on birthdays and happy eating

December 18, 2008

December 15 was the day my father and I were born.

After 26 years, we’re still celebrating it together. My mom would either say, “How can you not be on your father’s birthday?” to me, or “How can you not be on your daughter’s birthday?” to dad. Hence, we have an annual double celebration of our special day.

During my younger years, I used to resent that I cannot celebrate my birthday just with friends. This was very much because alcohol is a big no-no for females in the family, and I, the stubborn Sagittarius that I am, used to love that bitter taste of beer. We used to celebrate our birthdays at our home in the province, with friends and families invited. Those weren’t big celebrations, but the food was plenty for the guests. My mom’s spaghetti was always the bestseller. Even today, my friends would still ask me when we’re gonna have spaghetti at home. We always have spaghetti on Christmas day. : )

In the past few years, my urge for beer significantly dropped (even on depressed moments). Is that what getting older means? haha. Now, I enjoy simple celebrations with family and very few people. Mom no longer cooks on our birthdays so she can also enjoy the day. Instead, we dine out and eat sumptuous foods. We eat wherever I or dad wants to.

This year, dad and I both agreed that we want to eat seafood. Mom is a steak person so she’s not agreeable to the idea, but she already had her birthday 2 weeks ago. haha. I’ve always enjoyed Dampa-style restaurants, so we had dinner at Seaside along Macapagal Road. The food there was relatively cheaper (hence we can eat a lot) and tastes better!

Mom was in charge of buying what we wanted to be cooked. My mom, who always wants to have abundance of food in the table, bought so many shrimps and fishes. There were more than enough for all of us! We ended up taking out a lot of leftovers (still good for the following days)!

We had buttered shrimps, calamares, steamed lapu lapu, sinigang sa miso, and tempura. Sounds good, tastes even better! haha. I think I ate almost a whole plate of my favorite buttered shrimps and tons of rice (writing of it now is making me hungry). I don’t think I can make it a day without rice. That’s me, a true Pinoy. haha. We also had blueberry cheesecake courtesy of eks after!

If I gained pounds because of it, I don’t care. I’m too lazy to exercise and too scared to drink pills (have you heard of alli side effects?). I’m happy eating and keeping my stomach full! I’ll worry about it when it catches up on me. For now, I’m looking forward to more celebrations and delicious foods!