Mood: Still mournful about the loss of my Smart Amazing Phone but also blessed for being able to celebrate another amazing year

I was pretty excited about celebrating my 24th birthday at the Gateway Mall, the newly-opened high-end mall boasting of an elegant steel and glass architecture right in the heart of Cubao.

I was even more excited because I got to reserve a place in the most beautiful spot in Gateway Mall — the Oasis. Imagine a 450-square meter floating garden complete with flora and fauna as well as 60-foot Royal Palms and Japanese koi residing in its fishpond. This lush tropical paradise is being managed by Pizza Hut Bistro, the first of its kind in the country.

The open-air garden called The Oasis in Gateway Mall is home to these mighty Royal Palms 

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Together with our neighbor Meg and her friend Beth, as well as Joseph’s girlfriend Janice, we rode the LRT to Araneta Center-Cubao station, which was already conveniently linked to Gateway Mall. We were several minutes early so we could have time to enjoy the scenery at the Oasis.   

My family at The Oasis (June 19, 2005)

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The Oasis was soaking wet because of the rain that suddenly poured. The manager told me that the people who were dining there had to run for cover inside the mall and they had to finish their meals standing up since Pizza Hut Bistro was already filled to capacity. Incidentally, June 19 was also Father’s Day so I was glad that I had reserved our place the week before.

Fountain at The Oasis

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Capturing the beauty of The Oasis

Jocie the photographer

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Lyra and Anthony came together and we also took the time to snap some silly pictures in The Oasis.

Leo then arrived and I didn’t recognize him at first because of the huge amount of weight he lost. Jasper arrived and he was shocked too by the dramatic weight loss of Leo, whom he met way back during their ROTC days.

Eloisa came to Gateway Mall straight from work (she had overtime that Sunday) and we shared the same fate yesterday since her wallet also got stolen. The crook had managed to open her backpack unnoticed and took her wallet. Fortunately, her cellphone was secure in her pocket.

Maui arrived and I found out that she was living in a condo in Makati with her brother who was taking up Nursing. I told her about the open climb to Mount Daguldol and she expressed her interest in joining future activities like that.

Blockmates Maui and Leo

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Joseph and Meg got a kick out  of taking photos of themselves using the murals behind us as their background.

   

I like the effect of the mural since it gives the illusion of having
another restaurant behind us when in reality, it’s just a wall.

(It’s really just a tarpaulin decorated wall!)

The crew found out that I was celebrating my birthday so after they served the dessert sampler, they also served a (free) slice of cheesecake with a lighted candle and decorated it with chocolate syrup letters "Happy Bday." To top it all off, they sang a wacky birthday song that really made my night.

Time to blow out the candle! 

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After all the great food, great conversation, and great company, it was time to go home, filled with thoughts about how to celebrate my 25th birthday next year.

To all those who went, thank you for coming!

Update: I pointed out a Smart Amazing Phone to my mother and she urged me to get another one. The saleslady sweetened the deal by including a 16Mb memory card and I couldn’t resist…can’t wait to fill my new SAP with new memories! =)