Coming To Manila

Coming To Manila: Epilogue

2008-04-21T23:11:00.002-04:00

So 13 years after I had last gone to visit the Philippines, I went back again, and now it was over.

As I look back, I have no regrets about our family moving to the States. But at that point, it meant a lot of things.

It meant the family - the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - I was so used to seeing on a regular basis was going to be an ocean away.

It meant finding new friends, which is not the easiest thing for a 12 year old about to enter high school.

It meant giving up being Filipino to a certain extent, as you cannot enter a whole new culture and country and expect to not be changed in some way or another.

It meant a lot of things, but in a nutshell, it meant saying goodbye to the only world I had ever known.

There are times when I wonder, what if we ended up not moving to New York. And as unfathomable as it was back then imagining not living in the Philippines, it's just as unfathomable to me now imagining not moving to New York. I appreciate all the opportunities moving here has presented me. And the family and friends I did not get a chance to see as often --- like Tita Thelma (ESPECIALLY Tita Thelma actually) --- I got to see a lot more often from that point on as most of them were based in New York as well.

But the best thing about moving from the Philippines? It made one appreciate all its good and all its bad that much more. And in the end, it makes one even more glad that one's core is a product of all that good, and all that bad.

Manila, Iloilo, Bacolod - they will always be home to me, just like New York will always be home to me as well.

I hope I get to see home more often in the future.

Till then, Coming To Manila is closed.

Coming To Manila, Day 15: Back To New York

2008-04-21T22:46:00.006-04:00

So woke up early again to pack, as our flight was in the early afternoon. As promised, Tita Doris dropped by with Rodel, and I felt like I was 12 years old again, saying goodbye to her when we left the country for good.

She had to leave before Rodel brought us to the airport, and she started crying as she said goodbye. I told her to stop it, and save the tears for when she sees Gina again, because one way or another I will try to get her to come visit in 2008.

As we were finishing up packing (me with Tita Dors' help), the doorbell rang and I went to open it, expecting it to be Ate Michelle. I was very pleasantly surprised though when I opened it and I saw Manong Toto.

Manong, as he was scheduled to, had taken an early flight from Iloilo but instead of going home he went straight to our hotel from the airport to say hello. He really didn't have to, and I appreciated it so much and was so glad to see him. I won't lie to you, he scared the bejeezus out of me growing up and Nonoy has his own war stories about that, but looking back, my fear was never warranted. I don't recall him yelling at me ever, and in all those weekends I spent in Fairview, he was like a big brother to me. I mean, Nonoy and I were hyper 10-12 year olds and while we gave him fair reason to be rather annoyed at us, I actually remember having some great conversations with him about sports and life around that time.

And this memory, I will never forget, even though he probably has: I was at Fairview one weekend, and I knocked a bottle down by accident, shattering it. However, a piece of the bottle fell straight down on my thigh, opening a cut. There I was crying, and a bit shocked to see my own blood gushing out, and it was Manong Toto who calmed me down and then cleaned my wound up. It's memories like that, of the little acts of kindness shown to me, which I always remember, to be honest with you.

Soon afterwards, Ate Michelle, Marielle and Andre arrived and then it was finally time to go to the airport. We said our goodbyes at the lobby (and it was at that point I started my campaign to have Manong Toto come visit the States with Ate Michelle in 2008), and then Rodel drove TJC and I to catch our plane.

Long story short, 24 hours later, we were back in New York City and Coming To Manila was officially a memory.

Coming To Manila, Day 14: Return to Manila

2008-04-21T22:06:00.006-04:00

So we woke up at the crack of ass to get ready to go back to Manila.

Because of the "super typhoon" warnings, all the hotels had put their boats on dry dock, so instead of taking those, our escorts from the hotel rode the public ferry with us to Caticlan. From there, we took a shuttle to Kalibo, since we were flying out from there. The flight was delayed yet again, but good ol' Rodel was waiting for us at the airport.

For our last night, we were staying at the Manila Peninsula, and I must say it was a pretty darn nice hotel. It was one of the nicest ones I had ever stayed in actually.

I don't know if the picture does it justice, but it really was so elegant, the lobby. Unfortunately, about a week later, this and this happened, which led to a running joke about how TJC and I were the Prophets of Destruction. I mean, we were at the Philippine Congress hours before it was bombed (see Day 3), and now, the Pen was the scene of a mutiny and a siege.

Ate Michelle met us at the Pen, and she went out and did her own thing while Tito Alex picked us up and brought us to Serendra to get a closer look at things, including the model units they had. It was pretty darn sweet, I have to admit. I checked out the site where the condo my sister and I bought will be going up, and was quite pleased.

Above is a model of The Aston, and it was quite a treat imagining what the thing will look like once it is built. Our unit is on the 32nd floor, right below the Penthouses, facing East, so being the geek that I am, I started counting up to 32 on the model just for fun.

After our visit at Serendra, Tito Alex brought us to the Mall of Asia for a quick look see. Holy cow, the malls in the Philippines are huge, but this one took the cake. Biggest one in the country, and the third biggest one in the world actually. It took us about half an hour to walk about 1/10th of it.

Tito Alex then dropped us off back at the Pen, where we met up with Ate Michelle again. Since the rest of the family was in Iloilo for a wedding, Ate Michelle was kind enough to take us to dinner with some of her family members on our last night. We went back to Serendra again, and ate at a restaurant whose name escapes me right now. Don't get me wrong though, the food was delicious.

Joining us for dinner were Ate Michelle's sister Marielle, her fiance Andre, and Ate Michelle's cousins Katrina and Miggie. Here is a picture of us after dinner:

We all went to a coffee place afterwards, and stayed there till pretty late actually - about 1 A.M. or so. And it turns out Miggie was in a convent at one point, before the Mother Superior gave her the "Climb Every Mountain" speech straight out of The Sound of Music. Or at least that's the version I remember. Ha.

Afterwards, it was time to go back to the hotel. Ate Michelle told me she'll drop by before we leave, and that Tita Dors will drop by as well, and then Rodel will bring us to the airport.

The end was almost here...

Coming To Manila, Day 13: The Last Full Day At Boracay

2008-04-21T21:59:00.002-04:00

So, as the end of our trip not only to Boracay but to the Philippines approached, TJC and I were a bit worried as we were hearing on the news about a "super typhoon" that was going to hit certain parts of the Philippines.

The brunt of it was not going to hit Boracay or Manila, but there was enough winds and what not to potentially cause us problems. Anyway, that was not enough to prevent us from enjoying our last day there, so off to the beach we went again, with the usual Jonah's interlude. TJC's "shark bait" comment had me looking for dorsal fins in the horizon when I was in the water though. Of course, there were none, but still...

Dinner was at the Boracay Steakhouse again, and drinks were at Pat's Creek, Hey Jude and a Summer Place (sans trannies this time around, I guess they moved on to a different place that night). Called it a night after that, as the trip's end slowly came towards us...

Coming To Manila, Day 12: Thanksgiving Day At Boracay

2008-04-01T21:07:00.003-04:00

So nothing new to report about the activities during the day: went to the beach, read a book, got into the water a few times, went to Jonah's, etc. etc.

However, that day happened to be Thanksgiving Day, and for weeks upon weeks, TJC was talking nonstop about how he can't miss Thanksgiving, we had to find a place that would have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, etc. etc. Needless to say, places like those are few and far between in an Island in the middle of the Pacific.

We ended up going to dinner at Boracay Steakhouse, an Australian steakhouse place. The food was phenomenal actually, and not expensive at all to boot. We looked for a place to drink afterwards and ended up at A Summer Place. The place was jamming, and we saw Anne Curtis again, and TJC was quite happy to note that "she turns red when she drinks, just like me". What was unique about the place though was a clique of transvestites were at the bar (sometimes even working behind it), and they were quite a sight. There were some old drunk white men hitting on a few of them nonstop and we were debating with some of our neighbors if they realized they were trannys or not.

At one point, we were talking to this couple from Michigan - he was white, and she was Filipina (and born and raised in the Philippines too). We introduced ourselves, and TJC told the guy his name. The guy goes: "Hey, how come you have an American name??". TJC went: "That's because I AM American!". Silly white folk.

Anyway, between the tropical setting and the trannys at the bar, it was the most unusual Thanksgiving I have ever spent.

Coming To Manila, Day 11: Erwin's Turn To Get Burnt

2008-04-01T21:01:00.002-04:00

So our second full day in Boracay, and it was blazingly sunny during the day. Slathered myself all over with sunscreen, but it did not really help as by the time the day was done, I was burnt, and burnt bad.

We spent the day on the beach again, reading a book, going into the water ever so often, and then it started raining around 5 PM. By the time evening rolled around, it was pouring nonstop. We decided to eat at the hotel's restaurant and stayed in afterward. Which was fine really, since the sunburn was very uncomfortable.

Coming To Manila, Day 10: TJC Flambe

2008-04-01T20:42:00.003-04:00

So after a long hiatus, Coming To Manila is back.

So the next few entries will be quite similar in their entries; it's basically a day on the beach redux.

Anyway, since it was our first full day in Boracay, we finally got to hit the beach. We were checking out the sky beforehand and it was overcast. TJC decided he did not need to put on any sunscreen since it was overcast, but I told him: "Dude, we're by the equator. You should." He didn't anyway, and let's just say by the time we got back to the room hours later, he was red again - but this time not from drinking, but because he was burnt.

Before that though, it was so much fun getting into the water again. Last time I was in the waters of Boracay, I was about 12 years old. Almost 20 years later, here I was again, and the crystal clear waters were exactly as I remember it. And just like back then, schools of fish would swim by me; I told TJC about it and his reply was: "Shark bait."

So hours later, after we rested up and what not (and after our daily Jonah's Milkshake stop), Burnt TJC and I went out to dinner around 10 PM, and ended up at this Korean/Japanese restaurant. We grabbed drinks afterward at Hey Jude again, and called it a night soon after.

Coming To Manila, Day 9: Onwards to Boracay

2008-02-17T10:56:00.004-05:00

So TJC and I woke up really early the next day as we were heading off to Boracay. Mayoc, one of Tatay's most trusted men whom I have known since I was a kid as well, and a couple of other guys were going to accompany us on the 4 hour or so car ride from Iloilo to Katiklan, Aklan (where all the boats to and from Boracay Island are). We grabbed breakfast before leaving, and said goodbye to Uncs and everyone else there. I had forgot to mention Yayay Elda was there as well - Yayay Elda took care of Nonoy when he was a kid, and since Nonoy and I were inseparable whenever I was in Iloilo, she ended up having to make sure I was okay too by default. It was really great to see her as well.

So off we went to Katiklan, and I must admit I was asleep for all but 30 minutes of the car ride I think. I was OUT, folks.

We got to the Waiting Station where the boat the hotel we were staying at was docked. Thanks to Jason and Jon Gonzales, we got hooked up at Sea Wind, one of the nicer hotels on the island. We said our goodbyes to Mayoc and we boarded the boat that would bring us to Boracay. It was only a 10 minute boat ride at most, followed by another 10 minute van ride to the hotel so it was not that bad at all.

Even though it was overcast, the sight of the white sand and the pristine, crystal clear blue water was enough to lift my spirits. The last time I was here was back in 1988, with Tatay, Nanay, and the rest of the family, and the island has completely changed. It's a lot more toursity now than it was back then, which has its plus and minuses, but I wasn't complaining, considering 2 weeks ago I was in cold, wintry New York City weather.

After we checked in and settled in and what not, TJC and I decided to not hit the beach just yet as it was about 2-3 pm already, and instead just walk on the beach and explore a little bit. And so began our daily tradition of hitting Jonah's Milkshake while we were there. Jonah's is this restaurant whose specialty is (guess what) milkshakes. They have all sorts of flavors - some tropical (mango, banana, pineapple) and some non-tropical (chocolate, mocha), and you can mix and match the flavors to your heart's content to come up with your own flair. Nonoy had recommended we go to this place and he was not wrong about it. Here's a pic of me and a mango-banana shake:

Stuffed after a sandwhich and a shake, we kept on walking, and found a supermarket where we bought some water and some munchies. As we were walking back towards our hotel, we noticed this very pretty young lady walking not too far from us. We then noticed everyone along the way either gawking at her, or asking for a picture with her. Someone then called her "Anne"; figuring that she was a local celebrity, that's when I texted my Ate Michelle and gave a description of the actress along with the first name. Ate then texted back saying it was probably Anne Curtis, a half Aussie-half Filipina actress. She was mighty fine looking, I must say. TJC was in lurve with her I think. We ended up running into her pretty much everywhere we went the rest of our stay there.

Went back to our room, rested up a bit, then grabbed dinner around 9 at Aria, an Italian restaurant on the beach. We then went to Hey Jude, a bar two doors down from Aria, and drank a few, where we ran into Anne Curtis yet again. We then went back to our hotel, walking on the well lit beach around 1 a.m., looking forward to our first full day on the island.

Coming To Manila, Day 8: Amazing Race Iloilo

2008-02-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

Just like when we left Manila, it was raining cats and dogs the day we left Bacolod to go to Iloilo. Tito Tony and Tito Bamboo drove us in the pouring rain to the docks about 5 minutes from our house, so we can catch a ferry to Iloilo, which would take about an hour.

I was in shorts and a crew neck shirt, and I was soaking wet when we boarded the ferry. Unfortunately for me, the ferry was VERY air-conditioned, and with no sweatshirt or anything, I was freezing most of the ride over (which no doubt contributed to my not-feeling-so-well for the next several days).

We arrived in Iloilo and my Uncle Ed (or as we all call him - Uncs or just plain Uncle) was waiting for us. Uncs is my mom's older brother, and is the middle child amongst my mom's siblings. He is quite the artist - just click on the url linked to his name on this paragraph to see for yourself.

Anyway, the moment we arrived, it was basically Amazing Race Iloilo. We were only in Iloilo for a day because we were headed to Boracay early the following morning, so it was basically Uncle's mission to make sure we get to see as much of Iloilo as we can. Waiting with Uncle was another one of Tatay's cars and driver; we dumped our luggage in the back and off we went.

First thing we did was eat some batchoy, one of the culinary specialties of Iloilo. After having done that, off we went to Mina, where my mom's ancestral home where she grew up was still located.

Before that though, I of course had to pay my respects at my Lolo Agoy's and Lola Des' graves (my mom's parents). Sadly, I never got to meet my Lolo Agoy, and for all intents and purposes, never did my mom, as she was all of 4 years old when he was murdered.

My Lola Des (short for Lourdes) though, I had the unbridled pleasure of knowing most of my early life. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, every summer we would always spend about 2 weeks in Iloilo to visit my Lola Des, as well as Tatay's family, and then head off to Bacolod for 2 weeks to visit my Lola Tiba and my dad's family.

Lola Des is one of the people I admire the most. She was all of 33 when she was widowed, and she basically had to raise 3 kids by herself, all while taking care of the rice lands my Lolo had left behind, as well as being a teacher at the local school as well. I will be 32 years old in 2 months and it amazes me to think of the sheer responsibility she took on when she was not that much older than I am right now.

The Defensors have a long history of strong-willed women, and my Lola Des I daresay was the Queen of them all, and I certainly hope that the iron-will and determination that was in her can be found in me as well when needed.

Lola Des' blood runs strong though, as with the exception of Uncle Ed, all her children inherited not only her sweet tooth but her infamous temper as well. Her grandchildren, all five of us, inherited that sweet tooth and that temper as well. That Lola Des sure knows how to leave a legacy. But if you ever want to know what my Lola Des looked like, take a look at my mom and my sister - they're basically splitting images of her, espeically Manang Gina.

We then stopped by the old house to say hello to the people living and taking care of the place, and admittedly, I do not have many memories of the place, as we barely spent time there growing up.

We drove back to Iloilo City, this time via the other direction, and we passed by the new Airport at Santa Barbara, which was Tatay's brainchild and pet project while he was Governor of the province. We then stopped for lunch at Tatoy's, one of the iconic restaurants of Iloilo. Located by the beach, the place has grown from a tiny shack to one of the biggest and most popular culinary destinations in the city. As usual, we ate tons of food, including some yummy oysters.

After lunch, we finally made our way to the Defensor compound, and was able to relax for a bit. The compound was the scene of many, many, many, many good memories for me. Every time I think of the place, I get reminded of endless summer days running around with Nonoy, and eating ice cream and batchoy with Lola Des, and the entire family sitting at the dining room table, eating meals and talking non-stop. In my mind's eye, I can still see being 8 years old, and looking around at the table and seeing Tatay and Nanay. My mom and my dad would be next to them, and Lola Des and Uncle would be close by also. Manong Toto and Manang Tata would be across from me, and Manang Gina would always be next to Manang Tata, as those two were joined at the hip. Speaking of joined at the hip, Nonoy and I would of course be sitting next to each other. Since he never ate as much as I did, the last 20 minutes of the meal would always be him rushing me to finish eating already so we can resume whatever game we were playing before we got called in to lunch. Every meal in Iloilo would always be finished off with some mangoes, sometimes from one of the mango trees in the compound itself. I've said it a million times - Filipino Mangoes are the best in the world. But man, I really have great memories of the place.

TJC and I stayed at Manong Toto's and Nonoy's room; the house was mostly empty as just about everyone was in Manila. I had hoped to see Manong Toto, as he was in Iloilo while we were in Manila. But by the time we got to Iloilo, it was his turn to be in Manila. But I could not help but smile, staying at that room again. During our visits there, I either slept in my Lola's room, or with Nonoy and Manong Toto in that very room I was in at that moment, and for the first time since my arrival, I felt like I was a child again again. Don't get me wrong, it's not a knock against Manila or Bacolod. But in Manila I stayed at a hotel, and Bacolod, the entire house was 100% different from the one from my childhood, and as a result, this was the first time I felt like I was in familiar surroundings again from that period in my life, just as I remember it.

I had to laugh as well because when I last visited in 1994, Nonoy was working on a mural on the walls of the room. And 13 years later, the mural was still unfinished and quite frankly looked exactly the way it did back then. I think Gaudi's Sagrada Familia has had more progress done than Nonoy's mural, ha.

Uncle has a house within the compound, so TJC and I made our way over there, and I showed TJC a lot of Uncle's art work. Uncle has a sculpture garden within the grounds of the compound, and honestly, with the rain and everything, I could not take any pictures of it that would do it justice so just click on the link. Here are some pics though of some of the artwork that can be found in Uncle's house, as well as one of the sculptures from the garden:

After a couple more hours of rest, TJC, Uncle and I went across to the other side of the compound to have dinner at the Mango Tree, Jason Gonzales' restaurant.

Jason is Nonoy's first cousin, and the twin brother of Jonas, whom I had talked about in earlier posts. While there, we ran into the family of Tita Eleanor, Nanay's sister-in-law. With Tita Eleanor were her daughters Iseal, Joanne and Kay; Joanne was actually getting married the following week. It was great to see them, as they were playmates of mine as well growing up.

The meal at The Mango Tree, by the way, was delicious. If you are ever in Iloilo, I strongly recommend you go there for dinner. And I say that not because Jason is basically family to me, I say it because it's the truth.

Unfortunately, it was getting late and we had an early morning ahead of us. We made the short walk across the compound back to the house and conked out. In a few hours, we were off to Boracay!

Coming To Manila, Day 7: Silay, Mambukal And The Dinner Party

2008-01-21T17:05:00.001-05:00

So the following day after breakfast, Manong Tinong and Tito Bam went with TJC and I to Silay, to check out some of the old houses which the city is famous for. Silay has a lot of history to it, and one of the first places we checked out over there was the Balay Negrense. Here is a picture of it:

We then went to El Ideal, a famous bakery in the area, for some treats. I got some of their famous goat milk's barquillos (wafer-like finger cookies), which I enjoyed eating. I ended up bringing some back to the States for my folks and my friends the Woos, and basically guarded the things with my life as it was always in danger of crumbling. Proud to say, they made it back Stateside about 60-70% intact, which is GREAT.

We grabbed lunch, and here is a pic of Tito Bam, TJC and Manong Tinong

Afterwards we dropped off Tito Bam back at the house to finish working on the Village. Manong Tinong then drove us to Mambukal, a mountain resort about an hour from Bacolod City. The scenery was gorgeous, and it was quite a trip to see hundreds of bats just hanging upside down on the trees, waiting for nightfall. Here are some pics:

After Mambukal, we stopped by my Lola Manoling and Lola Tiba's graves to pay my respects:

We then grabbed a quick bite to eat, where we were joined by Manong Tinong's son. They then dropped us off back at the house, where preparations for the dinner party to celebrate the opening of the Christmas Village was in full swing. TJC and I were able to sneak in a quick hour nap. We woke up just as the guests started filtering in. The garden was all prettied up, a bar was set up, the food table was set up, and I saw a lot of new faces, but also a lot of old faces from the past which was great. Manong Jutay (the 2nd of Manong Tinong's 2 brothers), his wife Manang Procy and some of their kids stopped by, as did old family friends such as Mrs. Marsona, Tito Bambi Borromeo, Manong Josar. Also, some family members were there too: Tita Pet and Tita Luz. Here are some pics - the 2nd picture is of Mrs. Marsona and Tita Pet with my Tita Ma, and the man in the 3rd picture with Tito Tony is Manong Josar:

The food was great, the dessert was great, the alcohol was great. Everyone then gathered up in the 2nd floor for the soft opening of the Village, complete with a blessing from a priest.

We all then went back downstairs for more food and drinks, but as the evening wore on, the humidity, combined with the heat from not only the lights but also the collective body heat from all the people in attendance, started getting to me and I had to excuse myself. Went back to the room, turned on the A.C. and I rested up and ended up falling asleep as I felt drained. I woke up after the last guests had gone, and I took a quick look to see where everyone was. I think this picture alone shows how exhausted we all were:

So back to bed I went, knowing that my stay in Bacolod was almost done. Tomorrow, we were off to Iloilo!

Segue 2: Tito Bamboo's Christmas Village

2008-01-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

So here is a good article from the Philippine Inquirer (one of the top dailies over there), about Tito Bamboo's Christmas Village, with a little bit of history about it.

And here is a short clip on You Tube of the Village:

Cool, yes?

Coming To Manila, Day 6: First Full Day In Bacolod

2008-01-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

So for the first time since we arrived, breakfast did not mean the Jeepney Cafe. I woke up, saw TJC was still asleep, and decided to walk around the house and check it out in daytime.

Everyone else was up already, including Tito Bamboo, who was busy working on his Christmas Village. I joined Tita Thelma at the breakfast table, and while we were eating and chatting, Manong Tinong arrived. Manong Tinong is a cousin of my dad's, and his parents, My Tito Pai and Tita Son, are two of the dearest people my grandparents and their kids have ever known. When we were younger, every summer when we went to Bacolod, we would spend about a week in Payao, the rural town where Tito Pai and Tita Son lived. It was such fun times and fun memories, and I will never forget their kindness and generosity.

It was fun catching up with Manong Tinong; he lived with us in Manila for a few years, and it was great to see him again. TJC finally woke up and joined us at the breakfast table, but soon after Manong Tinong had to leave to take care of some business and pick up his wife, Manang Edna. As he left, Tonton - Tito Tony's son and Tanya's big brother - arrived. Tonton is about a year and a half older than Ronron, so there is always that connection in my head between the two. Was not able to talk to Tonton that long however, as Tita Ma and I (accompanied by TJC) had to hurry up and go to the Metrobank nearby to take care of some matters for my folks.

Before that though, Manong Bulilit (Manong Tinong's brother) stopped by, and it was a bittersweet moment to see him. I missed him, of course, but he is going through a life threatening illness at the moment and I wish the circumstances of our reunion were better. I do hope he makes it through this.

The 5 minute walk in the heat was brutal, and I was glad to feel the powerful humming of the air conditioner when we walked in to the bank. After that was done, we went back to the house, and then the three of us, along with Tito Bamboo and Tito Tony, drove to the SM Mall which was right behind our house practically, to look for some accessories for Tita Ma's new stereo system which they were installing at the house. That took a couple of hours, and we then went home. Was not feeling that well, so I slept and rested for the next 3 or 4 hours. I think all the hubbub from the past few weeks finally caught up to me, and my body was again telling me to get some rest.

When I woke up around 7, 8 PM, I was finally allowed to go upstairs to check out the Christmas Village. I walked up to the 2nd floor and got treated to the full Xmas Village effect; music, lights, the whole works. Here are some pictures

FYI: The next post will have more history and detail about the Christmas Village.

TJC and I really enjoyed the sneak peek at the Village, but I'll be honest with you, in my mind's eye, that second floor will always be my Lola Tiba's domain. As pretty as the Christmas Village is, when I walked up there, the first thing that came rushing to my head was the image of my Lola, walking around the 2nd floor, with a beer in one hand and some tobacco to smoke in the other, ready to play mahjong. That or her in the 2nd floor kitchen, cooking our next meal; Lola, like I have mentioned before, had no compare as a chef.

After we checked out the Village, Tito Bam showed us the other renovations done to the 2nd floor. There was an exit leading to the terrace, and from the terrace, there was a room being built (for me supposedly, :-D), and there was a balcony from there overlooking the little garden we have. Here is the view of the garden from said balcony:

After the tour was done, we went to the garden, and grabbed some beers with Tito Tony, Tito Bam, Tita Ma, Tita Bec and Manong Tinong. As the beers kept on piling up, Tito Tony, who is hilarious when sober and extra hilarious when drunk, started talking about marriage, relationships, etc. And I swear to you, he suddenly had this moment when he either was channeling my Lola Tiba, or she was speaking through him, but he suddenly turned deadly serious and (I'm paraphrasing here) said: "Ted, let me share with you a piece of advice your Lola Tiba gave me back when she was still alive. Marriage is a lifelong period of adjustment. It's just the beginning of you adjusting and changing for your partner, and vice versa. Never forget that." What was left unsaid just had as much impact as what was, and considering what I had gone through the year before, it felt like my Lola finally got a chance to give me the advice she couldn't give in person.

Tito Tony eventually got cabin fever and wanted to show us around Bacolod at night. Since he was in no shape to drive, Manong Tinong took his car keys and drove him, TJC and myself. First place we went to was Goldenfield, the night time social area of Bacolod. While driving around there, we saw the 2 nieces of my mom's best friend, and one of them was with her boyfriend. Tito Tony had a blast teasing them, saying their aunt will surely find out now (they are deathly afraid of their aunt, hahaha). Since we could not find parking over there, we drove around some more and went to this new grill which opened up just that week, close to the Bob's we ate at the night before. Had some chicharon bulaklak (deep fried pork intestines) and some soda. The place was sold out of basically everything. The first time I ordered, they came back about 5 minutes later and said they were all sold out of that. So I ordered something else and 5 minutes later they came back again and said they were all sold out of it also. I wasn't ordering anything funky either, was ordering your run of the mill Gulaman at Sago and what not.

After we finished up there, we finally headed home as it was about 1, 2 a.m. already and it was time to go to bed. Tomorrow night was going to be the soft opening of Tito Bam's Christmas Village after all, so we had to get ready for that!

Coming To Manila, Day 5: Going To Bacolod

2008-01-13T11:54:00.000-05:00

So when we woke up Thursday morning to get breakfast, I looked out our window and saw that it was raining cats and dogs. I mean, it was pouring HARD, which I thought did not bode well for traveling without a hitch today.

Where were we travelling to? We were flying from Manila to Bacolod at around 4 PM that afternoon; Bacolod is where my Dad's side of the family is from, and my Tito Bamboo still lives at our ancestral home over there. My Tita Thelma (who is like a second mother to me and my sister) was also in Bacolod, as she splits her time between New York and the Philippines, now that she is retired. Their (and my dad's) youngest brother, my Tito Tony, also still lives in Bacolod, albeit not in the family ancestral home anymore.

So after breakfast (again at the Jeepney), TJC and I went back to the room to pack our respective luggages, however grudgingly we felt about it. After that, we just chilled at our hotel room til it was time for Rodel to pick us up to go to the airport. He picked us up around 1 PM, and off we went. The traffic was INSANE because of the rain. Normally, it would take about 20-30 minutes to go from the hotel to the airport; it took us well over an hour.

We get to the airport, go through all the security rigamarol and check-in. We find out at that point that the flight was delayed about an hour or so. It was very surprising for me to see how much the Domestic Airport in Manila had changed since I last saw it back in 1994. It looked so much more modern now compared to back then (I remember when I was a kid, it was straight out of one of those island airports you see in the movies). I give Tito Bamboo a call that our flight is running late, and proceed to try to find something to eat, settling for 2 hot dogs and a soda.

We get on the plane, and we get to Bacolod in about 45 minutes (getting to the friggin airport took longer!). There was some turbulence along the way and this poor little baby in front of us got airsick and threw up all over the aisle and would not stop crying. I felt bad for her, all that shaking must have been horrible.

We get to the Bacolod airport, and this one still looks the same as I remember it (see previous "island airport" comment 2 paragraphs before). While waiting for our luggage, I get a text message from Tito Bamboo: "We're on our way!". It cracked me up; unlike the Defensors (my Mom's side of the family), efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to time is not a sterling trait of my Dad's side, the Tonogbanuas (and everyone knows it). I thought to myself: "Yup, I'm with the Tonogbanua side of the family now!". When I relayed the story to my folks after I got back, they got a huge laugh out of it. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson: "It's funny cuz it's true."

It wasn't a big deal, because our house was only 10 minutes away from the airport, and even before our baggage arrived, Tito Tony, Tito Bam, and Tanya (Tito Tony's daughter) were there. We drove back to the house, and some of the places still looked familiar to me. What DID NOT look familiar to me at all was the house! I had no idea we had parked in front of it already, it was that different. Last I saw it, it was one of those old Spanish style wood houses, similar looking to this. Our house did not have the garden in front (it was inside), and the wood looked much much older than the one in the picture, but imagine something similar if you can in terms of structure and look.

But now, it was all white, and in concrete! It was due for a renovation, as it was really beginning to look old, even though the interiors were beautiful still. I was downright amazed at how different it was. And when I finally got inside, even the interiors were completely changed as well (All for the better, of course)! I wanted to go up to the 2nd floor to check it out, as that's where I spent most of my summers when we visited Bacolod. My Lola Tiba's (Lola is grandma in Filipino) room was in the 2nd floor before she passed away, and I used to sleep with her in her room when we came to visit, so it held a lot of fond memories. The 2nd floor was also where the dining room was, where we would eat all the fabulous dishes my Lola would whip up for us, as she was without compare with her cooking. I was banned from going up there though as my Tito Bamboo's Christmas Village (which I will talk about in the next post) was not done being fixed up yet, and it was due for its soft opening in 2 days.

So we all ended up just sitting outside in the garden, drinking beer, along with Tita Bec (my dad's cousin).

Here are Tito Tony and Tita Bec:

And here are Tito Bamboo and Tita Ma:

After about an hour or so of doing that, we all went to dinner at this Japanese Hibachi restaurant whose name escapes me now. After dinner, we go to one of the Bob's (Bob's is one of Bacolod's iconic eating places) for dessert and coffee. After that, Tito Bamboo insisted that he take the guys to Royal Spa for a massage. I admit, I was a bit wary of a massage place that was open 24 hours, but it was all good. We got there almost around midnight, and there's this huge room inside with rows of massage tables and you just pick one and lie down and get the knots kneaded away. It was pretty good, very relaxing (so relaxing, at one point the entire room could hear Tito Bamboo snoring away). Then, they started stretching the bejeezus out of you, and I felt like I a contortionist at one point.

I felt great though, and we drove home and after taking a shower, I slept like a baby, looking forward to seeing good old Bacolod during the day.

Coming To Manila, Day 4: The Last Full Day In Manila

2008-01-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

So Day 4 in the Philippines was the first time in the entire trip that TJC and I had nothing to do in the morning except be up by 10 A.M. to make it in time for breakfast, which was fine with us.

After our usual breakfast buffet at the Jeepney Cafe, we chilled at the room till it was time to meet Nonoy for lunch. Around noonish, Nonoy called and said to meet us downstairs at the driveway so we trudged down there and we headed off to lunch with his co-workers and fellow laywers, Cheryl, Janice and Gladys.

Lunch was very enjoyable, both because of the delicious food and the great company. At one point, Nonoy had all three ladies convinced that TJC, who works in a field with connections to Barney, actually WAS the person inside the Barney costume. Hilarious.

The food, like I said, was delicious, and we had Halo-Halo for dessert. TJC and I go to a Filipino restaurant in Queens every few weeks, and we always get Halo-Halo for dessert, so it was great to finally have one in Manila! Interestingly enough, this was our first and only time having Halo-Halo in the Philippines.

After lunch, our hard-working lawyer friends had to head back to the office, and since we were not that far away, TJC and I cut through the Greenhills mall in order to get to the Ayala Museum, which was closed the last time we tried to go there. Having been to the Louvre, the Met, the Frick, the Prado, L'Orangerie and tons of other musuems but never having seen works of Filipino masters exhibited in those places, I was quite excited to check it out. I was not disappointed at all, as I got to see several works by Amorsolo, Luna and Domingo.

After the museum, we walked around some more in Greenhills and Glorietta, and I finally found a Manny Pacquiao dri-fit shirt, which I purchased along with a new Arsenal jersey, complete with the new Fly Emirates sponsor logo (my old one, while still in great condition, had the old Dreamcast sponsor logo on it - that's how old it is).

We get back to the hotel, and since we've eaten like pigs since our trip began with little to no exercise, we both decided we had to do some of that. TJC headed to the hotel's fitness center while I went to the pool for a swim.

Nonoy and Vanessa picked us up again around 6 PM, and we headed off to Kainan at Market! Market! for dinner with the daughters of Tita Suzette Bautista, a good friend of my mom's since their nursing school days. I had met said daughters - Nizette, Nylah, Ninette and Nadia - when their family came to visit New York in April 2007 and it was great to see them again, sans Nizette who could not make it. With them was Melo, Nylah's fiance.

I had mentioned in my previous post that events related to that night ended up shocking me a few weeks later; without getting into too much detail, that event was the sudden and unexpected passing of Melo, which happened the day TJC and I flew back to New York, and which I found out about after I got to New York City. It really was shocking, and my prayers are with him and his family and loved ones.

After dinner, Nonoy and Vanessa drove TJC back to the hotel since he was not feeling well at all. Ninette and I ended up getting drinks at Embassy Cuisine (Embassy is THE hot spot in Manila currently).

After about an hour or two, Ninette drove me back to the hotel and when I got to the room, TJC was asleep already. On the coffee table though was a bucket full of beer and some peanuts, courtesy of the hotel (or maybe Grace?) since it was our last night there. I gladly opened a bottle of San Miguel Light, ate some peanuts and updated the journal of the trip I was keeping.

After finishing up with that, it was time to go to bed, as tomorrow, we were about to start our journey to Bacolod, home province of the Tonogbanua clan.

Coming To Manila, Day 3: Driving Around Manila And A Visit To Congress

2007-12-29T11:41:00.000-05:00

This is a long one folks, as this day probably had the most things happen during our trip.

Since Nonoy and everybody else was working this particular day,Tommy and I were
almost on our own for the first part of the day. I say "almost" because Tatay sent Boyet (Rodel's brother, who also drives for Tatay) to the hotel with another car and he was going to drive us around before we visited Congress for a visit in the afternoon.

So after breakfast at the Jeepney Cafe again, we met up with Boyet outside the Intercon and we were off. The first order of business was a visit to my Tito Alex Gaston, in the Greenhills area. Tito Alex is one of my dad's oldest and dearest friends, and he is also my godfather (or "ninong") from my baptism. Tito Alex was the broker who facilitated the purchase of the condo I referred to in a previous post as well.

So we drove from Makati to San Juan, and when we got to Tito Alex's condo building, we needed to provide I.D. in order to get in. It was at that point I realized that I had lost my driver's license at some point. It could be in any of three places: New York, South Korea or the Philippines. Ugh. Somewhere in one of those three countries, another Erwin D. Tonogbanua could be running around. Good thing I had my office building access card with me.

Tito Alex, TJC and I got lunch at a Teriyaki Boy nearby and then he shows us around the area some more, ending up at the Greenhills Mall. At around 1 P.M., we parted ways as he had a meeting to go to and we had our tour of Manila to take care of. So Boyet drove us towards Manila, closer to the area where my family and I called home for almost 13 years. Passed by a lot of familiar sights and "personal" landmarks. Like, we drove past the street where we would always drive up from our place in order to drop off my sister at her school (St. Scholastica's) before my dad would drop me off at mine (Don Bosco). We also drove past this intersection along the very busy Taft Avenue which I always remembered as my visual cue as a kid riding home on the school bus that I was about 10 minutes away from being dropped off. Drove past the entrance of the Manila Zoo, drove along Roxas Boulevard right next to Manila Bay, past the Manila Hotel and past Luneta with its monument to Jose Rizal, the National Hero of the Philippines.

Boyet dropped us of at Intramuros, and we checked out the Manila Cathedral and Fort Santiago. After checking that out, we made our way back to the car, and on our way there we saw this little carriage being pulled by a mini-horse! We wanted to take some pictures but the litter f'er galloped away too quickly.

We were due in Congress around 4 PM, and it was about 3 PM already, but I had to indulge a very personal itch and I asked Boyet to drive us to the old apartment where my family used to live in, which was not so far away. He just needed to get us to Paco Park, another landmark, and at that point, I knew how to get us there.

On our way there, we drove past some more personally memorable spots; the Manila Medical Center, where my little brother was born. It was also where my mom would drag my sister and I to see our pediatrician and the site of many, many, many vaccination shots for us. Ouch. We also drove past the San Marcelino Church, where my family and I went to church every Sunday for ages, and where we met dear family friends to these day such as Fr. Gregg, Fr. Vargas and Fr. Kir.

We finally hit Paco Park and I proceed to give Boyet directions how to get to the old place. Make a right on Apacible, with the E.N. Ty Hospital on the corner (hmmmm, the street and the hospital were MUCH bigger in my mind's eye and memory), and the next street is Agoncillo and on the corner is our old place: 1355 F. Agoncillo Street, Ermita, Manila. We stopped on the corner and I take some pictures.

It still looks exactly as we left it, really. We had the entire 3rd floor of the building we lived in, and that was uninhabited now. On the corner of the place was my parent's bedroom, and it overlooked Agoncillo and Apacible. My bedroom and my sister's were on opposite sides of my folks', with mine facing Apacible and my sister's Agoncillo. At the end was the kitchen and where our help slept. The first 2 floors were Mrs. Mendoza's and her family's (she passed away some time ago) and that was all boarded up and empty as well. My sister and I were such good childhood friends with Mrs. Mendoza's grandkids - Benedict and Dominic - until they moved to California a few years before we moved to New York, and I have fond memories of playing with them and the other neighborhood kids: The Jalandonis, The Carpios and Mon-Mon.

I took a look around the area, and the wave of sentiment which hit me was tempered with a sense of reality. The area really has become so "different" and unfamiliar to me.

On the first floor also was Mrs. Mendoza's California Barber Shop, and obviously that was closed. On the other corner was Peter's Barber Shop, and that was shut down and boarded up as well. Across from our apartment on Apacible used to be this 2 or 3 story house (I remember looking at it from my bedroom window for ages), and it was an empty lot now. I did not even get a chance to see if our old neighbors were still living in the area. Our neighborhood was always busy, but now it it was just ridiculously congested with traffic and seemed so dirty that the old, nice neighborhood I used to love so much seemed like it was from 10 lifetimes before.

So with that done, off we went to Congress, passed by some more familiar landmarks like the University of Santo Tomas. As we drove past the Quezon Circle, Nonoy by pure coincidence, was driving right next to us! A quick phone call later, he told us to follow him to the University of the Philippines Diliman campus. We did, and after he found a parking spot, he joined us in our car and he gave us an impromptu tour of his alma mater.

After that was done, Nonoy told us to not take too long at Congress so we could meet up and grab dinner. So off we were again to Congress, and when we got there, Rodel was waiting for us outside and he brought us to Tatay's office. Manang Tata, being Tatay's Chief of Staff, was there, along with Rock (Manang Tata's cousin from her mother's side, also a childhood friend of mine), and Tita Nori (the mother of Mic, another childhood friend).

I asked Manang Tata if our Tito Mat Defensor was around. Tito Mat is a congressman as well, and besides being my mom's first cousin, he is also another godfather of mine. As coincidence would have it, he was in Tatay's conference room, smoking. I will always have a lot of affection and gratitude to my Tito Mat. I can give you lots of examples of what he did for me, but one thing I will never forget was the night before my family was immigrating to New York, he stopped by our house and gave me $100 as a goodbye gift. $100 to a 12 year old was a fortune! Heck, at 31 years old, I still would not say no to anybody giving me $100.

Tito Mat and I, along with his chief of staff and TJC, had a nice conversation at Tatay's office/conference room, and they had some food from the Congressional Dining Room brought in for us. Tatay then arrived with some more congressmen in tow, and he summoned Tito Mat for a meeting so we had to say goodbye.

Rock then showed us around Congress, and we even stepped inside the chamber while it was in session. Manang Tata then insisted we stop by their house, which was about 10 minutes away, before meeting up with Nonoy so we can check it out and also see the kids.

So we do that, and there we see Tita Doris, Ina, Migs and Brix (have I mentioned that I am Brix's godfather by the way?). Ina was doing homework when we got there, while Migs was in the living room watching TV, and Brix was in his parents' bedroom watching the same exact show Migs was. Migs and Brix got very very hyper when they started playing with their toys, and they were running around and screaming like banshees while Ina was practicing her piano PERFECTLY 2 feet away from them.

I join them downstairs and Migs and Brix set up a game of basketball on their mini hoop between me and the 2 of them in their living room. These kids are powered on sugar and caffeine I think, because they ran around like the devil was after them in the tiny space where we were playing. At one point, I decided to "dunk" the ball, catch it as it came out of the bottom and repeat over and over again, wherein Brix decided to yell out "CHEATER! YOU'RE A CHEATER!!!!!!" non stop. Hahahahaha.

I was beat, folks, And thankfully Nonoy arrived to pick us up and that was the cue for everybody to relax. We got to have a short, adult conversation with Ina and that was very enjoyable. We were talking about her piano playing at one point, and then Brix announces to everybody that according to his big sister, there's a dead girl inside the piano so that's why he and Migs should never touch it. Ina had this look of horror on her face as she desperately tried to shush Brix up, but she relaxed when Nonoy, TJC and I just started laughing hysterically instead. I thought it was hilarious she told her brothers that. It sounded like something her mother and my sister would come up with and tell Nonoy and myself when we were kids.

So Nonoy, TJC and I went off to dinner at Italiani's at the Glorietta Mall. While we there, Nonoy got a phone call from Manang Tata, saying that there was a bombing at Congress! There was some obvious concern and worry from all of us obviously, but Manang Tata assured us that Tatay, her and the rest of his staff were fine. The news came out some time later that it was an assassination attempt on Cong. Wahab Akbar, who was killed in the blast.

Our mood was somewhat dampened by the news, but the news that our loved ones were okay and safe brightened us up. We finished up with dinner, and then headed back to the Intercon, where the 3 of us sat and drank at the same poolside bar TJC and I went to on Day 1.

As we were drinking, I noticed a group of people walk in and sit about 200 feet from us. I told Nonoy that I think one of them was Ate Michelle's sister-in-law Grace. Grace is a manager at the Intercon, and she hooked us up with our room. And, in the "small world" department, besides being Ate Michelle's sister-in-law, Grace went to high school with my sister, and were actually in the same class.

Nonoy took a look from where we were seating, and said he doesn't think it's her, that Grace looked different than that person, etc. I was like, okay I'll take your word for it. A few minutes later, one of the waiters comes up to us and asks what room we were staying at. I thought it was for the bill, so I told him. 30 seconds after THAT, the lady whom I thought was Grace and whom Nonoy said wasn't comes up to us and introduces herself as.... yup, Grace.

Grace explains to us that she was with her bosses right now, and Nonoy, being the slick lawyer that he is, starts telling her "Oh, yeah, we were not sure if it was you, but we thought you looked busy, that's why we didn't want to bother you and ask." Hahahaha. Kid's good.

So after a few more drinks, it was time to say goodbye. The following day was going to be our last full one in Manila before we headed off to the provinces, and little did I know the shock I was going to experience a few weeks later partly because of the events of the following night.

Coming To Manila, Day 2: Tagaytay

2007-12-16T12:32:00.000-05:00

So after drinking lots of alcohol at dinner the night before, I had a feeling the usual would happen to me.

You see, when I usually drink a lot, I end up waking up earlier than I normally would because I feel dehydrated and I find myself craving a lot of water. And, that (combined with some jet lag I guess) is why I woke up at 4 A.M. on Monday morning in Manila. Luckily, after drinking some water, I was able to fall asleep again about half an hour later and woke up around 7, 7:30 A.M. to get ready for Tagaytay.

TJC and I got some breakfast at the hotel's Jeepney Cafe, and we basically feasted again as it was a buffet. It was a good combo of western and Filipino dishes, and I gleefully partook, along with some mango juice.

Around 9:45, got a text from Nonoy that they were downstairs already so we headed down. With him were Vanessa, Manang Tata and April (April is Nonoy's cousin from his mother's side of the family). We got into the car, with Rodel driving again, and we proceeded to head to Tagaytay.

It was a bit weird at first seeing the city in the day time; for the first time I really got a clear look at the city I spent a good deal of my life in and I couldn't help but get nostalgic again. As we drove along further, TJC was looking at one side of the road, while I was looking at the other. All of a sudden, he turns to me and goes: "What are those on your side of the road?" Nonoy said "Rice paddies". "OH!!! I KNEW IT!!! I COULD SENSE IT!!! The Chinese in me was looking for rice paddies and all of a sudden I could feel the pull to look in your direction!!!" Ha. Typical TJC.

The more we drove along, the more Nonoy started playing tour guide; he was actually doing a very very good job of it until he started talking about the sunflowers found in the Philippines not being comparable to the native sunflowers in Holland... Everyone: "Uhmmm, tulips, not sunflowers, are Holland's native flowers". That's when everyone figured out Nonoy was probably making up half of the things he said just for fun and we all should take it with a grain of salt, hahahaha.

We got to Tagaytay, and the big thing about the place is Taal Volcano, an active volcano in the middle of the lake. Within the volcano's crater itself is another lake, and in that lake is another volcanic island! Think about that...

You could actually take a boat to the volcano if you wanted to, but Nonoy ixnayed that. The ladies wanted to go, but hey, I'm in Nonoy's voting block so even though it would have been cool, I was fine with not going.

We stopped for lunch at Leslie's, which had great food and a phenomenal view of Taal.

Again, we feasted on food --- all TJC and I have done since we got on the flight it seems has been eat. But like I said, it was really delicious, especially the Bulalo (it's a beef soup with vegetables, with the marrow still on the bone, a local delicacy in that area.

We decided to get coffee and dessert somewhere afterwards, and the ladies pushed for Starbucks, which turns out was right next door. TJC and I at that point discovered the magical Starbucks Holiday Planner, which seems to be the biggest thing for the ladies of the Philippines for the last few years now. Turns out, every time you buy a drink at Starbucks, you get a sticker. Said sticker goes on to your Holiday Planner sticker book, which has slots for 24 of these stickers -- 12 for "regular" drinks, 12 for "special" drinks. You get all 24 stickers, you get a planner. What a racket! But we got the impression that this planner is to a lot of women in the Philippines the way Don Quixote's quest was to him. April was the big winner today though as she got 6 stickers in one shot. Ha.

After coffee, we went to Calarejuega, which was about a 20 minute drive from there.

Caleruega is a very nice area of prayer and retreat, with a chapel all the way at the top of a hill. You get treated to some nice scenery along the way up there, and it really wasn't that much of a climb.
Uhmmm, we weren't there for prayer or retreat, we were just doing the tourist thing. Nonoy did step inside the church though, and God must have said: "What are you doing in here?? It's not Christmas or Easter... OH, Tedted's in town. Carry on." :-P

We headed back to Manila after this, and Nonoy wanted to go to the Ayala Museum, which is not that far from our hotel. We got there about 4ish, but turns out the Museum is closed on Mondays. So we ended up going to the Greenbelt Mall, which is like a 5 minute walk from it, and while the ladies did their thing, Nonoy, TJC and I went to the Oyster Bar and sat outdoors for some drinks. The ladies joined us after an hour and we drank some more, and ate some oysters also.

Unfortunately, the mosquitos started attacking us and it was misery. They started with TJC, then moved clockwise towards me. Around 8ish, 9ish, we went to dinner upstairs at the Banana Leaf, a Singaporean restaurant where your plates are -- surprise, banana leaves. I thought that was an awesome touch.

Manang Tata's husband Eric and April's brother Jon joined us; I had just seen Jon in New York about a month before that as he was in town visiting, where he and I got fairly drunk. He ended up throwing up on the bus home, while I ended up wandering the Village, unable to at first find this restaurant where I was supposed to meet TJC, the Woos and some friends for a birthday dinner, even though I apparently walked past TJC a few times. But all's well that ends well: Jon got home, I found the restaurant.

I felt a bid bad though, as by the time Eric and Jon joined us, I was so out of it. Exhaustion caught up with me and I did not really talk to them as much as I wanted to. My body was in rebellion at that point and it just wanted to shut down.

We finished up around 10, 11 PM and Nonoy proceeded to drop us off at the hotel where I proceeded to conk out.

Day 2 was so much fun though, not the least of which was because Nonoy and I hung out all day just like old times.

Day 3 though, it turned out, was going to be very interesting...

Segue 1: The Wonder Niece And Wonder Nephew

2007-12-16T11:44:00.000-05:00

So before I start talking about Day 2 in the next post, wanted to take this time to talk more about Ina and Renzo, whom I have talked about previously in my previous posts. I was really looking forward to seeing the two of them in this trip, for somewhat different reasons for the most part, but ultimately for the same reason, really.

Renzo and his mother, Ate Michelle, have come to visit us in New York/New Jersey roughly every 3 years, and I always have fond memories of them. He was about 3 or 4 when he first came to visit us, and we were still living in the Upper East Side back then. I remember going to the Bronx Zoo with him, recall my dad giving him a huge bag of chocolate every few days and buying a carton of chocolate milk for him every day, and all of us ordering delivery from Pizzeria Uno where he sampled his dish and mine and decided his was better and he was gonna keep it.

About 3 years later, he and his mom came to visit again, and by that time my folks had moved to New Jersey, and I was in Astoria already. My sister was in town from Rochester as well (or had she moved to Gainesville already? I forget), since it was Easter Weekend. We had the little guy do an Easter Egg Hunt in my folks' backyard, and after finding the ones my sister hid ("hid" is a strong phrase, she just scattered her candy on the lawn, like a squirrel), and the ones I hid (which were a bit harder to find, I put them in the bushes, branches, etc.), he asked us if we can hide them again, and tells my sister to make it "harder, but not too hard". Ha. Halfway through Round 2, he comes up to me and says he will finish looking for the rest of the candy later, he's going to take a break at that point and eat the ones he had found.

Another 3 or 4 years later (just this past April actually), they come visit again, and this time, the little guy who I was carrying around the Nighttime Creatures Exhibit of the Bronx Zoo was now 11 years old, almost as tall as me and probably could beat me up in a fight. He did see snow for the first time, so that was awesome.

I was looking forward to seeing him again, because the kid is always fun to see. I see where he's coming from a lot, and we share similar interests as well. From the time he was 3 years old, you could tell this kid is brilliant, especially when he decides to show or focus it, and nothing in this visit really changed my mind about that.

Ina, on the other hand, I had not seen since my last visit in June 1994, when she was all of about 6 months old. She was such a cutie baby. Her hair was standing up all the time, and every morning, I would read her the newspaper in "storytime" fashion (like they said in Three Men And A Baby, "it's not what you read to them, it's how you read it to them). I did not have the pleasure of seeing her every few years like I did with Renzo, so I was really curious to see how she was.

Ina, I am very proud to say, is now a lovely, graceful, and elegant young lady. She is a young adult now for all intents and purposes, and the short "adult conversations" I was able to have with her were quite fun. I'll never forget going to her family's house, and watching her practice her piano perfectly while her two little brothers were going crazy around her playing. I couldn't help but get flashbacks of Nonoy and I subjecting her mother to the same treatment back in the day, ha.

But honestly, I was very impressed with Ina, and you can tell just by her talking to her that this kid is brilliant in her own way as well. AND, her favorite subject in class is Statistics. Statistics! Someone with Defensor blood who likes math???? That just tells you all you need to know about how smart this kid is.

Anyways, ultimately, I was really looking forward to seeing the both of them because I am really looking forward to seeing them continue to grow up because I think it'll be spectacular. Both are smart as hell and very gifted. While I am looking forward to "adult conversations" with them in a few years, I am enjoying the journey towards that point more.

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

2007-12-09T19:06:00.001-05:00

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.

Coming To Manila, Day 1, Part 1: The Arrival

2007-12-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, before I start on Day 1, just know there'll be a lot of side notes and parentheses going forward, as I explain to the non-Filipinos certain phrases, customs, etc.

Now, about Day 1: So we landed in Manila at around 1 PM on Nov. 11th; there were about a kajillion Koreans on line with us at Immigration so that took a little while to clear. Just pass Immmigration was Baggage Claim, and there supposedly, waiting for me was Rodel.

Now, Rodel drives for my uncle, Arthur Defensor, the Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The eldest brother of my mom, my sister and I call my Uncle Arthur "Tatay" - Filipino for "Father" - and we call his wife Cosette "Nanay" - Filipino for "Mother - so any future references to those two on this blog will be as such. Anyways, Rodel is able to get into baggage claim because he is allowed to, so my cousin-in-law Ate Michelle - who is married to Tatay's eldest son Arthur, Jr., a.k.a Manong Toto - told me beforehand he will be waiting for me there (Ate is a Tagalog honorific for an elder sister, or for a female relative who usually isn't much older than you; the male equivalent is Kuya. But in my family's native dialect, Ate = Manang, and Kuya = Manong. Confused yet?)

Having never met Rodel before, I asked her how he would recognize me. Ate Michelle said she would give him a picture of me; I, on the other hand, suggested: "How about he come up to me and give a secret phrase I would recognize him by? Like say 'Tedted is great!'" (Tedted is my Filipino nickname -- don't ask). She didn't even bother to reply to that suggestion. Party pooper, just like Stew! ;-P

So, as TJC and I exited Immigration and onto Baggage Claim, there indeed was Rodel with a picture of me. It was kinda funny, to be honest with you. We got our baggage, and we waited outside on the curb while Rodel got the car. Several minutes later, Rodel drove up and behind him in a second car were my Ate Michelle, her son Renzo (whom I will talk more about in a future post) and my Tita Doris.

Again, to explain to the non Filipinos, "Tita" literally means Aunt (and "Tito" means Uncle), but Filipinos basically extend that honorific to any of their elders short of their grandparents; if you don't qualify as an "Ate" or "Kuya", you usually get "Tita" or "Tito", hahaha. Tita Doris takes care of my Manang Tata's (Tatay's eldest child) children, just like she took care of me and my sister back in the day. She was actually with my family already when I was born, if you can imagine that!

Tita Dors, Me and Renzo

I hadn't seen Tita Doris in 13 years, and I was extremely happy she was there. She was there literally from Day 1 of the ErwiNation! Of course, I was very glad to see Ate Michelle and Renzo as well. I actually see the two of them every 3 or 4 years as they come visit us in New York and every time, Renzo is bigger and taller. He is a man child - such a baby face, but at 11 years old he is almost as tall as me!

While Rodel brought our luggage to the hotel, the first order of business for everyone else was for me to visit my brother's grave straight from the airport. I miss the little fella so much, and it would not have been "coming home" without me paying my respects as soon as possible.

From the cemetery, Ate Michelle drove us towards the hotel and gave us a quick driving tour of Bonifacio Global City, where the (unfinished) condo at Two Serendra I bought (with my sister and her husband as partners) is located at. I was pleasantly surprised at how huge the Serendra complex was. I had known it was a nice place on a great location, with all the nicest restaurants and stores in the complex istelf or within a stone's throw, but I did not appreciate the sheer vastness of it. I was expecting 10-15 buildings in the complex, instead I saw easily 30-40!

While riding shotgun as Ate Michelle drove, I came to the realization that I cannot drive in Manila. While people drive much slower than what I am used to over here in the States, they drive EVERYWHERE on the friggin road. People have no conscience about cutting each other off because they are driving slow enough that everyone has time to react for the most part. And people cross the streets willy-nilly as well. The roads are also so narrow that extreme congestion and traffic is a way of life. And don't get me started about the Jeepneys... those haven't changed, they still cause a lot of traffic with their sheer volume and the fact that they stop anywhere on the road to pick up and drop off passengers.

We checked in to our hotel around 2:30-3 P.M., and Ate Michelle told us she'll pick us up again around 5:30 P.M. for dinner with Tatay, Nanay and the rest of the family. I finally got to do my 3 S's (if you don't know, don't ask), and from about 4:30 on, TJC and I wandered around the Glorietta Mall, which was connected to our hotel via underground passage.

Malls are HUGE in the Philippines, and there are TONS of them; a lot of social activities revolve around malls as well. You go to a restaurant, chances are it's in a mall. Hang out with friends, chances are it's in a mall. On this link is actually a good article about the phenomenon. At one point during our trip, Tom and I were walking around in a mall in the middle of the week at around 3 PM, and the place was packed to the gills! Made me wonder if people actually work or go to school over there, ha.

At the designated time, Tom and I were picked up at our hotel by Ate Michelle, Renzo and Tita Doris again, and we were off to the Power Plant Mall for dinner at Crustasia. Joining us there would be Tatay, Nanay, Manang Tata, her husband Eric, their kids Ina, Migs and Brix, and finally Nanay and Tatay's youngest son Nonoy and his wife Vanessa.

I won't lie to you, Nonoy was the person I was looking the most forward to seeing in the Philippines. He and I grew up together and remain the best of friends. When his family used to live in Iloilo (the province my mom's side of the family is from), my family would go visit them during the summer and stay for a month before going to Bacolod (the province where my dad's family is from). From the time his family moved to Manila in the mid 80's til the time my family migrated to the States in 1989, I would go spend every weekend at his house where he and I would get into all sorts of craziness and fun.

And soon enough, we were about to re-live that craziness and fun again.

- End of Day 1, Part 1

Coming To Manila, Day 0: Leaving New York

2007-12-02T20:39:00.000-05:00

So after a few fits and starts as to when exactly I was going to make my return to Manila, the decision was made earlier this year to plan the trip for November of this year.

And also, after several months of planning, purchasing tickets, and just talking about the whole trip with TJC (who gamely agreed to accompany me) it was hard to believe that November 9, 2007 had finally come and I was going to be my on my way to JFK that evening and then headed for Manila, via Seoul, shortly after the stroke of midnight of the 10th.

As I said goodbye to my co-workers as I left work on the 9th, it finally began to hit me that I was finally going to return to the Philippines after 13 years! I headed off to the airport that night, and in spite of constant and sometimes heavy rains, I got there earlier than anticipated and without delays. The car service I called was actually early to arrive, and I thought I would get to the airport around 10 PM, instead I got there around 9:30. TJC arrived around 10:20 PM and we checked in without a hitch.

We went through security without any problems as well, and we arrived at our gate a good hour or so before boarding. As we just sat there, we saw the flight crew arrived. There were easily 30-40 flight attendants on the flight! Discussion commenced on whether our flight needed that many attendants or perhas the flight attendant lounge was in the area.

Since we were flying Asiana, there were lots of Koreans waiting with us, and our focus turned to picking out Korean girls who would be good for our friend Stew (who is of Korean descent). The count by the time we had boarded was at 9 (including some flight attendants). I texted Stew and said so but no reply; party pooper!

Considering it's 1 A.M. New York time, I just wanted to sleep. The flight attendants however, refuse to let you as they are about to serve food shortly after takeoff. They'll wake you up to hand you hot towels, traveller kits, etc. I finally stop fighting it and decide to stay awake while TJC continues his rebellion.

In a surprise, the flight attendants give you a menu for the entire flight. For the first meal, you get a choice between Western Style (crab meat salad, steak and apple tart), or Korean (Bi bim bab, soup and fruit). I go Western, TJC goes Korean. The menu calls this a "heavy snack", where I come from, it's called a meal.

TJC is fascinated by the Coke cans they have and a) takes a picture of one and b) asks for one to keep. I ask for their cider out of curiosity, which is basically Sprite. It wasn't bad though.

They then served wine with the "heavy snack" and I partake, liking how they roll.

Finally, after they clear the trays, am able to go to sleep! They start showing The Simpsons movie though and I was damn pissed because I wanted to watch it, but I was so sleepy. I tried to debate whether or not I should stay awake at least until the Spider-Pig part, but I fell asleep during said internal debate so that was that.

Woke up at 8:30 A.M. New York time, as my body was telling me I was late for work already so I better hurry up. TJC is fast asleep; I look at the projection screen and saw that we crossed the International Date Line not so long ago. As I do so, Possible Girl #10 for Stew passed by.

Decide to go back to sleep, got woken up for breakfast, and saw that we were only 2 hours away from Seoul. The long part of the journey was almost done!

Arrived at Seoul-Incheon; everything is closed as it is around 5 A.M. local time, except for Welly& food courts. Decided to try the Abalone porridge and it was pretty damn good. TJC got the Pumpkin porridge, and it was alright he said. Wandered around Terminal, and TJC almost fell off an escalator that started up all of a sudden. More people in the airport now and noticed that the in-thing amongst Korean couples seem to be wearing the same exact outfit as their significant other. There were easily 20-30 couples in the airport alone whom we saw doing that.

Boarded our connecting flight, slept for most of the 4 hour plane ride. Woke up about an hour away from Manila and was getting more excited by the second.

Finally landed in Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, and that's when I thought to myself:

"I am finally home".

Coming To Manila, The Prologue

2007-11-28T01:16:00.000-05:00

Let me start off by saying that I grew up in the Philippines. I lived there from the time I was born on April 6, 1976, till my family moved to New York City on March 29, 1989.

So for almost 13 years, I lived in Manila. The first time I came back to visit the Philippines after we moved was in June of 1994. The second time I came back to visit was 3 weeks ago, from November 11th to November 25th. 13 long years passed between my trips back there; it's crazy to think that the time between my visits to the Philippines is equal to the time I lived and grew up there!

So here now is the blog, complete with some pictures, of my trip to Manila, Bacolod, Iloilo and Boracay, paraphrased from the journal I kept while I was there, with some additional editorial and thoughts in retrospect.

Hope you enjoy it.

- The ErwiNation