Meet my nephews and nieces - more from Spring Break, 2012

After our short Ohio stay, we finally flew to Maryland to visit my brother. It was actually the highlight of the entire trip since we were all together with the entire family, finally. On the day we arrived, my brother's son, Benjo, immediately brought the other kids to the nearest park. It was super cold there (I have low tolerance for cold weather), though it doesn't show much in the photos: 

My nephews and nieces. Soon, they will all be taller than me. That's Benjo with the basketball. He's the leader of the pack. Hehe. He's very responsible and really looks after his little brother, Toby. 

The Birthday Post

Taking a break from posting my Spring Break travel shots to give way to write about, supposedly, my best day of the year - the day I get another year older. This year is different because I just ended my 10-year term as a twentysomething. I was asked about my age earlier and I didn't realize until then how difficult it is to say, "thirty". Definitely, this isn't where I envisioned being in 10 years ago. Things have been great, and I have tons to thank for the past 30 years, but I feel that I haven't done enough - actually, I haven't done anything substantial yet - commensurate to the length of time I've been here on earth. More than anything, this birthday is a wake-up call for me to start shaping up and doing something about my life. From now on, I will be a mature, responsible adult. I promise. Hihi. 

I was going to post my birthday celebrations for the past 30 years (because I'm an artista like that. Ehe). I almost turned my entire room upside down searching for all the photos, but I was unsuccessful. For some strange reason I couldn't find my 6th birthday at Jollibee, my 7th birthday at Max's, and all the other birthday celebrations here at home. I've yet to save all the digital files - I'll dig them up from my multiply site/old blogs later. Here is what I've gathered so far: 

1st birthday, La Union (?)

2nd birthday, house:

Spring Break 2012 Highlights - Pistacia Vera and Jeni's Ice Cream

After our sausage buffet AND giant cream puff dessert at Schmidt's, my sister brought the family to Pistacia Vera, also located at the German Village, where they sell good French macarons. The macarons cost $1.25 or around 53 Pesos per piece. I don't understand why they're so expensive in any region but I love it too much so I don't really mind.  

 

This is the part where we were left on the other side of the street because Patti had a foot injury. 

wheeeeeeeeeee

Spring Break 2012 Highlights - German Village, Ohio

I've been to Ohio twice before, and to be honest, I didn't expect to see much there this year. The most exciting thing that happened there was the DMB concert back in 2006. Other than that, the next best thing to see would be shopping at the nearest Marshall's and Target stores. Hehe.

This time around, my sister's family took us to German Village in Columbus, which they discovered on the Travel Channel (or the Food Network). Here's a little info about this historic town on their website:

"German Village is a historic neighborhood just south of downtown Columbus, Ohio. It was settled by a large number of German immigrants in the mid 1800s, who at one time comprised as much as a third of the population of the entire city. On December 30, 1974, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. On November 28, 1980, its 

boundaries were expanded."

We ate at Schmidt's Sausage Haus and Restaurant for lunch where they had a German sausage buffet spread. They served four different kinds of German sausage and side dishes and salads. They also had a wide array of dessert choices. We only got two orders of the giant cream puff though. We were saving our tummies for macarons from another dessert place. We waited in line for around twenty minutes due to the number of customers. It was a Sunday and everyone was out having lunch.

 

Spring Break 2012 Playlist

When there's a burning in your heart
An endless yearning in your heart
Build it bigger than the sun
Let it grow, let it grow
When there's a burning in your heart
Don't be alarmed

- You are a Tourist (DCFC)

1. Midnight City (M83)
2. Reunion (M83)
3. Goodbye (Toe)
4. Tightrope (Walk the Moon)
5. Underneath the Sycamore (DCFC)
6. Home is a Fire (DCFC)
7. Codes and Keys (DCFC)
8. Some Boys (DCFC)
9. Doors Unlocked and Open (DCFC)
10. You are a Tourist (DCFC)
11. Unobstructed Views (DCFC)
12. Unoly Thoughts (Kele Oreke)
13. Somebody That I Used to Know (Gotye)
14. Bronte (Gotye)
15. Easy Way Out (Gotye)

Notes from 40,000 feet above sea level

Taking home all these to Manila

LA time: 2:49 pm, April 10, Tuesday
Manila time: 5:49 am, April 11, Wednesday

We finally wrapped up our US trip, which is probably the best US trip I've had. Ever. :P In three weeks, we covered five different states, and I got to spend quality time in Maryland with my entire family, which doesn't happen very often. From the foggy streets of San Francisco, we moved to Ohio, explored the forests of Maryland, and saw the deserts of California. We jumped right in everyone else's spring break plans. I was also able to shop a little (despite my initial plans to hold off on shopping hehe) and score great bargains, run a little, eat a lot. I'm not sure though if we'll have enough budget to go through this again, so we'll probably push through with my sister plan to turn the next vacation to a reality tv show and hopefully make a profit out of it. Hehe.

All will be Well

Flowers in the church front yard

"All will be well." This was the prevailing message from the Easter mass I attended yesterday, when I joined my sister's family and her sister-in-law's family in a Catholic mass in Aliso Viejo, a few minutes away from where we're currently staying in Orange County. It has been a while since I last attended a Catholic mass and I could say it was very different from the ones I've attended before. It was unconventional. My sister said it had hints of a Christian/born-again service. The choir was accompanied by a band (complete with a drum, which I only see in Christian services); the message/homily was relatively longer than the usual homilies; even the church set up was very modern. The "altar" was made of a large, unpolished stone where the priest went around while he was giving his homily. At the start of the mass, he sprinkled holy water at the entire congregation and made sure that every one received the blessing. Instead of using the usual container to hold the water, he used a bunch of leaves which was more absorbent and in effect, produced a lot of water when it was waved towards the crowd. Towards the end of the homily, he gave out a giant easter egg, a chocolate rabbit, and a stuffed rabbit to three lucky recipients. The priest was very lively, the message was great, and they had good, upbeat music. The crowd was very receptive and truly enjoyed the entire mass. I wasn't expecting much from the mass, but I enjoyed it as well, and found it relevant that the priest was talking about resurrection, new beginnings, and the inevitable joyful ending, knowing that you are one with Christ. 

First day in Ohio

Our balikbayan boxes/luggage. So pinoy :P We had a lot of bags with us that the porter asked if we were moving to Ohio.

Blue Like Jazz

A few months ago, my ministry partner, Ate Germaine Santos, gave me a copy of the book, Blue Like Jazz, where Don Miller shares his "nonreligious thoughts on Christian spirituality." In this book, Miller narrates his experiences as a college student in Reed University, his conversations with fellow Christians and non-Christians, and his struggles with Christianity. I didn't plan on reading this book, not yet anyway, until after I've finished another book Ate Germaine gave me. But the moment I finished the first chapter, I wanted to read the rest of the book. The tone is very casual and candid, like a compilation of long blog entries, so it was very light and easy to read. It is not preachy and it wasn't really intended to give a discourse on the Christian belief, but it's interesting enough to keep readers talking about Jesus.

Last night in Maryland

It's our last night here in my brother's house in Maryland. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be flying to LA, go on a long drive to Las Vegas on Thursday, then finally leave for Manila next week. This has been the best family vacation we've had in more than ten years. Not that I have much to compare it with, since this is the first time in a long period of time that we've been complete. Last time, Sophie and Toby weren't even born yet. I'm not sure when we'll have a vacation with the entire family again, but I do hope we'll all set aside time and money for the next family vacation/reunion. And next time, as my sister suggested, we'll film the whole thing and turn it into a reality show. :P