House Warming

The biggest difficulty was deciding who to spend time with. Unlike other family gatherings, I was glad to see most everybody. Classmates and professors from grad school, cousins from down South (ok, just Paranaque, he he), cousins from around the block, feisty titas & lunching ladies, jesuits, and neighbours.

Neighbours. That is such a novelty. My dad was at the neighborhood community center earlier in the day and he remarked that he met more neighbours that morning than he had ever met in 30 years of living at our old home. One of our neighbours is this remarkable lady who said that she enjoyed reading the obituary section of the Economist. When I mentioned that half the time I don't know who they're writing about she countered with "all the more you should read them!". Good point.

One highlight of the day though was the entry of our next door neighbour of Ponds cream fame. Goodness. Luminous and amazing. I usually make jokes to my siblings and cousins and call them "pathetic" for being so star struck, but I do know that I get that way too. I said something quite moronic like, "Hi, I'm Fabian. I'm the son of my father". DOH!

For this family event I was in charge of dessert. This meant some last minute shopping for pistachio ice cream, and a decision to buy a cake. Courtesy of a "tea party" I had attended a few months ago, I had the idea of ordering a Lemon Torte . Out of the many wonderful desserts served during that party, this one stuck out. I also figured it would handle the heat well (though I took more than a few precautions). Needless to say, it was a hit, especially as it was unveiled to Auntie Susan and Mom's classmates in the air-conditioned dining room. It seemed like a special cake for them only. They were the best audience really. Pristine white lemon torte cake on white table cloth and white plates and silver. It all worked out. I was knighted a 'foodie'. "Nigella Lawson is quite sensual." "Where did you buy this?" Ha ha. That's the kind of question you love titas to ask you.

Only little hitch was when a strong downpour came and we had our old problem of leaks on the 2nd floor. We had to drill holes to prevent the dreaded pooling that devastated Kel's room just the weekend previous. A few guests over stayed a bit, but it's all good. Good time to share things with people.

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Prior to this family thing, I wanted two things to happen. I wanted us to remember well where we came from, and I wanted people excited for the future. Not much of the former, enough of the latter. One of two ain't bad. It's a changing different time.