T.G.I.T.

Today's Thursday – the last day of the working week, and the last working day before I officially go on holiday. Yipee!

As usual, the hours went by really fast. I had anticipated that it would be a hectic day, and I was right. my boss had just gotten back from his vacation so I spent almost an hour in the morning giving him an update on the goings-on while he was away. The rest of the work day was devoted to finishing up of several tasks because I didn’t want to leave piles of pending work while I’m gone.

I was pretty much in a good mood today – probably because half of me was already on a holiday mood. LOL! Ryan prepared my homemade Starbucks coffee this morning and borrowed Beth’s car to drive me for work, too (he recently got his driver’s license here in the UAE – hooray!!). Brightening up my day further were the Schengen Visas stamped on our passports handed over to me just before close of business. Just goes to prove that the cancellation of our summer holidays will not be futile, and it meant that we will be travelling together to a far better place than the original plan. It also meant that for the first time, my hubby will be able to accompany me on a business trip, which means no more tears and miss-you-like-crazy-nights-because-I’m-all-alone-in-this-room drama! :D

Since a lot of good things happened this week, I realized it needed a proper capping off. I decided to celebrate a little with Ryan and a couple of our buddies, and off we went to Romano's Macaroni Grill in Dubai Festival City. While waiting for our orders, we had an amusing time scribbling and writing down funny phrases on the table with the crayons they provided. K started to write Chinese characters, which kick-started Ryan into writing his name and some numbers in Chinese, too! I was totally astonished because I’ve never seen him write chinese before although I knew he attended a Chinese school in his childhood days. But that was ages ago! Well, one thing I've learnt about this minute discovery is that marriage will never cease to surprise you of the many things you find out about the other person as time goes by. And these surprises may come in the most casual occurrences of your life. I guess that makes marriage all the more exciting and challenging huh! :)

Halfway through our meal, a couple of chefs approached one of the tables in the restaurant. Someone must be celebrating his birthday in that corner, and the chefs were there to greet him. We were already expecting the usual happy birthday tune when one of the chefs belted out an Italian, almost “Pavarotti-like” happy birthday. I was so sure he was Italian until he turned his back and faced our way. OMG, he was Filipino! Our eyes scanned the entire resto and realized that every chef in the see-through glass kitchen is a Pinoy. They were all wearing happy smiles to cheer their mate. They don’t just serve fantastic food – they also feature great talents in a unique kind of way! Inside, I was beaming with pride. these people -- they have such gift…such happy disposition…such resilience to face up to life.

This Thursday was a special TGIT to me. It was a day of warm coffee made with TLC, of relief that the week is finally over, of good meal with good company, of laughter resonating in the car on the way home, of simple realizations, of silent prayers heard, and of quiet, personal time as I write this blog.

Deep down, I am happy, for I know I am blessed.