Yep, yep..Nov 23 in the year of our good Lord 1925 is my dad's natal day and so he celebrates his 81st year on God's green earth.
I feel sad, because I've been so busy the whole day, even worked through lunch, that I don't think I can catch him at home before he falls asleep. I'm totally tired and I can't even eat my own father's birthday cake! *pouts*
but...at least I was able to talk to him this morning to wish him a very happy birthday (which is doubtful because his favorite cutie of a daughter is here in Manila *cough, cough*, and not in Cebu to entertain him hehehe). I even sent him a couple of text messages or two...to drolly remind him of life and how short it is for some people...so he better be grateful he's reached this age, so there! (he probably didn't expect a sermon from me...hehehe)
I am really looking forward to his visit here in December, then maybe I can stop him from smoking if he stays with me in my unit...my mom should be happy with that...I can also pester him to eat..so maybe he will gain a few pounds...he is just the most finicky and meticulous fault-finding person in the world sometimes. It's no wonder I run the other way when I see men with his particular pattern of thinking...
(but being critical is actually good...or so they say at B-school - but this is a stray thought)
Rambling...rambling on...
It actually reminds me of a joke I read a long time ago. There was this couple, wherein the guy was, well..he was like my dad in that aspect, but much worst...in all things his wife did, he would find fault....so one day, his wife had an idea....for his breakfast, she cooked two eggs: one scrambled, and the other one was sunny side up. She had thought (the poor frazzled woman, tsk..tsk...) that at least he would have no cause for complaint..since he always said he preferred the other kind (sunny side if it was scrambled and scrambled if the egg was cooked sunny side up).
So...guess what?
The man took a look a the eggs on his plate and glowered at them. Then he said to his wife in utter seriousness: "You scrambled the wrong one."
(T_T)
Well duh!
Another thing to remember is that he was around 5 ft 10 inches when he was in his 50s....my parents seem to have shrunk with age...but since my dad has all the vices (well it seems that way, smoking, drinking etc.)...maybe its the law of equivalent exchange..hehehe
Joking aside, I will send him some of his favorite breakfast items...maybe that will at least make him happier since he usually likes it if I take over cooking his breakfast....the secret is to ladle in the sweet stuff in heaps...*wink*
Oh well, might as well head on home now and fnish my work there. I am so not in the mood for thinking of anything more serious than watching my oatmeal (probably for dinner) bloat with milk and water....*hangs head and snores silently*
Extend to him my Happy Birthday greetings, from one egg to another.
ReplyDeleteThe etc., does that include chicks and gambling? Seems like this is a common trait among Pinoys back home. I noticed that when I went home in 2000 after 22 years (last visit was 1978). All my other barkada (non-Fine Arts) but mostly from UP have mistresses (some more than one), gamble, drink like fish, smoke like chimneys, and seem to have all the time to stay in clubs and bars. Where's the quality time for the family? Although Western society is liberated and tolerant, in my 36 years of living here, I've never met or known of a guy having all those vices. Maybe a couple of vices like drinking (alcoholism is a problem here), and gambling. Smoking is practically extinct. Womanizing? Not common, surprisingly. Look at Bill Clinton and the crap he got when it was exposed that he have had affairs, almost cost him his job. In contrast, look at Joseph Estrada, he even flaunted his women and never got in trouble for it.
ReplyDeleteBelated Birthday Greetings to Mr. Herrera, and wishing him all the best on his 81st. May he have many more happy birthdays to come.
ReplyDeletein behalf of my sire, thanks a lot hugzone.
ReplyDeleteI think he also has realized his days here on earth are not infinite since he has noticed that most of his contemporaries and peers have gone to the great beyond already, few of them are left to wish him a great birthday nowadays...
morbid, but a fact of life...
BK69, am saying thanks for my sire...texted him some more saying this and that person has passed on greetings for him :-) wow, even some of my college classmates have said hi to him...I am happy about the fact that some of them still remember him...
ReplyDeleteToo bad my dad is not computer or internet-savvy as I am sure he would appreciate reading and responding to birthday greetings such as this. "Imagine daddy, ur on the net!" hehehe
the Captain (as he is usually called, or "Cap" for short, not Capitan though...) is puffing away on his cigarette contentedly as I write this, interspersed with bursts of huffing and coughing...
*straight-faced* look at the kind of leaders and pillars of society that we have *ehem*
ReplyDeleteSo your dad is called the captain; cyfunk's is called the major. Bk69, hindi ba sundalo ang dad mo?
ReplyDeleteYes he was, my erpat retired as a Staff Sgt. in the US Army, and then went on to study law at UST (cyfunk's fellow alumni) and later on worked for the GSIS. He'll have to salute cyfunk's and cuh888's dads because they're officers and he was only a NCO (non-commissioned officer). Military dads have one thing in common - they're strict disciplinarians and only know one way, their way.
ReplyDeletehappy belated to your dad. i hope he had a wondeful celebration (without his daughter, how could you?) ;-p
ReplyDeletehi cuh888, just browsing around and came across this blog about your dad's birthday...happy belated birthday, Cap! I think we are what we are because and inspite of our dads, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteWe are happy any which way, right? :-)
cyfunk, am sure my dad would be happy to know that even complete strangers have found out about his birthday..he is a bit sad coz most of his contemporaries are dead or sick...
ReplyDeleteyeah, I totally agree with the last statement of yours..sure my sire may be the most aggravating person at times, but I think having him and my mom as parents were (inspite of the problems) very instrumental in making me turn out this ..uhm..crazy..hehehehe
kaiyen, thanks a lot...am sure my dad had a "quiet" birthday celebration...
ReplyDeleteParents know best. They've "been there, done that" and have only the best intentions for their children. I firmly believe that.
ReplyDeletewonderfully crazy and, more importantly, resilient, I feel. And then, I guess we are blessed along the way with "lending hands" that make life more magical.
ReplyDeleteYou sound pretty nifty to me and I am glad to make your acquaintance (shaking your hand) Hope to meet you soon, but in the meantime, I am enjoying you and the rest of the group very much over here at Multiply. Who's to say we're all miles apart?
And this statement will keep the peace between generations. For many, it is a choice to believe in it, while some prefer to hold the grudge and fight a battle they can't win. You're right, bnnking, being a parent now myself, I found a deeper understanding of my own parents, especially my father. He just did what he knew best.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, as Dr. Phil says it, "Life isn't solved, it is managed." It's up to me now to do better.
when once becomes a parent na..dyan mo na makita yung hirap din pala to bring up..parents..hehehehe
ReplyDelete*blush* thanks a lot! I'm tongue-tied na..hehehe...let's have more craziness then, life is too short to waste...so let us live, love and eat the way we really want to, deep down inside...
ReplyDeletehahaha, well-said, cuh888, well-said.:-)
ReplyDelete"Live today like you're going to die tomorrow."
ReplyDeleteyes sir!
ReplyDelete*munches on third helping of crispy chicken skin chicharon*
after all, if we don't get cremated..its only the worms which will have us...that or some other alien parasite should they descend on earth....
*munches on pork chicharon from Carcar, Cebu*
so we should at least help the worms declare that we are a tasty meal..after all you are what you eat...
Enjoy the greasy stuff. As Emeril Lagasse said, "Pork fat rules!"
ReplyDelete