Dad's Videos

A video/collage of pictures my nephew Karl put together.. I had hair then...

Pre-party warm ups..

Some food are bad for you..

Yes? or No?

More pics

Additional pics from Dad's party..

Big Event!!

Eline and Uli coordinated the event sending out invitations, ordering tables, chairs, tents (rain was forecasted), and the band. Lelen was catering - had to improvise and create a kitchen setting in our driveway. Cris and Joel paid for the whole thing. We were expecting 100+ of Dad's friends and the food being prepared were no less than what people would expect.

More...

Our Arrival for Dad's surprise party

My sister Chitchi and her son David's flight arrived around 4AM the morning of Sept. 18th. They were at the house by 5:30 and had to duck into the bedroom until Mom and Dad woke up. Chitchi had to trick Mom by calling her on her cell phone in order for Mom to come out. When they finally saw each other, Mom apparently ran back to the room as a reflex. Hilarious.

Dad on the other hand came out a couple of minutes later and walked straight to the breakfast table. He noted David to sit there and momentarily thought why David was there given that he lives in San Francisco. Chitchi put her newspaper down to reveal herself to which Dad finally realized that they were both there.

My turn -

My plane arrived at 10AM the same day and Manny came to get me. Eline called us to notify me that when we arrive at the house to not walk in yet until called. It was lunchtime when we arrived at the house so I had to wait outside the front door while they were all seated at the dining table. Dad stated that it would be nice if I could make his party since it would be the only time all of his children would be in one place. That's when Eline said that there was a box sent from the States and was about to be brought in. That was my signal. I walked in stating in a loud voice, "man, it is still hot here!" I cannot tell you how precious the look on his face was in surprise that I had returned too for his event. Mom cried.

up next.. The Party..

To Be Continued...

Katharine and I have actually been back since August 12th and realized I did not do any closing remarks.

Well, guess what? I returned today to attend Dad's 90th birthday which is being celebrated tomorrow here at the house. Eline is charged with preparations for at least 100 guests from Dad's list of friends. The Beautifonters (staff and friends from his business); Star Wars (tennis group); and the Village/Local Friends.

All of his children will be in attendance. It will an event to remember. Uli and my nephew Karl are working on a video where family members put together. Kelly and I were able to add to this the night before I left.

Stay tuned....

We're Back!

It had been an experience after all these years to come home. Three and a half weeks for me was not long enough. I wish I could have stayed three and a half months. Next time, Kelly will try to come with us. The trip back was uneventful and unfortunately we were not upgraded for any of our flights. Katharine complained but I was happier that way since I can see her the whole time we flew. Till next time!!

We were beat after 25 hours of travelling. Whew!!

We're almost outta here!

As I write this, we are a few hours away from flying back to the States. I'm sad about leaving 'home' on this side of the globe though look forward to coming home Stateside. It has been a fantastic trip particularly being with my family especially with the goose seeing her grandparents and meeting her aunts, uncles, and cousins face-to-face. Seeing them on Skype ever so often just does not compare to being with them these last three weeks. I do hope we get to fly back soon; and with Kelly in the future. I will miss my friends who I caught up with this time but am advised to open a Facebook page since I appear to be the only one left without one. They apparently have been keeping up with each other through there.

Mom and Dad took us out to lunch today at a place called Fely J.'s which is a Filipino restaurant with a modern ambiance. If you happen to go there, order the "Sekreto ni Maria" - a suman (rice cake) dessert with mango slices and a cream sauce. Its great! Sorry, no pic - we ate it before I could take one. Pictured at right is an appetizer called 'crab tofu'; crab on top of tofu cakes with veggies and a light sauce. This one's ewcellent as well.





Kelly requested I take pics and videos of our house so all of you can see what it looks like. Below was taken from across the street. (The gardener I think was off this day..)

And here is what it looks like inside the fence..

(Uh oh.. I can't figure out how to link the movies for now so I'll come back and complete this section after a couple of days.)


Here's Michael Jackson practicing in our vestibule..





I will certainly miss Luigi who the goose and I have become fond of. I tease him when I see Lolay (grandma) and tell him that 'she's my lolay!'. He comes and tries to fend me off of mom to claim her as his. What a character!





This is my aunt, Ining. She's mom's baby sister.


Last night's pics: Of course I'll miss everybody too

Happy Birthday Timmy!

Today is Timmy's 11th birthday! Happy b-day big boy! When I got up and went outside he was already there with most of the family. I don't know if they woke him up singing happy birthday but we surely missed it if we did. His celebration dinner was at Shakey's and everybody had a great time. Pizza, spaghetti, chicken strips, etc. Had a cake waiting for him when we got back to the house.






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Boyz nite out: Manny O, Demy A, and Robert O. Its nice to see the guys again!



Was able to drive by my alma mater yesterday. We were short on time and was only able to stop at the front to take a couple of pics. It was lunchtime and the front was getting busy. I'll plan better in the future when I visit again.



When the goose wasn't feeling well yesterday, I went and did errands with Uli and Lysia. He went to work (2 hours visiting the building) then off to lunch. They took me to Macapagal Blvd. where there's a fresh fish market. You picked the item/s you want and they'll cook it and serve it to you. I was too enthralled by the whole thing that all i could do was take one picture of the prawns we ordered. It was served with garlic and sweet chili sauce. It was great!