More than a heartbreak

When my sister and I arrived to see dad's dead body, we rushed to kiss his hands and I sneaked in and put my hand near his armpit like I usually do before we sleep. His hands were already cold but where I placed my hand near his armpit was so warm and I kept my hand in it for a few minutes before it gets cold. After a few hours, a middle-aged guy cried out loud over my dad's body. I was thinking that he was my brother that dad has been joking around since when I was a kid but it turned out that it was one of his close friends' son, he's close to my dad and grieving (turned out it was really just a joke. haha).

I heard several stories about my dad that I didn't even know he was doing that made me more proud that he is my father. 

People praying for his soul come in and out of the chapel every night and we want to thank them for praying for our daddy as he take his everlasting journey. It was really amazing when I realized how many people was on our side without us even asking them. And when you look at them, they weep and they, too, have lost a friend and a father. 

Dad's friends sent support, flowers, mass cards and messages that are strengthening and helping us to make it through the day without daddy by our side. Even Sen. Manny Villar, my dad's previous employer (long time ago) sent flowers and even my Japanese bosses who did't even know where I live. 

People from different places went to see him day and night. And at night time, we have to borrow 30 more chairs in 5 days. It was amazing.

There are many of our relatives who didn't leave us every night talking about how he stands up for truth  and his generosity. Daddy's brothers together with Mommy's brothers have guarded us and Dad's sisters together with Mom's sisters consoled and gave us hugs that we needed from time to time. Just like what other people say, when someone dies, it becomes a reunion which is a sad truth especially when I catch myself saying, 'kung buhay lang si daddy, matutuwa yun sa...'. But yea, there are unlimited food because people bring food to share to others as they come. We are very thankful. 

On the day of his internment, people who would like to see him for the last time almost filled the church.

I think the moment that will always hurt me was seeing mom in that very moment saying goodbye:

It ripped our hearts to let him go but we know he has to and like what my cousin Zarah told me when she dreamed about him, he's happy.

We know he never and he will never leave us, we will stick together no matter what because that's what he taught us (aside from laughing out loud of course! haha).

We would like to thank our cousins, relatives and friends who sympathize with us in this very heartbreaking moment in our family. We will never forget you and may God bless you more!

PS: Here's our Thank You Card for you! We had a hard time looking for good photos of daddy cause you know, he's not into picture. If you have some photos with him, please send it to my email: aimeecyra@gmail.com or tag me in facebook/cyracaparros. Thanks!

My dad is a happy guy.

I know I've talked about the background of my dad's personality and lifestyle in my blog post about how tweeting helped my dad but I know I owe this story to my dad's friends who are worried about us and about dad. You might not have been able to join him in his last days but I know dad knows how much you value your friendships and how much he cherished you and wished the best for you.


He was always tough. Growing up, I always talk about how scared I am about things especially when I see dad and mom sick or hurt but whenever I say 'I am scared,' dad says 'it is nothing.' He always have a loud voice and a very strict image but the first and last time that I saw him cry was when someone told him that his daughters won't be able to graduate because of getting pregnant. I didn't think about that, but what matters the most to him is relationship.


It was November 2011 when my sister and I rushed to Lopez from Manila in the middle of the night because dad threw up blood. When we arrived at 12 in the morning, he was waiting for us and saying 'I am okay.' He never showed any signs of pain for us not to worry. Holidays passed, then before his birthday, he threw up blood again and rushed to Manila for better diagnosis and medication.


He still said he was okay then he had a couple of endoscopies/ gastroscopies. He was diagnosed of Liver Cirrhosis. Then with his sisters and brothers, he went to another doctor and had a very honest and straightforward diagnosis that his condition was terminal.


Our hearts sank. That was the moment that I was afraid of since I was 4 but I never seen my daddy cried in pain or regret. He talked to us, prepared us and had wonderful conversations. He didn't have list of things for us to remember because each and everyday of our lives since we were born, he was teaching us how to be independent and how to stand for what is right. Even if someone did or say bad things about him or us, he will always advise us to understand why that person has done it and then he will tell us to forgive and learn from it but mean it when that person say 'sorry' and you say 'it's okay.' We never keep bad memories of people because of daddy.


Then he decided to went back to Lopez after knowing most of the things about his sickness. He said he'll feel better at home. Then he continued living his normal way of life and decided to fix some parts of the house because it's not really in good condition. I was amazed seeing him doing the electrical and ceiling of our house. He's always superman. 


He continued to go in and out of the hospital monthly, strengthening his friendship with his kumpare, Dr. Joel Arago as he tried to treat him the best way he could. My batchmates who were his nurses developed fondness of him. And his friends in the US like my ninong Leo 'Polding' tried to look for  alternative medicines for daddy just like my Tita Billie.


This year's Holy Week, we had movie marathon together and I stalked him in his daily routine for me to be able to report it to my sister who was very busy at work and wasn't able to spend time with him. I found out that he liked lotions a lot. haha. He was biking like a kid and laughing so loud.

Last May, he wasn't admitted to the hospital so he celebrated like a seven year-old and ate ice cream. We talked on the phone and he couldn't stop talking about how happy their high school reunion was and I was thinking that seeing his old friends made him feel better. I want to thank his batchmates (Dekada 70) and wonderful friends for making my dad's last few days a very happy one. Our family will always be thankful of you.

June 11, 2012, early in the morning he went to the diagnostic center at front of our house to have his hemoglobin tested. He was happy and joking around. He let the old people have their tests first since he said he lives nearby. He was smiling to everybody while sitting outside and he was talking to everyone. He talked to Tito Didi and after a few minutes, they decided to have lunch.Then, he threw up blood and after the second one, he was rushed to the hospital by his friend, Tito Nelson and my cousin Kuya Joey with my mom. According to the nurses, he threw up almost half pail of blood. Thanks to my aunts and friends who are working in Holy Rosary Hospital who hugged my mom when she needed it the most-- Nining, K-ham Perez and Reina.


At 2:40 pm, Dad passed away. We truly appreciate that Tita Carol brought me and my sister back home to see daddy the quickest way possible. The pain will never go away, things will never be the same again. I thought it is an exaggeration before whenever I hear people say "I'll trade everything just to talk and hug my dad again," now I know it is never exaggerated but an honest longing. 


If you want to see photos and stories of Dad's wake, please check it here. And to know more about him, I'd love to tell you his stories here. 

Unlimited Philippines

It's amazing how everything that is 'unlimited' becomes a hit in the Philippines. I remember when I was in Jakarta and when I was looking at the billboard and TV ads, I noticed that everything says 'gratis' and I wonder if it's what help them sell the product to the Indonesians.

So Filipinos like unlimited and Indonesians like gratis or free? 

Here's the Globe (one of the largest telecom companies in RP) unlimited call & text ad which I saw in EDSA:

So it's not just Globe, I remember Sun Cellular was the first to become famous with Unli Call & Text for P15 when I was in college which was a benefit for me since I just want to talk and hated text that time.

Then of course one of the biggest, SMART:

Don' be surprised why the Philippines is the texting capital of the world. Haha.

Well, since rice is the staple food for Filipinos, why not have the 'Unlimited Rice?' Mang Inasal is a very successful example of this then other small food chains or even the small-time food vendors follow:

But it isn't just Mang Inasal in the big scene, also the famous Japanese fast-food chain, Tokyo Tokyo which has a famous promotion of 'Eat all you Kan-in' (Kanin is rice in tagalog).

Well, if you'll think about it, the unlimited fad is indispensable for the 'necessities' (mobile charges & rice are important for Filipinos) but how about the leisure or luxury?

I went to Perfect Swing Driving Range for a meeting and I noticed their ad that says 'Only 240 on a Two-hour Golf Driving Range Session with UNLIMITED BALLS! 

Then I passed by an aesthetic clinic with an ad of UNLIMITED WARTS REMOVAL.

I feel suffocated of unlimited. haha. Then, why not have UNLIMITED PIZZA WITH UNLIMITED ICED TEA too? Amazing, yea? Papa John's does it. haha.

I think we're just thinking of unlimited ideas. Hopefully not ideas on how to make another ad or promo with 'unlimited.' :)

Oopss! As of June 26, 2012, there's an addition to the long list of 'UNLIMITED!'

NOTE: All photos are from the internet.

Stage Girlfriend

I remember how I felt like a Stage Girlfriend a few weeks ago when Taku together with his team won 3rd place and the 'Best Windows Phone Startup' in Startup Manila. Haha. I am the number one fan of Taku and I'd offer my short legs for his autograph! Haha. I just wanna say random things. But kidding aside, I was surprised when I accidentally watched his pitch (with an opening line of 'you might get killed tonight') in the live streaming of Startup Manila, he was fantastic though his hand gestures are like hands of the lucky cat figurines in cabs. Haha. 

I was in Waide's party when he told me the good new that his idea was chosen among 200 participants (Well I don't care if he exaggerated the figure. haha) and that was the first time that I've felt and seen him so happy and nervous. He worked so hard to get things right.

But I think why I'm a huge fan of Taku is because of the things in the photo below:

First, he's too simple that he uses Watson's mini plastic as his wallet.

Second, he loves to perform without his face and even if his face is seen, he hides his eyes.

Third, he has the skill of leaving his pants or shorts like the shape of his butt wherever he stayed and decided to change. 

Amazing, right? I like seeing his shorts all over the house with the shape of a butt. They make my day. (I hope he'll not be able to read this. haha)

NYE 2012: Away from home

Growing up in a very family-oriented society like the Philippines, I make sure every year that I'll be joining my family in the new year's eve and that no member will be missing simply because there's a belief that it will mirror the whole year and I definitely don't want to be away from them the whole year! Haha. Aside from that, we have our annual family reunion-bingo and we always look forward to it but this year, I spent the year-end-new-year away from home for the first time. It was not as miserable as I imagined to be, maybe because it was just a trip and when I went back home, I still felt the holiday feeling. 

It was totally a different new year's eve, a totally different feeling. I spent the remaining days of 2011 with Taku and his friends and welcomed 2012 with good food, beautiful sea and music, fireworks, wine and amazing friendships! 

I thought I was over the happy thoughts already but when I've seen the photos in my files again, I couldn't stop thanking God for the guy who always try to make everything better than the last time. (For the record, it was better cause I didn't spend the holidays in the hospital which I used to do for the past 3 years!)

Oops! The beautiful restaurant is Breeze at Samaya Villa in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. I think it's nice to stay in their villas next time. Haha. Hmm..

Actually, after the countdown, dancing, and fireworks, we continued the celebration as if we're in 'Hangover' (it's nice to hangout with guys with all these crazy stuffs) and went to the nearest 711 where we met an Australian (is she?) girl who was so cool, lovely and wasted, she's down here: 

then we rode the motorcycles which are like a taxi (yes, since it was so traffic and we want to experience those motorbikes which Indonesia has a lot!!!, we opted to ride with them instead of a cab):

...rode going to the villa! Then the party continued in the 2-bedroom beautiful villa with awesome bath tubs in a huge I'd-love-to-have-it toilet, a nice swimming pool, and a cool interior design (It was in Vinly Villas)...

and on the first day of the year, everyone loves hangover!!!

(From the Philippines, I comfortably flew to Singapore via Cebu Pacific Air and flew to Bali via Air Asia)

I blog

'Thank you for flying with Air Asia' was my famous line because of my white top and red-orange skirt that everyone made fun of during the Asean Bloggers Conference 2011 in Bali, Indonesia (but I actually flew via Cebu Pacific: MNL-KL and Air Asia: KL-DPS), which we prefer to call Southeast Asian Bloggers Conference  after a few intense discussions among bloggers in the neighboring countries which I personally and firmly agree on to lessen the political connections and promote more on the friendly and indispensable goal of developing friendship and sharing of ideas and stories among bloggers in Southeast Asia. 

As what I've said in a couple of interviews (yohoo! you read it right, I had interviews which made things weirdly interesting), I am not a hardcore blogger, I don't find much time to update my blog that makes me wonder 'why the hell am I in this blogger's conference?' (Well, that was the same question of Mike from Google when we had a little chitchat before dinner. Haha.) but I am one example of a huge number of personal bloggers in the Philippines who try to find their own simple joys in sharing their everyday stories to the world hoping that even once those stories can make an impact for a change and inspiration to others, or probably, to themselves. I'm following some people who blog about their shoes, pets and even their advocacy and this made me realize that it's really hard to measure success or even conclude what happiness is because each of us differs from one another and our priorities and interests are totally different that brought me to the question, 'why are there some people who still envy other people even if they don't have the same preference or standards of success and happiness?' 

So back to blogging, I got a couple of comments from random people in the other side of the world who don't even know where the Philippines is (but they just want to ask really where Philippines is and not about what I wrote) but generally, I write because I'm fond of it (I'm a Journalism graduate) and I write about what interest me and what might interest others too because I know that for us to stay happy and enthusiastic about life, we should learn something or have fun with the things we stumble upon everyday.Well, I think I write just to simply document important events, things, emotions in my life that will answer my questions when I look back and find the emptiness that I may feel one day, someday. 

 I've met so many interesting people in the conference that inspired and have influenced how I think nowadays. 

I'm sorry but I've grabbed some of my these photos in some twitter accounts of other participants since I've seen my name mentioned and I've seen some ugly stolen shots. :) The conference was attended by some bloggers from Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Brunei, of course Indonesia (almost a hundred), and I really like the famous Filipino blogger that I met there (in the middle of the photo above in our Filipiniana costume), Tonyo Cruz, which is the star of my self-made game 'where is tonyo?' when I was wondering who is Tonyo in the layover to Denpasar.

Looking at the photos, I realized that I was a hardcore rule follower who was too much excited to wear our traditional/national costume (since we just wear it during formal events or weddings unlike 'batik') during the dinner of the conference that lead me to the discovery of random people with photos with me because I was sort of a mascot. haha. But seriously, I liked it! At least I was able to wear Balintawak/Filipiniana.

To sum it up, I think I share the same goal and happiness about blogging with Mena Trott, the founding mother of blogging revolution. Like her, I believe that we can produce a friendlier world through blogging.

Why I love Waide Family!

..is because of...

1. the ever lovely Bingo! He runs, bites, jumps, and kisses us whenever we visit in their house. And I was so amazed that whatever he's doing, when he hears his mommy Lisa coming, he'll stop and stare at the door to welcomes her. 

2. the mouthwatering food all the time! Lisa san is my cooking teacher nowadays (since Taku complain a lot about my cooking skill) and I'm trying to converse more in English with her so she'll get used to it. 

You think it's an advantage to her? I don't think so, I benefit more because I learn how to cook and I eat very delicious dishes! I love Lisa!

3. the interesting conversation! Jay and Lisa always make conversation interesting. I like them. And it feels like a family whenever the Hori family (Miwa, Taro and Momoko) are with us. Plus Mana san, her husband and also Jarred (the Chinese guy who paid 5,000 pesos at St. Luke's Hospital for hangover. haha)

Look! The Waide's having a family photo...with us! haha.

CS Manila for Batad Rice Terraces @ Mercato + Floydy

I think this is the first time for me to talk about Couchsurfing here. I've been a Couchsurfer since January 2011 when I was about to travel to Jakarta and whenever I look back, I always recall fun and amazing memories connected to couchsurfing. I met so many wonderful people in CS, particularly in CS Manila. I developed wonderful friendships and have continued doing what I love to do with the people who love them too.

When some parts of the Batad Rice Terraces were damaged because of the typhoon, CS Manila organized a series of fundraising for the rehabilitation of it. I was able to participate in one of them (and was able to eat at Mercato for the first time, too!)

with the very hardworking people who woke up early to make this event possible. 

And here are the lovely people that we have played Laser tag after eating a lot and messing around...

And yes, Taku & I enjoyed Mercato a lot except for the overpriced 'isaw' (grilled chicken intestine) that I forced to stuff in my mouth. haha. We have tried the famous Mochiko for the first time and I liked it!

After a few weeks, the i-will-miss-Floyd-moment that we've been waiting for came. Sadly, Floyd finally moved to Australia to meet Aussie girls. Huhuhu. Kidding aside, he's happily moving to a better career that caused us celebration! 

Here are the photos from Jay during the party at Izumi Sake Bar:

with Sara and Shiela

with Sara, Shiela, Taku and Floyd

We miss you Floydy!