FOUR DAYS OF FUN, FOOD AND FELLOWSHIP!

DAY 1 (Saturday, May 5)

Okay, I am fully awake, so definitely I am not dreaming. I really am going to Cebu! In fact, I was even surprised when I left this morning at 4:30 am and there wasn’t much traffic at all along EDSA and so I got to Papa’s house at 6:30 am (talk about excited!!!). We left for the airport a few minutes later and boarded the plane before ten am. We reached Cebu airport an hour later and my cuzin was very quite surprised when he saw me walking down towards the car beside my dad. Well, he’s not the only one, that’s for sure! At the airport, I was met with surprised but truly welcoming hugs from cousins, who also just arrived (but were on a different flight).

Our first stop is at an Uncle’s house in Mandaue City, formerly Lola’s house and the place I spent numerous summer vacations when I was younger. I was quite surprised to see that the place has definitely changed a lot! If I recall correctly, the last time I was here was during a PLCPD presscon/event in 2006 and at that time, the main house (Lola’s old home) had already been torn down to make way for a more modern bungalow. But their old house, situated at the right side of the compound, remained the same and it was there where I stayed for a night during that PLCPD trip to Cebu (in the former boys room).

The old house was also renovated to open up more space – the third bedroom was removed and became the receiving area while the other two bedrooms were renovated to accommodate more visitors. The kitchen remained in roughly the same place but had modern amenities replacing the conventional ones. The door to the main house was also changed. In fact, the entire wall was removed to become sliding glass doors making the place more bright and airy, truly a great improvement from their once dark and gloomy house.

After, unloading our bags in the room we went out to have lunch at another Uncle’s house next door. But unlike in olden times, when we can use the backdoor to easily get to their kitchen, I found that it had already been sealed off with a fence so we had to go out on the street to get to their house. It was OK since the good food that greeted us there more than made up for the short trip under the hot sun. I missed the original humba from Cebu moreso the one especially cooked by Auntie Yolly!

Oh God, I not only missed her homecooking, I missed her too and I felt she felt the same way in the way she hugged me tightly. I asked about her health and said sorry for not being able to come home for Uncle Dong’s funeral. She asked about my Mom (in a whisper, of course) and we all shared the good food that she prepared for our arrival –humba, chicken inasal, and arroz valenciana . Marichi, another cousin, was there (of course!) and she too was surprised to see me in Cebu coz she was the one who replied to my FB post that I wanted to go home and see Borbon! Afterwards, I went up to surprise Janice at the second floor of Uncle Dong’s house (their house was also renovated BTW, courtesy of Kuya Kooks!)

We rested a bit after our sumptuous meal then by 2pm, we decided to leave to check in at our resort – the Alegre Hotel. It was a one and a half hour drive going there and I am truly glad to have come with this vacation with my dad because otherwise, I would not have been able to visit a very pretty place like this! Just check out the gorgeous pics of the resort! I wish someday I would be able to take my children here as it is just so perfectly relaxing! I also wish we wouldn’t just be sleeping here since considering the schedule that we currently have, after our breakfast tomorrow we will be immediately leaving for Borbon and so we won’t have the time to explore the place and truly enjoy all the amenities they have to offer. Oh well, maybe we could still find the time in the next few days.

At around 6:30, after we rested a bit and had our fill taking pictures of our pretty cabana, we left once again for Borbon. At long last, after so many years I will finally get to see Borbon! My uncle’s retirement resort! But of course, I wasn’t able to take much pictures since it was already night-time and there isn’t really much to see, maybe tomorrow I would be able to appreciate everything that the place had to offer. Suffice it to say that we just spent the rest of the evening there - just chatting with the cuzins – they drank beer and MP lites, I just had coffee otherwise, I would be nodding off already since it was way past my bedtime of ten o’clock! We went home to Alegre resort at 11:30, so happy with the first day I spent back here in Cebu. I am sure tomorrow would be an even more fun day because it is D DAY! Sound asleep at 12:30 after texting the hubby and the kids goodnight!

DAY 2 (Sunday, May 6)

I was surprised to wake up at 6am this morning to find Papa already awake. When I slept last night he was still browsing in his laptop and he said he was finding it difficult to sleep (namamahay, so to speak). After we took our baths, we left to eat a buffet breakfast at the Pavilion – it was near the pool and was quite a picturesque place to eat. But sad to say though coz the view can’t make up for their lackluster food – well, it wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t also good either and judging by the price of their buffet, I guess they should have offered something quite good. Well, here are some pics of what we ate.

We left the resort at around 9:30 and dropped by a nearby church to hear mass first before proceeding to Borbon. The mass ended at around 11 am, and when we got to Borbon there were already so many people milling about the grounds in different colored shirts. There was noisy music blaring in the background and the guests were being greeted by the young ones and made to answer some questions in a data sheet (to trace their lineage/ family tree). I immediately saw some people I recognize – the yellow-shirted ones from Lolo Paul’s clan, and so I went over to them to pay my respects. I also went over to kiss the hands of the other elders (orange-shirted ones from Tita Baby’s side of the family, the red ones who live next door to us in Mandaue city and the dark and light blue shirted relatives – FB acquaintances)

The first thing I did after acknowledging most of the relatives present was find a quiet nook with an electric fan or air conditioning because it was getting so freaking hot already. After a while, I got up and did my job – take photos and videos for Papa. I took snapshots after snap shots of various people (some I don’t even know) but they gamely smiled for the camera and when one of the oldies of the Marianita clan would be present (like Auntie B or some other aunt) they would introduce me to the rest of the group as Mesiong Jr’s daughter. Finally, the festivities began and everything started with a short prayer to the Lord, thanking him for the opportunity to bond together as a family and for the food we shall soon partake.

I do not really know what the arrangements were for the food – whether the families individually brought their own or they just contributed some money to a centralized committee and it is that committee that bought the food that we all shared but suffice it to say I was surprised that food was quite aplenty, even the drinks were overflowing. And of course, the Cebu festivities would be incomplete without the perennial fave – the lechon! I reckon there were about three whole pigs slaughtered just for this event! Everyone was satiated after a while, and some even found their own quiet resting places to catch a quick siesta after the furor had died down.

After the people have eaten their fill of the sumptuous food spread before us, the games began! Of course, I did everything I could to wiggle out of joining – like I’m too old for that game or that I’m the official videographer (but of course!) and so I contented myself just filming and watching and laughing at the antics of the gamers. Well, we tried our best but I guess our best wasn’t just good enough so we didn’t really win much of the games. Suffice it to say that we all had fun and it was a great bonding moment for us cuzins and also for those of us who do not really see each other regularly.

With the games finished, the group then settled down on the grass to listen to some band music, the band was brought by a group of relatives (the white shirts) since one of the band members belong to their clan, oooh, I just wish my brother was here and Dian too so they could show their talents! By then, it was already about 4 pm and so the groups gathered around for some group picture-taking and we each had our turn at the tarp. The pic-taking was quite a raucous affair but fun!

In all, I guess everyone had fun and went home to their respective places feeling quite happy and satisfied at how the reunion went. We stayed on with a few other clans for dinner and the sky lanterns/prayer-wishes for the departed souls portion. After eating and of course, more drinking, the group strayed on to do their fave past-time – singing! With a bit of dancing! I was even surprised to see Oboy and Mama C singing and dancing – first-time really! It was so much fun! Decided not to go home at the resort and instead stayed on at Borbon with the cousins all night! Can’t even recall if I got to sleep at all because I don’t know where I slept!Some others I saw slept in tents or just laid on the wooden benches that were all over the place.

DAY 3 (Monday, May 7)

Today is our last day at Alegre resort so we decided to hit the beach after eating breakfast and it was truly an enjoyable time. My dad swam with us cuzins while the Aunts lounged on the chairs to nap. When the other cuzins arrived, they said they already swam this morning at Borbon and that the kids had fun cliff jumping during high tide. Well, that would be something I would want to experience another time. But as for cliff-jumping? I don’t think that’s really for me! After our swim, we availed of the free massage and hair spa that the hotel provided and truly, it felt like heaven! I didn’t feel like getting up to leave anymore but we had to since our stay is only up to 1pm and so reluctantly we packed our bags and said our goodbyes to Alegre resort.

We travelled for two hours to Mandaue city and just made one stop at a pasalubong shopping center (forgot the name!) to buy the usual otap, uraro, etc. for our loved ones back in Manila. We rested a bit in our rooms at Oboy’s house and come dinner, we walked to the next door pension house for a scrumptious feast hosted by the Alang-alang branch of the clan. Every branch of the family had one representative to go up on stage to introduce the members of their own families that are present and for our side, it was Papa who went on stage. After that there was more singing and dancing and in a while, we decided to leave for Uncle Dong’s house where the cousins continued their own drinking/bonding session since it was quieter in their area. Kuya Ted arrived too and it was good seeing him again. Though I don’t really drink and couldn’t follow fully their Visayan conversation, I stayed on to bond with these people whom I haven’t seen for such a long time.

DAY 4 (Tuesday, May 8)

Today is the day of the actual Mandaue fiesta and I got up early to savor the last day of my stay here in Cebu. I would have wanted to visit more places like Lolo and Lola’s grave but when cuzin Mike and I left in the morning, we had a difficult time getting a ride into the city itself because all the roads are blocked because of the parade and the fiesta, so my plans to go to the cemetery went pfffft! Well I sure hope Lolo and Lola would understand, there will always be a next time! So, instead, Mike and I ate breakfast at a fave old hangout - Carlos Bachoy. But it wasn’t in the old spot it was before. The old restaurant is still there but Mike says the cook left and put up his own place and that’s where we went so we could savor the original bachoy of my childhood! Yummy!

For our fiesta lunch, we all trooped next door to Manang Yolly’s house and ate the food they have prepared - shrimp, calamares, empanada, fresh lumpia, morcon, humba, fresh mangoes, watermelon, and of course, the star of the day – the lechon cebu!

The past four days had been filled with so much fun, too much calorific food but most of all with good times of fellowship with long-missed relatives. True, I missed my kids and the hubby but I would never exchange the time I spent these past four days since they were moments I would cherish for a lifetime. I wish the time would come when I could take my family here to savor what a real Cebu fiesta feels like – savor its decadent flavors and languor in Cebu’s magnificent beaches! I know the language barrier somehow makes them hesitate, but they would soon see that despite not knowing anyone and how to talk with them, Cebuanos are truly very warm and accommodating and can make them feel welcome in their homes anytime. I just hope that day would come soon. Goodbye for now Cebu, till next time!

SURPRISE…SURPRISE…I’M GOING TO CEBU!

I got a surprising (but still very welcome!) text from Tita E around lunchtime today asking me if I wanted to go to Cebu!?!? And my initial reaction was - are you F%$#! kidding me???? Of course, I want to go! Who wouldn’t!!! If you had read my previous FB posts, you would know how much I had wanted to go to the reunion and visit Borbon once and for all but my budget just couldn’t cut it. If I remember correctly, my last post to my brother was one of poignancy – wishing that I could go and yet knowing that I can’t because enrolment is just around the corner.

So when her text came, it felt like Santa, my fairy godmother and the Almighty God in heaven all conspired to make my wish come true! And so expectedly I said yes! Even yes please! It seems someone who initially planned to go with them backed out at the last minute and so rather than letting the ticket go to waste they decided to just let someone else take her place. Of course, I needed to do some last-minute maneuverings just to ensure that I could leave for Cebu on that plane. But given the small amount of time left I guess it is just understandable why they chose me.

I guess, this is just so heaven-sent and so the heck with not having any money! Anyway, I’ll be hitching a ride with my dad and sleeping, too, in their hotel room so I guess there really isn’t really much I need to worry about! I easily got the nod of my boss to file a leave of absence for Monday and Tuesday next week so all I need to worry about now is asking permission from my family. I guess it would be easy to get my hubby to agree but it’s the kids I’m really worried about. I’m dead sure they would want to come and it’s just sad that I can’t take them with me. Well, maybe next time coz it has been my dream to really take them there – my hometown of sorts and where I spent many memorable summers. Here’s hoping this trip would also be a memorable one for me.

CHOOSE - A movie review

I like horror movies but I am not such a huge fan of gory ones, the less blood I see the better but I guess it can’t be helped because horror and gore often come hand-in-hand so whether I like it or not I almost always end up watching horror movies with bloody scenes. Like this next movie that I recently watched, it is not exactly a horror film like Ju-on or The Ring but more a suspense thriller / serial killer on the loose type (reviews liken it to Seven and Saw but since I haven’t watched both films yet, I guess I couldn’t really make the comparison).

The movie starts with a family falling victim to a sadistic killer who enters their house and makes a teenage girl choose between killing her mother or her father otherwise the killer kills all of them. The perpetrator is masked, has a menacing voice and uses a bloody timer. But what’s even worse is that the killer makes the girl kill her own father. The film then proceeds to introduce the main protagonists – journalist student Fiona who lives alone in an apartment. She is first shown in a shower scene reminiscent of Pscyho but thankfully, the killer does not make an appearance just yet and there is not much nudity either in this film unlike in other horror films so I guess it is meant to be viewed by even young audiences.

Fiona’s father is next introduced as a cop who tries to pacify his daughter who gets freaked by the thought that someone entered her apartment while she was in the shower. The movie also reminisces about Fiona’s past and establishes that her mom killed herself in a hotel, her suicide note is shown and in it the word choice is mentioned. This makes Fiona think twice if her mom was also a victim of this so-called serial killer. And so she starts to investigate (she is a reporter, after all).

The next scenes show the succeeding victims of the serial killer – first, is a pianist who was made to choose between his fingers and his hearing. Then, surprisingly, Fiona gets a chat/message from the serial killer that seemed to insinuate that her mom’s death may not, in fact, be a suicide. The next victim is a bitch model who is made to choose between her beauty and her eyes. Afterwards, Fiona starts to investigate and her amateurish efforts make her a better investigator than her dad since she is able to track down a hotel room where the serial killer had apparently stayed in (judging from the symbol she found in the bathroom mirror)

So Fiona decides to do more research on Choice Therapy as it seems to be a recurring theme in all the murders conducted so far. But when she tries looking for reference books in the library, she can’t find any of the books listed and so she was surprised upon returning to her desk to find the books she was looking for on her chair. But when she tries to check out the books in the counter, the librarian says the books do not belong to them. She tries (with the help of another friend) to figure out where the books came from. They eventually trace it to an already closed-down juvenile facility and Fiona reveals what she knows to her father to aid in their investigation. His dad doesn’t want her to be involved but Fiona says she doesn’t seem to have a choice since the killer chose to involve her.

Father and daughter next visit a doctor-psychiatrist specializing in choice therapy and who was once involved in an experiment in Milburne Juvenile facility. He gives them some recorded tapes of the children he studied in Milburne and the two leave, hoping to find the identity of the killer in those tapes. The entire investigating team watches the tapes and they are already tired until they get to the last boy in the tapes and realized that they have found THE ONE - because all the loose ends tie up. The boy named Nathan Jones is an orphan, adopted by the musician (that had his fingers cut off) and who allegedly molested the boy. Next, he was adopted by another family, with the daughter who later on became the model (who had her eyes gouged out). He stayed with this family for only two years because the girl allegedly was raped by the boy.

The police search the boy’s last known residence and they are greeted by an unmistakable stench from the blood and different body parts that can be found all over the house. They find the decomposing body of Dr. Pendleton (the doctor-psychiatrist from Milburne) and from the photos they find in his bedroom, the investigators surmise that the sheriff (Fiona’s dad) is the one next in line to be killed.

Meanwhile, the killer contacts Fiona and tells her there is something she needs to know about her mother’s death but she must come alone. The sheriff tries to contact Fiona but is victimized by the killer and put to sleep. Fiona reaches Milburne and she is taken to Isolation Room number 17 (which explains the serial killer’s chat name – ISO 17) and when Fiona gets gassed, she is taken to a hotel room, apparently the same one where Fiona’s mother died.

The killer eventually reveals that the he and Fiona are siblings with the same mother but different fathers and Fiona’s father made their mom choose to give him up for adoption because he doesn’t want to bring up another man’s child. He revealed too, that Fiona’s mom chose to kill herself so that Fiona may live. Then, the killer shows Fiona her father badly beaten up, and all black and blue. The killer puts a plastic bag over the sheriff’s head and proceeds to kill him until Fiona breaks loose from her bonds and gives the killer a whack on the head. But she is too late because her dad is dead. Then, when the killer attempts to get up, she pummels his head repeatedly with a gun.

But I guess I have to agree with all the reviews made on the film – it doesn’t have a good ending it was a bit confusing even. But I do like the storyline and though the story was a bit slow in some parts, it was greatly shot and had just the right amount of cinematic effect. Would I recommend this film – well, it depends if you’re looking for a Grade A horror film or a suspense thriller, this would not be for you. But if you just need to pass the time and be entertained in the meantime, then this movie might just give you that.

FINALLY MY NEW CABINET…YIPEE!

Finally, after more than two months my cabinet is finished! He started doing it on the last week of February after he finished doing my daughter’s lavender cabinet but as I already stated in a previous blog, he decided to change its specifications because he was fearful that we may not be able to bring it up the stairs (since we have such a narrow flight of stairs). Then, he was undecided on whether to use painting or dark wood laminate that we bought at ACE, until he lastly decided to just paint it black, like what I originally wanted! And finally, after two months of waiting, my cabinet is finished!

So, today he brought the cabinet up to the room (with a nephew’s help, of course) and I was finally able to start using it! I know it’s far from perfect because, there were some areas that weren’t very smooth and so the paint tended to chip in these areas that constantly bumped each other. But I am no perfectionist and I am just so happy that it’s finally done! One thing though, since this new cabinet is a tad smaller than the old one, I am having a difficult time making everything that used to fit inside the old cabinet into the new one. But then again the hubby promised to make me another wardrobe type closet like the one he made for the kids. So I guess I’ll have to wait a wee bit longer before I can have everything in its proper place.

And so as part of my efforts to redecorate the room (to blend with the new cabinet and also to lessen some of the frames I intend to display on top of my cabinet) I decided to hang my kids’ baby pictures. So that when I am in bed, I can always look up and see them as small babies - all cute and cuddly faces lit up with a smile, without a care in the world! I miss those babies not that I want to have new babies---definitely not! I just miss those times when they were still so cute and cuddly. Anyway, we could always adopt and borrow little nieces and nephews whenever we want to. Meantime, I will just have my own piece of heaven right here, on this wall.

CMS OUTING AT LAGUNA

This year, our unit had our outing at Pansol, Laguna since we opted to have it someplace near. It was just too bad though that two of our officemates were not able to join us – one had to stay home since they had just recently established an eatery and therefore could not take a day off! The other one had a wife and family who weren't so keen to swim at Pansol, Laguna.

Anyway, so we all left on Thursday, at around ten am because our boss had a bit of work to do before leaving. Our first destination was Pook ni Maria Makiling where we can have our lunch. We got there at around twelve (after a two-hour drive) and thankfully the place was dotted with trees and quite cool enough for us to eat on their provided concrete tables.

But what the kids truly enjoyed was their Olympic sized swimming pool that charged only PhP25.00 for entrance fees! Quite cheap huh! Just too bad that the hubby isn’t here, otherwise, he would have enjoyed the huge pool. He was feverish since last night and had difficulty swallowing and so this morning, he just took us and the van to the office and left promptly to go home and rest. The kids all had fun swimming and even I myself wanted to take a dip but then I wasn’t feeling well either and just took some meds to stave off my fever since I couldn’t be absent after all I was the one who prepared everything for this outing with Nel.

While the kids swam and since we still could not go to our rented house that we reserved from 6pm to 6am the next day, we decided to head off to UP Los Banos to buy some kesong puti and their other milk products. This is another thing that Los Banos is famous for and another reason to head off South to Laguna (aside from buko pies, of course). I bought fresh carabao’s milk, cow’s milk (they have choco flavor now!), kesong puti, pastillas and a new discovery yogurt! It all tasted yummy and my kids loved it! I just wish Los Banos is just nearby so we could buy all this good stuff whenever we just feel like it!

At around five, we left Pook ni Maria Makiling already and made a quick detour at SM Los Banos to buy a few more things we need before going to our rented place – The Bellissima resorts. Upon our arrival, they were already filling up the pool, so at least we know that the water is new huh? Of course, even if the kids just came from a pool and while the water is still knee-high they immediately dipped in the water and we just let them while we fixed our things / food to be cooked in the kitchen and the ref. In a short while, after cooking rice, grilling the marinated meat and hotdogs, cutting up fruits, and cooking the sinigang fish, we had a hearty dinner.

After eating, the kids still continued swimming while I decided to sleep in early to rest my feverish body, I just awoke after an hour to check on the kids and encourage them to get out of the water already after all they still have tomorrow to swim anyway?

The next day, I was up and about early to see if I could help them cook breakfast but it was already underway by the time I got down courtesy of Ping and Nel (with help from Crispin and Eric) So I just had them buy some bread for those who prefer to just have bread for their breakfast. Besides, the kids already ate up all the bread yesterday in between bouts of swimming so we need to buy more for their snacks later on. Ping also bought some additional fish to grill for our lunch later.

I would’ve wanted to take a swim in the morning but still I felt feverish and the fever would only go away whenever I would drink paracetamol and so I’d rather not dip in cold water lest my fever gets to be full blown. The kids, as expected, took to the water as soon as they awoke and only stopped to eat breakfast, lunch and then some sandwiches for snacks. We decided to leave early at around three because we will be passing by The Original Buko Pie to buy their ever-famous buko pie. We were quite surprised to see that there was a long line waiting to buy, I guess there were more excursionistas during the weekend unlike our last ocular trip here that was a weekday. But still we persisted and stayed in line to buy what we intended.

Just our luck that we got caught in the traffic at SLEX and EDSA so that it was almost six when we got to the office, thankfully we rode with Chito and family who will be taking the van home (since he would be the one to take over hubby’s task to pick up Ate Ne’s sisters and mom at Garay for April’s wedding). It seems that the hubby was still sick and could not perform his assigned task. So despite the fact that we (the kids particularly) had fun during our office outing, I couldn’t truly be happy because at the back of my mind I was worrying if he is OK, maybe tomorrow I’ll take him to see the doctor.

THE ORIGINAL BUKO PIE

Yesterday, I left for an ocular inspection of private pools where we could conduct our unit outing and we opted to visit Calamba and Los Banos in Laguna since many recommended that we check out said places. We visited a subdivision (South Spring Villas) that surprisingly had many available houses with private pools that they rent out- most of their rentals ranged from 12K to as much as 19K for newer houses and bigger pools. But we had a limited budget and the one that we saw in Los Banos which had a big pool and very nice view was in conflict with our schedule because it was fully booked for the entire month of April.

We finished the day early armed with contact numbers and numerous pictures to show to our officemates so that they could make the final decision on what venue to choose. But, of course, before we left, we made one quick detour to buy an old-time fave - THE ORIGINAL BUKO PIE - at Los Banos, Laguna. It had been a long time since I was able to taste their stuff and of late, I have not been at all satisfied with the recent purchases I made of buko pies when we visit Tagaytay so I figured we'd make the extra effort to buy their buko pie, and guess what??? Our efforts weren't wasted - because their pies still taste the same - not too sweet and bursting with buko not crusty flour! Their pie was still warm when we reached the office (after two hours travel) and we vowed to buy more when we do go on our office outing later this week.

Here are some pics of the pools we visited: the first resort costs about 19K and had a new house and amenities; the second one was Monte Nevoso (the one I liked) for only 12K but was already fully booked; the third one also 12K but the pool was quite deep at 7 feet; and the fourth at 13K but had only 3 bedrooms.

MY CABINET UPDATE

This time around, I think he was a bit slow in making my cabinet, I guess because he had to change the specifications of the thing just so he can ensure that it would not be difficult in taking it up the stairs. He started it when my daughter’s cabinet was finished by the end of February. And he continued doing it during weekends that we were at home in March. But he was not satisfied with it. In fact, he even had my nephew sand it endlessly until it was so smooth. At first, he didn’t want to paint it, in fact, we already bought laminates at Ace Hardware at SM Fairview but midstream he changed his mind again and decided to paint it black, the color I liked. Here are some pics of the cabinet after about one and a half months of tinkering with it, maybe he’ll be finished with it soon.

WHITEY BIT ME!

Today, we planned to transfer Whitey to Brownie’s cage because her bunnies are going out of the wooden box and may fall off the floor of her cage. Her cage shall be cleaned too and get new steel matting because the old one was already torn in some places. My nephew started by transferring Brownie to the small steel cage then he cleaned Brownie’s cage first. But when it was Whitey’s babies turn to be transferred, I offered some kangkong to Whitey to distract her but she ended up biting me on the finger. It wasn’t very deep but it still bled and so I washed it thoroughly with soap and water and it was my nephew who handled the transfer of Whitey and her bunnies to the smaller cage.

It was only much later when I searched the internet and learned that it is rare for rabbits to have rabies and much more so to pass it on to a human or animal it bites. This is because the rabies virus can kill the rabbit and so it has no chance at all to pass it on to another being. Here’s an article I read from EHOW…

Rabies is a virus that affects the central nervous system in mammals. There is no documented case of a rabbit giving rabies to a person in the United States. Bites from rabbits rarely require treatment, according to the Center for Disease Control. However, even though it is rare, rabbits can get rabies. Rabies causes swelling of the brain and death. Death usually occurs only a few days after symptoms appear. (Rabbits & Rabies eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_6022147_rabbits-rabies.html#ixzz267A8tR9v)

So I guess I felt more or less assured that I would not need anti-rabies shots (whew! Thank God!) I just need to keep the wound clean so it won’t get infected. Meanwhile, here are some more pics of Whitey and her cute bunnies at more than two weeks.

FAS outing @ Bataan

For this year, the hubby’s unit decided to visit the beach resort in Bataan that our unit went to last year. This was OK since we liked that beach in Bataan and the kids especially liked spending time at the cave where they could go cliff diving. The group made an early start at 4:30 am since they wanted to head to the cove at once (unlike our group last year that went to the cove the next day, early morning). We arrived at Balanga market by 6:30am and they bought some more seafood supplies before we finally reached the Bagac Bay resort at around 8. We waited a bit for the others, unpacked our belongings and just brought the food supplies for our lunch at the cove.

We boarded about 5 bancas and reached the cove by 9. But it was a different one that the boatmen brought us to and when I asked one of the boatmen, he says the island/cove that I was referring to had been sold already to a foreigner and they’re currently developing and would soon command a steep price for entrance fees. But as it turns out the freaking guy was lying – it seems they have a cut for each visitor they bring to the island and seeing that there were so many of us he brought us here to this place which is not as pretty as the one we went to the last time the CMS was here.

We realized too late because later on in the afternoon our boatman took us there –before we went back to the resort…too bad! There were some biting insects in the water of the cove that they brought us to, oh I just hate those boatmen! How dare they decide what was best for us! They should have brought us to the other one since even if the price there was higher, the beach was prettier! Well, the kids still enjoyed swimming even for awhile. The oldies just ate the delicious lunch that was prepared, they also liked the ensaladang gulay that Ditse made.

After eating, the group left to swim in the cove. This is where they had so much fun because the water was cool and there was less sun so those not wanting to have burnt skin took a dip there. But of course, the boys especially liked the cliff-diving thing where they jump from the top of a huge rock into the deep ocean below. Well, I have always been afraid of heights and though I know a bit how to swim, I can’t venture into deep waters without donning a life vest. But still watching them leap over gives me the creeps and more so when it was my son who took the plunge. He was a bit hesitant about it and dilly-dallied for quite a time on top of the rock that his father had to go up and threaten to push him over before he found the courage to jump by himself. I too breathed a sigh of relief watching him surface the deep water not because I was afraid he may not know how to swim but because compared to the others who were jumping –who were all lithe-bodied - he was a bit on the heavy side and so I was fearful that his weight may make him plunge deeper into the rocks but thank God that he didn’t. I do not know how deep the water actually is but it may have been deep enough to keep all those jumpers happy.

After awhile, we left the cove and returned to the resort to bathe, get dressed and retreat to the cool confines of our bedrooms to rest the afternoon off. We got down from the bedroom a bit later to help out in dinner preparations. Then, of course, the boys started their fave pastime the minute we returned to the resort - drinking and singing their hearts out. The girls, meantime, engaged in chikahan and more swimming on the shores near our rented boathouse. The kids even went night swimming. I guess they just couldn’t get enough of the water huh?

Then, after dinner there were games for the kids which Helen and Yeng facilitated. I didn’t watch anymore and instead just stayed upstairs in the room, alternately sleeping and reading on my tab. My kids participated in the games a bit then after awhile, they went up to get some sleep.

The next day, we went to Mt. Samat cross to get a nice and high view of the province of Bataan. Well, we had been there before during the kids’ fieldtrip but it was just ten or twenty pesos and kinda fun going up there again. After everyone was able to go up and visit the cross, we left Bataan and had our lunch/picnic at Clark playground before doing some duty-free shopping and then heading home.

HOLY WEEK AT CANYON WOODS

For this year, Papa decided to bring the family to another place for the Holy Week but as usual, it is still within the vicinity of what I think is his favorite spot in the country primarily because of its weather – Tagaytay. If you had read my previous blog articles, I already shared that the previous house we used to frequent in Tagaytay had been slashed from our list of possible places to go to because the new owners/caretakers became Jehovah’s witnesses or something because they don’t want meat cooked inside the house and we are sincere carnivores so we sure as hell couldn’t live like that! This is just too bad since we so love their house and had so many memories there.

As is our usual practice, we only follow them there on Good Friday and spend the first few days of Holy week at the hubby’s hometown in Pampanga. But what is different this year is that my kids went ahead with them since they were already vacationing with my cousins in Pasig so they just went along for the ride. After all, they’re big kids already and could very well take care of themselves. And so it was on Friday when the hubby and I left by our lonesome to go to Tagaytay, well not really lonesome because we brought along his nephew with us. My other cousin would’ve wanted to ride with us but plans went awry so he decided not to spend Holy week with us. I would learn later on that he had an argument with his mom, well, I knew they’d soon patch things up. You know how we still are like kids sometimes despite our ages, hehehe.

We brought with us some paladusdos that Papa requested but it took us so long to get there because there was just so much traffic inside Tagaytay unlike in the Manila roads we just passed that practically had zero traffic! Thus, we almost didn’t make it to snack time and the paladusdos almost got spoiled. We refrigerated it quickly when we arrived and the others ate at once so what was spoiled were the leftovers. We made so much and they all liked it and would have wanted some second or third helpings after dinner but by then it had already spoiled and so they threw it away.

The place at Canyon woods is quite pretty. It had many trees and very nice but large houses that are spaced very well and so it ensures some privacy between neighbors. The house Papa rented had about eight bedrooms - the master’s bedroom on the 2nd floor, where Papa initially wanted us to stay; two small guestrooms in the first floor, each with its own bathroom - one for Mama H and her alalay and the other room for the boys. Then, upstairs, aside from the master’s bedroom there were three more rooms, one for Auntie C and family, one for half-sister R and family and the last, which should have been ours, became the girls bedroom since they had sequestered it for the past two nights that we were not yet there. And so, we squeezed into the boys bedroom downstairs with my son getting kicked out to stay downstairs in the den/basement with his cousin A. The basement has in fact two more small rooms – one for cousin D, with daughter Kyla and the other for the driver. Here are some pics which I took around the house.

The next day is our usual swim or pasyal day but since this is Tagaytay and there is a dearth of places we haven’t been to, we decided to just go for a swim. Initially, we wanted to go hit the beaches either at Nasugbu or Calatagan since both places are just near – less than an hour of travel lang. But Tita’s friends (who own a house in Canyon Woods) arrived and they agreed to sponsor us in the clubhouse pool – there was an indoor and an outdoor pool but since both are far away from each other (and I believe had separate prices too!) they made us choose only one place to go to. Majority chose the indoor pool – because it would protect them from the sun. My only problem is that both places required wearing a bathing suit and so I decided not to swim and just watched over them while they swam, and of course, took pictures.

We spent most of the time just chatting with the cuzins, catching up on chizmis and the recent happenings with the other members of the clan. As usual, just too bad for those who weren’t present but most of the time, you are the topic of discussion so next time better attend, hehehe! There was also DVD watching in the den/basement downstairs but I didn’t like the movie choices very much so we just contented ourselves with simply eating, sleeping, chatting (in the garden, usually while the boys++ smoked) and more eating…

But, of course, the highlight of the Holy Week is, as always the EASTER EGG HUNT! It started right after breakfast on Sunday but, secretly, the kids have been eyeing/searching the grounds the moment they woke up because they knew that Edgar hid the eggs at dawn (or so that was the plan). The hunt itself started at around 10, after the entire family had their breakfast. The small ones began the hunt with a leeway of about three minutes, then after that even the older kids stepped in to join hunting for eggs. For this year, it was D’s daughter who emerged as the big winner. My daughter did OK (with a little help from his ninong, of course!) but my son wasn’t satisfied with his dismal find. Well, it was a bit difficult because the grounds covered were quite big and included the carpark and front lawn not just the garden at the side of the house. In fact, two of the 24 eggs weren’t found anymore which was just too bad! Well, at least it was still another fun-filled weekend that everyone enjoyed at least as far as I can tell. I am sure all the kids are looking forward to another fun Holy Week celebration next year!

CUTE BUNNIES

Finally, a day at home to rest! It’s quite difficult you know, shuttling from one place to another this Holy Week but it is necessary to pacify everyone – we need to go to BP at least for a few days to satisfy the hubby and then travel to wherever it is the family would decide to spend its Holy Week for mine and the kids’ sake. We spent a fun-filled weekend at Tagaytay this year but it still feels great to be home. Even if there are so many things waiting – like the laundry and the pets' cages needing to be cleaned. These are the things that had to be done, there’s just no way to avoid it lest the house go to such disarray. I can’t just totally clean the rabbit cages though because the bunnies may get wet. By the way, here are pictures of the bunnies - the first pic was taken just three or four days after they were born and they were just starting to grow some hairs. But in the last pic, taken after ten days, they’re getting to be so cute! I just wish we didn’t have to give them all away! But as it is, we don’t have the space and the finances to keep another pet. So I’ll just take their pictures while they’re still here with us.

A NEW PET

When we arrived Sunday night after staying at BP for the weekend, my daughter excitedly came in the house to ask if she could keep the puppy that her neighbor-friends found near the playground. She pleaded and pleaded and since she had been hankering me to buy her a dog (a Shih-tzu pa nga!) for quite a long time already, I decided to just let her keep it. Anyway, it would not entail much on our part because the puppy was lost and seemed an askal and not some fancy breed that would require equally fancy food. I told her, too, to extend more efforts to try to find the owner of the dog before she became too attached and claim it as her own.

I promised her she could have her Shih-tzu when she is already in high school because at her age now (ten years old), I am sure she would not be able to handle all the responsibilities that comes with having a pet – feeding it, giving it water regularly, a bath once a week, then visits to the vet for rabies shots and for some vitamins. The dog seems to be a good pet. It would playfully wag its tail when called – we named it Kobe after the Lakers basketball player and it seems to follow instructions when told to stop in a stern voice. More importantly, it has not started to bite at our things particularly our slippers so I guess he’s quite well-bred. Besides, the puppy seemed to understand our dilemma on allowing our daughter add another animal in our already littered backyard (with the bunnies and birds) so the puppy keeps looking at us with its big brown pitiful eyes, so I guess we have no choice but to welcome the new pup into our home. Here’s a pic of our new puppy in its cage.