Quezon City

I believe the weather (seasons) has shifted. It really is quite unusual at this time of the year for the Philippine islands to experience hot weather without too much rain. The Angat Dam has reached its critical level for quite some time now due to no rainfall activity in the watershed area. The typhoon that was supposed to hit the archipelago veered and hit Japan instead. Hopefully, the rains will soon come so the dam will be replenished.

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The choir at CRL did a good job singing at the wake of Col. "Tatay" Carreon last night. We sang three "oldies": Jesus Never Fails, Inibig and The Highest Praise. I am pretty sure Tita Gay sang with us as she used to be a long-time member of the choir.

The wake service was also a reunion of sorts. Old Church members and choir members were there like Tito Joe and Tita Ann Baradi, Tito Steve and Tita Girlie Salonga, Tito Reg and Tita Vicky Cabote, and of course, Tita Gay and Tita Glo (the Carreon sisters). We still remember those days when they were still members of CRL. It was, for me, the best time in the CRL choir's history (I'm just biased, because I was part of it). Anyway, we hope to meet up again before we return to Hawaii to talk about the good old days and to talk story about out current lives.

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The choir, again, outdid themselves this morning. We sang Draw Me Close (which got a reprise during the Closing Hymn, as requested by the Pastor) and In Majesty He Will Come - almost everyone belted out this song, especially the Sopranos when they hit that high B flat.

After the service, my family invited the choir and some friends for lunch at the Church kiosk to celebrate our birthdays. We had pancit, lechon (crispy roasted pig), broiled fish, green salad, assorted fruits. The CRL choir (inspite of the change in membership all through the years) loved/s to eat! They can really spend so much time eating and talking story - wherever they may be. Fortunately, there was enough food to feed these (always) hungry people, but not enough forks/spoons and plates and glasses - though that didn't stop others from eating. We're just happy to see their satisfied faces after our lunch.

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Tomorrow we leave for La Union again with the hopes of starting the work at the beach property: setting up the electricity, the water pump and tank, building a temporary hut for the caretaker, fixing the area where water accumulates and clearing all the overgrown weeds. It's a lot of work but we'll try to do what we can within the time that we are there. Most likely, if work there progresses Peter might want to return earlier to continue the work while I will stay in Maui - I have a job there which I love (and am grateful they were gracious and generous enough to grant me this leave of absence this year).

Anyway, it'll be a really wonderful project. My brother has designed a beautiful, native hut which makes use of compost toilets and a natural, loose tiled shower stall. His idea of bringing nature inside the hut is in line with what we really want to see - sustainable, eco-friendly, and close to nature. We just need to find a caretaker whom we can trust to really watch over the property when it's still in its beginning stages of development. Well, if they do build a hut there, Peter might want to live there full time - and live like a king!