Celebrating My 25th

I almost wanted to omit my age as it is typical for women to hide their age as it increases in number, but then I know there are people who didn't get to live longer than I did, so it has to be something I should be proud of. I turned 25 a few days ago, and although I didn't get to spend the entire day with my mom and sister, we still got to celebrate it.
Last Sunday, we went to check out the tiangge - what's it called in English? Flea Market? It's a big marketplace located at the grounds of Robinson's Place Novaliches, where people can buy clothes, footwear, and so many gift items for less the price compared to the malls.

There were a lot of people shopping, so we decided to just enter Robinson's Place Novaliches because we thought SM Fairview had more shoppers, considering it was the last weekend day before most Christmas parties will be held.

For dinner, we ate at Pizza Hut, as this mall had very few restaurants and we didn't dare enter the two well known fast food chains as for sure it would be jampacked with diners. For this dinner, we shared a pizza, and we chose our own food. I went for the penne pasta, mom chose the lasagna, and my sister ordered chicken wings and this food called cheesy thins, just for us to try it out.

Mom decided to go home after eating dinner, while sister and I stayed and walked our way to SM Fairview (the mall fronting Robinson's) to look for more gift ideas.

That day's happies:

• We were lucky to occupy the last vacant table in the restaurant.
• Sister was able to buy books at cheap prizes.
• Spending good, quality time with the girls.
• Walking most of the time - from 3pm til 9pm, only sat down when we ate dinner.
• Mom gave me 1000 pesos as birthday present.

That day's crappies:

• The tiangge was filled with so many fake goods! It was so disappointing to see all sorts of brands in many products! 
• Mom told me I could buy whatever I want to buy with the money she gave me, but when I saw a pair of flat shoes I liked, she was quick to say I own a lot of shoes already.
• The penne pasta served to me was way too salty. I asked them to replace it, and at first one of the managers told me that if I preferred less salty food, I should have told the serve staff before hand. Well, I usually just go for what food served to me - I rarely make requests whenever I dine in.. but the pasta was just way too salty! And.. this pasta was my usual choice whenever we dine at Pizza Hut and this was the first time I encountered something like this! Well of course, they did replace it and the new plate of food tasted much better, thank heavens!
• My sister wanted to buy this mason drinking jar with handle, but the shop already ran out of stocks. Bummer.
• SM Fairview, contrary to what we thought of, had less shoppers. Had we known, we should've just went there.

My shift at work this week was 4pm to 1am. Very difficult to adjust because I get home around 2:30 to 3:00 am everyday, so I spent the first few hours of my birthday at work and traveling home. My mom prepared our brunch that day while my sister baked me some cupcakes. It was very touching because she considered a food I like - Nutella! It was so good... and I think my sister has already mastered the art of baking cupcakes using the Oven Toaster.

I went to work with a warm feeling because I felt my mom and my sister's love for me. Work was okay, then after our shift, I treated my team to a nearby fast food. It was already nearly 5am when I got home, but it was just fine.

My last day at work will be tomorrow, as I already filed a leave of absence starting Sunday until the end of the year. I look forward to spending more time with my mom and sis, then after Christmas, we will be traveling for brother's wedding.

* Jesz *