opening day :)

september 28, 2004 - mooncake festival, an auspicious date in the chinese calendar because it falls on a full moon and the opening of Gotcha Mini Mart :)

ricky and i were there early, around 7:30 a.m. the head waiter from la milagrosa catering was already there. the tents were set-up the day before so people who were in the vicinity knew that something was going to happen. the staff came in as well and we prepared the store, tidied it up did some last minute arrangements for the items.

by 8 a.m., the waiters were already preparing the flatware for the tables. we "borrowed" the empty space next door because 100 guests wouldn't fit outside. there were only about 4-5 tables situated under the tents. the rest, sa loob na. industrial fans were set since lunchtime ang kainan, mainit sa loob. good thing it didn't rain even if days before, there were sudden downpours even if the sun was shining. the flowers started coming in as well.

the lechon which was a gift from jackie, ricky's ate (and my "ate" as well... :) am i allowed to say that already? :)) ) came in at around 10 a.m. it was funny because they unloaded 2 small pigs. when they checked the receipt, we were supposed to get the big one. so they "exchanged" the pigs. mario saw the pigs being loaded into the delivery van and panicked so he asked "bakit, anong nangyari?" when i explained they mistakenly unloaded the two small ones instead of the big one, he smiled. :)

the priest was due any minute so, i had to change from jeans to my slacks. our friends started coming in & of course, our invited guests. after waiting for those who'll cut the ribbon, by 11:30 a.m. the ceremony was underway. it was a short ceremony followed by the "coin & candy tossing". i don't know the origin of this but it bodes well for the business. the owner throws candies and coins into the store (papasok) so that the customers, money, good fortune will also come into the store. people inside the store rush to get the coins or candy, either of which mean good luck as well for those who get it. (am i correct? anyone who wishes to shed light on this please do so...)

then, everyone proceeded next door to eat lunch. now, this is where my memory of what transpired is as fuzzy as my fave fruit, the peach. why? well, ricky and i didn't get to eat as much because either we were entertaining our guests or we were at the store; some of the guests bought goodies. so we had to shuttle back and forth between the store and the lunch. our friends were teasing us that it was some sort of dry run for what was going to happen in december. kulang na lang ay bumisita kami sa bawat table at magpakuha ng picture hehehe ;)

after eating some guests bought stuff, others went back to their offices. parang nag-lunch out lang sila. hehehe others stayed at the store, tumambay lang, nakipagkwentuhan or ate some goodies they bought.

opening day was in its own right, a huge success. ricky and i are truly grateful for a wonderful grand opening and blessing.

pictures wil be posted soon, please bear with me.... i know you guys always do.

next: what's been happening since sept. 28?