Category Archives: Events

Valentines ’10, Valentines ’11

February 12, 2011 No comments

Clark Field hosts the annual and international Hot Air Balloon Festival. It looked fun that time.. And, since we had pictures of my parents and my older sisters riding a Hot Air Balloon when they were little, I thought I could ride too!

Too bad I can’t. Turns out that the reason why they were able to ride one then was because they were the only ones there. Something like their radio station started it or something back then.

Radio station – remember the times when telephones were not being used and they found radio frequencies as the fastest way to communicate with other people? Well, we had one here too. And my parents were very active in their group. We even had the operators and their radio equipments at my grandparent’s house – there’s a building separate from the house at the very back (like another lot) and that is where they were then; it’s now my Uncle’s flower shop.

It was 1990′s probably. Either I was still very very young (most probably a baby) or I wasn’t even born yet, when they rode the Hot Air Balloon.

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A Triple Celebration

January 15, 2011 No comments

Today is January 15. Yesterday was the 14th, and tomorrow is the 16th. It is a triple celebration, full of food, full of gatherings.

January 14 is my late grandfather’s birthday which, before I was in grade school, we celebrated together. January 15 is my cousin’s birthday, and January 16, it’s my turn.

Even though it was yesterday, we celebrated my grandfather’s birthday today at the cemetery. At first when they said we will attend mass at the cemetery in commemoration for his birthday, I thought it was just his immediate family. When we got there, there were tables outside and there was catering (we had a small lot but one of our neighbors was our relative so we used theirs as well). It was still relatives, but there was no one I didn’t know. (Again, we have a big family to the point that I do not know a lot of them)

Lolo's Birthday

Lolo's Birthday


He had a small cake laid out in front of his grave. It was amazing how the ants didn’t bother to touch it, even the mosquitos (note that ants could have invaded the cake as it was laid almost to the soil).

The candle was lit after the mass. My dad told my niece to blow the candle for her Lolo-lolo1 and then my sister pushed me to blow the candle for him as well. When my niece didn’t want to do it, I told her I’d count and then we’d blow it together. I was just at 2, then I saw that the fire was gone.. :|

While they were lighting the cake and my sister pushed me in to blow it in commemoration of our birthdays together, I started to tear up. I really miss him.

1Lolo is the filipino term for grandfather. As he his my lolo and she is my niece, she calls MY grandparents Lolo-lolo or Lola-lola. Lola, on the other hand, means grandmother.