New York, New York

I love my girls. We went to Pink Elephant and I got to dance next to Clive Owen (too bad I wasn't allowed to take photos with him)
Club Azza
Too crazy.

Bahston

We made our way to Boston where we met and stayed at my cousins place for three nights. Last time I saw my cousin Jay-R before he migrated to the US, I was apparently at the age when my parents still made me sing in front of guests at the staircase of our old house.
Made to sing.
Hmmm let's see. I think I was about four years old when I was told I was frequently off pitch; I was at least seven years old when I took voice lessons to remedy that; and from then until I was about 13, or 14, I insisted that I was a damn good singer and hated my sister Belle for being able to "sing better" than me. Ha. So my cousin Jay-R's memories of me singing, I could just imagine why they're still so vivid.
So we stayed at his place, at the guest room annex, and met my nephews for the first time ever! So adorable, and so so sweet! Meet Roger (to your left) and Edward (on the right) with my sister Ella (go figure). We visited Rockport, where films like The Perfect Storm, was shot. Breathtaking views, yet again.Rockport is like this indie village where artists put up their own stalls where they put their works on exhibit. Some decide to sell it, or even mass produce, but this is the prime location where great stuff can be purchased.
Then we had this incredibly massive dinner at this Argentinian restaurant. I was declined a wine glass because I did not bring an ID. So this is how the conversation went...
Server: How many glasses would you like me to bring?
Ate Ron: Four glasses -- that's for me, for him (points to the direction of Kuya Jay-R), for him (indicates my dad), and her (me)
Server: Alright (continues jotting down whatever notes on his notepad and turns to me) Can I see an ID please?
Me: Oh, I'm sorry, I don't have one on me right now.
Server: Drivers license...?
Me: I'm sorry, I really don't.
Server: Passport?
Me: But my parents are right here. They can totally attest I'm 21 and turning 22 on May.
Server: I'm so sorry, we're obliged to request for an ID to assure that we aren't serving alcohol to minors.
Me: But my parents are right here (I say frustratingly with my eyes doing a 360 degree roll).
Mom and Dad: (laughs and it was about this time that the tables next to ours start looking and listening in to the conversation)
Server: Ma'am I'm really so sorry...I believe you...really...but rules are rules. You really don't have an ID of any sort?
Me: None. Or we really wouldn't be having this conversation.
I was thinking, SERIOUSLY?! Did he really think I just felt like hiding my ID the whole time?
Whatever. My mom got a glass, and I drank from that...while he watched. LOL. Following day, we went around Cambridge and went on the Duck Tour (really fun). We visited Harvard, Harvard Museum of Natural History, and MIT where Kuya Jay-R and Ate Ron took their MA and PhD, and both are presently professors at Harvard. Below are the photos of the newest MIT building with weird architecture that made me more dizzy than amazed.Aaand of course...touring is such a tiring, tiring thing, so eating is extremely necessary. I look forward to seein my nephews soon, especially my fave, Roger.

Rhode Island

Tita Marylou booked us at a fancysmanchy place for the old rich with breathtaking views of the Atlantic ocean and the Narragansett Bay. Apparently, the colony of wooden homes in the area were merely "summer cottages" of the wealthy families, where they spent their days lounging in the nice warm weather. During our visit, the weather was great -- it wasn't THAT cold and not too sunny and warm; perfect actually for reading a tacky fiction on the grass, now that I think about it. Instead, we took pictures. In burst. Actually the only way we could take photos without having to bother anyone else. Aaaannnnd as you can see, I never know what to do during those burst sessions.
Anyhow, we had really good seafood dinner that night, but the wait was long it was obnoxious. (And we discovered that boredom could actually spur creativity -- see the awesome pics Belle took and my excellent drawings LOL)
But the food was so good it's ridiculous. Or maybe we were just too hungry and their oyster biscuits for appetizer were not enough to pacify the eerie calls of our intestines. LOL.The next morning, we drove down Bellevue Ave to see these insanely majestic and breathtakingly lavish mansions that made me zealous about accumulating that much wealth. I mean, as FlavaFlav would say, "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW"...like I stopped trying to take pictures cause that would mean I had to stand like a block away just to catch the entirety of the freakin' summer COTTAGE.I was standing at the parking lot across the street and all I got was a snapshot of my parents and Tita entering the gate. We toured the Breakers Mansion (no vids or pics allowed) and stepping inside automatically sparked all these images of Renaissance documentaries I used to watch, while the tour guide recounted the activities conducted in each room; explained the interior, the furniture; described the characters of the people who occupied the room...it was just amazing. It reminded me so much of my Lolo and his books. He was an architect and primarily sketched blueprints that were of the grandiose European Renaissance era, particularly the Italian Renaissance. SO BEAUTIFUL I CAN'T GET OVER IT! That mansion even had this vast balcony overlooking the Atlantic.Amazing. I reported on the facade of the other mansions and hopefully it should be on INQUIRER.net soon. That way, you could see for yourself, some of the best mansions on Bellevue Avenue. My parents and Tita waiting patiently for me to finish filming.Oh and this is kinda mean, but, this is Ella...in a BAD BAD mood.That picture was taken after she missed a step and totally cried. LOL. After I salivated over the Breakers, we had lunch by the pier.Splendid.

Ohhhh, Oh, Oklahoma

I was laughing when I found out we were going to Oklahoma this time around. "What in the hay are we gonna do with all the cows in one of the Whitest town in America?" I asked my Dad. He just laughed, said it would be fun cause we were going to be staying with the Blasquez family, and plus my Mom would be needing that time to charge up and recuperate. "Whatever," I said, and went back to my room. It's not like I didn't want to go, I just thought it would be awkward staying with a family I wasn't really close to.

Let's just say I thought wrong.

Right when we arrived after a crappy American Airline flight and picking Michelle up from school, I nearly passed out at the couch in their living room while Tito Willy made steak.They have such a lovely house and immediately, I felt like I was back home in the Philippines. The game room was all of a sudden metamorphosed to the kids room where everyone slept in, hung out in, got in trouble in... To be honest, the reason why I thought it would be awkward staying with them was because the last time they stayed with us, I wasn't exactly...hmmm...how should I put it, a good host. I was rarely home because of school and I was busy entertaining someone else who ended up screwing me over; so basically, I didn't really concern myself any further with their presence. We took them to the beach, but again, I confined myself in my room and studied. SO, I imagined that this trip would be similar of some sorts -- kids doing their own thing while the parents LOL-ed. However, immediately after settling in the room, everything kinda just fell into place. It felt like we've known each other all our lives...well to some extent, there is some truth to that, because the eldest child, Al, and I attended the same grade school and after grade 3, they migrated. Since the third grade, I guess our parents kept in touch because I randomly hear stories about that family. Anyway! So yeah, the next day after the kids came home from school, we drove downtown and met up with Al who came back from uni just to be with us :)...it was a fairly long drive and after munchingthese sleeping beauties recharged their batts, as usual...So this was us, at down town Oklahoma, just roaming...enjoying the wind...and that's really all about it, heheand Mark really had to do this...crazyassAnd the next day, we went to Tatanka Ranch and had a blast! Of course, it took us like an hour before we actually got to leave the house and drive there, which was hella funny too...imagine the scene from the film Home Alone where everyone was just running and walking around the house, playing basketball, eating...After that drive and holdin ounces of pee in my small bladder, we just hung out at the playground, played competitive pingpong, battled it out on MadGab, wii and PS3.The next day, we walked to the lakeWe climbed up the Elvis Presley Tower. Was pretty tiring and my thighs totally got a workout climbing up approximately 14 narrow flights of stairs. Ugh. Hate exercise. So this is us, atop that tower.We went kayaking and it worked my arms out but it was super fun especially when we managed to park our kayaks and get off on the island. Which is tougher than it looks, believe me.Then we swam in the jacuzzi and this really cold pool where Belle and Mark tried to outdo each other and stay the longest in the freezin pool. Kids. LOL.After coming back home, we watched a movie that wasn't really for kids especially after the hella random dingdong flashes. As usual, before we actually went to the theatre, it took a while as Al tried to figure out the times as we sat around.We had too much fun in Oklahoma and didn't want to leave so we cried a river after we left :( I miss it, too much.