My blockmates and I finally met again to revisit our alma mater and spend time with each other to catch up on the events that had happened during the past months. Four of us were supposed to meet in Quezon Hall early on Saturday morning but one backed out, leaving Rhea, Leo and I to push through with our plans.

We originally planned only to play badminton at the UP grounds but jogging was also added to our agenda that day. We positioned ourselves under the trees at the back of Quezon Hall and Rhea and I played badminton for a while.

Leo then suggested that we jog around the Academic Oval and we all agreed, even though Rhea was wearing a short skirt at the time.

We jogged (and walked at times) until we ended up back at the our starting point in front of the College of Music. Rhea had sustained painful blisters since her shoes were not really designed for running so we went to the Shopping Center to buy band-aids.

Leo took longer because he went further and jogged around the Academic Oval twice! He is really in good shape now.

After spending quite some time under the hot sun, we decided to take our lunch break at the Chocolate Kiss, a posh restaurant located in the Bahay ng Almuni. A wedding reception was being prepared in the lobby and it was very pretty, especially the flower decked arch that they prepared for the newlyweds.

We ate lunch and of course ordered our favorite drink — bottomless iced tea with plenty of syrup. I had chicken ala kiev, Leo had chix in a basket and Rhea ordered taco salad. They both ate desserts but I had no more room for cake.

Rhea then had to help her best friend who had asthma so Leo and I stayed to play some more badminton (supposedly) but we ended up just walking around the Lagoon and taking photos of each other.

Between the mighty pillars of Quezon Hall

Tunnels near the UP Lagoon

We also dropped by the tennis courts near the UP Engineering Complex and inquired about becoming a member but apparently, they are not accepting any more members until their contract with UP is renewed. They do allow non-members to play for P60 an hour and if you want to hire a personal trainor, the rate is P150 and you might also want to hire a boy to pick up your tennis balls for P50 an hour.

Leo and I got to talking about his phenomenal weight loss strategy (he shed around 60 pounds in 6 months, thanks to Fitness First). It was very educational and quite inspiring too so that will be y next goal in the coming months.

We then rode a jeepney (believe it or not, Leo agreed to ride a jeep!) to SM North where we shopped for sunglasses since his shades lost a screw. He toppled over one display rack of sunglasses but he did make up for it by buying two items from them.

After an unsuccessful hunt for the perfect lunchbox (don’t ask), we went home in a taxi and on the way home, I told Leo about "Pelikula@Titus Brandsma," a group composed of film enthusiats who regularly hold FREE film showings every second Saturday of the month at New Manila. Needless to say, Leo was very interested and I told him about the foreign films that I have watched in Titus Brandsma since I started going there for the past one and a half years. I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this to Leo, when he should have been the first person I have thought of when discussing anything related to films and cinema. He was particularly interested about the film discussion done after every movie and I know that he will be very active in those discussions as well.

We made a pact to do these activities more often and I’m looking forward to it.

P.S

For more information regarding Pelikula@Titus Brandsma, feel free to visit their website at http://www.pelikula-titusbrandsma.ph/ and sign up for their mailing lists. You can join the schedules mailing list, the discussion mailing list or even both of them. Film screenings are held at the Titus Brandsma Center at New Manila. A map of the venue can be viewed by clicking the "Where To Find Us" link at the navigation bar at the top portion of the website.