Howdy!

This is my first official entry from my new location, Austin, Texas, not to mention the first for the month of May.    If I’ve been conspicuously quiet for the past few days, it’s because I’ve been swamped with every possible thing associated with relocating to another place: packing, despedidas, last minute shopping, turn-over of work, etc.

Despedida Galore

You won’t believe how many get-togethers Abby and I took part in before we left:  (1) a night out with my high school friends at El Pirata in Eastwood City in early April; (2) dinner with my and hubby’s good friend, Jeric, who also happens to be Abby’s Ninong, at the Emperor’s Court in Renaissance Hotel exactly a week before we left; (3) cross-over buffet with my in-laws at Dad’s the Sunday before we left; dinner with a very dear family friend, Tito Rachy, also Abby’s Ninong, at Market Cafe in Hyatt Hotel and Casino; (4) afternoon tea at the Peninsual Manila with my family on Labor Day; and (5) dinner, again with my family and hosted by a dear family friend, in Kamay Kainan Greenhills on our last night in Pinas.  I can say that I’ve really already mastered the art of stuffing my face with food.  I thank all our family and friends who hosted such wonderful get-togethers before we left.  It’s like having last supper each time.  Yum!

Pack-Away

It took me almost a week to pack 5 suitcases, two each for Abby and me and 1 for hubby.  Everytime I’m scheduled to leave the country for whatever reason, I always vow to do packing ahead of time.  Never has that happened!  I always cram  to do my packing every single time!  My Mom and I hate to pack and unpack, really!   Well, who doesn’t?  I didn’t finish until an hour or two before we were scheduled to leave the house to head to the airport.  I was really sleep deprived the last few weeks before we left, moreso the very last week.

Hanggang sa Muli

Finally, the day I both dreaded and looked forward to at the same time came.  With all the members of my immediate family in attendance, Abby, my Mom (who is simply “accompanying” us) and I headed for the airport on Friday, 04 May.  I hate hate goodbyes!  It was awfully difficult to hug and kiss each of my loved ones goodbye.  Very simple words from my eldest niece, Kylah, tugged at my heart, “We’ll miss you.”  One has to understand that we are a very close-knit family, my mom and my and my brother’s families combined.  That’s why we’re always a strong group of 10 whenever we go out, and that is almost every single weekend!  I’m thankful that we left during summer vacation, when my pamangkins are spending their vacation at my Mom’s house, where Abby, hubby and I live.   Abby got to spend a lot of time with her cousins and I’m just too happy about that.  I’m sure Abby is, too!  I may be a strict Tita with a capital S, but I dearly dearly love each of my pamangkins so much.  They all gave me a headstart on parenting way before Abby came along.  I’m definitely going to miss being present in their important activities.  I started missing them way before we left.

En Route to Texas

It took us almost 24 freakin’ hours to get to Austin.  And any parent who has ever travelled with a child can very well sympathize with me!  It is so so so difficult to entertain a toddler on short flights, what more on long-haul flights?!  Abby was a year and a half years old when she took her first long-haul flight.  That time, it wasn’t very difficult because we left Manila in the evening, so the greater part of the flight was bed time for Abby.  This time, our flight was at 9am and we have to make a stop at Narita and Houston before finally getting off at Austin.  That’s one too many stops if you ask me!  it’s like riding a freakin’ jeepney!  Although Abby slept most of the time due to her cold medication, she was a little monster (a really cute one at that! ) when she was awake.  She was probably just entertaining herself: she refused to sit on her seat, refused to buckle up, insisted on sitting on my lap and at one point, laid on the floor (in the airplaine and at the Houston airport!).  I almost swore off (I think I actually did already!) going on long-haul flights with Abby until she’s about 7! 

You could just imagine my relief when we finally got to Austin.  Wheeew!  Abby and I were finally reunited with hubby after almost 3 months apart!  Another great thing is that I was reunited with a childhood friend, Bet-Bet, better known in the US as Maria (for Maria Elizabeth), who lives just a few minutes drive away from us.  We were only 12 when we last saw each other and she was gracious enough to pick us up at the airport!  She is instantly Abby’s favorite new Tita away from home, thanks to Tita Bet’s welcome gift, a Dora drawing set with huge activity pages, which are sure to keep Abby busy….for five minutes.   I got a very cool welcome present from Bet-Bet as well, an auspicious centerpiece of bamboo plants, which she put together herself.   Exactly what I would have wanted for our new home, stuff to usher in good luck!  It’s really nice to know someone, other than hubby, Abby and my Mom, in a new and unfamiliar place.  Thank you, God!

I’ve also already had the chance to touch base with my Cali-based relatives and my Kentucky-based (Oops! It should be North Carolina!) friend, Mia.  The support from relatives and friends as we take on this big adventure is really overwhelming.  We love you all!

Jetlag

I didn’t think I’d be battling jetlag because I was just too damned tired when we got to Austin and slept like a log the night we arrived.  But thanks to Abby, who’s body clock has gone haywire, I am now.  Abby actually slept well the first night, still because of her cold medicine.  But the second night was a whole different story.  She woke up at 2am and since she hasn’t been eating well since the time we left Manila, she asked for food.  So we were down in the kitchen/dining room at 2am.  She ate rice and chicken.  I thought she’d go back to sleep after that.  But no, my poor hubby had to suffer through the night while Abby and I sang the ABCs, do-re-mi, etc.  I tried to pretend to sleep, ignored Abby, etc.  Nothing worked.  She would nudge me and ask for help with some more songs.  Finally, at 6am, she dozed off.

This morning, it was a little better.  She woke up at 5am and asked for a donut.  So again, we went downstairs for some early feeding.  This time, she went back to sleep at around 7am.  I hope her sleeping and waking hours normalizes soon.

New Friends

Several weeks before we got here, I already made new friends on-line…with Ike and Wally…that’s IKEA and WALMART for you!    I windowshopped for our dining and living room furnitures on-line and had hubby buy the one’s our humble budget could afford.   I’m proud of the fact that hubby was able to put together the dining room set, as well as the sofa and arm chair all by himself.  Clap!  Clap!  Clap! I love Ikea and Walmart!  I have yet to go to Ikea though, but Walmart I already paid homage to last Saturday.

Our first task on our first day was to fill up the fridge and the kitchen cupboard with REAL food.  Hubby, for the past 3 months has been subsisting on microwaveable, easy to prepare (read: unheathy!) meals.   We shipped a lot of dining and kitchen stuff, but won’t be getting them ’til mid-June.  While we are perfectly all right with disposables, we had to buy pots and pans, knives, and other cookwares so we can, well, cook.

The fridge and cupboard are now almost full.  Hindi na sayang ang lamig ng ref, which only had ice cream in the freezer, and a few eggs, hotdogs, mayo, mustard and a bottle of beer in the fridge section.  We still lack some things but we have a working kitchen now.  I also found a new friend in H-E-B, where we will probably do most of our grocery shopping. 

I don’t know if it’s the excitement of being in our new house (on lease only!) or simply being away from the pressures of the business, but my Mom has been very sipag with the kitchen chores: cooking and washing dishes, stuff she doesn’t normally do at home.  We’re still convincing her to extend her stay.  She can stay here until November, as stamped on her passport.  I don’t think we’ll succeed though.

The Adventure Continues

We’ve only been here less than 72 hours, yet we’ve already done quite a bit.  I’m in a daze, really!  Expect to hear more of our adventures in upcoming entries.

 G’bye y’all!….at least for now.