Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 8

Dec. 26, 2014

THE DAY AFTER

Got up at about 6:30AM to get ready and join Uli and sons for an early tennis game at the courts where I learned the game. It is always exciting for me to return to this venue since it has so much meaning and history for me.

At this point, the last time I played was about 5 years ago. Here! I keep telling myself that I should take up the game again but it gets too hot in Texas for me to play. Anyway, I still looked forward to this time especially now that I have nephews who are playing very well. I later found out that there are but as many as a dozen members left playing here. Probably not as much competition for the boys so Uli takes them out somewhere for tournaments. That's good so they can and need that to gain experience.

Got to visit my grandparents today. Uli and Lysia kindly took me there after realizing we had an opening in our schedules. There were flowers everywhere in the cemetery which I can only assume is because families and relatives came to visit their dearly departed ones in the last day or so. My emotions always get to me when I visit them flashing back to the last time I saw my grandmother who distinctly requested I wake her up the day of my departure to go back Stateside. 

I informed her that I will be leaving at around 4AM to go to the airport so we should say our goodbyes that evening. She insisted I wake her up anyway so she can properly see me off. The next morning, I felt bad about waking her up so I left without saying goodbye. That was the last time I'll ever see her.

Later that evening, we had dinner with Mom and Dad, Ate Cris, Kuya Ruffy, Ate Lourdes, and our gang at Omakase Japanese Restaurant. I didn't think I would be hungry given I ate so much two days ago from the feast Ate Lourdes prepared but I did. Tomorrow, Ate Cris will be taking most of the adults to a bar for some tequila shots. Not sure what to expect but am looking forward to this place. I hear it is one of the most popular places if you are a tequila junkie.

My nephew Luigi who recently lost his two front teeth. He got a dollar for the second one.

For another dollar, he'd set you kiss the back of his neck.

Mom opening the Hong Kong special wrapping from the Duty Free shoppe.

My niece Isabella was trying on a very small Disney crown. We couldn't properly fit it on her head hence the scrooge face.

My lovely mom!

Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 7

12/25/14

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Merry Christmas everybody!! I open my eyes and look at the clock – Yikes..9:49AM! This the latest I've gotten out of bed and is understandable since we stayed up for Christmas Eve and had the kids open their gifts. Our tradition has been to open all the gifts on Christmas Eve instead of just one gift and open the rest on Christmas Day. So much activity with everybody being excited and fanfare over their new stuff. Funny how it seemed only recently when we were the kids and were handed gifts from Santa and our parents. Eline made a comment that 'the gift less' meaning we the adults are now on the sideline when all other kids are busy doing what we used to do. Regardless, it is satisfying and fun to see all of them having a great time.

In the morning, we scheduled to visit my grandparents burial site sometime after lunch. Since it is only 11:33AM right now, we're resigned to watching the two babies (Luigi and Isabella) have fun and play with their toys. They're going to be busy for quite some time with the amount of stuff they got. Uli and family will be heading to his mom-in-law's house for a visit and lunch and they'll rejoin us after. I could take one of the cars and head out myself but could very well end up taking too long and not to mention lost so I'll stick it out here for the moment.

Update: grandparents visit postponed again. Timing is difficult given in-law visits are messing with my plan. Not complaining, just explaining. Also scheduled to go shopping at Green Hills. Picking up a sussy for Kelly there. 

Last minute challenge from Timmy for tennis tomorrow. I was trying to avoid my ass being beat. He sounded excited. Oh Lord!.

Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 6

12/24/14

RAIN BRINGS FAMILY TOGETHER

At around 4:50AM, I was awakened by the sound of rain. Lots of it! No wind, just fat rain. The plants and grass were soaked and a small pool of water had formed in the middle of the garden. As of 7:06AM the rain has not stopped and continues to pour. We were supposed to play tennis this morning so I texted all involved that the rain saved them from the wrath of my awesome tennis skills. Ha! On a serious note, I'm suddenly concerned that this much and prolonged rain causes flooding in the lower parts of the city and creates issues such as traffic and problems for the residents. I was also planning to visit my grandparents' graves but may need to postpone it till tomorrow. As of 11:33AM the rain continues. The weatherman says the tail end of a 'cold front' that just passed is what's causing all this rain.

My half sister Cristina is coming for lunch today which also happens to be her birthday. She will be bringing enough food to feed an army she says. Last time I saw her was dad's 90^th birthday. Part of the army will not be here since it Eline's mother in law's birthday happens to be the same date. More for me! Just kidding. And wow! She wasn't kidding about bringing food. Kuya Ruffy, Ate Lourdes, and Justin also tagged along. What a nice surprise!

Ate was able to connect via Skype with her daughter Alexandra who had moved to France with her husband Thomas and their son Kai.

Eline and brood eventually made it and joined us for dinner. We added Crispy Pata and Spaghetti Bolonese for the evening meal. The Crispy Pata was a consolation given we were actually looking for Bulalo, a beef shanks and bone marrow soup which is famous in the southern Luzon region of the country. Whoever have had this soup/broth sometimes swear that this is the best one they've every had. Kuya Ruffy is one of those people. He was so excited when I told him to get off his butt from the lunch table so we can go search for this dish. Took us a while to find this bulalo specialty place only to find out that they are closed for the evening. They took an early out given this is Christmas eve. He begged at the person/cashier who was still there but she stated that they had already told the cook to take the evening off and there was nobody left to prepare the dish. You can see the disappointment in his face when the realization he will not be getting this dish sunk in. Poor Kuya!

Anyway, we had so much food my strategy on only eating half plates went out the door after the first spoonful. It was so good!

My two nieces. My how they've grown!

Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 5

12/23/14

ADJUSTMENTS AND PLANNING

I've been wondering when I can start adjusting and come out of jet-lagging. Today, I woke up at 6:30AM and missed the sunrise; I didn't even hear the midnight mass church bell! Midway into my trip here I am getting used to the time zone.

Cabin fever is and always has been my enemy. As much as I'd like to say that doing nothing and taking naps are relaxing, I find them to be time wasters since I'm more of the 'lets go somewhere' kind of a guy. It also doesn't help that the internet is down. My brother went to the building and I should have gone with him. Even if just for a couple of hours.

No plans this afternoon still. Eline and Manny both have a presentation of their business in Quezon City. Maybe I should ask them if they could drop me off at Green Hills so maybe I can go do 'cheap' shopping. Just got word that we're heading the mall at 3:30PM and this time I'm going to insist we walk dad (in his wheelchair of course) around the mall. I really believe that he could use the little change of view from a simple “from the car, sit down at the cafe, and back to the car” routine.

My nephew Ting Tabora and his two kids are here visiting for the day. He is Ate Lelen's adopted kid and lives north of us, in Cabuyao, Laguna. Public transportation takes 3.5 hours when traffic is involved. His eldest is an 11-yr old girl named Shine and his 3-yr old boy is Kenishi. Both have endless energy and we've got Luigi and Isabella to match them. I think they're having a great time. They've practically spent the whole day running and riding scooters in the back porch. They've gone through two shirt changes because they were sweating. Last time I saw Ting was 5 years ago during my dad's 90^th birthday. Prior to that, I saw him years ago when he was about 8 or 9. Way too long. Ting has got to be one of the nicest and kind-hearted guys I know. I can tell he is very attentive to his kids who lovingly call him 'papa'.

Update on the tennis challenge from Timmy: we ended up playing doubles opposed Anton and Quentin who wanted to play us. They put up a good fight and we win 8-5. I was actually surprised to find out Quentin had taken up the game. These boys have potential. We may have a Tabora-clan in tennis to be reckoned with. I hope that happens.

Went to the mall again today with mom and dad. This time as soon as we arrived I informed mom that we will be walking through one fourth of the mall so that both she and dad at least can see activity rather than just sit in the coffee shop. We ordered sans rival cake ( a butter based cake with nuts and crunch.) which I was craving but unfortunately I did not take a picture of.

Mary Grace Cafe was full so we went next door to Hollys Coffee. One thing you can get away with here is you can bring and eat food from another establishment as long as you also order from the place you're sitting in.

I've been trying to be good and only having half portions of the food prepared here at the house. It is so challenging to do given that what we are having are items I have not had in a while.

Corned beef with banana, scramble egg with garlic fried rice.

Beef Sukiyaki

Fried fish, hotdog, pickled herring, vinegar dipping sau and garlic fried rich

hotdogs, fried fish, scrambled eggs with tomatoes

Spaghetti Putanesca

Mango Bene

Mom was busy in the kitchen cooking and canning her much requested pasta sauces. She makes them and sends them out as Christmas gifts. At one point she has so many orders that they had to buy this humongous pressure cooker. I haven't seen anything like it.

On a side note - I'm missing the Goose. I wish she were here to enjoy this trip with me. This is the first Christmas that I'll spend away from her. I hope I don't do this too much. I showed her cousins her video singing the Portuguese song Ai Se Eu Te Pegu. Tita Honey was impressed with her voice. Who knew she could speak Portuguese? 

Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 2-4

Day 2-4

Woke up at 4:30AM to the sound of church bells calling the community for “midnight mass”. Have I gone? Unfortunately I have not since I've been planning poorly but I eventually will. I'm also finding it funny that I'm jet-lagging and having difficulty going back to sleep even though I've gone to bed as late as 12:30AM for the last four nights. I am enjoying sitting and working out in our back porch that overlooks the garden.

Taken at 6:00AM

 Taken at 6:30AM

I just love this part of the house especially for working on the computer. I'll come sit on the table set on the left to wait and watch for the sun to come out. There's something romantic about seeing the sunrise every time. The sounds become of the morning also come alive. People going about their way, heading to work or school; the rumble of tricycles going full of passengers. Uli came to join me so he can work on the company's VAT filing. I can tell this is not an area he commonly uses since he has a work desk in his house but since he saw me sitting here, I welcome the company. We do not get to spend time as much. I keep thinking I wish I had business that allowed me to move in and out of the country since I miss my family.

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Went to the 5:30PM service. The parish church has grown with more parishoners and space. See the pic below of Holy Family Parish.

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Our friend Jojo came last night to visit. He recently lost his left leg as a result of diabetes. He's in high spirits so that's a good thing to see. As always, we reminisce about the past and somewhat make plans for the future.

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Also changed my profile picture in FB since I rarely get to have my picture taken with mom and dad. Quite happy to have this one. The Cafe Mary Grace has been one if not the current favorite of coffee shops dad 'walks' to.

--Monday Dec. 21

My nephew Timmy has challenged me to play tennis later. Kind of looking forward to it even though I haven't' played for about 5 years. Last time I played was when Katharine and I visited in 2009. I've been doing some trash talking but know I'll probably get an ass kicking later.

The kids are out of school for the Christmas season so the house is abuzz with activity. Its quite fun seeing all of them having a good time. I can tell they all like each other and act like one big family.

Christmas and New Year 2014 Day 1

Dec. 16, 2014

AWESOME SURPRISE

The day started similar to others have been - monotonous at best. The same routine of waking up, getting out of bed at 7:30AM and heading out to McDonald's to pick up Suzanne's breakfast order of Egg McMuffin and a large Sugar-Free Vanilla Iced Coffee with 2 sweeteners. Returning to the complex I chat with Vernon, the guard stationed at the gate and we chat a little about how each of us have planned our day. I inform him that I am awaiting news from my travel agent Jennifer regarding a trip back to the Philippines though expressed expecting disappointment when she informs me that no available award space can be found. You see, I gave her a day's notice to track award space for DFW-MNL-DFW with a return date prior to the first Monday of January. I couldn't on my own find this type of booking and I've practically been looking for the last 3 months.

I head into the house, drop of Suzanne's breakfast and sit in Poppy's office. Back to the same routine of checking email, looking at what the stock market is doing (wishing I didn't cash out the account since it was looking to be the right time to short the market), and mildly check Facebook. As I scan email at around 9:30, I'm notified of an email from Jennifer that she has an option for an itinerary with all my requirements. What a surprise! I look it over and after a couple of email replies (ok 21 in all), we tweak the trip and any connections I'll need. She books the trip and I'm set. Whew! I'm headed home! After the initial shock of amazement, I called Kelly and told her about the development and arrange transportation to and from DFW airport. I then walk over the Suzanne and inform her of the same. I also start texting Uli about my itinerary and we concoct a plan to surprise everybody there. I will arrive there at around lunchtime and they should be at the table and will be able to see me walk across the lawn from the driveway. More on how this turned out later.

I'm now confronted with the thought that I'm headed home without any presents. I have 9 nephews and nieces who should get something especially since it is Christmas. The two youngest are 8 and 5 who still believe in Santa Claus. I don't think they'll appreciate a gift card so I have to go and shop as soon as possible. Christmas shopping in the Philippines is similar to everywhere else.. crazy! The one thing that I couldn't pass is mom's Chanel #5 request.

Dec. 17, 2014

THE WAY TO TRAVEL

One thing I can tell you about using award space or miles is the ability to fly in upgraded class- Business Class. Worth it most especially when flying more than 1,500 miles. Anything less I can tolerate being in coach since I can entertain myself with magazines, my electronics, or just plain catching up on sleep. It is truly amazing how being able to sleep in a flat surface while flying is so much better than even a relining seat in the rear of the plane. The food is better too just because you can order as much as you can or they allow until they label you as a glutton. The guy seating in the next booth I swear has food or beverage being delivered to him every 10 minutes it seems. I woke up roughly about 7AM Chicago time with him having a Heineken. A Heineken! He had wanton soup with noodles, a burger snack, and a cup of ice cream even before I was able to order coffee. I check the menu and it shows that breakfast will be served prior to arrival. I wonder if he'll be hungry then? What are you gonna do? Its Business Class. I love it!

GOTTA LOVE HONG KONG

My first time laying over in Hong Kong. Too bad I didn't have enough time to look around because I didn't even think that this city might be where I'd be laying over en route to Manila. I remember my parents talking about their trips here during my dad's Beautifont days. Mom talked about their endless walking trying to take in the sights and places of interest in the short amount of time they had. Back then they did a few of those weekend trips accompanied by friends and co-workers.

My day started here at 5AM Hong Kong time since my ORD-HKN was scheduled then. Similar to our experience a few years ago passing through Seoul, the airport stores and restaurants were still closed. I wasn't a bit hungry at all given all I did was eat during the long leg of my itinerary. I was tempted to at least try local delicacies as these stores were abundant at the airport. I decided to wait until I passed Immigration and venture around the terminal given I had a couple of hours to kill. It was a good plan then until one of the custom officers flagged my duty-free bag and stated that I was not allowed to carry anything more than 100ml regardless whether it was duty-free or not. He recommended I check the small package in which I played innocent and non-understanding because this was a gift for my mom who I wanted to make sure she gets. I was afraid that the item would be lost in transit or (stolen) once we got to Manila. I eventually had to return to the check in counter since the customs officer didn't buy my innocent plea. Trying to check in the item itself was frustrating. I thought that it would be handled carefully but the desk clerk recommended I go to the packaging counter to repackage the item which cost me $8. The desk clerk even took me to the repackaging counter and helped me see the package through. I looked at her name tag and noticed “trainee” to which I felt lucky about the whole thing. I was suspicious about the old timers how much help they would have extended to me from the get-go.

On my way back though Security and Immigration, I noticed that I had lost so much time that my flight was now boarding. I do recall the desk clerk to say my gate was far but since I had checked in early the first time, I had a lot of time to spend and not worry. But the situation has drastically changed. I find out that my gate involves taking a shuttle to another part of the airport. 20 minutes had already passed since my original boarding time. I was so sure that I would not make it. To make matters worse, the shuttle had to cross the tarmac where the driver had to wait for two planes to pass in front of us. This added another 20 minutes of waiting. I've never ran so fast to catch a flight. I was one of the last few passengers to board but it seems that they haven't really finished boarding anyway. All is well. On to Manila.

SURPRISE LUNCH GUEST..

As Uli was parking the car, we plan a way for me to join mom and dad at the lunch table thought they'd find it a nice surprise since they weren't expecting to see me so soon. I find out that they now face away from the garden which I have yet to find out why. I then thought this would be an opportunity for Eline to see me first so asked Timmy to video the whole thing. You can see the video here. Eline see's me first at around the 0:50 mark. I join them at the table at 1:01 and mom realizes I'm the one sitting there at 1:12.