last bits of 2007

keeping with tradition (dec. 26)

as is our tradition for several years now, we usually have a jamora cousins' dinner on either the 26th or 27th of december after christmas. it all started with manang rina (numero uno) would treat us out after christmas day. just so we can bond and catch up with each other's lives some more. but since she was getting the shorter end of the stick, we all decided to take turns by two or more families, depending on the kid ratio of each.

this is probably my favorite part of the holidays since i miss out on spending christmas and new years with them.

2007 was my year along with the palmares, ana and michelle jamora. we actually forgot the original schedule and lost the scratch we wrote it all down on. so we just decided on 3 families this year.

we ended up at esca's and a bit short of the original number. its sad when people have their own lives already. work and families. that sort of thing that tends to take top priority, understandably. so we were just a handful this year. good for us though because we ended up saving on the bill (bwahaha). but it wasn't as good as the previous years. but we did have a lot of new faces joining us at the always rectangular table. welcome to yolly and kathy! san2 and david couldn't make it since they had some place to go to. same with tonito and tp. oh well.

a tabing ilog moment (dec. 28)

this was so reminiscent of that old show. our dean for business admin. invited us over to mianay where her family is based for their fiesta. they live in this area owned by the belo's (apparently they are related to that specific famous belo). they have this huge lake in the middle of hills and trees. reminds me of ungka and banate all at once. memories of childhood come flooding in.

some members of the hrm department were there, too so it was fun. with these guys, anything can happen, really.

the food was sooo good! one of the best lechons i have ever had in my life. i am not kidding you. the dinuguan that could make you sing it was that good. pantat cooked two ways, chicken binakol with ubod, adobo... it was a lot. just to show you how good it was, i am responsible for breaking the bamboo on the raft. first time it happened and it was my fault. joey was quick to document it.

it was fun drifting away with joart and jesser trying to maneauver the raft (in the lyrics from the producers : keep it light, keep it happy, keep it gaaaaayyy). it was so hillarious. agnes, the amazon woman that she is saved us from drifting towards the other end of the lake.

special thanks to agnes and her family for being so wonderful and overwhelmingly hospitable. it didn't matter that it rained a bit during the day. everything was serenely peaceful. makes you wanna pull out a blanket and just forget about everything for just a little while.