Home for the Holidays 2006

Home for the holidays again! Okay, so my round trip fare cost me 7,500 bucks, but some of the best things in life actually come with a price. Zenie and I had the same Cebu Pacific flight and there was major chaos in the teeny Domestic airport that even though we got there an hour before our flight, we barely made it. Zenie said she’d never again take a Cebu Pacific flight during peak season. And I said I’d never again bring so much stuff and pay for 600 bucks more for the 15 kilos of excess baggage. A trolley-full Christmas basket also has its disadvantages. P&G, I think I’d rather get the Christmas goodies in cash next time.

Day 1, Dec 23

My mom picked me up from the airport and brought me to our new home. I thought the gate and the whole pond thing was a great improvement.

I unloaded all my pasalubong for the family and chatted for about a couple of hours with them before retiring to the guest room, which actually has my old bed in it, but I can’t call that my bedroom since I don’t sleep there most of the year. I had not slept the entire night; spent it doing my packing instead.

When I woke up in the afternoon, my brother and I looked for a DVD player in Yubengco Mall, which is just a short walk away from home. I felt like a tourist in the same city I lived in for a couple of decades. I kept on speaking in Tagalog even at home, where we speak Bisaya, and I always second-guessed myself when speaking to other people in Chavacano.

We didn’t find any DVD players so I just bought some groceries where there was a really long queue at the cashier. Another lesson learned: don’t buy groceries so close to Christmas.

A discovery: my most favorite fruit, lansones, was still in season in Zamboanga. They went off the Manila markets a few months ago. Now I can indulge once again.

Day 2, Dec 24

Went to Church and tolerated everyone telling me that I either gained or lost weight. But one thing they all agreed on – I got fairer skin.

In the afternoon I went to Golden Bell Grand Center and bought a DVD player for the house. Then I had dinner at Whoopee – Maya’s favorite fried chicken.

At home my brother a happy to set up the new player and we watched “House” episodes. I loved the show, a combination of mystery and comedy and medical information.

My cousins came over and we all had some of the Christmas dinner that Dad made while watching “Sky High.”

Day 3, Dec 25

Spent the morning with the DVD player and the family. Spent the afternoon with Roni’s family in La Vista del Mar. Cate picked me up at home and together we went to Roni. She introduced us to a new friend – an American backpacker named Erik who came all the way from Hawaii. He plans to take up Medicine, but before tying himself up in the next decade, he decided to take a year off and tour Asia. Pretty cool, huh. Wish I could do that!

Day 4, Dec 26

This day was supposed to be reserved for going to Sta. Cruz island, an island made up of pink sand. But turns out the department of tourism who operates the boats that brings people there do not operate on holidays, so I had to scrap that idea and come up with another plan.

So what we did was go on a joyride instead. Cate’s friend Eds had a ride and the three of us along with Chu went to the new Ateneo de Zamboanga place in Tumaga and took pictures there.

Then we went to Morning sun for satti, a Muslim delicacy made of compressed rice, sticks of beef and a whole lot of chili sauce.

Then we were supposed to head off to Aplaya Bonita, which according to Chu was this really great beach with the clearest waters in Zamboanga. But on the way there, I pointed out that dusk was falling fast and by the time we got there, there wouldn’t be enough light for pictures, so we abandoned the plan and parked on another beach instead.

We took a few night mode pictures before heading home.

Day 5, Dec 27

Rona asked me to join her in touring Erik. So I called Chu and made him come along, since he was the one who was so hell bent on seeing Aplaya Bonita, which literally means beautiful sea.

Rona took their van and their store’s boy Tata without her sister’s knowledge so we could drive over to Aplaya Bonita. When we got there, the three of us were very disappointed. Erik asked us what was wrong.

Chu said, “I’m trying to find the ‘bonita’ in ‘aplaya bonita.’”

Erik said that actually it was pretty nice and that once you’re in the water, it’s all the same. This coming from someone who has been to the shores of Boracay and Bohol and let’s not forget Hawaii.

We decided to just eat our lunch there and then head off to the new pool resort in Zambowood after.

We took some pictures on the beach. There was actually a moment when Erik saw me looking at the tree (I love trees, and this one looked so pretty) and asked if I wanted to sit up in it. I said no, but that didn’t stop him from carrying me and stuffing me in it. Such strong arms!

It was actually painful to have your thighs squeezed tight by wood, but after we had our picture taken, he showed it to me and said, “See, wasn’t it worth it to have this picture?”

From far west coast we traveled to far east coast. We walked into Woodland resort, where it proved to be every bit as beautiful as people said it would be.

The pool size was the only disappointment for us though. The two pools were too tiny.

I changed into a huge t-shirt that I got from Rona’s store and a pair of Chu’s shorts and joined the three in the pool. I looked so unsexy in an outfit I normally wouldn’t wear to a bathing place nowadays. Funny how I used to wear outfits just like this one during the first twenty years of my life. People can change in real life, and not just in those television makeover shows.

Since Rona and I didn’t know how to swim, Erik made us ride on his back while he swam across the pool.

Erik offered to buy us dinner, not convinced that it was enough that he had paid for gas and lunch. Said he had to use up all his pesos since he was leaving for Malaysia the next day.

When he mentioned the amount of money he had to use up before the next day, we suggested Hai San, one of the most expensive seafood places in the city. I had never been in there, and had actually been aching to try it since last year.

Turns out it’s just like Dampa where you pick out fresh seafood and instruct them how you want them cooked. But this one is not a wet market, and some of their goods are swimming live in water tanks. We had some shrimp, lapu-lapu, seaweed, squid and sea mantis, the last of which is something we all had never tried. It turned out to be pretty yummy.

After dinner, I headed home to change and head over to Raquel’s house for our high school reunion. It was great to see the kids all grown up now. Talking with them reminded me that I met the smartest people in my life back in High School.

Darz made a joke about launching a website where he’d publish all our old pictures back when all of us were still ugly, he said. Then he said, but everyone agrees that among all the Berchmans girls, I was the one who improved the most. At that moment, I thought, should I be flattered because it meant I was beautiful now? Or insulted because it meant that I was so ugly before? Haha. It was fun catching up though.

Day 6, Dec 28

This day was supposed to be reserved for Sta. Cruz island since Dec. 26 didn’t work out. But Gay got dysmenorrhea, Zenie got fever, Nald couldn’t be contacted because he left his n-series cell phone’s charger in Manila and he couldn’t be contacted through his dead phone, Rona was grounded by her sister for stealing their van and driver, and Cate had work. That left Chu and me. I decided to scrap the idea and went back to sleep.

In the afternoon I tried the oft-talked about pizzeria Myx with Rona. The pizza was kinda good, and their shake not bad. Then I went to see a fortune teller.

I’ve been to plenty of fortune tellers but none of them have not been as believable as this one old woman named Pepeng who lives in one of the shacks in Nunez street.

When I was in first year college she told me I’d get a boyfriend in third year.

Then a couple of years ago, I consulted her about going to Manila. She told me to go, and asked me to make a wish. I made a very specific one – that Zenie and I would get hired by KPMG. She said I’d get my wish. Sure enough, when Zenie and Gay and I applied, Zenie and I did get hired. I was not being mean to Gay, I just didn’t know about her yet when I had gone to that fortune teller.

This time, I went back to consult her about yet another big risk I’m planning to take. When I chose my first set of seven cards, she took a look at them and said, “You’re planning to go abroad.” I wasn’t even surprised that she knew straightaway. She told me a few other things, but what stuck in my head was a warning that I would lose something of value. Oh no. I wondered which it would be – my cellphone, digicam or mp3 player? I wished it wouldn’t be the camera.

I went to Mindpro, the city’s only mall, where I was supposed to meet with my College classmates before heading to Larcian, where we were supposed to have dinner. Cate, Lynette, Joy, Rodel and Ronald came and we all went to Larcian.

Larcian sucks, by the way. The food took forever to get served, and they weren’t worth the wait. We all blamed Austine, whose idea it was to go there.

After dinner we went to Café Aromas in Alejandras. The blueberry cheesecake was okay, but I wouldn’t recommend the Choco Loco frappe. Now me, I’m a fan of chocolate shakes, but I wasn’t even able to consume half of what I ordered.

Day 7 & 8, Dec 29-30

I spent these days in Dakak Park Beach Resort, which deserves a separate entry.
Day 9, Dec 31

I watched more of “House” during the day, then left the house for a couple of hours to buy some pasalubong at the Sta Cruz barter place and a second hand thick coat (for Korea’s cold climate) at their ukay-ukay section.

Back home I helped Dad prepare the food and we stayed up till the firecrackers started at midnight, when we all greeted each other happy new year and Dad a happy birthday.

In the morning, though, I was up early packing and soon on my way back to Manila in a plane. Yeah I had to go on Jan 1 because I needed to report to work on the second. Still, 9 days of vacation, with only three of them charged to my vacation leaves, is a pretty swell deal.