Christmas Countdown

It’s still a couple of days to Christmas. I really hope for more positivism this Christmas, even if economists all point to a dreary 2009. Like inspirational author Bo Sanchez says, “Don’t join the recession!”

I got together with what remains of my high school foursome over the weekend. It was our annual Christmas meet-up—Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda all together, sans Samantha, who has made a home out of Canada with her beau. To make sure I made it, I slept over at my best friend Sherwil’s house, straight from my work shift that ended at midnight. Emily, who had car trouble, ditched a wedding in a province and followed around lunch time.

Simbang Gabi

Sherwil picked up me at the office at the strike of midnight. Then, she whisked me off to a 24-hour local coffee shop across my work area, where we chatted the early morning away until it was time for Simbang Gabi. It was at 4:30 am at her church—basically my bed time. It was no surprise to me, then, that I kept falling into microsleep all throughout the mass, even as I resonated with the homily about staying faithful to the Lord. I was already on my second wind, however, when the choir broke into an awkward soprano version of Christmas in our Hearts.

“They’re all made up of old women,” my friend whispered.

It was my first Simbang Gabi in years—and I was reminded of the film 9 Mornings, starring Piolo Pascual and Donita Rose. In this movie, Piolo’s character, a rich brat, was asked to complete the nine dawn masses before he could gain access to money due him. He meets Donita’s beautiful, selfless, but broken character during the masses. It’s a Christmas movie, so you can guess what happens next.

Simbang Gabi is one of the most colorful activities of the Christmas season. I’d love to see a movie about this tradition and what it means to young teenagers who are all about making a wish come true.

Christmas Shopping

You know you’re getting old when your spirit is still willing to shop, but your feet start aching earlier than usual.

After the mass, we headed off to bed for what seemed like a nap, before Sherwil’s dad woke us up by singing Christmas carols off key. We sleepily trudged off to the breakfast table, which managed to wake us up with coffee, dried fish, and suman with mangoes.

Then it was off to shopping to complete our Christmas lists. I wanted to make sure my shopping was organized this year. I was down to my last five people—mostly male relatives. Or, more specifically, male relatives with significant purchasing power and rather defined tastes. That’s shopping hell in my book—but I managed to cut my list in half!

To celebrate, I headed off to a video store, which, like most stores, was having a really tempting sale: buy one DVD and get the next one of the same price for just five pesos or buy three DVDs and get one free, depending on the distributor. I’m not the type to start a DVD collection—okay, that’s not true; I am, but I’ve got an addictive personality, so I don’t want to start—but I decided to buy DVDs of Christmas-y films for myself: Love, Actually, The Holiday, and Life is Beautiful. A bonus, which wasn’t on sale, but was just totally fine for me: Ploning on DVD. I haven’t seen it yet, but for the sake of the industry, I’m crossing my fingers for its Oscar bid.

Christmas Wish

It’s still a couple of days to Christmas,  but I’ve started avoiding reading the front page news (I just yank out the inner sections). I really hope for more positivism this Christmas, even if economists all point to a dreary 2009. Again, like Bo Sanchez says, “Don’t join the recession!”

Email your comments to [email protected] or text them to (63)917-9164421. You can also visit my personal blog at http://althearicardo.blogspot.com.