I am not talking of the blood-sucking monstrous vampires or human living vampires that exhibit vampiric characteristics or the need, compulsion, or involuntary tendency to “feed” upon some substance or some kind of energy produced by other living things, primarily other people. I’m talking about one facet of vampires which is the repulsion to strong light. On the first morning in our new home, L came running to my room complaining that her room was too bright. I went to her room and noted a stream of sunlight on her writing table. What a bright and sunny day, just perfect mood to start the day.
But noo…L wanted to sleep in.
“Vampire?” (knowing L’s fascination for vampires during her teen years)
“No, I just hate the light. I want to sleep in.” L groaned.
“That’s not too bad. The sunlight is not hitting your bed” I teased. On the floor , our two cats squirmed for a spot under the dark corners of L’s bed. For about a week, I heard the same complaint all day long. M could not stand the afternoon sun hitting on her bedroom. She had massive migraines during the first week.
It got me thinking that so our old home seemed encased in a tomb. . The design of our old home is narrow where certain parts of the rooms barely received the sunlight. The walls that partitioned sections of the home prevented the flow of sunlight. I noticed I always turned on the fluorescent lights in the family den and the dining room. The only room that received sunlight was the living room during the mornings and the kitchen in the late afternoons. The rest of the rooms screamed of darkness and gloom. Is it one reason I felt so despondent in that house? With blinds to shield any meager source of sunlight, their rooms were a virtual nightscape. It’s no wonder that L oversleeps and wakes up at 1:00 PM when she has no school. One time, I even slept in L’s room and woke up at 10:00 AM to my utter disbelief.
I love the light. Maybe my vision is a bit impaired which makes me yearn for better lighting system. Our new home is situated in a corner lot with ample and huge windows which means more sunlight streaming in all directions.
I love it.
The chorus of the family members “WE NEED CURTAINS NOW”
My feet are killing me! For 2 hours, I walked the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium lobby to cajole guests to eat cocktails and be merry. Well, what a day! I got a surprise! I received a special award from 
The best thing about receiving the Family Blog award is that my whole family attended the Awards Night with me. They enjoyed the food (thanks 
It was 10:00 PM and quite dark at the Xavier Hall grounds in the Ateneo Campus. Lauren left the Blue Rose festivities earlier than the rest of her friends. I directed her to meet me at the Flagpole. She glanced over me from a distance and ignored me, or so I thought.
“Mom, I really like it that you’re anal”, M, my psychology major daughter told me the other night.
My beautiful daughter is now 21 years old. A few weeks ago, she envisioned her 21st [tag]birthday[/tag] in our new home. It’s one of the many reasons I moved heaven and earth to finish the renovations at the soonest time possible. A 21st birthday celebration in our new home seemed the best [tag]birthday gift[/tag] for Lauren. Much as I love to prepare fancy dishes on special occasions like this, I opted to cook simple fare at Lauren’s request: pancit canton, lasagna and barbecue. And she added “and a birthday cake baked by you.”.
The house is clean and sanitized, the air smells of paint, the pocket garden looks refreshing as I am sitting here beside my antique writing table, trying to catch up with my backlog in work . Thanks to the [tag]Philippines Cable Internet Providers[/tag], installation was fast . I always imagined that installation would take months. I remember moving in to Pasig in 1980 and I got my landline in 1984. But take a look at this. If you move to a new home (well at least in Pasig City where I am moving), you can have an internet connection the following day after payment. This is my experience.