SPEAKING OF MEETING UP WITH OLD FRIENDS.....=D

A little over a week ago, I managed to sneak out of the office for lunch to welcome back Eric O who was home for a quick visit from L.A. Eric used to be Category Head when I was...well...still a child in the Marketing world. Haha! I joined the Tomato & Pineapple Company as a 24-year old who found herself to be the only "kid" (well, other than Mitch S who was 3 years older than me) in the company of mid-30s and up. They used to call me "Bata" and often referred to me as the baby of the Marketing group (ngyaaarrrrr....=)). Consequently, whether rightly or wrongly, it was a struggle in the beginning to get people to think that I can actually take on bigger and more major brands. It's not that they thought I was stupid. In fact, everyone seemed to think (whether rightly or wrongly, haha) that I was made of pretty good stuff. Still, in pretty much the same way that our moms and dads continue to think of us as their 5-year old kids even when we're almost 30, Boss WAS and Boss ATC, at that time, probably had a hard time reconciling the 24-year old newbie that they hired with someone capable enough to handle the major brands. And so for years, I stayed with Ketchup, Vinegar and Beans. Very active brands (as far as A&P is concerned), but minor enough to not have any major impact on Op Inc in case I messed it up. I recognized that they saw this as a training ground for me (I used to report directly to Boss WAS who was Marketing Director and Boss ATC who was, at that time, Philippine Market GM) but it was Eric O who made them see the light when--by some stroke of lucky brand realignments--I found myself directly reporting to him. He made a case about how I should be made to handle bigger brands. I was made of good stuff. I was ready. What's holding them back? And so, they gambled on me by letting me handle Spaghetti Sauce and Pasta (both still relatively small back then, but decidedly bigger than Ketchup, Vinegar and Beans, haha). From then on, there was no looking back. He was my boss for only a short while (a little over a year only, I think) as he decided to pursue his MBA in the US, but I will forever be grateful to Eric O for getting me on the fast track to Marketing success. =)



In 2004, Eric O hosted me, Mavel and George when we decided to fly to LA from the FMI Expo in Chicago. =) We stayed with him for, I think, four days and used his home as meeting point for all the ex-Tomato & Pineapple company folks who have since migrated to L.A. This year, he came back for a quick visit. He has not been home since he left for B-School. True to form (he was a no-fuss kind of guy), we only found out he was here days before he was to leave for the U.S.! Susko! So lunch was hurriedly put together. Kabisera @ Bonifacio High Street. I actually missed it and only arrived in time for dessert. Naku! (No biggie as I am NOT a big fan of Kabisera; I think it's waaaaayyyy overpriced for the kind of food that it serves.) Still, it was GREAT (!!!) to meet up with the ex-officemates who have since retired / resigned. It was a quick lunch (par for the course these days, I realize now), but it was good to touch base with him again. =)

And speaking of old friends...susko! Finally managed to find time to meet up with Netski, one of my oldest friends. To be fair, it's not just MY schedule that's going haywire. Hay...hers too. We actually tried to schedule lunch / dinner several times, and cancelled just as often as we scheduled. Naku! Finally, we just bit the bullet and texted each other on a whim, "Lunch?"

"Where?"

"Boni High. I don't have a car."

"Game. Where? Somewhere light. I'm not hungry."

And that's how we ended up in Mini Shabu-Shabu. =D One of my favorite restaurants in the world for both gustatory and sentimental reasons. Hubby Sweet and I ate @ the Shangri-La branch on the first day that we met. Haha. =D

Anyway!!! Netski and I were meeting up because she had to get something off her chest. As we used to do during The Wander Years, we decided to meet up. We used to drown our....uh....sorrows in alcohol. These days, we just simmer them away in comfort food. Times have indeed changed. Haha. =D

Which is why the Mini Shabu-Shabu was perfect. We each ordered a set. If you do go there, one individual set is enough. Trust me. You'd be super busog. I decided to go with the beef; she decided to go with the pork. Everything else in the set was pretty much the same. Egg noodles and glass noodles. Greens. Fish cakes. Fish and lobster balls. Mushrooms. Oyster. Squid. Shrimps. Sea Urchin (?). Fish fillets. *My mouth is watering like some Pavlovian dog just by remembering the list, haha! =D*

The good thing about Mini Shabu-Shabu is that you get your own personal-sized vat so you can pretty much do what you want (unlike the older shabu-shabu restaurants where the grill and vat are shared at the center of the table). I like getting double-servings of the dip as I like dumping most of the condiments into my bubbling vat of broth for added flavor. The "extra dip", I use for...well...dipping (haha =D) before I shove everything into my mouth. *I am still salivating...ngyar...=D*

Netski and I had a long-drawn lunch. Lucky that I was relatively free that day (that's why I texted). Her troubles at that time did not merit all the "quick lunches" I seem to be having a lot of these days. So we talked (and occasionally laughed) as the broth bubbled and tossed all the different ingredients around. Literally soup (and shabu-shabu) for the soul. Haha!

After lunch, we skipped over to Hobbes where we drowned her troubles further in good-for-you-healthy-frozen-yoghurt-smothered-with-not-so-good-for-you-mochis-cookie doughs-etc.-etc. Haha! =D

Back in college, for Freshman English, I remember being asked to read a short story by some writer I have sheepishly already forgotten. What she wrote, however, continues to stay with me to this day. It was a story about two girls who grew up together and were so close, as kids, they practically treated each other as sisters. Then they grew up, moved away from each other, and lost touch--except for the occasional birthday and holiday greeting card. Then they miraculously found themselves within the same place and excitedly made plans to meet up and catch up. When they finally saw each other again, these two who were practically sisters when they were kids, sadly found that they no longer had much to talk about.

You work at friendship, she wrote, realizing what happened between her and her childhood friend.

You write.

You call.

You show up.

Otherwise, you're just two taxpayers.

I value my friends too much to let that happen.

MUST. MAKE. TIME. =D

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Now, why do I get the feeling the first comments I will get out of this blog post will come from BFF Apes and BFF Cheffy--asking me, "So, saan kami magbabayad ng buwis?!" HAHA! =D Sya, sya. Lunch. Next week? *Sheepish grin...=D*