Lola Ayak: In Requiem

It was barely two months ago that my wife and I were in Dingle, Iloilo under the cordial reception of Lola Ayak. At 95 years old, this woman puts real meaning to the simile "as strong as an ox"! So it was a surprise to all of us when we heard that Lola Ayak passed away early morning today. Apparently, Lola Ayak went into a coma late night of the 24th and never recovered.

I remember her fondly because everytime we're in Dingle, she'd always pass me something to eat as if I have a "give me food" neon sign on my forehead! That, and her knack of speaking to me in a barrage of Visayan where all I can understand is, "Noy, @#$%&!" I'm not sure if she notices my glaced eyes during this litany where I could only rhetorically reply, "Opo". For all I know she's asking me if I ate already! Hmmm...come to think of it...those were rather looooong monologues for a question...anyway...

Dingle visits won't be the same without Lola Ayak!

Maria Tinzon: Mother and Beloved Lola---May you rest in peace!

Iloilo Tripping Part 2

Day 4
The weather took a slight turn for the better. After having luncheon meat, egg, and fried rice for breakfast, we set off to visit nanay’s grave site around 8am. We were escorted by Lola Ayak, Auntie Judith, Jurome, Noynoy, Kayla and Francis. Visitors were still scarce in Dingle Public Cemetery but the place was already abuzz with workers tidying up the place for the coming “undas”.

Nanay’s grave is still in the same barren state we left it last year. Not for long. My brother-in-law, Nelson, and I made arrangements to have this situation remedied. We miss you Nanay! Rest in Peace!

After eating lunch, we bade Lola Ayak and the rest of the Tingsons adieu! If hospitality had a surname I’d say is has got to be Tingson!

The weather was gloomy and we took the first opportunity to get going before the rain starts again! Unfortunately, we did not have the luxury of hiring an air-conditioned transportation for the kids so we had to settle with a jeepney. Good thing Noynoy was gracious enough to accompany us until Jaro City and help us with the luggage! Daghang salamat, Noynoy!

We took a taxi from Jaro City to Century 21 hotel. We booked for a standard room (since it’s the only room available), reserved a room for Nelson for his arrival tomorrow, freshened up a bit and went to SM City Iloilo to buy pasalubongs! We bought the usual stuff: “biscocho”, “pinasugbo”, “barquillas”, “piyaya”, toasted muffins, and a couple of souvenir shirts.

Day 5
It was an early morning for us. Woke up at 5:30am, got my dose of a long hot bath and started packing up my things.

Ceasar, the taxi driver, arrived at 7:15am. We took our last minute pictures on the hotel lobby and off we went to the airport.

7:55 Am. We bid Ceasar good bye and thanked him for his excellent service.

Tim saw his very first, up close airplane, when Air Philippines air bus landed around 8:15am. As usual, Tim’s voice was the only one heard in the airport! It was a big playground for him and he ran from one end of the airport to the other! I tell you, this boy has got a LOT of energy!!

We only ate left over pizza from the previous night for breakfast so when we finally got settled in the airport, our tummies started grumbling. Good thing there was this coffee shop which offers affordable pastries and extra strong java to boot! The name of the stall is JO Coffee Shop.

Justine on the other hand, sat quietly as he stank up the place with a huge dump! He was, hands down, the best baby in the airport---mainly because HE WAS THE ONLY BABY in the airport!!

9:42 am. Well what do you know, two babies enter the terminal---sorry, STILL NO CONTEST!

The PA announced the boarding orders for Cebu Pacific flight 454 bound for Manila at 10:15 am. Justine was already asleep when we boarded so we only had to contend with Tim and his tantrums. Fortunately, his conniption came out in the latter part of the flight.

I have been flying Cebu Pacific for personal travels and have not participated in their in-flight game. This time was different. The category for the game was famous movie lines. Being a movie buff I found it hard not to join. Actually, I tried closing my eyes to the commotion but when I heard the first line, “May the force…”---I immediately jolted from my oblivion and raised my hand! For all I knew I was the first! Kreesa, the stewardess, may have thought I was asleep and was staring far at the back---darn! That movie was “Star Wars”! Then came the second movie line, “Life is like…” There would be no missing me this time as I raised my hand high in the air! “Forrest Gump!” That earned me a Cebu Pacific pouch! Not contented, I raised my hand once more to snare the third and last movie line, “I can see dead people!” Unfortunately, the crew did not mention the undeclared rule that you can only win once---so the price went to another passenger! Bummer! At least I won!

We landed at NAIA Terminal 3 at 11:45 am. I was supposed to take pictures of the pretty Cebu Pacific stewardesses but they seemed to have vanished when the door opened. Actually, there was one left but I wanted to get all three in one shot. Maybe next time!

This is the first time that I de-planed in this terminal. One thing I can say about the place is that, “It’s huge!” The length of the walk from tarmac to the luggage claiming area was about 4x the length of Terminal 2! Anyway, vacation is over! Hoping to do this again next year!

Goodbye, Nanay!

My mother-in-law died early morning of November 10 after a year long bout with a liver disease. We buried her in her last November 17 in her hometown of Dingle, Iloilo.

Nanay lived a very colorful life. Colorful in the tele-novela sort of way---but let's not go there. She was a very caring woman who was specially protective of her grandchildren. With her "apos", saying "no" took a real effort!

Knowing the value of hard earned money, nanay was very stringent about unscrupulous spending. However, she was very generous with her grandchildren specially when it comes to their basic needs.

Nanay was well loved by many. This was mainly because of the countless people she came to help during her lifetime. She would always find it in her good heart to help when the situation calls for it.

The ailment saw her getting in and out of the hospital---being drained of her bodily fluid since only 40% of her liver was functional. I have witnessed the calvary that she went through. It pained me to see her lying in the hospital bed with all those tubes stuck into her and unable to move on her own. Everyone was affected by her sickness.

As the hospital bills piled on Nanay's life-long savings got depleted. We all struggled to keep up with the bills. It was a very stressful situation which sometimes led to friction amongst siblings. It was a good thing that Nanay has got a good investment of friends who chipped in financial support during such financial crisis.

Nanay knew how much I hate mushy situations and she continually badgered me during her funeral---trying to make me cry...well, she succeeded and I had to immediately skirt away from the crowd and cried myself silly in my own little spot. She must have been laughing in her grave seeing me like that! Anyway, it was a good cry which let out a lot of my angst.

Thank you Nanay for all the support you have given us. We will surely miss you