June Vacation

you read it right. hubby & i took a 10-day off from work just when the summer season ended. here's a travelogue of sort:

june 9, friday - husband & i arrived tacloban and immediately hied off to guiuan. it was a swifty 2-hr ride, what w/ hubby trying to hit destination before sunset ('coz mano alex's pajero's headlights were very dim). in my auntie's house we found plenty & plenty of relatives - - all attending the next day's wedding. oh, it was great to be w/ family again. the sad part was, my uncle, the father of the groom, got sick and was flat on bed (i guess from stress) that my first order upon arrival was to check if he was ok. he was running a fever w/c made me fret (but didn't show it) because he prepared well for the wedding of his son, the last to marry in the family. from a hearty supper, my sisters & i rushed to the church for a late-night practice. we hit the sack before midnight hoping to catch enough sleep before 5am - the make-up artists' calltime.

june 10, saturday - first thing in the morning, i cajoled my sister baby that we see aura (the bride) at their house for last-minute instructions. sure glad we did. back to our lodging house, no one wanted to have them made-up first so i volunteered. sure glad again i did, because the beautician was not yet tired & i found my up-do nice & appropriate (hmmm....sa ganang akin lang naman).

by 8am, me & my 2 sisters, baby & chinky were at the rustic yet majestic immaculate conception church, hopefully to meet majority of the bridal party who didn't attend the rehearsals. my! imagine the frenzy because we weren't doing the usual march (read: the kaartehan in me rushed in that i was determined to have a non-traditional bridal march w/ the girls marching alone & their partners meeting them at the center; & a closed church door for a dramatic entrance of the bride just like what we did for my sister's wedding. in the province, that's something new). oh how i wished my sister jingle (who's the official wedding planner/coordinator in the family) was there to do it all.

hubby & i were the first to march & lighted the candles along the aisle. when we reached our seats, we surreptitiously returned to the formation, so i can 'coordinate' the processional & for hubby to stand as proxy to an absentee-ninong (eeew). during the bride's parents' walk, i wondered who was attending to the bride! my instinct dictated that i get out of the church & quick! you guessed it, she was in her lonesome in the bridal car. what a patient girl could aura be. if it were me, i would panic. so, i led her to the closed church door for her walk. when it opened, i heard an applause. i had goosebumps. i was sure my cousin was glad to finally see his lovely bride. later, i learned from my bestman-cousin that indeed, the groom was in the verge of tears.

the wedding ceremony went as planned - - solemn, period. i was relieved. my sisters were relieved. the reception was rather laidback, just the way everybody wanted it to be. there, we ate, danced, ate & danced. everybody was happy.

in the post-wedding dinner back at the groom's house (where our relatives converged again over a non-ending buffet), my sisters & i were congratulated for a job well done (hmmmm). for that, my auntie gifted me w/ a big victoria's secret hand & body lotion. i wonder what my sisters got (another hmmm). actually, it was just a bonus. what matters is we helped our cousin & new cousin-in-law achieve their dream wedding.

june 11, sunday - after a 4-hr drive, we were in oras at 1pm. yehey! home at last.

june 12, monday - husband & i woke up early so we can see the independence day parade pass by hubby's home (where we stayed). i was amazed that until now, our flag is still displayed in majority of the houses for the ocassion. i rarely see that in manila.

by lunchtime, the villalons in tiguib, my family in paypayon & compound relatives in riverside were all in burakay. a monday on the beach? sure it was the best monday, ever.

cagpajo river landing

immortalized in burakay

june 13, tuesday - hubby & i just stayed in tiguib & visited paypayon where i started covering my nephew, anjo's notebooks & books (haha, me the dutiful auntie ever!). in the afternoon, we fetched tatay & nanay in burakay (read: they go there everyday. to clean & beautify the place, that is).

june 14, wednesday - we were in burakay again, this time w/ nanay's siblings to discuss important family matters. in between, i walked along the seashore (haaay, sarap!).

june 15, thursday - tatay, nanay, chinky, jerome, husband & i visited auntie lina in cagpajo via a 1.5-hr boatride. for those not in the know, cagpajo is my paternal grandpa's rice farm along the oras river. i remember as a kid, i asked tatay to point to me the extent of the property & he said: as far as your eyes can see. i know it is just a hyperbole. but i know too, that it's really huge. auntie lina (who's retiring there) has a cute bahay kubo at the far end of the place w/c can be reached thru a loooong concrete pathwalk & a high bamboo bridge that cuts along the rice field. aside from her veggie & flower gardens, she also has a tilapia pond & tends a poultry. the visit wouldn't be complete w/o a tampisaw at the waterfalls. purely farm life. surely peaceful.

june 16, friday - after a bried visit to tatay bett's musoleom and a garden lunch in paypayon, we had our first 'official meeting' for the del rosario feast in october. later in the evneing, we had an audience with msgr. japzon. good thing, the parish priest agreed to our plans. that's a great way to start. then, hubby & i paid a 'courtesy call' to auntie delia in the evening.

june 17, saturday - we reached tacloban by 8am after a 3.5-hr drive. husband cum driver was starving, that's why. in the evening, mano alex treated us for a bbq dinner in rtr plaza.

june 18, sunday - husband & i had the whole morning playing w/ bea. we hit manila in the evening as our 4pm cebu pacific flight was deeelayed.

bound for manila

as husband always put whenever we prepare for bed on sundays, we are back to 'reality' again the next day. after our 'vacation' w/c for me is such a blessing considering the 'hard life' today, i try to be enthusiastic on mondays. because i'm lucky i have work w/c keeps me at bay. not everyone gets to have work, a happy married life & vacations in between.