Hey, guys!

Hey from Monterey! :p













Oo, ako yan...

Sori..mejo tamad...

Hi, ALL!!! :P

jetlag

argh. can't sleep. it's 1:13 am here and my body still thinks it's like 3 in the afternoon. shouldn't have taken that nap this afternoon. darn.

it's angel's pre-school graduation tomorrow and everybody's really excited. haha. life's little joys. i'm making her chocolate cake, her favorite. mama says graduations here are super simple, specially for little kids like my sister. they're done in a small classroom, have a simple short presentation, take pictures and give little gifts. i guess that's huge enough to a 5-year-old. pretty much like a huge bash at a club for a pinoy college grad from a super expensive school. haha.

i'm just starting to meet our neighbors here, and so far, everyone's been nice. of course, it helps that my stepdad's folks are right next door (literally). then there's ryan's family--he's this cute but super hyper japanese-american kid my sister goes to school with--who lives upstairs. and the bartender girl (don't even know her name yet) with the cute baby. oh, and the cute guy who opened the laundry room door for me and anna *kilig*. haha, hitad.

lord, kelan kaya ako aantukin? sana ngayon na. argh.

they tell it like it is

I was talking to my Ninang on the phone yesterday, and she asked me if I was culture-shocked with the things that I'm seeing and hearing on this trip. You know what? I expected to be, but no. Not at all. If anything, I'm impressed. Everything's so clean, people are nice, and when you look up at the sky, you see sky. Blue, blue sky. No ugly buildings, no spaghetti wires, no annoying Kris Aquino billboards. Sure, it's a little bit slower (Napa's has this kind of small-town vibe), but I definitely could get used to this. It doesn't mean I love being Pinoy any less. I just can't help but wish things back at home were a little like this, instead of all the dirt and filth (in our streets and in our government), the poverty, etc.

I know a lot of people would disagree with me. After all, there's no place like home, right? And of course I'm also aware of the downside to all this physical beauty--the discrimination, the abuse of power, the hard life, their stupid president (beginning to sound a lot like home now, isn't it? :P)...the yin for every yang. Still, one cannot help but hope...

What I like best about all the new things I'm learning: that people here--regardless of race or age and whatnot--they tell it like it is. They're downright no-bullsh*t honest. They confront their issues head-on and deal with it. They hear bad stuff, feel bad stuff, and oftentimes they don't give a sh*t (you won't get any of these asterisks with them, that's for sure).

For example, I was having a conversation with my mom's husband Jon (he's American) last night. We were talking about my little sister, who was entering kindergarten in the fall in this posh catholic school. I asked if she was going to St. John's, which I saw yesterday when I went to church. Then Jon told me this story of how they were checking that school out, and the administration people took one look at my mom and decided they didn't want anything to do with them. Just cause she's not white. What's up with that, huh? I mean, that's a lot of crap coming from a catholic school, right? But let me get to my point. The point is, my folks were aware that they were being discriminated against, and they tell us that, yeah, they were being discriminated against. They don't shuffle their feet and refuse to look you in the eye, and say, "Oh, they must have their reasons..."

Another example: I was talking to someone I just met about something, and he said, " Well, she doesn't really like me that much to begin with, anyway..." I was surprised. I mean, you knew and it's not a big deal? Because back at home something like that would get all the rumors and animosity and plastikan all flying in the air. Here, it is what it is and they tell 'em like it is.

I know it such a small thing, and I know someone out there who's reading this and going, "Nye. Yun lang?" But it's one thing about this place that really struck me. Back home, I only know of a few people who'd be like this--my lolo, for one, and Leni, I guess. Yeah, they'd be on top of my list. :) Darn, this is all making me miss them.

haha

Magtalo ba kung sinong maghuhugas ng pinggan? hehe

Never ko yatang naisip na mag-uunahan pa kami ng kapatid ko kung sino ang maghuhugas ng pinggan. Even Jon, my mom's husband, was kind of weirded out. I told him that I guess it was normal to enjoy stuff you actually like doing, but then have other people to do it for you. Sa mga hindi nakakaalam, mahilig akong maghugas ng pinggan. Promise.

Back at home, ever since I could remember, we've always had household help to do everything (and I mean everything) for us. We don't even make our own beds in the morning (grabe no?). So it's kind of feels weird how here in America, everybody does their own thing. Weird, but nice. I mean, even my sister Angel who's five, she's super independent--bathes by herself, brushes her teeth, fixes her stuff, everything! Heck, I used to have my Grandpa tie my shoelaces when I was five!

By the way, this is her: Ang cute no? Mana sa ate *ahem*.

you guys should be here

Went on a winery tour today with my mom and sisters. Seeing all that alcohol made me think of my friends, our sarah's days, etc. you guys should be here.

Also went to the Culinary Institute of America. Man, I love that place. It's kinda like the Harvard of cooking schools here--although it looks more like Hogwarts than Harvard, haha. I'm going back one of these days to check out scholarships. Maybe I could get in. That would be something else.