First in the order of business was watching Harry Potter 6 in IMAX, where the first 15 minutes were also in 3D — hence the goofy glasses.
Next up was ice skating at the only Olympic-sized rink in the country located within the mall. Our cousin Pastus is a manager there — he drives the zamboni and takes the injured to the hospital, among other very important things. Skating was fun, as was observing Nathan and Caleb skating — it was Caleb's first time and he looked like Abraham Lincoln or a daddy long legs when he started losing his balance and his long arms and legs flailed around, but he was amazing and would somehow manage to keep himself from falling. By the time our hour was up, he looked like a pro!
For dinner, we walked up and down the sidewalk by Manila Bay searching for a restaurant where you pick your own seafood from an aquarium in the restaurant. We made a poor restaurant selection, however, as the staff picked it out from a market for us and seemed more interested in a soap opera on tv than doing their job. I guess that's what we get for giving in to the waiter who wouldn't let us pass without listening to his schpeel and looking at the menu — if they have to try that hard for patrons, can the food be that good?
Wednesday was Dad's birthday, so we spent the day celebrating his "fifty-something years" in the words of Mom. We went to the theater for Public Enemies (well done, but depressing), then headed back to the condo to enjoy some cake (chocolate) and ice cream (ube, macapuno, and queso, i.e. cheese).
After, we all shared our favorite memories of Dad ("oh no, we're lost..." if you don't know the story, ask me!) and what we appreciate about him — he's amazing at taking care of things, and one of my best memories, how he made me feel so beautiful with his surprised "but you don't NEED makeup" as Mom and I discussed getting my starter makeup collection as a high schooler.
After several of us teared up, we dressed up and went out to a nice dinner with Tito Nilo, Tito Pete and Tita Gerts, and Didy. This restaurant, thankfully, was much better than the previous night. They had fantastic fresh fruit/veggie drinks, great food, and a good staff, and of course we had great company!
We made sure we headed back early enough that Ian and I would have time to finish packing for our big Singapore trip, flight leaving tomorrow!