9/11 Email from an Eyewitness

A friend and colleague migrated to the United States with her family on March of 2001. She was in New York on September 11, 2001 at our company's New York office during the terrorist attacks. The office had a view of the WTC towers. Here's her recollection of the events that day in an email she shared with our group of friends a few days after the terrorist attacks.

"Hi,

Thank you for all your notes of concern and good wishes for my and my family's safety. I appreciate them all, especially as the situation here is growing more and more uncertain everyday with the Taliban and the US exchanging threats of war. I was half expecting something to actually happen last Tuesday, it being a week after. Without meaning to, I took exactly the same train I took last week, and was in my seat in the office at roughly the same time as last week. I couldn't help it, but I kept looking out of the window, over where the World Trade Center used to stand. This incident has really made a huge impact on my sense of security.

It was eerie how, from talking with friends and colleagues here, many seemed to have had some sort of premonition of what was to unfold that day. In my case, I was thinking of bombs as I rode the elevator to my office at 8:15 that morning. I was thinking how easy it was to bring a bomb and detonate it in our building as the security is really lax. I was also thinking what
it must be like if a bomb did go off - what mayhem would we experience. My sister, on the other hand, was feeling things have been unusually quiet these past months on the newsfront and wondered what big event would happen soon. Another friend was thinking about Iraq and how they might retaliate against the US given that the news that have been hugging the limelight at
that time was that a US spy plane had apparently been shot down by Iraq.

My day started our normal enough. I was plowing through my emails and reading through the headlines of the Philippine Star and the Inquirer when suddenly a colleague who sits nearby jumped up and announced that there was an explosion at the WTC. As his announcement was not loud enough nor did it sound panicky enough to me, I didn't even bother to react. I remember thinking it might have been just false alarm or maybe just a small accident.

I couldn't remember how it actually happened that I looked out of the window, but I did and what I saw gave me the goose bumps. There was a huge hole on one of the WTC towers, and so much smoke was coming out of the building. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Then someone said that a
plane had apparently hit the WTC. I remember thinking, what a terrible accident - and to think it was a very clear day. I called my sister immediately - she was at home that time - and asked her to switch on the TV as there's been an explosion at the WTC. Then I went back to the window and just gaped at the billowing smoke coming out of the WTC tower, still trying to make sense of how an accident like that could have happened. And then someone said that it's a terrorist attack. I dismissed that comment maybe because I didn't want to believe it.

As things started to settle down and I went back to my seat intending to work, I heard moans and groans from everyone in the office. I stood up and saw this huge ball of fire that seemed to come out of the second tower. I rushed to the window and just gaped, horrified at how a second accident like that could happen. Call me stupid but I was still not prepared to think it
was a terrorist attack. Then someone started to narrate how he saw this plane go straight into the second tower with no hesitation. He noted how the plane was not even wobbling as if there was something wrong with it. That's when I accepted the fact that this was indeed a terrorist attack.

I was on the phone with my sister every few minutes, checking in to let her know how I'm doing, at the same time trying to learn from her what is being reported in the news. It was from her that I learned a few minutes after that second plane rammed into #2 WTC that the pentagon has also been hit. Everyone else in the office was either talking on the phone with someone else or simply watching the WTC.

And then, as things started settling down again, another horrified moan came from the people near the window watching the towers. When I turned to look, I saw #2 WTC was crumbling down. Some people had started to cry, I simply stared in shock as I kept on muttering to myself "Oh my God!".

As the shock wore off a little, many of us wondered whether there was a bomb that exploded apart from the plane crash. We were too confident that the WTC could withstand such an impact. And as we were milling around discussing, #1 WTC exploded and crumbled too. I ran to the window saying
"Oh my God!" out loud and trembling with fear. This time, I could not help the tears that came and I called my sister. Then I called the train service to check if there were still outbound trains to . I felt so trapped when they told me all train services out of Manhattan have been suspended.

We couldn't do anything the rest of that morning except to watch the news - a manager here managed to get hold of a TV and installed it in his office. I would sit in my chair, call my sister, pace around, talk to my colleagues, watch the news. By lunch time, we decided to go to church and while walking on 5th avenue, you could see the white smoke covering the skyline of
downtown Manhattan. When we got back from church, someone from the office said that they had opened up train service and I hurriedly went with someone in the office to the train station to see if we could catch a train to .

The streets were packed with people walking, and the train station was so full of people and police. We managed to get on a train that was so full there were people standing in almost all free space inside. When the train finally crossed the stateline to Connecticut, I was a little bit relieved. It must have been the shock but my head was aching, and I could not sleep in
the the train. Everyone in the train just looked so sad.

...

As a footnote, I felt the power of the internet that day. Only a few minutes after that first plane hit tower #1 and we were still unsure what exactly happened, ABC news already had a picture and a story on its Home page.

And a final footnote, there was something the priest said in that mass I attended that fateful Tuesday that has stayed with me. He said there is no sadder person in this entire universe than God himself. He who made all things in His image must be weeping at seeing what we are doing to
ourselves."

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A Taste of Sagada right here in Chicago – Part II

Continued from A Taste of Sagada right here in Chicago – Part I.

Cultural Night – the TOMA Song

The cultural night also featured a well thought of fashion show that displayed the evolution of Igorot tapestry which was very well received by the American audience. A re-enactment on how the Igorots first met with American missionaries was done through pantomime, and then came one of the more emotional moments I’ve experienced in the reunion – the singing of the AY TET-EWA AY TOMA SA? (Is that really a bedbug?).

I believe I’ve sung this song once or twice a year during my elementary years. It’s a marvelously funny song about the bedbug (toma), and it entails having a leader sing a question, and the audience sing back a response. The first 2 lines goes like this:

Leader: Ay tet-ewa’y toma na? (Is this really a bedbug?)
Audience: Tetewa ay toma sa. Dake-dake’y toma sa ya kadak-kelan ay toma. (Yes, that’s really a bedbug. That’s a huge bedbug and it’s the biggest bedbug ever.)

And it goes on with a series of about a dozen or so questions, and the answers sung to each question is attached to the answer of the earlier questions and so every answer sung by the audience will end with the declaration that yes, that’s really a huge bedbug and it’s the biggest one. EVER! It’s similar to the “12 days of Christmas” and that other English song that goes “There was a tree, the finest tree that you ever did see…”. To me, the TOMA song is way more special.

To someone like me who is used to singing the song almost every year while growing up, it brought back warm feelings of early years in Sagada. I remember a particular December evening in the 1980s – most likely during the lantern parade, that a young guy and gal – in their first year in high school, dressed up in traditional Igorot attire, standing before the Sagada community gathered around the town’s basketball court, and leading the TOMA song with such fervor that I remember it so well after 20+ years.

I learned during the conference that the song was written by Dr. Henry Scott, a teaching missionary himself, in the 1950s, and that it was meant to be a humorous adaptation of one of the more hated animals in nature. I’m thinking how it is a reflection of Sagada humor – blunt, frank, and embarrassingly funny sometimes. Somehow, I tried to have my sons enjoy the singing as much as I did to no avail. I guess it’s again a reminder that my Sagada upbringing is several planets apart from their Manila / Chicago-suburb experience. (Even my wife who grew up in neighboring Tadian doesn’t care that much about the TOMA song.)

Igorot gong-playing and dancing followed after the TOMA song. Members of BIBBAK – Illinois, who performed at a Baguio high school reunion earlier in the evening, also performed a Benguet dance. Towards the end, the tables and chairs were pushed to the side, and the audience was invited to community dancing. Plenty of them obliged. The evening ended after the dancing, with farewells being exchanged since some of the attendees were catching flights or driving home early that Sunday morning. For me, the reunion would officially end the next Monday morning when I brought an aunt who was catching a red-eye flight back home to Denver at the Chicago O’hare airport.

A note on the missionaries – Manang Marie, who I briefly chatted with after the cultural night shared her thoughts about honoring the missionaries through the preservation of the Igorot culture. She’s right. In a way, it took a group of outsiders to help the Sagada Igorot folks appreciate, understand, and take efforts to preserve their Igorot culture. These SMSSAFF reunions is not just about your typical high school gathering – in a highly inter-connected world where local traditions are slowly replaced by global trends, there is great value in being reminded that God has allowed us to be born in the place and culture we were in. We all have a past and a background and knowing such certainly keeps us from getting lost.

I started this reflection with a reference to memories of food from childhood years. The whole reunion experience for me was a different kind of food – a somewhat spiritual nourishment type that kept me grounded to my roots, and was a refreshing reminder of where I came from. I don’t know if I would be able to attend the next SMSSAFF reunion that is being planned in Toronto on the summer of 2013. Attending or not, I’m still glad I got to have a taste of my old hometown of Sagada right here in metro-Chicago, the city I now call home.

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A Taste of Sagada right here in Chicago – Part I

In Disney’s RATATOUILLE movie, the unsmiling and dour-faced food critic named ANTON EGO, tasted a dish that suddenly transported him back to his childhood days. His countenance changed as he gamely savored the dish he was giving a critique on, and the warm childhood memories that accompanied the dish showed dramatically in his facial expression. He actually smiled, and proceeded to devour the rest of the dish with childish joy. In our family, we call such an experience a “ratatouille moment”. It is that warm, wonderful, indescribable feeling you’d get when you bite into food that reminds you of a great dishes from the past.

Welcoming Alumni, Family, and Friends

On a different scale, being part of the 5th St. Mary’s School Sagada Alumni Family and Friends (SMSSAFF) Conference that was held in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge was a drawn out 3-day “ratatouille moment”. My wife and I joined the host committee on Thursday, August 4, as alumni, family and friends started arriving to register for the event. We met relatives and friends from Michigan, Colorado, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and Illinois – there could be more states represented, and I believe there were those from Canada, but those states mentioned were what I remembered.

My wife and I didn’t graduate from St. Mary’s School (SMS) in Sagada – but my mother-in-law did. So did my dad (batch ’56), my mom (batch ’65), and my 3 older sisters who belonged to batch ’87, ’88, and ’90. Two of my brother-in-laws were also graduates of SMS. I was supposed to be a member of batch ’92 – but I was shipped to Manila for high school and missed all the fun. Still, I didn’t feel left out. The St. Mary’s tradition runs strong in my family and during the reunion, I somehow felt like I was representing my parents and sisters as they were not able to attend.

Anglican Mass and SMS Missionaries

The reunion / conference was held in an episcopal church also known as St. Mary’s. The Anglican church service on Saturday morning was the first time I’ve attended in years. (My family now have affiliated ourselves to evangelical, non-denominational churches in more recent years.) It was the same traditional hymn mass I remember from my Sagada childhood with great fondness. Members of the alumni served during the service, and the hymns were also handpicked by them. At the end of the service, when the attendees started singing the SMS hymn to the tune of O Danny Boy, I felt a tinge of regret that my family members (my mom especially) who were supposed to be there were absent.

Saturday evening was cultural night. The theme for the conference was about honoring Sagada’s teaching missionaries who were from various Anglican dioceses across the United States. These missionaries served in Sagada’s St. Mary’s school in the early 1900s and stayed in Sagada until the 1960s. In the photo slideshow which started the evening, there were images of SMS alumni who eventually settled in the US, visiting these same missionaries during their later years right here in their home country. I can only imagine what those missionaries may have felt like.

Having stayed here in the US since 2006, I cannot imagine sacrificing comfortable living here and going to a strange mountainous land in the Far East to spend time with a group of people and culture that is too foreign from the one you’re used to. And after all the hard work and time spent, you actually get to see the fruit of your labor by having some of your students get to visit you back in your home country. Indeed, a theme that I’ve heard from the older alumni during the conference was of thanksgiving – the alumni are thankful to those brave teaching missionaries for the opportunities that it has provided the students and their families not just in their lifetime, but also for the next generations to come.

CONTINUED here... A Taste of Sagada right here in Chicago – Part II

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Vancouver Winter Olympics - Great Memories

Enough tennis talk - the second sporting event and my other reason for why I haven't updated this blog for some time is the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I rushed home on the Friday that the opening ceremonies would be shown so I could watch it with my family. The ceremonies were awesome - sure, it wasn't as great a show as the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies but it was spectacular nonetheless. Of course, we were disappointed with the lighting of the torch due to the technical problem in one of the four torches, but the show went on pretty well. I am so glad to watch it with my kids. I want to keep watching Olympic opening ceremonies as a tradition in my family; hope my children will recall these special moments when they grow up.

Over the course of the past two weeks, we watched in amazement as the best winter athletes in the world competed against each other. We cheered for US and Australian athletes - they represent the two countries where we are permanent residents of. There were two competitors who we followed closely - they are Amanda Evora from the pairs figure skating and J.R. Celski of short track. Evora's parents are both US immigrants from the Philippines; while Celski is the offspring of US immigrants from Poland and the Philippines. Evora didn't win a medal but she and her partner placed tenth, while Celski won two bronze medals.

There were also some Olympians from the Chicago suburbs that we cheered for. Evan Lycasek outclassed the competition in winning the men's figure skating and he's from Napperville, IL. Shani Davis of Chicago duplicated his gold-silver haul from the previous Olympics. Then there's Katherine Reutter from Champaign, IL who won a silver in the ladies 1000 m short track, the first medal for a US woman in short track since 1994. Four teammates from the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks will be in action in the men's hockey final tomorrow - three of them will be playing for Canada and one will be playing for the United States.

My favorite events were short track, figure skating, and speed skating. My five year old's favorites were bobsleigh and luge. I found those two events to be too technical and really - does anyone enjoy watching those in TV? Apparently, my youngest son does, but I think he is looking more for those spectacular crashes more than anything else.

One thing I like about the Olympics are the incredible stories surrounding the athletes. My favorites during these games are:

- The Chinese figure skating pair who came out of retirement to fulfill their dream of an Olympic gold;
- The Canadian figure skater who competed and won a medal less than a week after her mother died;
- The Canadian men's mogul gold medalist who is continuously inspired by his older brother who has a disability;
- The young Korean figure skater who won her country's first Olympic medal in her sport and performed flawlessly under immense pressure to beat her own world record and win the gold by a huge margin;
- The Australian world champion skier who is a resident of Vancouver and unlike most athletes, have managed to keep his distance from the media;
- The young American short track athlete of Polish and Filipino ancestry who had sixty stitches on his leg due to an accident in the rink last November but still managed to recover on time for the games and win two medals in his first Olympics;
- The figure skater who is a child of Filipino immigrants who learned how to skate in a frozen pond near their house.

The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics will end tomorrow with the completion of the gold medal match between Canada and the United States in men's hockey. It has been a great experience, our first time to completely follow the staging of a Winter Olympics. While the rest of the world will remember plenty of great and inspiring memories of these Games, a family in Georgia would have buried their beloved Nodar Kumaritashvili, the luge athlete who suffered a fatal crash the morning before the start of the Olympics. It was a dream that turned into a nightmare, as the hopes of a young man who spent so many hours training and qualifying for the Olympic event was dashed during a fateful practise session. I am hopeful that this story will not end as it is, that there will be something good that will come out of this tragedy. I'm not sure what it will be, but if there's something I learned from following the Olympics in the past 22 years, it is that hope trumps any human challenge - even death. Tomorrow will be a totally new day.

Looking forward to the 2012 London Summer Olympics!

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Australian Open 2010 Notes

I’ve gone almost 2 months without adding a single blog post here. That’s probably one of the longest spells I did. Trying to look back in the past two months, there are two major sporting events that prevented me from doing so.

The first one is the Australian Open – the first grand slam in the tennis calendar held in Melbourne. I’m a huge tennis fan, and last month, I stayed awake late into the evening watching live matches from Down Under. I was cheering on Roger Federer to extend his record number of tennis grand slams, amidst the challenge of younger up and coming players such as Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Jo Wilfried Tsonga; and established rivals such as Rafael Nadal and Nikolay Davydenko. Federer passed the hurdles along his way and went on to capture his 16th grand slam title, the most amongst male tennis players.

Then there’s the drama on the women’s side. After being defaulted at the semifinals of the US Open last year, world #1 Serena Williams was intent on proving that she deserves that spot. The un-retirement of rival Justine Henin was another motivating factor. She breezed through her first four matches before almost being knocked out by the talented Belarussian, Victoria Azarenka, in the quarterfinals. But Williams dug deep and made an almost impossible comeback. She then won the championships by defeating Henin in a thrilling 3-set match that saw both players go on streaks until Williams proved to be the steadier player at the end. Serena Williams successfully defended both her singles title and also the doubles title which she won with her older sister, Venus.

Chinese women tennis players also made a stir in the grand slam of the Asia-Pacific as two players from China reached the semifinals of a major for the first time in history. China, with its more than a billion gene pool has been tagged by a lot of tennis observers to be a major power in the future and the performance by a couple of its veteran stars just proved what has been expected all along. Now, the top Chinese player, Na Li / Li Na is now in the top ten. Expect China to produce more top 20 players and rival Russia in the most number of women players at the top in this decade.

I’m looking forward to the French Open in June. In the men’s side - will Rafael Nadal be able to bounce back and reclaim his dominance in Rolland Garros? Or, will Federer defend his crown to add to his 16 major titles? I think the only players capable of challenging Nadal and Federer in Paris will be Novak Djokovic and my name-sake, US Open champion and 2009 French Open semifinalist Juan Martin del Potro. Then again, it’s tennis. Let’s see what the clay court season produces.

In the ladies side, Henin would be the favorite coming into the French Open given her previous four wins in the tournament. But, I wouldn’t discount Serena Williams who made a serious run last year before falling to the Svetlana Kuznetsova, the eventual champion. This year, Serena is the only player with the chance of winning all four grand slams, and even if she doesn’t stay 100% healthy, I think she’ll be able to pull it off. Henin, Serena and Kuznetsova would be my top favorites, and they would be challenged by Kim Clijsters, Dinara Safina and if she can get her act together, maybe 2008 champion Ana Ivanovic will be able to do some damage.

To be continued...

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As Dangerous as Halsema

I lost count how many times I've traveled the Halsema highway that links Baguio City to Sagada. I do remember that I first started traveling this route in Grade 3, way back in 1984 when our whole family first spent our first Christmas and New Year in Baguio City with relatives in Loakan. During my high school and college days, I would travel through this highway at least 5 times a year when I would go home during the summer, semestral break and for the holidays.

The HALSEMA highway is a dangerous one - and on several occassions, it has been fatal to some travelers. I've lost an uncle - my mother's brother in an accident in the Halsema and some relatives as well. It is a route that features daunting curves. For several stretches, one side of the highway would be against a mountain side and for the other side, it would be a drop of several hundred feet. Still, I believe that the relatively few accidents in Halsema is a testament to the skill of Cordillera drivers.

It is fascinating watching the bus drivers navigate through the dangers during a trip. Now that I'm driving, I fully appreciate how they could guide the buses safely to their destinations - day in and day out. I remember how they seemingly handle the steering wheel with ease. These are big wheels - mind you, probably twice or more the circumference of your normal sedan steering wheel. And, unless they've upgraded, the buses do not use power steering.

I am reminded of the Halsema due to a recent a road trip. After midnight on January 2 this year, my family drove the 720+ miles from Maryland to our place in Illinois. We were supposed to leave January 2 evening, but due to the bad weather forecast for the weekend, I decided to pack-up and leave immediately. I was mostly concerned about ice on the highway in Pennsylvania and the lake effect snow in Indiana. As my wife did the packing and had no sleep, I was tasked to drive the first seven hours of the journey covering Maryland, Pennsylvania and into Ohio.

In Pennsylvania, the snow showers started for dozens of miles at a time. I was fine with it because the roads weren't slippery. I took extra caution though not driving the maximum speed, and always making sure that the vehicles ahead of me were traveling at normal speeds. I was on the lookout for vehicles that were slowing down as that would indicate trouble. We left Pennsylvania with no trouble except for the occasions when the snow was falling down hard.

As I drove into Ohio, the problems began. Snow was falling down hard and the highways were covered in an inch or so of snow. I couldn't see the yellow lines anymore and my only guide were the tire tracks ahead of me. It was around 5am so it was still very, very dark. I tried to use the fog lights of the minivan but it actually didn't help. It was actually worse since the lights were reflecting off the falling snow. I couldn't see any vehicles ahead, so I reduced my speed and I went slowly at 30-40mph. I was soon able to catch up with a group of vehicles that were traveling in a single file after around 30 minutes of driving on my own. Then and only then that I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. My wife who was awake enough to see the situation has been praying very hard.

Morning came and the rest of our travel in Ohio was great. Snow was present but the roads were being treated and the sunshine was a welcome sight. My wife took over the driving and after a brunch stop, I was able to sleep for an hour or so. I dreaded passing by Indiana, but I knew the situation was better because it was daytime.

My wife drove into Indiana before we switched. Visibility wasn't so good, and lake effect snow was falling down hard and made everything look gloomy. The snow scenes in this post were taken from Indiana. From the road, the scenes nearby looked very pretty - everything was covered in snow. My wife and I marveled at the irony... amidst all this beauty is the cold reality of danger. Indiana has the highest maximum speed at 70mph along our route and despite the very poor visibility, vehicles were wheezing by at such fast speeds. An accident at these speeds and with the traffic was bound to hurt a lot of people, and would most likely cause deaths as well. We drove for at least an hour in this condition.

For every dark stage in a journey, there is always the bright side. As we were nearing Chicago, the skies suddenly brightened. It was as if the lake effect snow was constrained to only a particular part of Indiana. One could actually pinpoint a border where it was snowing and a few meters ahead, the snow stopped and the sun was shining brightly. Ah, thank GOD for a safe journey. We're now in Chicago. The sight of the Chicago Skyline and the Sears towers are always a welcome for us after a long drive from Maryland.

We completed our trip all breaks included in 13 hours. Compare that to our record of 10 hours and 45 minutes during our recent Thanksgiving trip. The extra hours were mostly due to the meal break we had and the weather. But we got home safe and sound.

HAPPY, HAPPY NEW YEAR to all this blog's visitors. May it be a year of good health and joyful memories with your loved ones. And yes, stay safe during your trips.

Photo at the top and below: Road scenes from Indiana. Taken during morning hours, the sun wasn't shining and snow covered the trees and surroundings.


Photo below: The Sears Tower is always a welcome sight after a long journey.


Photo below: My boys pose by our very dirty and grime/snow/salt covered faithful minivan. I had to wait later in the week for another winter storm before giving it a good exterior car wash.

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Merry Christmas

It's 3.40 am Christmas morn - I just wanted to jot down some notes before calling it a night. It has been a great Christmas Eve spent first by attending a Christmas worship service, then spending the rest of the evening at the house of one of my sisters here in Maryland. For the first time in many, many years, Maryland actually out-snowed Illinois. Click on the photo taken from one of my sister's houses. They haven't dared remove the accumulated snow at their deck. It's more than a foot high.

#1. Christmas is best spent with family. Three of my sisters and their families live in Maryland. We're the only ones residing in Illinois. We postponed our Illinois - Maryland trip from Dec 18 evening to Dec 21 evening due to the worst winter storm in Maryland. When we finally hit the road, the forecast was clear all throughout our journey. BUT, reality was different. The visibility was very bad when we passed Indiana with snow swirling all around.

The worst happened in Pennsylvania though. We were travelling at the maximum speed when I felt our minivan slip in the road. I immediately slowed down and sure enough, saw that the highway was covered in a thin layer of ice. I noticed the vehicles ahead of us were going very slow and had their hazard lights on. I did the same. The scarier part was ahead of us. As we were crossing a bridge, we could see a small car ahead of us slowly losing control and slipping sideways as it crossed the bridge. I thought we were crazy to have taken the drive we did. But who could have known? A college friend did the same drive at a time that the forecast was worse. Their family encountered less problems than we did.

God was real gracious and allowed us to complete our journey without any other incidents. Christmas is meant to be spent with family and we are just so happy to be here.

#2. Look out for Christmas blessings. They're everywhere. While we were very bored and anxious waiting whether or not to make the trip to Maryland, we decided to attend the Sunday worship service at Willow Creek church in South Barrington. It was the biggest church I've seen so far. I've heard a lot about the church for a long time now and had made plans to visit it earlier. I'm glad we did this particular Sunday.

The Christmas carol singing was wonderful. Led by a nationally-acclaimed choir director, the whole congregation were urged to sing their best for Jesus. After all, isn't He the reason for the season? At least a couple of thousand voices joined the choir with joyful voices and it was hard to imagine not being blessed for taking part in those songs. The singing was recorded and was available in a CD after the service. Now I have my own Christmas album.

The message was simple yet profound. Jesus was the only human ever to have a say on when and where He would be born. He chose to enter our world through a place where animals were kept, and chose parents that society would have easily ignored as insignificant. Imagine the dirt, the noise, the chaos, the circumstances where the animals stayed - he chose to enter the very world he created in the most humble manner. Imagine what Joseph and Mary would have thought about delivering a baby in the least ideal of settings - and yet, that was the time that Jesus chose to arrive.

Indeed, God rarely shows up in situations when everything is under our control. It is when we are most needy, when we are most weak, when we are most humbled, and when we are most searching that He chooses to show Himself. Now that I think about it, it is in our most vulnerable moments that we can actually show our purest love. And rightfully, those moments are when we most encounter JESUS - love in human form.

We wouldn't have heard of the message had we not been delayed. God's timing is always perfect. We just have to wait on Him.

As the old ladies would say in my hometown of Sagada, MILI KLISMAS! Spend it well with your family, and keep your eyes wide open for those Christmas blessings.

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Sagada Christmas Memories

Before I got married, I spent all my Christmases either in Sagada or in a remote barangay of Tabuk, the the capital of what was then known as Kalinga-Apayao. But, I can only remember one Christmas spent in Tabuk, whereas almost 99% of my Christmas memories have Sagada as its setting. Knowingly or unknowingly, our folks have raised us to treasure Christmas and have a sense of tradition around it. Because of this, I am now trying to do the same with my children as well. I’m listing my fondest Christmas memories in Sagada as they appear on my mind:

- Decorating a tree. It was a real pine tree that we chose for the house and we would make it stand in a can filled with stones, not an easy task.

- Decorating our rooms at school. During the later years in elementary school, a group of students would be assigned a corner of the room to decorate. The class would have a maguey tree for its Christmas tree and we’d decorate it with classroom-made decors.

- Attending the community program at the basketball court on Christmas Eve.

- Singing with the choir at the church. I attended Christmas morning service before high school but I was allowed to attend the Christmas Eve service around high school. When the collegians come home for the holidays, the singing goes to a new level. “Glo-ooooo-ooooo-ooooo-ria, in excelsis dey-ey-oooo!” is sang in four very distinct voices by the whole congregation.

- Going home after the midnight mass and eating a slice of lemon pie / chocolate cake.

- The very, very cold Sagada weather especially when going home after midnight mass. During my teen years, it wouldn’t be that cold especially when I was tipsy from an earlier drinking session.

- Opening our presents on Christmas morn. Unlike my children and most other children here in the US, we were very happy with just one gift. We’d be ecstatic with two.

- My grandfather’s grapefruit breakfast. Choosing the juiciest grapefruit is part of the fun. Not sure how many other families can relate to that.
- The cakes and pies my aunt, my cousins, and my sisters bake. The Sagada fruit salad is found nowhere else.

- Preparing for the Christmas Eve and Christmas lunch meals. The kitchen was always busy.

- Inviting friends and relatives over for Christmas lunch. I wasn’t really that fond for the dish washing that would be assigned to me after the meal.

This blog wishes you and your family a Merry, Merry Christmas.

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Elementary and Junior High Winter Orchestra

We accompanied our 5th grader as he was going to perform in the winter orchestra at their school. Our eldest started playing violin 5 years ago, when he was still homeschooled in the Philippines. When we moved to the US, he stopped playing. In their music class, he chose to join the Beginner's Orchestra group and he had to start with his violin lessons from scratch. It's a good thing because he lost most of his skills from his previous lessons. The winter orchestra is their first of 3 performances for the school year.

Winter Concert Atmosphere - the performance was held at the auditorium of the school district's high school. The audience were mostly family members of those who were performing.


Grade 5 Performance: My son is the kid in front of the second column from the left. I was pretty amused at the applause the audience gave the beginner's orchestra after each tune.


Grade 6 Peformance: There is a young Fil-Am amongst the better players in this group. He is the violin player on the left of the conductor. The group played a catchy "Frosty the Snowman" and the audience responded by clapping along. My son said they shouldn't have done that because it was difficult to hear the music. I thought it was just appropriate - the audience were showing their appreciation. And, it was sort of a family-type concert, not a formal one.


Grade 7: Look for a guy on the far-end left. He was really good. I'm not a violin expert but one could tell he was enjoying and performing well. He was one of the few violin soloists, and he also played a different instrument later in the evening.


Junior High (Grade 7 & Grade 8) Ensemble: Playing one of the more popular pieces for the night. My wife actually counted that of the 16 members of the group, 13 of them were of Asian descent.


Flashback: Video of my son 5 years ago performing at his first violin group recital in the Philippines. He stopped playing the violin for 4 years and had to start again under the beginner's orchestra group at age 10. Now that I think about it, the complexity of what he was doing then was not much different from what he was doing now.

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Our 5th Grader's Spelling Season Ends Early

Around 3 weeks ago, our 5th grader (and eldest) informed us that he was vying as class rep for the spelling bee. I asked him if he had time to do so considering his many activities already. He is part of the student council, is leading a group for a book club competition, has a violin class, taking part in Math competition, and always vying for a top10 spot at the church’s AWANA program. He said he’ll find time to learn some spelling.

He found a book we have at home on interesting English words. For the first few days, he was really into it. He got to know some English words derived from foreign languages. He had fun learning the spelling and meaning of some of the longest words there are including "antidisestablishmentarianism" and "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis". I was surprised to know that "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" was even a word. And, he laughed out loud when he was telling me about the meaning of "floccinaucinihilipilification". (Before you get too impressed with how I’m spelling these words, do know that I’m just copying and pasting from Google.) Yep, he amazed me with how he can say these words in a straight manner when they all seem like tongue twisters to me.

On a separate note, he said that a particular classmate whom he bested when they both run for class student council representative literally begged him not to take part in the spelling bee so others can also have a chance to represent the class. This girl apparently told him to “please, please not join the spelling bee”. Others were also already telling my son that he’ll surely get one of the 2 slots for the class. So yep, my son knew that he was a frontrunner early on.

Days passed by and we barely noticed it. Pretty soon, my son was cramming one Wednesday night because his class spelling bee was the next day. On hindsight, I can say that my son fell to what we Pinoys call the “ningas cogon” mentality. He failed to follow up on his initial super-enthusiasm. It probably didn’t help that the bee fell on the last week of the calendar year, a relatively busy week in a 5th grader’s calendar.

On Thursday evening, I learned that he didn’t get one of the two slots for his class. He fell in the second round. More surprising I guess, is the word where he made a mistake. He spelled "casino" incorrectly. Upon hearing that, our 3rd grader looked up from a book he was reading and said: “I can spell that – c-a-s-i-n-o”. I’m sure that didn’t sit well with his older brother. At his class, our eldest spelled the word with a double "s".

As a very competitive person, my son dislikes not coming out on top. But what really got into him was the ribbing he got from his classmates. "I couldn’t believe you didn’t know how to spell that!" were one of the friendlier lobs that were sent his way. His mother had a consolation for him – "it just means our family is not really into gambling". Way to go, mom. That night, he had to focus on something else. He joined other 5th graders as they performed in a winter orchestra – the first of three that they’ll be performing for the school year.

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On Sunday evening, we were singing some Christmas Carols to pass the time. I was telling my sons how we as children changed the words of "Feliz Navidad" to "Bilis Binigat". Loosely translated, that means "dried fish (bilis) every breakfast (binigat)" in Ilokano. Not knowing Ilokano, my eldest enthusiastically said that he knew what I was singing about. He thought it was about telling a heavy child to hurry up. I looked at him, puzzled. He explained - "You know - bilis is fast, bigat is heavy". Hehehe, poor child. He was using Tagalog to translate the phrase. I cracked up. I was about to tease him on "casino" but not wanting to spoil the mood, I stopped short of doing that.

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On some long-ish drives, the boys would amuse themselves by imitating a spelling bee. Recently, they asked me to give them some spelling words.

Me: "Ok, spell this (don't remember the word but it was a non-English one)."
Eldest: "Can you give me the definition please?"
Me: "It means ***definition of word***".

Eldest: "Can you give me a different pronunciation, please?"
At this point, I'd give a different pronunciation in my best foreign accent.

Eldest: "Can you give me the origin, please?"
Me: "It's ***name of language***".

My eldest remains stumped. At this point, he starts giggling. In his most innocent tone, he asks,
"Can you give me the spelling please?"

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Thanksgiving Trip & Lessons from a Turkey Project

While I was washing the dishes a couple of weekends ago, my wife hinted of how much fun it would be if our family were to spend the week of Thanksgiving in Maryland – where my 3 older sisters and their families live. I immediately shot down the “absurd” idea because – we were trying to minimize our spending; I was working that week; we had several appointments scheduled; and the idea of driving 12 hours was tiresome knowing that we would be travelling to Maryland for Christmas and New Year anyway. But the wife was persistent and as any married man with an iota of wisdom would know, the overall health of the whole family depends largely on the mood of the mother. In Tagalog, huwag hayaang dumilim ang liwanag ng ilaw ng tahanan.

Somehow, the constraints slowly disappeared. The cost didn’t seem to be that much. My unused vacation days were creatively re-scheduled. Dental appointments were postponed by a week. A parent-teacher conference was arranged to be done by phone. A confirmed attendance to a birthday party was cancelled. And yes, the 12-hour trip didn’t seem so tiring anymore. The trip was eventually confirmed on a Wednesday. We left Illinois for Maryland last Friday evening, and before Saturday lunch the next day – we had the pleasure of walking into the home of one of my sisters un-announced. The other sister got a surprising phone call announcing our presence. Only one of my 3 sisters was informed of the trip.

I’m glad we did make the trip – my wife is enjoying a much needed break in the company of my sisters, the boys are having a blast with their cousins, and after several months of stressful projects at work, I definitely needed a vacation. Thank GOD for persistent wives.

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Earlier this evening at the Thanksgiving Eve worship service we attended, the congregation was asked to write down what we were thankful for on pieces of paper that were provided. These were then collected as offerings of thanksgiving. I listed my children amongst the top reasons to be thankful for. Without going into a lot of details, I’ve learned so much about GOD and myself due to my children in the past months or so.

A couple of weeks ago, my 3rd grader – the artist of the family and I were having a discussion regarding his Thanksgiving turkey project. The whole class was given a white paper in the outline of a turkey. See the image below:



They were asked to “disguise” the turkey so it could escape from ending at the Thanksgiving dinner table. I was explaining how my son could approach his project. As I am oftentimes do in this kind of situation, I was starting to take control and was becoming very impatient. I suggested that he could disguise the turkey as a tree, or as a pumpkin. I was getting annoyed that he wasn’t digging my suggestions. So, with a barrage of tense words, I left him to work on his project alone.

A few moments later, he informed me that he would disguise his turkey as the Mayflower. My first thought was – how the heck does one do that? The Mayflower? Does he even know what that is? It turned out that he did. And as he slowly explained his idea, I felt myself slowly wanting to sink to the floor. I then realized that my son wasn’t warm to my suggestions because he had better things in mind.

I’ve been a strong believer that parents are solely responsible for helping their children achieve their highest potential. Though I fail repeatedly, I do my best to love, nurture, mentor, and be the best example for my 3 boys. I sometimes forget though, that children weren’t meant just to be taken cared for by their parents. In many ways, they are there to mold me as a person, and to also strengthen my character. And character is no small thing – after all, from a biblical perspective, I will be taking my character with me to eternity. In contrast, my accomplishments, career, and material possessions, all which seem to be so important in this fleeting lifetime will eventually vanish.

In the case of the turkey project, God has spoken to me through my child. I need to work on my humility. I need to work on my patience. I need to be less judgmental of my child’s abilities – or any other person for that matter. I need to be less judgmental, period. Sometimes, things that may seem as ordinary as a pumpkin or a tree to me, can actually be as complex and as purposeful as the Mayflower. I thank God for my child, and for the lesson I learned through him.

I share below his completed turkey, and his accompanying write-up. Happy Thanksgiving!

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11 Years and Counting

Last weekend, my wife and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. It was a simple celebration - we packed some snacks and headed to the beach, got lost along the way, but still arrived at the beach on time to enjoy the sun and the sand for a good 3 hours. Chicago's Foster Beach is one of the family friendlier ones, and the parking is relatively easy even on busy Saturday afternoons. Dinner was a visit to a Mediterranean restaurant near our place that had a good deal on kiddie meals. We dropped by for some coffee at the nearby Starbucks and went home late in the evening - exhausted but joyful. The next day after church service and lunch, we went looking for an ice cream parlor and found out that it just recently closed. No problem - the nearby grocery store had some ice cream and pretty soon, we were enjoying the treats near a fountain. A visit to a playground and hitting some balls at a tennis court rounded out our anniversary weekend.

11 years seem to have gone by so fast. After 3 children, and a seemingly nomadic existence that saw our family reside and visit 7 countries in 4 continents - still, I have that feeling that we're just starting our journey. I suppose that's a good thing. Better to have that than feeling the opposite.

My wife and I tried recalling how we celebrated our previous anniversaries. I had the better memory as she keeps on saying that part of her memories were lost due to anesthesia given on the three occasions that she gave birth. (Men, we really are blessed not to go through that). Here's my best effort in listing down our celebrations:

1998: got married in Quezon City; a morbid thought but 2 of the few present during our wedding are now gone - 1 was my paternal grandmother, and 1 was my college buddy.

1999: 1st anniversary - had lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Timog. Our oldest was born earlier in the year and he was with us for that lunch.

2000: 2nd anniversary - had dinner at a seafood restaurant in Singapore, again, accompanied by our eldest who was now a toddler. We flew to Bangkok for a weekend later that month.

2001: 3rd anniversary - first time to miss my anniversary - I was on assignment in Portugal. A colleague dropped some flowers and a cake for my wife and boys. Our second child was born earlier in the year.

2002: 4th anniversary - missed our anniversary by a few days as I was in Paris. I did give my wife some letters I wrote on the plane coming home. We left the boys and had an evening on our own.

2003: 5th anniversary - we attended our first marriage retreat in Tagaytay. I was a new Christian and it was a huge realization how God had been working in our marriage even when I thought that it was "just chance" that brought us together.

2004: 6th anniversary - our third son was born earlier that year. I can't remember a specific celebration but it most likely was with our children as we couldn't leave our youngest who was breastfeeding at the time.

2005: 7th anniversary - dinner and a movie for the two of us in the Podium area. I remember this as the year we started our discipleship group. We opted out for that particular Monday meeting and then we bumped into our group as we were going for the movie.

2006: 8th anniversary - I'm drawing a blank but most likely, it was an evening just for the two of us in Eastwood - our favorite and convenient hang-out during this period. I'm also seeing photos of a family outing/picnic in UP during the weekend.

2007: 9th anniversary - first year in the US. I took a long lunch break from work, and had lunch at a Japanese restaurant with the family. We then all spent a weekend afternoon boating in Kenosha, Wisconsin with a Filipina colleague and her husband.

2008: 10th anniversary - my mom and all 5 of my sisters greeted my wife. I'm sure they know how difficult a person I am to live with, and appreciated my wife's efforts through the years, hehehe. Also, I got my wife a gift that probably was the first one she approved of in terms of it being a "good deal". (Finally, after 10 years!) And, the family spent a day at a waterpark.

My wife and I joke that we are looking forward to the next 66 or 77 years of married life here on earth. It has been a great journey, and we do feel that the best is yet to come. Not everything is smooth sailing; we do have a lot of challenges and we're working on a lot of things. But at the same time, we are very much aware that part of God's plan for us is to be good stewards of the gifts He has provided. Marriage is one of the best gifts God has showered on His people - for this, we are simply very thankful.

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South Beach Diet works...

Growing up, I was always skinny. No matter how much I ate, I never seemed to gain weight. This was true all the way until college, and when I started working. Then I got married. And I suppose as true in almost a 100% of the cases, I started to pack it in. I never tracked my weight until recently, but I knew it wasn't a good situation when my clothes started NOT to fit. And then came the reminders. An aunt, very much aware that my dad passed away due to cardiac arrest at the age of 48 warned me to watch it. Other well-meaning relatives warned me of the same. Aside from my clothes not fitting, I also realized I was tiring easily. I couldn't keep up with my boys on a few minutes of soccer. My annual wellness check-up last year indicated I was well into the overweight stage - closer to being obese than being in the normal range. My blood sugar was up, and my cholesterol level was not ideal.

Somehow, I got convicted to do something about it. I remember a visitor we had last year indicating that the South Beach diet worked for her. I researched in the Internet and found out that the diet was designed by a cardiologist; and was used successfully by a lot of people including former President Bill Clinton. So I gritted my teeth and decided to pursue it.

The most challenging part was the first phase of the diet - the first 2 weeks was very strict. No RICE, no FRUIT, no PASTA, no CORN, no POTATOES - the idea was to emphasize lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. Low-glycemic-index vegetables are allowed as well as low-fat cheese, nuts, eggs. I thought I wouldn't be able to keep it but I knew I had to try.

Day 1 was fine; but Day 2 was a disaster. There was a food festival at the office showcasing various foods from Asia Pacific countries - I threw the diet out of the window and indulged in all types of food from the Philippines, India, Russia, China, Pakistan and Korea. Yum. In my mind, there was always a Day 3, hahaha. Eventually, I was able to complete 14 consecutive days of strict dieting - the final result: a grand weight loss of 12 pounds. I did minimal exercising - just following a rigid diet that didn't allow me to starve and had me snacking twice a day between 3 full meals. The results were dramatic enough for some colleagues who saw me everyday at the office to notice it. I was smiling too as I noticed my once too-tight clothes fitting more nicely.

There's a sub-story to it - my wife, who wasn't really convinced initially that I would stick to my diet saw the changes in me. When I was on my second week, she started her first week too. She never got to complete the full 14-day routine, but she has cut down on her carbohydrate intake and voila, she also has lost 10 pounds or so. It's been almost 2 months since we lost weight and we've managed to keep the pounds off - even after attending several picnics and parties. We haven't really stuck to the 2nd and 3rd phases of the South Beach diet which should lead us to reach our target body weight, but we're getting there. The first phase was a good weight loss starter. We do plan to shed more pounds in the coming months so our body mass index (BMI) would be well within the normal range.

Some of the wonderful lessons on losing weight:
- losing weight together with your spouse is a very enriching experience
- exploring new food choices can be fun
- plain boiled / steamed vegetables can be very tasty
- you don't have to starve to lose weight
- me, a Filipino, can survive without rice
- attitude matters (I guess in everything, including losing weight)
- eating the right foods will make you continually crave for the right foods
- turning your back on an ice cream cone / soda can be very satisfying
- my knees are happier when I jog now that I'm 12 lbs lighter

Online tools I use: South Beach Diet for Beginner; Body Mass Index Calculator. The photo above is a lovingly prepared meal of scrambled egg, ground chicken breast and vegetables, string cheese, asparagus and assorted nuts. And, for any weight loss activity, the BEFORE (May 2009) and AFTER (June 2009) photos serve as evidence.

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Turned 33, and Much Ado about the Swine Flu, er H1N1 Virus

I turned 33 earlier this week, and its probably a week that I'll not forget in a long time. It is the week of the swine flu, or as not to insult our piggy friends, we'll refer to it as the H1N1 virus. Many thanks to a lot of people; my wife who cooked a couple of wonderful dishes and baked a calorie-laden treat; my kids who made my day special as they always do (see crafts in photo); colleagues who treated me to a nice lunch; friends and relatives who called, emailed, and sent greetings through Friendster or Facebook. Of course, to a loving Creator who loves me so much, that He was willing to pay for the penalty of my sins as I could never ever do it on my own accord. It is a week to mark my turning a year older - it is also a week of great thanksgiving.

As I told my a friend as we were heading out for lunch, it is the end of the 1st third of my life. That means I intend to live until 99 years old. The "intend" part is great, the "doing" piece is the challenge. Genes are on my side though - all my grandparents lived to their late 70s and beyond. That despite my paternal grandfather having a heart condition, and my paternal grandmother having asthma that she unwillingly passed to me. My dad however, died prematurely at 48. He was a jolly man who had a great appetite for life and for food. Sadly though, his love for food caused him to have a skewed BMI that led to an early fatal cardiac arrest. Right now, I'm doing my best to keep my body mass index lower - I need to lose 20 pounds more to get back to the normal range. Not easy to do, mind you. But again, it's all part of the "doing".

Such reflections always keep me busy during my birthdays. This week's news on the H1N1 virus kept me alert and tuned in to the online news. You see, the virus is a great reminder of our own mortality. The day of my birthday, the US had its first H1N1 death - a Mexican toddler visiting Texas. The same day, an elementary school closed in Chicago, followed by a couple more schools elsewhere in the state. I was watching the news while working out and a neighbor who was in the same gym looked at me and rolled his eyes - it's bound to happen, he remarked, referring to the arrival of the virus in our state. There's 35,000 annual deaths in the US due to regular flu, and there are a quarter of a million hospitalizations. To have one confirmed case in a metropolitan of almost 4 million is normal. The numbers are in fact, bound to go up.

I remember the SARS scare earlier in this decade. I was doing the Manila - Paris route regularly during that time. I loved Cathay Pacific so much (really - great service and frequent flyer miles program) that I stuck to them rather than try another airline. That meant I had to pass by Hong Kong each time. Not a problem. I had my mask purchased at a Manila drug store, and plenty of ascorbic acid - the generic type. Here I was, a husband and dad to a young wife and 2 very young children - passing through a death zone, and having no fear at all. Then again, what were the odds of getting the virus? HKIA at that time would have been one of the cleanest places in the world, what with the regular scrubbing and disinfecting of the airport by the vigilant Chinese. There was a particular perk too, the planes were never a quarter full that even in the cabin, I could stretch out my legs, occupy five or six seats, and doze off while actually lying down. Who needed first class?

As of this writing, the H1N1 virus has landed in Asia with the first case being that of a Mexican tourist arriving sick in Hong Kong. It's probably the best place in Asia where it can happen. Hong Kong's efficiency is unparalleled given their prior experience and their resources. True enough, a hotel with 300+ guests was quarantined, and the 250+ passengers and crew that used the same plane as the Mexican tourist were contacted immediately. Even the taxi drivers that drove the tourist from the airport to the hotel were located. Much ado about nothing? I don't think so. Prevention is better than cure, and with Hong Kong's proximity to our beloved country, who knows how many Filipino lives would be spared due to Hong Kong's vigilance?

On Thursday evening, my wife and I were playing a form of charades with our 2 younger children when I felt a lump in my throat and general body weakening. I went to bed having chills, and woke up the next morning not feeling a 100% well. I tried to work from home but somehow, the remote connection at the client site wasn't working. I couldn't call in sick - had a couple of can't miss deadlines so I went to work. I managed to finish the day, but felt more sick later in the evening. I was coughing and sneezing as well. I couldn't join the family at the dinner table, and missed a planned visit to the pool with the boys.

This morning, I went looking for a mask at Walgreens. I had to drive my wife and the kids to some activities, and had to at least prevent them from catching whatever virus I had. I looked for 10 minutes around the store for a mask. I could have gone another 10 minutes searching, but I decided to use my common sense and ask the clerk instead. I was informed that mask supplies were pulled out from all Walgreens stores in anticipation of a huge demand due to the current H1N1 virus situation.

I couldn't believe it! What if I had the H1N1 virus and was passing it out to everyone I'm in contact with just because I didn't have a mask? Or, what if I had the normal flu, and was going to pass them to my family because I didn't have a mask, and their resistance would go down? And what if our bodies encountered the H1N1 virus while our resistance were down? I guess it made no sense ranting at the store clerk so I just picked a box of over-the-counter flu relief medication, and a bag of spicy Mexican chicharon and drove back home. A question was slowly raised in my mind after I consumed more than half of the chicharon. What if the chicharon had some H1N1 virus in it? Aaah, the curse of a flu-weakened mind.

So, here I am, a few days into my 34th year with flu-like symptoms and nourished with a couple hundred of chicaron calories. I'll be limiting my exposure to the kids during this weekend, and might even miss that Pacquaio match at a friend's place later this evening. It's not the way I envisioned my birthday weekend to be but hey, it could be much worse. I'll take it with gladness and joy in my heart.

Do join me as I sing this song - Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear Sagada Igorot, Happy Birthday to me!

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New York Visit

My wife's birthday came and we decided that she'll have a weekend of her own, away from her 4 boys (myself included). She hasn't had a full weekend off from being a wife / mom / homemaker / homeschooler since we came to the US last Nov 2006. I have some frequent flyer miles expiring this year that were leftover from my "European tour of duty". She chose to accept an aunt's invitation to visit New Jersey, and get a full day to check out the Big Apple. When we told our 3 boys the plan, they wondered how I, a kitchen misfit could take care of them on my own. (No rolling of eyes please). "Are we going to have tuna omelette 3 times a day?", they asked. I'm sure they would have wanted that - heck, I make the best tuna omelette this side of the world. My wife as always, had the perfect solution. She'll cook meals in advance for me to thaw and cover the 6 lunches and dinners where she would be absent. The breakfasts were up to me. Our youngest started crying 2 nights before her mom left for her short vacation. He couldn't remember a single night that he slept when his mother was not around.

I worked from home one Friday last February and brought my wife to O'hare for her 11am trip to Newark. She got delayed twice, and ended up in New Jersey at around 5pm. She had her reunion with an aunt (her dad's sister) whom she hasn't seen for more than a decade. The whole Saturday was spent touring New York. She got to see the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Ellis Island Immigration Museum, and Times Square. She passed by Ground Zero and the United Nations building. Her stay was too short to include a visit to Central Park, the art museums, or a Broadway play. But, she was able to accompany her aunt on some personal visits as well. It was a whirlwind visit, short and sweet, but a refreshing one for her.

An hour before we were to pick their mother, our 10 year old was leading his 2 younger brothers around our place dusting the furniture fervently and fixing their beds. "We want to surprise mom." I was impressed by how my son fixed the beds. He had his mother's knack for arranging things. While everything went well during their mom's absence, we all felt incomplete and were very eager to see her back. We picked her up at the Chicago O'hare airport on Sunday - late evening. She confided that while she welcomed the time away from home, the waiting times on her 2 flights provided an opportunity for her to reflect on our family, God's faithfulness, and how blessed we were to have each other. And yes, she admitted to missing us, despite being away for less than 72 hours.

Our friends' reactions to my wife's getaway were amusing. A mother from church said that she'd ask for a time away from her family as well. Another friend in Ohio remarked, "Why didn't she tell me? I could have gone with her." She's the mother of 2 children younger than 4. We look forward to visiting New York together as a family. It's one of the world's most exciting cities, and has a lot of interesting places to explore. That will have to wait though - my wife said the boys will enjoy the visit more if they're older.

Later that week, as we sat down to watch a DVD, my wife excitedly pointed out a scene from the movie shot in Times Square. "Been there!", she said. I smiled at and for her.

The Ellis Island Immigration Museum features a collage of American immigrant faces. At the other side of the collage is the American flag.

A mural depicting the future scene at Ground Zero.

Only in New York - a discount shop for millionaires.

A human statue takes a rest to have a chat.

The Empire State Building.

A view of the New York skyline from the viewing deck of the Empire State Building.

Amongst other things, Times Square is probably the most recognizable New Year party place.

Our liberty boys posing with souvenirs from Mom's New York visit.

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Encounter with an American Indian

Once in awhile, you get to meet persons that even if you listen to them talk for just a few minutes, they leave you with lasting impressions. Such was the case one Saturday morning when my family and I braved the January wintry weather to participate in cultural presentations at the nearby library. The events program listed a particular presentation as American Indian Dances. I thought that my boys would be interested so we joined other families at the library conference room.

The speaker was an American Indian from an Illinois tribe. He was garbed in what he described as his tribe's attire. He said it wasn't a costume, since costume is what you wear during Halloween. I thought that he looked like a normal white American, not having the features that we watch of Indians in Hollywood movies. He hosts a radio program and he introduced his wife, who he says works as a banker. He spoke on which particular tribe he was a part of, and shared some information that I took some mental notes on. Among other things he shared were:

• The word "chicago" was derived from a local word that sounded like 'shikaag' which meant skunk. Apparently, if you added an "o" at the end, it denotes a place. Chicago would have meant a stinking place.

• Tribes in the US that are known as "American Indians" do not really see themselves as such. They go by the actual name of their tribes / nations. Most of them wouldn't know much about other tribal cultures.

• Different tribes organize pow-wows where they gather together, eat, and participate in dances.

• In the US, few institutions / individuals are legally allowed to hold eagles feathers like the one he was wearing as a headgear. This include museums, research institutes, and native Americans.

• There is no truth that original native Americans crossed land bridges from Asia. All their creation and migration stories do not include such stories.

• In native American mythology, there are 8 phases in this world. The current time is nearing the end of the 7th phase, and the 8th phase would be the arrival of a new earth.

• Most depiction of Indian culture in Hollywood movies are far from reality.

Listening to him talk, I sensed the deep love he has for his roots. I fully understand it. In a way, both native American tribes and the Igorots share something in common. We've managed to keep our values despite the influence of the outer world. We also share being misunderstood and misrepresented.

This guy did warn of one thing - it's about losing one's dialect. He said that once the dialect is dead, everything about the culture also dies. Amongst my children, only my 10-year old understand Kankana-ey, our dialect in Sagada. But he cannot speak it. He's also the only one amongst my children who speaks and understands Tagalog. I know I've been procrastinating about it - but something must be done. My children also need to learn how to speak Kankana-ey and Tagalog. It will make them appreciate their roots more, and somehow, allow them to understand where they're going.

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US Capitol Tour, Close Encounters with Erap and GMA

(Left: Posing in front of the US Capitol)

One Saturday afternoon during our December holiday, my brother-in-law took us to Washington, DC for a tour of the US Capitol. We took the train to the capital's Union Station, and from there did the 10 minute or so walk to the United States Capitol Complex. The weather was very mild, and it was a good time to stroll with the kids and do a bit of sight seeing / history field trip.

The Capitol is amongst the world's most widely recognizable buildings. It is the meeting place of the US legislative bodies, a museum, and a tourist attraction apparently visited by millions every year. The construction of the building began in 1793 and has been built, burnt, rebuilt, extended, and restored. It is part of a complex that includes the US House and Senate buildings, the Supreme Court building, the Library of Congress buildings. For this afternoon, we only had time to explore the museum inside the Capitol.

We got on a mid-afternoon guided tour that started with a 13-minute film, "Out of Many, One" - a look back on how modern United States was created. The tour went around several chambers including a huge one at the bottom of the dome. Each chamber was filled with artworks and statues representing all 50 states in the US.

As we were waiting in line, I had a quick conversation with my wife as I saw our 3 sons goofing around with their cousins. Our conversation turned to whether or not our children comprehend the places that we visit. Our 2 older sons probably appreciate that they get to see some of the characters and places that they learn about in their lessons. Our youngest at 4 years old, may probably think of this day as just another sightseeing afternoon. He'd most likely remember the train ride and his encounter with the squirrels at the Capitol grounds more than the tour itself.

Close Encounters with Philippine Presidents. Visiting the Capitol, so near the powers that be in this country made me think back of my own encounters with 2 Philippine presidents, and a near encounter with an American president. I was in senior high school in Manila when I joined a group of students that went to attend one of the US bases hearing at the Senate building in Manila. After the session, some of the senators approached the visitors gallery and had conversations with us, the regular folks. Then Senator Erap Estrada was nearby so wanting to start a conversation with him, I turned on an audio recorder I had in my hand, held it out in front of his face like a reporter, and proceeded to ask him some of the questions I had in mind. I noticed that while talking to me, he would put his mouth close to the recorder, maybe to ensure that what he was telling me was properly recorded. What he didn't know was that I ran out of tape earlier in the day, and I just turned the recorder's power on though there was no tape inside. My teachers had a good laugh when I told them about it while we were going back to school.

As for President Gloria Arroyo, I was a listener at a forum in the University of the Philippines during the campaign period of the 1996 Senatorial Elections. Then Senator Arroyo was on stage with other senatorial candidates, and I could vividly recall how small a lady she was. When she spoke at the podium, she had a low commanding voice and an immense presence that I don't think is captured on TV. That was the time when she was completing her first term as a senator, and she was better known as one of the hard working senators. Public perception on her is totally different now, a blogger posted on this blog that she is the biggest bully of them all.

I did have a near encounter with President George W Bush. This was during his visit to the Philippines though I don't remember which year it was. I was watching TV when I learned that a motorcade bearing him was driving from Manila to the Batasan Complex where he was scheduled to give a speech in front of the Philippine Congress. His route would take him through Commonwealth Avenue and then right to Batasan Road. That was a 10minute walk from our home and it was where I pass by when I ride a tricycle to work. I was in house clothes (sorry, no better term for pambahay) and rubber slippers but when I got to where he was supposed to pass, I believe that the motorcade passed by already. Sayang! (Too bad.) The road was narrow, and I could have told my family that day that I got within 2 or 3 meters of President Bush, hehehe.

(Below: The Capitol in the afternoon sun)

(Below: A closer look at the dome. Note the Statue of Freedom at the top of the dome.)

(Below: My eldest joins other tourist in checking out a replica of the Statue of Freedom in the newly opened Visitor's Center at the Capitol.)

(Below: A YouTube video of the US Capitol. I chose this video because it showed what the inside of the dome looked like. Too bad, I wasn't able to write "SaGaDa-iGoRoT was here" in the walls, hehehe)

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Our December Road Trip

(Photo: Rural Pennsylvania scene, Dec 2008)

In the 2 weeks during our Christmas – New Year vacation, I drove almost 2000 miles. Majority of this was the more than 1400+ miles 2-way drive from our northern Chicago home to the houses of my 3 sisters and their families in Maryland.

Eventful Drive. Our drive to Maryland was quite eventful. We started after midnight in a day where there were almost 12 inches of snow in most of the Midwest. I knew we had to leave after the snow settled and the roads were cleared because in another 24 hours, another snowstorm was scheduled to arrive. I was more than scared – so scared that I downloaded a free “last will” template from the Internet; and hurriedly customized one for my wife and one for myself. We had 2 neighbors witness it being signed at 1am, minutes before we hit the road. It was our first time to do our wills.

I worked from home that day and slept for 4 hours during the evening so I should not be sleepy while driving. That was the plan. Bad plan though. At 6am in the morning, we were at the Ohio turnpike, going 60+ mph in not so ideal visibility, and I was slapping my face and hitting my front legs with my fists, and chewing on some candies just to keep my eyes open while maneuvering through what seemed to be mostly 18-wheeler traffic. My wife and I were slightly amused to observe that one truck that seemed driven by a drunk / sleepy driver attempt to overtake other vehicles. To make matters worse, I was driving on borrowed glasses. At a stop-over in Indiana, I was wiping some water droplets from one of my lenses when it fell and I couldn’t find it even after 30+ minutes of searching. My eldest and a kind stranger joined in the search to no avail. My wife’s glasses were a bit weak for me. I could see well on the road, but the signs were not as clear in the dark as my own glasses would have allowed.

I couldn’t take it anymore so I took my sister’s advise, and the best advise ever for sleepy drivers – we pulled over at the nearest service plaza, turned the engine off, set my alarm for a 30 minute sleep, curled up and slept. I woke up after 20 minutes with a very clear head. Daybreak was starting to make the roads clearer. I hit the road again and didn’t get sleepy all the way to our destination. I shudder as I think back on possible scenarios while driving in that sleepy state. For sure, God has sent angels to travel with us on that trip. There were 2 or 3 moments when I actually closed my eyes for almost a second while driving on the highway. It was madness. Good thing my children slept through the whole ordeal. They woke up around 10am and asked for breakfast. I was more than happy to oblige.

All hail the GPS. A sister called us to check on our progress while we were near the Pennsylvania – Maryland border. Bad timing – it made me miss my exit. So, our little faithful GPS re-calculated and showed us a route that made us go through narrow roads and farmlands. It was charming in the first 15 minutes – my wife took pictures of the sceneries while we coasted along. (See pictures above, and at the end of this post). Then, my children noticed something – there were houses, parked vehicles, and livestock roaming around. But where were the people? There was no soul in sight. They were starting to say that the place was deserted and haunted. To make matters worse, we passed by a cemetery that had tombstones on both sides of the road. Eerie! Good thing it was early in the afternoon and the sun was high. I couldn’t imagine driving through that route in the evening. After 30+ minutes of rural driving, our GPS led us back to the highway. It’s a really neat gadget – this GPS.

Our Drive Back. After our Maryland vacation, I prepared for our trip back to metro Chicago by sleeping relatively early in the evening. We started at 5:30 in the morning after a lovingly prepared full breakfast (by my sister) with strong coffee. It must have been the events during our drive to Maryland 2 weeks ago that my wife finally found the courage to drive on the interstate. (Between the two of us, she is the more experienced, and yes, the better driver. She actually was the one who taught me how to drive in the Philippines, and she has driven the Manila – Baguio route several times.) I was pleasantly surprised to see her behind the wheel and take us from Pennsylvania into the Ohio turnpike. I was even able to nap while she was behind the wheel. I drove most of Ohio and into Indiana, but from there, she drove us all the way home. It was our fastest time so far. We spent a total of 12.5 hours on the road, including 1.5 hours of brunch and 2 other bathroom breaks. It was the trip that my kids were least bored. They slept for most of the morning and the afternoon too.

A Future Road Trip? I have this idea of a road trip that I think my family would like to take when my kids are older. We have done the Chicago – East Coast drive four times already. How about doing a Chicago – California drive? I did a Mapquest search from Chicago to San Diego and learned that it was a 31 hour, 2000+ mile drive. I’d like to make it relaxing and do some sight seeing along the way. Our route would take us through Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, then California. I’m envisioning it to be a 14-day vacation, with a maximum of 6-7 hours of driving per day; and an every other day driving to enable us to stay at a place for 2 nights, and use the interval days to sightsee. We would reach our destination on Day 9, and spend the rest of the vacation in San Diego.

We would be so nauseated with driving that on Day 14, we’d just hop on a plane and fly back to Chicago. Does anyone want to join us?

Sharing some pictures where we got lost in Pennsylvania.
You be the judge. Do you see any living humans at all?

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