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i love you... shucks...

November 1 – All Saints Day

Life most Filipinos, we visited our “dead” at the cemeteries. Ever since I was little, we usually visit the cemetery in Malabon first, before we got to Bulacan. But this year it was the other way around. My dad wanted to got to Bulacan first to avoid the possible congested traffic flow at eh North Luzon Expressway. To do this, we left our house in Antipolo at 5:30 am (shucks)

I have so many relatives in Bulacan. My father did come from a rather large family, but aside from that, there is this rather large “Bulacan” network of aunts and uncles, cousins from the nth degree, nieces and nephews – oh, and yes, the even more complicated network of my father’s neighbors, classmates and friends.

To cut it short, meeting and greeting everyone during All Saints Day is “complicated” for me.

I’m not really complaining here. It is just quite overwhelming to try to remember everyone in less than 5 minutes (hehehe). I do like meeting people – and I do believe that there is a constant need fro person to expand his or her network – but during November 1 – everything becomes “ritualistic”. People ask you really generic questions like “how old are you” or “what school and course are you taking up again” even to the sometimes annoying question of “do you have a boyfriend already” to “kamusta ka na nga ba” with the person asking me that looking bored to death with the question.

Well, I do like Nov. 1. I get to hang out with my cousins, see my “pamangkins”, gossip, go “guy window-shopping” (well, I only look..nothing bad or flirty). I like eating “isaw” and fishballs at the cemetery. I like “scramble” (yes, it is the pink, crushed ice drink or smoothie with choco syrup, skim milk and sago balls that we all had sometime in our childhood) even if it means me increasing my chances of getting a really bad stomach ache (READ: Amoeba Galore)

I enjoy praying for the dead. It actually helps me reflect and realize the there is so little time and yet so much good (and yes, bad) that I can do for the world – so much love and kindness that I can show (mushy, but freaking true).

Now, for the Malabon part of my cemetery visit, I look forward to seeing a good friend from highschool. And no, he is not dead – it only happens that our dead lies in the same cemetery. We’ve been meeting there (no, not for a date) for the last 5 years, but we broke the “tradition” this year since my family and I arrived really late this time. I like going to Malabon to see my beautiful niece Chloe who totally ahem.. adores me as well. She loves to play peek-a-boo with me, she even says “tago na tita kay” so I’ll play with her.

One troubling thought though, enters my mind regarding all this cemetery visits. What happens to the dead if the people who visit them die as well? Isn’t it sad to have no one remember them…. Call me “praning’ but I just have these random thoughts that enter my mind…aheheheh….