Staycation with my girls

The long-planned, long-overdue staycation with my work friends finally pushed through this weekend. We had been planning to meet up ever since mobility restrictions were lifted. Some of us had already moved to other companies, but we stayed in touch through our GC and if our schedules permit, our weekly calls. We are at different levels of our careers and have different challenges in our personal lives, but our genuine interest in each other's stories is the glue that holds us together. 

We knew we wanted to visit IKEA (as some of us have never been there), so we booked a room at TRYP by Wyndham. In Google Maps, the hotel seemed within walking distance to most of our desired places to visit. Fourteen minutes to IKEA. Fifteen minutes to buffet restaurants. Nine minutes to Hypermarket. Two minutes to the nearest Starbucks. Boy were they all off!! Was Google using a Western person's stride length and cadence? Someone should recalibrate those travel times.

We had dinner at Gen Korean BBQ. The in-house band was superb. The food was fresh, hot, and fast (garlic soy chicken is a must-try!). Sadly, there were no desserts on the menu. We wanted to try Randy's Donuts, but the selection was limited, so we settled with Llao Llao's froyo. Actually, we did not "settle" like we had no other choice. We lined up for more than 30 minutes to get the treat. I'd say we really wanted froyo that bad. 

We then picked up a few essentials at the Hypermarket. By "essentials" I mean our pulutan of meats, cheese, and chips. I brought the bottle of rose that has been sitting in my fridge since January. I was reserving it for a joyful occasion and this meet-up felt like one. Time flew by so fast that night. If not for the mosquitos and the limited supply of alcohol, we would not have ended our chitchat and reminiscing. 

The next day, we fulfilled our IKEA dreams. The girls had their lunch at the store's restaurant, while I had black coffee to maintain my fasted state. We played a game -- who can resist the budol force of IKEA. For sure, hands down, I will win the game. I had roamed around IKEA before without buying anything; surely I can do it again. And I did.

The staycation was a success, we declared. We decided that we will have another one. Next time we will go to Tagaytay. We will save our stories and count the days until then.