Pinoy Bloogers Unite!

I mean "Pinoy Bloggers Unite!" I'll get it right one of these days. Our little get-together was quite the smashing affair, complete with a quick but delectable dinner for Sunny, BJ, Marianne, and myself at Foreign Cinema:



For Sunny? Scallops and a sort of leek/caviar combo wombo. BJ and I both partook of some Ono and braised veggies, while Marianne—claiming to have spent herself on corned beef hash and eggs in the morning—picked away at a calamari salad. From Foreign Cinema, it was down the street and half a block to the right for Writers with Drinks, presided over by Charlie Anders wearing a pretty, classic black shift and mussed-just-so hair. La Poeta Reyes was impeccable, of course. Here's our rockstar alongside Marianne at the venue:



This guy from the comedy troupe Killing My Lobster had me so amused I was laughing "the silent laugh,"—the kind that makes you look like a deranged street wanderer. I also had the inexplicable urge to hit someone (sorry Sunny!), which I went ahead and indulged. The performer, you see, gave a poetic reading from the "Chance Encounters" section of Craigslist. "Spoke...To...YOU!...at...IKEA," was the title of the first one. Lordy.

On our way out of the Makeout Room, who should we meet swimming downstream but...Ms. Jean Vengua! "Don't tell me," she said. "You're leaving." This was true, but we were only heading across the street to the Revolution Cafe, where we were soon met by Gladys, birthday girl Joanne, Anthem, Irene, and ob, who valiantly arrived straight from Oakland Airport, bag in tow. Wayne (possibly the world's nicest person) and Sunny kept the sangria flowing, and much fun ensued. Here are some big smiles from three frighteningly smart people—Joanne, Sunny, and Gladys:



And here are Jean and BJ, also frighteningly smart (yes, it's hard to be the simpleton of the lot, but I did my best to perform the job with grace and, um, dignity):



And BJ and Oscar checking in with the singular Rich Villar:



So, here are some things I found out while sitting at the Revolution Cafe with these lovely people:

1) Marianne is "fascinated" by Japanese rope bondage.
2) BJ is fascinated by the sound of Marianne's voice continually repeating the words "Japanese rope bondage."
3) Gladys' eyebrows are truly worthy of praise.
4) We were all talk and no walk when it came to crashing the quinceanera across the street (we wanted cake).
5) ob had the best idea re: #4. He wanted to approach the door and say, "Yo, is Maria in there?"
6) BJ can do a mean cabbage patch.

At around 11:00, we became ravenous for fried food and headed down the street to Popeye's Fried Chicken. It was closed, but we could not be deterred and wound up at La Alteña for an almost-midnight snack. Here is a picture of what Oscar and I handily consumed:



And here are some pictures of us before we dug in. The post-feast photo is not suitable for viewing (and I mean that in several ways):




So, here are some things I learned while sitting at La Alteña with these lovely people:

1) When Sunny makes uncharacteristically large sweeping motions with his hands and moves from side to side while repeating, "I'm sober," he is not. Sober, I mean.
2) If forced, Joanne could make a killer mixed CD of 80s slow jams.
3) If forced, I could return the counter after eating my entire first order and ask, meekly, for a beef taco.
4) Forced or not, I could eat it.
5) Irene and Anthem were so cute rocking their headgear and outerwear; I wish I'd taken a picture.

And then, and then...it was over. BJ and Oscar caught the midnight train back to Oakland while the rest of us loitered for another 20 minutes before heading to our respective homes and wondering aloud who would be the first to blog. Sunny took the honors, managing to squeak a post in at two o'clock in the morning and update his flickr account! I was asleep just before one, but then Lea vomited every hour until about 6:30, so it's taken me this long to recover and leave this detailed account of a bunch of Filipinos and Filipino-friendly folks freely frolicking 'round the Mission.

*strikes the 'phew' pose*

[UPDATE. Sunny is right! The dramatic Craigslist reading was from "Missed Connections," not "Chance Encounters." Is there even a "Chance Encounters" section?! Now I'm makin' up my own damn Craigslist categories...]