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I never expected anything special from a bank on my birthday.
I mean… who does, right?
You go to the bank, you deposit, you withdraw, maybe you pay a bill or two.
That’s it.
The bank doesn’t really send you gifts.
That’s not how banking works.
At least that’s what I thought.
But then there was this box that arrived.
From Metrobank.
For my birthday.
… I never, ever expected to receive anything from a bank for my birthday.
Much less from a bank like Metrobank.
Metrobank, for those who don’t know (but most Filipinos definitely do), is one of the oldest and most trusted financial institutions in this country.
The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company was established back on September 5, 1962, in Binondo, Manila … and it has since grown into the premier universal bank and among the foremost financial institutions in the Philippines, with a history spanning more than 60 years, all aimed at delivering meaningful banking to Filipinos everywhere.
That’s more than six decades of being there for the Filipino people.
Metrobank has long been regarded as the trusted banking partner, staying true to its brand promise of “You’re in Good Hands.”
And you know what?
That tagline isn’t just marketing.
For a lot of Filipinos, especially those of us here in Davao, Metrobank has just always been… there.
Solid.
Dependable.
The kind of bank you don’t really think about too much because it just works and it’s always been reliable. That’s a form of trust that takes decades to build, and Metrobank has earned it.
It was even recognized as the Most Recommended Retail Bank in the Philippines by The Asian Banker, among many other international awards recognizing its excellent service.
And also, here’s a fun little detail I didn’t know until recently: Metrobank’s first provincial branch ever was right here in Davao. So there’s a long history between Metrobank and this city. Of course. Of course it had to be Davao.
Anyway.
The point is… this is a serious, respected, award-winning bank we’re talking about.
Not a small operation.
Not a startup.
A real institution.
And they sent me a birthday gift.
Me.
A freelancer from Davao who writes blogs and plays music and farms on the side.
I didn’t see that coming.
Why This Might Have Happened…
I have this other site, Biyernes.com.
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you know I’ve written about Metrobank there. Several posts, actually.
- https://biyernes.com/metrobank-esavings-pr/
- https://biyernes.com/metrobank-makes-everyday-lighter/
- https://biyernes.com/metrobank-toyota-platinum-card/
I don’t know if they’ve been reading that blog and found out it was me all along… but it’s a possibility I can’t really rule out.
And then there’s the Davao Bloggers Society.
I’m a proud member of DBS (you’ve probably seen the badge on this site), and DBS has a partnership with Metrobank.
So maybe… maybe that’s the reason why I got this gift.
Maybe someone connected the dots.
Maybe someone said, hey, this Davao blogger has a birthday coming up, let’s send him something.
Whatever the reason, I’m not complaining.
Not even a little bit.
Delivery
The gift was originally supposed to be delievered to our house.
But on that day, my wife and I were out on a date. And I wasn’t about to let a delivery ruin time spent with the wife.
But, I also couldn’t let a box from Metrobank go undelivered because no one was there to receive it.
So I asked the Grab driver to deliver it to where we were instead.
I met him at the SM Lanang entrance, grabbed the box, and then hurried back to where Margaux was so we could unbox it together because unboxing things is always better when you have someone to share it with.
And she’s my person.
Everything is better when she’s there.
(I also tried to take a video of the whole thing because, you know, that’s what bloggers are supposed to do. But I’m going to be completely honest with you: I am not good at this. I am much more comfortable with a guitar in my hands than a phone camera pointed at my face. Please excuse my poor performance as a vlogger. I tried.)
What Was Inside the Box?
Now this is the part I really want to tell you about.
Inside the box was a complete set of pancake-making goodies and breakfast ingredients. Like a proper, beautiful, thoughtfully assembled breakfast kit.
I’m not going to lie. When I opened it, the first thing I thought about was our Sunday routine.
You see, my son Lyle and I have this thing we do on Sundays now.
We make the trek to my wife’s workplace, just so we can share breakfast together as a family, and then drive back home downtown.
It’s a simple routine.
Nothing fancy.
But it’s ours.
And it means everything to me.
And now I’m looking at this box from Metrobank full of pancake ingredients and all I can think about is… this could be a Sunday morning.
This could be good for the three of us.
Lyle helping mix the batter (and definitely making a mess), and Margaux making those pancakes we love and have a proper breakfast.
That’s the kind of Sunday morning I want for my family.
And somehow, without even knowing any of that… Metrobank gave me the ingredients for it.
So, Metrobank… thank you.
I didn’t expect anything from you for my 47th birthday. I really didn’t.
But you showed up, and you sent something that somehow landed exactly right.
I won’t forget that.
And those pancakes?
They’re definitely going to be part of our Sunday thing.
