Women would usually pass over or hand down their wedding gown to a next generation relative who is due to tie the knot.  Others would reuse the fabric to be sewn into a smaller dress for their daughter’s Christening or First Holy Communion.  Others would cut the fabric into pieces and use it to ornate or design the frame of their most handsome wedding picture.  Others would just keep it as a memorabilia of their most remarkable day of their life.  Others would burn it especially when their married life was a big hell of a mistake.

Have you ever wondered where and what happened to your mother’s wedding gown?  I do!

Exactly 47 years ago, Nengkoy wore her beautiful white gown to tie the knot and formally express her love for Joe.  June 9, 1962 was the day when my parents vowed to journey through life no matter how perilous it may become.

Years later Nengkoy’s wedding gown – that was especially designed and sewn for her by her elder sister Lidya – was recycled after it has been kept in a plastic bag collecting dusts.  I remember when I was still small when Nengkoy decided to pull it out of the cabinet and turn it into something useful for her children – including me of course.  Lola Teray (my elegant grandmother) was the one who sew and transformed the gown into tiny sleeping attires for me and my siblings.  My share of the gown was a little satin boxer shorts.

The gown may be a proof to the bonding of Nengkoy and Joe but this outfit cannot in anyway represent the love that existed between them.  The satin sleeping attires me and my sibs had from the beautiful gown has eventually worn out.  I have outgrown the size of the tiny satin shorts but the recycling of the gown’s fabric is in no way a representation that Nengkoy just threw away the years of meaningful union.  It was her children who benefited from such decision.  The fabric kept us warm and comfortable on those nights when we wore them – which may be a meaningful depiction that I and my sibs were carefully kept from the dark and cold hazards of life.

Hapi Anibersari kay Nengkoy at Joe!

Celia is a female name of Latin origin.  It is from the Latin word “caelum” meaning heaven.  It is also believed to be from the Latin word “Caelia”, the feminine form of the old Roman clan name “Caelius” meaning heavenly or “of the Heavens”.

According to the internet, the name Celia was seldom used during the medieval ages and was only first introduced and popularized to the English-speaking population via literature.  Thanks to Shakespeare who named one of the characters as Celia in his play “As You Like It”.

In the United States, the name Celia was at its most popular during the 1850’s when it ranked 84th most popular name for a baby girl.  In 2004, it was the 23rd most popular name in France.  In Spain, it was the 35th most popular name in 2006.  Again in the United Sates, it ranked as the 783rd most popular girl’s name in 2007.

In the Philippines, the most popular woman named Celia is of course Celia Rodriguez, the actress with husky voice and big bulging eyes best known for her classic kontrabida (villain) role as Dr. Valentina Vrandakapoor, ang babaing ahas (snake-lady) with PhD in Reptilian Zoology in the movie “Lipad, Darna Lipad!” during the ’70s.

In numerology, Celia is equivalent to “3” meaning optimistic, easy-going, sociable and humorous.

As a form of calamity, Celia is a retired name for Atlantic hurricane, meaning it is no longer being re-used.  It was retired after Hurricane Celia, a category 3 hurricane damaged Cuba and Texas in 1970.

As a mainstream popular animated movie, Celia is Mike’s girlfriend-receptionist in the movie Monsters Inc.  She is the character who is also in charge of announcing the new monster that takes the position of Top Scarer.

Celia is the real given name of Nengkoy.  Only during my short research did I know that my mother’s first and last names if translated both in English would exactly mean the same.  Celia, a Latin-originated word meaning “heaven” and Langit (her surname) a Tagalog-Malay word also meaning “heaven”.  Thus, in English-speaking world, Nengkoy’s name would be Heaven Heaven.

Being mother’s day today, I will not characterize Nengkoy for now… because its all in the name…

Yan ang Nanay ko! Happy Mother’s Day Nanay!

It’s Nengkoy’s 72nd birthday!  Here are some trivia about Nengkoy during her working-girl days…

1.  She was asked to recite 1 Our Father and 3 Hail Marys during a job interview.  When she did, she was hired right away.  Apparently, the interviewer was a priest.

2.  Being a trusted employee, she was the Treasurer of the company’s Labor Union. (unyunista ang lola mo!)

3.  She started working when she was 19 and retired in the same company when she reached 65 years old.  Thus, she worked for more than 40 years in the same company.

4.  During the early years of her working, she could buy a set of genuine jewelry (a ring, a necklace and a pair of earring) out from a month’s salary.

5.  She was considered hip and was envied by a lot of women during her working-girl days.  During that period, it is so rare for an unmarried lady to have a job.  It’s always the men who do work for a company.

6.  She was able to pay for the house and lot of Lola Teray and Lolo Pascual (her mom and dad) out from her earnings.

7.  Every single working day, she would wake up super early in the morning to prepare for a day’s work and leave the house at 5:00 a.m.

8.  She amassed numerous trophies for she was awarded the Most Valuable Player for several times during her company’s annual duckpin bowling tournament.

9.  Though she was a Duckpin MVP Queen, her favorite sports is not bowling, its Mahjong with Mareng Elvie, Mareng Luisita, Mareng Naty, Mareng Magda, Mareng Lovi and Mareng Titang to name a few (all her co-employees).

10.  She gave birth to the most delicious creature ever to step on planet Earth.  His name is Neil.

Happy Birthday Nanay!

It is not Famas, Urian, MTV Awards nor the Oscars that I have watched an awards night live for the first time. Ironically at my age, it is the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards Philippines held last November 29 at Aliw Theater.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the show. But shame to those who won but did not showed up to receive their award, it’s the kids who voted for you for crying out loud! I believe this award is such a big deal considering that it’s the people of the world’s future who has selected the winner. Thus, those who have been nominated should take the effort to be present during the awarding ceremony even if he or she is in the deepest pit of hell.

However, there seem to be some awards which were obviously rigged like the Favorite TV Show won by Marimar beating the more kid-popular Going Bulilit. It will not be a Filipino awards night anyway without this controversy. Evidently, Going Bulilit when announced as a nominee the kids went crazy with ear-splitting screams but when Marimar was announced as the winner the kids went pretentiously hysterical and hysterically pretentious.

I was happy that Chris Tiu won Favorite Athlete beating Manny Pacquiao and Efren “Bata” Reyes. When Chris appeared on the stage to receive his orange blimp award in front of the screaming-gone-crazy kids, it dawned in me that this may signify the creation of a new and/or future religion called “Iglesia ni Chris Tiu”.

By the way, I was with Nengkoy, my sisters and a couple of pamangkins. Let me bet my skinny pwet (butt), Nengkoy at 71 years, 8 months and 26 days old is the oldest person ever to have watched a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards live!

Ang sarap maging bata. Yahuuu!

Every time the family would go out of town, Nengkoy never fail to drop by at a town’s wet market to purchase the local produce of the province.  She would buy vegetables from kalabasa to ampalaya.  She would buy herbs and spices from bawang to sili.  She would buy fish from bangus to tuna.  She would buy meat from longganisa to bulalo.

This practice of Nengkoy always makes me fumingly irritated.  I always thought that this is such a waste of time since all the things that Nengkoy buys are actually available in Manila supermarkets.  This makes the journey back to Manila a very long and tiring process.  Nengkoy’s inevitable practice would eventually physically drain and wear out everyone not only because of the long ride home but also of the corporeal necessity of either waiting furiously or going around the busy wet market, carrying all the purchased stuff and fixing everything inside the car.

One classic example was our ride home from Manaoag, Pangasinan.  Before leaving Manaoag, me and Nengkoy went out of the church yard to buy bags of Calasiao rice cakes and the native “tupig”.  When we reached Villasis, Pangasinan, she instructed Kuya Willie to make sure to park the car at Villasis public market for she wants to buy stuffs for her kitchen stocks.  At this point, I tried to compose myself, control my tantrum and eventually agreed on stopping for I wanted to light a cigarette.  in due course, she bought kilos of the following produce: onions, garlic, squash, bitter gourds, Dagupan milk fish, cucumbers, broccolis and leeks – as if these perishables are either extinct or are hard to find in Manila.

After the tedious haggling for a cheaper price (which by the way Nengkoy is an expert of), carrying the heavy loads and fixing everything inside the van, the whole family continued its journey back home to Manila.  During the course of the journey, only then that I realized that Nengkoy’s habit is actually a good thing.

It is a good thing for it provides opportunity for folks in the provinces to earn and be able to sell their products even though they are miles away from the busy metropolis.  It is a good thing for it provides them income that would pay for their everyday needs.  It is a good thing because it enables provinces to receive a portion of the economy’s pie.  Nengkoy’s practice help disperse wealth and money to the outskirts of Metro Manila and not just to the bank account of either Gokongwei’s supermarkets or Henry Sy’s super malls.

This is such an enriching realization.  Thus, next time Nengkoy would go out of town and would like to stopover and buy some stuff, I would just shut my big mouth and try to enjoy the experience.

Sige palengke kung palengke! Go!

Let me greet the woman who gave birth to the most "delicious" being ever to step on the face of the earth…

Happy Mother’s Day Nanay!

Summer in the Philippines has always been wonderful…

Throughout my life, I always consider March 3 as the start of the summer season in the Philippines.  This day has been a yearly marker for this is the birthday of my mom.

My first summer experience this year is an intimate swimming party with my family.  Nengkoy last March 3 celebrated her birthday in a private resort in Pansol Laguna.  I was with my monster pamangkings, my sibs, a cousin, Aunt Iya (sister of Nengkoy) and some close family friends.

Now that the great summer season is on, I’m looking forward to more happenings… Gemba na!

My father died in May 1999.  But even though he’s no longer around I still receive messages from him.  These messages are simple yet meaningful which he wants to relay either to Nengkoy (my mom) to me or to my brothers and sisters. I receive these messages while asleep in my dreams.

  Last December 23 through a dream, I received another message from Tatay Jo.  It was his Christmas gift to Nengkoy.  I dreamt my old man singing a love song to Nengkoy.  Tatay Jo was sitting on a wooden bench in his usual sando and shorts “pambahay” attire smiling, laughing and singing.

Of course, in the afternoon of December 24 in my parents’ house while bonding with my sibs and my monster pamangkins (translation: nephews and nieces) waiting for the Christmas Eve, I relayed Tatay’s gift to Nengkoy.  Ang haba ng hair mo Nanay huh!