Residents' Christmas Party in One Serendra

I have been organizing events ever since I joined my current employer last March of 2009. To be frank, I had no background in organizing events - back in New World Makati City Hotel, I was with the Front Office. Nonetheless, in Ayala Property Management Corporation, the position of Head Concierge is expected to be the events organizers of the properties they're assigned to. 

As it turns out, I have a knack for organizing events. It was a talent I did not know I had. When I joined One Serendra in 2012, it was to be the culmination of my career as an events organizer, because the events in this property have a budget of PhP 300,000.00 to PhP 500,000.00, not withstanding sponsorships that we can still get for each event. 

Big budget, unlimited possibilities for events equals loads of challenges, which glad to say, I have weathered through. 

Why am I being sentimental as I post this? Well, today is my last event in One Serendra. I will be managing a different Ayala residential complex come January 2016. 

My first day in One Serendra, I was asked to attend the Residents' Christmas Party for 2012, organized by my predecessor. And now, I'm sitting in the Piazza Veranda, 3 years later, praying so hard it won't rain for, surprise surprise, my last event which happens to be this year's Christmas Party. 

Currently I’m caught up in such a flurry of activities, as everybody’s racing to finish the set up for the party. Our caterer is Omakase, I have a Bonanza roast calf station, I have 100 bottles of wine, and 60 liters of beer – it’s supposed to be an epic night, I’m just really praying so hard for the clouds to blow away. Everyone, please pray with me.

Here’s to my last event in One Serendra!

Las Flores in One McKinley Place, BGC

Lunch today with one of my favourite Serendra residents was quite interesting because we didn't know the names of the dishes that we ordered!

This lunch has been long overdue, more so because I took a 5-day vacation leave to celebrate my birthday last week.

My resident had in fact eaten in Las Flores before, and she took photos of the dishes that she liked on her iPhone. So when we were seated, instead of perusing through the menu trying to figure out what she had ordered before, she just showed pictures of the dishes to the food attendant.

We ordered Mojitos to complement our food, and it was quite strong!

When we were still both working for the Social Events Committee before, we had a Spanish-themed event where we ordered 3 types of paella. Sans the teeth stains however, undoubtedly, both our favourite paella was the negra, so we ordered their Paella Negra to try and compare with Casa Marcos':

This tapas I definitely know as gambas (Gambas al Ajillo, PhP 395.00):

This tapas, I liked so much because of the assortment of chorizos, each offering a different taste, a different type of bite (Trio de Chorizos, chorizos sautéed in white wine and olive oil, PhP 625.00):

The last tapas that we ordered, had marbled potatoes, and meat that I couldn't place to be either pork or beef. So if you realise what I'm doing here, I'm comparing the dishes that we ordered to the menu of the restaurant available online. I can surmise that due to the presence of the potatoes, this is the Botifarra Catalana (PhP 495.00):

For dessert we had Churros con Chocolate (PhP 195.00), but we both agreed that we liked the churros of Dulcinea better:

The place was nice and quiet, and had a nice rustic charm to it. I loved the ceiling fans that they placed in the al fresco dining area outside the restaurant which gave it an azotea feel. The bar had an old-world feel to it. The seats had pillows and upholstery done in burlap, made to look like flour sacks, which I saw quite a lot in H&M Home in Robinson's Place Magnolia. Add the downpour that we experienced, giving the air a nice chilly clime, and the lunch experience was just superb!

Feel free to try out their other tapas and offerings:

Las Flores
G/F, One McKinley Place,
25th Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
telephone number: 02.552.2815

Aleron - The Winged One

One of the things keeping me busy last December was Aleron.

No, I don't sing for the choir - I'm just one of their huge fans.

I attended their Nativity Concert last December 8, held in UP's CRL Chapel. They're mostly composed of alumni and current members of Ateneo's choirs - ACS and the Glee Club. I sort of helped out during the concert, made sure that they were able to record the entire concert - so I had to run up and down the stairs leading to the choir's loft in CRL every 12 or so minutes, so that I could reset the camera.

Here are some pictures from the concert.

I'm sure you'll be hearing more from this group. If you're planning weddings, I would suggest that you try contacting them so that you can hire them to sing during the mass. I'm actually planning an event sometime March for Easter and if approved I'll be getting them to have an Easter Cantata after the mass.

If you need to get in touch with them, just feel free to call or message Miggi Angangco 0920.9055175 or Mari Gutierrez 0917.5026698.

Di Ingon 'Nato Experience aka Cinema One Film Festival SUCKS!

Had a horrible experience last night. From St. Paul University Manila, in  Malate, I went to Makati, then to Shangri-la Mall because I wanted to watch Di Ingon 'Nato.

After braving the almost 1 and a half hour drive, and the horrid winding parking ramp of Shangri-la Mall (seriously, it's like a maze), Danny and I get to the cinema, and guess what, Cinema One changed the schedule of the movie showing from Di Ingon 'Nato to Six Degrees. Seriously, who is the organizer of this Film Festival? When Danny checked on the schedule prior to leaving Makati, it still said in Shangri-la's Cineplex website that Di Ingon 'Nato was still showing.

Seriously, it totally sucked! I mean, who does that? Why can't they adhere to a schedule that has been up for so many days. People actually fixed their schedule and went to great extent just to catch the screening, so why change it hours before the actual showing? The organizers of this film festival suck, big time!

Silver lining, had a good cheap dinner at Mongkok in Shangri-la. Cheap, tasty dimsum will really pick your mood up. And we were able to watch In Time, which was a good movie and we wouldn't have bothered to watch it if not for the circumstances. However, we ended up sitting next to a weird couple in the cinema. I mean, seriously, the guy had to tell the girl everything that was going on in the movie. Can't she understand English? Why bother watching, just read the synopsis in Wikipedia. And that girl had the nerve to step on my aching toe! And she didn't even say sorry!

borrowed from IMDB.com

ARGH! What a horrible experience!

I did realize something, though. I have a new crush. I'm over Brittany Murphy, I'm in love with Amanda Seyfried. She was running around the entire movie... in 5-inch heels! And her character was supposed to be not used to running because she had all the time in the world, and yet that girl could run! And I just loved how she put her gun down when she went to her father's building! Haha! I really love her.

She was running around the movie in these heels!

So the horrid experience brought about good realizations, so okay na rin. Will be calling Shangri-la Cineplex to check if the sucky organizers of Cinema One's Film Festival changed the schedule for Di Ingon 'Nato again. Clean up your act Cinema One.