JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

There’s something about the season of peace on earth and goodwill to all men that brings out the worst in people. So I knew traffic would be hell and the taxi situation impossible. There’s some comfort in being right.

I needed prescription lenses for my new frames so I went to see my optometrist Nella Sarabia at UP Shopping Center. (Incidentally if you are in desperate need of signed copies of Twisted 9 and 8 1/2 they are available at Nella’s shop. Her number is 4355685.) My appointment took ten minutes; getting out of UP Diliman took over an hour. After waiting outside the shopping center for several minutes I figured I’d have as much chance of getting a cab if I walked around the campus as I did just standing there and getting bored.

So I took a walk. A long walk. I remembered Jon’s advice and ate a banana-Q before setting out (I didn’t have breakfast and it was past 3pm.) The campus felt abandoned (the Lantern Parade was held the previous day), the foliage was lush, the weather my favorite kind—cool and gloomy. I don’t know how long I walked, but I finished listening to Avalon by Roxy Music and half of Pirates by Rickie Lee Jones (I picked those two because I listened to them constantly in school). At “Traces of the Western Slopes” a taxi appeared, and the driver agreed to take me to Cubao Expo where I was meeting Noel.

By the time I got to Cubao I was famished so I went to Bellini’s, which is owned by the ex-paparazzo from Pisa, Roberto Bellini. Mr. Bellini is so vivacious he is sometimes asked if he starred in Life Is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni). “What will you have!” he cried. “What have you got!” I replied. “Fresh fettucini with clams in tomato sauce!” he said. “I’ll take it!”

The fettucini was excellent. I mopped up the remaining sauce with fresh foccacia, then I had a slice of Bellini’s classic orange cake and an espresso. Mr. Bellini reminded me that I had been going to their restaurant since they opened in 1999. “This is on me!” he announced. Good as my meal was, it tasted even better afterwards because it was free.

Mr. Bellini

Noel had had to cram into the MRT to get to Cubao. There was this cranky guy by the door of the train car, and every time someone came in he said, “Bakit ka nakikipagsiksikan?” as if the passengers had a choice.

We found presents for our friends in Cubao Expo, then steeled ourselves for the MRT ride back to Makati. But then a taxi materialized in front of us, and the driver overcharged but we figured it was worth it.

After dinner we had cake and coffee at our friend’s new apartment, and the view made us forget how tired we were.