ultimate goal in life is to reach the state of enlightenment where there’s nothing but peace, love, happiness, and contentment - nothing more, nothing less.
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