The Journey. It’s Mine. [My personal take on love, life, parenting and blogging.]

For the Nth time this year, I have re-read the books 6 and 7 of Harry Potter. Everyone knows that this coming July the 6th installment of the movie is coming out in theaters. Raine and I are excited. (The twins too!) We are hoping to catch it in Legaspi City like we did the 5th movie (Order of The Phoenix).

But since one of the twins is now working in Manila, he’ll most probably be the first to catch the movie there and gloat about it. Inggitin daw ba kami?

Anyway…I will be in Manila this weekend for a get-together with college friends. I hope there will be time to squeeze-in one movie. I still can’t decide between X-men Origins: Wolverine and Terminator Salvation. Oh well, I’d probably be talking the weekend away with friends. I just hope I’ll have time to sneak out into the movies. I haven’t been to one in ages!

I don’t know what a Plano Dentist is.

But I have an experience with a different kind of dentist.

Speaking of dentists, I need to visit one so badly. I have just been postponing it for the longest time (3 years). But then my mother has a to go first. She needs a complete set of new teeth.

Ang bida sa buhay ko - si Raine - is back this morning with my mother. Remember last week, they left to join my brothers in Meyc, Bulacan.

Raine brought home new clothes. Apparently, he was brought to SM by my brother Gary to shop for clothes. (reimbursement daw ng mga pamasahe ng kambal!) Gary is the one that Raine calls Papa Gary. The twins he call Titos. Maybe because Gary is 14 years older than the twins? Anyways, Raine made the distinction in the titles early on. Gary, to this day is his Papa Gary.

Parang pumayat si Raine. Or maybe it is the new haircut? But I’m pretty sure he grew a few inches taller. Ganyan talaga pag di mo nakita ang anak mo ng medyo matagal. Parang pumayat…parang tumangkad? Ha ha ha.

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Here in my province, there is a thriving wholesale clothes business. It’s called ukay-ukay. I’m sure you have heard of it.

In this place where people can’t afford going to department stores, ukay-ukay stores come in handy. There was a time when even my mother were urged by her friends to buy clothes from ukay-ukay. She bought nice shorts for 50 pesos each and some t-shirt/blouse for 10 pesos. Where in the world can you buy something as cheap as that?

However, there is a downside to this. Ukay-ukay clothes are used clothes mostly from the United States. You don’t know who first wore them or if they have skin diseases or what.

What we did was first soak the clothes in boiling water. That may be not enough though. So I told my mother after a few times she went to the ukay-ukay, to please stop buying.

But I guess most people here find ukay-ukay handy and cheap. In fact, everywhere you look here, there is an ukay-ukay store. So business must be thriving.

Last night, my mother txtd: she sid I should call because Raine wants me to. So I did.

Here’s what Raine said:

Mommy…musta ka dyan? Miss na kita…

Sa gabi umiiyak ako kasi iniisip kita eh.

Then I heard sobs…

I was on the verge of crying but I didn’t cry. Because I didn’t want him to cry more.

I just noticed, ang laki na ng boses nya!

Time really flies. There was a time he couldn’t leave my side. Now he goes on trips even without me.  But if it is me going somewhere? He always insists on going with me! Hmmm…double standard. He he.

My eyes are still wet as I type this…

(actually natuyo na ang luha ko sa tagal mag-load nitong blog ko…)

Anyways…my jaw dropped and i cried when Kris Allen’s name was announced the winner. Like everyone else, I was quite sure that Adam will win the title because of his unique style on stage and it seemed that all the judges were rooting for him. Nobody else was quite like him. Until the final showdown. I realized Adam is singing all songs with the same style. (Yung dila nakalabas pag bumirit na!) He hasn’t played any instrument (i wonder if he plays one?). He is after all a theater actor.

Even though Simon Cowell sort of crunched Kris over Adam on the final showdown…it was really obvious to everyone watching that Kris is the true artist. He plays the guitar and the piano and has a soft way of interpreting each song he delivers. Or maybe it is because he is shy and Southern that’s why people voted for him? Well…I guess the Idol stage isn’t ready for someone like Adam Lambert. It looks like he is such a non-conformist. Black nail polish for starters. Or maybe he is gay while he hasn’t admitted it yet? I see nothing wrong in that, he is just different from what we are used to.

According to this article:

Lambert’s sexuality was also a wild card - with a singing and fashion style reminiscent of gay icons from Queen singer Freddie Mercury  to k.d. lang.

Over the past few months, pictures have surfaced of Lambert kissing other men, while Allen has often talked about his wife and his church attendance.

By contrast, Lambert positioned himself as a revolutionary with his eyeliner, nail polish and jet-black dye job - and aligned himself with two left-of-mainstream genres, glam-rock and goth.

Going back to the finale…it was so jam-packed with stars that I too forgot that it was the American Idol finale. It was like a fund-raising concert of USA For Africa. Di ba?

I like Kris Allen’s duet with Keith Urban better than Adam Lambert’s performance with the Kiss. (Ano ba ang mga ito? Parang kissed by dementors. Mga nakalawit ang dila!) I’m not a rock chic, by the way.

Well…like how the story goes…David won over Goliath.

You know, these days the earliest I get up in the mornings is around 930. Tomorrow the American Idol Finale will be aired here live from the US via Star World at 8 am. (I wonder though kung live na live ito…baka 2 hours delayed!) So it might be a problem waking up early for me. The next telecast would be at 8 pm and will interfere with my nightly dosage of soaps.

So what I did tonight was camp out in front of the TV using Raine’s folding bed and will set the TV to turn on before 8 am tomorrow. Isn’t that bright or what?! Ha ha ha. Joke. I am just that desperate to catch the finale.

It has been two nights that I am home alone. It’s just weird. I am only sleeping lightly and waking up every hour throughout the night. My uncle and grandmother living across the street is checking out on me every now and then. Last night I tired myself by watching too much TV and then later on reading, still it was 1 am before I finally fell asleep.

In the morning up i will waken up by my lola yelling that somebody is buying ice. (Yes, may tinda kaming yelo. Ice candy wala.) Who the hell would be buying ice at 6 in the morning?! Don’t this people here ever sleep late.? Apparently not. I’m the only one who oversleeps.  Hayyy…only in the barrio!

Okay I admit it. I miss my ‘housemates’: Raine, Mama and kambal. It’s just been 3 days and 2 nights and I find it weird eating alone. In fact, I’m eating in front of my computer. I just had to cook rice because I have to feed the 2 dogs too.

The rice I cooked yesterday morning lasted until lunchtime today. 25 percent for me, 75 percent to the dogs.  Shocking, wala akong gana kumain! Hmmm…makikain na lang kaya ako sa kapitbahay?! Ha ha ha!

Luwas is one of the many terms I learned in Los Baños. So when you say luluwas, it actually means one is going to Manila. It’s funny because here in Gubat, luwas actually means labas or outside. So if one says, luwas na! It means get out or lumabas ka na.

So here (Gubat), when one is going to Manila, we say mapa-manila. Ma-ni-la, ang stress ay sa last syllable. Kahit sa Meycauayan, Bulacan o sa Cubao ang punta mo. Basta Manila yan lahat. Ha ha ha!

Yesterday afternoon, sina Mama, Raine at ang isang kambal (Ye) ay nagpa-manila. Originally dapat ang isang kambal lang ang luluwas para kunin ang transcipt nya sa CvSU. Dahil yung school nya sa Sorosogon (BMMCI) eh binaha at nabasa ang files nya. Imagine, hard copies ang files nila per student!

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When the time is right, I am the one who colors my mother’s hair. She likes the color ‘dark brown’ because it comes out black on her hair. My mother has got the blackest hair I’ve ever seen. I didn’t get the trait. I have my father’s hair, the kinds of black that easily turns white starting in the 30s.

I’ll be 36 soon, so I have to admit that white hairs are cropping up on the top of my head. Always, I have said that when that happens I’m gonna call my hair red. So when I was buying my mother’s hair color, I was about to get one for me. I saw a bottle that says ‘burgundy’. Wow, I like that. Then next to it, I saw ‘balinese brown’. Hmmm…maybe I should get that one?

So I didn’t think twice. I got the the balinese brown for me. 233 pesos! When we started coloring my mother’s hair, it was just 150+ pesos, yung Colours by Splash.

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Ngayon ko lang to ginawa. (Kahit mamayang gabi pa, 6 o’clock ipapalabas sa Star World ang American Idol. Syempre Wednesday night yan palabas sa America, ibig sabihin kaninang umaga dito sa ‘Pinas.) Sinilip ko ang Entertainment Section ng Google News ngayon lang. Medyo atat lang ako malaman kung sino ang naiwan sa top 2. Walastek, nadismaya ako nung nalaman kong si Danny Gokey ang naalis.

So ibig sabihin si Adam Lambert at si Kris Allen ang maglalaban sa finals night next week. By the way, live yan dito sa ‘Pinas sa Thursday sa Star World channel (kung may cable tv kayo) alas otso ng umaga. Walanghiya! Mapipilitan talaga akong magising ng maaga nito. Ha ha ha.

So parang labanan nina David at Goliath ang match nina Kris Allen at Adam Lambert. Pero safe na bang sabihin na sigurado nang Ameican Idol si Adam Lambert? Mukhang sigurado na. Pero kung totoong ‘dark horse’ si Kris Allen at makuha nya ang mas maraming votes, eh di taob si Goliath.

Note: This is not a SEO campaign. I just happen to have been religiously following American Idol since 2006. (read: no episode missed! maliban na lang kung may bagyo!) Mula nang mag-resign ako sa trabaho at ako na ang may-ari ng oras ko. Pero kung nakatira ako malapit sa Hollywood? Tiyak may pictures ang Idol posts ko na kasama ako ng mga finalists. ;)  Pati mga nanay at tatay nila, may  pictures din ako.

This summer, here are my favorite rice partners: fried fish, green mangoes and bagoong alamang.

And for dessert? Eto: hinog na langga (pitas sa bakuran).

I swear…ang sarap!

If I keep on pigging out like this, I soon may need the best diet pills.

Last night in bed, Raine was praying aloud.

Eto ang sabi nya:

God…

lagyan mo na po ng baby ang tyan ng mommy ko.

gusto ko po boy, para dalawa na kami.

pero kung girl po, okay lang din.

love ko pa din sya.

God…

matutulog na po ako.

bantayan nyo po ang buong pamilya namin…

at ang buong bayan.

Amen. (sign of the cross…)

Sa totoo lang, gusto kong humagalpak ng tawa kagabi. It’s just that Raine was too serious with his prayers. Nahiya naman akong tumawa. I just wanna clarify, nobody fed him with such prayers. It was all voluntary on his part. Ang cute nung part na…’kung girl eh..okay lang, love ko pa din sya. Sa loob-loob ko eh, ang suwerte naman ng darating na bata, kung meron mang darating. Kasi wala pa man eh mahal na ni Raine.;)

The best din yung part na ‘bantayan mo ang buong pamilya namin at ang buong bayan’. Ha ha ha. Buti hindi sinabi na at ang buong mundo.Maliit pa ang mundo ni Raine kasi siguro…buong bayan pa lang.

Ha ha ha!

Not that I forgot…Raine and I have been greeting Lola Happy Mothers’ Day since Saturday night. With matching hugs and kisses from Raine.

I was still asleep on Sunday morning when the txts keep coming in my cellphone.  Everyone, greeting me HMD! Thanks everyone, just in case I forgot to reply.

Another important day was last Saturday — would have been Papa’s 63rd birthday. Nagluto kami ni Mama, and we just celebrated quietly within the family.

Belated happy mothers’ day to all you moms out there!

I think I made a mistake by putting Raine in a Montessori Pre-school. In the said school the child decides what he wants to do or learn. The teachers will not force you to learn how to read or add if that’s not what you want to do for the day. For somebody like Raine who prefers play than a serious lesson if he can get away with it, it is no wonder that he is behind in reading compared to his other classmates.

I can’t remember when I learned to read. I must already be in grade 1!  So I thought Raine is still doing good. Besides, it is really more play in pre-school. So I thought.

Raine’s been going to pre-school since he was 2-and-a-half. That first time we didn’t even last a week. It was just a desperate move on my part, that was the time I was in-between yayas. The next time, he was 3-and-a-half and he lasted four months this time at Gubat Montessori. When typhoon Milenyo struck, Raine wouldn’t budge, nobody could convince him to go to back to school.

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1. We are the only Gamat in Payawin (even the whole of Gubat). That family name is quite unique here. So you can ask anybody in the street and they’ll bring you (not just point you) to the right house.

2. If you happen to ride in a jeepney in Sorsogon and it so happens that the driver is a bit old: he most probably knew my father. He was a jeepney driver too. A popular one, but in a good way.

3. If you find yourself along km. 13, Payawin…look for the house along the highway that takes forever to build. That’s our house. At the moment, the roof is painted red.

4. There are two known Glorias of my generation in this barrio. Ask for the first ever in this barrio that went to UP(LB). [If it wasn’t for my father’s insistence that I enroll in UP, this barrio wouldn’t have heard how to enter the UP system. Yes, they haven’t heard of the word UPCAT or STFAP before. Since then, a select few have followed…bragging aside, this is really true! My father really made history here. He was like UP and STFAP’s campaign manager here. Well…as long as you pass the UPCAT, there will be a way to go if one is willing despite poverty.]

5. Just tell the jeepney to let you off at kilometro trece (km. 13) of Payawin. You might not be at the exact house when you embark, but for sure malapit na. There won’t be no rice fields or river crossing before you reach us. Pagbaba mo sa dyip or bus, sakto ka sa tapat ng bahay namin. We are located along the road, along the highway. It really is, no joke.

Well…I hate surprises sometimes. So you better call or txt me first to let me know you are arriving. So whether you come here by plane or bus, I will make sure I’ll be there to meet you.

Abby surprised me by coming here during my father’s wake in 2005. She told the jeepney driver my father’s name at dito mismo sila ibinaba sa tapat ng bahay namin. That one really meant a lot.

Well…I’m not really that hard to find. 

These days would have been a good time to hit the beach. Unfortunately, it has been raining because of the recent typhoons that entered the country.

So my predictions were wrong. Kris Allen survived the competition and made it to the top 3 of American Idol.

Allison is undeniably a good singer, it’s just that she didn’t get enough votes to stay in the competition.

Adam Lambert as always, shone in the rock-themed week. While Danny Gokey obviously made a fool of himself. But then he got enough votes to stay.

Even Raine was cheering for Adam Lambert!

It won’t be long now before we find out whose gonna be the ultimate American Idol of Season 8.

Yey! Raine was officially enrolled on Monday at the SLM College of Sorsogon. Of course he has to pass first their entrance exam which he did last March 14. Then on Monday I thought I just had to pay. I was asked to fill up tons of forms and then we had to endure two interviews before we ended up at the Registrar and the Cashier. First an interview with the Guidance Counselor and then the Principal.

At the Guidance Counselor, I was grilled for putting N/A (as in not applicable!) in all the fields asking information about ‘name of father’, etc. I reasoned that I was just following what’s in Raine’s birth certificate wherein the field for father’s information is blank. Anyways…I’m the one who filled up the form right? Not her (the Guidance Counselor). Then she was shocked when she asked Raine if he is asking or looking for his father. Raine replied that he’s got many fathers: 5 of them and then he enumerated…

How’s that? I said to myself.

But then when we were at the DFA last year to renew our passports, it was a totally different story. I was asked: ano ba ang tatay nya, unknown? I was like insulted. Unknown my ass! So I wrote the name even if I didn’t want to.

Moving on…

I have been complaining for the longest time that Raine and I don’t fit anymore in our small bed. Well we still fit, It’s just that when one of us (or both of us) is stirring a lot in bed, I can’t sleep. I tried to convince Raine that I will buy him a folding bed to put beside my bed and that’s where he will sleep from now on.  Of course he didn’t agree at first, but recently he did. So yesterday, I asked one of the twins to go with me to Sorsogon. We bought a folding bed and a thin mattress to go with it. Both in Raine’s favorite color: green.

Last night, I still wasn’t sure if he will sleep on the said folding bed. Pag umayaw, sayang ang perang pinambili ko! Ha ha ha. But then he was lured to his new bed, for some reason. He fell asleep right away. Of course from my bed, I had to face him looking down while tapping his one side so he can sleep. This morning when he got up, he happily announced that he slept well and that hindi daw sya malikot pagtulog. Well…one of the reason I want his sleeping in a folding bed eh para mabawasan ang likot nya sa pagtulog. Pag lumikot nga naman sya eh di hulog sya. Or giba ang folding bed! Ha ha ha.

…this is sleeplessness, insomnia, whatever you call it.

I went to bed ay 1 am and decided to get up at 330 am after too much stirring in bed because I can’t sleep (Pati ang katabi ko - si Raine, eh nakahalata na sa likot ko) as if I’m in rv camping.

So I ditched coffee and is not on any medication at the moment…so I can’t blame my sleeplessness into anything.

Last night it was raining, so our tv has no signal. It felt weird not being able to watch my nightly dose of soaps. Ha ha ha!
The tv actually helps me fall asleep. Well unlike my mother who sleeps in front of the tv and lies awake when she transfers to her bed. She was suggesting one time we buy a sofa bed and put it in front of the tv, then maybe she’ll get some good night’s sleep.

When she got sick about two years ago, the doctor put her on Valium to help her sleep. Guess what? It wasn’t effective. Why? Because she goes to bed after popping the pill, scared what if she never wakes up in the morning? Ha ha ha. Well… I guess it really is mind over matter. So I will convince myself right now to sleep…