Shout out to my sister, my neighbors so-on Ariel, Inday, Takloy, the neighbors house beside Ariel and Inday's house whose names I forgot na, Manong Jet, MR, Gingging, my grade school friends - Rhea, Gian, Doyts, Evelyn, Grace, Anna, Kareen, Johna, RC, this post is a tribute to them, who made this experience with me. I love Filipino games, I love that I was not yet born in a world of Wii.
Tumbang Preso I saw a painting of this sport over at Bahay ng Alumni and I remember it fondly. I played it with my neighbors - there's a can few meters away from us, with a slipper on top of it. We took turns throwing our own slippers, aiming at hitting the can. Once hit, the 'taya' (whose slipper was at the top of the can) would then tag the next player. I remember some of our slippers have holes and we were all soiled.
Pusil-an A.k.a. Barilan in Tagalog. The concept is so violent, but this one tops it for me. We group ourselves in two and we take turns firing at members of the other group with our guns made from branches/twigs of avocado and our neighbor's Balimbing (Carambola) tree (which I climbed many times). I remember hiding behind Ninang Chari's orchids. My favorite game every summer.
Piko Favorite resting place from hopping - the balay, the place you earned when you reach the topmost level and you throw your stone at your back and it lands on one of the houses. There I can step with both my feet on the ground. This and the other variation, where you push the stone with your feet (forgot the name!) and the stone should not touch any lines or go past it. I remember having to scour in front of our house to find that one flat stable stone and when I did, I kept it inside the house to be used again in the next game.
From the SF Photo Album: The fog is so thick I have to name it Fogster. Still at San Fran.
So I have been thinking (uh oh), as a godmother to several wonderful babies already, if it's a good idea to choose me as a god mother where god mother means if anything happens to those kids, I am a candidate to parent the child, or I am considered to be a part of "the child's upbringing and personal development". And that I will guide these kids in this bloody journey called life. (It is bloody by the way - we have to experience all the heartbreaking stuff to be alive, yes?)
Maybe it's superstitious definition but enlighten me please what does it mean to be a godparent? I'm sorry for not attending any church teachings, I'm an idiot for not being clear on the responsibilities yet I'm glad my vague idea is still in line with what is the popular definition of being a god parent.
In my reflection, I announced to selected friends, of whose kids I am priviledged to be a god parent, that I will do what the wikipedia says I should do -- I will take part in their child's upbringing and I will dispense advise coming from my worldly experience or lack there of. It's not like I received an applause after I said that, although friends that they are, they assured me whatever advise I dispense it will be valued.
Well the announcement also came with saying, I will no longer be giving gifts to their kids every Christmas, because I've come to realize god parenting seems to be associated with that, the giving of gifts. In my world, I don't want kids to focus on material stuff like the way that we were all brought up, to hunger for gifts more than deeds, more than stories, more than the intangible stuff.
But what will I share? What will I give? Sure, it's tradition to give gifts, I mean, why breakaway? There's such a thing as respecting tradition. I say yes, but who was it who said -- a breakthrough to a different level of consciousness comes if there's bravery to throw away what we are used to?
I'm not saying this is a way to a different level of consciousness or whatever. Sighing here. I guess I just wanted to be a really real god parent, in its purest sense.
So here's my not-yet-sure-if-it's-a-bright-idea. No more gifts. Instead, I have decided to hug my godkids every Christmas (whether they like it or not) and what's more, I will write them long letters, which of course they will not read because they cannot read, but I will ask my friends to keep it until they are old enough to decipher the alphabet and piece together what the heck their Ninang Rose is trying to say and with no judgment they can decide to throw away or keep the letters - something like trash or treasure.
Perceived benefits:
Supports the environment - no purchase of stuff means possibility of less garbage.
Possible insights not coming from their parents. (You know how kids are with parents - come on, we've been there, even if they are right and have the wisdom of ages, just because of title and relation, we don't think they're right).
Keeping connected.
Of course, now after having read this, my friends can feel free to disown me as a godmother to their kids. I will completely understand, we'll still be friends, as I hope I will still be yours.
p.s. I will give them dashing quotes like this: Dear child, "What if a demon
were to creep after you one night, in your loneliest loneliness, and say, 'This
life which you live must be lived by you once again and innumerable times more;
and every pain and joy and thought and sigh must come again to you, all in the
same sequence. The eternal hourglass will again and again be turned and you
with it, dust of the dust!' Would you throw yourself down and gnash your teeth
and curse that demon? Or would you answer, 'Never have I heard anything more
divine'?" of course by the quotable Friedrich Nietszche.
This morning I was "live-chatting" the funeral mass with my friend Rachelle who's now living in Sydney, me naman here at rainy Manila, in front of my TV tuned in to ANC while Rach is at her office, surfing the news, finding whatever she can find of any footages of Cory Aquino's wake. I feel for Filipinos abroad - connecting with us from different geographies on this historic moment, when we mourn at the same time celebrate the death of one of the most honored president of my time, Cory.
I was driving to work yesterday and I was wondering what personal memories do I have about the EDSA revolution, or about Cory? On a personal level, how can I really appreciate this woman? Why am I drawn to this sudden outpouring of Pinoy love, the unabashedly emotional display of affection that usually unites us as a nation? I'm not into politics, I think I've written this down here so many times. I get attached more to personalities, not so much on the policies they uphold but who they are as how I've read about them (i.e. Barack Obama, Pope John Paul II, etc.). I fall in love with them easily. Cory if you ask Pogs, I was never really a fan of.
I remember when I was a kid, during snap elections and I was around 6 or 7 years old -- I can read the comic section already of the newspaper -- I asked my parents who were they voting for. My mom immediately told me to be quiet and both she and dad told me, "si Marcos, sino pa". Mom told me to hush and not talk about it. My parents are government employees, and I understand now (now lang, as in) why there's that fear, of having to be secretive. It was martial law, if you're from the government -- you go against it, you might be dead the next day.
I want to pay respect to Tita Cory, because now I know that my parents can tell me who they voted for without being scared to say who. Now all of us can share our opinion about the government without that fear that we will be snatched into the night. Now I can use my google without censorship ;). This is democracy at its rawest form that I can appreciate now.
This morning I got a call from Dad and she told me my mom is glued to the TV, same as me, watching with tears on her eyes the funeral services for Tita Cory. Dad joked, for the first time ever, mom is okay delaying mahjong just to finish watching the ceremony. A few hours later, my sister from the state of Barack Obama called too. She's watching it live streaming, crying too. I guess today, all Filipino families can relate to us.
I told my sister about the memory I had above about the EDSA revolution. She told me mom and dad might be lying that time. I asked why. "Di ako sure ha, but do you think they really voted for Marcos? Hello, our kid sister is named Kriscor"
Our kid sister KC, who passed away over a decade now, was born in 1986, EDSA revolution and was named after Kris and Cory Aquino.
Tita Cory, to freedom and now for being my best example of servant leadership. Thank you! Next step: me to queue up this weekend to get registered for the coming elections.
I'm loving Sony P&S now, yep, more lovin, compared to my Canon IXY.
My sister was here a week ago and I miss having crazy conversations with her. If I share this kind of talk with anyone else, most likely I would be dismissed and be told this is my typical paranoia at its best again. With my sister, she welcomes and adores my inherent disorder - she's supportive that way hehehe! I asked her, in light of our tita's (my mom's closest sister) unexpected death last November, what could have tita been thinking at this time last year? Did she ever feel it was the last year of her life? Would we know if this is the last year of our lives? "Manang, feeling ko, I'm going to die this year. I really have this feeling." My sister snorted because I was crossing the street with her and I was forcing her to jaywalk. Then she said, "Ako man, Tso (she calls me tso, origin unknown)." We lost our beloved youngest sister more than a decade ago, was it that event that made us be fatalist and make the concept of death closer to us? What exactly is the process of getting a formal last will of testament, do I need to contact a lawyer or something? Is it legally binding here in the Philippines? Shoot me a twit, an email, a comment in this post -- no facebook please (I seldom check that jungle).
Where would be my ideal date? Hmmm...let me see. To bring me to somewhere unexpected where it has the possibility to change me or inspire me. Here goes The Beckoning of Lovely:
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Every 30 minutes, I eat here. No kidding. It's nearing gluttony (In Africa, my behaviour may already be conduct unbecoming), that one time, I joined my parents in their early morning jogging over at Bacolod Lagoon (yes, I woke up 5:30AM just to exorcise the ghost of this deadly sin). Anyways, if you're in Bacolod especially for the weight watchers, here's my advice: it's futile to diet, I mean, it does not really make sense if you do, Bacolod being the Sugar Capital of the country, yummy desserts are everywhere. Here's my mini food adventure with my family during this holiday break.
A cool discovery -- this not-so-hidden restaurant at Lacson Street, dining in Louise is like having a meal at some ancestral house. It was recommended by Tita Anne, mom's friend and mahjong mate. I value Tita Anne's opinion because their family seems to love dining out, courtesy of their daughter Hannah (batchmate, that's what we call each other, even though I'm like 7 years older).
The interiors has that antique feel, even the napkins complement its
ambiance. Check out the tip box, so cute, like a mini-chest. When I asked the waitress what's their forte, and she told me, "Fried chicken, ma'am", I raised my eyebrows. Fried chicken for a forte, in a town that introduced chicken inasal to the world? Ano to, KFC? But we ordered it anyway and I was really, really surprised. Deep fried, the chicken skin has that mild salty aftertaste, yummy! It's a chicken that does not need sauce or god forbid, a gravy to enjoy. Their shrimp ball and the sauce are also good as you can see from the picture where a hurricane passed by cleaning our plates. Highly recommended, promise. Hannah told me their steaks are super good too. Louise Restaurant is at 19th Lacson Street Bacolod City. Tel # +63.34.4340435.
Who could go wrong visiting Calea? Anything good and sweet is here. I ordered this walnut-raisins-cake and grabe, namit! Iiyak ka sa sarap, I miss Bacolod desserts. I feel it's always a rip-off to eat the cakes of Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Cheesecake etc., even Bizu in Makati if you have tasted the cakes of Calea (and at cheaper price! Around 50-60~ per slice). I've been road-testing one of my favorite desserts lately - chocolate crinkles and the verdict: Calea tops it! Bob's in Bacolod is way down the list na, I tried it this time and it's no longer moist, and the outside is hard, ambot. Whatever happened to my childhood memories. Becky's crinkles here in Manila come in far second. I asked the person in charge if we can order sugar-free cakes and she said the owner does not want to bake a cake that's sugar free. My mom warned me not to ask anymore since she has requested like a thousand times already to no avail. I insisted and told the cashier that most of the people buying here are usually health conscious (and diabetic), so why not? The cashier sighed and said, "Ma'am, indi gid ang owner." The owner daw said Sugar Country ang bacolod, she will not bake a cake without the primary ingredient of the province. That shut me up :). Calea has three branches in Bacolod. One of them: Lourdes Center II Bldg. 14th Lacson St. Bacolod City. Tel #: 63.34.4340288. (Those are wonderful semifreddos in the picture above by the way).
Went to taste Sate Babe at Bob's again, with its peanut butter sauce, there's nothing like this in Manila it is very good. Bob's has multiple branches in Bacolod. One of them: BS Aquino North Drive, Bacolod City. Tel #: 63.34.434.2409.
This trip, I did not visit this coffee shop but Kuppa is a pretty cool place as previously introduced by my friend Greg. The pasta and the ambiance is good. We went there to look for sugar-free cakes but they only serve by slice. They have Starbucks na at Bacolod which I hope will not stop Negrenses from supporting local joints like Kuppa, Cafe Bob's, Bascon Cafe, among others. Cor. Tindalo Hidalgo St. Bacolod City. Tel #: 63.34.433.6562.
I just think my hometown which frankly has nothing to offer when it comes to sights to see, has so much to give when it comes to gastronomical delights. Of course, if you happen to be in Bacolod, you should not be restricted by the above, there's Roli's napoleones and half-moon to try, Lumpia Ubod of Capitol Supermarket in front of La Salle (I wonder if it's still there), Pendy's spare ribs and prune cake, anything at Imay's and at Aboy's, Manukan country with its orange oil - and eaten by hand chicken inasal (the only way to eat it - side story, my long time Bacolod friends Fe, Melissa and I had a chance to eat at JT Manukan's at Makati and we asked the owner Joel Torre who was there, if we could eat with our hands and he encouraged us to. Only Bacolodnons can know the best way to eat inasal). One time I was eating breakfast at home and I mention that the sardines is good, I wondered what's the brand? My mom said it's home-made, sold by the ex-governor of the city. Yes, that's how food lovers we are, even ex-politicians' retirement occupation is making food!
Happy Holidays and I hope you had no guilt filling your stomach with the best this season has to offer! Minsan lang naman, kis-a lang, once a year lang :). Namit gid!
My hometown friends are in Manila, so that means no going out for even a cup of coffee here in the City of Smiles. I'm partying with my parents' friends, yep, fun oldies who laugh like there's no tomorrow. I want to grow old like that. Mom hosted a mahjong party here on her birthday, so I decided to make something for dessert - a recipe stolen from my friend Fe. She shared us this dessert during our christmas party. It was so promising at the start, i grated the mangoes and I used wheat graham crackers in an attempt to be healthy, and this is probably the point where things started to go wrong: I chose the wrong container. Mom insisted the box was too big but stubborn that I was, I said, it's perfect! It's rectangle and it has cover, perfection! Perfection my foot, the result was - my mix was too little that I ended up with graham crackers showing up beside my mango toppings. Imagine that, graham crackers showing up at the surface. What's worse, everything was just floating around because I only froze it for one hour (based on instructions) but I think it was on the assumption that you have a fit-right container.
I still served it during the party, but I served it last. Tita asked me, "Anong name ni?" I said, "It's Mango Ice Box Failure, Tita". Sigh. I guess more practice?
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I'll be cryptic and say that I love late night phone calls that drag for hours. Some people said that internet just takes communication to another level - are we sure it did not drag it down?
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I'm afraid I will go bored holed up here in the province for two weeks, so I planned out for us family to try out new restos that serve good food for the whole two weeks, based on recommendations from Bacolodnons who love good food (which is basically again my parents and my parents' friends reco). Bacolod is not known for resorts or whatever touristy places, it just serves the best food, especially desserts, yummy. With three free passes at Grand Royal Spa (quaint best spa in town), courtesy of my mother as her christmas gift to me (mom knows me best!), I plan to be the freak na tumatambay duon sa spa.
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With nothing better to do, expect ridiculous post the coming days. I've been bleeding network traffic by torrenting Gossip Girl Season 2 and I'm so addicted to it, I intend to review it. First of all, I love Blair. She's the heart of the show (Melissa my teammate might beg to disagree, she's into S) and in Episode 5 when she started railing to Dorota (their help) about how high school girls are so spoiled, stupid and ungrateful yadayada, oh man I would root for this bitch. At its core, although she selfishly puts herself first before anyone, Blair's super insecure, she can find one confidante that she can trust and that's Dorota. No one's really looking after her except her maid, so I guess that's where the selfishness comes in and her need to be loved. She's loyal (as said, my favorite ingredient when it comes to friendship) to her friends, and one thing that makes me think she has the best character in this show -- she makes things happen. So fun to watch. Conniving bitch disguised in appropriateness, ah elements of great TV not seen since, um, Melrose Place (haha!) - go Blair!
Second of all, Blair has the best lines like so: I thought you were just a callow social-climbing former swimsuit
model who married above her station and was enslaved by her own
insecurities. Said with her upper east side smirk.
Third of all, wala, watch the show, the clothes are so hip it hurts.
What are my plans this Christmas vacay? Well let's see. Today, we're
celebrating my mom's birthday. Yesterday I arrived in Bacolod, with no
sleep, but I'm not complaining ;). Photo-finish again at the airport --
I asked the personnel what time the counter will close and he said, "4
minutes na lang Ma'am and we're closing the check-in counter na." Whew.
For New Year's, I'll change this rush-to-the-airport-kind-of-lifestyle.
As one person frankly told me, it's just irresponsible. True, true.
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I'm in love with one movie for the whole year. Um, no, not Twilight -- shit I haven't even seen that one yet. This movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona, which I love to death, made me fall in love all over again with Spain, if it is not yet eclipsed with my love for Javier Bardem - my new Benicio del Toro. It's a long vacation and I highly recommend this so you won't even need to think twice on what your New Year's Resolution would be: but of course, traveling :). The film uses Barcelona as its backdrop, well, not exactly. As the title suggests, it became so easily the other major actor, with its foliage-colored scenery, alternating between sepia-orange-and-appealing-green and the color of ruins, the romantic kind. My heart stopped when I saw Barri Gotic, Nikki and I went biking around that place! Such familiarity haunts me. I'll stop now because I'm not very good in giving reviews especially if I love the movie so badly. I usually end up just gushing about it and most likely exposing the whole plot. Please watch it, please pretty please.
If you're over twenty, you will love it better than Twilight (haha!).
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I slept the whole day yesterday, interrupted by my dad who called from work to demand that we should go around and shop for a birthday gift for Mom. I usually just buy christmas gift for her, since her birthday is so close to 25th. So I obliged -- it doesn't take a lot from me to say yes to shopping. Dad was super excited about his idea of buying mom, get this...a lampara. While driving to Robinson's Place, he enthusiastically explained to me its features, this new version of a lamp doesn't grease (kind of like a torch that needs gas to light up) because it uses a different oil, and it's very bright and it will be very romantic. He insisted it would be useful especially during brownouts. Now I got confused, he bought a generator before when Bacolod behaved like a fourth world province, 6-hour brownout almost weekly. I asked Dad, why this gift? Because "may symbolism, Beb. Isipin mo ano." I asked What, totally not liking Dad now. He usually has tendencies to get carried away by those home TV shopping with all its ridiculous marketing and when he buys gift for mom, it usually is really for himself, as in. "Si mommy. Ilaw ng tahanan." And then he laughs again excitedly. Oh my god. Who here thinks he decided on the gift first before this whole symbolism thing? Sounds forced, dad. We ended up buying it, me the whole time mocking the lamp. Using my sister's credit card (she has to contribute! I mean, I took care of the concept!), I bought mom 4 crazily expensive but fluffy pillows, so she can sleep nice. My dad rolled his eyes with my choice. Well, let's see. :)
I feel I have never been luckier. Three weekends spent on a beach feels undeserved -- I'm in love with this year's summer! I spent the third week of May with family - dad's side at Puerto Galera. We did not stay at the usual Puerto Galera we come to know, yep not the party-magnet White Beach not even the diver's haven Sabang, to the dismay of my teenage cousins who wanted to be where the nightlife/poi-dancing/mindoro-sling is. We swam at nearby Bulabog beach and stayed at a manor with pleasant accomodations. You know, I'm almost golden brown, I say almost because I went past it already and I'm so sunburnt from continuous sun exposure that I'm already nearing charcoal. If you see my bare feet, it has an intricate design embedded on the skin courtesy by the Sun, criss-crossing its sunrays in the shape of my slippers. I was the designated photographer and here are our pictures.
By now while you're reading this, I'm probably in the land of Schwarzenegger with my family, meeting my highschool barkada Jaja. We're most likely be hunting for googlers to befriend with so we can visit Googleplex. Please cross your fingers and hope that I can at least step on its lobby. If I see Sergey or Larry, I will die of rapture on the spot. Seriously.
I got a missed call from my Dad this morning. I began my usual paranoia and texted back (I avoid calling immediately): "Yes, Dad?" Dad replied: "Beware Mom is coming."
This translates to me having to 100% vacuum the house, defrost the refrigerator, super clean the bathroom (my weekly cleaning would not suffice with my mother, she checks on the tiles mind you), wash the shower curtain, wipe clean the electric fan, ensure aircon filter is clean, and ensure Macchu Picchu has the shower of its life. If any of the above items does not meet my mom's criteria, The Lecture is inevitable.
I thanked Dad for the warning. Happy Mother's Day to the mothers everywhere! I do out of comfort zone and hardwork tasks because I love you, mom! Ha ha ha!
Two saturdays ago, my mom's side had a grand reunion over at Alitagtag, Batangas. When I say grand, it's like this huge gathering of families (350++ relatives) all wearing their assigned family colored t-shirts and even though related by blood, nobody knows each other 80% of the time. It's that huge. We even used an auditorium for the gathering (or a bodega since it was used to stack sugarcanes I heard) - just so everyone can fit in.
And even though I don't know most of the people there (I only know my direct cousins and not even all of them) I enjoyed covering the event -- taking pictures of my relatives hugging long-time-never-seen broods. My mom told me stories about how she and her cousin Tita Lita (or was it Fely?) were very close and how they would be tasked by my great grand lolo to run errands and they would spend the rest of the afternoon together baking under the sun, harvesting vegetables. She told me about her cousin Tito Mando who has been doing medical missions with his wife and has continually helped the family and he seems like mom's constant inspiration.
What I really liked in that event was the idea of each family creating a poster of their family tree, to check out how big we have grown and who are the kids now. The posters were displayed outside the auditorium like an exhibit and everyone can mill around, looking at the pictures. The family history is even interesting, I've taken a picture of it here. At night, there were severalprograms and although a tad tacky for me (Deal or no Deal with a gay Kris Aquino and my titos dressing up as those girls opening briefcases), I stillenjoyed it. My mom of course, spent the rest of the night ballroom dancing with hired instructors while my dad and I slept in the car waiting for her because we were so tired ha ha ha!
I like reunions a lot. I get sentimental and I always wonder, looking at the dilapidated sepia pictures of ancestors I have never known, did they ever think it would become this big? Are we loving each other enough to make them see it is worth it? My dad used to tell me that lolo (dad's father), together with lolo's siblings would hide from the japanese by staying at what used to be tall grasses -- now the family farm. They were still caught but some were able to escape.
I like reunions because it is when what I imagine life was back then, becomes a bit real. I imagine their challenges and I imagine mine now. Incidentally, my desktop wallpaper says: Know how you fit into the bigger picture. My worries cease and I am forever grateful.
With nothing better to do, expect ridiculous post the coming days. I've been bleeding network traffic by torrenting 
