Pause! Rewind! This is pretty long ;D

As promised I will be narrowing down my whereabouts the past few weeks. Let me include a little of my last year. =)

  Late November of last year my dad had consequent faint spells and was eventually diagnosed of having Coronary Artery Disease. This illness is an accumulation of plaque on the walls of the artery causing the lack of oxygen flow in the body, thus my dad's fainting spells. Considering my dad's history with smoking and a hypertensive himself, add on his love for fatty food, it is suffice to point out that he was at risk for the said illness.

  After a month of getting in and out of the hospital we were asked to finally check him in for a Coronary Bipass. Now this sounds complicated for those of you who are not medically inclined so let me break it down to you. When we say a coronary artery bipass, it's a surgical procedure involving the removal of the narrowed veins and conjoining the newly opened vein to the heart again. I hope I defined it in a manner that's kind of understandable. If otherwise, let me know. Anyway, we had to stay in Manila for a month until he recovered. This included me celebrating my Birthday in the hospital...Sleeping in the hallways while waiting for my Dad to get out of the Intensive Care Unit...and our frequent travels from Iloilo and Manila (and Bacolod for my brother) just so we could keep our jobs.

  For the record, my dad is doing well now. =) With minor pains on his chest due to the healing of his sternum (our so-called chest bone) and another minor problem which I wish to keep from you. He also has to continue losing weight and avoid driving until his cleared. The sad thing about this is that my dad is not too happy about it. But the upside is that we got to celebrate Christmas and New Year here in Iloilo. Funny how my family had a special table for the "bipassed" relatives. LOL!

A family picture for 2011 (Family Reunion at Anhawan, Oton - December2011)

  Let's move on to another special event, January is always a colorful time in my hometown. We have something we call DINAGYANG. It's a yearly festivity showcasing interpretative dances with unique costumes. Every year schools compete for their right to represent our hometown nationally (or so I was made to believe). Anyway, for someone who enjoys photography, I frolic in the sun to capture some interesting characters. This includes the very festive costumes, the cops, and balloon vendors.

A tribe doing some street dancing 

 Lexie trying on some tribe dude's hat

 Cindy hitting on this tribe dude (tsk tsk tsk..)

My sister and I enjoying the Dinagyang

Yes! People here give extra effort for their tribe (check this eagle out!) 

Going balloon crazy!!! 

We went overboard when we saw the cops =))

  All the crazy stuff aside, this is also the time where families get together. This year it happened to be my Mom's 60th birthday. We celebrated her day at a fashion show. Also, during this time my cousin from France visited the Philippines again with his friends. We sure showed them a good time. From parties to street dances. My aunt was pleased to know that I took them home drunk one night (this was a yearly ritual for my dear cousin).

 Sebastian aka Fluffy

Family =)

 Forbidden Party at Plazuela

  I eventually had to leave my cousin for a week and left with my sister for a mini vacation of my own. I could tell you all the juicy details but my companion on this trip might hang me. There is this infamous phrase though - "BEST NIGHT EVER!" Yes, this line has been overused during my stay with my sister with the inclusion of amazing friends who without them would not make this amazing line worth the ride.

  

  We were unstoppable. Or should I say, "SHE" was not tamable! hahaha..I leave it at that as we cruise a little closer to the end of my misadventures the past weeks. Oh how I will never forget the Blank Mobs, Footloose moves and my infamous friend Babycakes! Until our next great escape (ehem! talking about March *wink*) behave my dear ;)

Dinner at Cookbook Kitchen with Yvette and Tine

Nothing was left on our plates...Seriously!!!

Happy Lemon at Eastwood Mall

Invading Republiq at Resorts World with Cindy and Mel (involved having our picture taken with Mr. waiter)

Shoezzz for sale!!!

The Bombs at Attica =)

Dance crazy at Ponti's

Dying to go to the restroom >;}

Fan craze!!! =))

  The best week I've ever had. I will forever hold dear the fun and crazy things we did guys. The year's just started. 

  After a week in Manila, Cindy and I had to head back home to Iloilo. The French's vacation was nearing an end as well. This meant that the partying didn't end in Manila, we had to take it up a notch too here in Iloilo. As a farewell to my cousin and his friends, we took them out to a dinner buffet and a night out in the city which included the fair and lots of drinking. I hope you had a good time Bas! I'll see you very soon.

 At one of the rides at the fair =)

Unfortunately he had to sit this one out..He couldn't fit =/

 with Cindy at Flow

They've lost it..

  My February was never over. There were fiestas to celebrate as well. One in Jaro - that's somewhere around here, and the other one's a forty-five minute ride from the city - Passi. It was also on this month that I had to take a certain exam which I have always abhorred and found as a useless basis for competency. Nonetheless I had to take it, with a little college maneuvers. We passed and got our ears pierced. It, however, had no connection whatsoever to each event. =)

Post-exam looks. (Nang Ellen, Nang Ting, Fritz)

  On the 14th of February, my uncle had finally tied the knot for the second time. At first, the idea of getting married on Valentine's day sounded pretty cheesy but when they finally told their story, it was actually romantic. Family and friends gathered at the Villa Church to witness their union. I was one of them.

 Waiting for dinner to start

This is the most Modern Filipiniana I could get.

  This sums up my past few weeks before going back to work. I had re-read it and I drove myself crazy. I do hope the pictures did justice for my poor story-telling. Like I've said it's too long a tale. Pictures will suffice. Agree?

  I should definitely make a mental note to blog on a weekly basis...something like that. This is to avoid cluttering my brain and over-using it, just as I had.