“Papa”, “Mama”, ‘Achi” is how I fondly call them. They’re my family. I am “Shoti”. For those unfamiliar with Chinese, “Shoti” means that I am the youngest son.
Papa is a man of few words. He usually is silent most of the time. He loves to drink his beer and smoke his cigarette. He can never sleep without drinking beer (same goes for my uncles on my his side ^^ Could I be heading the same path? (^.-)). He loves to keep his body fit. He used to ride the stepper (until it broke because he was going to fast at it) and do his push-ups every night. And the man loved to walk. He would walk every morning from our house to the temple even when transportation was available. This was before we moved to our new house. Now it would be crazy for anyone to walk from our house to the temple. But he still goes there everyday, this time my mama drives him there. He does this before reporting to work in our “tiam kaw” (store). I guess you can say he is the most religious among us. He loves his routine. Shower time was at 6pm right before dinner. 10pm is shut eye. 6am is time to wake up and prepare breakfast. Yup! He prepared breakfast for us every morning when we were still studying in Davao. I miss those Nissin ramen-with-pandesal days! Actually, he still does prepare breakfast for us. Whenever my sister and I go home, he rejoicingly prepares bacon for our breakfast. He knows that we love crispy-fried bacon (purefoods syempre)!
Mama, as I have known, is one of the strong-willed career women even way back on the times when feminism wasn’t so big yet. She’s the mind behind our store. She’s the type who can do everything on her own. Sometimes she can get a bit stubborn (Now you know where I got that trait. ^^). But like all stubborn people, she’s very dependable. (My kind of girl! And that makes me dependable too! Hahaha ^^ ). She doesn’t have any vices that I know of except maybe for Pepsi! We used to order Pepsi by the case. It was like water to her. No meal would be complete without it. After a few bouts of hyperacidity and ulcer, she has learned to control her intake. She switched to Coke (hehehe ^^). I really don’t know the reason behind the switch, maybe it was just because the Pepsi truck doesn’t pass by our store anymore and possibly because Coke is now easier to get. But unlike my trying-to-be-a-health-buff Achi, uncles, and cousins, she’s never switched to Coke Lite! (The original just tastes a lot better! (^^;)) This doesn’t make her any less health conscious though. She’s a proponent of food supplements. She can recite the benefits she’s getting from taking royal jelly. She’s introduced me to grape juice (for cough), fish liver oil, noni juice, and even soup made from boiling pine tree leaves for my nosebleeding. (None of which really worked effectively because my craving for chocolate just cannot be stopped! Abstinence / Moderation still is the best preventive measure.) She even bought one of those cardio machines from TV shopping. Not once though did I see her ride it (or was it Achi who bought it for us? Hmmm….). I’ve not known her to have any whims. She’s always been so simple and content (choosing a present for her can be quite a task). She likes ube or rocky road flavored ice cream. She loves her melodramic telenovelas (TV soap operas). And most of all she loves to wear those free flowing dusters (definitely not to hide her supermodel figure (^.-)). Mama loves us and sometimes she shows this love in a funny way. Just like every time Achi and I go home, she would never fail to comment on our hairstyles. For me, the usual comment is that my hair looks dirty and is too long. This has become so common that I can actually foretell when she would do so. Usually the 1st day of our visit, she wouldn’t say a thing (she misses us that much ^^). But on the 2nd day, boing!!! In no time she would be telling me to go have my haircut done. If there’s one area that she’s never contented with that would be our hairstyles. (^.^;) Don’t tell her I told you though, she doesn’t think it’s funny.
Like mother, like daughter. That is my Achi. She’s a younger version of Mama. So please just read my entry about Mama again. The end. Hehehe ^^
Joking aside, Achi is my one and only sister. She’s really the best sister one can have (That’s because I have no one else as point of comparison! ;p ). Not only is she caring but she’s also one of the few who truly understands me. I cannot elaborate but I just know. She can somehow read my mind. (Can be scary at times ‘coz I’d lose all arguments ^^) She’s one of the biggest influences in my life. I learned to appreciate art watching her draw and paint. I went to Manila to study in a university without any fear because she was already there. I learned about fashion and to be fashionable through her guidance. I strived to be an achiever like her. And I learned to stand up for my own and argue when I have to. We’ve had our share of fights. Just imagine us fighting over who should call Pizza Hut on a Sunday afternoon just to order pizza, how low can we get. Hehehe ^^ She’s scary when she drives. She’s used to Manila-driving, which you may classify as big city driving. She can get impatient with the other drivers and voice our her discomfort inside the car. I told her that she should control her emotions because it’s not very healthy for others riding with her in the car. On my last visit, she seemed to have mellowed down (Improving!). However, now I need to be careful when I drive with her because when I drive and do the same she’s quick to say “See! You do it also!”(^.^)/ Oh yeah! She’a also a die-hard Sharonian (fans of Sharon Cuneta) and she never misses an episode of “The Buzz”. (chizmosa ^^) I love you chi! A good part of me now is all thanks to you! ^^
Many of you don’t know this but I actually have an “Ahia” (older brother). He died before I was born so I don’t know anything much about him. Sometimes I just wonder what would it have been like growing up having an Ahia. I bet it would have been great!
Fact1: Papa is still a Chinese (Taiwan) citizen
Fact2: Achi and I have different surnames. (^^;)
Fact3: We don’t know when Papa was born.
Papa is a man of few words. He usually is silent most of the time. He loves to drink his beer and smoke his cigarette. He can never sleep without drinking beer (same goes for my uncles on my his side ^^ Could I be heading the same path? (^.-)). He loves to keep his body fit. He used to ride the stepper (until it broke because he was going to fast at it) and do his push-ups every night. And the man loved to walk. He would walk every morning from our house to the temple even when transportation was available. This was before we moved to our new house. Now it would be crazy for anyone to walk from our house to the temple. But he still goes there everyday, this time my mama drives him there. He does this before reporting to work in our “tiam kaw” (store). I guess you can say he is the most religious among us. He loves his routine. Shower time was at 6pm right before dinner. 10pm is shut eye. 6am is time to wake up and prepare breakfast. Yup! He prepared breakfast for us every morning when we were still studying in Davao. I miss those Nissin ramen-with-pandesal days! Actually, he still does prepare breakfast for us. Whenever my sister and I go home, he rejoicingly prepares bacon for our breakfast. He knows that we love crispy-fried bacon (purefoods syempre)!
Mama, as I have known, is one of the strong-willed career women even way back on the times when feminism wasn’t so big yet. She’s the mind behind our store. She’s the type who can do everything on her own. Sometimes she can get a bit stubborn (Now you know where I got that trait. ^^). But like all stubborn people, she’s very dependable. (My kind of girl! And that makes me dependable too! Hahaha ^^ ). She doesn’t have any vices that I know of except maybe for Pepsi! We used to order Pepsi by the case. It was like water to her. No meal would be complete without it. After a few bouts of hyperacidity and ulcer, she has learned to control her intake. She switched to Coke (hehehe ^^). I really don’t know the reason behind the switch, maybe it was just because the Pepsi truck doesn’t pass by our store anymore and possibly because Coke is now easier to get. But unlike my trying-to-be-a-health-buff Achi, uncles, and cousins, she’s never switched to Coke Lite! (The original just tastes a lot better! (^^;)) This doesn’t make her any less health conscious though. She’s a proponent of food supplements. She can recite the benefits she’s getting from taking royal jelly. She’s introduced me to grape juice (for cough), fish liver oil, noni juice, and even soup made from boiling pine tree leaves for my nosebleeding. (None of which really worked effectively because my craving for chocolate just cannot be stopped! Abstinence / Moderation still is the best preventive measure.) She even bought one of those cardio machines from TV shopping. Not once though did I see her ride it (or was it Achi who bought it for us? Hmmm….). I’ve not known her to have any whims. She’s always been so simple and content (choosing a present for her can be quite a task). She likes ube or rocky road flavored ice cream. She loves her melodramic telenovelas (TV soap operas). And most of all she loves to wear those free flowing dusters (definitely not to hide her supermodel figure (^.-)). Mama loves us and sometimes she shows this love in a funny way. Just like every time Achi and I go home, she would never fail to comment on our hairstyles. For me, the usual comment is that my hair looks dirty and is too long. This has become so common that I can actually foretell when she would do so. Usually the 1st day of our visit, she wouldn’t say a thing (she misses us that much ^^). But on the 2nd day, boing!!! In no time she would be telling me to go have my haircut done. If there’s one area that she’s never contented with that would be our hairstyles. (^.^;) Don’t tell her I told you though, she doesn’t think it’s funny.
Like mother, like daughter. That is my Achi. She’s a younger version of Mama. So please just read my entry about Mama again. The end. Hehehe ^^
Joking aside, Achi is my one and only sister. She’s really the best sister one can have (That’s because I have no one else as point of comparison! ;p ). Not only is she caring but she’s also one of the few who truly understands me. I cannot elaborate but I just know. She can somehow read my mind. (Can be scary at times ‘coz I’d lose all arguments ^^) She’s one of the biggest influences in my life. I learned to appreciate art watching her draw and paint. I went to Manila to study in a university without any fear because she was already there. I learned about fashion and to be fashionable through her guidance. I strived to be an achiever like her. And I learned to stand up for my own and argue when I have to. We’ve had our share of fights. Just imagine us fighting over who should call Pizza Hut on a Sunday afternoon just to order pizza, how low can we get. Hehehe ^^ She’s scary when she drives. She’s used to Manila-driving, which you may classify as big city driving. She can get impatient with the other drivers and voice our her discomfort inside the car. I told her that she should control her emotions because it’s not very healthy for others riding with her in the car. On my last visit, she seemed to have mellowed down (Improving!). However, now I need to be careful when I drive with her because when I drive and do the same she’s quick to say “See! You do it also!”(^.^)/ Oh yeah! She’a also a die-hard Sharonian (fans of Sharon Cuneta) and she never misses an episode of “The Buzz”. (chizmosa ^^) I love you chi! A good part of me now is all thanks to you! ^^
Many of you don’t know this but I actually have an “Ahia” (older brother). He died before I was born so I don’t know anything much about him. Sometimes I just wonder what would it have been like growing up having an Ahia. I bet it would have been great!
Fact1: Papa is still a Chinese (Taiwan) citizen
Fact2: Achi and I have different surnames. (^^;)
Fact3: We don’t know when Papa was born.
(Chinese calendar kasi) And he won’t tell us.
Fact4: Mama’s pancit Lomi, Native barbecue chicken, Valenciana,
Fact4: Mama’s pancit Lomi, Native barbecue chicken, Valenciana,
my Achi said that "Shoti" is suppose to mean "younger brother" and not youngest son. ^^
ReplyDeletehow about "shobe"?
ReplyDeleteit seems like you admire every member of your family. that's so nice! i love "The Buzz" too.
ReplyDeletesydney
ReplyDeleteshobe means younger sister ^^
usually if you have more than 1 sister younger than you, only the youngest is called shobe ^^
rose
hehehe ^^ keyword is seems ^^ we have our fair share of ups and downs ^^
where's the next post? ;-)
ReplyDeletetagal naman eh.
myalterego!
ReplyDeleteay grabe! wait lang sandali hehehe