I remember when I was still living with my parents and I haven’t heard of spas and massage parlors yet because my mom would always have someone over to do her (that didn’t sound right) whenever she felt something on her muscles. Sounds like she’s making an excuse to get pampered, right? She would call Rose, her home service masseuse. Because Rose has so many clients calling her every day, she would make our house her last stop because fortunately for her my dad would always have someone to drive her home after.

Her last stop is at 10pm. One hour for mom and one hour for me would turn her into this panic frenzy person who pinchs and karate chops your limbs until you can’t wait for her to end. One time when she was in the middle of running her knuckles down my back at 1030pm, I realized the entire world stopped and I can only hear her breathing hard. I opened one eye (we all pretend to fall asleep to avoid convo, right?) and snuck a glance at her. The silly old nut is dozing off! Hands poised on my back, she was breathing hard with her eyes closed! Multi-tasking, the sneak! The muscle on my shoulder twitched and she fluttered her eyes open. When she realized where she was, she continued kneading on my back as if nothing happened.

That was a trip.

I haven’t seen Rose in 7 years now.

A pescetarian, thanks to a friend who corrected me after I said fishtarian, is what I became when someone dictates that you eat anything but meat on holy week.

That someone happens to be my mother whom I forever cast my undying love and devotion to until the day I die. My entire family was here last week and before I could go ‘Yey, great vacation!’, I was reminded of how strict and religious they are. It wasn’t that long that I conditioned myself to a week long solitude on reflection that is bordered on a conviction it was a great idea for them to come over despite the fact that I will be missing this huge thing in Bantayan Island for holy week.

Holy Thursday last week, I arrived at the port of Tagbilaran at 8am by Oceanjet Fastcraft. They have this promo going on that only charges P300 for your roundtrip going to Bohol and back. Very cheap, yes and almost all fast crafts that go to Bohol travel at the same number of hours. Thanks to my friend, Melgrace, for telling me about their promo fares.

The resort had a driver to pick me up who was carrying the resort’s banner on his chest. I went up to him and told him in hasty English that I wanted to claim my parent’s seat number at the ticketing counter and would he be kind enough to wait for me. He said, “Yis ma’am, I will wet here.” Wink.

My parents were already at Sherwood Bay Resort when I arrived fifteen minutes from the pier. The place was breathtaking!

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//updated with photos

Last weekend, when my friends from work decided to conquer Cagayan de Oro, I told them to check out the white water rafting adventure because after the flood, they can “raft” their way to Limketkai, Opol beaches or Gaisano City. Of course it was a bad joke but they did arrive in Cagayan de Oro on the same day I did and yours truly felt it was my compunction to show them around.

Photo at Del Monte Clubhouse, Cawayanon Bukidnon. Cawayanon is a 35 minute drive from Puerto, Cagayan de Oro.

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When did Christmas ever mean anything? 14 years of a Christian upbringing, your parent’s scoffing at your denims on Christmas Eve and you suddenly declare December 25 as Holy? Sure, people could just tick you off by asking in all their plastic-faced glory why couldn’t everyday be a December 25. But that’s what they say, too, on Valentines and Thanksgiving. Pooh.

Christmas IS special and the holiday is a perfectly good excuse to get on the next trip to your parent’s city and not feel guilty gorging on that home baked ham.

I wish for the best this year and send off a fervent prayer thanking Him…

1. …for having a job that writers would kill for
2. …for friends that I would kill for
3. …for all of my shoeboxes that don’t yield to gravity yet
4. …for family that you can always go home to during the holidays
5. …for the second home that could almost buy me a Condo unit with the monthly rent I’m paying for
6. …for that sweet getaway in Bukidnon when you wanted no other air but nature’s.
   
7. …for the arm that is around me when I wake up in the mornings. sweetest thing in the universe, babycoo.
8. …for the mornings that I wake up asthma-free
9. …for my grandmas who are still around
10. …for renewing my relationship with mom – unconditional love at its best.
    
11. …for ATMs, credit cards and check books
12. …for my next door neighbor who’d harass me with her manuscript but wouldn’t think twice about being my In Case of Emergency person
13. …for the island of Cebu
14. …for Zero fares.
15. …for SUNCELL’s unlimited calls.
16. …for having a pretty cool Manager who doesn’t give a shit about what you do as long as you get to answer her questions at the end of the month…
17. …for the health insurance that supports my dysfunctional lungs
18. …for hair clips during those emergency brush offs

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Been home again – the annual Cagayan de Oro vacation every holidays.

Still post-delinquent, I have to admit. Delinquent here but not on other sites of mine. I haven’t realized the gravity of how tedious it is to copy write and maintain your personal sites as well. Even if I have ALL the time in the world to write, I no longer get to respond to real emails! My friend Joe Wagner has been asking me how I was and it is just ironic to not reply back with lengthy mails like how I used to do before when I hardly have the time to write.

Ersh… Ersh… spilt milk.

The real dilemma is trying to get a moment with the boyfriend when we both have different Timezones. I already swore myself off the PST, CST, MST and EST jargons and am happily deducing myself to think that, hey, it’s 4pm, MANILA time, and, yes, 4pm, in the afternoon where sunlight still is cancerous! I do miss my bank moments and lunch with the old team but the new department that I am now at doesn’t seem to have any problem at all with the schedule so why should I? When I say lunch, it is at 12 N-O-O-N.

Back to the boyfie (why does this always have to be about me?), he works at night, goes home in the mornings and is a light sleeper – meaning he sleeps when there’s light! Contrary to my schedule, he zonks out when I get out of work. Poor baby. He really does make an effort to spend time with me regardless of his lack of sleep. But what about my lack of sleep? Argh. I find myself sometimes rushing along with Cebu’s traffic to get to work. Whoever said compromise is easy? Yes, only Edward Cullen can do that but not everyone is a few decades old, lives off on Volvos and possesses amazing supernatural strength.

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This recent trip to CDO last month was a two day weekend rendezvous spent for celebrating birthdays – Michelle’s and my mom’s. Michelle’s was actually the major highlight but don’t tell my mom that.

For weeks, we have been planning on this Saturday getaway in White Island, Camiguin and an overnight stay at Paras Beach resort. With our bikinis and suntan lotions in tow and shutter shades, everything was all good – except we didn’t anticipate the heavy rain that poured all over Southern Mindanao! The road to Balingoan was already blurry on the windshield and by the time we got there, no ferries were brave enough to cross the island.

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