Of hotel food,mistresses, basil leaves and the city

Kulas fetched me from the airport last Friday afternoon and treated me to a pasta dinner at Alda's, one of our favorite hangouts on pig-out nights. I was starving. In fact, I was starved for a whole week. Though, Ormoc Villa Hotel is nice, with satisfactory service, food was awful--or the food they were serving US was. We have sampled their cuisine on our first night there: sashimi, tonkatsu and beef something. It was alright then, though their mango jubilee crepe was too pretentious for words. That particular dinner wasn't spectacular but it was atleast edible.

The succeeding meals were terrible though. They served fish that would make Goodyear run for its money, rice that rivals Elmer's glue, pork that was like Scotch Brite...get the picture?

Oh but I ate every single morsel they served us. The Mighty Kid sneaker disguised as steamed lapu-lapu was the final straw though. I walked out of the dining area and well, sulked.

Food was the only unpleasant part of the Ormoc trip, actually. The workshop was better. To give you an idea of what the workshop was all about, it's a values education workshop for public grade school teachers that my office commissioned Joey Ayala and Pauline Bautista to give. It aims to make teachers advocate coastal resource management and conservation through values education. The highlight of the event is an interactive concert by Joey.

So as i was saying, the concert was better than the first one we had in Quezon last May.We got younger kids this time and they're more participative and engaged. They were fascinated with what their hands could do: make music and art while saving the sea at the same time. Joey captured the kids and the teachers wholly and we had fun. As always, Pauline did great during her lectures. I am always amazed at how she could earn her students' attention and admiration at the same time.

I like Ormoc. Walking along its sea wall reminded me so much of Dumaguete's Rizal Boulevard. On my first day there, Kulas smsd me that his parents lived the first years of their married life in Ormoc. He told me he had always imagined his parents strolling along the boulevard, their two elder sons in tow. Kulas told me he couldn't wait to walk there with me, with Kulay and Rosa. But again, I digress.

***

One of my best friends had been texting me while I was in Ormoc, asking me to come home already so we could talk. Problem: extra-marital affairs.

So am I the best person to consult when faced with this kind of problem? I don't know if Joacs did the right thing in talking to me. Sure we're best friends but I had been the third party more than once in my life and I thought I'd be terribly biased.

Out of six serious relationships I've had, I was the third party in perhaps three cases. Once I didnt know the guy had a girlfriend, another I did know he had a girlfriend but I still jumped into it, and another, I willfully played the mistress because well, i loved the man too much.

I learned to "behave", to wait for calls instead of calling, to sending code text messages, sometimes even (gasp!) stalking just so I could see my man. Men keep their mistresses because these women know where they "stand", what to ask for, and what to give their men. I am not justifying the role they play. In fact, honesty is my major criterion for a partner. Those times when I was the bad girl, I was madly in love and---stupid.

Am i putting Joacs in trouble? Nah. Sammie found out about it and she's one incredible woman. We all met up at Mocha Blends last Saturday and talked. I was like a moderator, tee hee. All I can say is this: two mature adults who love each other and vow to stand by their commitment to each other will never fail. It's a matter of commitment and honesty. Kakayanin yan.

***

While talking to Joacs and Sammie baby (she would go inside Mocha Blends to let Joacs and me talk in private and go out again to smoke), a man who peddles a pot of basil leaves along Morato would approach us again and again and ask us to buy his hearbs. I see him all the time there especially when I have lunch meetings. I guess his basil sells otherwise he won't be there anymore. He would probably catch some rich wives with their amigas out for lunch in Morato and they'd go "ooooh a pot of basil, let's buyyyy". Har har.

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Melange in Sgt. Esguerra is now a favorite. Kulas and I love their crepes. The place is perfect for laidback but elegant dinners. The price and parking are good too.