…a brief glance…

well it’s the 2nd last day of melbourne and i’m off home tomorrow morning. on the most part, it has been a good trip. there are some friends whom you just couldn’t love more, equipped with their very own quirks and habits, and after almost over 3 years of not traveling together (with the boys) it’s funny and i guess somewhat comforting to see how some things don’t change. i love how there seems to be no boundaries in the folds of this chaos we call our friendship.

i arrived at the airport to be greeted by my ate ma, kuya lon and nephew joseph, who was quite shy of me. it took almost the whole day for him to actually sit next to me, but i was reassured that i wasn’t the only one, and it was standard routine. low and behold a few hours later we had reached a somewhat ammicable status. it was nice to be with ate alma again. in a lot of ways it brought me back to our youngen years. as we up angel i was quite touched that she threw her arms around my waist after it hit her who was standing by her mother. without reservation and genuine affection. she may look like papa lon but she has taken much of her grace and spirit from her mother, pagkalambing and all. after a couple of hours at ate ma’s we headed for ate gigi’s to be greeted by my pamangkins who were all taller than me….almost. we had a really nice dinner together as a family. i got the opportunity to have a heart to heart with ate gigi and ate ma. whilst everyone just carried on with dinner and their own chaos. it was great to watch the pamangkins together and interact. how the older ones looked after the little ones and how close knit they were. it was like a little window to our childhood. i loved that angel and joseph refered to ate gigi as mommy (ate ma being mama) and it spoke thousands of how much they were all a part of each others lives.

after dinner and the drama that was exchanged ate ma and i said our hesitant goodbyes as ate gigi and family we’re taking me to the somerset where my friends and i were meeting. after quick introductions and a heaist like meeting out front, they snuck me into our hotel apartment, as i was the 6th of the maximum 5 per room rule.

unfortunately for me i got very sick saturday morning and could not get up, so the rest of my crew headed for brunch while i literally slept fitfully feverish. by the time they arrived, i could manage to slowly move so i joined them for the little light sightseeing and shopping before getting ready for miss saigon. the performance was amazing, though our seats was a little disappointing. the structure of the theatre proved to be non condusive to successful viewing, but hey it was miss saigon. we took a little trip to the crown casino where after one drink (a mocktail at that) i needed to go back to the hotel. due to the hunger pains we were experiencing, at 1am when we arrived back at the hotel jes and i left chris and thomas at the room while we forraged for food, ending up at a chinese restaurant nearby. which was filling, but hardly satisfying!

today was the big day… the day we were going to venture the famous great ocean road. not long after an hour of winding roads ann got sick, followed by me…which initiated a whole lot of stops, which meant getting to the 12 apostles to took a little longer…after a downpour of rain, it was still worth it. even if it meant being drenched all the way home. being drenched all the way home meant that i started a coughing fit, resuming my fluish symptoms.

today was always going to suck, today being the 6 month anniversary of the accident…though it hit me throughout the day it hit me completely on the way home, sick and feverish…again. i can’t describe into words the emotions that surged through at that point, it was like i relived that day again in that moment, and it was overwhelming.

tomorrow i’m headed home, and we’re all meeting at the cemetary to gather for the 6 month anniversary. i can’t believe it’s been six months. how time escapes us so quickly.