To Kill A Mocking Day Off

As soon as T left for work and I wrote is still on holiday, but is up at 9am! what to do? on my Facebook status, I decided I wasn't gonna sit in his apartment all day like a useless flower vase. So what if all my friends were working and there was no one to have lunch or afternoon cocktails with? So what if I only had so much money and it was absolutely impossible for me spend the day shopping? There was no way I would let another untimely day off mock me again. So I donned my white long-sleeved sweatshirt, T's padded bomber vest, jogging pants, baseball hat and trainers, which made me look like a Streetboyz dancer in the late 90's, and hit the road. The plan: to enjoy my last CNY holiday by killing as much time as I could outdoors without spending more than $100.

In order to succeed in this herculean task, it was important that I started my mission well. I had my breakfast bowl--- blueberries, slices of banana, kiwi and strawberries, served on a bed of oats and flax seed in soya milk, and topped with nonfat yogurt--- that T had prepared even before my REM started to slow down.

At 1130, roughly two hours after I finished my breakfast, I went to Mix for my dose of liquid sunshine. A shot of freshly-squeezed wheatgrass juice. $38.00

Then I walked around Central to take pictures and find materials for the new blog that I'll be opening soon. Eventually, my feet led me to the escalators which led me to Worldwide where lots of Pinoys were led to at that very moment as well. It was lunchtime and the place was packed with kababayans who were craving for meals that reminded them-- us-- of home. After going through every store one by one and comparing their menus, I chose the store calle Bisacol and had my labong, bopis and daing. Lunch + a bottle of water= $33.00

After the filling lunch, I headed to IFC to sit in one of the al fresco benches to people watch. I didn't last long though. It was too cold to be sitting idly outdoors. After the last note of Craig Armstrong's "Ruthless Gravity" (Track #5 of the Layer Cake OST) faded, I started my way back to the Lan Kwai Fong/ Hollywood Road area to look for cheap coffee.

I didn't get the coffee that I had planned to get because I got distracted. I called my good friend, Aaron, to ask a favor. And somehow, talking to him made me want to go and pay Dymocks a visit, which I did.

About an hour later, I marched out of the bookstore with a Coelho and a Murakami, worth only $204. The 200 of which wasn't to be accounted for, because I used the gift voucher that Miro (and thank you Miro for this) gave me as a birthday present five months back.

It was time for my siesta so I decided to walk back to T's flat. But like any grandma, I needed a light snack before I took my afternoon nap. I walked down to Wellington to get myself a cup of freshly-squeezed carrot and celery juice. $13.00

AT 3pm, I was back in T's apartment, smiling at congratulating myself for a job well-done. With 2 books, 9 pictures, a nice lunch, 2 snacks, a blog entry and a $12.00-change from my $100-budget, I killed a mocking day-off.