I left Siargao last November 18 and returned yesterday. I only resumed working out again today. Well, there was that one day in Bagan, in between sunning myself by the hotel pool, that I swam 20 laps. And then Nicolas and I biked to and from lunch, which wasn't really very far, so I'm not sure if that counts.
In less than a month, I managed to do so much damage to myself - purely from overeating - that I felt like shit and looked it. I was hardly even drinking or smoking.
I missed working out so much that I seriously had fantasies of doing push-ups, walking lunges and box jumps. But I was either too busy or too tired - or both - to do anything. On one flight, I tried to do air squats by the lavatories but it was a small plane and I got curious looks. In Bangkok, I was looking forward to using the gym at our hotel because, from the photos I had seen, I knew that it had the Technogym personal Kinesis machine and I so wanted to do Kinesis again. But even with 24-hour access to the gym, the spirit was eager but the flesh needed to sleep.
Today, I finally found the will power to get off my ass and start again. Even if I got up late and the sun was glaring, I did the following this morning:
Jogging, 2 km., time: 16:29 minutes
Biking, 10+ km.
I felt totally elated afterwards.
In the afternoon, I watched a few new Jillian Michaels' workout videos and tried doing Level 1 of "6 Week Six-Pack" and nearly gave up at the warm-up. I got as far as the burpees and a few of those squat twists before I gave up. Will try again tomorrow.
I went to the pool instead.
Swimming, 32 laps (1 km. + 24 m.)
I'm also making an earnest effort at returning to Paleo and intermittent fasting. I only started yesterday but I'm already feeling better. Let's see if I can maintain the regimen in the ten days that I am here.
I can't tell you how much I am dreading Christmas in Manila and the usual excesses that come with it.
As predicted, last week was a disaster. I seem to be on a Get-Fat Diet. And I am very successful at it.
Monday
Siargao: I had fruit and coconut milk for breakfast. Raw and Paleo. A deceptively good start to the week. Of course, as soon as I boarded the plane for Cebu, I bought a pack of chocolate chip cookies. I only had two though and gave away the rest.
Cebu: Butch Carungay, of Avatar Accessories, is now the concessionaire at the Mactan Airport in Cebu (article to follow but I can't say when). As research for the not-quite-up-and-may-never-be-coming article, I tried two dishes at Zubuchon - the lechon mami and chorizo pan de sal (- they sound better than they actually are) - then joined Butch at the bar for some chocoron, Belgian lace cookies, and red wine.
Manila: Went straight from the airport to Rosan's Kundalini Yoga birthday celebration at Yoga Plus in Makati. After an hour and a half of Kundalini Yoga, we had some very non-Paleo vegetarian food, then I went to Cirkulo for more red wine to celebrate Kuala Lumpur-based BFF, Mia Trinidad-Hashim,'s birthday.
Plenty of smokes.
Tuesday
Manila: Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 2.
I was trying to be reasonable with my food at home, but then I went to my my sister-in-law's exhibit at Whitespace and we were early so I treated my other sister-in-law to some cakes (yes, plural) at Kitchen's Best, because it makes the best cakes in town. And then I ate everything at the exhibit, and drank everything, and smoked everything. My parents were there so does that count as misbehaving?
Spent the whole morning Googling "hole-in-the-wall restaurants around Makati Avenue and P. Burgos". After my workout, Nicolas and I tried Min Sok for some Korean grub. He didn't like the place, but we both agreed that the food was very good. Nicolas had a meeting in the evening so I ditched my hole-in-the-wall list and had dinner instead at Kabila (- I found the bagnet dry this time around, but the beef adobo was excellent) and drinks at M Cafe. Started with gin, ended with vodka. Some smokes.
Friday
Manila: Unexpected muscle pain from Jazz Le Pole. Bailed on Kundalini Yoga and had a massage instead. Must thank Chiqui Mabanta for passing on Karen Hennesy's recommendation of Island Spa along Jupiter Street. Their deep tissue massage was exactly what I needed!
Discovered the grilled cheese sandwich with potato chips at The Clipper Hotel, my new favorite room service item! Lunch was at LSQ, a northern Chinese restaurant off P. Burgos. Nicolas didn't like it, although he liked the hot and sour soup. I thought it was good. I liked the combination of century egg, spicy shrimp, Beijing-style stir-fried cabbage and preserved vegetables and pork fried rice. We both weren't too crazy about the dumplings. Needless to say, I ordered too much. Again. Dinner was at Cirkulo with Malu and Rosan and a bottle of Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru. Snacked at Corner Tree Cafe in the afternoon and El Chupacabra in the evening (- both of which are Chiqui Mabanta's joints). Some smokes.
Saturday
Manila: Another order of that grilled cheese sandwich with potato chips at The Clipper! (Don't forget to crush the chips in the sandwich!)
Balesin: Nicolas and I flew with friends to Balesin Island for the weekend to celebrate Rosan and MiaTrin's birthdays again.
For exercise, the girls and I swam in the pool and did this:
and:
Nicolas thought that our lunch alone at Sakura, the Japanese restaurant, was worth the trip to Balesin. The maki roll named after Chef Edo San was the bomb, as was the one with unagi and the one with soft-shelled crab. The creamy spicy chicken karaage is a must, as is the Japanese creme brûlée (- I tried the green tea, and the black sesame; I recommend getting the same flavored ice cream as the creme brûlée). It's pricey, but well worth it. (Sakura is also at the 6th floor of Alphaland Southgate Tower. Tel. 02-337-2031.) The food at Mykonos was also very good (- order the lamb in advance).
Lots of snackage. Lots of wine. Some vodka and a shot of Patron XO. Some smokes.
Sunday
Balesin: We swam in the ocean and did the same Kundalini Yoga exercises, plus:
The buffet breakfast at the clubhouse was worth it for:
the fresh bacon
the bangus belly
the Vigan longganisa
With lots of garlic rice and fried eggs, of course. Malu also brought some ensaimadas from the Salcedo Market that I should have polished off, except that I was being polite and they ended up being left at the table. Doh!
Storm Utor (a.k.a. "Labuyo") was brewing so all the outlets were shut down except for Balesin and Sakura. I must admit that I am not a fan of the Filipino food at the clubhouse. I still ate a lot though because I had to try everything.
No booze. Some smokes.
Monday
Minimum exercise. Dodging waves in the ocean and swimming in the pool.
Balesin:
Breakfast highlights:
the fresh bacon
daing na bangus
pampano in soy sauce and calamansi
We had a very windy lunch at Fish Fun. We ordered prawns and crabs in butter and garlic, ensalatang talong (eggpalnt salad), kinilaw (raw fish in vinegar, similar to ceviche), pinakbet (a vegetable dish with shrimp paste), and Chinese-style steamed lapu-lapu (grouper). Nicolas was swooning! He thought the quality of the food was very good and he declared it an excellent meal.
We finished all the junk food at the hangar while waiting for our flight. And I bought some of Joanna Ongpin Duarte's espresso chip cookies (- totally yummy, but they are even better chilled), available at the shop called "Joanna's".
I had a margarita at 10:30 AM and a vodka-calamansi at lunch. Some smokes.
Manila: Back at The Clipper. Would have had another grilled cheese sandwich except that their room service is only up to 3 PM. Finally got to use the delivery service: 212-1212 (Deliver TwoAnyOne). Nicolas and I ordered from Draft Gastropub (- he had the fried camembert and the fettucine, while I had the onion soup and the mac and cheese). The food was yummy! Can't wait to try other restaurants on the website, although the website could benefit from a search engine. Heck, the entire operation could benefit from a better website, full stop.
***
I'm dreading getting on a scale. I would promise to start behaving tomorrow if I weren't planning on having another grilled cheese sandwich before checking out.
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1 (Started using three-kilo dumbbells for the upright rows and bicep curls.)
3 sets of 20 kettlebell swings (16 kilos)
Swimming: 20 laps
One Paleo meal.
Tuesday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
3 sets of 20 kettlebell swings (16 kilos)
Swimming: 20 laps
One Paleo meal.
Wednesday (Went to Surigao for the day to bring Apollo to the vet.)
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1 (Started using three-kilo dumbbells for the chest flys.)
3 sets of 20 kettlebell swings (16 kilos)
Swimming: 20 laps
One non-Paleo meal. Sushi/sashimi buffet at The Boardwalk, topped off with a chocolate fondant at Kawayan. Lots of cigarettes.
Thursday
Zero exercise.
One Paleo meal and one non-Paleo meal. Snackage: Reese's Nutrageous bar and chocolate cake. Lots of cigarettes.
Friday (Nicolas arrives.)
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
3 sets of 20 kettlebell swings (16 kilos)
Swimming: 20 laps
Two non-Paleo meals, including a tasting at Nine Bar. Snackage: Reese's white-chocolate covered miniature cups (available at the old Manila Domestic Terminal). Lots of wine, Red Horse, and cigarettes.
And chocolate and cigarettes.
Saturday
Zero exercise. Hungover. Blech.
One Paleo meal, one non-Paleo meal. Snackage: Chocoron (chocolate-covered chicharon). Don't knock it till you've tried it!
Available at the Mactan Airport in Cebu.
Sunday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
3 sets of 20 kettlebell swings (16 kilos)
Swimming: 20 laps
One non-Paleo meal. Snackage: Crunchy Cheetos.
Weight loss: Half a kilo. Still above normal weight. Doh! Must minimize snackage, she thought to herself as she ordered fried rice, fried eggs and sardines for breakfast... Gaaaaahhhhhh!!!
I'm back in Siargao, Land of the Lost (Internet Connection).
In my last post, when I said that I ended up fattening me up, I wasn't kidding. I lasted all of two days back on Paleo and had an ensaimada fixation. When the numbers on the scale started to climb, I thought, "Not bad. I like myself like this." Except that the numbers kept climbing. And then I no longer liked what I saw, but I still couldn't stop. I was the heaviest I had ever been. EVER. Ugh.
When I saw Nicolas in Cebu, he eyed me suspiciously for some time and then finally asked if I had gained weight. I gave him my brightest smile and nodded vigorously, "Yes, I did!" He frowned at me. "This is the heaviest I've seen you." "Yes, I know," I gushed. I don't think he was too happy with my enthusiasm.
"Pah! I'll be in Siargao soon. I'll lose it in no time!" I assured him.
Before I left civilization, I rediscovered how to grab videos off YouTube (- if you're a Mac user, I recommend ClipGrab) and downloaded workout videos that I could do in Siargao. For those days when I can't be bothered to get dressed, get out, and enjoy the great outdoors. Which, in truth, is every day.
I had big plans: I'd learn to do double unders, do proper push-ups, challenge myself with 40 days of Kundalini Yoga. But then I remembered I was me. Soooooo, this week, this is what I've done.
One Paleo meal. A few shots of Patron XO and beer till I forgot my name. Lots of cigarettes. Once a week, right?
*Okay, I had never heard of Jillian Michaels until last week's YouTube harvest, but she seems to be okay. So far, anyone should be able to do her "Shred, Level 1". I like it that she breaks down each exercise to short, managable segments (e.g. two minutes of cardio would be 30 seconds of jump rope, followed by 30 seconds of butt kicks, then repeat), and that the entire workout takes only 20 minutes.
Tuesday
Zero exercise.
Two non-Paleo meals. Mojitos and wine. Lots of cigarettes. Doh!
Wednesday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
Swimming: 20 laps
One Paleo meal.
Thursday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
Swimming: 20 laps
One Paleo meal.
Friday (Nicolas' arrives.)
Zero exercise.
One Paleo meal and one non-Paleo meal. A bottle of wine and a few beers. Lots of cigarettes. Oops!
Saturday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
Swimming: 20 laps
One non-Paleo meal and one Paleo meal. Half a bottle of wine. It was a 2008 Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru, mind you!
Sunday
Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred, Level 1
Swimming: 20 laps
One Paleo meal and one non-Paleo meal. FIVE crepes. Gaaah! I'm blaming PMS!
So far, I've lost three kilos. I'm still over my regular, acceptable weight, but that isn't really a surprise, is it? Sigh...
The last week in Siargao was a bit rough. Lots of long nights of much abuse to the body. I'm still feeling pretty ragged.
If I hardly had any cheat days before, well, I've more than made up for it. Aside from being constantly hungover, I may also be PMS-ing so suffice it to say that there was no fasting of any kind going on last week. For the last two days alone, I indulged in one my favorite breakfasts: spicy Spanish sardines, scrambled eggs - and garlic fried rice. Holy YUM. (I'd like another plate, please.)
My favorite brand of Spanish-style sardines. (Internet file photo.)
So, if I recall correctly, I had rice on, at least, four occasions (- there could have been more), rice flour in the form of lumpia (spring roll) wrappers on one occasion, and sugar in calamansi juice and in two servings of avocado chia pudding. Still no wheat or gluten.
I know I said I was taking a break from swimming on Monday but I took it on Tuesday instead, then resumed swimming everyday after that, including today. I even managed a run last Thursday (4 km, 33:39).
Today, I am in Cebu. Tomorrow, I'll be in Manila. Right now, all I want to do is sleep. And I want a block of dark chocolate to sit on my face. I am totally PMS-ing.
I've been doing really well with my Paleo diet. I haven't really had too many cheat days. But, as I said before, if I'm going to cheat, I'll do it with dairy or sugar, maybe even - gasp! - rice. Anything but wheat and gluten. If the naysayers are to be believed, wheat and gluten are responsible for everything that is wrong with this world, including Justin Bieber.
Except that, I was looking through a food blog recently and it occured to me that wheat (and, by extension, gluten) is responsible for most everything that is good in this world. That's everything in a bakery, Oreos, cookie dough ice cream, fried chicken, ham and cheese sandwiches, pizza, meat pies, BEER. It's rather cruel, really. I've oft repeated the line "The best things in life are illegal, immoral or fattening," and it would be funny, if it weren't so absofuckinglutely true. For instance, why can't zucchini be addicting? Why must bitter gourd taste vile? Why is it the good stuff that's always bad??? (Why, ye cruel gods, why???)
Because of this strict no-wheat/gluten rule, I've had to do more research on what alcoholic drinks I can have.
I really don't .
FYI, ALL distilled drinks are gluten-free, unless gluten flavors were added afterwards. That includes vodka. Hooray! Although there have been reports of people claiming sensitivity to alcohol made from grain, technically, it's not supposed to happen. I'll go with science on this one, thank you. (Beer is still out because it is brewed and not distilled. Boo!)
Unfortunately, while most drinks are gluten-free, they are not wheat free. Here's a list of alcohol made from wheat. Unfortunately, it includes vodka. (Noooooo!!!) But I'd like to think (and I could be wrong here) that the main objection to wheat is gluten so with the gluten component removed, then everything should be back to being hunky dory. As I said, I could be wrong, but I do love vodka.
And besides...
I have no idea what magazine this is from or if it's true or not - but I believe it! ;-)
I'm not sure how long I can keep this up. On one hand, I feel really good. On the other, I'm going to France, the land of baguettes, croissants and crepes! How could I possibly resist???
I'll take it one day at a time.
I'm still intermittent fasting but I'm not too strict about it. I have lunch and dinner with Nicolas when he's here on the weekends. If I'm hungover, I won't hesitate to ask for a big bacon and scrambled eggs breakfast, as I did before it was even 6 AM this morning. If I need something sweet, I'll have a banana (or ten). I don't really need to lose any more weight and am quite happy where I'm at now.
What I really have to do is stop smoking. Not only because when I smoke, I smoke like a chimney, but also because it keeps me awake. For instance, yesterday, I had a very long, boozey lunch that turned into 1 AM at a sleazy bar somewhere. At 3 AM, I was still ordering stuff from Etsy. (I know. My credit card is screaming for an intervention.) By 5:30, I was awake and ready for bacon and eggs. I've actually been getting more sleep now but, when I've been smoking a lot, I find it difficult to get any decent rest. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm ready to quit again. Not just yet.
So I'm back in Siargao. I flew to Cebu last Thursday (March 7) then to Siargao the next day. I'll be here till April 1.
I've resumed doing my 20 laps (minimum) in the pool everyday. I've only had one cheat day (which was in Cebu) since resuming Paleo but, for as long as I don't have any wheat, I still consider that a good day. Although - whoa! - I must confess that I am, once again, back to being extremely sensitive to lactic acid.
I also resumed intermittent fasting last Monday. Although I've had to revise my schedule. I now realize that I wasn't really fasting before by taking all those smoothies and juices during my supposed fasting state. Now my feeding time is from 1 PM to 7 PM so I have six hours to consume all the calories I need in the day (including the smoothies and juices); digestion should be up to 1 AM, and I should be totally food free and consume only water from 1 AM to 1 PM.
I'm struggling a bit with it because I find that, by the time I swim at 5 PM, I'm so full of liquids that I feel like hurling in the pool. I really prefer working out on an empty stomach.
I know this doesn't have anything to do with anything here. I just find it funny. And it kinda goes with the lactose intolerance pic. ;-)
The great thing about the time though is that I can have lunch at 1 PM and dinner at 6:30 PM, although I must confess that I've only been having one main meal a day, mostly dinner.
Yesterday, I had a big raw food lunch with Susan in the afternoon, then I went biking with her (- I probably did around 6-7 km.; I had to cut my ride short because of the rain) and then I still had my swim at 5 PM. I only had one smoothie in the afternoon and didn't feel the need for anything else the whole evening. (I normally try to have two smoothies a day. One is a green smoothie and the other is that all-natural antioxidant mix* that I get from Cebu.)
I do have a stock of snacks in the refrigerator in case I get hungry. I have my nuts and berries trail mix. I have my fried plantains (which are really just unripe cooking bananas, sliced thinly then fried). I have multiseed crackers. And, yesterday, there was still some leftover raw pancit. But I really didn't feel the need to eat anything in the evening.
Now this has absolutely nothing to do with anything in this entire blog. Although surely you must get the whole "spoiled" and "hog" connection, no? No? Whatever, it's funny. And, no, I'm not smoking anything funny.
What I did feel the need for was a cigarette. Yes, I'm still social smoking but I was a bit too social in Manila that I was wanting to smoke even when I didn't have any company and, um, may have had a cigarette or two in my bedroom. (Eek! Definitely a bad sign! If I can't be bothered to go outside and don't mind the smell of smoke inside my room and getting on all my clothes and things, then I have problem.) I was planning on trying to control it here in Siargao - but I brought a whole carton of cigarettes with me anyway. So far, I've only smoked twice. At dinner at Kalinaw Resort on Friday (which was when we arrived) and during the soft reopening of Nine Bar last Saturday. But, today, I'll be in the company of smokers and, well, the reason why I'm typing this now is to keep me from getting started on a pack already.
Why can't I quit you?
Since I've started doing IF properly, which was only last Monday, I've already lost all the weight I wanted to lose. I started at around 54.75 kilos (according to the scale here) and now I'm at 53.5. I really should try to maintain that now and not lose any more weight because then I'll look too gaunt, which I don't really want.
Energy levels are fine. I'm actually thinking of adding kettlebells and TRX to my daily routine but, yeah, so far, I'm just thinking about it. I don't think there's a cure for laziness yet.
***
*Organic Herbal Tonic, available through Healing Present Nature & Wellness Farm. Contents: A blend of organic turmeric, ginger, basil, oregano, lemongrass, guyabano leaves, passion fruit and calamansi. It's a vile concoction, so I have it blended with fruit. It comes in a medium-sized jar but a small amount goes a long way, so it's best if you transfer the contents into smaller jars and freeze the ones you're not using.
Two and a half more to go. (I have to discontinue my current CrossFit/barre3 program since I'll be leaving for Siargao again.)
So far, I've been going to the 12:30 CrossFit sessions (MWF) and the 12/1 PM barre classes (Sa/TTh although, last week, I only went Thursday and Saturday.) I had massages on Tuesday and Sunday.
Because I like to train on an empty stomach, this means that the earliest I can get food into me is after 1 PM, depending on what time the CrossFit sessions end. So I am still sortakinda doing intermittent fasting.
Paleo? Hmmm... I can only say that I'm trying... I do fail rather spectacularly when I am out. But I have lost one kilo! Oh joy! Weight was 55.2 kg. as of this morning. So at least something is working.
Today's WOD was:
I piled on 30-lb. plates onto the 25-lb. bar, for a total of 85 lbs. for my deadlift. And I did ring rows instead of pull-ups.
Ring rows.
I didn't finish and only got as far as 21 ring rows in the third round.
Will do the evening barre3 tomorrow since two of my favorite boys are in town for a limited time and we've already made a date for lunch. At a ramen house too. There is nothing that a caveman - or cave woman - can eat at a ramen house. Will get back on Paleo for dinner.
I'm so sick of eating right now that if you ask me if there is any food that I crave, I couldn't name a single one. Not pasta or a burger. Not foie gras or anything with truffles on it. Not even ice cream or dark chocolate. But if you put me in front of a table with food - guaranteed 100% - I will eat everything on that table.
Even the stuff I don't like, especially if I think they're supposed to be good. Take those crinkles I was raving about a blog post ago. They were probably left out of the refrigerator for too long and, by the time I got to them, they were stale. But I kept having another crinkle just to make sure. It took me about six of the damned things to concede the point.
You should know by now that I don't do moderation. I am incapable of it. The only solution that works for me is to remove myself from the equation completely. Why do you think I exiled myself to Siargao for three months last year?
During my last week in Manila, before I left for Australia, I started declining lunches or dinners that I didn't have to have. I gave away most of the food I had in the refrigerator, including what was left of those crinkles. At home, I didn't dare venture anywhere near the kitchen or the dinner table. I didn't even want to know what was on the menu. If I didn't see it, I couldn't eat it. If I didn't know about it, I couldn't want it.
In effect, I had resumed intermittent fasting and was back to having one meal a day. I also went to barre3 every day since they reopened their studios after the holidays. Final weigh-in, as of January 12, was 53.5 kilos.
And then I left for Australia and everything went to pot.
Since I've been here, I've been on a steady diet of brownies, ice cream and chocolate. (If ever you're in Melbourne and have a craving for brownies, you might want to give the Brownie Fairy a call at +61-488-758-854. That's my mate, Jane Moss, and her capuccino brownies are to die for.) Before I left Melbourne, I was back at 55 kilos.
I am now staying with Susan and Gerry (my friends from Siargao) in Cronulla, South Sydney, and it's a good thing that they are both trying to be healthy. Which means that Susan dragged me to yoga yesterday. (I can assure you though that I won't be letting her do that again.) And that, although I've been in Cronulla since Thursday afternoon, Gerry and I didn't have any beers until last night. Which was, er, Friday night. (Well, it did seem like a long time to hold off.)
As I was writing this, I was contemplating a return to the Paleo lifestyle, but then Sue came home with a very nice nice sourdough fruit loaf, so I'm pretty sure I won't be entertaining any more thoughts of Paleo again until I am back in the Philippines. But I should be cutting down on the brownies, ice cream and chocolate. Especially since most of them are now in my belly. (Although there are a few Magnum minis still in the freezer and Cold Rock is just around the corner...)
I am now contemplating a run - given that I am, once again, a yoga school dropout...
My last five days in Siargao were a complete disaster.
First of all, I spoke too soon and the weather went from perfect to end-of-days pretty quickly. Also, I got the body pain that I had been craving and couldn't do more than swim on Monday and Tuesday. And have massages. On Wednesday, however, I cranked it up again and went running (2km. only since it started to rain), biking (10.3 km.), then I did three sets of 20 two-hand kettlebell swings (16 kg.) and went swimming (20 laps x 32 m.). I never did get to do taekwondo again as Dominic got busy with holiday guests at Buddha's Surf Resort, where he works part-time.
Food-wise, even my maids didn't even bother to pretend that I was on some diet or fast anymore and stopped bringing me my morning green smoothies, the cheeky bastards. Well, their excuse was that they knew I wasn't sleeping much and they didn't want to wake me so early, in case I had finally fallen asleep. Good thinking, ladies. Gotta love 'em.
On Monday, I gave in to my burger craving and invited some friends over for lunch, to help me partake in what I call "Gai's Dirty Burgers" - bacon-cheese beef burgers, topped with mushrooms, onions, more bacon and melted cheese.
I had two for lunch on Monday and one for lunch on Tuesday. <groan>
On Wednesday, I invited another set of friends over, for dinner this time, and, while I didn't eat too much (- a whale doesn't eat too much compared to these guys), I more than made up for it in alcohol. Let's see... We started off with wine and a shot of Patron XO. Then we moved to a restaurant where they had more food, the pigs, and I had beer, tequila out of my flask, some drink that some guys donated to our table, more beer...
I was dead the next day. I felt so sick, I couldn't even eat. Really! When I can't eat bacon and eggs, especially when I'm hungover, then I must be seriously ill.
The weather went from bad to worse and, although I love swimming in the pool in stormy weather, there was just no way I could get in the pool and hope to live. I didn't bother swimming either the next day, before leaving for Cebu.
In Cebu, I declared myself officially on holiday from my madness, and began my REAL descent to madness.
Since then, it's been unrestrained eating and drinking, with absolutely no exercise apart from hands-in-the-air-woo-hoo dancing.
I got back to Manila yesterday afternoon and am still in a bit of a daze.
