Saturday, January 12, 2008: Here Comes the Flood	Return to Journal TOC >>
The next morning I’m feeling much worse, whether from the schedule catching up with me, Manila’s polluted air catching up with me, or just having caught something going around. It’s raining harder now, and Edwin texts to ask if we’ll still be able to make the Boracay trip. Just how bad is this storm? Is it some kind of late typhoon? As it turns out, since Manila is barely above sea level and floods frequently, people who live there are prone to taking a slightly alarmist view of rain. Typhoon or not, I still a gaming demo to run that I’ve been looking forward to for months. Manila seems pretty shut down as we catch a cab to Kamias to see Ro’s Mang (Pampango for aunt) Nitang (Juanita Nepumoceno) and her cousin Ina (Divina). The house is in a gated compound, like many here. Her aunt is tiny but spry at 85, and Ina (who is an amazing baker in her spare time and loads us down with brownies and ensaymada) looks a lot like Ro. Everyone sits and tells family stories (I listen and blow my nose a lot). Ina has a copy of Marc Nepumoceno’s book with the family tree, the out of print book which Ro had been looking for, so I get to look at it. Meanwhile, the two servants - one older and one younger, bustle around preparing lunch. The older woman has been with the family for many years; Ro knew her from before she left the Philippines. Lunch is a wonderful combination of beef caldereta (beef in liver sauce); chicken asado (marinated in calamanci, soy sauce, five star spice, then cooked with bay leaf), and chop suey with shrimp. After some tiny oranges (naranja) to clear our palates, we have a dessert of buko pandan salad (pandan flavored jelly), brownies, and tiny cashew and cheese pastries.
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