Family.

About a month ago my dad bought those lights that come in a tube/hose. If my special christmas decoration for the house was the Christmas crane tree, his were the lights in front of our house. He wanted to spell out "Merry Christmas" with the hose lights. And he did, successfully. Being thrifty as he is, he told my mom "I will open it near Christmas day... para tipid sa kuryente...". Then the day came. Unfortunately, "Merry Christmas" was just "Merry Ch". Baffled, he took down his design, scratched his head and chuckled as my mom gave him 'the look'. Needless to say, he had to work around the problem. We ended with lining up the gate with "christmas balls".

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Mom loves to cook and bake. She also loves the praises that comes after eating her dish. Last night, last minute, she decides to bake some bibingka. She got it from one of those Nestle classes she's been attending at Rockwell. My tita and my cousins were going to have dinner at our house so while I was busy preparing for that, she baked away. I left her in the kitchen. She was pacing back and forth from the table to the mixer to the oven. (You wouldn't want to be in the line of fire.) An hour after my tita and my cousins arrived and her bibingka was ready. Though it tasted good, it didn't look like bibingka except for the banana leaf wrapped around it and the egg on top of it. She apologized for how it looked but we all said "No, it's great! Don't worry about..." Nyeeeaah... we all still finished it.

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This is the great thing about family. Growing up you'll try to pinpoint all the bad stuff you don't like about your family, and then you hear yourself say "I hate you" (because they didn't let you out of the house). But as you get older you tend to appreciate them more, even when "unfortunate" things happen. It's what makes them special, I think. Their little mistakes. Little imperfections that make them uniquely yours. Despite all the unfortunate events, we're still there for each other. They say you can choose your friends but you can't choose family. I'm so glad I have what I have.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

My Bakla is finally leaving. I'm so proud and happy for him... but I do feel sad at the same time. It's like Panget leaving all over again... :(

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

Note: Read past entry "Si Panget" for reference.

Yeah. Great. Happy weekend.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

A friend of mine posted a video on my facebook wall done by some guy who went snowboarding one glorious morning after snowing heavily the night before. Location? Tahoe.

Dom told me about the wonderful world of snowboarding back in LA. I think we were at the Cheesecake Factory... Mmmm Pomegranate Margaritas... Drool... (Hi Joyce and Joanne!)

So he went on and on about the surfing conditions in California, then I shared my non-glorious experience with wakeboarding and then he slowly transitions into snowboarding. He blurts out "So is your flight back to Manila this friday already?" I responded,"Yeah...". Then he tells me "Tsk Sayang, I was gonna take you to Tahoe for some snowboarding! There's still snow up there! Extend ka na!"

Bastard.

He then tells me about the perfect snow. "Powder", he said. "It's like gliding on clouds". It's ideal to snowboard when it just snowed the night before. It's even better for beginners since powder snow is soft... so falling ain't that bad. Better than getting dragged from a wakeboarding towrope, I guess. (NOTE: wakeboarding is not only painful, it can dampen your morale and self- esteem... Buti pa surfing... higher chance of drowning nga lang... and sharks... and getting hit by the reef or corals... or your own surfboard... or some korean tourist's surfboard. Oh yeah, I remember you Bacnotan b@tch!)

I had my chance in California. Maybe i'll have a better chance in Melbourne. Victoria Peak here I come!

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.

People channel their energies somewhere else to escape or avoid something. Maybe it's true. A quick escape from stress, depression or just simply a bad day. I used to go to a park inside our village when I was younger. It was my secret hideaway. Not much people went there. With all the renovations and the new covered court installed, it's now considered one of the busiest parks inside the village.

I get drawn to silence. There are times I want to shut out everything in the world. Hence my love for my big red orange WeSC headphones, leisure drives, surfing and cooking. Things that are done alone and with utmost focus.

Cooking. More than just getting to eat decent food way cheaper than any restaurant can offer, cooking has become a zen-like meditation for me. I don't talk to anyone. No one bothers me when i'm cooking in the kitchen. It's just me, those wonderful knives and my ingredients. All my senses are open-- Sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Everything you experience as you go through the process of making a dish. But no matter how simple or complicated, the pay-off is worth it. Inner peace. And you get to celebrate by eating that wonderful dish... or laugh at how you ended up creating a new variation of that dish.

- Live like there's no tomorrow. Love like it's your last.