Since I wasn't able to blog about my trip to US, I'll just try to squeeze all the stuff that happened these past three weeks in this entry. Forgive me if I don't actually end up being coherent.

--> When I was in NAIA, on my way to the US three weeks ago, we had to go through the whole process of having our bags checked. Even when we we were already entering the gate to where we had to wait for boarding, we had to go through this checkpoint, where they check the contents of our bags (looking for bombs) and make us take our shoes off. I was pointed towards this female airport official, who was just finishing up with the bags of this American guy. Well, as the American guy turned away, he called out to the girl (or woman--whatever), "You're beautiful." Obviously, they had been flirting with each other as the girl searched through his bag. The girl must have seen my face--and my raised eyebrow--because she started laughing (more like giggling). "Ang weirdo niya 'no?" she babbled to me. "Hayaan mo na...ganyan talaga yan. Pabayaan mo na ako." And even though I didn't say anything, just sort of smiled and all, she kept right on babbling and giggling like a ditsy schoolgirl. "Si mam talaga o, pinagtatawanan ako...! Pagbigyan mo na ako, minsan minsan lang yan nangyayari!" Hey, I didn't say anything! And then, she gets weirder. "Uy, si mam, natatawa! Ang cute niya 'no! Parang hapon!" And my eyebrow just rises again, and I just smile again. But she's not contented. She excitedly taps the shoulder of the male airport official checking my mom's bag and gestures at me. "Ang cute niya 'no? Tignan mo! Parang hapon!" The guy just ignores her while I just looked on in amusement. Um...what am I? A Japanese doll on display? And by the way, I look nothing like the Japanese. I'm too dark to be a Japanese. I wasn't sure whether to be amused or insulted. By the way she was talking and fawning over me, I think she also thought I was, oh, ten years old? Twelve at the most? I wonder how she would have reacted if I'd told her I was twenty. I can imagine this stage gasp.

--> I love meeting my younger cousins in the US. I don't get to see them much. Cristal's so cute, especially at two and a half years old. She's so talkative now, and she laughs like a hyena over the smallest things. Calls her dad by his first name sometimes, and she imitates us whenever we talk. And she acts like an adult sometimes, it gets scary. It was great seeing Alex, too. He's at that stage where he feels self-conscious about everything, especially his height. I sympathize because I, for one, had always been a midget. He did great in his tae kwon do competition though. Got second place. As for Tito Pong's kids, they're all pretty ok, too...though they're sort of in that rebellious stage. On our second day in the US, one of them, Francis, almost ran away. Complicated family problems and all that. Speaking of family problems, we also met my aunt, Tita Joy, and her kids. Tita Joy's been estranged with the clan because of her husband, who's a bit psycho. We thought she wouldn't come to the get together on our last night, but she did, bringing her kids with her. Damn, haven't seen them for awhile. AJ's taller than me...so much so, he thought he was older than me, when he's around 6 years younger. Then, there are Amiel and Justin, who look so much alike they look like twins. They're talking now, and it was fun playing with them. Too bad we don't see them much anymore.

--> Spent a day in Disneyland with Florie Ann and her friends from the Asian Club. Ahrm...felt awkward there. They were all around 16 or 17, and I was 20. And I looked the same age. Plus, I'm not exactly the friendliest person on earth. Wasn't good at making conversations, and there were many moments when I just didn't have the energy to even try. They were nice, all of them, but I guess it's because I barely know them, and they all know each other. Plus they called themselves by code names (girls calling each other by guy names), so I didn't know the real names of some of them until the end. I did, at least, get along pretty well with a couple of them, Ria a.k.a Mr. Rogers and Christine a.k.a Homie C. Especially hit it off with Mr. Rogers, who turned out to be a fanatic about Wicked as well. We sang Defying Gravity (more like recited it) on the way home, much to the frustration of my cousin and the rest of their friends.

--> Finally saw the Grand Canyon with my parents and brother. Damn, unbelievable view. Probably would look like a giant toilet bowl from a helicopter. Couldn't help wondering, though, how it would feel if one fell off the edge. I'd probably pass out before I hit.

--> We went to Las Vegas, Nevada again. Can't say I ever cared much for Las Vegas actually. After all, I'm a minor, so I can't actually go to the casinos. What's the point? At least we got to watch Mamma Mia, though. Not my favorite, but it was nice to watch.

--> I slept over for two nights in Florie Ann's house. Don't know why, but I didn't feel comfortable in their house, though staying in Tita Cristy's house was ok to me. In Tito Pong's house, I felt awkward. Maybe it's because I keep feeling like I have to be extra well-behaved and all that, though I don't know why, since they have more children. Maybe it's because of Tita Sylvia. It seems as if I always feel she doesn't quite approve of what she sees whenever she looks at me. I always feel like I have something to prove to her. She's a born control freak, dictating how much I eat (she thinks I eat too little, even when I've already got a plateful of spaghetti), how we should dress, even when we should watch TV with her (she made us hang out in their bedroom to watch Charmed). I had planned to spend almost an entire week in their house, from Sunday night to Thursday. Tuesday came, and I called up my mom to say I would like to go with them to Sta. Barbara instead.

--> Mom's favorite thing to do abroad is shopping. She drags the rest of us to different outlets with her. Her biggest frustration is the fact that she can never make me shop for clothes. I just don't have the patience--or the energy--to search through the shops for clothes, try them on, then actually spend money on them. And I just don't see the point in buying something I don't really like, spending money on something I only half-like, just to satisfy my mom. When I buy something, I want it to be something I really like. So here I am, back in the Philippines, without even a single new shirt in my closet. But I sure hit a whole bunch of bookstores and bought a whole bunch of new books, though :) Plus a DVD of Bend It Like Beckham.

--> Oh, yeah, Yumi and Jace, sorry if I made a pest of myself about the philo orals grade :P I just felt itchy not knowing how that oral exam went. Thanks, Yumi, for getting it for me. And yeah, I'm contented with my grade, even though it's only a C+. It's a lot more than what I expected. Especially since I babbled during the exam. Looks like I'll be getting a C+ for my final grade there. That's at least one step up (fine a half-step up) from the C I got last sem.

Um...I can't think of anything more to write about.

# Lyn found a missing piece @ 5:45 PM