my dad, the dual citizen

my dad finally turned 60, and he'd always joke that he'd become a dual citizen by this time: a filipino citizen + a senior citizen.

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kroo kroo. well, i guess you now know where i get it from. :P

anyway: our surprise party was a success!

funny story: mum masked this entire surprise thing as an event for someone who had our place reserved. so my dad made his mean roastbeef, they all helped out in setting-up, etc, and went home to change for this dinner i arranged for the family. we were supposed to go to Craving's in katipunan, and we wanted him to dress up a bit (he's usually in his white shirt-jeans uniform, i tell you). jai and i went ahead of mum and dad because 'they give your table to the next customer if you come in late'. he actually fell for it.

so mum took her time preparing (which she NEVER does) while we set-up everyone for the surprise at ilyong's. they 'had to' drop by our restaurant because mum 'forgot her planner'. she asks dad to come down with her. before entering the door, he's greeted by this friend from the 70's which he hasn't seen in more than 30years! small chitchat while everyone inside waits, and his guest finally tells him to go inside already.

dad refuses. there's an event daw so they can't go in. hilarious!

my sister had to literally pull him in and say it's okay to go in, and boy was he surprised to see everyone gathered to greet him! i could not believe he never expected it!

well, that's my dad for you. the simplest, most unassuming person i've ever met in my life.no one will ever be as special as him.

happy birthday, dad. you have been, and will always be our pillar, inspiration, role model. stay happy, stay healthy.

ps. it was my SIL's birthday, too! i've always wondered how kuya would handle the double celebration. i don't think it would be a joint party forever, no? well, at least there's something to look forward to every year:) happy birthday, gia! stay healthy and i mean it:) i hope you feel the love, too!

oh, oh! and i finally found a way to make these cool photo collages without using photoshop! (photoshop's a pain to even open sometimes, so i don't bother anymore). i did this with iPhoto, which is cool because all my pictures are already there anyway, so no need to open them one by one. it's a drag and dropkinda thing so it saves me time, and saves my blog from being *too* photo-heavy!

senior year

dad's turning 60 in a little over a week. mum and i are whipping up something for him.

my pop's the simplest person you'll ever know. no vices. won't even wear the new clothes you'd give him. he'd rather take clothes with character (meaning the ones we've worn a million times already) and wear it everyday. if there's one thing he's addicted to, it's coming to my room at the end of the day, plopping on my couch or floor, and listening to stories of how my day went. he does it every night since i could remember. no fail.

he loves listening to stories. and he loves telling stories. i got that from him, i believe.

the uncomplicated person that he is, of course he doesn't want a celebration. he just wants us to hear mass together and he'll maybe cook a simple dinner for us to eat together. but of course mum and i think otherwise. and mum's excited like anything so she has this surprise planned in her head weeks ago already. dad's clueless, but i'm sure he won't be surprised that we actually prepared something. and he sure wouldn't mind because he never does when mum surprises him.

my dad taught us humility and simplicity, and he taught it through his actions. to this day, he has remained our model for manners, selflessness, you name it. i'm nowhere as perfect as he is, as some of my friends might know i could be quite, er, excessive:) but seriously, i try. and if i could be half the person that he is, i'd be the luckiest guy in the world.

 

happy birthday, dad. i might not be able to give you the best party money could buy, but i hope i make you feel special on your day and everyday. i love you to bits!