It's easy to make good friends in the strangest places

Out of the blue on my way to the gym, somebody called me and offered a free 3 days and 2 nights hotel stay in Cebu. I grilled him a bit until i was convinced he wasn't fake, and agreed to passby his office the next day to get the gift certificates.

When i arrived, somebody got my basic information, and then offered me an early dinner before leading me into a room full of "agents" who were there to sell a "lifestyle." My agent was all smiles, very cheerful and told me not to worry about having to sit through her 90-minute presentation. "It's going to be interactive and fun," she said.

We talked about her travels, my travels, how much we spent and in between this she introduced me to a life of hotels, spas, gyms, beach resorts - at a big discount. This national and international network of vacation facilities was appealing, I told her, but nothing beats having friends all over the world with whom I can stay for free. Unless, of course, I want to pursue my dream vacations to Turkey, South Africa, and Bhutan where I don't know anyone. Then again, there's always couchsurfing.com. :) Outargued she was finally and so we got to talking about common friends, her work, my work, and her family, my family, and our wonderful boyfriends.

At the end of the day, I walked away from that meeting having bought nothing but extremely inspired by this girl's positivity, hard work, and intelligence despite having been so wronged by her family. She hasn't let her personal tragedies mess her up or blamed them for her decisions. End of story is that we've exchanged numbers and promised each other that we'll keep in touch. Several hours later, here I am writing about it and marvelling at how it's so easy to find good friends in the strangest places.