Day #4 in the Philippines. (Not déjà vu - Author's note: Even if you are seeing this for the first time as of 1/6/11 regardless of the time stamp to conform with updating daily.)
It's mommy's Birthday today.
The kids - nieces Samantha, Maxine, Juliana, and nephew Nicholas - went strawberry picking. I bought a belated Christmas present for Mark. My mommy protested it. I'm resisting to keep it for myself. I'm definitely going to have to check it in at the airport. Before I left for the Philippines last Wednesday, I opened Mark's present for me. It was a huge Das Boot for beer. Awesome.
The kids and I went horseback riding. Rather, since I apparently didn't know how to steer the horse, the horse took its own joyride. I was just the horse's hostage.
The whole day was spent in the car.
MAXINE: Ako ng Princess. Ako ng Snow White. (I am Princess. I am Snow White.)
Cute.
Speaking of cuteness, at a gas station a possibly homeless little kid relentless sang Christmas carols to us. Most of our time at said station was looking for any spare coins or cash. Finally, I had gathered enough cash to give him, which prompted him to finally go away to search for his next caroling victim.
COUSIN PHILIP: See his smile!
Monday, December 26, 2011
Sunday, December 25, 2011
"Princess"
Day #3 in the Philippines. (Not déjà vu - Author's note: Even if you are seeing this for the first time as of 1/6/11 regardless of the time stamp to conform with updating daily.)
We went to Paniqui to visit dad in the cemetery as well as all relatives who had gone before us. I saw Bong for the first time since 3/10/12 when he met us there to open the crypt.
Maxine has given herself the middle name of "Princess." She's only three-years-old. God help us all when she gets older.
From there, we headed to Baguio City. I haven't been here since I was ten years old. I ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet for dinner while everyone else ordered from the menu. That Fettucini Alfredo that I was able to have the chef incorporate peppers, olives, capers, mushrooms, and tomatoes into was bomb. "Bomb," as the kids from my generation like to say; not this "for the win" crap.
We went to Paniqui to visit dad in the cemetery as well as all relatives who had gone before us. I saw Bong for the first time since 3/10/12 when he met us there to open the crypt.
Maxine has given herself the middle name of "Princess." She's only three-years-old. God help us all when she gets older.
From there, we headed to Baguio City. I haven't been here since I was ten years old. I ate at the all-you-can-eat buffet for dinner while everyone else ordered from the menu. That Fettucini Alfredo that I was able to have the chef incorporate peppers, olives, capers, mushrooms, and tomatoes into was bomb. "Bomb," as the kids from my generation like to say; not this "for the win" crap.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
My tall red Christmas hat rivals the Pope's fancy hat
Day #2 in the Philippines. (Not déjà vu - Author's note: Even if you are seeing this for the first time as of 1/6/11 regardless of the time stamp to conform with updating daily.)
I had a weird dream last night that I was on a duplicate Earth. It most likely has to do with how in real life I watched that indy film Another Earth during the flight. End of dream.
It was nice to eat sisig today. That would be parts of a pig's head and liver seasoned with calamansi and chili peppers. It was fun watching a kid among cousin Sheila's in-laws have a tantrum because we put extra calamansi, which he hates, on the sisig.
And it's Christmas Eve: the typical Simbang Gabi mass at Church followed by Noche Buena dinner at midnight, this year at cousin Sheila's in-laws' place. We have pictures of mommy asleep during Church. I also chose to wait until the donations collector was right in front of mommy before waking her up just to see her startled reaction.
I had a weird dream last night that I was on a duplicate Earth. It most likely has to do with how in real life I watched that indy film Another Earth during the flight. End of dream.
It was nice to eat sisig today. That would be parts of a pig's head and liver seasoned with calamansi and chili peppers. It was fun watching a kid among cousin Sheila's in-laws have a tantrum because we put extra calamansi, which he hates, on the sisig.
And it's Christmas Eve: the typical Simbang Gabi mass at Church followed by Noche Buena dinner at midnight, this year at cousin Sheila's in-laws' place. We have pictures of mommy asleep during Church. I also chose to wait until the donations collector was right in front of mommy before waking her up just to see her startled reaction.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Time Lag
Day #1 in the Philippines. (Author's note: Even if you are seeing this for the first time as of 1/6/11 regardless of the time stamp to conform with updating daily.)
Mommy regrets taking Korean Airlines just to save a few hundred bucks. We had a layover in Korea for two hours where I shopped in the airport. I can now say I've shopped in Korea.
On the flight, I watched some American movie, apparently an indy film from either last year or earlier this year, called Another Earth. I mostly listened to Muse's latest album available on the flight's entertainment.
I had two weird dreams while sleeping on the flight: 1) Cousin Andree and I were practicing punches to the solar plexus. 2) I was in a mall that I didn't recognize. In a bar, there was an open challenge for a four-way brawl. The participants were me, Brandon, and Rez and John from high school. The last two are clique mates in real life. But John would magically transform into Michael, also their clique mate. I won. I remember transitioning from a guillotine choke on Rez and spinning into a rear naked choke on John/Michael. End of dreams.
Cousin Philip and Cousin-in-law Malou picked mommy and me up from the airport. I wore my tall red Christmas hat that I bought from Spencer's last year. We ate lunch at cousin Sheila's in-laws' place before going home to unpack. The one-eyed maid, Linda, clumsily tripped and fell down as she greeted me. Other returning cast of characters from last time: the driver Bernie, dad's former caretaker Apyong, the maids/nannies Lisa and Flor, and baby nieces Samantha and Maxine.
And now time lag - a term coined by Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - as opposed to jet lag. You know, because I left on Wednesday, but because the Philippines in fourteen hours ahead of the U.S., I arrived now on a Friday, thus time traveling over Thursday.
MOMMY: Did you visit your dad's room yet?
RYAN: No.
MOMMY: Go in there and say, "Hi."
I walked into dad's old room, stood in the darkness, felt an unfamiliar sixth sense, and said, "Hi."
Mommy regrets taking Korean Airlines just to save a few hundred bucks. We had a layover in Korea for two hours where I shopped in the airport. I can now say I've shopped in Korea.
On the flight, I watched some American movie, apparently an indy film from either last year or earlier this year, called Another Earth. I mostly listened to Muse's latest album available on the flight's entertainment.
I had two weird dreams while sleeping on the flight: 1) Cousin Andree and I were practicing punches to the solar plexus. 2) I was in a mall that I didn't recognize. In a bar, there was an open challenge for a four-way brawl. The participants were me, Brandon, and Rez and John from high school. The last two are clique mates in real life. But John would magically transform into Michael, also their clique mate. I won. I remember transitioning from a guillotine choke on Rez and spinning into a rear naked choke on John/Michael. End of dreams.
Cousin Philip and Cousin-in-law Malou picked mommy and me up from the airport. I wore my tall red Christmas hat that I bought from Spencer's last year. We ate lunch at cousin Sheila's in-laws' place before going home to unpack. The one-eyed maid, Linda, clumsily tripped and fell down as she greeted me. Other returning cast of characters from last time: the driver Bernie, dad's former caretaker Apyong, the maids/nannies Lisa and Flor, and baby nieces Samantha and Maxine.
And now time lag - a term coined by Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - as opposed to jet lag. You know, because I left on Wednesday, but because the Philippines in fourteen hours ahead of the U.S., I arrived now on a Friday, thus time traveling over Thursday.
MOMMY: Did you visit your dad's room yet?
RYAN: No.
MOMMY: Go in there and say, "Hi."
I walked into dad's old room, stood in the darkness, felt an unfamiliar sixth sense, and said, "Hi."
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
"Where you going? Hogwarts?
My mommy's sister apparently arrived at around midnight last night to pack some things for us to "mule" - as video/computer gamers call it - to the Philippines. I slept in my bed for the first time in eleven months as my overly superstitious mommy hasn't let me done so, claiming that the location of my room was a designated "bad luck location" for me during this time period.
I woke up and went to Jamba Juice for one last $1 Oatmeal Wednesday. I had tried all the toppings by now and went with what I've decided was my favorite one: Berry Cherry Pecan.
I stopped by Barnes & Noble and bought my Christmas presents to myself: 1) The Men's Health Big Book of Food and Nutrition, 2) Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys as one thick book, and 3) C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia as one thick book.
I walked by Hot Topic. Carissa was working. She was bobbing her head to whatever music was playing. Her hair was cute - tied back, bangs combed to the left. It's so nice to renew a regular in the database in my final hours in the country for this year.
Lastly, I stopped by the gym to freeze my account for one month.
EMPLOYEE: That's a snazzy tie.
RYAN: Thanks. It's Harry Potter.
EMPLOYEE: I know. I was gonna say, "Where you going? Hogwarts?"
Now it's time to finish packing as Uncle Oca has arrived to help.
I woke up and went to Jamba Juice for one last $1 Oatmeal Wednesday. I had tried all the toppings by now and went with what I've decided was my favorite one: Berry Cherry Pecan.
I stopped by Barnes & Noble and bought my Christmas presents to myself: 1) The Men's Health Big Book of Food and Nutrition, 2) Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys as one thick book, and 3) C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia as one thick book.
I walked by Hot Topic. Carissa was working. She was bobbing her head to whatever music was playing. Her hair was cute - tied back, bangs combed to the left. It's so nice to renew a regular in the database in my final hours in the country for this year.
Lastly, I stopped by the gym to freeze my account for one month.
EMPLOYEE: That's a snazzy tie.
RYAN: Thanks. It's Harry Potter.
EMPLOYEE: I know. I was gonna say, "Where you going? Hogwarts?"
Now it's time to finish packing as Uncle Oca has arrived to help.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
We Circumcised Boys > you uncircumcised girly men
I had a couple of weird dreams last night: 1) I was UFC fighter Diego Sanchez. I was with Puck from FOX TV's Glee and some other people. I fought off a guy with a fake sword with the finishing blow to behind their knees. Puck didn't approve. 2) I was in the Philippines. Mark said, "Fuck it," as he visited me in my room where I was oversleeping. It looked like the bonus room in cousin Andree's house. Justin and I played cards where the deck annoyingly had inverted cards as well as right side up. I was playing Final Fantasy VII. My agenda was to get the "Knights of the Round" Materia. I was playing with baby niece Maxine and baby niece Samantha got jealous. Even while holding Maxine, I had to take a free fall jump, but she was OK. The dream became a nightmare as I realized I might have forgotten my camera. End of dreams.
We Circumcised Boys > You uncircumcised girly men
Still in a race to revisit past chicks in the database from this past year before the year is over, I busted a #3 to the orange-haired chick whom I nearly mistook as a mannequin at True Religion Brand Jeans, some chick named Angelica from Jolee's class last Friday, Jessica who used to work at American Basics, and lastly Faith who used to work at Brookstone. That should do it. And now "self-celibacy" as I will not have any chance to bust a #3 while staying in the Philippines, for which I leave for tomorrow, due to no privacy in the full house.
I went to the Sport Chalet in Foothill to search for Vibram Five Fingers. Alas, they didn't have the design I wanted in my size. In fact, the employee helping me, whose name tag read, "Nick F," called the nearest stores and they were all unavailable as well. Random note: The employee mentioned he had winter classes at GCC that were cancelled. I remember when that happened to me years ago. I guess GCC never improved.
I was supposed to check out the Capoeira class of the one code-named "Choir Boy," but somebody got major fucked up in a car accident that caused so much traffic that by the time I was back in my stomping grounds, it was more practical to pull over and chill at the mall.
I caught up with Andy at the Hickory Farms kiosk. He asked for my contact info to give me a buzz when I get back from the Philippines.
I got my mommy a pink Sesame Street's Animal one-piece pajama from Spencer's.
I walked into Hot Topic. Some new dude, most likely a seasonal employee, mistook me as having bought my Gryffindor tie from that store when in reality I got it from Whimsic Alley. Nevertheless, he thought I looked familiar. This one chick who's been working there for a while, though I never got her name because I don't find her jackoffable, remarked to him that I'm supposedly there everyday. She must be in cahoots with my stalker.
I traveled west. I parked at the hookah lounge and then across the street cut through the mall as a shortcut to Hooters on the other side to meet up with Mark, Erick, and Erick's friend for all-you-can-eat wings. I had the garlic parmesan wings. Thank God I had cash because afterwards the waitress, as if she had never handled machinery before, took forever to process everyone else's credit cards to the point where they may have rescinded the tip.
Mark gave me a Christmas present. Randomly, Mark mentioned that lately he's been into Brie Olson videos whereas I name dropped Bailey O'Dare. Erick laughed as he had actually seen an O'Dare video.
Cutting through the mall again, I passed by this laser teeth whitening kiosk where the older lady working there was able to tag me as an actor/model.
OLDER LADY: Good. Now that's part of my sales pitch because you have to do it because you act and model.
By happenstance, Candice from Hot Topic and I were crossing the street at the same time. I started with, "Hi," and then let the power of my Gryffindor tie and sweater vest take over ...
RYAN: I'm about to leave town for the holidays for a month.
CANDICE: Where you going?
RYAN: Philippines. Looking forward to get out of this cold. You can walk around in a rainstorm over there and not get sick.
CANDICE: Yeah, everyone's sick around this time, like, "Get away from me!"
Blah, blah, blah ...
CANDICE: Enjoy your trip.
RYAN: Thanks.
She walked into somewhere - I think Coffee Bean. Then I drove down Magnolia Boulevard to visit the one code-named "Choir Boy."
"Choir Boy" just got the movie Colombiana on DVD. He needed help finishing the food in his fridge. He made omelets, though completely forgot he was cooking them when he got distracted as we bragged about how we circumcised boys were superior to any other males. Oh, and the booze - juice & vodka and sangria - was good as well.
We Circumcised Boys > You uncircumcised girly men
Still in a race to revisit past chicks in the database from this past year before the year is over, I busted a #3 to the orange-haired chick whom I nearly mistook as a mannequin at True Religion Brand Jeans, some chick named Angelica from Jolee's class last Friday, Jessica who used to work at American Basics, and lastly Faith who used to work at Brookstone. That should do it. And now "self-celibacy" as I will not have any chance to bust a #3 while staying in the Philippines, for which I leave for tomorrow, due to no privacy in the full house.
I went to the Sport Chalet in Foothill to search for Vibram Five Fingers. Alas, they didn't have the design I wanted in my size. In fact, the employee helping me, whose name tag read, "Nick F," called the nearest stores and they were all unavailable as well. Random note: The employee mentioned he had winter classes at GCC that were cancelled. I remember when that happened to me years ago. I guess GCC never improved.
I was supposed to check out the Capoeira class of the one code-named "Choir Boy," but somebody got major fucked up in a car accident that caused so much traffic that by the time I was back in my stomping grounds, it was more practical to pull over and chill at the mall.
I caught up with Andy at the Hickory Farms kiosk. He asked for my contact info to give me a buzz when I get back from the Philippines.
I got my mommy a pink Sesame Street's Animal one-piece pajama from Spencer's.
I walked into Hot Topic. Some new dude, most likely a seasonal employee, mistook me as having bought my Gryffindor tie from that store when in reality I got it from Whimsic Alley. Nevertheless, he thought I looked familiar. This one chick who's been working there for a while, though I never got her name because I don't find her jackoffable, remarked to him that I'm supposedly there everyday. She must be in cahoots with my stalker.
I traveled west. I parked at the hookah lounge and then across the street cut through the mall as a shortcut to Hooters on the other side to meet up with Mark, Erick, and Erick's friend for all-you-can-eat wings. I had the garlic parmesan wings. Thank God I had cash because afterwards the waitress, as if she had never handled machinery before, took forever to process everyone else's credit cards to the point where they may have rescinded the tip.
Mark gave me a Christmas present. Randomly, Mark mentioned that lately he's been into Brie Olson videos whereas I name dropped Bailey O'Dare. Erick laughed as he had actually seen an O'Dare video.
Cutting through the mall again, I passed by this laser teeth whitening kiosk where the older lady working there was able to tag me as an actor/model.
OLDER LADY: Good. Now that's part of my sales pitch because you have to do it because you act and model.
By happenstance, Candice from Hot Topic and I were crossing the street at the same time. I started with, "Hi," and then let the power of my Gryffindor tie and sweater vest take over ...
RYAN: I'm about to leave town for the holidays for a month.
CANDICE: Where you going?
RYAN: Philippines. Looking forward to get out of this cold. You can walk around in a rainstorm over there and not get sick.
CANDICE: Yeah, everyone's sick around this time, like, "Get away from me!"
Blah, blah, blah ...
CANDICE: Enjoy your trip.
RYAN: Thanks.
She walked into somewhere - I think Coffee Bean. Then I drove down Magnolia Boulevard to visit the one code-named "Choir Boy."
"Choir Boy" just got the movie Colombiana on DVD. He needed help finishing the food in his fridge. He made omelets, though completely forgot he was cooking them when he got distracted as we bragged about how we circumcised boys were superior to any other males. Oh, and the booze - juice & vodka and sangria - was good as well.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Vahik called me his "son"
I'm still in a race to revisit past chicks in the database from this past year before the year is over. I kept it simple this time. I busted a #3 to Kristen and the talkative chick from yesterday.
At the Americana, Joseph mistook my Gryffindor tie for a USC tie.
JOSEPH: You play [Basket]ball?
RYAN: Um ... I'll watch, but ... I can't really shoot the ball ...
JOSEPH: [Laughs.] I'm the same way.
RYAN: ... And I can't really dribble and walk at the same time.
I visited Vahik. I got to see what the office's humor was like when no classes were in session.
Sam was working at the Hickory Farms kiosk. I guess he was wrong about last night being his last shift. He must've been irritable. He informed me that Andy's working tomorrow from 3:30PM-11:30PM. He told me, "Stay up," in that last decade "gangsta" sort of way.
Tonight's episode of WWE RAW had me - as the internet nerds like to say - "marking out hard" as the main event saw the team of WWE Champion CM Punk, United States Champion Zack Ryder, and World Heavyweight Champion Bryan "Daniel Bryan" Danielson entering through the Philadelphia crowd instead of traditionally using the entrance ramp.
At the gym late at night, I said my see-you-later's to Danny, who was working at the front desk, as this was probably my last workout before leaving for the holidays. The treadmill says I burned 694 calories at 5.73 miles. Sweet.
At the Americana, Joseph mistook my Gryffindor tie for a USC tie.
JOSEPH: You play [Basket]ball?
RYAN: Um ... I'll watch, but ... I can't really shoot the ball ...
JOSEPH: [Laughs.] I'm the same way.
RYAN: ... And I can't really dribble and walk at the same time.
I visited Vahik. I got to see what the office's humor was like when no classes were in session.
Sam was working at the Hickory Farms kiosk. I guess he was wrong about last night being his last shift. He must've been irritable. He informed me that Andy's working tomorrow from 3:30PM-11:30PM. He told me, "Stay up," in that last decade "gangsta" sort of way.
Tonight's episode of WWE RAW had me - as the internet nerds like to say - "marking out hard" as the main event saw the team of WWE Champion CM Punk, United States Champion Zack Ryder, and World Heavyweight Champion Bryan "Daniel Bryan" Danielson entering through the Philadelphia crowd instead of traditionally using the entrance ramp.
At the gym late at night, I said my see-you-later's to Danny, who was working at the front desk, as this was probably my last workout before leaving for the holidays. The treadmill says I burned 694 calories at 5.73 miles. Sweet.
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