Father & Son

From That Girl

February 11, 2010

Today is Joe's 18th birthday.

Today is the 12th anniversary of my dad's quadruple bypass surgery.

Today, my mom had her defense for her dissertation for her Doctor of Business Administration degree. She's now Dr. Mama! :D

I just love February 11!

Happy birthday to my dear brother, and congratulations to my dear mommy!

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I can't believe that Joe is now 18. We're ten years apart, which makes me... ancient.

I don't care how big he grows, he will always be a baby to me.

Back from Baguio again!

Having a brother in the PMA, Baguio has become 'diyan lang.' We've been to Baguio every month since June, taking the 1 am or 2am bus early Saturday morning, spending a night there, and taking the bus home on Sunday evening. I have gotten used to the 6-7 hour rides and the uncomfortable sleeping position, stiff neck, sore bum, and disrupted Circadian rhythm that comes with it. I've even gotten used to the extreme cold, but I think that's partly thanks to the subzero temperature at my office.

Baguio was extra chilly and foggy last weekend, this was the sight that greeted us at the drop-off area at PMA last Saturday at 1 o'clock in the afternoon:

We were there last weekend because May was invited to a Battalion Superintendent's Hop:

Joe played the cello during the hop, May was able to see him there:

Lucky her! All my parents and I have is a precious six-second video I was able to take of Joe when they passed us by during their road run (screenshots c/o Papa):

We aren't complaining, though--we were still pretty lucky. We weren't counting on seeing him, we were there for May's hop, after all, and we certainly weren't expecting to see the road run. We were just waiting to catch a jeepney in front of our guest hall when the cadets passed by. Joe actually smiled at us, and he looks healthy and happy! That's good enought for now.

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And just because I love seeing photos of flowers on my blog:

flowers inside PMA

May's bouquet from Cadet Q

Baguio again in a bit

Mama, Papa and I will be off to Baguio in a few hours to bring Joe his cello. I cannot explain just how happy I am to know that Joe will get to make music while in the Academy. I'm sure that having his beloved instrument with him will bring him a bit of comfort. I'm glad that the PMA officials are encouraging their cadets to keep on developing their talents.

My brother has major talent in his pinky fingers alone.

I'm gonna miss Jackie the cello here (I haven't been using her that much lately, anyway), but she and Joe will have a good time!

Missing the cello...

Abet took me to a concert by the Manila Symphony Orchestra at Phil-Am last night--Haydn's Symphony no. 104, Paganini violin concerto with Junior Saraza as soloist, and Beethoven's Symphony no. 5. What a nice Saturday evening date! The soloist was amazing, I had goosebumps during his entire concerto (and his two encores), and Beethoven's 5th is always a joy to experience. My boyfriend is the greatest for surprising me with tickets.

I used to be an avid classical and jazz concert-goer when I was a student. Back then, I'd go alone most of the time--none of my friends were into the same kind of music I liked. Now, I have a default companion (who sometimes gets tickets at a discounted rate or even for free), there's really no excuse for me not to watch more often. Plus, I get little lessons about classical music whenever I watch with Abet. ("That's a fughetta, hear that?")

He's taking me to another concert this Saturday, whoopee!

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I picked the cello up for the first time in months today. It felt like being reunited with an old friend. Since Joe left for Baguio, the instrument (her name's Jackie after cellist Jacqueline du Pre) has just been sitting forlornly in the little anteroom we have upstairs. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I touched it. I did a few scales and played a few notes of that Bach piece I was working on when I left off--and then I cried.

I missed Joe so bad. I missed my cello buddy. And I was saddened at the thought that he's not making music right now, something he loves to do.

Right now, he is being trained to be the best soldier he can be, something he loves even more.

And that makes it all okay.

--=-=--

Here's Joe the day he got his cello case in May 2007:


He loves that case. We went to a concert at CCP later that evening, just the two of us.

I hope there's a nice concert when he gets to come home after his first year *puhon*, I'm sure he misses concert-watching as well.