Ten Things I Miss

1. Indo
Did I tell you he was not 'our' dog? He's actually a puppy given to Eph by his friends when he graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona in 2000. He was renting a house at the time with a bunch of his friends. When the owner of the house came to paint it, he told us to keep Indo with us in Norwalk for a while until they finish with the painting.

He never took Indo back!

I miss walking with him every morning, sometimes during the evenings as well.


2. Reggie and Manami
The last time we saw them was October 2007 when Eph and Rach got married. We almost lost Manami but (per my previous blog) things are good and I'm excited to see them again soon.

3. Morning walks
It's strange that when we're in the Philippines, I'm virtually free of any allergy symptoms. Sure enough, when we visit the US, here come runny nose - very annoying, to say the least, frequent sneezing - they can drain you out of energy really quick, itchy eyes, etc. And it's spring so there's all kinds of pollen in the air.


We've been here for over two weeks and I've only walked in the park twice. I'm too bored to use their treadmill here in the den. I know, I know, excuses - you're probably right. But I do miss our morning walks in Greenfields and I miss my walking buddies.


4. My stick shift Innova
I got the Toyota Innova (it's similar to the Sienna), when the house was under construction. The difference between an automatic and manual transmission is about P60K and my brother, Cong Naring said we can buy a lot of bags of cement with that. So, being the cheapskate that I am, opted out for the manual transmission. I know I complain on how my left leg gets so tired driving during heavy traffic but I figured out why people who drive stick shift sometimes say they prefer them over automatics - THEY'RE MORE FUN TO DRIVE!


Automatics can get boring at times especially once you turn on the cruise control and you're driving up the 15 Freeway to Las Vegas. I swear that highway can be the most boring road to drive here in the US and I've been on a lot of road trips!

5. My PC/laptop without virus
As I've previously mentioned, my desk top got attacked by several viruses and I had to have friend Ruston reformat it for me but he can't save my WD external hard drive which got contaminated as well along with my digital camera. Keep in mind that ALL MY PICTURES are stored in my external hard drive which became my backup. My son Daniel said he'd be devastated if that happens to his computer. I realize now I went into a slight depression (which I call ePression!) because of what happened. Luckily, Deo, a friend and former co-worker from Goodrich was able to de-bug my external hard drive. He said it had more than 400 viruses and it almost contaminated his desk top! He had me buy the BitDefender Antivirus 2009 from Fry's so he can install it into my laptop and de-bug it in the process. Thanks Deo, you're a lifesaver!


6. Spain
If you're one of the very few bored people with nothing to do and and are able to read my blog every once in a while, you'll know that in 2007 Donna and I went to Europe and stayed with Mary and Robert for three months in their house in Spain. Those were great times! I miss our afternoon walks towards Puerto Sherry and watching the sunset over the Bay of Cadiz afterwards.


I miss Flamenco, the market in Rota, the trips to Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Fatima, Seville, etc. but most of all, I miss Mary and Robert's company. We'll surely be back there once we win the Lotto!

7. Razon's Halo-Halo
We make it a point to visit Razon at least once a week for their famous halo-halo which is simply a concoction of macapuno, sweet banana and leche flan in shaved ice. It's really good on hot days - which is everyday in the Philippines! Its so refreshing it cools your body from the inside!
Here's one of them (Mabalacat, Pampanga) after we took Pareng James, Mareng Sella and Alyce to the Monasterio in Tarlac.


8. The sushi in Tempura and sashimi of Hanami
Sure, we have my favorite Japanese restaurant hangout here, Samurai. But somehow it's different in the Philippines when we go to the SM mall in San Fernando and visit Tempura. Their salmon sashimi has such a small portion leaving one almost always wanting for more. Most of the time Donna and I go there for late lunch and by that time the staff is having lunch as well. On the way to the restroom we pass by them eating and they recognize us and invite us for lunch. When I crave for a bigger salmon sashimi portion, we go to Hanami Restaurant located close to Friendship Gate of Clark. When we get there, usually the guard opens the car door for Donna and as soon as we enter the restaurant, the staff greets us in unison with that Japanese phrase which I assume translates to "welcome". As soon as we're seated, the maitre'd switches the TV to the basketball cable channel.

9. May activities
I missed the Capampangan Orthography conference chaired by noted Capampangan linguist Anicia del Corro and the Pampanga/Bulacan History conference, both hosted by the Holy Angel University, Muziklaban (battle of the bands) concerts in Balibago, Aftershack get-together on Fields Avenue, not to mention the several town fiestas all happening in May. I know we're gaining a lot of weight but boy do I miss Guagua cuisine.

10. Sindalan in general
When we were in Spain, Robert mentioned that the reason he goes and stays on base a lot working out and hanging out in the Internet Cafe is because he doesn't have much to do in the house since it's a rental and he can't really do what he wants. I think that's probably how I feel here in La Mirada. Nido and Emy are great hosts and we have no complains whatsoever but like Robert says, it's different when you're at your own house messing around, tending your own garden, etc.

It's weird but I miss the traffic of Sindalan, the tricycles and the wheelers and the strange and crazy way people drive over there. I miss NLEx, the drive to Guagua thru the MegaDike, etc.


I guess you can tell, I'm homesick!

Reggie and Manami

When Eph and Rachel got married last October 2007, Reggie took his new Japanese girlfriend Manami with him to the wedding. You may have seen these pics in previous blogs. Stop complaining, at least I'm blogging again, right? :-)


She stood out in her authentic Kimono.


After the wedding Donna and I took them around; sightseeing in San Francisco, Las Vegas, Sequioa National Park, Mt. Zion National Monument, etc.


So during all the times she was with us, we sort of bonded with her. Sorry, Reg if this is a little too much personal information to share. But what the heck, it’ll be a happy ending, so here goes.

When she and Reggie went back home to Japan, trouble seemed to have reared its ugly head, the relationship went to a tailspin and they eventually separated and broke up. Manami called us several times in the Philippines crying, “Otosan, I don’t know what happened, it’s so complicated and confusing.”

Fast forward my story a bit and she called one night saying Reggie called her and he said he’s at their front door and that he missed her. So of course Donna asked if they’re back together but Manami would say, “Not yet, Ocasan.”

That was then!

We got another call from Reggie quite a bit later and he said he and Manami are in a restaurant having dinner. Hmmm. Donna’s heart begins to thump uncontrollably. Could they be back together? She asked Reggie to give the phone to Manami and she did confirm that yes they are finally back together!


Before we left for California, I was chatting with Reggie on Facebook and he said he’s thinking of marrying Manami and that he’s realized that he’s wasted a lot of time. So he and Manami went and told her parents. When we talked with Manami later, she said her Mom was crying and her Dad’s reaction was basically the same as Rachel’s Dad when Eph proposed, “It’s about time!”

We’re scheduled to go to Japan on May 28 to be at their wedding on June 1st and then we'll fly to the Philippines a few days later. They’ll be moving to Sasebo on June 21. Reggie will be managing the Chili’s restaurant in the Sasebo US Navy base.

People Around Me Are Dropping Like...

Francisco David Manalili

Cong Frank’s (or Cong Francing as we affectionately call him) mom is Imang Ester, she’s my Mom’s youngest sister, one of the two who’s still alive. Cong Francing turned 60 last December. He was the oldest in a family of three. The middle brother, Ely, who’s about my age, passed away several years ago. Nenet, the youngest, I heard had a stroke a couple of years back and is bed ridden or has paralysis of some level. Cong Francing and Imang Ester went on vacation a few months ago and they were able to attend the 40 days mass for Elijah at our house in Sindalan on Feb 25.


A few days ago, he was on his way home from working out at a nearby gym, passed out while driving and hit another car. He was dead on arrival by the time paramedics took him to Norwalk Community Hospital.

This picture (courtesy of niece Leilani Maniago - Giles) was taken during their recent vacation in the Philippines. Lani bumped into him in San Fernando.


And here he is on the left, with a nephew. Picture taken by Cecile Yumul at Cecile's Healing Garden in Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga.



Last week Len sent me an OLM and told me Cong Frank’s (Donna’s oldest brother) son-in-law (sadly, I don’t even know his name), Sweetpea’s husband had a brain aneurysm and died. Sweetpea is in Canada working. Last February she went back to the Philippines so they can get married. I think they have two maybe three children.



Rafael Macabali Maniago

There are four cousins with the name Rafael Maniago (my brother included) all named after our paternal grandfather. One of them Cong Paing from Mindoro had a stroke a few years back and has been bed ridden since. My niece, Charry sent me an eMail saying he passed away May 12.

Here is a really old picture of him, not sure when it was taken but he was really young.



Early this year until the time we left for California (April 26) I think five of our former high school classmates have died, one of whom – Rey Vergara is a really good friend.

Here is Rey after he delivered his speech at the 2008 PHS Graduation Ceremony. He and another former classmate and friend Lita Manalastas Watanabe were the guest speakers.



Not to mention another great grandson of my brother Cong Naring. See my previous blog about Sky.

Wow, and now on to some happier news!!