I just remembered, as we were in the car, headed out to the Cultural Center of the Philippines for H’s surprise, which turned out to be a performance of the Philippine Madrigal Singers with the special participation of the instrument ensembles from the Philippine Montessori Center and Temple Hill International School with PMCIE ’09 NY Tour Group, where we were exactly the same day last year.
We were at JMa and Nick’s joint birthday party at the now-non-existent 9 Mile Bar in Kalayaan Avenue. Unlike this year when I turned up with an all black ensemble, befitting of a patron-of-the-arts (according to Nick) hobnobbing with the elite members of the Manila society and the vice-president himself (eventually to end up in Cubao X for the Meiday event), I was in a flimsy little ecru dress in powdery blue wings, in my best attempt to be in costume-but-not-really so.

With the birthday girl, Janice and Ktin, who is now in U.K.