7-11: A Happy Place.

I went off to McDo last night to study for my Pol. Sci. exam awhile ago. I thought I was going to be by my lonesome there (which is fine by me, since I study better alone-- unless it's a difficult math subject, of course, in which the presence of my blockmates will surely ease... the... PAIN). To my surprise, though, Wamar and Dennis were there, and apparently, Sam and Topher were there, as well! A few moments later, Toj and Maita arrived, making me think that the universe was conspiring to get us together at that place. Hilarity ensued, of course. Whenever Math Majors would gather, hilarity would always, always ensue. The yang side of it, though, was that I was unable to accomplish my goal of going to McDo in the first place: to study. But anyway, it was a good night, and I was with happy company.

Somewhere between sipping Toj's sundae and debating between the number of sides of the old 2-peso coin (Can anybody tell me if it had 8 or 10 sides? Please?), I was suddenly contemplating on my happy places. As to how I came across this line of thinking, the reason was immediately evident: hunger. First, it was just hunger, then specific hunger: I was craving for 7-11's hotdogs. 7-11, you see, is one of my happy places.

I really feel that 7-11 is Katipunan's final gift for me before I graduate. The place just ab-so-lute-ly ROCKS! From the clean white tiles, to the organized shelves, to the things inside the shelves, the place just makes me smile with glee (OK, that was an exaggeration, but close enough). I especially love their 25-peso siopao and their 20-peso hotdog. The Slurpee is an addictive delight. Plus 24-hour breakfast meals. And you know what the best thing is? They're open for 24 hours! Good news for us dormers who miss Red Panda (I still miss Red Panda's 99-peso meal. Sniff.).

There are other happy places, such as Mocha Blends and my future boarding house in Makati (WEE! GRADUATION! WORK!), but they are happy places for entirely different reasons. 7-11 provides me with the respite I need during these stressful times (WHAT STRESS???). If I'm not feeling too good about a homework, or if my dinnertime passed me by, I am confident that there's place out there, waiting for me, calling me out, telling me: "Chill out. Have a hotdog."

I hope 7-11's breed and populate.