As what I’ve mentioned in my previous blog, I went to home to Manila without my parents knowing it. My plan was to surprise them. I got this idea when Cebu Pacific had a promo last February since I wanted to take advantage of the cheap airfares. I didn’t know when my planned vacation that I took last July would be approved. So the date that I thought would be the best to book a flight was during a long weekend - the Merdeka celebration which happened to be the weekend during my birthday. Woohoo! So I made this booking right away. I decided not to tell about this booking to my family and friends in the Philippines since I’m sure that a lot of people will think I’m crazy for going home for 2 consecutive months. But hey, this is MY birthday and I think that this is the best gift that I can give to myself.
A few weeks before my flight, Minnie met my parents because I asked her to give some stuff. She almost revealed about my plans of going back to Manila to celebrate my birthday. Good thing took it differently, so my plan to surprise was still in tact (whew!).
A few days before this trip, I chatted with Eloisa, my cousin who’s studying in Manila and who stays with my parents during weekends. I decided to tell her about my plans as I want to go home to an empty house or my plans would get screwed (ako pala ang na-surprise hahaha). Good thing she was a good accomplice =) and she never told anyone about my upcoming appearance. I learned from her that my parents were clueless about my trip which made it more exciting for both of us.
On my birthday, my parents had a celebration because a series of divine statues that have been rotating in our neighborhood “visited” our home. In lieu with this, they invited some of their org mates from our parish. They cooked a lot of dishes and my cousin, Mark stayed in our house that night to help my parents with the preparation. Unfortunately, he had to leave early the next day to make some errands.
I arrived our home at around lunch time last Friday. I didn’t know where the newly-installed doorbell was located so I just knocked the gate and whistled to call my dogs, just like the way how I used to do it. Anyway, it was my parent’s siesta (afternoon nap) time and they were about to sleep. When my parents saw me, they couldn’t believe it. The first word that my mother said to me when she saw me was “Walanghiya ka! Bakit ka nandito??” to which I only replied “Kasi wala ako sa Malaysia”. Of course, I know that they were happy to see me ;)
After they redeemed themselves, I called some of my relatives to let them know that I’m home. Mark, who left earlier that morning called me a liar and an impostor in disbelief. I was really amused on how people reacted when I tell them that I’m home since I just met them last month.
On Saturday, we celebrated my birthday by going to Trinoma, the newest mall by Ayala situated right next to the MRT North Edsa station. In my opinion, this mall is a fusion of Glorietta and Greenbelt in Makati. I went with my parents and my cousins Mark and Eloisa. Good thing that my favorite restaurants have a branch is this mall so I decided to have my celebration here.
We had our lunch at Gerry’s grill where we had sisig, inihaw na pusit, kare-kare and crispy pata (pampabata! Woohoo!!). It was their first time to eat at Gerry’s which they found to be a pleasant eating experience. After that, I insisted on having dessert at Café Breton, where we had the famous La Pinay and Strawberry Short Crepe (yummy!!). It was great to eat in my favorite restaurants once again with my family. I hoped that they enjoyed it as well =)
After pigging out for food, we went to SM Fairview to buy some groceries that I need to bring to KL. I also recorded a song at the Karaoke King and headed to the parlor to have my long-overdue foot spa and pedicure.
On Sunday, I just packed my things, attended the mass (it’s good to sing Papuri sa Diyos after a loong time) and did my Sunday morning routine in the Philippines - reading the national broadsheet with a cassava cake (or any kakanin) and hot choco (yum!). In the afternoon, before I boarded to the bus that will take me to the airport, I dropped by at Jollibee near our village to buy a bucket of Chicken joy for my pasalubong and my dinner. Good thing that I saw Rachelle, my childhood friend whose the manager on duty of this branch. It was nice catching up with her one more time.
I made it in the airport just in time for the check-in at 6:55 PM for my 8:55 PM flight. But I decided to chat with my parents and checked-in at 7:30 PM, which is just enough to make it at the gate during the FINAL boarding call.
Now that I gave my parents a surprise, my mother is expecting that I’ll do it again - she said that she’ll give me the keys at home (hahaha, nag-assume!). Of course, this means that I have to think of a different strategy so that my surprise will become effective.
Overall, it was a fun trip for me. Well, I like to give surprises and a lot of my friends can attest to that. It’s because I love to see their reactions. It is priceless for me. This trip was rewarding for me because I spent my birthday with my family. It was funny because a lot of people asked me where I would spend my birthday this weekend, and my answer was “just stay at home and probably go to the mall“. If you hear that response, you’ll think that I would have a lousy birthday, but if you know me, you know that it’s the other way around.
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