This is a late mini "memoir" about the first two days of my recent vacation in the Philippines. It was supposed to be written a week ago, but due to cleaning and a down internet connection (refer to previous entry) it had to be cancelled and done on a much later date.

First Day - First Tipsy Head - First Time I played with Therese with no melodramatic tones from her.

It was an early flight in, WAAAYYYY too early for I, myself, was used to a 12 pm wake up call. My brother-in-law, Toots, picked me up and drove straight to Starbucks for the much needed lattes.

On the way home, my brother attacked the Krispy Kreme donuts I carried around with me in the 17000 mile journey. I wasn't going to let him touch it until we reach the house, but being the sweet addict that he is, and me empathizing with him, I just let him have it.

When we arrived at our house, my sister, Lee , greeted me with a hug and my eldest niece, Therese, gave me a shy smile. I went inside the house to take a sneak peek at my youngest niece, Margarita and wow, did she have the chubbiest cheeks.

sister act: therese and margarita

Unpacking was the easiest thing to do, unlike packing, all you have to do was take all the things that you have packed and throw it to the next available space you see. My sister, being the OC freak that she is, picked every stuff that I threw on the floor and arranged it according to size, shape, who's it for, and where it's gonna go.

In the middle of unpacking, we were constantly interrupted by my niece. Being the kid that she is, she was telling us to "let's go Tita, play with my toys". Of course, being the good aunt that I am, I obliged to the little kid’s desire. Unfortunately, in the middle of our play, I started to feel light headed, a good sign that was telling me to lie down and sleep.

Second Day - Friends Reunited

It was Friday. I was desperate to see my friends, but sadly, I didn't have their numbers memorized. I called my friend, Karlenn, the night before to ask what Joy's cellphone number is and also to tell her that I was going to Los Banos the next day. She then called me up the next day and told me that she wanted to come with me and was gonna be at the house by 2pm. I was ecstatic. After that phone call, I sent a text message to Lin that said: "u comin' home 2day? kta tau!!" No reply.

On our way to LB, we sent a text message to Joy, asking her if she was free. She replied, "HEEYY!! Nnd2 ka na!!! Ala n q class ng 4." We replied, "k, kita tayo sa VEGA ng 4." I became excited after that 5 minute long send and reply repertoire. I was finally going to see the people I want to see.

Once we have reached our destination, Vega Centre, my pulse began to rise. I was back at a place where I use to hang out and eat with my friends, just like the good old high school days.

Here is a chronological list of the people I saw:

1. After eating lunch, Karlenn told me to send a text message to Noel asking where they were. He replied, "D2 kami gamerum, san kayo?"; we replied,"punta kami dyan"; they replied, "d, kami n lng, punta kmi dyan." And so we waited in front of Chowking.... Ron, Noel and Jamu came.

2. Since it was almost 4, we told the guys that we should wait for Joy. 4:30 pm came, with no sign of Joy around, the guys decided to go to Ron for a mini drinking session. But before they were set to go, Dianne and Jaynee came.

3. When the guys were gone, Joy finally showed up.

.... stayed at vega for a while... went to Ron's place... decided to go internet surfing... received a text message from Lin saying she's arriving at around 6 pm... went back at Ron's place to chill and wait for Lin... Dianne and Jaynee left.. Joy left since it was getting late...

4. Lin arrived with a white car tailing her, which was apparently driven by Nyo.

I was getting hungry, so I asked Lin and Lenn to accompany me at the nearest restaurant, Nyo went with us also.

5. On our way to the restaurant, we said hi to Ryan and Earl who drove by us.

Lin, me, and Lenn

This picture was taken at 06-18-04 in Inihaw Express located in Umali, Los Banos, Laguna. Special thanks to Nyo for taking it with his camera phone.

School starts tomorrow. I, on one hand am pushing it away from me because I am in no school mode yet. I still have remnants of my recent vacation, remnants that I doubt I'll even forget. Many memories were made from it. Many friendships renewed in 90 days. Many stories unraveled.

to be continued....