Malate in lights

I feel so sleepy; can you believe that I had dinner at ten in the evening? I never do that, but I was so hungry. I needed something to eat. My review classes ended an hour and a half early and since my mom was planning to bring some papers to my aunt’s house that afternoon I went home right away cos I wanted to see my cousins. But the driver was with my dad at Quezon City and he arrived at the house at around six p.m. The traffic was awful, it took us about an hour to get to my cousin’s place and we only ended up staying for twenty minutes. My dad was in a bar entertaining some arbiters and my mom wanted him home early so that he wouldn’t get drunk. Unfortunately, he was already tipsy when we got there and he was talking and cussing in a really loud voice. I dunno if this is bad, but I think I like my dad better when he’s like that because he’s very talkative and uninhibited. I feel more comfortable around him when he’s like that. He doesn’t say much when he’s sober. Of course, drinking is bad because the next day he ends up getting depressed. But really…he’s more fun to be with when he’s tipsy.

We went all the way from Quezon City to Manila to pick my sister up from play rehearsals. She told us to hurry up and when we got there we ended up waiting for forty minutes. It turns out that she thought they were already being dismissed when it was only the kids. While we were waiting, my dad kept ranting and raving about things like headless nuns walking about. And then he started to talk about his college days. Like how he almost got kicked out because he was such a bum, and that he pretty much won people over because of his good looks. My dad never talked about stuff like that to me before so it was quite a change. By the time my sister was done we were both rather hungry; I had nothing to eat since lunch and she didn’t bring any food because ants always get to it before she does. My sister has the worst luck with ants. She got ants swimming in a cup of coffee she bought from a vending machine, and once she discovered that her bed was crawling with ants just when she was about to lie down.

We ended up in this cute restaurant in Malate called Komiks. One part of the wall was covered in these retro Filipino comics and it looked so pretty. Dad was going to order a beer when my sister got pissed at him. I mean really pissed at him. She acts like a mom sometimes, so I guess I have two moms. She’s quite conservative and afraid of taking risks, unlike me. My dad apologized for wanting to drink but got a beer anyway. Oh well, some things can’t be changed I guess. The food was good but right in the middle of the meal, a brownout occurred. My sister freaked out; she hates the dark and wanted to go home. While we continued eating by candlelight, the owner of the restaurant came to our table. My dad noticed his shirt that said “Vietnam” and Dad started to talk to him about our plans to travel just before school starts. I forgot the guy’s name but he’s really cool. He’s been to all sorts of exotic places like Turkey and Hanoi, and he’s going to go to Egypt in a couple of weeks. Wow. When I grow up I am going to visit all the exotic places in the world. Maybe I’ll just keep on travelling and not get married. What if I end up marrying a guy who is totally unadventurous? I don’t believe in divorce and I’d be stuck living a boring life.

We came home at 11:30 and now I feel quite fat. But today has been quite interesting; I wish everyday could be like this.