Reminiscing

Just when I was finally getting through this week, something pulls me back. I dived into the pool of memories and I must say, twas interesting.

I can think back as far as when I was 5 years old. I had my first family reunion with my dad's side of the family. It was held in the Philippines where too many of our relatives attended. Some from the states, Ireland, parts of the Philippines, etc. It was a very memorable event. Everyone wore the same family shirt, but different color regarding what group you belong in. For instance, I wore red which stand for being one of the grandchildren. The aunts and uncles would wear the same color, but the spouses would wear a different one. So basically we were very colorful. There was plenty of food for all of us as well as the amount of games we played. Our reunion comes in every 5 years. I know that it's long, which is why the family has decided to cut it down by a year or two.

Another memory I know by heart was that one year where I celebrated Christmas with the rest of my family in Burbank, CA. We had to wear something formal and I wasn't so jolly on that day. Abby not jolly? Oh no. My older cousins used to poke fun at me and I would literally be pissed. I think I was the one cousin who was a bit defiant at the time while everyone else didn't do anything. So as they were bothering me, I couldn't take it not one bit. I saw my old photos of that night and I look really evil. I mean literally evil because the red eye was featured in these photos. Kind of like a devilish child. I was angry as heck and my parents would force me to smile no matter what. I laughed as I encountered the photos later on. It was that funny and no I won't show it to you guys. I'll save the humiliation for another time.

During the 1995 New Years, we had a huge blowout. Everyone was in a good mood and wore these 'Happy New Year' hats. I had the blue one while my cousin Lily wore red. I have a picture of it somewhere. As the fun continued, some of us decided to make fireworks outside of the house. Once we did that, the cops suddenly showed up. We were freaking out thinking that we might get arrested or something. Luckily, the cops didn't do anything and left, but they did check on the fireworks that laid on the streets on that night. Overall, twas a good new year party. I think I wanted to try some of that champagne too.


Yep, that's me on the right. I know the photo isn't that clear. But yeah, I want that New Year's hat again.

I'm not going to mention all of the memories because that would just take forever to include in this blog. So I'll go forward with the times that were NOT so jolly after all.

Everyone has gone through a point in their life where they lost someone close to them. I lost a little more than a few. My first experience with losing a loved one was when I was quite young. This person used to go by "uncle George" so that's what I used to refer him as. I remember one day I would visit him at the hospital in the Philippines. I would see him wearing a huge diaper [and I forgot why]. It was strange, yet I didn't really say much because I had no idea what was happening. When I found out that he passed away, it was a feeling I can't even describe. As years go by, I lost relatives one by one. I even lost my closest grandfather in 2003. That day was too devastating to handle. I only got to see him for 5 days once I arrived in the Philippines. I knew that he was sick, but I didn't think he would die so soon. Some of our relatives had to fly down for the funeral. On the day of the funeral, it was a little bit funny. I was holding a candle as we surrounded my grandfather's coffin during mass. I leaned the candle over to my cousin and wasn't being careful at the time. When I looked over, part of her hair was caught on fire. I didn't know what to do and my ateh's [meaning older cousin/sister in Filipino for those who don't know] noticed. They were giggling as I tried to take out the white stuff that was stuck on her hair. She turned around and asked what was happening. I pretended saying that something was stuck in her hair. I don't think she knows about it to this day. But enough of that, the funeral saddened me. Even to this day, I still miss my grandfather.

I know that the past year has been rough with the family. I'm not going to get into detail, but everything has changed. In fact, that's how life is. Everything changes overtime and nothing stays the same. Change is indeed inevitable. I just wish that it wouldn't turn out the way it is today. There isn't enough family bonding as it used to and I feel that we're just drifting further and further away from each other. Maybe it's just me, but I can feel it. This is the change I've gotten used to ever since that particular incident which changed majority of everything in all of us. At first, I was in shock of what went on because I didn't think it would happen. Then again, we expect the unexpected. I'm partially upset although I can't really do anything about it. All I can do for the time being is hope for the best.

I'll edit this part as soon as I get home. But in the mean time, look at this photo.

This was at the REACH beach cleanup around April of this year. I didn't know this photo was posted until I looked around the files in my journalist computer. The caption said "single girl shot". Ha you can't see my face :P & to those who litter, shame on you. Clean up after yourself you fiends.