NEW YEAR'S BREAK

back to work again...
no more vacations and holidays to expect..
'til the holy week comes..

had a very hectic vacation..

last 30th of december,
grandma's cousin celebrated her
65th birthday at our place..
had to prepare this and that..
fix things in and around the house..

the party started at lunch..
and ended quite late at night...
don't really know what time
coz i went out with my H.S. friends..
just tried to catch up with each other..
with a couple of chows and beer...
went home round 2am and slept..

last 31st... woke up early..
put-up a table by the 'tiangge' nearby..
tried to sell some fireworks and crackers
with a cousin...
(kinda' business minded)
after that selling thing..
restored the order of our yard..,
kept the tables and chairs
which were used at yesterday's party...

after lunch, went to Baliuag
stopped by an atm.. got some cash of course..
my mom and sis bought some groceries for our 'media noche'..
i together with a neighbor looked for some 'kalburo'
(those gray stones that react with water)..
by the time we got home..
bought some 'bumbong ng kawayan' fit enough to make a cannon...
sawed and holed it for hours...
got pretty exhausted.. but it was worth it..!

new year's eve was fun...
saw amazing fireworks in the sky..
heard a whole lot of bangs from crackers...
and ahem... my cannon really made a bang..
neighbors can't believe it was JUST a 'bumbong'..

JANUARY 1st..! happy new year..!
woke up past noon... at last caught some sleep..!
had a late lunch at home...
a cousin messaged me and we met up at our aunt's place..
had a second round of lunch...
a shabu-shabu... jimenez-garcia clan style...
had a good 'seafood soup', (don't know what to call it)
some roast beef steak, a fried salmon, some salmon sausages,
a glass or two of rich red wine...
and to top it all of... a yummy tiramisu..!
all of which were prepared by my cousins...
that meal stuffed me and really made my day..!

i was set to drive for my sister and her H.S. friends...
gonna watch a movie and kinda hang-out with them...
unfortunately.., a change of plans came in...
mom called and we'd be going to Pampanga...
so.. my sister and i just fetched her friends
and they just hanged round our place...

i drove the whole afternoon... and still til evening...
arrived at fontana at around 7pm...
being there ain't that bad at all..
got to eat up, hang with cousins (mom's side)..
and an allowance.., c/o my uncle...
thought we'd be going to the casino...
but unfortunately.., we didn't...
my mom played mahjong
together with her sister, 'hipag', and aunt..
my uncle and his three sons just played cards all night 'til 3 i think...
me..? well... to kill the time...
played scrabble with my cousin's wife...
slept at round 2am...

JANUARY 2nd... yawn..!
woke up early... 7:30am that is..
ate a couple of bread slices and a meat loaf..
drove home that early...
fixed my self up then drove again...
back to Pampanga.. but this time to my
sister-in-law's place...
to meet her family and formally ask for her hand..
(though they already got married)
'pamamanhikan' as we call it..
had lunch there and stayed for a couple of hours...

after that...
drove for my sister to her boarding house
at valenzuela...
it was quite a long drive in NLEX,
and a boring one...
all you see is the same sight of greenery...
driving at an almost constant speed...
yawn...
well at least there was no traffic jam...

almost there...
when the topic was about my brother...
tried not to speak... but unluckily..
from nowhere... i blurted out things...
feelings that i have been long keeping..
the unequality i see at home...
my brother being my mom's favored child...
responsibilities, tasks, and chores that my brother evaded...
my anger 'bout my his selfish act..,
of getting married..
him of trying to cut his ties with our family...
him of forgetting that he too has a responsibility
for our parents... that he'd have to help
save up for mom and dad's old age...
the we'd have to let them have a taste of the
'GOOD LIFE'...
BUT.. COULD THAT BE POSSIBLE NOW..???!!
WILL HE BE OF ANY HELP NOW..??!!!
now that he was married and soon be having a baby????

i guess i just lost the brother i once knew...
or maybe.., that responsible brother i had was just
my wishful thinking... that i never really had 'one'...

was really exhausted..
had just a few hours of sleep...
been behind the wheel
for almost the whole day...

got home at 'round 8pm...
fixed myself for bed...
and at long last went to sleep...

JANUARY 3rd... HAPPY BIRHTDAY GRANDMA..!
now... i'm here sitting by my
workstation at the offfice..
it'll be a long day...
quite a long day...