Learning To Fly 2

This is one Sunday that I am okay that tomorrow is Monday (a working day). This is also one of those days that I slowly see my children making their own lives - Learning to Fly.


This was AJ then with Mama at Proj. 8

My older son, AJ, will be celebrating his birthday next week, 30 January. He received his best birthday gift so far - an acceptance email from the University Of Missouri Columbia Medical School. We are awaiting for a couple more interview verdicts from other schools. I am more inclined to have him close by thus my preference to Mizzou.
His anxiety and stress levels during the Christmas holidays were pretty high for he did not have any control of the situation. All Jim and I could do was to listen and be his friend. It was not a pretty site I tell you.
He is at Washington DC right now for he is working still at the George Washington University Hospital. I am sure he is in no hurry to clean his room nor do his laundry. He has this time to be lazy for all of these reasons.
For us here at home, we are savoring this moment right now - as loyal friends and proud parents.

This is AJ now with younger brother, James, taken in Beijing last summer

Food Trip 2

Some of the best places that served me gourmet food were totally unheard of or non descript. Here goes:
a) Munoz Market palengke - this market specifically due to proximity to Proj. 8. My sister would say nakakadiri to death to eat in a palengke. I say, otherwise. The palengke in the morning is a site and a smell to behold. Adda idiay amin nga angotten - from ginisa na bawang to the smell of ripe fruits and to the garbage. The ube for the halo-halo have just been piled up right beside the leche flan while the "kanin" to go with the menudo or dinuguan is steaming hot.
b) Estero in Chinatown - the place then to go for authentic chinese food. From the Estero, lakad ng kaunti to Salazar Bakery for the real hopia to die for. BTW, iba rin yong hopia sa Quiapo close to the ilalim ng tulay. Masarap din yon.
c) Bulalohan sa San Andres - This turo-turo is actually where the tsupers ng dyipni plying Herran - San Andres route make their istasyon. Ang init ng sabaw and may "utak" pa yong buto ng baka. This was my route then from PGH to the terminal ng jeep going home to Proj.8.
d) Carinderia ng DBP - This is where Jim would take me for lunch then ( kasal na kami kasi noon. Noong hindi pa, pwede pa kaming kumain sa main Cafeteria ng DBP) - Jim used to work at the Development Bank of The Phil. at Makati kaya we had these Makati lunches sometimes. There was also a "Manang" to all of the employees there who can prepare those calderos of good meals for these frugal employees (read: kuripot).

Aside from these "exclusive" spots, marami ring mga "chefs" who would be willing to deliver exotic food at an affordable price. What can I say - yong mga plastic supot na kanin with ulam together with yong naka-plastic din na coke na delivered right on your table sa upisina. We had a "Lucy" then sa Veterans' Hospital who would come in few minutes before lunchtime with our laing or whatever she prepared for lunch.
I considered everything I ate in these places as my version of comfort food. These bring me comfort to my tummy as well as comfort to my pocket book.

Short Note

I have been asked no apay sabali itti rupa or picture ni Manang Biday kanayon. My answer - those faces featured are the different faces of Manang Biday. I started with some of the older lolas and some more on the Rosete side. As of yesterday, the Sison Manang Bidays have started rolling in.
The featured Manang Biday right now is Auntie Mensing - Melinda Sison Nagal. She was the youngest and only daughter of Don Angel Sison, my grandfather.
- A very humble way to pay tribute to these ladies of my family.

Food Trip 1

Talk about food and the whole family is all ears to you. When I go home to Manila, my instructions are very specific sa susundo sa akin sa airport. I would want a mini-cooler packed with cold water or any form of soda (coke litro kung tawagin nila) and siopao from Ma Mon Luk (not Kowloon or Ling Nam) and isang plastic supot ng Lapid's chicharon - I want the kind with a little "laman".
Believe me, mauubos ko ang jumbo siopao and isang supot ng Lapid's all the way to Project 8. By the time I reach home, ready na akong matulog.
Simple joys..simple living. No agawid kami idiay Agno, ado nga istasyon itti labasan mi simply to eat. We usually leave Manila parbangon so by mid-morning we are in Tarlac ready to stop at Hacienda Luisita and eat at Max's.

Kayat ni Mama ket kape laeng no mabalin. Sikami kada Papa ket sumardeng ta mangan. His favorite and mine will be the Max's Spring fried chicken. Ay apo - namnamin uray tulang na.

We reach Alaminos by noontime. Sumardeng kami mannen with the pretext of masapol ag-innat (stretch kunwari). The palengke will be the main stopover. Mama goes to Aling Charing to buy the longganiza Alaminos ( da best I tell you)ken mano nga kilo itti pinapaitan. Cecil & I will be buying the kankanen nga siguro ket ngilngilawen (flies devoured) before we got to these.
By the time we get to the town proper, sumardeng kami manen idiay balay da Uncle Gening. Agkape da Papa kenni Uncle sikami met ket aghalo-halo idiay assideg itti Acacia close to the Catholic Church.

We definitely have to go to the Eskina - mama will say or mala-es dagiti pinalengke na. As expected, by the time we reach the ancestral home idiay Laud, nakaluto da Auntie Mensing itti pang-rabi-i nga kanen min. Dinardara-an (dinuguan) wenno Lau-ya (nilagang baka with marrow inside the bone) will be the favorite staple.
Our family's lifestyle, and most Filipinos for that matter, revolve around food. This particular way of life has been adopted by my two boys. That's why any offer to go back home is never turned down. Just the mental smell of homemade tapa with sinangag and sunny side up will be more than enough to keep us coming home for more.

Some Saturdays

Remember when most of us, the working class, would say TGIF (thank God it's Fri)? We have this anticipation (mine actually starts Sunday night - ganyan katindi)of Saturdays as no work days, don't bother me days, walk in the park days.
My Saturdays are seldom like those days. Ang Sabado ay usually palengke, laundry at linis happenings. The order of priority would depend on the immediacy of attention i.e. gaano karumi ang bahay (or may bisita na darating kaya) gaano kalapit sa kawalan na ng damit na magagamit or gaano kahapdi ang kalam ng sikmura.
We opted for the latter as the most pressing need. Jim & I went to the city to visit our favorite oriental stores. Maraming bilin ang anak na dapat bilhin kung hindi raw, baka siya ay " mag-starve to death"). Ang mga kano talaga - mahilig magexaggerate.
James loves tortang talong topped with cheese so we bought those pinoy talongs kay Mr. Vietnamese. Ag-kuriteb met ti what was left of these eggplants. We just chose what we can live with. Jim wants pinakbet (di ko kayat ti parya) so with a bitter heart (pardon the pun) we bought the ingredients for this ulam.
Next stop - the wet market kuno. Makasidsida ak itti prinito nga bangus (those saranggani marinated milkfish are just so good) wen no GG(galunggong). Apo - nakanginngina met. Besides the galunggongs are so sick with conjunctivitis (pink eyes ergo, nala-es nga talaga). Ngem, sige ngarudden naimas to latta no naprito san to isawsaw itti suka nga adda itti bawang na.
Final stop - those easy to cook noodles. We all love the Lucky Me noodles - batchoy, mami ken sotanghon. I also discovered the Lucky Chow pansit gisado and the pancit canton or pancit malabon. These rich in carbohydrate chows are good stackables since James is also into it & can preapre this easily.
If Papa and Mama were around the household, we would be like contended cows just waiting to be served good food. Both of them can whip up a meal that we can devour hindi kakalam ang aming mga sikmura.

P.S. I am also exaggerating. Hindi naman kumakalam ang aming sikmura. Dala lang yan ng homesickness sa tunay na lutong pinoy.

Live and Learn

I can not remember exactly when I started having difficulty with my vision. All I know was how hard it was then to enjoy watching the shows from our black and white television without sitting very close to the screen.
There was this show called Super Laff-In which had Ramon Zamora, June Keithley and a host of other funny guys like Tange. It was directed by Rolly Grande. This was a very funny show. It actually made Ramon Zamora an overnight sensation.
Indeed, I never would want to miss this show. So I would have to sit close to the screen to enjoy it. Mama thought I was just an eager beaver. I just told her I could not see the actors. The screen was just too hazy.
She eventually made an appointment with an EENT - Dr. Conrado Banzon. He was my first eye doctor. When all was said and done, he prescribed my very first eyeglasses.
During those days if a very young kid was wearing glasses, then he/she must be pretty smart since he/she spends so much time reading and studying to the point her vision just got blurred.
Well, the premise can be false but the conclusion was just right. I indeed spent so much time reading my Nancy Drew books then. I remember spending my hard earned money to buy my Nancy Drew or Dana Girls Books at Alemar's.
The eyeglasses were picked up and fitted. Voila!! A whole new world of clarity. Malinaw na malinaw talaga. I wore these to school. I could read my teacher's scribbles on the blackboard. I was thrilled. I could watch more Super Laff-In.
The kids in my class, including my playmates, were not very nice about it though. I was teased. I was called " apat ang mata". I was relegated to the sidelines during patintero. A specifi group of grade school boys would taunt me everytime the school bus would pass them by.
I resorted to different tricks. I pretended to be " napuwing" so I would have to take my glasses off everytime the school bus would pass by these young boys. I deliberately would take my glasses off during playtime. Of course the team I am affiliated to would lose since one of their team mates was incapacitated - that was me.
Everytime we go home to Agno & we have our picnics at Sabangan, these pesky glasses get wet since I swam with it. To top it all, these were the least fashionable kind since the glasses itself were thick so those ugly frames were used to accomodate the thick lenses.
I really looked like a combined dork and geek in high school. The Ateneans will not give me a second look (ang lahat ay hindi napapalingon) since I was not funky at all.
But miracles do happen. Dr. Banzon eventually prescribed my first contact lenses. Won't these contacts go deep inside your eyefolds and end up inside your head?
Now I can wear non-graded sunglasses. I can also put mascara on & all the eyeshadows I can apply on my eyelids. Best - I am not called apat ang mata anymore.
This particular time in my growing up years really stayed in my memory. It was traumatic enough that I can not see just like the rest of the kids. What was worst was my handicap became the butt of joke of the other children. Lessons in life taught at an early age.

Nostalgia

I stumbled on this and would like to share it with you. Maraming pwedeng pag-usapan re: this slideshow. Mamayang gabi ko na lang uumpisahan.


Philippines from the Past

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Photography Culture photos philippines

Traditions

I am writing some follow through s to my post the other day. Weddings are such grand events. Probably because it goes with the assumption that " an individual gets married only once(usually) in a lifetime.. kaya nga sabi ni Fr. Pernia sa amin then, "marriage is a lifetime commitment. You both have the time to think twice, thrice before commiting yourself to this till death do us part promise."
Prior to the wedding, we have the "pamanhikan" wherein the man formally announces his intent to marry the lass and request for permission and blessing from the parents and family.
Jim went through this initial step. I am very aware of his nervousness I could actually feel his palpitations. I sat beside him but he sat facing both Papa and Mama. He has a mountain to climb; I am the oldest daughter to be given away and the oldest granddaughter on the Rosete side.
I gave him a cheat sheet of possible questions and strong suggestions my parents could give. Papa and Mama both were very calm (surprise)while it was nervewracking on my part.
We compromised on a lot of stuff - from the venue, to the ninongs and ninangs, to the guests, to the menus etcetera etcetera etcetera.
My wedding gown was sewn by Tiya Thelma Evangelista, the sister of Tiya Patro, both from Agno. There was haggling on how much she can splurge for the gown. Diyos ko - anya metten. She was very precise with the measurements. I never saw my gown not until the wedding day itself. Tradition dictates the bride does not fit the gown before the wedding. If she does, the wedding might not push through. The gown was a dream - I should credit Tiya Thelma for that.
Jim wore a barong bought by a friend from Batangas and sewn by Mang Emong - our favorite sastre at Project 8. Nabibi-it nga kasarita no am-am-mom itti agda-it maibaga amin nga kayat.
The groom to be usually foots the bill for the entire affair. The exact opposite is the practise here in the States. We have two boys - lucky, lucky, lucky. I don't foresee that to happen in the near future (if I have my way, sabay keeping my fingers crossed).
Since we can not accomodate everybody for the reception, Papa and Mama prepared dinner at home. Na-im-imas pay itti makan idiay balay compared to what we had sa reception. Most of the reception crowd were also at home that evening. Adda met dagiti cousins and pamangkins, kababayans and kaibigans that we really want to be with in this special occasion.
Kaya nga weddings are meant to be once in a lifetime (kung minsan) kasi napakagastos ito na i-orchestrate. Meron talaga kaming dugong intsik since we chose the color red as motif for Chinese tradition says red is for good luck.
We also opted for 01 08 83 - gusto namin ng maraming 0 - never ending good luck. I just don't remember if we went by the lunar calendar. Most probably kabilugan din ng buwan noon.

26th and Counting

These pictures were taken exactly 26 years ago - January 8, 1983. That seemed like ..sabi ni Tiya Dely , " kahapon lamang" sabi rin ni Florante, parang kailan lang.
I still remember the events prior to the big day. Jim and I planned the whole affair. The initial set-up was to hold the ceremony at the Church of The Risen Lord at UP. Since he goes to the taga-bassit church (Aglipayan Church at Agno) and I go to the big church (Catholic Church) we agreed to have an ecumenical wedding.
Madi ni Papa ken Mama. So we requested Fr. John Pernia, his brother in law and the chaplain at the Camp Aguinaldo Church, to be our celebrant. Linakad na tapno awan bayadan mi idiay simba-an ken discounted amin nga gastusen mi. Talagang nagtipid kami to the max since we have a shoestring budget.

In lieu of gifts, we requested for moolah. An auntie and uncle gave us a weekend at the Philippine Plaza while another uncle and auntie gave us a weekend at Banaue. I had one bridesmaid (my sister) and one flower girl (my cousin Elza).
Our reception was very tame and we really counted "heads" (read the invitees). My parents were not very enthused with the idea of limiting the guests. No ni Papa itti masurot, maimbitaran amin nga taga-Laud ken taga-Daya. I had my way this time.
A friend offered his services to be our photographer while a cousin served as video man.
It was an orchestrated family affair. It could have easily gotten out of hand (goodness considering how big Jim's family is and how extended my family was). Siguro nasisiya-at no idiay Agno laengen itti daya. Mabalin nga buluden dagiti tugaw idiay High School ta ikabil idiay Eskina. Maimbitaran amin nga mayat umigop itti napudot nga sabaw.

Learning To Fly

One thing good with hanging out with one's kids is learning and appreciating their grooves (ika nga). Though we are a couple of years apart, my boys and I have a couple of common denominators, one particular subject we enjoy is music.
Both boys are into classical music but most of the time they have their world surrounded by these people - ColdPlay, John Mayer, RKelley. One particular musician we all like is RKelley. He has a specific song that I can very much relate to - I Believe I Can Fly; which brings me to my first-day-of-the-year post this morning.
I am attaching a letter that Jim and I wrote in connection with James' application as a foreign exchange student to France next year.

If I can see it, then I can do it
If I just believe it, there's nothing to it
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly

On his own volition, without seeking our permission, this 16 year old boy applied to be an exchange student. We eventually found out later on. Since he was needing a letter from the parents, he eventually informed us of his plans.

My initial reaction was "ugh.. where was my right to say yes or no?" I felt stripped off my ability as a parent to put my stamp pad on my children's lives. Was I not supposed to be making decisions too? Apparently not. It was very daunting for me to finally realize that I really have no hold on what happens to my kids. We, as parents, do help in shaping up how they become. These "shaping ups" do bear fruits when they grow up. Fruits, either good enough to eat or rotten bad to the core to throw away.
Jim does put it nicely. We, as parents, are mere caretakers of our children. The time that these boys spend with us are just stopovers (kasla istasyon) of their journey to life.
Our recommendation letter summed it all. We can not hold him back. He needs to " spread his wings and fly". Kasla nasapa unay.. kunak met. Mabalin ngata nga "later on" laeng ngen? We still want to savor his presence as a kid here at home. Nakaro nga sadot na no pinag-linis itti kwarto na itti aramidin. Ngem nakaro nga ga-get na met uray saan nga maturog itti Sabado no ag-ay-ayam itti x-box with his friends.
Siguro kasta met itti kuna ni Papa ken Mama iddi mang-rugi ak nga agtayab rumuwar idiay balay mi. My turn to know how it felt then for them.

By the way, he was accepted to go.

This was James then with Papa and Mama


This is James Now (taken in Beijing, China last summer)