Jun 26 2007
A Sneaky Surprise
My sneaky friends gave me the sweetest, cheesiest surprise last Saturday. There I was at our favorite pizza place thinking we were all there only because it was Kathy’s birthday, when suddenly they whipped out a video camera and proceeded to almost make me cry! I’ll be leaving for Singapore soon, so they decided to send me off with a few speeches and a box full of fond memories. Each gave me two gifts — one that reminds him/her of me and one that’s supposed to remind me of him/her — which they put in a lovely box that the uber-talented Phin made. I don’t think I’ve ever been more surprised or more touched. I wub them *squishes friends*
Group photo snagged from Kathy’s Multiply album
From Kathy I got something floppy and something squishy: a Stitch (my favorite cartoon character) pen that flops about as you write and a koala-shaped, gel-filled wrist supporter to remind me that — major cheese alert! — she’ll always be there to support me. (You can click on the thumbnails for a full view.)
This little guy is Sano from the anime Rurouni Kenshin. He was part of a keychain set I gave Chrissa in high school, where we met and became good friends. And that’s obviously a pair of batteries behind him. I cannot elaborate on why Chrissa gave me those batteries, because my parents, possible employers, and underage relatives all have access to this blog 
Manny entrusted me with two pieces from his Hello Kitty collection and made me promise to give them back when I come home. I still can’t get over the fact that our big bear of a friend collected Hello Kitty figurines when he was a kid. How adorable is that?!
Anyone who knows me knows I love shoes. Real shoes won’t fit in the box, though, so Ivy bought me a pretty pair of shoe earrings instead. I also love to read, so she gave me one of her favorite bookmarks. It even has a sparkly “Ivy” label at the back, which she painted with glitter nail polish when she was younger. (I used to label my stuff that way, too!)
Our group’s nickname for Phin is Bunny, hence the “Somebunny loves you!” magnet. And check out the super cute earrings! They’re a great addition to my collection of cat jewelry. Like I mentioned earlier, Phin was also the one who made the box. When Phin gives a gift, the packaging is always as good as what’s inside.
My dog had a litter of puppies two years ago and I gave my favorite of the bunch to Tiyaw. So even before he presented his gifts, I already knew that one of them would be a miniature Reese. Tiyaw (pronounced “chow”) also tried but failed to find a Chow Chow small enough to fit in the box. He went with the next best thing: a 4D Pomeranian puzzle that I had to assemble myself. Fun!
Jords somehow managed to unearth one of the doodles I did in class five years ago. He printed it out and wrote a nice note on the side. Jords loves to play table tennis, so he gave me a ping-pong ball to remember him by. My hand is in the picture because I couldn’t get the paper or the ball to stay put.
As our resident chocolate addict, Tin chose a Godiva brochure to symbolize her. It’s also her not-so-subtle hint to buy her a box of chocolates when I come home. The bracelet represents my fondness for wearing and making all kinds of accessories. In college Tin was usually the first to notice when I wore new accessories to class.
The ever cute and corny Pots (originally spelled Poch) gave me a box of Pocky strawberry-flavored pretzel sticks and turned them into “Pochy” sticks by drawing an H over the K on the box. He also bought me a Nike cap but thankfully opted not turn it into a “Nikki” cap 
Finally Nas, who we call Miss Photogenic, gave me her yearbook photo so I can pimp her out to sexy Singaporeans. The comb stands for all those times she asked me for hair advice in college, because I used to know everything about the latest hair treatments. That was before I decided to just let my stubborn hair do its own thing.
They wanted me to give a little speech of my own at the end, but I couldn’t really say much, because I was concentrating on not bawling like a baby in the middle of the busy restaurant. Despite my lousy non-speech, I’m sure they all know how much I appreciated their adorable cheesiness. I’m so going to miss them when I leave 
18 Comments
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Sara 06.26.07 #
How adorable *.* I wish I had friends like yours. Mine would never care that much… It was a lovely surprise. I bet you’re really happy now
Kelly 06.26.07 #
Wow - those gifts are truly amazing; thoughtful, kind and considerate. You are very lucky to have friends like these, but I guess you already know that
Skye 06.26.07 #
Awww! We also gave my best friend a despidida party just last Saturday night. She’s going to Japan for 2 months, for a vacation. She won’t be graduating with us because of it. But then again, we all would love to join her. If only we could fit inside the luggage lol
I like the box! I guess I’m like your friend Phin. I never just give out gifts.. I give them out in style. In fact, my boxes and wraps are more expensive than the gift itself. Plus, I spend more time wrapping them carefully than buying them. Haha!
Take me with you to Singapore!!! *puppy dog eyes*
izza 06.26.07 #
Don’t you just love us??? *squishes you back* You’re never going to have friends like us in Singapore! NEVAH! Nyahahahaha…
Susie 06.26.07 #
Oh that’s so sweet of your friends! And the gifts are all so cute! =)
And lucky you to be going to Singapore! Hide me in your suitcase and take me with you! I’m really small and skinny! =D
ivy 06.27.07 #
*hugs back*
we’ll surely miss you!
Lucy 06.28.07 #
That’s so sweet of them! You’re so lucky to have such great friends =)
Nikki 06.28.07 #
Thanks to everyone who commented! Yes, I’m very lucky to have squishy friends like them.
That’s why you all have to visit me, Chrissa
Skye, if I stash you in my luggage, there won’t be any room left for all my shoes LOL.
Susie, but you’re going to Barcelona! I want to go with you
Derek 06.29.07 #
I am very happy for you that you have your friends who will be there, to miss you, to hug you, to see you off, and to remember you. Cherish them!
As one of the first people, I would like to welcome you to Singapore. Do tell me when is your flight so I can be there to welcome you in the airport. You leave with you friends, and you will arrive with your friend.
Nikki 06.29.07 #
That’s so sweet of you, Derek! Thank you
You really don’t have to do that, though, especially if it’s out of your way. But if you insist, of course I would be psyched to see you! Whether you’re at the airport or not, we definitely have to meet up soon after I arrive. You can give me all your local knowledge, so I won’t be too much like a lost puppy over there hehe 
We haven’t booked the tickets yet, but I’m almost positive that we’re leaving on July 22, the day after my Dad’s birthday. I’ll let you know once we have a final date. See you soon!
Rafia 06.29.07 #
Awww, that’s really sweet of your friends to do that for you. It must be awesome to have a really close-knit group of friends like that. You got some really cute stuff.
And have fun in Singapore. Girl, you’re traveling all over the place. Totally jealous!
Angel 06.29.07 #
Awww, your friend are totally sweet! Are you staying there for good na? I would definitely miss you. Take care of yourself, ok? *hugs*
Nikki 06.30.07 #
Rafia, it is pretty awesome
I love that we’ve managed to stay friends even if we don’t see each other as much anymore. We weren’t even this close in college LOL.
Angel, I’ll be there for at least a year, but if everything goes according to plan, I’ll be staying for good. I’ll miss you, too! *hugs back*
katherine 07.01.07 #
We will miss you soooooo much! ;_;
By the way, I cannot… for the life of me, put the whole thing (video) on multiply as a single file because I don’t have a file merger (or something like that). So I have decided to burn the whole thing on dvd, please remind me to bring it the next time we meet.
By the way, have you watched the TVH special? Hehehe… :p
Nikki 07.01.07 #
^ Sana lang maalala ko
You might have to remind me to remind you LOL.
I watched the TVH video when I got home last week. Ang kulit-kulit nung “scary movies” natin!
Jamie 07.08.07 #
I am quite jealous that you have friends like this. Wow is all I can say! You must feel loved!
Pearl 07.08.07 #
That’s so sweet!
Carly 07.09.07 #
That really is the sweetest thing in the world. It is lovely how they all put so much time and effort in to chose presents for you! Enjoy your time in singapore!