Storm Chronicles

(Annotations added October 10)




























That clump of bamboo is as old as the house - about 30 years. "Mommy, you should see this!" Miguel said. "I wish I was here to see it fall." Well not long after he said that we were having lunch (without electricity) and our makeshift china cabinet came crashing down. That's because it was placed against a floor-to-ceiling screen window with wooden grilles. Who'd ever think that the wind could blow it down.














I was saddened about the broken antiques. Not because of their value, but because I honestly feel that they are a part of our heritage. Granted most of these came from China, but then you have to consider that they travelled hundreds of miles to get to our shores. I felt bad that these vessels survived hundreds of years and they finally came to an end in our home. See, these are the things that convince me that I'm a nerd.

At the time I thought that only dad and I were the only ones who appreciated the value of these things. Gee, maybe dad was a nerd too - a sort of cultural nerd. Anyway the other night I was talking to Fr. Tito Caluag about the incident and he expressed the same sadness that I did over the broken shards. I felt validated by his reaction. I'm not so strange after all. Most of my family members shrugged off the breakage. It's true that we still have a lot of other antiques and they do tend to occupy space and gather dust. But I really do see a historical and cultural value in them. Sigh. Only dad would understand. Well at least Fr. Caluag does too.













As it got darker Leslie and Miguel resorted to odd games to distract us from the fact that there was no electricity. Hence the impromptu costumes, and much later - flashlight games. The piggy bank and candle shot is from my room.

Papparazzi

As you may or may not know, parents are not allowed into the grade school during classes. But on the pretext of being head of the decorations committee for Miguel's class salu-salo, I got to go in for an ocular visit.

Rare photo opportunity like this must not be wasted.

Birthday

Late post I know. Eight days late to be exact. But it was a really great day for me - didn't go to work, then surprised Miguel by picking him up from school.

The pic was taken at Dulcinea, which is Miguel's favorite restaurant because of the churros. Mom and Les joined us there for lunch.

Afterward, we went to Timezone to play his latest obssession, Soulcalibur. Little tyke ended up going home with a few prizes. Seemed like it was his birthday.

Had to do a quick change after that and get ready for my dinner date. All in all a good day :)