Back to the Bay

The flight to the Bay last Saturday was nothing spectacular. For the entirety of the flight, I busied myself reading "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and only took a break when dinner rolled around. Yes, SunCountry Airlines still feeds people...unlike Northwest. NW started with taking out the food service, then took out pillows and blankets, what's next? Hmph. Anyways, touched down in SFO about 10:20pm and luckily my bags were among the first to arrive in baggage claim. With the help of a porter (whom I didn't tip well enough- my bad!), I got my gear and waited for my dad.

I've been home to visit the Bay many times since my move to MN and it always follows the same routine. But this time is different. I'm not scheduled to fly back in a week or two. This isn't just a visit for a special celebration or occasion. I am staying for much longer than that.

Being back at my parents' house has been nothing but surreal. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death and appreciate all that they've done for me. But I've had that taste of independence for quite a while and to be back, however temporary, is hard to swallow. In so many ways, I feel like a visitor...intruding on their space. I'm trying to be as low maintenance as possible, but if there's one thing that I DO have to complain about, it's the fact that they only have dial-up connection to the internet! Argh...I'm back in the stone ages! LOL! I got spoiled with wireless, so sue me!

On top of all that, I'm totally missing hubby. We pretty much talk each night about our days, but it's still not the same. The worst is at night. You get used to certain routines and when you don't do it, you feel out of whack. Plus, it's tough adjusting to sleeping by myself...hearing hubby snore the night away...hogging the blankets...oh wait! I do that! LOL! But yah, I'm in this transitional period right now that doesn't feel like a good transition at all. It sucks, to say the least.

One of the major pluses of being back in CA is being to see friends whom I haven't seen in what it feels like ages. I got to have lunch with Mrs. Voodoo, who btw, celebrated her birthday this past July 27- happy birthday, girl! She took me to this Peruvian restaurant in the Fillmore that was hella yum. I've never had Peruvian food before and I wouldn't mind going again. That same day, Mrs. Gee came by for a visit. The last time I saw her was on her wedding back in November. With this girl, it ain't nothing but jokes- my facial muscles are always sore from too much laughing. Little by little, I've been talking with peoples I've lost touch with and whatnot. One of the major things that I missed after the move to MN was seeing friends...so this was definitely a treat!

The week isn't over yet and I'm totally exhausted. I've been back at school, setting up the classroom, and sorting through what needs to be done. Although I've missed being the classroom like you wouldn't believe, I don't miss all the prep work...like ripping out test papers and sorting. Tedious. School starts on August 24th, but the week before that is a teacher inservice. I might've said this before, but this temporary gig will help me figure out if teaching is what I'm really supposed to doing with my life...if not, oh well, at least it ends in January!

Dad's Stories

Today was such a blah day. It's been hitting me hard that I won't be seeing hubby on a daily basis, that I won't be sleeping in my own bed, that I won't be able to drive my beloved Honda, and so much more. I even went to the beach today and to be quite honest, I was disappointed. Maybe it was the fog. There's usually this feeling I get when I haven't been to the beach in a while, a sort of uplifting feeling that everything will be okay, that the sounds of the crashing waves will lull me into this trance and all my problems would disappear. I did not feel that today. And I kept trying, as if the effort would somehow make that feeling appear, but it never did. So it was a doubly blah day...until I got home.

My parents got home not even a minute after I walked in the door. And when it's dinnertime, they're like the fast and the furious trying to whip something up. There's something that ya'll have to know about my dad. He's a talker. He will talk your ear off. And it's funny because he will recount a story that we've heard hundreds of times, but it's only been within the last few years or so that my ears totally perk up when he starts. Probably has something to do with age creeping up on us and how I'm hungry to remember everything he says. In any case, it started off with commenting about how "dahon ng ampalaya" has cancer curing properties. His exact words were, "This cures cancer, did you know?" I'm curious if this is fact or one of them superstitious filipino thangs, but according to pops, there's a study being done in Hawaii about it. He goes on to explain how the ampalaya leaves grow rampant in PI and it's because of its bitterness that helps with cancer. That gets him talking about his young PI days, how handsome and debonaire he was (and he really was!), how proud his parents were of him because he was being sent to Manila for school, and how many girlfriends he had at the time (such a player!). My mom mentioned how after dinner they had to visit an ill friend, and so from there my dad got into this "game" kids his age played during the last few days of a funeral.

It was called "bulaklakan" or "flower." Boys would be given various fruit names and girls would be given flower names. One designated person would be King of the Butterflies. The object of the game was to figure out where the butterfly had disappeared. According to my dad, this wasn't just any game. It was all about special talents such as singing and poetry. For example, the King of Butterflies would call out a flower name, say "rose." The rose girl would have to invent a story of what happened to the butterfly, if it visited her and whatnot, and "entertain" everyone with a song, dance, or story. Usually the guys would sing, but when they did, they'd dedicate their songs to a "flower", who just so happened to be the gal they were after. From all that my dad was telling me, it just sounded like a lot of hormones were raging...all this talk of "drinking the sweet nectar from my flower"...c'mon! LOL! It was just neat to see my mom and dad reminiscing and remembering the good ole days of their youth. Of course, it seemed so innocent for the time, but hey, that was the late 50s, early 60s for you.

In any case, all the talking that my dad did brought my spirits up. I've actually never heard that story before so I had to get my questions and clarifications in. I always enjoy his stories, too, because there's this certain gleam in eye when he talks about his youth and once he gets started, you don't want him to stop. Then of course, that also got me thinking of hubby because I know that he would've enjoyed listening to my dad's stories as well.

Shout-Outs

Just wanted to send some birthday shout-outs to the following people: Mrs. Voodoo, Tita Carmela, Mr. Calves, Mare DeJesus, a belated wish to my lil' bro Phil, and to my lil' sweetheart Noelle who celebrated her 6th birthday this past Saturday. A shout-out goes to the Mommy Hernandez and hubby who are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary tomorrow. To my Cornerstone buddy Miss Lily who will become MRS. Lily this Saturday, stop stressing, your wedding will be beautiful! To hubby's compadre, Vegas, for delivering my FedEx packages- domo arigato! To Mommy Low who is about to give birth any day now, good luck! A quick shout-out to J.K. Rowling, author of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." I finished it today, finally, and am in awe of you as a writer. Lastly, to my hubby in MN...I miss you lots.