Coming To Manila, Day 1, Part 2: Family Reunion At Dinner

So as I rode shotgun again as Ate Michelle drove our little troupe over to the Power Plant mall, I couldn't help but reminisce about the particular area of Makati we were at and driving through.

TJC and I were staying at the Intercon on Ayala Avenue, and not too far from there (just across EDSA actually in Dasmarinas Village) was Colegio De San Agustin, where my sister and I went to school for a few years (me from Kindergarten til 3rd grade, her from 1st to 4th grades I think). Further along Ayala Avenue was one of the offices my dad used through the years when he was a lawyer in private practice; I clearly remember in the early to mid 80's, when the uproar over Ninoy Aquino's assassination was at full throttle, there would be rallies every day up Ayala Avenue, led by his widow, Cory Aquino, who would eventually become President of the country in the 1986 People Power Revolution. I remember peering out the window from my dad's office building, throwing some yellow colored confetti as I thought it was all oh so exciting.

After about a 20 minute drive, we arrived at the Power Plant Mall and as we were driving around the parking lot, Renzo noticed that the car in front of us was Tatay's car. We honked at them but they did not seem to notice. When they finally stopped to let everyone out, we honked at them again and Nonoy looked a bit annoyed as he stepped out, probably wondering who the hell these people were honking at him. He finally looked up and realized it was us; I got out of the car and shared a nice hug with him after 13 years.

*Clockwise from the left: Manang Tata, me, Ina, Renzo, Nonoy and Vanessa*

Nanay, Tatay and Vanessa were there also, and introduced them all to TJC as we headed up the elevator. About 20 minutes after we got to Crustasia, the Pilapils arrived - Manang Tata, her husband Eric, eldest daughter Ina, eldest son Migs and youngest son (and my godson) Brix.

*That's Brix making a beeline for the Pepsi can, Manang Tata, Migs making the funny face and Eric (or at least 2/3 of him) in the red shirt.*

Tatay and Nonoy proceed to discuss what to order and end up getting TONS of food and wine. We all basically shared a million giants crabs cooked 10 different ways and it was so delicious. There were other dishes too but that was basically the highlight for me in terms of that. I drank wine like crazy as well, along with several San Miguel Beer, so let's just say I was a bit happy that night.

Now, TJC's face always becomes red whenever he drinks (the Asian Flush, as they say), but for whatever reason, his face was BLAZING RED that night after a sip or two of alcohol. People thought that maybe he was allergic to the crabs, but that wasn't it. I think his body was still adjusting to the time difference and was telling him: "Fool, it's 9 in the morning, why are you drinking???".

Nonoy and I caught up during dinner, talking about life, family, our chidhood... It really was great, and it felt like 13 years melted away and we were the little kids we were again, lying in our beds talking about the things we would do when we finally get the chance to do so. You know, this does not apply to just Nonoy, but to Manang Tata and Manong Toto as well - even though I had not seen them for ages, seeing and talking to them again felt like it was just yesterday all over again and neither time nor distance had ever separated us. That's when you know the bonds you built through the years are powerful.

During dinner, Nonoy tells me that he and Vanessa are shooting to go to the States for a visit sometime in 2008. I of course encourage them to do so; Nonoy says that besides New York, he would really like to visit Maine and Nova Scotia up in Canada. I tell them that's certainly doable and say that if they want to do that, they should plan the trip for sometime before winter because it is miserably cold up in those 2 places at that time. Funny, I'm only on Day 1 of my trip and I was already excited about an event in 2008. Ha.

Really enjoyed talking to the Pilapil kids and Renzo as well. I'm gonna write more about Ina and Renzo in the next posting (but let me give you a preview: am so impressed by Ina, after not having seen her in ages; her and Renzo are not that far away where they start making their marks as "almost adults" and I think they'll be spectacular to watch), so let me devote this part to the 2 little boys:

It's kinda funny how the 2 of them remind me so much of Nonoy and me as kids, from how we acted and how we even looked together. I was Migs in that equation, and Nonoy was Brix (heck, Brix even has Nonoy's "kirhat"/bouncy eye thing). Migs towers over Brix too even though he's not that much older, and is just bigger physically as well, just like I was compared to Nonoy as kids. Both are really, really, really smart - you can tell that just by having a conversation with them. They're quite quick on their feet as well.

Migs, like Renzo, is a student in Ateneo (which was my dream school, and I was going to go there for high school but we moved to NY instead), and he's adorable. Little jealousy coming from him because Tita Doris takes care of him and I guess he thinks I'm the competition. Ha.

Brix was hilarious, as he was singing to himself ("I'm going to eat some crabs, lalalala") and then proudly declared to everybody: "I have a girlfriend. Her name is Iza, and she's bee-yoooooo-ti-ful."

I spent more time with them a few days later and let me just say those two wore me out within half an hour; again, that's for another posting.

After about a million crabs, glasses of wine and beer, it was time to go home. Nonoy said he was going to pick us up around 9:30 A.M. from the hotel and we were going to go to Tagaytay. Before everyone went their separate ways though, we all did a quick detour to the Intercon so I can give the kids the stuff I brought for them.

After they left, went to the drug store to get some bottled water and was amazed that a giant bottle cost about 35 cents in US $, declining and all. Got back to the room and then TJC and I went to the outdoor hotel bar downstairs by the pool and grabbed some more beers.

It was finally time to go to bed after that, quite pleased that Day 1 in my return to Manila was nothing short of satisfying.