Thirteen Days Past
Happy New Year! A bit late greeting as it’s thirteen days past but the feeling’s still there, guys, I believe it is. (Also, I had Internet problems haha). You may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging much, and that’s a pity, but there’s something daunting in actually sitting down to write a journal entry… I don’t know. I feel like I can’t be as silly here like I get in tumblr, especially. It’s like I actually have to write in complete sentences and correct punctuation, holla. But yeah, enough musing and let’s get to some stuff that happened during the holidays!
So basically I got a 13-day Christmas break from work, due to overlapping national holidays and my boss’ frequent leaves from work. That’s almost two weeks and wow. What have I done with that? I could’ve travelled or something but I didn’t, I did things not as physically exciting but ultimately pretty fulfilling I gotta say.
I read. I read like hell. I finished three books in a 13-day period which is not bad for me! And I’m halfway through another one about monks killing monks. Very exciting! I missed reading so much. Plus, my room was newly-painted a cool shade of lilac, which is ok, and some repositioning of furniture was done, so I could sit on the bed and read by sunlight when I open the windows! The view is nothing much, it’s just the neighbor’s wall, but it’s perfect for reading, especially around the afternoon, when the light’s cooler. I loved waking up late and taking a long shower; I missed having my own room to walk naked in, not having to dress in a cramped bathroom; I missed the feel of my books, which I had to rearrange because for a couple of days they were strewn around the floor; I got to eat some real food and not some fast-food take-away, while playing video games until 4 in the morning. 13 days without the internet was challenging - I can’t randomly search the history of the book I’m reading - but it was surprisingly easy. I’m not saying I’m ok with giving it up, but I know I’ll live, because there are so many things to do!
Ok so, the three major happenings in that 13-day stretch:
Christmas Day came and as usual we spent it at my grandmother’s house like we do every year since forever? I think my mom hasn’t missed a single Christmas there since her birth (or maybe she did when she was in Baguio?). The food was great, as expected from the Kapampangan; it was busy - people going in and out of the house - relatives, neighbors, casual acquaintances, coworkers, kids all over the place lining up for aguinaldo. I’m proud to say I got 290Php all in all, not bad for somebody already working haha. We also went and brought food down my godfather’s house, where I spent like 30 minutes talking to his younger brother about postgraduate studies etc. That looks better and more Daddy Long Legs-ish in print, doesn’t it? I say younger brother but he’s older than my father and I say talking, but all I did was make some general affirmative noises because he was so good in English, it’s intimidating.
Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that the idea of family reunions where they rent venues and print matching shirts and cater food really amazing. Unironically! I mean wow, they put so much effort into those parties, with the programs and performances and caterings and the shirts especially! I grew up in an environment where when there’s a party/celebration, the hosts would make the food themselves. I’ve stayed in many a bustling kitchen pretending to help out but really sampling the food items, and I still do. Maybe it’s just because my aunts really like cooking for large numbers of people?
New Year’s Day was celebrated at home, and it was our turn to feed some people who came over. I managed to escape social duties by staying in the kitchen (again!) washing dishes, so at least I actually did something. I leave the social niceties to my youngest brother. Anyway, I thought I’d be safe from further socialization, but we also visited another aunt and some friends of the parents, so no go.
And then January 6, the date of my brother’s homecoming from his one-year scholarship stay in South Korea. It’s been a year already, can you imagine! He’s definitely gonna miss Korea and the fast internet, haha. We got to NAIA around 9pm, and his plane wasn’t landing until 12:25am, so we sat around eating stuff and watching random people walk by. By around 11pm, I pointed out this Japanese dude who’d been sitting in the same spot with his luggage since we arrived, and my mother wanted to go and ask him if he’s waiting for someone. I backed out immediately, saying I might be mistaken, but further inspection revealed that he’s definitely waiting for someone (he kept checking his watch and rifling through some papers) to come fetch him (we were in arrivals). He pulled out a book (the Diary of a Wimpy Kid) suggesting he might be a student or something, he looked like one. I told my mom she could go talk to him if my brother arrives and he’s still waiting. Anyway, long story short, the Japanese dude left before my brother arrived, whose flight was delayed by 30 mins. He’s back and he doesn’t know what to do with himself because school’s not for another 4 months (or 7 if that schedule moving thing happens!)
So basically I got a 13-day Christmas break from work, due to overlapping national holidays and my boss’ frequent leaves from work. That’s almost two weeks and wow. What have I done with that? I could’ve travelled or something but I didn’t, I did things not as physically exciting but ultimately pretty fulfilling I gotta say.
I read. I read like hell. I finished three books in a 13-day period which is not bad for me! And I’m halfway through another one about monks killing monks. Very exciting! I missed reading so much. Plus, my room was newly-painted a cool shade of lilac, which is ok, and some repositioning of furniture was done, so I could sit on the bed and read by sunlight when I open the windows! The view is nothing much, it’s just the neighbor’s wall, but it’s perfect for reading, especially around the afternoon, when the light’s cooler. I loved waking up late and taking a long shower; I missed having my own room to walk naked in, not having to dress in a cramped bathroom; I missed the feel of my books, which I had to rearrange because for a couple of days they were strewn around the floor; I got to eat some real food and not some fast-food take-away, while playing video games until 4 in the morning. 13 days without the internet was challenging - I can’t randomly search the history of the book I’m reading - but it was surprisingly easy. I’m not saying I’m ok with giving it up, but I know I’ll live, because there are so many things to do!
Ok so, the three major happenings in that 13-day stretch:
Christmas Day came and as usual we spent it at my grandmother’s house like we do every year since forever? I think my mom hasn’t missed a single Christmas there since her birth (or maybe she did when she was in Baguio?). The food was great, as expected from the Kapampangan; it was busy - people going in and out of the house - relatives, neighbors, casual acquaintances, coworkers, kids all over the place lining up for aguinaldo. I’m proud to say I got 290Php all in all, not bad for somebody already working haha. We also went and brought food down my godfather’s house, where I spent like 30 minutes talking to his younger brother about postgraduate studies etc. That looks better and more Daddy Long Legs-ish in print, doesn’t it? I say younger brother but he’s older than my father and I say talking, but all I did was make some general affirmative noises because he was so good in English, it’s intimidating.
Oh yeah, I wanted to mention that the idea of family reunions where they rent venues and print matching shirts and cater food really amazing. Unironically! I mean wow, they put so much effort into those parties, with the programs and performances and caterings and the shirts especially! I grew up in an environment where when there’s a party/celebration, the hosts would make the food themselves. I’ve stayed in many a bustling kitchen pretending to help out but really sampling the food items, and I still do. Maybe it’s just because my aunts really like cooking for large numbers of people?
New Year’s Day was celebrated at home, and it was our turn to feed some people who came over. I managed to escape social duties by staying in the kitchen (again!) washing dishes, so at least I actually did something. I leave the social niceties to my youngest brother. Anyway, I thought I’d be safe from further socialization, but we also visited another aunt and some friends of the parents, so no go.
And then January 6, the date of my brother’s homecoming from his one-year scholarship stay in South Korea. It’s been a year already, can you imagine! He’s definitely gonna miss Korea and the fast internet, haha. We got to NAIA around 9pm, and his plane wasn’t landing until 12:25am, so we sat around eating stuff and watching random people walk by. By around 11pm, I pointed out this Japanese dude who’d been sitting in the same spot with his luggage since we arrived, and my mother wanted to go and ask him if he’s waiting for someone. I backed out immediately, saying I might be mistaken, but further inspection revealed that he’s definitely waiting for someone (he kept checking his watch and rifling through some papers) to come fetch him (we were in arrivals). He pulled out a book (the Diary of a Wimpy Kid) suggesting he might be a student or something, he looked like one. I told my mom she could go talk to him if my brother arrives and he’s still waiting. Anyway, long story short, the Japanese dude left before my brother arrived, whose flight was delayed by 30 mins. He’s back and he doesn’t know what to do with himself because school’s not for another 4 months (or 7 if that schedule moving thing happens!)