Eniamrahc Thor!

Saturday, August 7 was Ralph's baby shower. The night before, Ayn and I were discussing what gifts we got for the baby. Allan and I were unsure about ours because we doubted whether he needed more than one crib cover set, but Ayn assured me that, during the first months, it's helpful to have more than one of each cloth accessory, since babies tend to soil them a lot with pee and/or milk and you have to keep changing. That really made me feel better. We also got him a bib and burp set.

Ayn and Trina picked me up at home while I was still taking a bath. When I finished, I rushed outside panting, "Sorry…" and found no one. They had actually headed straight to the rooftop to smoke. We all went downstairs and they looked at Edwina's and my messy room. They marveled at the number of Pinoy cds she owned ("Not mine!" I was quick to say for some reason, but I wished the Eraserheads ones were). I also was finally able to return some books that I had borrowed from Ayn half a year ago.

It was only 1:30, but we decided to head on to Daungan Restaurant, the venue for the baby shower. We were surprised to see a pool there and visions of future pool parties flashed through our minds. A lady in short shorts led us up to the party area where cute, baby blue Styrofoam letters spelled out the day's theme: "Watch Out for Me!" We were the only three there.

We passed the time doing our own things: Ayn drank beer, Trina studied her bite-size law book, and I stared into space and listened to the soundtrack of "50 First Dates" blaring from the restaurant speakers. I was reeling from a late night out (JV's birthday!) and could only find enough energy in my brain cell's mitochondria to silently curse Jason Mraz's rendition of "Melt With You". Trina and Ayn brought me back to earth though by discussing some law stuff in front of me. Egad.

Finally, Ralph arrived wearing a diagonally striped vintage red shirt. He looked like he was a member of VST & Co., especially because of his long, floppy hair. He said that Charmaine was on her way. We talked about what was up and when we could possibly play again.

30 minutes and 30 visitors later, Charmaine finally arrived, bigger than ever, and the feasting commenced. As usual, when it comes to food, Ralph spared no expense, which makes me wonder why he's so thin. There was mushroom soup, lechon, crispy pata, some kind of pork stew, fried chicken, pancit, and I can't remember what else… basta, a lot of food. As I was lining up to get some, I told Charmaine, "Gosh… you are truly Mother Earth!" She laughed.

Basically, we stuffed our faces and talked. Allan arrived a little later. He was able to pass by before having to go to a Subic Cheese gig. While we were having a dessert of fresh mangoes from Ralph's farm in GenSan, we talked about possible ways for Candyaudioline to be able to play this month. There's the In Between Days, which Ayn might be able to go to, if we play really early, and Buzz Night on the 28th. We might even get to play a Backbeat gig one of these nights.

While we were eating, Ralph's and Charmaine's other friends started doing videoke, and we were forced to watch the Viva Hot Babes undress or do suggestive dances in the background. Gad.

We left with Allan because we were all very tired. Welcome to the world, Baby Romero!