mi casa, an exercise

in spanish class, we were often asked to write essays for practice. inevitably, the favorite topics included mi familia, mi amigo/a, and of course, mi casa. after a wonderful breakfast of toasted whole wheat pan de sal and pepper and red berry cream cheese, i thought i'd write about that here today, realizing that i've never mentioned anything about my family here.

first, the physical structure. i grew up in three houses: my maternal grandparents' house near rockwell, our old condo unit in makati, and our current home in paranaque. the pajarillo house is fairly large, with a garden and an old swing. powerplant mall, ateneo grad school and the rest of the rockwell area are only a short walk away. my immediate family is almost always there; para bang requisite stop-over kung sa mga eroplano. yun ang tambayan namin.

i love the energy there because it's smack in the middle of the busy commercial zone and the slower-paced residential area. another thing you must know about me: i'm apparently an extrovert, in the sense that i'm dependent on other people for energy. yeah, i'm a sort of social vampire, i guess. but i'm still extremely picky about the people i choose to surround myself with, given the opportunity to actually choose.

the thing about staying in my lolo's house, i don't have a space to call my own. kung minsan, hindi ako mapakali dahil wala akong sariling lugar o paglulugaran (if there is such a term) doon. at home in paranaque, i relish having a bedroom that allows me a degree of privacy even if i share it with my little sister. my desk is right next to my bed and the nearby windows open to a view of the little garden we keep. my bed is soft and thick, making getting up in the morning doubly hard for an eternal sleepyhead like me.

yes, an eternal sleepyhead. i belong to a family that glorifies sleep. kami yung tipo ng tao na hindi namimili ng tutulugan at hindi hirap na matulog kung saan. nung bata pa ako, sabi nila pwede daw kumatay ng baka o baboy sa tabi ko at hindi ako magigising. mantika daw kasi kung matulog. ganun. ngayon, hindi na masyado. ewan ko kung mabuti ba yun o ano.

there was a theory that the more you sleep the less you eat, on the basis, i suppose, that time would be unequally divided between the two activities. my family has debunked this theory. we are also a family who loves to eat. out or at home, to celebrate occassions or just to satisfy food cravings. lalo na chinese food, hindi na yata kami nagsawa. with me in particular, i think i have it every day. at kung may panahon at hindi masyadong mabigat ang trapik, dadayuhin pa namin ang president's restaurant sa ongpin. ganun kami ka-adik.

my (maternal) lola is an amazing cook. sa bahay sa makati, it's not unusual to have osso buco, roast beef or pesto pork loins for dinner. for merienda, there's samurai crepe and my favorite taro puffs. hindi naman laging fancy ang pagkain dun. but the truth is, i didn't get to taste the likes of adobo and sinigang until i was in high school. si daddy kasi ayaw dun kaya hindi niluluto sa bahay. mahilig si lola mag-experiment ng bagong recipes. kami naman tuwang-tuwa kumain. at ang mga kaibigan kong nakakain na sa amin, madalas ay nagpapaimbita muli.

the current food obsession of my family is cheese. at any given moment, there are at least 5 different kinds of cheeses in the fridge. just last december, we had about 2 or 3 wheels of pecorino which weighed several kilos each. paubos na ata siya ngayon kasi araw-araw kaming kumain nun. kaya hala, tumataas na masyado ang uric acid levels ni mommy at ni lola. sabi ko nga, dapat may wine and cheese party kami.

calamansi and dalandan juice are staples in both houses. one twist: we like adding peach liqueur to our drink. sabi ni coach, mga tomador pala kami. hehe, medyo lang. maybe that's why i was named after the god of wine. my lolo actually has a bar at home, as in a tall table with wine compartments at the back. a long, long time ago, party place ang bahay nila. and before that, it was a mahjong parlor. i'm not kidding.

i guess my family isn't so boring after all. but that was then. hay.

. . .

in other news, i refuse to lend books anymore. so unless you're the type of person who can afford to replace whatever you lose or damage, fuck off!

i HATE people who have no respect for others. mabait ako pero matakot talaga kayo kapag nagalit ako.

. . .

* edit: i forgot to include a picture from our new year's dinner.