We were supposed to have a massive steak lunch at Malcolm’s, my new favorite restaurant in Manila. Nicolas was in town for the day, and I wanted him to try it.

Malcolm’s at 138 H.V. Dela Costa, Salcedo Village, Makati. (c/o Malcolm’s FB page.)

Of course, none of us ordered steak. In keeping with my Paleo diet, I ordered the wagyu chicharon and a salad.

And then I ordered the bone marrow for a starter. And you can’t exactly eat bone marrow without bread, can you?

Fuck it. It’s only minus one point for carbs “per occasion” and the occasion was that I was seeing good friends, Stephen Matti and Carlo Cajili, for the first time in ages. So, yes, I was going to have the bread. And since I was going to have that anyway, I called the waitress back. “I might as well drop all pretenses,” I said, “and cancel the salad. I’ll have the bone marrow AND the wagyu chicharon to start with and the wagyu burger for my main.”

Hello. I started Paleo – what – in August? I haven’t had a burger since and I was going to have one now, dammit!

And, of course, to celebrate old friends, we had to have a bottle of wine. (Minus another point.)

Now, Malcolm’s, much as I love it, really has to get its act together with regard to its service. I mean, for god’s sake, it took about ten billion years before any food made it to our table. It’s a good thing Nicolas and Stephen were in deep discussion over Nietzsche (!!!), while Carlo and I were rolling on the floor, laughing over mindless jabber.

After a few thousand years, our server came over and apologized for the delay in our food. She said, “Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll send you something complimentary. What would you like, ma’am? Would you like a salad?”

A salad? Really? I just ordered bone marrow, wagyu chicharon and a wagyu burger. I guess she thought I needed some greens to balance out all that cholesterol.

“Um, I don’t think so.”

Seriously. Seeing how far off the Paleo wagon I was falling, the last thing I wanted was a piece of arugula. I wanted something that would take up permanent residence on my thighs and perhaps require its own zip code.

She sent over a slice of chocolate cake. To share among four. Better than romaine lettuce, I suppose. And it was minus another Paleo Challenge point. At least Carlo got a double scotch out of it.

After lunch, I decided to continue the “occasion” of celebrating old friends, dropped off Nicolas back at the hotel (- he had meetings lined up until the evening) and proceeded to Stephen and Carlo’s place where we partied till – er – two in the morning.

I almost forgot I had a boyfriend waiting for me back at the hotel. (Three missed calls at 12:30 AM!!!) I snuck back in, did my wifely duty of getting him up before his flight, reminded him that I arranged a car to pick him up at the Jakarta airport and, as soon as he left, passed out.

Eight hours later, I checked out of the hotel and took a cab home. I can’t say I’m in the best of shape since I can barely keep my head up and weave from side to side when attempting to get from A to B. I just had a massage and fell asleep as soon as it started. Doh!

Now, I am faced with a dilemma. Carlo invited me to go to the Paul Van Dyk gig tonight but I am scheduled for a CrossFit head-to-head with one of the other teams tomorrow. Then again, this is me we are talking about. It’s not as if I get some rest tonight that I’m going to turn into an Amazon Woman On The Moon over night and beat the shit out of the other team tomorrow. No, I’ve consistently been rubbish at CrossFit and will continue to be rubbish, Paul van Dyk or not. So… um… well, I guess I’m partying again tonight. 🙂