Ace Poolrooms with Nathan and Ane

I had my alarm set early today because I thought that I might arrive at Ace Water Spa earlier than Nathan, his mom, and Ane. Nate told me before that they would eat first at McDonald's before commuting and I didn't want to be late as the guest so I prepared to leave as early as 8 a.m. I had breakfast first at home, though, and I ordered McDonald's as well and had breakfast with my sister. After that and preparing my Cinnamoroll tote bag, I left for Ace Water Spa.

By the time I got there, around 10:50 a.m. or so, Nate's party was still on the way so I was assured that I was early. But since I had nothing else to do but loiter around, I just went inside the hotel area and took a few pics from the area outside the pool room. I mostly waited for a bit and tried to get coffee, but I just approached the counter and paid for a rental short and for my ticket inside. I went to the men's locker room and thankfully my Under Armor shirt was allowed so I just had to wear it and store my stuff. To be honest, I was a little concerned about leaving my iPhone 16 Pro Max inside the locker, but whatever, I had no choice. I took a shower and messaged Nathan that I'd be swimming now and I stuffed my phone into the locker and swam for a while.

Swimming alone was really nice, although I wasn't able to enjoy the full extent of it because I kept thinking about someone. I tried my best to anchor myself to the present but I mostly found myself within my mind, thinking about sad stuff. I'm not sure how much time had passed but I think an hour or so passed and then I surfaced to check if Nathan had messaged me. He did and they were already here. I waited for Nathan and eventually met up with him in the locker room. I told him to go shower first because he was just going to head into the pool rooms which made me laugh a bit. But after that, we both went to the pool rooms and we rode in the "lazy river" part for a while. Nathan also invited me to go to Thailand with them, to which I agreed. Eventually, we saw Ane and his mom, and he went along with Ane and we 3 just explored the massage pool facilities to pass the time. We mostly hung out there for a while, I talked to them about Arcane just to make conversation, even though I wasn't interested in playing League or watching it. They said that it was inaccurate to the lore that they know so I'd rather not watch it at all. I went back to trying out the other massage pools and keeping my mind in check, trying to think about my future.

Then we moved on to try the herbal pools and the sauna area. The sauna was extremely hot and it was the hottest part of the entire facility, with it being around 67°C inside. They both left and I left shortly. I tried out the other herbal pools instead, I think I went to the jasmine herbal pool first, then the lavender one, next was the mint pool, and finally the rose pool. I drank a bit of cold water and entered the sauna room by myself again. Inside, there was this 10-minute sand timer that I flipped to track my time. It was honestly hard to stay inside the 67+ degree room so I eventually called it quits, got water, and dipped in the cold ice bath which was around 13°C or something. I met back with Ane and Nate and tried more of the massage pools again before we all tried napping at some benches nearby. I actually got some rest on the benches and I even had a dream, but I don't remember what it was about. We dried up after that and took our showers. I got my iPhone out of the locker and it, thankfully, was still there. I checked some notifications on Instagram and eventually went out to put on my shoes, although I was scolded for trying to put them in the locker room (which wasn't allowed).

I met up with Nathan's mom and sat between Nate and his mom. He showed my pocket Wi-Fi to his mom and they talked about their many trips and needing one to bring along. I tried to show the speed of the Wi-Fi but fast.com didn't load, which Nathan's mom made fun of me for. It was a little embarrassing but funny at the same time because Nathan's mom had a sense of humor. It was funny, and eventually, Nathan started to compare my fan with the fan he got. His mom thinks that I have a stronger fan even though Nathan thinks that they're the same. Nathan even borrows my phone to post a Close Friends Story on my IG, but I sadly had to delete it because I think I look horrible. But once Ane was done getting ready, we decided where to go and then got off the bench. We take some pics along the way and at the downstairs lobby.

We went outside to hail for a ride and it started drizzling a bit so I pulled out my Cinnamoroll umbrella, and then Ane asked if I was gay or not, which was funny and I said no. I just really like Cinnamoroll. They tried hailing a ride to no avail, and I eventually booked a ride for us to Market! Market! While waiting for our ride, Nate's mom talked to me about a lot of topics, like why I dropped out of college, where my parents were, and a lot of other things. She also tells me that My Melody and Hello Kitty used to be famous in her time and made a comment about how cute my Cinnamoroll stuff was. Our ride arrives after a while and we board the car.

On the way to Market! Market!, I've been talking to Bell about things since she replied to my IG Story. We talked a bit more and I eventually thought of inviting her to Ace Water Spa next year. I'm surprised that she agreed, which made me pretty happy, to be honest, because I'd never expected that we'd go out. But I want to get my body a little more fit first before meeting them, for some reason. Then Tiffany talks to me and asks me how much she owes for yesterday's trip. It was surprising to hear because I didn't want any of them to pay for the trip, but it was just so touching to hear because I've been used so much over the past few years. She eventually sends money after computing her own individual cost and it was pretty nice. It just solidified that I'm surrounded by better people now.

We eventually got locked in traffic, but we were already near SM Aura, so we got off in the middle of the street and Nathan's mom paid for the car ride, which was nice because I thought I was going to be paying for the ride. Once we got to SM Aura, we went to the food court and we tried to find a seat. Once we found one, Nathan and Ane ordered for themselves and me, and Nathan's mom got noodles for her own. I then tell her about this horrible situationship I recently got out of and I tell her that I have gout and all that, which shocks her but she tells me to not do it again and to spend my money more wisely on people. Eventually, she gets her food and Nathan and Ane arrive with our food afterward. Nathan and Ane had to go back because they got their order wrong, so Nathan's mom and I just talked for a bit more before they went back again and we ate. We talk about a few things but I mostly tell Nathan to check his SSS contributions. After that, we then left to get some snacks at Cinnabon, and I eventually ordered a blueberry cinnamon roll because Nathan and his mom kept making fun of how the blueberries overfill the bun in the advertisement, but is actually only a tiny amount in real life. Nathan thinks that we should get yoghurt llaollao while waiting but his mom says that we should just stay. So we did, but the wait was super long and the people were probably new at the job, so Nate regrets waiting for our order.

After getting Cinnabon, we got yoghurts at llaollao but since they didn't accept cash, I paid via Gcash and Nate asked me how much it was. Since that was a nice gesture, and since they already paid for my dinner, I just decided to treat them to it and pay for everything. Nate says alright and we get our yoghurts. We talk about work and compare my work to Nathan's work while standing near the store, and then we eventually finish our yogurts, then Nathan tries to withdraw some money before going home. They wanted to commute and wait for a jeep before going home and I was going to take a solo Grab ride home. Nathan's mom came up with the idea to just tag along with me and I agreed because I was going to pass by Waterfun anyway. I get a few cars booked, but some of them cancel, until one comes through and it's what we waited for. The car eventually arrived and Nathan told me that there was a Cybertruck while we were getting in the car. I thought it was a joke and then I looked back to see that IT WAS ACTUALLY A CYBERTRUCK WTF. I thought it was just a joke, but damn. I regret not taking a picture. Even though I don't think it's a good vehicle, it still has an eye-catching design. But our trip continues on.

They eventually get off at around Waterfun and I have the rest of the trip all to myself. The driver was quiet this time, so that was nice. I eventually arrived home and put some of my things away, even though my room was still generally messy. I ate some of the Manam sisig from yesterday and it was okay, but not delicious and I didn't even finish it.

I told Naomi that we're still game to watch a horror movie tonight and she chose You're Next (2011). It was pretty interesting, despite me not being into slasher films in general. I was surprised because I actually liked the film and rooted for the protagonist. It was pretty brutal, but I enjoyed watching it and it was a good pick. After that, Naomi and I just talked about past relationships and I opened up some of my unshared mood calendar entries to her. I told them about how I cried on December 10 because I remembered a letter that someone gave me early on in our situationship and she also shared a letter that she wrote for a guy that she liked. Only for her, she saw her letter as cringey so I just read it and laughed along. Naomi mostly told me about the relationships and romantic encounters she had, mostly the heartbreaks, and I listened to her for most of the night. She tells me about her confession next week during her Christmas party and I cheer her on for it, and I also remind her that our meeting is also next week. She then shared this presentation that she prepared for and I was impressed by the effort she put in. After that, we left the call and I tried getting some sleep.