Happy to have made a quick trip back to Manila to attend the Department's continuing education program for its diplo-lawyers -- my first (and so far only) return to the mother ship since my Sydney posting. So many updates! So many things discovered! To wit:
* do a trip advisor search for hotels to stay at near the home office, and you won't be disappointed in the range of results
this is what happens when you use "rating", "distance" and "masarap raw ang pansit" as your search filters
* the home office lobby now has sleek flat-screen monitors and cool hotel lighting
trip advisor, take note
* there're more batchmates still at the home office than I thought
as batchmate ALIAS DEMON ANUS (center) said, "every now and then, we need more than one car to go for a batch dinner"
* hey, speaking of dinner, the construction at the corner lot next to the home office turned out to be...a premium steak restaurant!
for a while there we thought it would be another Ms. Universal, or something that would show up in trip advisor filters
* batchmate ABHORRENT ROTTEN ODD ASS (center) has left the foreign service but remains most helpful to it.
our little boy is now all grown up and lecturing senior diplomats on the law of the sea
* it's the return of my doppelganger "Cat" and, how shall we put this...he used to be my body-double; now he's double my body
and yet everyone at the home office still confused the two of us!
* IBP now has merch
but no swag
* my first-half of seminar seatmate - who happened to also be my seatmate during the last FSO oral exams (and went on to be batch topnotcher) - is so high midi-chlorian talented I found her casually doodling portraits during lectures
impressive...most impresive
* as for my second-half of seminar seatmate...sigh
more like sithmate, amirite?
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