Flashback: Moving back to Cordova

This is supposed to be my post after going MIA from the blogging world weeks ago. I thought I accidentally deleted it, but I found it comfortably sitting in my FaeryDancing folder inside my portable HD. So here it is - a chronicle of our exciting and interesting move to Cordova, Cebu that August 23 weekend.

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Monday, August 26, 2008

Apologies for being MIA (missing in action) for four days. We moved back to our nice little nipa hut in Cordova Friday afternoon, and have been real busy putting the hut back in tiptop shape since then. I also don't have Net connection there so I have to wait till I get back to work to update.

But boy, do I have lots of stories to tell!

THURSDAY MAJOR CLEANING

A house (or hut) that has not been inhabited for four months obviously gathers a lot of "undesirable elements". From dust to termintes, me and Sor braved them all Thursday when we went to Cordova to do "preliminary" cleaning. It wasn't much work since the hut was just a small one but I still ended up sneezing and wheezing from all the dust. It was worth it though. The cleaning was done with all the TLC that we could give for Yaku and Tating's "homecoming" the next day.

Opening up the dusty electric fan.

FRIDAY MOVE

We left Lahug at 5 PM after Yaku and Tating's classes. Butsoy, a close family friend, helped us move our things back to Cordova, which is an hour's drive from Lahug, with his reliable multicab. We capped the night with bottles of Red Horse and dinner al fresco. There's not enough room inside the hut, so we dined outside. Outside the hut, that is.


SATURDAY UPGRADE

When Papa Sor came home, he brought with him a PlayStation 2 console that wouldn't play with our 14-inch TV. The screen kept "bouncing" whenever we plug the PS2 on the RCA slots. Obviously, the PS2 from Qatar was built for PAL TV system. We had it modified (ssshhhh...) at Circuit City in SM City Cebu to make it compatible with Philippine TV systems or NTSC. It worked fine when we tested it at Circuit City before bringing it home. But when we played it on our TV again, the "bounce" was still there.

So we went to my sister's house to try it on her 21-inch Panasonic tube. It worked just fine. Sor and I knew we had to upgrade. So we went to Makro and got us a 21-inch TV named Matrix. We decided not to get a branded one since it was basically just for gaming. We've been happily playing Tekken, Transformers, Kill Zone, Sims, Harry Potter and many other games since then. We're a PS2-crazed family that we had to note down each other's time on the PlayStation so we can all play...equally.

Yaku's 30 minutes on the PlayStation.

SUNDAY GARDENING

Last Thursday, we only cleaned the "inside" of the house. The backyard...well, they were scary for just me and Papa Sor to conquer. Our warriors came in the form of my in-laws. Papa Do and Mama Ping traveled all the way from Bohol to help us with the "gardening". Kidding! They came to connect with the family especially Tating, whom they have missed so much.

Horror flick, thriller film, serial killer movie. I'm not brave enough to face 150 square meters of "this".

Anyway, experienced farmers as they are, Papa Do and Mama Ping attacked the weeds and what-have-yous that grew in our backyard after four months of abandonment with fervor. Some weeds were as tall as I am, some way taller. I was worried about snakes and all those little critters, but my mother-in-law discovered a mine in a very useful herbal plant that she found while pulling out weeds.

They conquered the unconquerable. That's Tating helping out, too.

My in-laws were only so happy to sail from Bohol. They missed Tating so much, and made up for all the time that they have been apart. Of course, we greeted them with their favorite Cordova "delicacy," the bakasi or saltwater eels, for breakfast.

Everything fresh from the Cordova early morning market.

From a veritable jungle, our backyard turned into a nice little garden. Our humble little abode exuded its old, provincial but homey charm once again. It's good to be home.

Note the weed-free surroundings.