The weekend that was

Just had a great long weekend.

On Saturday, I had a little excursion alone to Batam, Indonesia (click to see map), where my college buddy Jean was waiting to take some Manila visitors of hers and moi to a spa for some pampering.

The day turned out to be just perfect! Despite the 6am start to my day, I was happy and content to be watching the people who were up early like me riding the MRT train to the Harbourfront station. Once there, it was only a few minutes before I was comfortably ensconced in my ferry seat, music blaring into my ear from my mp3 player.

After a short uneventful hour on the seas spent mostly dozing, I was in Batam mid-morning. Jean was already waiting at the ferry terminal. After a quick stop at her hotel to grab a bit of breakfast and to fetch her visitors, we were soon on our way to our massage appointment.

My 2-hour turn at the massage table being kneaded, scrubbed and polished and then soaked in something milky and honey-smelling was just heavenly. I could have stayed there to sleep the whole day if they let me but too bad that we all had to rush soon after to the ferry terminal again to catch the 2.45pm trip to Singapore. Jean's visitors still had to do Sentosa and Night Safari (the usual kamikaze skeds of rushed visitors) so we couldn't linger.

Suffice it to say that I slept like a log that night.

Sunday was another slow day. The hubby and I woke up late, pottered around the house, watched TV, read the Sunday papers and ate lunch at around 3pm. We both had Monday off to celebrate his birthday, and so we didn't feel hurried to accomplish some things-to-do then. At 6pm, I went to mass at the Cathedral.


The big news of the day was I got me a new phone! A Nokia 6880. And it cost me all of S$98 (Php3,280)! It's cheap cos I used a $100 voucher from M1 and because they signed me up to a 2-yr contract again. Upgrading was the farthest thing from my mind really, but what helped cinch the deal was the hubby's insistence that we were losing money by letting the resale values of our phones drop rapidly without a counter plan from us.

(As of last weekend, the resale value of a black Motorola RAZR v3 here was S$100, down $50 from only a weekend ago. My Nokia 6220 was a paltry $50. boohoo.)

And so, moi, who is soooo not into phones, have a new 3G phone. I'm still fiddling with it, alternately loving it and wanting my old 6220 back. The hubby loves it for a car-racing game and for the camera (2-mega pixel). Whatever it is, at least this phone is again forcing some sleeping cells in my left brain to wake up and figure out this new gadget. And God knows I need these mental teasers!

Monday was hubby's birthday! We were both off like I mentioned earlier, so it was a happy day from the start. But since everyone else was working and we have no relatives here, well, it was just us meandering in Orchard until dinner, when good friends joined me in 'surprising' hubby.

As it turned out, I was the one surprised cos the hubby later said he knew all along that something was up, that I was a dead giveaway in my actions and constant answering of a suddenly always-ringing phone. Mwehehe. I think I need coaching from some of the best party-organisers around -- my Kalayaan friends and Shanana (when she's in the mood). :-)

Best news of the day: hubby got his first floral bouquet ever fr J and E! Now that surprised him!