Holiday Surprise!

While Ysabel is celebrating her 4th birthday in KSA, and while Tito Jos is getting a second chance at life, finally working again, I spent the weekend with Mama and our youngest sibling. Last Sunday was a normal Sunday, except it felt good; it was more relaxed and a bit more deserving. How do I mean? There were many times in the past when we would go to the mall,eat out and watch a movie but there was a brooding sense of abnormality. There would be many things looming in our minds. Even if on the surface everything seems fine, you can't really enjoy the moment when you know one member of your family is in trouble.


Yesterday was perfect. We know Jos is fine. We know he gained twelve pounds over the last two months, we know he is working.
Ysa and Miguel, my niece and nephew, love him. So at last, Mama can breathe, and enjoy the moment. I notice this as I turn to Mama and tell her about Jos, what he's been up to, and what Eden, my sister, tells me over the phone and via emails. Hand in hand, we walk the Powerplant mall, her arm on my waist, my arm on her shoulder, while Kamille, my young brother's girlfriend, is entwined the same way to her.

"Ikwento mo nga ano ang nangyari sa yo noong Christmas party nyo...," she gently encourages me to tell her the reason why we were celebrating that day. She tells me that this is the reason Papa wanted to join us out today. Since Papa was feeling a bit under the weather, she is now asking me. I know she would repeat the things I said, maybe word for word, to him later that day.

I then told her that I was recently promoted, and while it was overdue, the unexpected announcement somehow made up for it. I myself didn't quite hear it, and had to ask if what I heard was right. You see, it was the president's moment of the program. He just awarded the Ten Most Outstanding Employees, and it was one of the highlights of the party as he is about to make his speech, usually thanking everyone for their contribution to a good year. He stood up and just as everyone was shouting, "Bonus, Bonus!", he asked me to stand up during his speech. If I remember it correctly, this is what he said.


"Congratulations to our most outstanding employees. Of course there is no award for the division level, but I would like (my name) to stand up."
(I was in a plaid shirt and cowboy hat, and sipping vodka, virtually unrecognizable with 10 lbs gained in 8 months, but I stand up.)
"As you all know, Food Service has grown over the past year and this has kept our company in a good position in spite the recent economic events..."


Okay, I admit it is all fuzzy at this point because for one, our president is mumbling over the mike, two, the sound system did not sound good and there are far too many voices while he was making a speech. I just heard my boss saying,

MD: "O, promoted!"
ME: "Ha?"
MD: "Yeah!!!"

Then there were cheers and greetings and the president was still standing in front but I couldn't hear the rest of what he was saying. Then everyone was congratulating me, including the drivers who whispered when I walked past them, "burger!burger!"


As I write this, I read the card my team gave me, and I know the reason why I didn't make a speech during my celebratory lunch, where they had an AVP and all.


Shy ako eh.



Hahaha.



It was because I am feeling the moment. It was the same feeling I had with Mama and the family last Sunday.

We just finished watching The Day The Earth Stood Still, and passed by Royce's. I decided to buy Nama Champagne Chocolate. We sat down on a makeshift stage, the nearest tambayan area. All four of us, my brother, Kamille, Mama and me stood agape at the package I bought. I opened up the package of Royce's chocolates.


"Wow," A thermal carton packaging,aside from its plastic take home bag.
"Oooh," There is small packet of dry ice along with the thermal carton.
"Aahhhh," What a lovely packaging on the chocolate box.
"Oooohhh," There is another plastic enclosure for the chocolates, to further keep it from melting.
"Oh wow!," A small fork to lift up each block of chocolate from its place.


The Japanese certainly know how to wow a customer.


And so finally I lift a slice up and slide a cut to Mama, then to Kamille, to Jeru then the last slice for me. We all oohed and aah ed at the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. We are all quiet as we eat the piece; we pause, savoring the moment.
Then I repeat the process, until we each took 3 small slices.


The elation, the surprise of that night was something akin to my Royce experience. Waiting so long, and working so hard to get to that moment, I just had to savor it.