21st

(Sorry for bombarding you with past events, etc. We need to catch up, blog.)

I turned 21 last September 2. The things is, I don't feel any older. 

The main reason why I decided to pack up right away and leave some unfinished business in Legazpi was because I wanted to celebrate my birthday in Manila, with the people I love. Being stuck in Legazpi for more than 6 months made me miss all the luxuries I had when I still resided in the Metro. Also, eating out without worrying about the expenses is something I always looked forward to.

We decided to go to Rockwell to have my mini-birthday dinner. Everyone was craving for steak so I had to succumb even though I badly wanted to eat sushi. My uncle led us to Pepper Lunch, the first steak restaurant we saw. It seemed like a good idea to stay and just eat since I was starting to be grumpy. Hungy Pauline is not to be messed with. Something sparked inside me upon seeing the Japanese characters on the sign, I didn't expect too much though. The restaurant was partly Japanese, so I settled with that. Silly liason, I know. 

We arrived there around 6pm, dinner time and man, costumers were starting to pile up. Good thing the line didn't take too long. I got myself the Pepper Steak and they got the Rib Eye Steak, Beef Pepper Rice and Chicken Pepper Rice. It wasn't really "fast food" unlike what other people said. It took them long enough for us to be too grumpy by the time they pulled it out from the kitchen. It was rush hour, what did we expect?

North point 2

(Note: I know this is an extremely late post, 2 months has passed since I promised a part 2. Pardon me.)

Hoping for a calmer weather, we decided to start our trip to La Union in the middle of the day. We were scared out of our wits when we descended the foggy mountains of Baguio. It was such a scary 2 hour ride.

Imagine this: Zero visibility, heavy fog, heavy rains, zigzag roads, cars with no headlights on, and cars surprising you on your way down. You can call me a wuss for not wanting to drive in that condition (let's pretend I could already drive). Anyone would be crazy to drive in that kind of situation. Well, my uncle and my mom are that crazy. 

I was extremely sleepy, but the thrill kept me up. I wanted to close my eyes not because I was tired, but from the butterflies in my stomach. I thought highly of my uncle after the trip for being that brave. Yay for a cray cray family! 

We were wrong in our assumption that the weather was better in San Fernando. To think of it, the weather was worse, minus the crazy fog. It was a good thing the town wasn't prone to floods during the 2 days we were there. My sister and my uncle wanted to play at the local mall's arcade, I just wanted to sleep and play Pottermore. I'm such a lazy-ass sloth. I went to the north to sleep and play Pottermore, such a thrilling vacation! 

My favorite thing about San Fernando, aside from the beaches, is a restaurant called Subong Kawali. They have the best kinilaw I've ever tasted. I think I had all two servings to myself. I wasn't worried about "getting sick" since this kid has been eating street foods since '94 (Oh, have you tried Morayta's hepa lane? I bet you will be horrified). Since my mom's already a suki at the place (it was her team's favorite tambayan), we we're seated at the meeting area. We were so comfortable, we were a mess. We were the only people laughing and chatting inside. I loved that particular moment of our trip. 

It was already Monday and it was time for us to head back to Manila. A trip to the north wouldn't be complete without passing by Manaoag. 

On our way there, we picked these two up at a Total gas station.