This week I watched two musicals on Broadway.  And, in my opinion, they couldn’t have been more different.

First I saw Spiderman, Turn Off the Dark.  I think it should have been called Spiderman, Take me out of the Dark.  It was soooo boring that my sister and I decided not to finish the play.  We left at intermission.  Thankfully, we got a great discount on the tickets so it didn’t really hurt that much.  But when I think of the $100 I spent, I can’t help but think of all the goodies I could have bought in Sephora.  The music was just ok.  For the first act at least, there was no memorable song.  And there was something very elementary about the production.  I guess the intention was a comic book treatment but I think it could have been done better.  That big inflatable giant he wrestled with just looked kinda sad.  And there was something cloying about the voice of Mary Jane.   It was so bad, I didn’t even bother to take any pictures.

The last play of my mini-Broadway season was thankfully, a masterpiece, Pippin.  My sisters had seen Pippin during the previews and they already told me that it was a must-see show.  And when my friend went to New York a few weeks before I did, she also said that I had to see it.  So I made sure it was on my list.  The tickets were a bit pricey because it was such a hit show, but thanks to another sister’s discount, we managed to get a good deal on our tickets.  And so it was set.  We found out that Andrea Martin, who had won a Tony for her performance as Berthe was ending her run.  I was a disappointed because I knew she was so good in the play.  But when I found out that Tovah Feldshuh I was a little less so.  I knew her from her performances in Holocaust and as a recurring character on Law and Order so I was also looking forward to seeing how she would tackle the role.

From the moment the first not of the first song played, I got goosebumps.  The familiar play, one that we had seen many times on TV and stage, was transformed into a truly magical experience.  Patina Miller’s invited us to “join us and leave the fields to flower” almost made me want to go on stage and be part of the magic.  Her interpretation of a character that made Ben Vereen famous was mesmerizing.  When Matthew James Thomas told us about that Corner of the Sky he was looking for, you wanted to help him find it.

And when Tovah Feldshuh asked us to join in and tell Pippin it was time to start living, you believed every moment of it.  This was truly the best way to cap my mini-season.

Overall, this was a great mini-season for me.  The only disappointment was Spiderman.  But the other three plays I saw, Romeo and Juliet, First Date and Pippin were clear winners.  Not to mention the benefits of being thisclose to Orlando Bloom and Zachary Levy.

Now it’s time to start living, find my own corner of the sky and hopefully go on that elusive perfect first date.

That’s all for now…bow.

A few months ago, my brother messaged the family to tell us that the SF Giants were playing the NY Yankees on my birthday.  Since this would fall right smack in the middle of my scheduled US trip, I eagerly said yes to watching the game.  Soon, all my other siblings decided that they too would watch.  Before we knew it, we bought the tickets and we were set.

So, on Saturday, Sept 21, Inday and her siblings took the train and headed to the Yankee Stadium.  It was my first time to visit the new stadium.  I never even got to visit the old one.  We posed for photos in front of the stadium before heading in to our bleacher seats.

I had been saving up for new zoom lens for my camera and got a good deal, thanks to my stepmom deciding to sell her zoom lens.  So the new lens made its debut at the game.  I took lots of photos of the field and my favorite Giants players.

After the Yankees scored 3 runs and the Giants were at 0, we decided to walk around the stadium.  And what happened? The Yankees hit a homerun and my brother, the one Yankee fan in the whole family missed it.  We kept walking around, stopping every few minutes to check out the game.  We bought snacks, shopped for souvenirs and posed for pictures.

But more than just the fun of watching the game, it was that we were watching the game together.  My siblings and I live in different parts of the world, so gathering for this weekend in New York was truly special.  Unfortunately, our youngest brother wasn’t able to join us due to school commitments.  My other sister in law was also absent.  But nevertheless, being with this crazy bunch still made this a memorable birthday.  What would have made this birthday an even bigger winner? If the Giants won the game…

We had so much fun that we’re already talking about making this sibling trip an annual event.  My oldest brother will celebrate his 50^th birthday next year so we’re trying to decide what sporting event, in which part of the world we will watch on his birthday.  Other suggestions were a cruise or a visit to the South of France.  Am looking forward to the Inday photo-ops that will arise from that vacation.

That’s all for now….bow.

Ateneo’s UAAP season is over, they are out of the Final Four.  It’s the end of the streaks and –peats.  But for me, it’s more than just the end of the so-called dynasty.  It’s also the end of a special time in my life that I shared with my dad.

Growing up in a sports-loving family, I would always be aware of what was happening in the sports world but my life life didn’t revolve around game schedules.

I had no choice but to watch the PBA games on TV because dad was watching them.  My sister and I were cheering for the LA Dodgers in the 1981 World Series against the Yankees, just to annoy our older brother.  (And because I found Bob Welch, a pitcher for the Dodgers cute) I followed the career of Bjorn Borg, mostly because I thought he was very gwapo.  And when I moved to the US, I started following the Oakland A’s because Bob Welch was now playing with them.  I lived in SF during the Steve Young-Jerry Rice 49ers era.  And watched a few Giants games at Candlestick Park.  But even then, you wouldn’t really see me buying team shirts, or knowing players or team stats or planning my life around the games.

When I was a high school senior in Assumption, my sister, who was already a junior in Ateneo, brought me to my first UAAP game.  They were playing against NU, who were the league cellar dwellers at that time.  Not a very exciting game, but it didn’t matter.  I was hooked.   Back then the games weren’t the sell-outs that they are now.  The only people watching were the team’s families, girlfriends and friends.  I would watch the weekend games with my sister.  And even went to an Ateneo La-Salle game in Rizal Memorial Coliseum in full hair and make-up because it was the day of my high school yearbook pictorial.  I knew the players’ names and would even save newspaper clippings in my planner.

When I started college in Ateneo, I got into the games even more because I got to know the members of the team.   There was just something different and more personal when you’re cheering for your friends and classmates. And, because my sister was one of the team managers (which in those days meant water girl and, in her case, also meant tutor for the players) for a few months, I would even watch their practices.   Unfortunately, I moved to the US in 1987 and didn’t get to see them win their back-to-back ’87-’88 championships.

When I moved back to Manila in 1995, I had stopped following the team.  In fact, I had pretty much stopped following any sports team.   Until the day my dad called and offered me an extra ticket to an Ateneo basketball game.  That was in 2001.  The rest is history.  Since then I have become an Ateneo basketball addict.  I plan my weekends around game schedules.  The finals are usually played around my birthday so I choose to work on my actual birthday so I can take the day off come game day.  I always say that the best part of my retirement from my full-time job was that I could watch all the weekday games.  I had a pile of blue t-shirts in my closet that I could wear to the games (am not a white t-shirt girl) And I would be late for parties (and once even to my friend’s wedding) if the game goes into overtime.

Because I started watching basketball, I also started paying attention to other sports as well.  My brother, during one of my long vacations in SF, brainwashed me into becoming a SF Giants fan.  (In fact, my siblings are gathering here in NY this weekend to watch the Giants-Yankees game).  My sister is now trying to convince me to love football as much as she does (I am still a work in progress). I am always happy when Rafael Nadal wins a championship.  I’ve watched a few live NBA games.  And, prior to this trip, the last plays I watched in New York were Lombardi (about legendary football coach Vince Lombardi) and Magic/Bird (which told the story of the friendship and rivalry between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird)

This recent love affair with Ateneo basketball started as an opportunity to spend more quality time with my dad.  There was a lot about the game I didn’t really understand but I didn’t care.  Those game days were special family time that were, for us at least, sacred.  Dad started buying season tickets.  We came up with our own personal superstitions.  We’d go to mass at the Gesu after winning or losing championships.  We’d even brave the muddy fields to attend the bonfires.  I would wear a shirt until the team lost and then would find a new shirt.  I tried to change the styling up a bit for every game hoping people wouldn’t notice.  I even started subscribing to tfc.tv so I could watch the games when I was out of the country.  I bought a DVD recorder so I could record the games and watch them again once I got home (I usually close my eyes during very tense moments so I missed a lot of the live action). For my friends, the funniest part of this Ateneo basketball addiction is that I actually only went to Ateneo for a year before I moved to the US to finish college.

But more than just watching basketball, it was the knowledge that, despite our busy schedules, for the few months of UAAP season, I knew that we would have a standing date with dad.

He passed away the day before the Fil-Oil Ateneo-La Salle game, which Ateneo won by the way.  We were supposed to watch that game together.   It would have been the first Ateneo game I would watch after the many trips I had taken since the middle of Season 75.   He had already purchased our tickets for Season 76 and we were looking forward to seeing what the new coach and the team would do this season.

The elimination of Ateneo from this season’s final four is the end of an era for the team.  It is the end of the five and 14 streak.  For me, it is the end of years of those game dates with my dad.  No more texts to ask if I was watching or if we could ride to the game together.  No more teasing me that I am “bad luck” when the team loses and I’m there.  It is the end of a special time in my life that I would always treasure because I shared them with my dad.

This has been a year filled with challenges for the team and controversies for the league.  I can just imagine what my dad must be thinking.  And I can only guess what he would say.  This next season will start a new beginning for the team, and for us.  And though watching UAAP will never be the same again without him, his love for sports will always be a gift that he gave to us.

Thanks dad.  One big fight…

That’s all for now…bow.

As my  birthday is fast approaching, I can’t help but look back and reflect on the year that was.  (please excuse the length of this entry, after all, we’re talking a whole year’s worth of stories)

A year ago, I celebrated my birthday in the hospital. Not because I was sick but because I was there to keep my youngest sister company. She had just finished her first round of chemo and was having a severe reaction to the medication.

Barely a month before, my sister was diagnosed with cancer and back then, I thought that was the biggest challenge my family would have to face. Little did I know that less than a year later we would once again face a bigger tragedy.

Before any of this happened, I was living what I thought was a simple life. I was enjoying being a freelance writer, having control over my own schedule.  I was relishing the freedom from the pressures of forcing clients to pay for awardable ads that they didn’t ask for.  I was getting regular projects which helped fund my basic needs—coffee, cigarettes, regular salon visits, occasional dinners with friends and videoke nights.  I had finally started this blog and was getting ready to share my stories with the small but loyal following Inday had built through facebook photo albums.  (This consisted mostly of family and friends, so loyal was indeed an appropriate description).  I had no idea that those adventures would take me this far.

From the moment my sister began her chemo treatments and for the next five months, my life’s focus had changed.  I went from my regular routine to taking care of her.  I was happy to do it and, for the family, it was the simplest solution.  After all, I didn’t have a full time job and thus was able to be where my family needed me to be.  When my sister was going on a long trip, I flew 31 hours from Manila to New York to babysit my nephew.  I was my dad’s regular traveling companion on his business trips because he hated traveling alone.  So, spending time in Singapore for my sister’s chemo or staying with her in Dubai between treatments was no big deal.  And, there was some personal benefit too—more stamps on my passport and more Inday photo shoots.

But, my sister’s situation made an impact on the family in many other ways.  It brought us closer together.  She and I had kind of drifted apart.  It was inevitable since she moved away from home when she was 18 to go to college in the US and there was the 11-year age gap.  But with the time we spent together, she had once again become my little baby.  We found our way back to being, not just sisters, but true friends.  For the first in many years, I got to spend Christmas Eve with both my mom and my dad, something that hadn’t happened since they separated when I was 18.  Since then it was a very amicable and practical schedule of Eve with dad, Day with mom etc etc etc.   But last year, there we were in one room—my dad, mom, stepmom, brothers, sister-in-law, sister and nephews and niece.  Sadly, my sister and her son in New York and my brother and his family in San Francisco couldn’t join us.  But we were optimistic that this would be the start of a new holiday tradition for the family.

In January, we got the good news that we had all been praying for. My sister’s cancer was gone, though we’d still need to wait a few months before she got the official all clear.  This would mean regular check ups every month but life had pretty much gotten back to normal. I finally went back home and planned for the rest of the year.  I went to the US in February for a bit of R and R. I was there for 6 weeks,  and even managed to squeeze in a trip to LA to attend the trial of my friend’s stepmom who murdered her dad. This was a much needed girl bonding with old high school friends. Then, it was back to San Francisco to wait for my dad’s arrival. I always look forward to these US trips with my dad. We don’t really do much but even just hanging out at home is fun.

In May I was hired to be the writer for the Balangay Festival in Butuan City, which meant staying in Butuan for 3 weeks.  I arrived in Manila on May 25 and was looking forward to the Ateneo-La Salle game on June 1. This would also be the first time I would see my dad upon my return.

I had no idea that barely a week after my return, my life would be turned upside-down and sideways. I was having dinner with friends on May 30th when I got the message that my dad was in the emergency room. I rushed to the hospital and was able to catch up with my dad.  I updated him about work and other family news.  I bought him the can of Coke when the doctors allowed him to have one (of course he took more than that) sip of.  We stayed with him till he was transferred to the ICU. The doctors were concerned about his low blood pressure and they wanted him to be closely monitored. There was an infection but they were still trying to figure out what it was. I was hearing words like Necrotizing Fasciitis being bandied about. All of a sudden the images of Dr House and Grey’s Anatomy started playing in my head.

We went home and made plans to return the next day. I was back in the hospital by noon and was happy to find dad awake and alert and his usual cantankerous self—complaining about the beeps from the machines and the wires they stuck to him and the doctors who kept poking him—all these things prevented him from getting a wink of sleep the night before. He asked me to scratch his head so he could sleep.  I’d been doing this since I was a little girl and he would pay me, five pesos for five minutes.  As I grew older, I waved my fee but would still gladly scratch his head whenever he asked.  I was glad to see that he was able to sleep for an hour.  But once the doctors came back he was awake again.  I kept on scratching his head till I noticed that he was drifting off to sleep again.  My stepmom came back from her lunch break and my brother and I decided to grab a quick bite in the cafeteria. Dad was on pain killers which were helping him fall back asleep and he said to me, “If you’re tired na Ramona, you can stop. I’m ok. I’m falling asleep na.”  I had no idea that those would be the last words he would ever say to me.  And I can’t help but think that when he said, “I’m ok. I’m falling asleep.” He was somehow saying goodbye to me.

We were in the cafeteria when we were summoned back to the room.  Dad was unconscious and they had called a code.  All the years of watching medical shows made me aware of exactly what was happening.  My heart was beating fast when I saw that they were going to intubate him and when I saw them giving him CPR and when I saw that his numbers weren’t very promising on the machines.  All the prayers and novenas were on a continuous loop in my head.

At 5:19 PM my dad died.  And life would never be the same again.  Everything had changed, suddenly, painfully, permanently,

And, to paraphrase a line from Grey’s Anatomy which we used for our eulogy, we would now have to learn to live in a world where my dad didn’t exist.

Those first few days after were all business.  The siblings flew home one by one.  We had funeral arrangements, masses and a wake to arrange.  We had to choose a crypt, publish an obituary and deal with legal matters.  It’s what comes after that you aren’t prepared for.  Because once all the must-dos are over, you have to wake up every day with that empty feeling knowing that you will never see him again.  That moment of realization when you know he won’t be on the other end of the line when you call his number.  That feeling that there’s a big gaping hole in your heart.  Three months later, that hole is just as large, just as empty.

And then there are the firsts… the first Ateneo game of the UAAP  Season 76 without him, the first Father’s Day when you have no father, the first family gatherings he was absent for.  And, in just a week, my first birthday without my daddy.

To say that the last year has been crazy, is most definitely an understatement.  It has been a test of how strong a family can be, and ours did rise to the challenge.  This last year has been a time of finding out who your true friends are, who your allies are and who will let you down.

This last year has made me learn what is important, who is important and just how much my spirit can take.

So, with my birthday just around the corner, I thank my family whose love knows no bounds and without whom I would never have survived, my friends whose unwavering support make each day easier, my kids, who, though I didn’t give birth to, give me hugs and kisses on demand which never fail to bring a smile to my face.  And to my alter ego Inday, who gives me the courage to show a hidden side, who allows me to have that moment of utter confidence when I really don’t care what the world thinks of me and who lets me laugh at the world when it isn’t always easy.

And for all of Inday’s friends, thank you for always making her (and me) feel the love.

That’s all for now….bow.

I’ve been to New York several times since my sister moved here.  And I’ve learned to love the city.  Or at least love my little spots in the city.  I have my favorite shopping areas, favorite stores, favorite restaurants.  And creature of habit that I am, my visits here usually mean making the rounds of those spots.  It means multiple visits to DSW (both on Union Square and 34th St).  I try not to (but always fail and do anyway) enter every Sephora I walk by.  I have to have that muffin thing at City Bakery.  I have to eat the ‘Shroom Burger at Shake Shake. and on and on and on.  

But every now and then, I discover new things that I’d like to try here in NY.  And this time, it had a lot to do with my favorite past time–SHOPPING!

I went to my very first sample sale!  My sister and I were talking about the bags that I wanted to buy (but never would thanks to the HIGH price tag) and I said that one of those bags was by Mulberry.   And she says to me, “They’re having a sample sale!”.  So she pushed and prodded me to go and so I did.  I was supposed to leave at 8 so I could be there by the time it opened at 9.  And that way, be at the head of the line (yes there are lines!).  But alas, I overslept and ended up leaving the house at 930.  I didn’t have any appointments so I figured, if i needed to stay there all day, then what the hell?  

I stopped by a coffee shop to buy my breakfast of Corn Muffin, Pound Cake, Potato Chips and Diet Coke.  (Didn’t know how long I’d be in line so I needed provisions).  When i found the building I was excited because the line inside didn’t look so long, until the security guy pointed across the street, the line is there. Oh ok.

If I counted correctly, I was maybe 50th in line.  So I turned on my ipod, put on my headphones and got in line.  They were sending people in 10 at a time, so in about 40 minutes, i was part of the group that was asked to enter…THE BUILDING.  Because yes there was another lne inside.  My sister had instructed me to bring a small wallet cause we’d have to check our bags, and that’s where there was a bit of an incident, because those who didn’t have bags to check were taking the places in line of those who did.  But when the security guy saw this, he took people to task.  And once I was back in line, there was more waiting, this time to go up the stairs that would finally take you to handbag heaven.

When i finally got up the stairs, i had to wait my turn to enter but I could see this huge table in the middle covered with bags and the big sign that said ALL BAGS 70% OFF ORIGINAL PRICE.  I called my sisters and told them the good news!  When i finally entered, I eagerly grabbed and tried different purses, brought out my calculator and got excited at the wonderful deals.  I tried on boots that could only fit my toes, I look at shirts that could only fit my fingers and i looked at bags that, even after the discount, still cost more than my airfare.  I did finally end up choosing two bags, but after walking around with them for a while, I realized I didn’t really LOVE them.  And if you’re spending that much on a bag, you kinda have to love it.  So I left.  After waiting in line that long, i decided to walk away.  I was quite proud of myself actually.  It was still early so I decided that I needed a reward for being a good girl, so I walked to the DSW a block away and bought myself a pair of boots.  And headed home…or so I thought.

I saw the sign for the number 1 subway which could take me to the doorstep of another New York must visit–Century 21. And while I was there, i bought myself two more pairs of shoes.  

So wait, maybe it was cheaper to just buy the bag?

But I digress, this was supposed to be about firsts….After I left Century 21, it was around 130pm and I was starving.  THough the apartment was only a few blocks away, I decided I would just grab a bite nearby first.  I saw a Halal Food Cart/Stand whatever it was called.  Those had always intrigued me, and the girl running the stand looked like she knew what she was doing, so I ordered the Chicken Gyro and a Diet Coke.  While I was waiting for my order, a line had formed and some of them were regulars.  I thought to myself, “maybe this is a good idea!”  I got my order and started walking, but between juggling my shopping bags, holding the napkin to wipe the dripping sauce and taking a sip of my Diet Coke, I figured I should just sit down somewhere.  The closest somewhere I could find where the steps in Lincoln Center where Fashion Week was being held this week.  

 

So I joined the group who were either eating their lunches or waiting for celebs to arrive for that day’s Fashion Week event.  

As I usually do, I eavesdropped on people’s conversations while I was there.  There was a group giving away free fashion magazines, another group was there for an Activation event for a mobile dating app.  Should I check them out?  NOT!

It was a bunch of little firsts, no world peace moments, but it was still fun to try out new things.  Wonder what I will do tomorrow?  There’s an Hermes sample sale next week….hmmmm

That’s all for now….bow.

After depositing my nephew at his new home for the next four years, my sister and I decided to reward ourselves with a short trip (a day and half) to Chicago.  We took the 745 (or something like that) AM train from Ann Arbor to Chicago.  (for more info about the train ride see earlier post Patience is a Virtue)

i treated us to the train tickets and my sister paid for the hotel.  She decided that we deserved a reward so she booked us at the Radisson Blu Hotel.  The location was excellent, just a short walk to all the important spots in the city, and a hop, skip and a jump away from CVS Drugstore.  Now that’s a great location!  And the room was beautiful!

On our first day, we decided to take a walking tour to see the old mansions, reminiscent of the walk that Sandra Bullock took, with special instructions from Keanu Reeves, in The Lake House.  (I really did search for Lake House walking tour and found the map that we used as reference).  Before we headed off on this tour, we stopped for lunch.  We were on our way to the restaurant we chose online when we spotted Lawry’s Prime Rib.

I asked my sister to take my picture, and we decided that we would just have lunch there.  That was one of our dad’s favorite restaurants and since we felt that he was with us for the trip, saving us from one scrape or another, it would be a nice tribute to him.  So we filled up with prime rib for her and turkey breast for me.  And we were ready…or so we thought.

We had only gone on about 15 minutes when my feet started to hurt.  Alas, I realized that the cute sandals that I chose specifically for this trip was not designed for all that walking.  By the time we finished visiting 15 of the 17 mansions on the map, my feet were blistered.  I couldn’t walk to the hotel anymore so we hailed a cab.

We decided to recharge at the hotel (and make a CVS stop to buy some band-aids for my feet).  We enjoyed our recharging so much that we were too lazy to go out for dinner. Thankfully, the hotel has an excellent Italian restaurant called Filini.  We were still full from our huge lunch so we just had appetizers.  Then decided to walk to Michigan Avenue for some dessert and shoe shopping.  Well it was just supposed to be dessert, but I found some shoes.  And then it was time for some Inday photos!

We went back to our room and planned the next day’s itinerary.  We got up early to have brunch at a small cafe that my sister found online (can’t remember the name right now) but the food was really good! and we were lucky enough to beat the crowd.  We still had time before our river tour so we went back to the hotel.  When we came out for the tour it started raining and as we stood inline waiting to board the boat, the rain kept getting stronger.  We bought ponchos from the tour office and got on board.  (the ponchos weren’t very cute so no photos!)  The rain stopped halfway thru our tour Thank God!  It was a really great experience.  We had a really funny tour guide who told us the history of the buildings.  The architecture in Chicago is truly beautiful and fascinating.  Almost every building’s design had a meaning and a significance.  

After the river tour, we had lunch at Pecking Order, a Filipino-owned restaurant that served reinventions of Pinoy dishes like Adobo.  The food was very good.  My favorite was the Coconut Adobo Rice Arancini which is a fried rice ball filled with garlic rice and Adobo with gata.  We also had the Grilled Chicken which was very juicy and flavorful, even the white meat was tender.  For desert, we had coffee leche flan.  By the time we finished, the weather had gotten quite nice and we needed to walk off all that chicken we ate for lunch so we took a stroll around Millenium Park and visited the Cloud Gate Sculpture, or as I liked to call it, the bean thing-y.

That night, as much as we tried, we were just too tired to check out Chicago’s nightlife, so we did the next best thing, we ordered pizza and had a quiet dinner in our beautiful hotel room.  And slept early so we could be ready for early morning train back to Detroit where we would take the flight back to New York.

It was short, sweet and very tiring.  And i have the memories of those blisters to treasure forever.

That’s all for now….bow.

After bringing my nephew to Univ. of Michigan it was time for yet another college move.  This time it was my brother who was starting college in Princeton.  While we were in Michigan, they had already done all the heavy lifting.  And i mean that literally.  He will be staying on the 2nd floor and there was no elevator.  So that meant multiple trips up and down the stairs carrying suitcases, boxes, shopping bags etc etc etc.  

After the initial orientation activities, we all met up in New York and took the train together back to Princeton.  It was a quick and painless train ride on the NJ Transit.  We were lucky enough to take the express train which meant arriving in Princeton in just under an hour. We were booked at the Hampton Inn, which by the looks of the other guests, was the hotel of choice for Princeton parents.  

My brother arrived from San Francisco the following morning with the rental car and before long we were off to the freshmen’s (and their parents’) go-to stops–Target, Best Buy and Bed, Bath.  We just had some last minute purchases to make which would complete my brother’s must-haves to begin his college life.

Along the way, we decided to sample the local restaurants.  First meal was at Delizio Pizza. A small, neighborhood pizza place that served a variety of flavors, along with salads, pasta and sandwiches.  At first, we were kind of worried about the place, till we saw that, even around 2pm, there was a constant stream of people coming in for a slice or two.  Our pizzas turned out to be really good.  I had the Buffalo Chicken Pizza and White Pizza with Tomatoes.  Both were winners!  As it turns out Delizio Pizza was Delicious!

We decided to drop off the rest of my brother’s stuff at his dorm so we could get a chance to see the campus before the next day’s official move in began.  Princeton is a beautiful campus with old buildings and lots of Inday photo opportunities.  

And once you walk out the gates of the campus, you see a very pretty town with lots of small restaurants, shops and, most importantly, a big Starbucks with free wi-fi!  

The next day, which was the official move in day for the students, we attended the Family Brunch.  We were able to sample the offerings of the dining hall and there was a lot! I had the chicken lunch special, while my brother and stepmom chose the breakfast specials of French Toast and Omelette (to order mind you!)  not satisfied with my big meal, i still had to have some scoop your own ice cream with frosted flakes toppings.  Thankfully, due to limited visitor parking spaces, we would have to walk back to the car (so i could burn all that food).  

All these college visits is bringing back so many memories.  College days were so simple.  Not much to worry about.  You just had to get your ass to class,  pass the tests and register for the next semester.  The biggest problem was “What do I wear to the party on Saturday?”  These days, there are bigger things to worry about plus you still have to think “What do I wear to the party on Saturday?”

I still can’t believe that these boys are in college already.  What’s even more mind-boggling is that my oldest nephew, who I used to baby sit, is now a college sophomore!!!  

Inday, you are not so young anymore!

That’s all for now….bow…time to put on some of my anti-aging moisturizer.