St. Paul Founder's Day, Kokik's Birthday, & Dinner Party

Okay, I have been SO BUSY since the last post. It's really tough finding time to update, especially since my computer isn't very reliable and there are brownouts all the time. Anyway, without further ado, here goes my mass update:

Saturday, October 24
Last Saturday was the Founder's Day celebration for St. Paul University-Dumaguete, the school where my mom, aunts, and uncles went to elementary and where my cousin graduated from college. My aunt purchased two tickets for the event - one for her, one for my mom - thinking they would go together, but my aunt had to go to Cebu for work and my mom didn't really want to go. Instead, they gave the tickets to my cousin, Kai Kai, and I. It was mostly just a big presentation with dinner. The sisters awarded a honorary alum, they asked for donations from alumni, had a raffle, and then served a buffet-style dinner, complete with lechon and leche flan. (Bruno's right - Filipinos really are the Mexicans of Asia when it comes to food, but I love it!) Afterward, my uncle and mom picked us up, and we went to Chin Loong's, a Chinese restaurant on the Boulevard, to watch the fireworks competition for the Buglasan Festival. My aunt Yoys and her family met us there, and we enjoyed watching the fireworks from the comfort of the restaurant.

Sunday, October 25
Last Sunday, my mom, Kai Kai, and I went to Siaton to visit an old high school friend of my mom's. She lives near the beach, right next door to a resort. We were hoping to swim, but the weather was bad. When we arrived it was so windy, making the usually clear water choppy and murky, so instead we sat at tables they'd set up on the beach and had lunch. After a while, the weather cleared up for a brief period of time, but by this point I was feeling ill from the sudden weather change from chilly to extremely hot. It's just as well because shortly afterward, it started POURING out of NOWHERE. We had to run to the neighbor's house next door to get out of the rain. There, we met some acquaintances of theirs and visited for a while, before eventually returning to Dumaguete, where we showered and left to watch the second night of the fireworks competition (and final Buglasan event) from Chin Loong again.

Monday, October 26
To be honest, I really can not remember what happened this day. If I remember, I will edit this. As far as I can remember, we didn't do anything. My aunt and I were supposed to go to the gym, but we didn't because she had errands to do. I think I just sat around all day instead. Something like that.

Tuesday, October 27
I don't really remember what we did during the day on Tuesday. Probably nothing. Actually, I'm pretty sure we just sat around all day, and I played on the computer, until it was time to go to the party. Yes, that's it. Because my godmother flew out of Dumaguete in the morning, but I overslept so I missed seeing her off. Around lunchtime my cousin, Kokik, was supposed to have a birthday party, but it got canceled so we stayed in. Instead, (I think it was this day at least; if not, it was the day before) my mom and I walked to the grocery store and bought groceries. Fun bonding time. Around dinnertime Tuesday, we went to my aunt's house for Kokik's birthday dinner with delicious and fabulous food.

Wednesday, October 28
Wednesday, we got up early and had lunch with my aunt - birthday leftovers, yummy! That's all I really remember from that day.

Thursday, October 29
My uncle took my mom and I into town to do a little shopping at Lee Plaza, then had lunch at Roberto's. Afterward, we picked my aunt up from work, and the three of us went to the Catholic church in Bacong, where their hundred-year old bamboo pipe organ was recently restored. So cool. I think it's one of only two in the country? Something like that. Then, we stopped by a dress shop so I could pick up information about having dresses made.

Friday, October 30
The day was pretty uneventful, but in the evening my aunt hosted a huge dinner party. When she got home from work, she started cooking, and her housekeepers put out all the nice china and tablecloths and set up extra chairs and tables in the living/dining room and on the patio outside. It was a surprise because some classmates of my cousin Chiko who had been in my debut party showed up, and we got to talk. It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed being able to talk to people who weren't actually a relative for once. Plus, the food was absolutely fabulous.