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The name is Elaine or Ien or Pssst or Hoy ...or whatever suits you
...from the city of Davao
...26 with fine lines and wrinkles already
...short-haired, two-eyed na! (thanks to constact lenses), right-handed, flat-footed
...wants to be a Buddhist and a United Nations interpreter someday
...confused about life in general
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Thursday, October 28
The Mansion
'Had dinner with family friends last Monday, somewhere in Woodridge (a hi-end subdivision here in Davao). They said they just moved in their new house last June. Ok, we're invited, so why not come over, di ba? We were picked up by Vanessa and Fan Fan around 7 pm. I was puzzled how can a prime subdivision not be situated in a prime location. Super liblib na and still no sign of mansions.
Finally, we drove in a garage. Probably because of poor or lack of lighting, I thought the white bungalow we're driving into was "the house." But to my surprise, "Ah Ate Ien, 'wag dyan. Maids' quarter yan." Indeed it is! It literally is just a quarter of the house beside it!
Super fanciful. It even looks like a wedding cake outside. Hahaha! But that is nothing compared to what's inside. It's the type of house you see on MTV Cribs! The pieces of furniture and linens are all the same -- very thematically Victorian! The kitchen has all types of stoves. But just like any pinoy, it's in the dirty kitchen where the food is really cooked. Display lang pala. Showroom complex! Hahaha! They have an interior bar with pool table and a fountain with water cascading over a glass wall. Sheesh! I've been to rich peoples' homes, but this is different. Marbled floors. Chandeliers dangling everywhere. Every room is air-conditioned. That though is just a product of wrong mentality na 'pag air-con, sosy. What I like most is their entertainment and music room. Astig! We belted our lungs out the whole night singing videoke.
What is most puzzling though is the kind of people living there. We have known the Guira's since kindergarten days in Women's. They are not the splurging or show-off kind. They are rich because their Mom worked her butt off selling meat at the Bangkerohan Palengke. Yes friends, may yumayaman sa palengke. They are the nicest people I've known, not the typical sosyal-sosyal bratty kids. So I really can't reconcile the lavishness of their house with their humility.
I remember last Christmas, Fan Fan stayed at our house on the eve because she said Christmas is really no big deal in their home. "Kakain lang, yun lang," she explains. Eh, in our crib, Christmas is made extra special by playing bingo and charades (even if there's only the three of us), watching cheesy slapstick flicks on video, exchanging gifts, and making long distance calls at strike 12. Even holidays before, the Guira kids would come over to our house on Christmas and New Year's days just to play tong-its and eat noche buena leftovers. Hmmm, would they come over this year -- I mean now that they have a Crib-like house and all that? Well, I guess that depends if the mansion is already a home to our friends.
'Had dinner with family friends last Monday, somewhere in Woodridge (a hi-end subdivision here in Davao). They said they just moved in their new house last June. Ok, we're invited, so why not come over, di ba? We were picked up by Vanessa and Fan Fan around 7 pm. I was puzzled how can a prime subdivision not be situated in a prime location. Super liblib na and still no sign of mansions.
Finally, we drove in a garage. Probably because of poor or lack of lighting, I thought the white bungalow we're driving into was "the house." But to my surprise, "Ah Ate Ien, 'wag dyan. Maids' quarter yan." Indeed it is! It literally is just a quarter of the house beside it!
Super fanciful. It even looks like a wedding cake outside. Hahaha! But that is nothing compared to what's inside. It's the type of house you see on MTV Cribs! The pieces of furniture and linens are all the same -- very thematically Victorian! The kitchen has all types of stoves. But just like any pinoy, it's in the dirty kitchen where the food is really cooked. Display lang pala. Showroom complex! Hahaha! They have an interior bar with pool table and a fountain with water cascading over a glass wall. Sheesh! I've been to rich peoples' homes, but this is different. Marbled floors. Chandeliers dangling everywhere. Every room is air-conditioned. That though is just a product of wrong mentality na 'pag air-con, sosy. What I like most is their entertainment and music room. Astig! We belted our lungs out the whole night singing videoke.
What is most puzzling though is the kind of people living there. We have known the Guira's since kindergarten days in Women's. They are not the splurging or show-off kind. They are rich because their Mom worked her butt off selling meat at the Bangkerohan Palengke. Yes friends, may yumayaman sa palengke. They are the nicest people I've known, not the typical sosyal-sosyal bratty kids. So I really can't reconcile the lavishness of their house with their humility.
I remember last Christmas, Fan Fan stayed at our house on the eve because she said Christmas is really no big deal in their home. "Kakain lang, yun lang," she explains. Eh, in our crib, Christmas is made extra special by playing bingo and charades (even if there's only the three of us), watching cheesy slapstick flicks on video, exchanging gifts, and making long distance calls at strike 12. Even holidays before, the Guira kids would come over to our house on Christmas and New Year's days just to play tong-its and eat noche buena leftovers. Hmmm, would they come over this year -- I mean now that they have a Crib-like house and all that? Well, I guess that depends if the mansion is already a home to our friends.