We celebrated two simple events: A welcome back and my Aunt's birthday, who had recently returned from Dubai.

6 months ago

_{Image created using CANVA.}

In the first week of this month, my younger cousin told me that her mother would come back home this month. I asked her when, and she said that she's not sure yet of the exact date. My prediction is that she will go home before my younger cousin's graduation, which is when it becomes real.

I was still sleeping yesterday when my grandma came inside my room, and she was trying to wake me up. I am still sleepy when I respond, "What?" And then my grandma says, "Wake up because your aunt is here now." I said, "Okay," though my eyes are still closed and I didn't mind what she said. Wait?! Did she just say my aunt is already here?! So, I opened my eyes, and I was surprised because she was really here. My younger cousin's mother and I are not besties, but we are enemies. We hated each other since I was in grade 10. But we do not totally hate each other. It is just that we are not on good terms, and we both hate our behaviors. My aunt is still 38 years old this year. She is still young and likes us because she still knows the trends among young people. So we're just like troops.

Anyway, I said when I saw her, "Oh, so you're already here." And I also said, "It's good that you still have plans to go home." Jokingly, but half meant. My aunt, my grandma, and Tita Do laughed at what I said because they knew that we were enemies.

Yesterday was her birthday, too. So I decided to get out of bed since I couldn't sleep after they disturbed my sleep.

When I went to the kitchen, I saw them having breakfast. A coffee with some Filipino rice cakes and pandesal. Yum! We all talked about some random things while enjoying our coffee.

After we finished eating breakfast, they decided to start preparing and cooking some food for her simple welcome back and birthday celebration. And since I don't have anything to do and I saw that they have a lot of work to do, I decided to go out and help them cut some ingredients for the food that they will prepare.

Of course, I also know a lot about housework. I know how to hold a knife, and I know how to cut some vegetables or other ingredients for a dish. I also know how to cook some food. But I am not that confident about cooking food for celebrations.

While helping them, we are also continuing to talk and gossip. I have a lot of fun because my aunt and I are the best tandem in teasing, and we both joke a lot about some random topics. I remember before that my other cousin said that I am different when I am with our aunt or if she is here. I can show how lively I am and my funny side, which some other people didn't know. Because if I am with other people, I get a lot of comments or the first impression that I am "rude" and "immature.".

Wondering why my aunt and I have the weirdest relationship in our family? Because when I was a kid, she became my second parent. Back then, when she and her husband were just boyfriends and girlfriends, they were always borrowing me from my parents and they take me everywhere. But now, we are not the same as before. We became distant from each other when she gave birth to my younger cousin, and she changed. She's the youngest child of our grandparents, and our ages are not too far apart. That's why she understands my behavior—not just me but, of course, my cousins too.

It is lunchtime, and we have finished arranging the table. It's simple, but it's still enjoyable because her kid invites friends to the occasion.

I'm not very adept at socializing, so when they say "Hi Nang Jam!" (Hi Ate Jam), I just smiled.

_{Night Time.}

I was supposed to go to the RHU covered court in our area yesterday. Because it's our three-day Barangay Fiesta, yesterday's events included the basketball and volleyball league awards night, as well as Barangay Officials and Senior Citizen Night. I'm busy encouraging my fifth younger cousin to accompany me, but then our sixth younger cousin invites us to a drink with our aunt. She informed me that the drink is merely Shembot (a blended alcoholic beverage of gin and 3 in 1 coffee), and that after we drink, we will go see our Grandma perform.

I said, "No" at first because I don't like to drink alcoholic beverages at the moment because, in the past few nights, I have been drinking alone. But my younger cousins said to me that this is their first time drinking with me, and I don't like to have more drama, so I decided to say, "Okay.".

We had fun that night, drinking and singing songs in the Videoke 'til 2:00 a.m. this saturday morning.

I told you that I have a high alcohol tolerance, so it's just a basic thing for me to drink 'til dawn. And since my younger cousins are already drunk, we weren't able to watch the event of our fiesta.

I don't encourage the young generations who are younger than me who read this blog of mine to be like me. Make it a habit to think about what is best for you.

Now, What happened this Saturday?

In the morning, my aunt and I laughed when my fifth younger cousin told us that her head hurt. Actually, me too. It was the first time for me, or should I say, that I said these words again today: "Hindi na ako mag-iinom" (I will never drink again). All I want to do today is sleep more, but my aunt invited us at 10 a.m. to go swimming. It's just sad because my 4th and 6th younger cousins are early to travel going back to Baguio because she has a class scheduled.

Of course, I also go to the resort with them. I already drank a cold drink and even ate ice candy, but I couldn't make my hangover go away. So I badly needed to soak in very cold water because, aside from a Shembot, we also drank 2 bottles of Alfonso Coke, 2 bottles of 2x2 Gin, and 3 bottles of Smirnoff. That's why I feel like I'm calling the saint again because of the headache.

When we arrived, many people were there. We arrived at 1 p.m., so the water is not that clear anymore. What I am thankful for is that the weather is not too hot, so when I swim, the water is very cold on the skin.

Of course, before I take a bath, I take a picture first.

_{Sorry for my bareface. I didn't put anything here, just a plain face with a puffy eyes.}

_{Our group pictures.}

The whitest among us is my aunt (she is wearing a black dress and a anti-rad glasses), who celebrated her birthday and went home from Dubai. I jokingly told her to come out every time the weather was hot so that her skin turned black again. I'm pretending to be annoyed because of her pale skin. I thought that being in Dubai wouldn't make your skin whiter because of the hot weather, but then I remembered that my aunt is a medical assistant and she's staying inside the hospital 24/7, so her skin was like that.

Look at me being happy here. I am playing "Ganda-Gandahan" (act like the most beautiful person) because I am teasing my younger cousin, who was afraid to go to the pool because it might be too deep. Even if my height is small, I know how to swim, except on beaches.

This spring resort is owned by my friend's family. She is also my distant cousin on my father's side. I remembered that every time we have an outing with our batchmates, we have a free cottage, and my entrance fee is free even right now. I also got to meet my aunt (her mother) at the entrance, and she told us that she didn't recognize me right away because she said I gained weight, which is true.

I remember that this spring resort is not the same as how it looks now. It's been a long time since I came here, so I didn't expect that there'd be a lot of changes. They put a slide, dolphins spewing rainwater, a lot of cottages in the upper area, and a small place for an entrance guard. Which made me think that it had become better.

I don't have many pictures on my phone because I spend my 3 hours coming back in fort from our cottage to eat and rest, and then go to the pool again to soak myself in the cold water.

When we look at the time, it's 4:00 p.m. Already, we decided to take a bath and changed because we were going home.

My aunt, together with her family, will go back home to Asingan. But she also gave me my first pasalubong.

She made me choose from the eight shades on the box of lipsticks, and I chose these two colors. I do have a lot of light lipstick here, and I wanted to try a dark color and a digital watch, and she said that this is it for now because the package box has not arrived yet. I tease her that it's good to know that you still remember me, and you're so sweet, but then after I said that, she teased me back that she is taking back what she said and all my pasalubong will give it to someone else. I just rolled my eyes, as if she could do that. Duh

Anyway, these are all the events happening in my life this weekend. I was supposed to go to the RHU again to watch the coronation night last night, but I was so tired because I didn't have a proper rest yet. I even fell asleep typing the words here on this blog, and I just got through this Sunday morning.