over a Christmas eve Chinese-style dinner

December 24, Christmas eve, I came from house sitting for Ate RL at Tacay and didn't really get decent sleep due to my paranoia of Beng's arrival (she arrived 7:30 am the next day) or feeling if someone's outside the house wanting to break in.

Anyway, that afternoon, Beng and I decided to go home and rest since Frida can handle everything already (and Leon's such a brat, so...). Beng took a cab and I rode a jeep. I was floating. I even saw my Uncle Paul at UCCP waiting for someone and I was secretly watching him from the jeepney, whenever he'd look my way I'd pretend sleeping on my bag. I wanted to ride until I got home, but the traffic! No choice, I got down at the market and walked to the Brookside jeepney terminal.

Finally home, my parents and siblings were going out! Aha! I took a nap for 30 minutes and took a shower. We went to Cawat (Tip-Top is actually the lower area, than where my relatives are; Beckel is farther and Ambuclao Road is the cemented road going to the Benguet countryside.) to look for lolo Calapio who is good at panghihilot; Mama's wrist was "twisted" and Papa's foot was aching and started to swell, the usual gout but he didn't want to admit it yet. Anyway, when we arrived at the old house, Papa left with Lola Poten and was accompanied my my cousin Daryl and Larc, they had to fetch Lolo Calapio up at Lamut and that was quite a ride away. When they arrived, no Lolo with them, he was house sitting and couldn't leave so tomorrow it is.

We left already and all were hungry. Where to eat? My father is fond of eating at the local Chinese restaurants so where else but Cathy's at the back of Mc Donald's Session. It was closed but the place beside it, Jen's, was open; also Chinese owned.

I had to pee so bad so I asked Maita to accompany me. The CR was in the kitchen and it was so hot there. Such a small place. When I was seated already, that's when my father and mother started talking about the Chinese businesses in Baguio, which got me so interested. He said that Jen's used to be a bakery before, a really small place and right now they have an upstairs and served meals already, although the baking is still ongoing.

I learned that in Baguio, the Chinese old timers who have businesses are distributed as: a) most small-time Chinese restaurants are owned by Macau Chinese. b) The textile and department store businesses like Tiong San are owned by Macau and Cantonese Chinese and c) the hardware business are mostly owned by FooKien Chinese. Although it doesn't apply to all, MOST businesses are owned by them. My father said too that they covered the basic needs of man like food (restaurants), clothing (textile/department stores) and shelter (hardware).
I was interested with these Chinese thing because of my Lolo George, the second husband of my Lola Pros, he was half Chinese (Macau) and I was his favorite apo, well, I was the only child then; also, my Lola Poten's roots are Chinese by the name of Ang-Sy, and my mother feels bad because we (her siblings too) don't know much about them. My mother wants to research more on our ancestors but we don't have the money to fuel such a comprehensive research, but personally, I really think that it doesn't, shouldn't depend on the money.

I find Baguio a really special place, specially in the past. Too bad, look at how it is now. I honestly have discriminations against some of those lowlanders who are here now, well, because they're really some or most of those destroying the city, aside from the city officials who...

Most of my entries now will be leaning toward the past, I'm kind of into this history thing now. Maybe I can start researching for karlo about Session Road again! But I want to learn about a lot of things! I should do it one at a time. That's my problem, I start and stop and start another until I don't finish anything.