Joyous...

.:Nyahahahahaha!!!:.

I know you're in class right now and you're not listening, but if you just try and text in to WAVE your full name and “Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World”, you'd end up winning two tickets to the movie premiere of Alien Vs. Predator!

Needless to say, Carl won those tickets today... along with a two-day VIP pass to Bodyworx Fa and Spitness Club in West Avenue...

.:Hilarity Ensues:.

Kathy deserves more credit than she gets when it comes to reading people. She read certain guys like the back of her hand, from intentionalities to actual motivations. In any case, when I got to Sacha's house, it was quite apparent that she was still processing a lot of papers for her to get to Japan, so she wasn't around yet. Peppy and I were the earlybirds, and Kathy decided to ask us to take her to Eastwood as she wanted to re-negotiate her contract with Carlo, whom she actually found cute (But was not her type...).

While she was getting some stuff before heading out, I tried twirling the empty tube of Lay's Stax to get the hang of a reverse weave, and Peppy observed it with amusement...

Marcelle: It's a lot easier when it's stiff...

Peppy: I'm sure it is.

Marcelle: That's not what I meant, Peppy!!!

Peppy: What're you talking about?

Marcelle: The smile on your face...

Peppy: ... Lets me know that you need me?

.:Bargaining Power:.

We headed out to Eastwood and got there in good time. Soon enough, Dominique arrived and he got briefed on how the renegotiations were being planned. Dom was particularly looking like a genuine lawyer of sorts, and I found it impressive and all. Nonetheless, by the time Dominique got on the negotiating table, he was just tossing out terms that sounded risky, but he pulled them off. For instance, he upped the asking price of each performer to 1000 instead of 800 each, and Carlo didn't even bat an eyelash. It was as though he was lapping it all up or he deliberately spaced out on us.

Nonetheless, it didn't take long before we realized that while we're doing really fine, it's very likely that we won't end up getting a better deal for this month. It's still all good, though. When we left, Kathy started talking about introducing us to some “cute girl in Urdaneta” (I'm merely quoting her...), then steps back and says “you're not single”, and yet not referring to me. Oh, well. In the end, I didn't quite find the hype to be good enough... but I digress. All that talk of “go straight” was particularly amusing, though.

.:The Birthday Girl:.

What's not to like about this picture?

When we got back to the Chua residence, things were beginning to get interesting. Sacha was there, and then tried on her Cheongsam, which was nothing short of gorgeous on her... nonetheless, Peppy and I ended up chopping the potatoes in lieu of Sach, as she sure wasn't dressed for that particular task. It was just fun, really. So there we were, conversing, and all, and then we suddenly just had to eat, as Mr. Chua decided to call it mealtime already. For the record, I loved Kathy's stew, though it obviously could've used some more spices, though that stuff was out of her hands already. Honestly, it's only now that I've been feeling rather at ease with Kathy. She's a genuinely great friend, who's street-smart and witty and brilliant in her own right.

Soon enough, Sean got there, then so did Carl, Erick, and Zeus. Dominique was the last to arrive, but he was the first to show up for the day, truth be told . I already had my present for Sach, although not quite the most expensive or brand-new present I could come up with, but certainly something I was certain she'd appreciate. Dinner was interesting, with varying topics of conversation, before we decided to go and grab some ice cream after a while. The cake was good, too. Sacha was exceedingly giddy over the sugar flowers...

We didn't make it to Cash and Carry as it was closed already when we scooted over there, but we passed by a Mini Stop and got ice cream from there instead. Sacha was mighty pleased. Ice cream has that effect on her. After a while, ice cream was served, and it wasn't long before Zeus then Dominique left (Sean already left after dinner...). This was of course after a special meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Chua regarding the future plans regarding spinning, especially the safety practices and the publicity we hoped to generate for the group. The discussions were particularly interesting, and then we started practicing with the poi again.

Yes, I can do the corkscrew consistently now, and I can also do the reverse weave now! Yay. Took me long enough to learn that trick...

.:The Moment:.

So after a while and some downtime in between all the storytelling and the spinning practice, I asked Sacha if she wanted to get her present already. While she was indeed getting a letter from me for her birthday, I decided to give her a little something more, and I went with her to my bag to get her the present. It was my copy of “I, Robot”, which I'm sure she appreciated, especially since she's an Asimov fan, and she's seen the movie with me already.

Then we just had a moment that seemed to last an eternity. I was really happy that she liked the present, and it was fun how she kept on commenting that I was too tall. Nonetheless, it was really memorable, and by the time we went back down to the studio, it was as though nothing happened. But we know better...

What else is there to say? Sacha is simply a special friend who has made an indelible impact in my life... Little has been left unsaid, and I like it that way.

.:Spinning And Shooting:.

After more downtime, Sacha and Erick started trying to do a back to back spinning thing, where they lean back on one another. At one point, Erick nearly fell over Sacha because he was leaning too far back already. Soon enough, they just started doing all these athletic tricks like Chinese getups (My favorite trick. If I could do that, I'd be so happy.), cartwheels, and jumping over one's own leg. It was really fun... I was calling Erick a “mutant” for all of that... Sach then proceeded to dizzy herself several times while spinning around doing alternate forward and backward weaves. We had to hold her in place a couple of times...

The topic shifted to air guns and “Gotcha” or something similar, eventually. The cruelty to animals bit from Carl sort of freaked me out, but it was okay. I ended up having to console Sacha when Carl started talking about how his uncles spent their time shooting at stray cats... heh. Still, the shooting the rooster story was even worse, and worse than that was the empty air gun that Erick nearly blew his head off with. Apparently, the compressed air was so powerful, it took half of a chicken's face clean off when he shot it instead of himself... crazy people.

So why did Carl do that mean thing to the rooster? Well, this isn't revenge...