Remembering the Past

We met with the hubz' cousin on Sunday at Gerry's Grill in Union City. It was funny to see the two of them bonding as if they've only seen each other recently when truth of the matter is, they haven't seen each other for the past 20 years or so!

The conversation drifted to our first few years in the US. To most people back home, they think that life overseas is heaven when in fact, it isn't. This is why a lot of people would give anything to be able to get that seemingly elusive tourist visa.

Life in the US hadn't been easy for an immigrant like me. I left my comfort zone in exchange for a life of uncertainty here - all because I wanted to give my future children better lives. I was hired directly from Manila. I was one of those Y2K programmers they brought over to help with the conversion. I had no relatives close by - I relied heavily on my friends' kindness. My first apartment didn't have a decent furniture, everything was bought from the thrift store. I was sleeping in a sleeping bag. I walked a lot (because I didn't have a car) and took public transportation. On days when I had to work late, I would sleep on my cubicle. I worked long hours even on weekends. It was tough being the "kid" in your group (I was only 24 then) and I felt that I had to prove myself so they would take me seriously.

I wasn't born with a golden (even silver) spoon in my mouth so everything I have now, I worked hard and prayed harder for. My perseverance and hardwork did pay off, and thankfully, my husband and children wouldn't experience walking home uphill (I used to live in Daly City) on a cold and rainy winter night. They wouldn't have to sleep in a sleeping bag, and sit on the floor. They wouldn't have to run after a bus because they were at the stop a few seconds late. They wouldn't have to slave away because their greencards are in progress and one bad move and they'll be shipped home. They wouldn't have to go to a laundromat to get their laundry done because the washer and drier in the apartment complex is broken.

Ah, the things you endure for the people you love! I hope that someday my kids will realize how blessed they are. I hope that they would learn to appreciate and value all that they have because behind every penny is someone's blood, sweat, and tears.

It's back to work yesterday after the 3-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. I got the chance to clean our bedroom, scrub the bathroom, do loads of laundry, complete my ironing, take care of Kail. On Sunday, we took Kail to the Oakland Zoo which he enjoyed very much. At a tender age of two, we have seen his love for animals. At the zoo, he never failed to amaze us when he was able to name most of them - from elephant, to zebra (which he calls horsie), to girraffe, to the pig, and a lot others. He also enjoyed taking the sky ride with his dad.

It was a wee bit cold when we were there so the next day, I have sore throat and I began coughing. I guess I wasn't bundled up properly. It definitely was a sunny day, though the temperature was in the 50s. Now I'm hacking again.

Kail and I had a funny conversation yesterday while he was watching his Baby Einstein DVD:

Mommy: Kail, that's a driveway

Kail: Car

Mommy: No Kail, it's a driveway for the car

Kail: No mommy, CAR! (pointing at the car easing in to the driveway).

Oh well, Kail won this debate of course.

The holidays have come and gone. And then, while busily counting down for Kail's second birthday on Jan. 4, the little boy got hit by a virus. He was harboring a 102.9 degree fever on his birthday - very clingy and oh-so-irritable. Poor guy! At about the same time last year, he was also sick, and has just gotten out of the hospital in Manila.

We did nothing fancy on his birthday. I was hoping we could go to Disneyland but good thing we didn't book anything. The Bay Area was pounded by a winter storm which left a lot of households in the dark (thankfully, not ours though). Kail was down with a nasty combination of fever, cough, colds. He was up and about almost all night because he couldn't breathe properly. He's a little better - no more fever, but he passed the virus on to me. So, I have clogged nose, sore throat, and I'm barking like a dog. I couldn't take any medicine because I'm pregnant so I'm relying mostly on good ol' natural remedies like gargling with warm water and salt (and sometimes with cayenne pepper instead of salt), eating lots of oranges, drinking tons of liquids, and trying to stay warm.

Hubz, on the other hand has been spared. Perhaps because his antibodies are imported from the Philippines... ;)

Hopefully we'd be well soon and the weather will finally clear up. We're still hoping we could take Kail somewhere for his birthday.

Have a blessed 2008 everyone!