Sam Tsay
What started as an odd day, ended like a badly written short film. After yoga, I was driving home with my mom and I told her I had an bad feeling about today. My mom got annoyed at me and I regretted saying it.
Today, we had a lunch to celebrate my granduncle's Sam Tsay which is the third death anniversary, which is when Chinese mourning officially ends. (Which means, that family of the deceased can start wearing colorful clothes and get married). The whole compound went for lunch in Highland's China Palace in SM Mall of Asia. It was the course after the Steamed Lapu Lapu and before the Roasted Pigeon. My youngest cousin Francis, receives a frantic call. He was beside me and I was just staring at him because he said: Sunog. My heart fell to my stomach and I knew that it was in the compound. My body turned cold and my hands trembled as I called my Filipino Chinese Fire Brigade contacts. The lunch guests got cut into half as most of my relatives hurried home to our compound. My cousin Fiona, her boyfriend Gerald, my dad, my brother, my uncle Frank, my aunt Mary and the contingent from Hong Kong, who came home for their father's/grandfather's/husband's death anniversary. The house burning was my granduncle's house. I swear, truth is stranger than fiction.
(Back story)The house where my granduncle lived is my Gwakong's (maternal grandfather). He let him live there because he's family and his family left him to live in Hong Kong. So when my granduncle died by his lonesome 3 years ago it was understood that the house will be returned to my Gwama (maternal grandmother, since Gwakong passed away 4 years ago). But my grandaunt decided for herself that she didn't want to return the house just yet, she thought the house would be given to them. So in order to buy more time, she said that due to Chinese tradition, which WE have to follow, we cannot touch the house in the next 3 years until they come back to celebrate the official end of mourning. I swear this Chinese tradition has been such a burden to me personally since they followed it and I'm suppose to follow it because of my grandmother's passing so they "won't say anything" against us, which means we can't wear read or any happy color. We weren't allowed to go to my Gwama's and uncle's house 49 days after my Amah died because my grandaunt was in Manila and they would find out if we did. (This is just my personal rant against this Chinese tradition, explaining it even more is such a pain but it's now over so this is just my ramblings about it).
When they leave my appetite went with them, but we had to stay on with the other relatives. But I frantically call my friend Winston and James. I have to commend the Chinese Volunteers, they're very fast. I dial to call their HQ and the girl who picked up my call said to me (even before I said hello) Sa Leveriza ba to? After lunch we get picked up by the driver and we go home. I was already dying inside since I wanted to see if my costumes survived. There were 3 trucks left, the Pasay City government fire engines who were the last to arrive and they were the ones who asked for money. Fiona, Gerald and I go and stare at the embers. It was so overwhelming, there was nothing left. I was staring at the gutted house, the stairs were gone and the insides was a mess of charcoaled belongings. Our Little Tikes slide melted from the heat of the fire and there was still a little smoke rising from the 2nd floor. My dad asked our driver to go up and look for my relatives' travel documents since some of them were flying back at 630pm today. But then flames were relighting from the embers. So our driver was asked to go down from the house and my dad wanted to call for a fire truck to come back. THE WEIRDEST THING, a fire truck CAME BACK. They were the first truck who came and they guy lives a block away from us. They left and said that they would come back after they had lunch. WEIRD. Anyway, so this Chinese guy comes and puts out the fire and they assist us in finding the travel documents. THEY FOUND THEM. My relatives who lost everything found their complete travel documents. I actually gave the volunteers a round of applause. I also find out that my friend Winston was actually in full fireman regalia and was in my compound looking for me (while I was in Mall of Asia having Chinese lariat). So in the end my relatives left at 430pm for the airport and are probably back in Hong Kong by now.
So when I have a son, he will be forced/begged/cajoled to join the Filipino Chinese Fire Brigade since my family's so unlucky with fires.
Oh yeah at a time like this my cousin Fiona wanted me to date the Chinese Volunteer dude. WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!
Today, we had a lunch to celebrate my granduncle's Sam Tsay which is the third death anniversary, which is when Chinese mourning officially ends. (Which means, that family of the deceased can start wearing colorful clothes and get married). The whole compound went for lunch in Highland's China Palace in SM Mall of Asia. It was the course after the Steamed Lapu Lapu and before the Roasted Pigeon. My youngest cousin Francis, receives a frantic call. He was beside me and I was just staring at him because he said: Sunog. My heart fell to my stomach and I knew that it was in the compound. My body turned cold and my hands trembled as I called my Filipino Chinese Fire Brigade contacts. The lunch guests got cut into half as most of my relatives hurried home to our compound. My cousin Fiona, her boyfriend Gerald, my dad, my brother, my uncle Frank, my aunt Mary and the contingent from Hong Kong, who came home for their father's/grandfather's/husband's death anniversary. The house burning was my granduncle's house. I swear, truth is stranger than fiction.
(Back story)The house where my granduncle lived is my Gwakong's (maternal grandfather). He let him live there because he's family and his family left him to live in Hong Kong. So when my granduncle died by his lonesome 3 years ago it was understood that the house will be returned to my Gwama (maternal grandmother, since Gwakong passed away 4 years ago). But my grandaunt decided for herself that she didn't want to return the house just yet, she thought the house would be given to them. So in order to buy more time, she said that due to Chinese tradition, which WE have to follow, we cannot touch the house in the next 3 years until they come back to celebrate the official end of mourning. I swear this Chinese tradition has been such a burden to me personally since they followed it and I'm suppose to follow it because of my grandmother's passing so they "won't say anything" against us, which means we can't wear read or any happy color. We weren't allowed to go to my Gwama's and uncle's house 49 days after my Amah died because my grandaunt was in Manila and they would find out if we did. (This is just my personal rant against this Chinese tradition, explaining it even more is such a pain but it's now over so this is just my ramblings about it).
When they leave my appetite went with them, but we had to stay on with the other relatives. But I frantically call my friend Winston and James. I have to commend the Chinese Volunteers, they're very fast. I dial to call their HQ and the girl who picked up my call said to me (even before I said hello) Sa Leveriza ba to? After lunch we get picked up by the driver and we go home. I was already dying inside since I wanted to see if my costumes survived. There were 3 trucks left, the Pasay City government fire engines who were the last to arrive and they were the ones who asked for money. Fiona, Gerald and I go and stare at the embers. It was so overwhelming, there was nothing left. I was staring at the gutted house, the stairs were gone and the insides was a mess of charcoaled belongings. Our Little Tikes slide melted from the heat of the fire and there was still a little smoke rising from the 2nd floor. My dad asked our driver to go up and look for my relatives' travel documents since some of them were flying back at 630pm today. But then flames were relighting from the embers. So our driver was asked to go down from the house and my dad wanted to call for a fire truck to come back. THE WEIRDEST THING, a fire truck CAME BACK. They were the first truck who came and they guy lives a block away from us. They left and said that they would come back after they had lunch. WEIRD. Anyway, so this Chinese guy comes and puts out the fire and they assist us in finding the travel documents. THEY FOUND THEM. My relatives who lost everything found their complete travel documents. I actually gave the volunteers a round of applause. I also find out that my friend Winston was actually in full fireman regalia and was in my compound looking for me (while I was in Mall of Asia having Chinese lariat). So in the end my relatives left at 430pm for the airport and are probably back in Hong Kong by now.
So when I have a son, he will be forced/begged/cajoled to join the Filipino Chinese Fire Brigade since my family's so unlucky with fires.
Oh yeah at a time like this my cousin Fiona wanted me to date the Chinese Volunteer dude. WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA!