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December 26, 2004, just right after Christmas, we went to my dad's hometown in Brgy.
Kayquit, Indang, Cavite. Well, that didn't surprise me, because it's been
our family tradition to go to my lola Sayo's place once every year only, &
that time happens to be right after Christmas, & then we would go home
after spending a day or two there so that we can go to my lola Nita's (my mom's
mother) place in Bulacan to spend New Year there as well as my lolo Odilon's
birthday (Jan. 1). All this time, I never knew the occasion as to why we're
always going there every after Christmas day, until now. I learned from my dad
that the other reason we're going there aside from visiting my relatives &
cousins in my dad's side (which only happens once a year) is because it's the
feast of their place's patron saint, St. John the Evangelist. (Damn, why
wasn't there a section like that in my school?) It's also that time of the year
where my dad's family butchers one massive piece of fat pig & divide its
parts according to the proper dishes their going to cook, which ends up having
many dishes & cuisines which all look delicious to me. (except for the Dinuguan
& probably some other dishes) And now, here's the rundown of the events
that happened during our 3-day vacation there...
DAY 1 - December 26, 2004
Woke up early, but I soon found out that my parents left
the house to hear mass. I ate breakfast & then they finally arrived. After
a few more hours of preparations, we finally left the house! I think it was
around 12 noon when we left. We spent about 2-3 hours of travel from Q.C. to
Cavite. And lo, my feet were crying in pain! Thankfully, on the way, my dad
stopped by on some sort of a mini mart to buy some distilled water for us to
use. When he got out of our 3-decade old Volkswagen Beetle,
I opened the side door in my right side & stretched out my poor feet! After
my dad was done, we continued our road trip to Cavite.
After a few more hours, we finally arrived, in my dad's
hometown, Brgy. Kayquit, Indang, Cavite. After we got out of the car, we did
our usual homeworks: greet & make "mano" to
our relatives & to our lola Sayo (short for Rosario) & then get all the
baggage & gifts from the car to bring them inside the house. My sister's
niece, Eana Katherine, (not sure of the spelling) who was ate Elma's
daughter, came to my surprise, as I have somehow forgotten about her for a
while. We ate lunch which was untimely because it's already past 3 pm when we
ate. After a few moments, our other cousins & relatives arrived, which was
headed by my tito Noel. My ninong Dante didn't arrive... well, so much
for having a 2nd family... Oh well, that's life.
I was kinda surprised to see some new faces which I
haven't seen last Christmas season in Cavite. One of them was "BJ",
Ira's (my cousin) friend & batchmate way back in Antipolo, together
with his mom. Later on, we talked & suddenly became fast friends because
the 3 of us have a knack when it comes to basketball as well the NBA. I also
learned later on that his father died because of cancer. (forgot if whether
it's a colon or something else) I give my deep condolences to him & his
mother, may his dad rest in peace. All in all, I can say that he's a cool kid
with a passion for basketball.
That same day, I also got the chance to read my sister's
completed feasibility project. Damn, I was really amazed as well as impressed
with the way she & her groupmates used deep words & grammar in typing
their report. I was also amazed with all those computations, tables, mechanical
drawings & all the other stuff loaded within their project. I hope I can be
more mature in the future so that I can also write like them. And now, I'm
starting to have worries about my college life. I hope I'll be able to pass college
& have a good high-income job in the future.
The next ones that arrived were my cousin Ron-Ron
together with his family, as well as his "crew". When I
saw them, I was like seeing Eminem with his D-12 family. They were all dressed
in those rapper clothes & all that stuff, but it was okay. As the sun was
slowly shining down, more people arrived. Like a yearly reunion should be,
everyone except two arrived. (I really can't recall now the exact chronology of
the people who arrived, so please bear with me.) Kuya Dodong & his
family arrived. Now all of a sudden, kids were filling up the entire place, but
it was alright. My sister installed my boombox, which we brought along the way,
(together with her new pet, a small turtle) & then listened to the CD's
that she brought to keep her away from boredom. When she was done, it was my
turn to use it, & I brought out the CD's I put inside my bag & started
reminiscing the good old days, thanks to my sister's James Ingram's Greatest
Hits album. I was also busy using my cellphone just to access my YM account
even if I'm in a place where cellphone signal's very low. And lo, we even had
to exchange turns just to recharge our phones. What a day it was!
When night came, we ate dinner. After that, my tita
Wilma did her homework: to make her trademark gelatins as well as
her signature Graham recipe. As for the rest of the evening, I just
bummed around & I ended up having heavy eyes which then led me to the
decision to go to bed already to have a nice cozy sleep, without using the
electric fan that is! While I was taking a nap already, my cousins were still
playing with that video game console, which I assume was locally manufactured,
that has this neat ##-in-1 game. (can't recall the exact number of games, sorry)
DAY 2 - December 27, 2004
Morning came, & I woke up from my deep slumber, just
to find out that it's feast day already! And what a day it was! I ate breakfast
& then took a bath. After I dressed up, I went down. I never thought that
I'd be play basketball there, but, mistakes often happen. So after kuya
Ron-Ron's crew decided to play, I changed my jogging pants & wore shorts
instead & joined the party!
We took some kind of a shortcut to the court, which I
think took us about 2-3 minutes before reaching it. Ira & BJ got a little
late but were able to catch up with us & they used a different route. I had
a good time there, although it was short. We played a 4-on-4 game on a
half-court basis, in which we played 2 times, but with different winners. I
was somehow amazed to witness before myself the prowess of kuya Ron-Ron as well
as his crew. There was even this friend of his who kept on doing the moves of
Mac Cardona, which was kinda cool, but he was called Mac
Carmona/Carbonara by his friends, which kinda made me laugh. Kuya
Ron-Ron's wife & son watched, as well as this cute lady, which I happened
to be glancing at once in a while, only to discover later that her name's Eds
& was the girlfriend of one of kuya Ron-Ron's crew members, Sean.
I got the chance to talk with him while we watched the
NBA game between Phoenix & Toronto together with Ira & BJ as
well as his crew that night. He told me that he was once a varsity player
during high school, so that's why he was kinda good & got some moves while
we played earlier. Damn, I wish I was a varsity player too, but I ain't that
good despite my tall height.
That same day, kuya Omel arrived together
with his own crew. It was also the day that I reunited with Mia, a sort
of short childhood friend of mine for a while now. She was with her mom &
little brother, Reg, when they arrived. Again, new faces came when I saw
another cute gal together with her sister enter the house. While time passed
by, visitors started coming in, eating & having conversations with my
relatives. Lolo Pael was there too, who gave out some "Aguinaldos"
when each of us, his grandchildren, kissed his hand. (actually, it's a
"mano", I just don't know the exact English word for it, sorry) When
I looked & observed him, I felt kinda sorry for him, because he became some
sort of a hunchback due to his old age. Damn, I hope I won't be having that
same problem when I grow up, amidst my struggle for having a correct straight
body posture I've always been dreaming of having.
Unfortunately, my mom & sister needed to leave early,
because they have their own priorities to take care of. My mom needed to attend
to her business meetings/seminars or whatever they were while my sister needed
to practice for the Oral Defense of their feasibility project. My dad gave them
a ride to the bus stop which was located in Poblacion, or town in short.
(which was located in Indang. Sorry if I can't explain it right, my head ain't
working right, hehe.) Then they were off. My mom texted me when they arrived in
the MRT station in Taft Avenue. Before leaving, my sister told me to take care
of her pet, which I dutifully did. (I was forced to do it, haha.)
When
afternoon came, I just stayed upstairs in my dad's bedroom, because all I can
do worthwhile is to listen to James Ingram's songs as well as Kjwan's to
reminisce again. I have to admit, I'm probably one the best, if not the
greatest, nostalgic persons who reminisce all the time. I even cried a bit
after recalling past events in my life, specifically my childhood memories.
When I was done, my dad called me & told me to dress
up because we'll be going to watch the procession of St. John the Evangelist.
We just walked on our way to the church. When we arrived, it wasn't there
anymore, as the procession started already. As compensation, me & my dad
just prayed there, even though it was only him who prayed while I just sat
there & observed the place. After he was done praying, we left the church &
we returned to the house. On the way back, my dad shared with me what the old
people used to tell them when he was still a kid about their patron saint. He
told me that SJE (the saint mentioned above) lists the names of the children
who are asleep on December 31 midnight, just right before New Year. And when
New Year strikes, the names of the sleeping kids on his list get killed. Scary
huh? Well, it was just probably a made-up tale just to scare kids away &
make them awake before New Year.
Night came again, but this time, it was different. Mia
& her friend sat together with me & we talked for a while. After that,
I got the chance to talk with her friend, who all of a sudden called me "kuya".
I guess she's really thinking that I'm old due to my tall height. I asked her
what her name was & then she replied with, "Dang". I soon
found out that her real name was Ednalyn, which I think is cooler than
Dang. Well, I was kinda surprised to hear such a rare name, but it was alright
nevertheless. While we were watching the NBA, she & Mia asked me if they
can watch StarStruck as well as Lovers in Paris. Me, being a good gentleman,
(or is it a gentle boy, or even a gentle giant? WTF?!) did the right thing
& decided to let them watch their favorite show, StarStruck, after finishing
the 3rd Quarter of the game. (Lovers in Paris was already done airing that
time) While they were watching, they were already lying in their bed, which was
placed on the floor & was together with some of the "crews" who
were already sleeping in their "banigs". I was kinda feeling bored,
so I decided to capture some Kodak moments (although the film's brand isn't
Kodak) with our dumb analog camera. I just took different & silly pictures
of my relatives, cousins & the other people inside the house just to let
time pass by. I also got the chance to converse with my tita Sita as
well as with my ninang Mila regarding their careers as well as their
student life in the past. Well, I think I had a heart-to-heart talk with them
if you ask me, but it was worthwhile.
While we were watching TV inside the house, my dad as
well as my relatives & cousins as well as their friends were busy playing Bingo
outside. Damn, I wish I played that too, since I haven't played it for many
years now. I think I was still a little kid when I last played Bingo in Cavite,
childhood memories again! After all were done, we closed the lights out &
all went to sleep.
DAY 3 - December 28, 2004
I woke up
in the morning & did my morning routine. After that, I ate breakfast. Then
me & the crew played basketball again. This time it was a 5-on-5 game on
a whole-court basis. Things got different this time when kuya Enteng
played. I still scored, (fortunately) despite getting tired quickly, probably
due to the slow digestion of the food I ate, as well as the sun's heat, or
probably due to the fact that I haven't played a whole court game in a long
time. But nonetheless, I still did what I can to contribute to my team.
Oh & I almost forgot, this was also Christian's
(my cousin) birthday. I greeted him when I saw him in the morning, I'm
just ain't sure what time it was. I hope he's happy now, since having birthdays
means receiving gifts & having birthday cakes & all that stuff.
When we got back home, I dressed up with dry clothes
& had a little rest. My dad then gave me P200. & told me to go to ate
Weng's house to visit my nephew, Lance, as well as my sister's other
niece aside from Eana. (forgot her name, sorry) When I came in, I was surprised
to see Mia & Dang inside. Dang greeted me again by saying, "Hi
kuya!", which was kinda cool, since it's very rare for me to be
called like that nowadays. (except for my cousins Odi & Kerish) I did my
task as a good uncle to Lance by handing him his "Aguinaldo" after he
gave me a "mano". I did the same thing to my sister's niece after she
gave me a "mano". After that, I had a little conversation with ate
Weng. When I was done, I sat together with Dang & Mia while they were
watching the movie "The Toolbox Murder" (something like that).
While we were watching, my dad called me & told me to ready the baggage to
be put inside the car, so I went back to my lola's house immediately.
After dressing up with a casual attire, I brought down
the baggage. While there was still time, I brought out our camera again &
took shots of Eana & me. I went back to ate Weng's house to finish the
movie as well as take some pictures of my nephew & niece, & some group
pics. When I went back, we took pictures & some group pictures of ourselves!
It was great! Before leaving, my ninang Mila gave me my Aguinaldo as well as
for my sister. (P500. each for both of us!) When everything was ready, me &
my dad bid everyone goodbye & we left.
Lolo Pael was with us on the way, because my dad decided
to take him to his house. When we arrived, we saw kuya Manny with his
wife & his cute daughter, Janina May. I'm kinda disappointed with
the way she treats me, she despises me! So much for being tall eh? I guess she
thinks that I'm so tall, I look like a stranger to her, despite my kindness
& patience to her. We accompanied lolo Pael until he reached his house
& had a little chat with his family members. After that was done, my dad
decided to give kuya Manny & his family a ride to Palapala, Dasmariñas,
Cavite, because like us, they're going home too. When we arrived there,
they got out of the car & we bid each other goodbye. And then we left. On
the way, I learned from my dad some things about Cavite, such as its parts like
Indang, Trese Martires, Dasmariñas, Imus & Bacoor. The last 2 are
said to be the most traffic-prone places in Cavite. Aside from those things, I
also got the chance to appreciate the beauty of my own country, since I
consider our trip a road trip. I saw different constructions as well as
establishments along the way. I was surprised to know that there are still many
vacant lots waiting to have owners in Manila. I wish I can tour the whole
Philippines just like my dad when I grow up. After a few more hours of travel,
we finally arrived in Q.C. We decided to stop by in KFC in Tandang Sora to eat
lunch. After that, we went home & the rest was history.
Well, that's it for my Cavite
experience. I'll just post the pictures of my 3-day vacation there when the
films get developed & when the pics get scanned when I have the time.
Alright then, later everyone! Word out. Bye & God Bless! 
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VIVA LA BIBOY! 
I have to give him some credits. After all, this is his work. 
Haha, I hope so. Oh well, whatever! 
NO OFFENCE TO THE READER/S OUT THERE! PEACE! 
Bye & God Bless! 
They even stamped our hands as proof of this great treat! My tita Risa ü wasn't able to come with us anymore, because she told me that she'll go to her province for some family matter. Too bad, cause she missed the fun we had! Oh well, life's really like that I guess. Also, on that day, I was able to make a new friend, Mrs. Ferido that is! If it wasn't for her motherly concern for us, then I wouldn't have made it back to Claret. Thanks maam! 
