Defying Gravity

Dec 24 - Mad rush with the family to Tsing Yi mall to buy ingredients for our home-cooked dinner. Ate lovely KFC biscuits. Cooked dinner in a mad frenzy with Rony and Joy in his itt-bitty kitchen. Incindentally, Rony also reminded me that I forgot to tell Chloe about Santa and his conditional love. I'm so bad!

Dec 25 - Gave Chloe a dozen barbies which was greeted with a rather stranged, dazed response. Note to self: don't try too hard. Spent the rest of the day going to the Big Buddha, which was um, big. Hated the bus ride going there and coming back, made me really dizzy.

Dec 26 - Spent most of the day at home. Chloe played outside at the terrific kids' playground just outside his apartment building. Did the night market with Louie, Dad, Rony and Joy later that night.

Dec 27 - MACAU! Dizzying boat rides to China. At a restaurant at the Macau tower, we order HK$150 worth of appetizers before the waitress decides to give us the ENTREE menu. Super duper scary heights at the Macau tower. I hate see-through floors! Argh! Chloe whined at Toys R Us and got her toy stroller. Rony got us on a bus to somewhere in Macau then promptly realized after 45 minutes that we were clearly lost. Hahaha. Taxi-fied to Senado Real and took in the breathtaking lights. Got home almost midnight without taking in dinner.

Dec 28 - My mom's birthday and the day we headed to Disney! However, the day quickly turned sour when Dad collapsed at the MTR. God, it was so f*ckin' scary! I thought he had a god-dang stroke! To see him shaking on the ground. To try to talk to him to stay awake. To keep calm in general. Its the point you realize how fragile the man you once thought to be your hero is. I never want to go through that again.

Anyway, ambulance came, Dad was admitted into ER then later on admitted to the hospital because his blood count was dangerously low. Imagine this: 3 people in a room, no visitors overnight and trying to explain everything to a Chinese doctor.

Dec 29 - Mom and Rony head to the hospital and by some miracle, Dad's red blood count is NORMAL. Without the hospital doing anything. So the doc tells my Mom, there must have been a mistake in the reading. HK4,000 mistake?!?!? Oh well, we all just decide to just be glad for the blessing that Dad is fine. He personally thinks the exhaustion got to him (plus he didn't eat dinner on the 27th or breakfast on the 28th plus he was having LBM - of course he made no mention of all this on the morning of the 28th).

Dec 30 - Its off to Disneyland, also known as the Happiest Place on Earth. Closer to home, its known as "that place where Uncle Rony works." It was a truly amazing day. We pushed Dad around on a wheel chair so he wouldn't get tired. I noticed Chloe's thumb is a little swollen and put Neosporin on the nail area and cover with a band-aid so she doesn't scratch. Saw all the shows. Rode the carousel. Hung out with Goofy, Donald Duck, Chip and Dale. It was a very happy, albeit rainy, day. Chloe was in heaven... and because she was, so was I.

Dec 31 - Rested at home most of the day. Headed to Park N Shop to do the grocery shopping for our new year meal. Cooked adobo (which everyone loved) for the third time. It is on this day that we realize that Chloe's thumb has swollen up and turned blue. My Mom says to drain it to let all the goo out. Louie calls up Moha to ask for advice. We keep an eye on her thumb. This is one of the quietest New Year's eves we've had in a while. Rony was at work, the rest of us were either asleep or watching TV. Then at midnight, Dad comes out of his room and says, "Happy new year, eveyone!"

Jan 1 - Our last complete day in Hong Kong. After a rather chaotic morning trying to get mass schedules, we finally found our way to St Josephs. Imagine a million Filipina domestic helpers crammed into a church! It was pure hell just to get to the bathroom, I tell you. Scary, scary, scary. After mass and coffee, Louie, Chloe and I headed to IFC to meet Moha, one of Louie's high school pals. Ended the day at the Peak with diner at Cafe Deco. Chloe's thumb is still kinda swollen but certainly not blue anymore.

Jan 2 - Mom and Joy bring us to the airport. Hated leaving. Absolutely love staying in Hong Kong and at Rony's place. At the airport, we hung out at the Disney store (which made Chloe really happy.) On the plane home, Chloe gets macaroni and chicken. Like I said, I'm getting kids' meals from now on.

This last photo was taken in Manila -- at the PAL Centennial airport. A fitting way to end a wonderful 10 days of fantasy, thanks to Rony and Disney!

A super-duper huge thank-you to my brother Rony who made it all possible. A hug and thank-you to Joy for being in Asia this Christmas. A big thank-you to Dad who was a real trooper, even if he was already tired. A gargantuan thank-you to Mom, who gave a me a break from her usual barrage of yapping, to make this a fight-free Christmas.