THE MANILA CONVENING

They came draped in flags.

But the minister, she booked a Grab taxi to The Venetian but did not appear despite the confirmation of the Manila Meeting's condensed report.

So the session plan was reviewed before a final coordination was convened  over breakfast to address the missing shuttle and extend a pep talk on Just Empowering Transition before the setting sun set Manila Bay ablaze.

At the Manila Convening:

• the Phantom Biker discreetly glided through integrated inclusion huddles while posing for photos and expediting a virtual discussion on banning dirty coal to shift the spotlight to a feminist talk during mocktails;   
• the youth committed to reach for the stars and demand social accountability, require rare earth investors to regard the First Nations and tacticize why Greek food should not be served in solidarity dinners;
• single red hearts screamed with call to actions from a communique forged in an exit meeting.

In retrospect, Diwata's Pares Overload paired with the Sunset Bar's extra strong beers would have been the perfect reception dinner but imbing images of the Mall of Asia in ramen bowls of shoyu, Osaka-style Volcano, Nagasaki Champon, and tsukemen will do.

After all, Japan has been breached and booked, finally.

They all took off on Friday except for the Phantom Biker who stayed to monitor the post-convening chatter that indicated the initiation of an impact story development session in Manila in preparation for a South-South Project in Kuala Lumpur and the ensuing massive purge of an inbox. 

A credit card bill, not yet due, was impulsively settled to protest SOME THAI's misrepresentation of a beloved crab omelette, the bastardization of a spicy beef salad, and its Thai milk tea concoction that tasted like a laminated multi-layered sachet.

So much for a Bib Gourmand and much ado about a polysomnography that stole dsleep on the eve of St. Valentine's Day to finally retire a military cap...