(It's a bit difficult deciding where to document this trip. It's a very personal trip and it doesn't feel like it belongs in a travelogue. At the same time, the narrative feels fragmented if I document different aspects of the trip in different blogs, as I have done in the past. I had hoped to keep my personal blog separate from my travel blog. I think, in this case, it would be very difficult to keep them separate. So, for the basic trip information, go to my travelogue at http://manotisakam.blogspot.com . I will also include links here to specific entries in that travelogue.)
Sept 19 Fri
It was 3:45am Pacific Time when I got a text message from my mom's sister in the Philippines. She was asking for funds; my grandmother was in serious condition. A few minutes later, she sent another text message; my grandmother was gone. I was still in shock when I sent email to family and called Dee. The day was a flurry of emails and text messages and phone calls.
I asked Dee to go over to my mom's and inform her in person to make sure that she takes the news fine. By the afternoon, it was decided that my mom would fly to the Philippines. There were still a lot of decisions and concerns: who would accompany her there and back, how long to stay, and getting her passport renewed.
There was a chance that my brother-in-law would be able to take her, because he has to accompany his own mom to the Philippines too. But they weren't ready and this was all so sudden. Uncle Larry was already in the Philippines but his flight back is scheduled for October 1 and he couldn't change it. Mom thought that date was too soon to come back. In fact, she wanted to stay for 40 days; I guess, the 9th day, the 40th day, and the first year anniversary are significant days after a death.
By the evening, we decided that I would have to go with her, but not for 40 days. I had already planned to be in the Bay Area in early October anyway to spend some time with my nephew during his school break. And my godmother (who lives in Ontario, Canada) was planning to visit us around my birthday, so we had to be back by then.
Sept 20 Sat
I had to contact my godmother to find out the exact dates she would be in the Bay Area, and I was trying to explain why. I just said, "I'm not sure if you already know, but Mamang just passed away." "Mamang" is what everybody called my grandmother. It's a form of "Mama", but even her grandkids, her great-grandkids, and even some of her younger friends called her that. I think my godmother didn't hear me well because she started bawling. I was surprised to get such an intense reaction from her when I realized that maybe she thought it was my mom who passed away. My godmother's sister got on the line and I explained that it wasn't my mom, but my grandmother. Apparently, they had been trying to reach my mom for several days but had been unsuccessful, so my godmother was very worried about her already. *sigh*
My mom was already planning to get her passport renewed. In fact, I had made passport pictures for her using a digital photo. To rush a passport renewal, they had to make an appointment and show the airline tickets. It was too late to make an appointment for Friday, so they were scheduled for Monday instead.
Mom made reservations with a travel agency, but I had to call them back because she scheduled the trip for three weeks. I shortened the trip down to two weeks. Dee paid for and picked up the tickets.
I also made arrangements for my flights between Seattle and San Francisco, and scheduled a pick-up to and from the SeaTac airport by ShuttleExpress. Then I sent text messages to the Philippines to have my cousin Zaldy arrange transportation from the Manila airport to Candelaria, Zambales.
Sept 21 Sun
I had to run some errands for things I needed to buy and get done before leaving for the trip. After taking care of a few things in Second Life, I packed and went to bed around 3:30am.
(For the travel portion of this entry, go to my travelogue.)
No comments:
Post a Comment