One Week

Some thoughts (coherent and incoherent, go figure) on my "enforced vacation"

1. Anybody who claims descent and affinity in our family should be able to withstand chronic sonic fluctuations ranging several decibels. In short, kung hindi ka sanay sa mga taong malalakas ang boses at nagsisigawan - kawawa ka sa pamilyang ito.

2. I am utterly useless and completely boring in the swimming pool. Good thing the pool at the water park had a maximum depth of FOUR feet or else Tom would have been unsuccessful in convincing me to take the plunge. hehehe

3. The power of conditioner goes a long way...I'm loving my long tresses...when I had my hair trimmed at the salon, the stylist asked me: "Nagpakulot po ba kayo ng buhok?" to which I replied "Hinde"; he then asked "Nagpakulay po kayo ng buhok?" and again I replied "Hinde"...for the record, my hair is naturally wavy (a fact I realized only when I grew my hair long) and I never thought my hair had a shade different from dark brown but a few commented that my hair had a slight tint...my hair seemed to reveal a few mysteries during that week.

4. One week of non-stop airconditioning from the house to the taxi to the mall could be considered a trial for an anticipated vacation to the UK. This trial, unfortunately, I failed. My acclimation went bonkers...

5. Two typhoons raging on a wide mesa! the Earth trembles, China Falls, Chaos reigns for a few minutes! Holy F*ck my laptop! wahahahahahahaha

6. I had planned to compose my research on Spiderman during the research break, but the exigencies of vacation made it impossible. The good thing though, is I was able to start reading for my book review - managing to sneak away from my nephews for a few moments to read up on the Philippine Commonwealth. This gives new meaning to Sneak Peek...

7. Bonding Time with my English nephews! The previous encounter a few years ago was a bit of a disaster since all of them were still brats and my temper is naturally short with kids. But this time Tom and Sam had grown up which leaves Ben as the only remaining 'brat,' so to speak. It was easier this time since Tom and I were broadcasting on the same wavelength, even managing to utter the same sentences at the same time (like "oooooooh" and "to the left...to the left.." hahaha sentences ba 'to?)Sam's habit of becoming quiet when bored made things easier, as well as Ben's conditioned fear of my raised voice (which made things even easier when it comes to reining him in - Tito Mike will shout! hala...) All in all, the boys were good and our interactions were fun and memorable. Though their brotherly banter and roughhousing seemed cute at times...

8. Games and a World of Fun! Dungeon Siege! Warcraft! Feeding Frenzy! Luxor! Bowling! Bump Cars! it was a week to indulge my inner child once again. I am looking forward to getting back on the bump car hahaha parang Grand Theft Auto for Toddlers. In fairness, I execute a mean drift on the bump car. Jonah had his first try in bowling while Tom became addicted to Dungeon Siege II...It was FUN! Though I suspect gaming may have been a BIG factor for my difficulties described in #6.

9.Balik UNO-R Tayo! Beer-ness Santo! Finally, the long drought was ended with several liters of Red Horse littered on the table...but before the fun, there was a bit of work to do. Saw the final output of Yearbook 2007 and consulted with Sir Harry about it. A decent work, though I expected better from the printing company. Still, I am proud of my staff for their work. And despite the flaws, I hope they would be proud of their yearbook, too. But enough about that...Inuman Na!

10. The Long Goodbye...At the Bacolod-Silay Airport - located in Silay...Tom was asking (a bit loudly, as he doesn't have the discretion that characterizes us Filipinos when we are complaining) what's taking so long for us to proceed to the Departure Lounge as it was a hot morning when we left Bacolod. I told him that this is "The Long Goodbye" and if he were to visit the Philippines regularly, he better get used to this. I whispered to him that "This is for your Lola..." whom we were leaving behind in Bacolod. He got the point and shut up.