tepsies | Monster Speak

Before we decided to conquer the universe, we were just college kids who were always up to something good. We generally cut class to study for the next class. Whenever someone dropped a course, it was with our parents’ permission. We didn’t really get into a lot of trouble and the only thing we did in copious amounts was sleeping in the library, eating junkfood and taking notes. Some of us even volunteered for World Youth Day. Wild times.

And I had so much fun.

This year we celebrate 22 years of an easy yet deep friendship.

We just spent five days in Bali, a trip which took years in the making. And you can imagine the effort to bring together nine girls who are coming from four different countries to set aside priorities like children, husbands, work and other things. In the end, 5 out of the 9 showed up and that’s already short of amazing.

As in any group dynamic there is usually that one person we call “Jackpot,” who takes advantage of the rest of the group’s outstanding contributions. In this group, I am definitely “Jackpot.”

Without question, the trip would not have been possible without Quelly’s impressive organizing skills. We watched Bali’s beautiful sunsets in the coolest places and had dinner in the best restaurants. Gi kept the rest of the world posted about the trip, Pinky was the official timekeeper, and Abi took charge in organizing Quelly’s “surprise” birthday activity.

And I took this really great photo of my fabulous girlfriends.

Just for posterity, let me recall some highlights: (Pero bilang Jackpot ako, I really didn’t take that many photos so I will just steal from their photos. )

At Seminyak, we stayed at Mutiara Villa where we had our very own mini-resort with a pool and a kitchen where they cooked breakfast for us every morning.

A beach that we had all to ourselves.

Impromptu singing by Gizella and Abi while white folks in the audience danced.

Getting a massage in an underground cave.

Ending up in tears while brainstorming for the #manilagirlsgonewild campaign. Driver Nyoman ends up laughing with us too (or maybe at us).

It’s always handy to have a copywriter around…

Riding on a funicular, sitting by the edge of a cliff while a DJ is on top of a huge rock while everybody waits for the sun to set. Rock Bar is fun times.