Parades, parties, and other joyous December things

Hello, everyone. It's good to be back from offline slumber.

As always, the Lantern Parade at UP Diliman this past Thursday was still as spectacular as ever. This year, UP's buildings weren't as decked as last year, but the Parade made up for more than its fair share. I was whisked away from the Hill to the grassy knoll in front of the As Building by Mitch and Ritchie, UP and Hill Alumnae (or is Alumni?) and soon-to-be newlyweds. James soon enough joined us, and we proceeded to oohing and aahing our eyes out.

Quotes:
-"Oh, this is interesting: Dancing girls and gay men!" --- Ritchie, on the passing troupe of dancers from the Speech and Theater Department

-"Hey! Sing something! Little Mermaid!" -- Mitch, heckling a "sirena" on one of the floats

Oh, and Ritchie fond remembers the times when one of the floats had someone dressed up as a big bar of soap dancing around it, then people burst out of the float and blasted the people on the As Steps with hi-power squirt bazookas. ("Back, dogs! Back!") Yep. Cleanliness indeed.

Oh, and he also reminisced when one of the floats caught fire. Yep.

But really, the main event as always was the Fine Arts Floats. If the rest of the University played along with the theme(we guessed Peryahan, or Carnival), FA went Engkanto(local spirits, or elementals). Nuno sa Punso headed the entourage; then followed the White Lady in the Balete Tree (which oddly looked a lot like Sadako), a detachable Manananggal and her retinue (Aagh! Evil Jollibee with fastfood entrails!), a Tikbalang, Kapre, Bungisngis and Tiyanak followed after. James and I sniggered at the Bangungot float, a HUGE woman squishing a man on his bed; there were faces forming and glowing out of her pot-belly, which made it a it more gruesome. But what really sent us sniggering was when the float-bearers start jumping and shaking the whole thing, making it look like Ms. Bangungot was, um... getting some. Oh, the horror!

There were some more pieces that sent our jaws dropping and sent us poicking 'em up from the ground. There was another piece, this huge fish-like monster with a moveable mouth, supported on bamboo staffs and animated like a chinese dragon. (It's said to swallo the sun and moon... a Bakawan? I have terrible memmory...) Then there was the Lahu, a giant silver bird preceded by a girl in silver-and-blue sequined make-up wearing a meteorish-moon for a skirt. The Lahu's feathers were flashing al the way to the grandstand, as it's wings and body were decorated with pieced CD's. (as there was a banner in front of the whole Lahu ensemble, saying: Our many thanks to sir Edu Manzano for his generous donation of CD's.)

Then there was the Sirena, a chocolate-skinned hunk've a woman in an orange afro and red hot lipstick with melons (with medium-sized starfish to cover up!) which most made up the float's front piece. The fish-tail was made up of silver-bottomed paper-plates arranged for scales, and the tail's bottom half moved from side to side.

It was all simply amazing, really.

After James and I had rested and exchanged news, we trekked the length of the University Belt and by sheer luck hailed a taxi (as you can imagine the mass of people waiting to get a ride by hook or crook), and sped all the way to PHILCOA to buy my Mom dinner.

This, my dears, is one of the best dates I've had with James so far. ;)
Lantern Parades are always memorable, and twice as magical.

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Last Friday, I attended the annual get-together of my Dad's side of the family. The occasion? My great-grandmother Mommy M's birthday, bless her wherever she may be now. The pre-dinner popcorn and chicharon was great, the dinner food better, and the company? What more could I ask for? It was great to see my uncles and aunts again, after a long, long while. It's amazing what you can learn and find, just in one night.

We, the younger post-collegiate set, had then established and institutionalized The Kiddie Table. The rest of my cousins came around, and an additional table adjoined to the ruling committee's later, we had become the ruling majority. And better still, the cool uncle settled on our side! (Yay!)

a brief introduction to our side of the table:
(Pardon if some of the pictures are blurry. Everything just happened so fast.)


My Uncle Victor Paz. The coolest anthropology professor this side of UP. He keeps a small vial of "anti-hangover drops" just for laughs, and he has no cellfone, simply because "it's one of my eccentricities". He is hot as Johnny Depp, and he is married to the beautiful aunt Lisa, a British born lass. He is cool.


My Uncle Ariff, or as I call him, Kuya Ariff. (Actaully, he's my Ninong, so durn, I ought've reminded him.) His Dad's Muslim, but when he was baptized, his name was followed after my mother's. Thus, he became Antonio.


My other cousins, namely (from the left) Tad, Bardo, and Edwina. Tad is a tall(around six feet, I think?), gentlemanly chemistry Major. Bardo is the youngest of the brood, and Edwina is in her first year of college. Her Ate insists she looks so much like auntie Molly, their mom, was Edwina's age.


another picture of the two youngest men of the family...


and Selena, or Lyn, as I fondly call her. Ate to the previous three, Little sis to Kuya Ariff. One of my best girlfriends alive. Vocalist to the group Candyaudioline, just in case you know them.

So there. a little slice of my Dad's side of the family.

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Wonder of wonders, the oven is back in action. (wierd, all we had to do was to light the over and send the mice down under the message that the party was over.) But my mother insists I can't take orders anymore for the christmas season as we have to prepare for banana-loaf-giving for the elder members of the Apoderado clan. :(

The result, good readers, of the overn's ressurection is a couple dozen gingerbread men (and teddy bears and reindeer), all because of my mother's whims. (No, actually, I was the one she sent baking, just for the sheer pleasure of having Christmas gingerbread in the house.) I've come to realize It take a clever sense of timing and quick working/thinking skills, just so you get your money's worth out of you LPG and not a single liguid gas drop go to waste. *pant, pant pant*

Nonetheless, gingerbread is still gingerbread. and my mother insists the best drink to go with it is salabat. Ginger brew. *sigh*

ah, well...
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Nikki has a present for me in the works. IT's the kind I won't have to tear the wrapping for, so all the more fun. I'll be helping her round just in case there's anything else she needs, so we'll wait and see, won't we? ;)

I can almost taste the exciment.

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That was a rather long post now, wasn't it?

Yes, I thought so.

^_~