Talked with Grandma

Yesterday, I decided to call my grandmother. I wasn't able to talk to her when my mom died because I figured it would too hard for the two of us to talk about. So I waited for a month and then I bought a prepaid call card (cozz it's cheaper for long distance calls!).

I tried calling her a weekend ago but nobody was answering the phone and all I got was the answering machine.

Well, I lucked out yesterday and I was finally able to talk to her. It's good to hear that she seems to be doing fine. There were moments in our conversation when we both got a little weepy which was understandable.. I for my mom and she for her daughter, whom she only had 6 years to get to know all over again... They've been separated when my grandmother and grandfather immigrated to the United States in 1978 (if I'm notmistaken). Since that time, my grandma only made one trip back, in 1993. They eventually saw each other in 2002, when my mom and brother made it to the US as well.

So, it's really hard for her to lose her eldest child in such a tragic accident. If I feel this much loss at losing my mother.. what can she be feeling at losing her child.. because no matter how old we are, we're still children to our parents.. and I can feel her loss and it breaks my heart.. First, my grandfather in 2005, now my mom in 2008. My mom's death was so unexpected that we're still reeling from it even after a month has passed....

It just felt good to be able to talk with my grandmother... and I think she felt a little relief too at talking with me.. I plan to talk with her regularly from now on..

Shell Ferrari Cars

Woohooo!!!

We won! We won!!!

Every month, there's a caption-this-photo contest in Top Gear (Philippines) Magazine. We decided to join the contest just for fun and also because they were giving away a complete set of the Shell Ferrari Cars Collection. These Shell Ferrari model cars are part of Shell's promotion to commemorate it's 60-year relationship with Ferrari. The set includes the Ferrari Enzo, the F430, the 575 Superamerica, the 360 Spider, the F50, and the Ferrari F1 racer.

Well, what do you know? We won! We won!! We were one of 5 winners picked!! And we went to Robinson's Galleria to pick it up!! woohoo!!

Dylan is sick =(

After several weeks of people in this house coughing and sniffing, it was Dylan's turn. I don't know what it is about this cough but it seems to be pretty persistent.. I think the new strains of virii are becoming too strong for the regular medicine.

Dylan wasn't able to sleep well last night because of the phlegm ... it was also funny because last night was Patrick's first day/night at the new office :)

Oh and Happy 13 years and 4 months to Patrick and me hahahhaa

Tried a New Dish

Well, today I experimented with a few ingredients that my Mom sent with her last balikbayan box. It's called Pad Thai and its similar to our local pancit bihon. My mom sent the Pad Thai paste/sauce and the rice sticks (noodles). I just added chicken, mushroom, tofu, garlic and broth to it.. It turned out okay - different but edible hahaha

Talk about Tired =)

Well, I had a burst of energy yesterday.. I woke up early, started rearranging stuff in the living room, started doing the laundry (thank God for washing machines LOL!), checked email, downloaded Naruto (dial-up takes soooo long!) did more Internet stuff... whew!!

If that wasn't enough, I started painting the railings of the stairs.. I started doing it about 2 weeks ako - sanded, cleaned them and primed them for paint but never got around to actually painting it until that day.. In my enthusiasm, I knocked over the can of paint and ended up painting 3 of the stairs hahahha they're black now.. fortunately, they're the stairs that lead out the door and the black paint suits them hahaha

It was so tiring!!

But when it was done, I felt extremely satisfied especially when Dana said, "Mama that looks nice!" :) what more can you ask for ? ;)

New Cars toy!!

Looks like gifts are still coming in for the kids :) Patrick just came from our ebayer friend with a new Cars plushie.. a bigger one! hahahaha

Dana and Dylan can't stop playing with it woohoo!!

College is so Expensive!!

Oh my gosh! My niece, Den is graduating from high school this coming March 28. She's been looking at colleges and universities for quite some time now. At first, we were thinking she'll continue with UST (where she is right now) because she passed her entrance test for the IT course there. But, we just saw the table of fees and it costs almost P40K for one sem! At first I thought that was for one year already... was I mistaken.. hahahaha

Now, we're looking for an alternative school because her educational plan seems pretty useless compared to the amount of money involved.. Seems like educational plans now don't really help.. considering the cost of education..

Wish us luck! :D

Patrick's New Job

Hooray! Patrick has a new job!! After a number of months that he's been out of one, he finally got accepted at a call center here in Makati. To me, however, it seemed weird to be interviewed between 12mn and 6am but if that's what it takes, right.. ?

It's been a rough last quarter last year, what with Den getting dengue fever and being hospitalized for 1 week - 4 days in the ICU too.. and then after that, my son, Dylan gets hospitalized as well - this time for pneumonia with asthma complications

Patrick lost his job because of this - we had to be at the hospital 24/7 basically and there was no one else to help us out.. It was good of his friends to stay at the hospital for a couple of nights to get us much needed rest..

Now, hopefully, we'll have a better financial position than the past few months.. :)

Poignant Balikbayan boxes

Today is March 5, 2008 and I feel very sad. 2 Balikbayan boxes were just delivered to our doorstep - these are the last boxes that my mom ever sent.. she sent them before she was killed in a car accident in California, USA. For those of you who don't know, she was hit by a Toyota Tacoma last February 07 around 7pm (PST).

Anyway, it's so bittersweet going through the things that she placed in the boxes. There were a number of sweatshirts for Patrick.. a Darth Vader watch for him too (must be a birthday gift!), clothes for Dana, briefs for Dylan, a bag and toiletries for Den, some clothes for me and a lot of groceries for us.. she didn't even forget medicines for my aunts..

I can just imagine her putting all the stuff in and what she might be saying while she was organizing them :)

This routine with the balikbayan boxes is just one of the many things that I will miss about her.

Dana's 4th Birthday - Day 3

Can you imagine? We went for a trip to the mall for the 3rd time in 3 days LOL This time we went to SM Manila. We were supposed to meet an ebayer whom Patrick bought a Cars Lightning McQueen plushie from..

Of course, taking advantage of the opportunity, we ate at Karate Kid which serves great gyoza, ramen and california maki :)

I was also able to buy James Siegel's "Derailed" at the Buy-the-Book bookstore :) it was a bargain at P99 for a hardbound copy :)

Oh and before I forget, we did pick up Dana's Cars-inspired brithday cake from Goldilocks during lunchtime :)