A THANKSGIVING and THROWBACK THURSDAY

[THANKSGIVING]

It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States, an annual holiday of giving thanks and feasting to commemorate the Pilgrims celebration of the good harvest in the 1600's.

And for the rest of us -- we don't need to have roasted turkeys and Grandma's pie on our dining tables tonight, neither is it necessary to have a sit-down family reunion dinner nor watch the parade or a football game -- let it simply be another day to give thanks! :)

But! If today is the only day you have to give thanks for the blessings you received this year, what would they be?

Here's my random list (im just excluding the usuals and not that im not thankful for it/them, given na yun kasi):

• Status: Engaged
• Meeting the Zaldivars
• The D's meeting the Z's
• My Mama being able to conquer Mt. Pulag this year
• Good health to beat this year's SG Haze 
• Renewal of my contract and work pass
• Pay raise
• Mummy Pat cooking paksiw and pinakbet for me whenever I go home
• Any home cooked meal for that matter
• Good working relationship with the new people at work
• Good Wifi connection and stable 3G
• Time-offs from work
• Long weekends 
• Choko knowing how to use Facebook because he calls me regularly now. 
• Bringing Gerard here in SG for a short vacation
• Bammie in med school
• Hopsy's super creative mind
• On time flights going home
• A new home with a cozy living room 
• Aircon and Fresh Air
• A wider room and our own beds
• Those days I get to have more at least 8 hours of sleep
• Pinterest
• Sincerity
• Loyalty
• Trust
• True love
• Those morning I get to have a real breakfast
• A very patient Lt.Z 
• A happier heart

The small details, the little things, the stuff we rarely appreciate, things we underestimate,  the people and circumstances we take for granted, despite the disturbing things happening around us right now-- indeed, there really is always something to be grateful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING and THURSDAY everyone! 

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[THROWBACK THURSDAY]

Also, It's throwback Thursday in the social media world so here, I have an excuse to do a #tbt post. haha .. 

For half of my 42k readers who doesn't know, my Singapore troops and I started a pre-Christmas dinner 2 years ago as a year-end celebration where we dress up nicely to eat fancy (meaning: buffet) haha. In 2013, there was only 6 of us and during that first dinner, the hot topic was to eliminate the single status in our group, find a partner so that there would be more us by end of the year.

By the first half of 2014 we adopted 3 other single people to join the group but Nikka and I both got into a relationship that same year! Oh ha! Achieve! Nadagdagan na nga, may mga nagkaboypren pa! hahaha! And by the time we had the dinner last year,  I made a reservation at the restaurant for 8 people plus one surprise guest, hihi.

During our first Christmas dinner when King was the only guy in the group, we told him that we are doing a "troop search" para naman may kasama siyang sumusunod sa mga utos, layaw at demands ng girls. Hahahaha! I look back at this and I can't help but smile and get butterflies and be in awe .. because a year later, I literally introduced a "troop" to the group. Indeed, the universe works in magical ways!

The 2014 dinner was my favorite so far because I had a date who came all the way from camp 2,954 miles away to surprise me, to finally meet me in person, meet my friends and date me! (Insert my kilig all over again face here). 

We have a reservation at 6:30 PM coming up soon. I'm sure everyone will look pretty and dashing and .. will be late, as usual, hahaha! But, as expected we will be multi-tasking between eating, taking pictures, laughing, chatting and repeat. Oh, and I heard there's a new guy too!

Susulitin namin ang reservation, sasagarin namin ang last call for orders, sisimutin namin ang laman ng buffet table! hahaha!