Week 47: Celebrations

I've been meeting old friends, many of them I haven't seen in a long time, for the past couple of days. I guess I should be thankful for the Christmas craze because it has given people a decent excuse to stay up late and get out of their way to attend long wished-for reunions. If it were not for Christmas, we wouldn't be forced see each other at all. Those of us who live in Manila know that going to these gatherings is not an easy thing to do: one has to deal with the long queues, the steady rush of human bodies in the MRT, and the slow traffic—slower than an intern's brain function after a 24-hour ward duty.

To not get caught up in the mire of busy-ness is a challenge, of course, but Christmas only happens once a year, so it's not so bad, after all.

From Top: UP Lantern Parade with Block Eight (Wheater's Group), Youth Fellowship Christmas Party (my first time to attend in my eight years of being in Higher Rock), Mike Tan's treat at Sakura Japanese Restaurant, water baptism of a patient's daughter (AAce Agdamag, Krushie Canlas, and I stood as godparents), afternoon snacks with MBB friends, Wegs Pedroso and Dianne Deauna at Peanut Butter and Co. and Sebastian's, SM Mall of Asia.

Good times.