the 2008 drama...

as early as January of this year, i have more or less sketched in my mind what is in store for me for the year 2008. amusingly when the year of the rat officially started, it has been noted that the rat brings a load of surprises. well, i've had a few in spite of the expected things to happen to me within this year.

unlike the other bloggers whose year-ender posts i've read stated a fairly good year, 2008 has generally turned out to be a year which i would love to immediately become a part of history.

January 2008 - highlight: mom & dad migrated to Canada. this event happened late. dad has already made up a different plan for himself.
neutralizer: Ayah & I had taping for an episode of The Sweet Life

February 2008 - highlight: first meet-up / plan to organize a tribute-alumni reunion for our college choir. Go, alumni!
addition: The Sweet Life episode aired February 12th 2008. with us (ayah & i) on the set for a 20-minute interview were Jeffrey Santos & wife, and the two show hosts, Ms. Lucy Torres & Ms. Wilma Doesnt.

March 2008 - highlights: after 5 months of handling the CS department alone, a work partner has been finally hired. i swear i could have literally shouted and jumped with joy. i was exhausted everyday with work and thinking about the responsibilities that i need to shoulder each day is the only reason that drags me to go to work every morning. by this time, i was seriously considering to change job and look for a "greener pasture"--- where i won't be abused and compensated accordingly.
on another note, this blog celebrated it's 5th year!

April 2008 - highlight: too many problems at work. this month also marked the return of my dad here in Manila.

May 2008 - highlight: settled dispute over the church wedding venue.

June 2008 - highlights: attended the blog launching of Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio. i must admit that it felt good going back to the province i used to call home. the event made that day even better as i met fellow bloggers who share one cause for good governance and how blogging can make it possible.
photo & video shoot was done this month for our pre-nuptial MTV.

July 2008 - highlight: work has become more stressful. lots of lapses happening in the office and our department (Customer Service) took a BIG part of it. The company has decided to replace (again) my work partner.
neutralizer: balikbayans arrived this month--- ayah's side, and my side!

August 2008 - highlight: our wedding month! beyond my joy during this memorable occasion of our lives together, there was sadness within me. my wife knew why and living together for the first few weeks hasn't been a walk in the park for us. the road we were treading was bumpy. the classic in-laws issues...
neutralizer: ayah & i had a very favorable trip to Pearl Farm in Samal Island, Davao City. it was both our first time to set foot in Davao & i have made Ayah's dream come true--- to finally go on an air trip!
regret: the only thing i wanted to happen, if ever i can turn back the time, is to have more time with my sister and her kids while i was on leave at work. in their short vacation here in Manila during the time of my wedding, it didn't materialize.

September 2008 - highlights: experimenting at home on how the "two queens" can co-exist in "one palace". the ups & downs of the adjustment period has been very evident this month.
the balikbayans return to Canada.
neutralizers: mom, ayah & i watched a LIVE concert at the Big Dome--- the pride of Filipino Music industry--- Ogie Alcasid's 20/20 (20th year anniversary).
went to Coy's locale to serve as guest speaker for the monthly meeting of the KADIWA & Binhi organizations. This is one event i will cherish and consider a milestone as a former KADIWA president.

October 2008 - highlight: missed out an opportunity for a second guesting appearance on The Sweet Life. It's humbling to know that the hosts were specifically looking for you to do a grand year-ender episode for their program but as i've said, "Life's not sweet everytime."

November 2008 - highlights: things are turning out to be better in terms of in-laws relationships. my stressful days regarding this matter gradually decreased until it's gone! and the (year of the) rat gave us a pleasant surprise this month: my wife is pregnant!
Also this month, the memorable NEU Glee Club Alumni Reunion was held.

December 2008 - highlights: mom left for Canada, ayah & i started our life together solely, and we've discovered that even if you don't have much material gains to use up in your everyday living, you still can be happy going through each day together. there are many things that can make a person happy... you just have to learn how to find it and be content with what you have.

The last month of the year 2008 has been a month of love for me. I'm thankful to God that in spite of the many trials my family has gone through this year, I kept my composure and He has given me a lifetime partner who truly completes my totality. Many people see my life as perfect but in reality, my life is far from it.

I'm looking forward to a better year for me and my loved ones and i'm excited to see my firstborn. God-willing, i'll be a father in 2009!

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all my blog friends and readers who have made it a habit to check on my "life" every now and then. whatever is in store for us for the coming years, may we all live in love and respect, and continue to learn from each other.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone!

...and with that, i'd like to leave you all our pre-nuptial video--- one of the good times of my 2008 (click the image to view video):

The December Phenomenon

where does the money go during this month?

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i was literally standing on line for almost an hour yesterday just to be able to deposit cash in BDO-Robinsons Galleria branch. Their teller counter was half-filled with tellers but only two transact with the clients. after a good number of minutes waiting, two of the bank personnel at the investment section called out clients to help in transacting deposits and payments. i saw hope. but when it was my turn to be next on cue, it was already almost an hour wait. good thing nobody from the office was calling my mobile phone otherwise, it could have spelled TROUBLE. during this season, it is really advisable to have your banking transactions early to avoid wasting your time standing on long cue lines. even withdrawing money from an ATM should be planned ahead so you won't go empty-handed when you need to spend for something. it's really a big hassle to wait in these long ATM withdrawal lines where you can see the people ahead of you holding five different ATM cards and seems to be draining the machine with money. then you still have to worry about getting the ATM offline when its your turn to withdraw money. and looking at the people inside the shopping malls, you can really get a head ache just for seeing too many heads going here and there. you begin to think if you are in an ant world especially if you are riding the escalator where you can get a good view of the people below you. then you again wonder why these people can spend so much in December, and complain about having no money for the rest of the eleven months of the year. i just can't get it. and i ask again, where does the money go? after my boss handed me my "incentive" i tried not to spend everything at least until new years eve. wifey & i really don't spend on the 24th or 25th but food must be plenty during new year's eve. we went to the supermarket (finally) last Sunday afternoon and put in our grocery cart just the following items: packs of candies, cracker nuts & popcorn, fresh fruits, fruit cocktail, cream, condensed milk, chicken choice cut (pwet part of course!), a couple of tilapia and a kilo of milk fish belly. we also got some seasonings for the kitchen, then a few personal items such as shampoo.... uhm, that's it. at the counter, i put out a few bills on top of the gift certificate i received during our company party. sheesh... abonado pa ko! but nevertheless, the gift certificates were helpful so i'm thankful for it. but still, i'm thinking about where the money go after the employers release them to their employees. who are the last beneficiaries of these money? and why can't we have so much of this spirit the whole year round? do we only have the right to be merry on December days?

on an entirely different note, may pasok ako NGAYONG Rizal Day. wow.

Seasons Of Love

i now can finally cherish the few days of 2008 and look forward to new year's eve, after holding three different church socializing. wifey managed to organize and successfully execute being a host to the much-anticipated choir party the other day. she planned, coordinated, and prepared everything to welcome each chorister in our humble abode to gather together in a year-ender party that should strengthen our bond as one group. last time we hosted the same event was years way back and it is only now that we welcome again the choir in our place when its generation has already changed. only a few can actually recall the last time we had the choir party at home and i'm glad to hear that my wifey's efforts were not wasted. many attendees appreciated what has been made for everyone's delight. (photos of the said event can be viewed here.) the following day, wifey & i went to the children's year-end party in one of our co-officers house. while attending to a bunch of kids can make an adult double exhausted, it is always rewarding to see them enjoying the simple things that you offer them. the kids had fun playing two batches of "Trip To Jerusalem" and they also had their own version of a noontime show's reflex game, "hep, hep, hooray!" spaghetti & sago't gulaman which were served were equally rewarding!




after the kids party, i went ahead to attend the lunch-gathering of the choir leadership in our district/area. talk about FULL GEAR when it comes to war, these endless parties make my tummy balloon so bad :( and its all because of FOOD! bah! so i just drank a couple of glasses of sago't gulaman (yeah, again!) and tried my best not to get tempted to eat as i smell the aroma of chicken-pork adobo, among other viands served for the said lunch. ahhh... december days equate to bunch of food, food, and nothing but food. *groan*



and now i'm so looking forward to our grocery time for items to be prepared for the new years eve. date with wifey, yay!

To all my cyber friends, my blog readers, and to all of you who have been with me (& my blog) since 2003, i, together with my wifey (and our little baby) wish you all a blessed, peaceful, prosperous 2009! spread the love!

24th of December

"jonjon is home from a very tiring day..." - this was my plurk update a while ago. not very less companies have let their employees go on vacation today and even if i'm not against working on the eve of this much-awaited "christmas day", i began to get pissed a few minutes pass 9 in the morning. i wasn't supposed to be late but traffic was stuck just below Macapagal bridge (connecting Marcos highway and C5) and even a snail on it's bare self can reach my office building ahead of me on an L300 van. looking at the other side of the road, traffic was equally messed up. upon reaching in front of our office building, i saw there was an accident. and i thought the lifting of the number coding was the main reason of the heavy traffic today but upon seeing what happened, i can't do anything else but sigh. a truck has hit hard an electric post just at the side of our edifice causing all the commotion on the road and power outage in our whole establishment. nonetheless, we worked hurriedly and tried to finish all our tasks before lunch time since the power generator could only last until a little past lunch time. and we wouldn't want to catch tremendous traffic in the afternoon. i got the chance to have a reason to go out of the office earlier than my colleagues when i was asked to bring all check payments to our principal. i quickly moved the inventory and left the office hoping to get to my destinations early. upon going down the building, MERALCO trucks are already lined up to help in restoring the damages done by the accident:


in the afternoon, we paid my wifey's tita a visit in their place in wack wack and as usual, we had good food. traffic going back home is another story.

one sad news i heard today, my good friend and college choir batchmate, Onin, had a stroke last night. news was transmitted thru SMS only. i tried calling some of our colleagues regarding the news but nobody whom i have talked to was sure of the details about his illness. last update i received thru our yahoogroup which i opened just a little earlier before i blog update, was that he had a blood clot in his brain and was attended to at the New Era Gen Hospital ICU, he shall be transferred to the Philippine Heart Center but for now, we can only pray for his recovery as physicians attending to him haven't given us the visitation schedules yet. Onin is my age. He is a news reader in NET 25 and a very good friend since then and up to now. may he get well soon. (left photo grabbed from Onin's Friendster profile. taken during the reception of his wedding, garter ceremony)

busy season

people seem to be at the happiest time of their lives in anticipation of the holiday season. as for me, i'm just watching from the sideline. earlier, our boss has expressed the need to have some staff on the 29th and probably the 30th in order to satisfy our principal's demand for manpower when sales may come in to closer the gap of our deficit for the year targets. ok. there's no other department to do that "filling-in" than ours. it's our department which processes orders anyway.

earlier today, my immediate superior has called me inside the conference room to hand the "incentive letter" (our GM preferably called the monetary bonus as incentive award rather than the common christmas bonus, in which i also prefer) and at the same time tackle about the company's plans for the coming year. in three words, i can summarize everything he has said about our company's vision: we are growing. surprisingly, he even encouraged me to try out the new job posts which will be opened come the first quarter of 2009. i'm a little hesitant but likewise considering it. i'm giving it a good thought. i have been in the company as a pioneer employee and while base salary increases annually, i can get more opportunities if i consider a shift of career. as i've said, a shift of career can happen even with the same company. i have my colleagues support, i have my immediate superior's support, my wifey's all for it, except that i need to talk to myself again about it and evaluate all aspects of the opportunity. it's not as easy as it may seem, but i also know that this may come only once.

old pictures

these are some of the old photos uploaded on Friendster & our college choir yahoo group. noong hindi pa uso ang mga digital cameras. mabuti naman at may mga masipag mag-scan ng photos at mag upload nitong mga ito. syempre, ninenok ko lang ang mga litrato kung saan naroon ang pagmumukha ko. hehehe...

unang larawan... ala-ala ng tropang babebi oo, yan ang pangalan ng tropa namin. kung bakit, mababaw lang ang dahilan: alam mo ba yung joke na *knock-knock, who's there*? kung alam mo yun, marahil alam mo rin yung *use ___________ in a sentence* ayun. yung huli, dun nakuha ang pangalan ng tropa. sige nga paki-sagot... "Use Babebibobu in a sentence." ayan... yan ang pinagmulan ng pangalan ng tropa. balik tayo sa larawan. kuha ito sa lalawigan ng Quezon nang minsan kaming nagbakasyon na buong tropa sa bahay ng kamag-anak ng isa sa aming ka-tropa. hanapin ako. super payatot:



pangalawang larawan... concert in Bo. Maligaya, Nueva Ecija. Outreach program ito ng college choir namin during summer vacation. (ito rin yung ISA sa sinubmit kong photo entries kay Coy para sa kanyang Strike a Palawan Gang Pose):



ikatlong larawan... ang voice section na kinabilangan ko noong kasalukuyang miyembro pa ng college choir. The Tenors! (syempre mukhang mga HS lang ang uniform, haha!):


teka, pangalanan natin... nakatayo mula sa kaliwa: neil, belvic, steve, jerry, absalon. nakaupo mula sa kaliwa: harold, kuya aldrin, pedz, jon :)

ikaapat na larawan... ang tropa ko sa college choir: rheidell, arman, pedz at ako syempre... the magic 4!



at panghuli ay ang pictorial ng huli kong concert sa grupo... 'Yan Ang Pinoy! batch (1998 ito... oppsss nabuking ang taon):




...kaya sinong mag-aakala na mukha na akong tatay after more than a decade? hehe... sige lang. pogi pa rin naman (o, walang kokontra. BLOG KO 'TO!) >:)



pahabol... ang ganda ng wifey ko. hehehe... yun lang! :P

words are not enough

The Pagsamba Ng Kabataan (PNK) thanksgiving services were held yesterday, December 13th, in the locales of the Church Of Christ all over the country, and around the world. as i've said not once before, it has always been a joy for me to be a part of the kids thanksgiving services, much more, perform my duty during these occasions. even my hoarse voice didn't hinder me in joining the kids in thanking God's blessings to each and everyone of His children. the thanksgiving lesson centered on the essence of thanking God as long as we live. wifey and i hit the road before sunrise to Morong, Rizal taking this time the Binangonan Highway route until we reach Brgy. Bombongan. The Cardona scenery is another story in itself. I'm so pleased with the sight i'm seeing and this adds to my excitement each time the kids thanksgiving comes. We crossed the Morong boundary a little past six in the morning and the sun hasn't stretched its rays yet. after taking a left turn going up the mountain of Brgy. Bombongan, we felt again the beauty of the province--- nature and simple living can be very well traced in the vicinity where our L300 was passing. morning dew is very visible in the field, people can be seen jogging early along the narrow road, and air was pretty cold. upon arriving at the locales compound, we were greeted by the brethren and guided us to the prayer room where i'm supposed to stay and wait until the time of the officers prayer. the compound was spacious and there was a built-in nipa hut a few meters away from the gate. i met my colleague and had a little chat with him while we wait for the resident minister. when the thanksgiving service was over, the kids were all happy to receive their "giveaways" and gift toys (from the PNK officers) as they lined up in the compound with their parents. some took souvenir photos afterwards and all you can see were smiling faces. i had my own set of souvenir photos from the occasion and this kind of joy from within can not be compared to any material gains that one can possess.



from top left, clockwise: a few-minute-before-sunrise view of the nearby towns of Cardona, Rizal; the boundary monument of Morong, Rizal from Binangonan highway; kids receiving their giveaways upclose, a snap shot of the kids with their parents after the thanksgiving services.

more souvenir shots:



from top left, clockwise: my favorite office in the church--- the choir; with the resident minister's grandson; posing just in front of the green field in Morong; snap shot in front of the chapel

all glory to the loving God, our Father!

getting sick

just woke up.

i know not a few people who are currently sick these past few days. even wifey & i weren't spared from the changing weather. we are having a contest each night on who's the louder to make that *cough* and who's more frequent to do so. worse for me, i lost my voice the other day and i'm in the process of medication. i have tried that Pei Pa Koa which our resident worker recommended. amusingly though, i felt he over-promoted the thing when he texted me stuffs like "ok yan, gamit yan ng Madrigal Singers at ni Martin Nievera. syrup yan masarap pero mas ok kase may candy rin. try mo." i should have replied "magkano po ang talent fee nyo sa promotion nyan?" anyway, i walked to the nearest Mercury drugstore from our office yesterday and went to the pharma counter. i wrote down a wrong-spelled product and asked the pharmacist... "meron kayo nito (then pointing to the paper where the words *PEI PA QUA* is written)" she pointed to the grocery section and told me "ah, doon yan sa candies!" i thought, candies? ok. must be cool to munch on them! "Thank you," i said. then i didn't have a hard time locating THE candy... it spelled *PEI PA KOA* and so i said "ah, ok... May ganito pala.." i have been used to checking out the ingredients or contents & indication of every product (or brand) i'm purchasing so looking at it's packaging i read, "Pei Pa Koa is made up of a blend of herbal ingredients and honey base." and i continued, "Pei Pa Koa is a Traditional Chinese natural herbal remedy used for the relief of sore throat, coughs, hoarseness, and loss of voice." then i said, "Sapul!"

I still have to take that ginger tea (salabat) this morning since i need to get my voice back the soonest time possible. it's the kids thanksgiving services tomorrow. today, i rang our office number to call-in-sick and everyone seems too supportive of me having a good day rest. my officemates saw my (sickly) condition yesterday and they're not expecting me to report to work today. good. i so love staying with my wifey at home. its our date today! we'll be going to her [new prospective] ob gyne and have her checked. her current ob doesn't seem to care enough with the condition of a first-timer mom-to-be. we need someone who attends to her everytime we need a response on our inquiries by all means: through phone or SMS. we need someone who can give a more appropriate advice on what to do when this thing or that happens. in short, we need a new OB Gyne! my wifey has asthma and she's having her asthma attacks lately. some say it's normal but you just can't take away the worry from us. anyhoo, we're confident that she and the baby will do A-OK and that nothing is impossible with a devotional prayer!

ok people, weather today is weird. take care you all! (now i wonder if i'd be getting sick if i had taken a flu shot a few weeks back)

1000th post

kung ang huling blog post ko ay ika-999 (larawan sa ibaba nito), ibig sabihin, ito ang aking ika-1000 na blog post.




☻ noong ika-26 ng Nobyembre, natuloy na rin makalipas ang sampung taon ang pagkikita namin ng makulit kong kaibigan na si jobilark (na kung inyong sinusubaybayan ang blog na ito ay na-feature sya sa isang blog post). nagkita kami sa Tiendesitas sa oras ng pananghalian, parehong takas sa trabaho pero ok lang dahil tinatapos naman namin ang kani-kaniyang gawain sa aming mga pinapasukang tanggapan. una kong napuna ang bull cap na suot nya. pagkatapos ay ang katabaan nya (kunyari panay ang sabi sa akin na mataba raw ako pero hindi yata nya napansin sa salamin na mas mataba syang tignan kaysa akin) hehehe... blog ko ito, jobilark, gawa ka ng blog post mo kung gusto mong bumawi :P anyway, hindi pa dun nagtatapos ang napuna ko sa kanya. aba ang lolo nyo, naka-hikaw na. ano yun? cool? ok. sige. walang paki-alamanan, kanya-kanyang trip lang naman yan eh, pero dude. kung ako ang paniniwalaan mo, ang pangit. tanggalin mo na yan at muling paghilumin ang binutas na parte ng iyong tainga.
nagkwentuhan kami tungkol sa buhay-buhay habang nananaghalian. pagkatapos lumamon sa tiendesitas, itinuloy namin ang pagkukwentuhan sa isang coffee shop--- actually, donut shop pala na nagsisilbi ng kape. at dun itinuloy ang kwentuhang tila sampung taon (nga) naitago sa isa't-isa. eto sya nung mga sandaling iyon oh-ha! (tignan ang larawan sa kanan) at eto naman ako:

woot! woot! ang ineeeeet! sa english--- woah! so hot! :P :P :P

☻ galing naman sa long weekend, (naikwento ko na sa nakaraang blog post ang pinuntahan namin noong Lunes na walang pasok) coding agad ang pasok ng linggo ko--- Martes. habang nilalakad ko ang kahabaan ng kalye sa may pasig papunta naman sa isa pang istasyon ng traysikel, aba! sinabayan ako ng mapang-akit na alok ni BJ Man (buko juice man)! umaga pa lang ay mainit na sa lansangan at tagaktak ang pawis ng mga nagmamadali sa kalye upang di mahuli sa kani-kaniyang pinapasukan. syang sabay sa mabilis kong lakad itong nagtitinda ng buko juice na nakalagay sa kariton. tinakaw ako ng alok na iyon ng masarap na prutas pero kung bibili ako ng paborito kong juice (sariwa at mahusay sa paglinis ng UT), kung hindi ako mahuhuli sa oras ay sasakit naman ang tiyan ko dahil hindi pa ako nag-almusal ng mga sandaling iyon at sasabak agad ako sa pag-inom ng masarap na buko juice. kaya pass muna ako ngayon. ang pinakamalapit na magagawa ko na lamang sa pinalagpas kong sarap na idudulot sa akin ng BJ (buko juice), ay ang kuhanan ng litrato si manong magbubuko at maging bida sya rito sa aking blog.

☻ pagdating naman sa opisina, naka-amba ang libreng lunch para ipagdiwang ang kaarawan ng aming GM. syempre, umaapaw ang pagkain. salamat po sa masarap na handa! lalo na yung cake, ang sarap. parang puro gatas. ma-krema, pero hindi matamis. malinamnam. marahil malinamnam din ang presyo nun! eto ang isang bahagi ng mga gutom na nilalang. hindi ako nakasama sa larawan kase ako yung kumuha sa kanila. hehe...


☻ kani-kanina lang ay unang pagkakataon naming mag-asawa na mag-ihaw ng lalamunin para sa aming hapunan. masarap na manok na tinimplahan ni wifey ang pinausukan at sinunog namin sa ihawan (pagkatapos magliparan ang makapal na abo ng sinunog na dyaryo para makapagpabaga ng uling) at nagpalayas ng maraming lamok na nagpapahinga sa sulok-sulok ng aming kabahayan. oo, nabulabog sila ng mabangong usok ng aming iniihaw. marahil nagutom rin yung mga lamok habang nag-iihaw kami. habang ako na ang nagtuloy na ihaw, nagsaing si wifey at naghanda ng malamig na four seasons bilang aming pamatid-uhaw. wow, sarap!


- tapos na ang kwento sa ngayon -

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makaabot pa kaya ang blog na ito sa kaniyang ika-2000 post?

the happy sky :)

generally a good day yesterday, the 1st of December, 2008. noon time was spent with relatives in Fairview as they gave my mom a despedida lunch treat before she moves back to Toronto on Friday. after rounding Commonwealth market to look for the agua de pataranta mix for my uncle (and i felt so wasted using my energy in rounding the area under the burning heat of the sun just to look for a gin to be mixed with pineapple juice & iced tea), wifey & i hurried back home to prepare for our choir practice which was scheduled on the latter hours of the afternoon. after the choir practice, my choristers were pulling me outside to take a good glimpse of what seemed a phenomenon that hasn't happened in a century: a smiley face in the sky! we all have tried to take the best shot of the scenario but all our cam-phones were not that very good in taking night images (read: low pixels, haha). later on, i learned that what formed a happy-face-seem-like formation above was the positioning of planets Venus & Jupiter with the crescent moon.

"Skywatchers across the world are in for a celestial treat as two of the brightest naked-eye planets, Venus and Jupiter, slowly converge in the evening skies for a celestial summit on November 30. he real showpiece, however, will be on the following night, when a thin crescent moon joins the planetary pair—creating a brief "unhappy face" in the sky."

source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081125-venus-jupiter-conjunction.html

of course the image elsewhere in the world might have reflected a frowning scenario but in Manila, the sky was definitely smiling. :)

photo courtesy of Ms. Jane, taken December 1st, 2008

2008's last month's first day

ang aga-aga, binuwisit ako ng Jollibee delivery. may record na pala ako sa database ng delivery service nila, at dahil ngayon lang yata ako umorder ng breakfast meal, sinabihan ako na alas-siete pa ang delivery nila. tumingin ako sa orasan, 6:55 n.u. sabi ko, baka pwede nang kunin ang order at limang minuto na lang naman, tiyak na may tao na kung saan mang branch iyon kukunin. hi-nold ako ng ilang minuto. kinuha ang order ko. macaroni soup. hindi raw available. sabi ko, ha? saang branch ba yung pinagkukuhanan ng order? sa bayan daw. sabi ko baka pwedeng sa makro branch na lang dahil di hamak na mas malapit iyon sa amin at mayroong macaroni soup doon ng ganun kaaga. teka lang daw. hi-nold ulit ang tawag ko nang may ilang minuto. pagbalik sa telepono, hindi raw pwedeng kunin doon ang order namin dahil sabi raw sa record nila, dun daw kami sa bayan nakasamang sakop ng kanilang delivery. inulit ko sa kausap ko na mas malayo ang branch sa bayan kaysa sa Makro na katabing subdivision lang namin. hindi raw talaga pwede. (kulang na lang yata eh sabihan ako nung kausap ko na lumabas na lang po kayo at pumunta sa makro branch kung mas malapit lang sa inyo). sabi nya, sige po sir, ganito na lang. kunin ko na lang order nyo at gawin po ninyong available ang linya ng telepono ninyo para itawag ko sa inyo kung posible ang request nyo. ah, ok. sa lagay pala eh maghihintay ako sa wala, sa isip-isip ko. hindi pa sigurado yung delivery pero aasa na ako sa pagkaing antagal bago makarating sa amin. di bale na lang, sabi ko. paki-cancel na ang order ko.

teka, kumakatok na ang mcdo delivery.



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Disyembre 1 na. gaya ng nabanggit ko sa blog post ko nung nakaraan, family day namin ngayon. tutulak kami sa bahay ng kapatid ng biyenang babae ng asawa ko (pinagulo ko lang. tita ko, actually hehe..) sa fairview upang magsalu-salo ng pananghalian. apat na araw mula ngayon, babalik na sa Toronto ang aking butihing ina, kasama ang biyenang babae ng ate ko, si nanay zeny. unang pagkakataon na tutungo sa Canada si nanay zeny. excited ako para sa kanila. at syempre, ang matagal na naming hinihintay ni wifey na makapagsarili. gayunpaman, marahil hindi rin matupad ang pagsasarili namin dahil tiyak namang papalit sa pagbisita rito ang aking itay. pero kahit na, inaasahan kong mas magiging magaan ang pamumuhay naming mag-asawa sa mga darating na araw. abangan... kung magkakaroon kami ng increase sa sahod! wish wish wish...

holiday = family day

i'm looking forward to another holiday and it's scheduled this coming Monday--- December 1st in lieu of the November 30th Bonifacio Day. while wifey and i aren't going home to my dad's province, it will still be a family day as we will be holding my mom's endless despedida this time with relatives from her side. venue: Fairview, Quezon City! yay! i'm excited. i actually wanna be with my cousins again even for just a short period of time and catch up with each others life stories. i've been thankful for having a good bond with my cousins on both sides so wherever our family gatherings take us, i feel at home. last time we had cousin-bonding (yeah, most of them girls) was when wifey and i visited my dad in Pampanga (november 9th). i asked my cousins to have halo-halo at the nearest Razon's branch and we ended up dining at their San Fernando branch. it was also nice to see Apung Tino & Apung Ingging again and when i look at my lolo, i couldn't help but get back to the time when he was still strong, doing gardening everyday and helping out in their church every weekend. fresh vegetables being served in our plates were all courtesy of my lolo's planting. the house backyards were full of vegetable plants and fruit-bearing trees. it was where & when i learned to appreciate what these plants & trees can give mankind and we just have to learn how to live with them. i used to water the plants twice a day when i was in my last year in grade school and during my four years in secondary school. buhay-probinsya. simple. payapa. looking at my grandpa today, his old age is now evident as he needs to be held when walking from one place to another. he also just spends the rest of his day sleeping. my sister once told me (in Friendster--- imagine, we communicate in Friendster, haha) that i have inherited my grandpa's life's principles. for me it's a plus factor since my grandpa is a very good man and being compared to him in any way is an honor. he used to be a school administrator in our town. he is well-known in our place and many people respect him. well, i'm just proud to be his grandson.

going back to San Fernando, it's still nostalgic on my part whenever i drive into the old town. calesas are still very much alive in the province and the chaotic sight of people walking to and fro the old market is home for me. wifey and i bought two watermelons on our way home to my lolo's place and the town still gives the slow-paced lifestyle that any far-away province display. many establishments have sprung though and development has gone a long way too. it's just that, it is still not comparable to mega manila, well, the old market area at least. but nonetheless, i still love the province. we may be returning to this place during the holiday season and it is when being with family is best. true. friends may be there for you anytime but due to differences in life's priorities and paths, they sometimes go to a distance you can't reach. as i've blogged before, "People. They come and go. It is only your FAMILY that stays."

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