062. Indefinite hiatus

My dad died last Saturday so I am back in Manila to attend the wake and funeral service.
With that, I will be on indefinite hiatus on this blog.

Thanks guys, it's been nice knowing all of you.

060. My 15 seconds of fame

Taken at American Eagle Outfitters store, Times Square, NYC

All you need to do is buy something at the store. Present the receipt to the photographer. He takes your picture. Then you go outside and wait for your picture to flash on the billboard. Super fun! :D

057. Family posts

While eating dinner...

Dad: What do you want for breakfast tomorrow?

Me: None. Diet ako.

Dad: Anong diet diet? Di pwede.

Me: You said I'm fat. (*pouts at Dad*)

Dad: I NEVER! (Dad is indignant)

Me: Awww.. sige. I want hotdogs and scrambled eggs.

*Mom snickered then whispered to me*

Mom: Di ba your dad said your face looks like ensaymada.. Last week lang yun!

.

.

.

.

*Dad stood up and had the audacity to laugh*

*I ran after dad and gave him a bear hug*

Owari~

That, folks, is the 787832742734th reason why I love my parents. :D

038. my parents are awesome

Woke up from a nap. Switched the TV on. Boy Abunda is interviewing a tranny PBB housemate. Watched for a while. Turned the TV off.

I was about to head out to do some grocery shopping at S&R when my phone rang. My parents are calling from NY to check on me. They are early risers and they feel that they won't catch me if they will wait for a few more hours. What can I say? Kilala talaga nila ako. Hahaha.

I suddenly blurted out --

Ruby: Dad/Mom, what if one of your sons/daughters is gay? How would you feel?

*pregnant pause*



Dad: Tomboy ka ba iha?
Mom: Okay lang naman sa amin. We still love you kahit ano ka pa.


Ayun! Napa-tumbling ako! Hahaha. Mag-jump to conclusion ba? Hihihi. I set the record straight tho. Yes, pun intended. :D




I love my parents and I know after that conversation, I love them even more. I'm very thankful to see how open they are when it comes to another person's sexuality. :D

033. How I spent my Christmas

Half of it I spent asleep.
Half of it I spent in the hospital because Anne can't wake me up and my idiot (and I say that with love) bestfriend thought I am dead until she checked for my pulse and heartbeat. *rolls eyes then LOL*

Piece of advice:
Don't take sleeping pills after drinking a bottle of wine. Better yet, don't drown your sorrow with alcohol.

Action Step:
I will bring my family back for Christmas next year, even if I have to go there and drag them myself. Or to save time and money, I'll just spend my Christmas there. *LOL*

Belated Merry Christmas everyone! :D

018. Happiness

Picture was taken by me.

Seeing this guy is enough to make me happy. ♥♥♥

Hopefully this weekend will be the break I need to get away from work. This will also be the time to re-assess on what and who I want in my life. Take care people. ~

013. Aftermath

Saturday morning proved to be a challenging day for us. This is the first time in decades that our area was flooded due to opening of Angat dam rain. Fortunately, our house is not affected although the roads outside were knee deep. As a result, some of our neighbors and relatives requested to park their cars in our garage.

Our house was full of people by Saturday afternoon. The flood has risen until hip level outside so people are flocking to our house to seek shelter. Good thing is that we have lots of food because it's Mom's birthday and she was supposed to have a party.

A disaster can bring the best and sadly the worst out of people. I saw a lot of people helping each other and despite the gloomy weather, people still try to find something to laugh about.

The bad thing was some of our valuables got stolen. It was saddening coz some of these people are those that we're trying to help. Dad just hugged me and said that we can replace those things. We just have to be thankful that we're still safe and dry.

Seeing my mom and dad working tirelessly (despite their old age) to help those who are in need, I can't help but be proud of them.

I hope everyone is safe.

012. Thanksgiving

Just got back from a thanksgiving mass that was sponsored by my family.
This is in remembrance of the 9-11 attack that happened 8 years ago.



Why Thanksgiving?
As some of you might know, most of my family are living in New York. Our home is in Manhattan and my family/extended family all work in Manhattan as well.

I was watching CNN when they did the breaking news about a plane hitting the twin towers.

I think my heart stopped for a while.

My pamangkin, Rina, works at the Twin Towers (Tower 1 to be exact). It's 9 am and it's a workday.

Can you imagine the fear I felt when I heard that news? My family is in New York and I am all alone here in Manila. I immediately called our NY house but no one is answering. It actually made me feel a little better, knowing the phone is still ringing. Morbid, yes, but I felt relieved.

Do I dare call Rina? Well, I did.

The number you're dialling is out of coverage.

....

WTH. I don't know what else to do so I called my sister who lives in Chicago. They heard the news and was trying to reach the NY folks albeit unsuccessfully.

At that time, all I can do is pray the rosary and ask for strength and guidance for this whole ordeal.

Around 11 pm (MNL time), the phone rang and I was awashed with relief when I heard my parents' voice telling me that they are all okay. Rina wasn't able to go to work since her baby, Erin, suddenly got sick. It was kinda weird that everyone was running a little late for work. My other pamangkin, Ria, was outside the subway station when the plane crashed. She was able to see when it hit the building. She came home covered in dust. Dirty but safe. I can deal with that. :D

That event made me appreciate how important my family is to me. So every year, we celebrate mass as a family. We maybe in different locations but our bonds became stronger every single day.