dear papa,

Hello! Sorry I haven’t been able to email you lately. I was busy deleting spam(chain letters, etc.) from my inbox I run out of time to write to you. How are you? In less than a week we’ll all be together again! Whee! ^_^

Ok, we’ll shop in duty free this time. We are very happy too last time even when we had to forgo it to buy a computer. Because if it wasn’t for the emails we wouldn’t be able to have long talks during the Christmas season. We also get to send these cute animated cards. The cards you send are funny :D I’m already looking for Chinese new year e-cards to send you, but I thought you’ll be here before it happens anyway.

I’m glad it’s okay with Mr. Lim that you come home earlier than Jan 31. That’s so kind of him! I was hoping that I’d be proficient in driving by the time you get back here, but I still find parking a bit tricky. I manage to get the car out of the garage, but getting it back in is slightly more difficult due to the ground slope.

The Mardi gras is okay I guess, but we’d rather watch it on the local cable. That way we get to see close ups of the stars who come over here, instead of having to crane our necks squinting from the back of the crowd to figure out who the heck is onstage. I remember one night when wan wan was watching the Celestron channel. She was laughing her head off :) we could see everybody having fun at the stars’ antics onstage. And when we look out the window we could her their songs from the distance.

Allan, Beya and I went out to the streets last night. We rode a jeep to the welcome sign then had to walk from there. We asked Allan where he wants the three of us to go. He answered “Jollibee”. We took in the sights, lights and sounds as we made our way to its Rizal Avenue branch. There were bands playing on impromptu stages and food stalls lined the streets. Tables and chairs are set out and roped off for people who wanted to drink in the open air. The weather’s great, with just a slight bit of rain.

Allan waved and gestured with his hands as usual, so we walked on either side of him gently holding his arm. We let him sing all he wanted though because there’s a party atmosphere going on anyway. And he’s clearly having fun :) We reached Jollibee after going around the stalls and crowds. Beya fell in line while Allan and I looked for seats.

We talk with him all the time, telling him every decision and suggestion, and sometimes asking him between choices to make. The two of us found a vacant table but before I realize what he was doing he grabbed the leftover soda and finished it. I managed to stop him when he reached for the leftover sundae next. As I waited for the darn employee to put away the mess of leftovers from the table’s last occupants I eventually gave up and brought us to another table that’s already cleared.

From the new table we could see Beya in the line waiting for her turn to order. I pointed her out to Allan. Beya soon found us from her line and called me over to help carry the trays. I told Allan that I’ll get the food and will be right back before I left him to help Beya.

When I came back to the table with the first tray holding two Chickenjoy meals and 3 iced teas he said “Spaghetti,” looking for more. I told Beya that he wanted spaghetti as well when she arrived with the second tray, bearing a burger steak meal for herself and 3 sundaes. She said that these should be enough because it’s too late at night and he doesn’t need the extra calories. I was the first to finish off my meal, most likely because I was the hungriest, and that Allan kept grabbing my food. He especially likes the crispy chicken skin. Beya laughed at how we practically licked our plates(and sundae cups) clean!

Wan wan was texting us about the place having a street party that night. So far we haven’t seen much happening at 7:30pm. We walked out finding some guys selling necklaces with blinking/flashing light pendants. They looked very pretty wearing them at night out in the streets. Allan wore one that looked like a mini strobe light colored blue. I wore a red flashing dolphin shaped one. I kept making cracks about us being “jologs for the night”. Jologs means baduy or bakya :) Beya also bought one of those glow sticks (in red) like the one we bought when we were in Enchanted Kingdom.

We made our way to 7-Eleven to buy some necessities like tissue and 3-in-1 coffee mixes(Allan insists). He enjoyed going through he magazine rack so much we had a hard time pulling him away from it when it was time to go. On the way home we saw bands playing stages along Rizal avenue. But the crowd we so dense we could barely move. We basically had to push our way through before we reach the sakayan. We walked all the way back to the Welcome sign to check out the night crowd until we found a jeep home. Most Wawa jitney drivers recognize us that they automatically slow down and stop before we could say “para”.

We plan to have a little handa, but we’re having second thoughts about the ice cream because Allan and the others have the cough and colds. We’re definitely having chocolate rolls though, because we ran out of them during the4 Christmas season!

Thanks for the belt bag, I’d most probably use it when I’m minding the store. I usually just stuff the money in my pants so I can guard them everywhere I go. I can’t leave it at the cash drawer anymore. I‘ve since learned to go out with minimal stuff to carry because it’s such a drag having to deposit stuff at the counter whenever I go inside a supermarket or store. Thanks for the bracelet too, I’ve always preferred white gold to yellow. I find them timeless. And jade pendants? Cute! :) I’ll wear it whenever appropriate. I have the habit of not wearing expensive jewelry when I feel exposed in the street. I automatically remove and hide them when I step out to ‘notorious places’.

Take care papa! We love you!


Tingting