goodbyes and hellos

December 10, 2008

 

Goodbyes are hard and oftentimes painful.

Last year, I cried twice until my eyes were swollen when my kid cousin and Kuyang (an older cousin) and his family, including my niece, our little princess, left for abroad. They left separately, hence, I cried twice. I tried hard and was successful in not letting them see that I was very sad and that I would want to hold them tight, cling on to them, and not let them leave. As much as I want to, I couldn’t do that. I don’t wanna make it harder for me and for them. Besides, I have this “tough” image at home. haha.

We have a close extended family. We were three families living in a compound, and so we were used to talking to each other every day, sharing food, and just seeing each other. These things didn’t seem special then until Kuyang’s family decided to move. Sometimes, people just have to move.

After a whole year of waiting for them to visit, Kuyang, Nikki (his wife), and my cute niece, Keng, finally came home.

When I was informed 2 months before that they would visit for the holidays, I was really happy. Still, I set my mind that it may not happen. I don’t wanna disappoint myself too much. At times though, I imagined how our little princess looks like, how she moves, etc. And now that they are here, I am thrilled! This is really a wonderful present for my birthday!

I’m happy to see Kuyang and Nikki, but not as much as I want to see Keng. When I first saw her the day she was born, I already love her so much. She was the first granddaughter in both her parents’ family. So, we all wanted to spoil her. haha. She was just turning 5 months when they left. She used to be a baby who seldom cries, who smiles like an angel, and who loves holding fingers. So sweet. And she’s really cute. Now that she’s 1 year 8 months, she’s so hyperactive and runs around all the time, but she has that contagious laughter that warms my heart.

 

 

 

Aleeyah Gabrielle (aka Keng)

 

Look at her now. She’s grown so much in a year. She has very rosy cheeks that I’d like to just kiss again and again. She’s also cuddly, and she loves to eat cookies! Her mom would have to put her in diet pills if she continues to eat so much. haha.

 

  

 This is her giggling. Isn’t she cute?

 

We couldn’t make her pose for the camera. She continually ignored us. haha. So all we have are stolen shots. I can’t wait to go home and spend all the time that I could with her. I don’t wanna miss a thing.

Beverly Hills Cop

December 9, 2008

Aren’t we all Filipinos used to the rusty cars of the police force in our communities? I still remember our cop neighbor bringing home a patrol car, and we kids would roam near the vehicle to peak inside. We found it cool to have one in our streets. We imagined all sorts of McGyver stuff that we can do with it! Growing up and knowing more about vehicles, my admiration for any police car in the country little by little died down, and the patrol car parked in out street was no longer fancy. Movies and news reports always portrayed police cars as old, rusty, and defective, and the men riding the car with the PNP logo always come late (I’m not really sure if it’s the car or the men to blame). Thanks to the Euro generals, led by General de la Paz, the sad plight of lower-ranking officers was brought to the limelight (although not for long).

To my surprise, while walking the streets of Greenhills, I found police cars that are like those in the Beverly Hills Cop movie! Really beautiful, and it looks like these pretty boys can chase down the bad guys!

 

 

Look at  the mags and the bumper!

 

 

 

  

And stickers like a race car!

 

 

 

 

This car was parked in the sidewalk. Across is the San Juan police station.

 

 

I was surprised to see this cop car. I imagined it as Barricade (one of the Decepticons) ready to transform! I wonder what features it has inside (hope it’s cooler!). I’m imagining an accurate GPS, a cell phone repeater, a high-powered radio, a smart computer, a connection to a super database, and the weapons of a bat mobile! Am I dreaming too much? haha. More of the San Juan vehicles coming up. Note: Pardon the pictures. We were in a hurry taking them. There were vehicles passing the street where we were standing to take the pictures, and a policeman was watching us. (I think we looked suspicious, taking the pictures of all the cars! haha)

 

 

This one is my favorite. I love pickups!

 

 

 

San Juan policemen are lucky to have these cars. Let’s just hope these toys serve their purpose!

Mom’s day!

December 4, 2008

Last December 1 was my mom’s day and the start of ALL celebrations in our family in this festive and expensive (haha) December (this month is what I’ve been panicking about since September!). They came here from the province (just a 4-hour drive) to celebrate her birthday with her unica hija. Well, if I knew better, it’s just because there are finer restaurants here (peace mommy!).

And so, according to her wishes, we celebrated her birthday in Greenhills. We rarely go there nowadays since we are now staying in Paranaque (we used to stay in Katipunan), and she loves the place—the bargain shops and the restaurants in Promenade.

I fell asleep on the way there so I did not notice if there was traffic, but we had to wait for about 15 to 20 minutes to park. All the parking spaces are full, and you can only park once a car leaves. We ate pizza for snack, then it’s bargain hunting! She and dad went together to look for clothes and shoes for mom. Poor dad, mom really takes a looonnng time to choose anything, only to buy the first one she chose. haha. I and our family’s extension members (eks and pedro) strolled the hallways of Shoppesville, with eks looking for girls in skimpy shorts (joke!) and I just looking around. Fortunately (unfortunately, really), I found a shirt and a dress (yes, kooonin, I’m a girl! :p) that I like. I bought the shirt right away. But I had much deliberation on the dress, and from the approval of the two boys, I also bought it. And the whole budget for this month is officially ruined. haha. In my defense, it’s rare that I find a dress that I like!

After 2 hours of shopping and window shopping, we met up with my parents. Guess what? Mom wasn’t able to buy anything. haha. She said there were few clothes to choose from because of the Thailand problems, etc. I knew it! So, we headed up to Promenade to choose from the restaurants there. Again, there was a discussion of where to eat, but we all agreed to eat at Burgoo because it has credit card promos there. Practicality comes first.

Initially, the staff were firm that they could not split our bill for us to get two promos (one from HSBC and one from Citibank), but with my mom’s miraculous convincing power, they conceded.

 

That’s my hand computing in the table with crayons the best way to split the bill to get the best deal! After that, eks and I played XOX while Pedro drew figures.

 

 

With a bill of at least 1,000 pesos, you get this 500-peso-worth grilled salmon for free!

 

 

This is the grilled porkchop free from HSBC. You can get this if you purchase a meal with the same price or higher.

 

 

This is what the five of us ate: grilled porkchop, seafood jambalaya, N’ Alins platter (chicken, mushroom, shrimp), grilled salmon, chicken fajitas, and chicken barbecue.

 

The meals were delicious. Mom enjoyed them. She was really happy when the crew sang her their birthday song and gave her a free ice cream. It was one of those times when she gets delighted by these little things. When she blew the candle in the ice cream, she wished for a good, good, good, good, good health for us, and I’m wishing that she and dad, as well as all my loved ones, get that. It was really a good day for us, simple but happy. She was happy, and I was happy that she was.

Presenting the birthday girl and dad (mommy gets really annoyed every time daddy refuses to have his hair dyed black)