Weekend Recap

Friday:
Actually woke up semi-early. My "To Do" lists have been making a comeback and what better day than Friday to get all these things done before the long weekend. I had a ton of things to do- household chores like laundry and vacuuming, running to the bank, goin' to the cleaners, getting hubby's prescriptions, buying stamps, etc. Before I even get a chance to attack my list, hubby calls from the Santelices' house near a client site saying that they want to have lunch. I decline because I really want to start my errands, but hubby says that they won't take no for an answer and will be on their way to our place soon. Great. This is where I hear my mom's ever-nagging voice like when we were younger to constantly clean up around the house because "you never know when you'll have guests come over to visit." Honestly, it is because of my mom that I have this compulsive and anal desire to have a kalat-free house...hubby, did you hear that? hint! hint!

So here I am forced to do a rush job of making our place look decent during which I'm watching the clock to make sure I've got time to shower. Don't get me wrong- our place isn't a pig sty or anything, but it just has a habit of being easily cluttered.

Our guests come and we head to Applebee's for lunch. It was cool. These friends of ours are actually the first people who welcomed us when we first got to MN. We met them at the Filipino church and they made sure our transition went well. After lunch, we decide that we're going to watch a movie- Day After Tomorrow.

Day After Tomorrow:
Ya'll have to see this movie-it's so intense! It's a freaky, yet disturbing theory of what could actually happen (although not in the near future)to our Earth if we do not take care of it. We even had some environmental activists outside the theater handing out flyers for some "light reading material." From the beginning to the end, it's just one thing after another and your nerves really don't have time to calm down. Ya'll must've seen the previews and commercials by now- the major wall of water coming down onto New York City, the Statue of Liberty frozen over, huge hail killing people left and right in Japan... In the movie, we see half the world being destroyed by Mother Nature and let's just say that if you live anywhere within the northern states of the U.S., you're totally screwed. Forget Canada, too. It's eerie to think that anything like that could ever happen. After the movie, you're left with that dumb, awestruck feeling of "whoa." In any case, go out and see it for yourself.

Saturday:
We've been hearing so much of the Albertville outlets that we were persuaded to spend the night over the Santelices home. It was cool, although a tad bit uncomfy to not sleep in our own bed. The outlets were like any other outlets, but they actually had some good stores: Banana Republic, Gap, Nike to name a few. Hubby and I did our fair share of shopping...c'mon, we had to...NO TAX!

Sunday:
Church. I don't even want to get into detail of how I felt during service, but the sermon topic of gay marriage got me so infuriated that I actually had to leave the room so I can take a breather. I honestly couldn't believe all the bullshit that was coming out of these people's mouths. Abomination this, abomination that. Let's pray for the evils of our country and our people. How about we pray for all of your closed-minded asses and pray that tolerance and acceptance will find a place in your heart? Who are YOU to pass judgement on others?! I actually felt nauseous, angry, frustrated, and shocked all at the same time. Ugh, I don't even want to go there right now. I'm still sick to my stomach about their whole stance.

Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan celebrations:
Leaving church right after, I had to head home and get ready for two performances. I honestly wasn't in a right state of mind after church, but hanging out with the "different" crowd other than the church crowd was definitely nice. These two church celebrations totally brought me back to way back when. Growing up, my parents were very involved at church and us kids were always there participating, too. May, as some of you may not know, is the month of the rosary. There'd be one statue of the Virgin Mary who'd travel from one house to another each day and the host family would be responsible for "merienda" afterwards. To us kids, this meant hanging out every night and getting free food for the entire month. This is what we did...this is how we grew up.

The end of May basically ends with the big Santacruzan. Usually, some of the young teenage gals are chosen with an escort, get to dress up all fancy, and walk around in a procession around the church, or as they did back in the Philippines, around the town or barrio. It's a huge customary thing and yes, I was part of it at one time or another. I'm probably not giving the event any justice with my meager descriptions, but if you're Catholic (and Pinoy!), I'm POSITIVE that you know what I'm talking about. Sunday was no different. The performances went well, although MnM did mess up..my bad. The first time, I faced the wrong way near the ending and the second time, I exited the wrong way. Aiya. I'll get it next time.

Monday:
Originally, hubby and I planned to go out and perhaps hit a mall. But we didn't. In fact, I stayed in my pj's the entire day- watched some tv, read my book (still on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, book #4), and napped. 'Twas a lazy, lazy day and with the rain falling outside, we took advantage to just relax. We were thinking of watching the Memorial Day fireworks, but by evening time, we were just too tired of not doing anything. And so goes the three-day weekend...

Thanks to all the soldiers and veterans who do what they do on a daily basis. We remember you and salute you.