Back in Manila March '09 - Day One

March 25, 2009 12:25 AM, PR506 flew from Changi Airport bound for Manila. The place landed just before 3:30 AM. It took me a while to get past immigration; I forgot to bring a pen, so I was only able to fill up the disembarkation card -- given much earlier during the flight -- when I got to the immigration. By the time I finished the form, all of the open immigration counters already had long lines.

After that, it took me only minutes to get all of my remaining baggage and past the customs. Shortly, my in-laws are there to take me home. We went through a McDonald's drivethru. Not sure what to get, I just went for the breakfast item that is not available in SG: the longganisa meal.

Shortly after getting home, I fixed some things in my backpack then walked all the way to my dad's house. But low and behold.... where once stood our 30-ish year old home now stands a bright pink bungalow! Well, actually, it's still the same house, but was, uhm, "renewed". It was back in '88 when it was last renovated, so my dad decided it was time to replace the leaking roof, some of the termite-infested doorframes and ceilings, and a cool new paintjob.

The ancient camias tree -- been there since '81 at least -- and the humungous macopa trees that are dropping vast amounts of leaves everyday are removed and replaced with some sort of red palm tree and a couple of pine-like tree.

The house walls are colored "princess peach" on the upper and lower sections with a "mellow melon" through the middle section. The roof is painted "spanish red". The water tank is also painted similarly. Inside, the walls are painted either in "true blue" or in "mint green". All in all, it's a fresh look and makes the house look like it's a new house for sale. :))

Even though I had coffee, I still fell asleep. If my dad did not wake me up during lunchtime, I would have probably dozed off until the end of the afternoon. As such, after lunch and waiting for some time for the sun to sink a bit -- I decided to push through with the rest of my to-do list.

First up, renewal of my license. For renewal, I needed the previous license (check), the application form, drug test result, and medical examination result. Too bad, the nearby clinic doing the drug test and med exam is "offline". Bummer :(

Not wanting to waste anymore time, I went straight to my mom. I think it'd good that I visit her during my first day back. I'm just a few days late; she passed on the 21st, five years ago. It's always a solemn time for me whenever I vist her.

After that, I'm done for the day. :) Well, except for the license thing. :) Guess I'll deal with it after I'm done with the rest in my priority list.