Gleniz da Menace
Since sobrang konti nga ng kaalaman ko about LA, nito ko lang nalaman na hindi pala karaniwan umuulan sa LA. Kaya niloloko nila kami na kami yung nagdala ng ulan kasi maulan nung week na punta namin. Ngayon ko lang din nalaman na since hindi nga maulan dito, ito yung ideal place mag-shoot ng movies, plus idagdag mo pa yung varied landscapes like mountains, beaches, and deserts—a perfect shooting location. Good to know.
After Sequoia, it was inuman night. We had drinks, sang our hearts out, and stayed up until 4AM. Just like old times.
We had this one free day which wasn’t exactly a free day. We planned a surprise pre-baby shower dinner for Aryan and Hudas to thank them for hosting us, so while they were out and about (attending another baby shower), we were busy cooking. We only had 2 hours to prepare and so we were scrambling in their big kitchen, figuring out where the pots and pans and baking tools were.
November 7-18, 2025
This whole California trip was an achievement in and of itself. Our schedules were aligned, no flights were cancelled despite the US government shutdown, (and most importantly) we now have some adult money, and even with some unavoidable hiccups, we all managed to take with us special and fun core memories.
I’m happy to be traveling with Kenneth again. After so many trips these past few months (12 flights!!), it feels nice that this last trip of the year gets to be with him. I’m also grateful that my friends are his friends too! We don’t have to worry about one of us being left out or getting bored. No awkward scenarios where one of us goes quiet and the other constantly asks, “Okay ka lang?”
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Ang sarap bumalik sa bahay after a long vacation. Kinikilig ako habang nakaupo sa office chair ko, nagsusulat, tapos mamaya magbabasa ako, magpapakain ng pusa, then magluluto.
I can’t wait to go back to my nice little routine. But let’s rewind a tiny bit…
I spent 9 straight days with some of my closest friends during this recent California trip, and it was absolutely divine. It was as if we’re college kids again—hanging out everyday, drinking almost every night, and chatting endlessly about the past and the future. It was such a treat! Sobrang na-miss ko sila! And the sad part is, sobrang mami-miss ko rin sila now that it’s over. I was actually feeling nostalgic kahit magkakasama pa kami. The thought of, “I’m going to miss this.” kept popping at the back of my mind while currently hanging out with them. But I try to pull myself back and just enjoy the moment. It’s also probably because there’s a part of me that couldn’t fully believe we were all really together and spending this much time with each other once again—and I think some of us felt the same way too, because Benson would randomly blurt out, “Wow! Dito na talaga tayo sa US nagkita-kita!”
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Malapit na kaming mag-isang taon dito sa Calgary, at ang recurring theme pa rin ng conversations namin ni Kenneth ay: “Ang saya at thankful ko na nandito na tayo ngayon.” Hindi pa rin kami maka-move on. The locals may not fully relate, pero sobra sobra ang appreciation namin sa lugar na ‘to. Lalo na si Kenneth. Sya yung mas paulit-ulit about finally being here.
Interestingly, wala naman talaga sa wish list namin na makalipat ng Calgary. We really thought forever na kami sa Winnipeg (we lived there for 6 years). At kung sumagi man sa isip ko ang paglipat, sa Vancouver ko naiisip. Pero since hindi namin kaya ang cost of living sa BC in general, I just file that thought under my daydreams category. Until one day, bigla na lang kaming naging in-sync ni Kenneth at nagtuloy-tuloy na ang proseso ng paglipat namin dito.
Note: Eventually nakapasyal din kami sa BC, at Calgary pa rin talaga ang #1 for us. Oo maganda, pero ang mahal talaga!
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May random moment sa sasakyan (on the way kami sa Waterton para ipasyal ang Mama one last time bago sya umuwing Pilipinas) na napa-blurt out ako ng, “12 times pala akong sumakay ng eroplano this year!” After saying that, ang unang pumasok sa isip ko ay exhaustion.
I will not deny the feeling of relief na last na yung Waterton sa itinerary namin ng Mama. After ng sunod-sunod na ganaps sa Pinas, tuloy pa rin ang ganaps pagbalik ko ng Canada. I know this is a great thing, pero looking forward na rin akong tumiim ng bahay. Lalo na dahil sa result ng blood test ko. Mababa raw ang WBC ko, meaning mababa rin ang immune system ko. Kaya pala ang bilis kong magkasakit at ang tagal kong gumaling. Napa-paranoid ako kakaisip kung nag-normalize na ba yung WBC ko or mas bumaba pa. At feeling ko, ang solusyon para maging normal ulit ay magpahinga.
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May pagka-bitter ako dahil wala akong video footage nung bata pa ako. Understandable naman kasi hindi naman uso ang mga smartphones noon. Pero tuwing nakakakita ako ng mga rare footage ng random people nung bata pa sila, nakakainggit. Tsaka pag nanonood ako ng Kardashians tapos ipapakita nila yung mga old videos nila, ang sarap lang panoorin. Very active ko pa naman nung elementary ako, ang dami kong extra-curricular activities na ang sarap sanang balikan.
Na-surprise na lang ako nung pinuntahan namin yung kaibigan ng Mama dito sa Calgary. Inimbitahan nila kaming mag-lunch sa bahay nila at may nabanggit si tita na pinapanood daw nila nung minsan yung mga lumang videos nila. Tapos andun daw ang Mama sumasayaw kasama yung ibang momshies. Tapos ako rin daw nandun (??) Wait. What?! Matutupad na ba ang wish ko? Haha!
Turns out, ka-choir ko pala yung anak ni tita at na-record nila yung isa sa mga performances namin. Nung una, ang nahanap nilang footage ay yung sumasayaw ang mga Mama, tapos nakalagay sa date stamp, September 1999. So nag-calculate na ko at if ever totoong nakasama nga ako sa video, 10 years old pa lang ako nun! Sobrang excited na ko. Pero ayoko pa masyadong mag-expect kasi baka wala naman ako or baka hindi na nila mahanap. Hanggang sa nakita ko na yung muka ko sa screen at tawang tawa na ko, and at the same time, super amazed. Ang cool. Thank you universe sa unexpected gift and thank you sa sosyal kong ka-choir noon na may camcorder! 😄
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Sa sobrang baliw na baliw yung dalwa kong pinsan sa The Summer I Turned Pretty, hindi nila mapigilan na magkwento sakin kahit wala naman akong gatiting na idea sa story nun. Alam ko lang na libro sya at meron syang TV adaptation pero yun na yun. Alam rin nilang hindi ko alam kung anong pinagsasasabi nila but it doesn’t stop them from talking about Belly, Condrad and Jeremiah. Hindi nga sila yung, “Ate panoorin mo! Maganda!!” Hindi. As in diretso lang sila agad sa mga ganaps kaya litong lito ako. Ang alam ko lang kilig na kilig sila kay Conrad, hate nila si Jeremiah, at super frustrated sila kay Belly. So ako tuloy, mapapatanong sa kanila kung bakit. At sa kaka-bakit ko, nagkaron na ko ng idea at nagkaron na ko ng interes panoorin pagbalik ko ng Canada.
After almost isang oras na kwentuhan about TSITP, sabi ni Isabelle, “Para tuloy gusto ko ulit panoorin mula season 1.” So ayun. Sinimulan din namin at naintindihan ko na rin kung bakit sila nababaliw dun sa tatlo. Hindi pa ko masyadong makausad sa season 2 kasi nasa episode 3 pa lang ako. Pinaparaya ko kasi sa Mama yung TV para hindi sya mainip.
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December 15, 2024
Isa lang ang nasa checklist ko for this year’s birthday:
I celebrated my birthday in a new place! Our new home. Ugh sobrang excited kong makakita ulit ng bundok. Pumunta kaming Banff ngayon and I can’t believe na 1.5-hour drive na lang ang Banff mula sa bahay namin. Bukambibig ko kay Kenneth few weeks ago na maiiyak talaga ko pag nakakita ako ng rocky mountains sa birthday ko. Hindi ko na kailangang pigilan ang aking tears of joy. Yung first time ko kasing makita yung rocky mountains last year, kasama namin ang parents at kapatid ni Kenneth, so nahiya ako at pinigilan ko yung luha ko hehe. Baka sabihin naman nila para kong tanga. Pero sabi ko ngayon, kung maiyak man ako, I will wholeheartedly let myself. Hindi naman ako naiyak, but I got super teary eyed.
Gleniz da Menace