Meet Zarah/Shobe/Budong - isang masayahing bata. May pagka-mahiyain (kuno) pero pag hindi nakatingin ang magulang, maloko rin. Nang-aaway ng katulong, nang-aaway ng kalaro. Pilyang bata talaga.

• Holy Week retreats w/ churchmates. Mega bonding time w/ fellow Sunday schoolers.
• Love-hate relationship w/ my playmates: shouting "TA*!!!" at the top of my voice to my frenemy An-an who lives just across our building. We'll have a showdown at who shouts the T word the loudest, taking our places at our respective "territories" (our building's balcony vs. theirs). After the said showdown, we'll be friends again, raiding her mom's makeup kit, playing taguan and habulan. Then someone will get hurt in the process and the showdown will start once again.
• Storytime w/ my mom & dad. For no apparent reason, the story of The Swineherd (Hans Christian Andersen) and how my dad relayed the story to me just got stuck in my mind. I'll forever remember how we were in bed and he was telling me the story and I was just so engrossed with it. But when I think about it, I don't really like that story at all. I prefer the story of The Snow Queen. Hehehe.
• Annual family vacation @ Baguio. OMG I just can't forget about my Coney Island moments! The ice cream, oh my! Too bad wla na sha ngayon. Huhuhu.
• Sunday school & DVBS moments. My "kiddie barkada" really knew how to have fun. I miss my pals, the Barrozos/Cabuangs... Good thing the Tans and the Angliongtos are still here. ü
• Badminton phase w/ my other kiddie barkada (my kapitbahays). We played at our building's penthouse (5th flr). Everytime the shuttlecock flies over the balcony and onto the ground flr, somene has to go down and get it. And being the amateur that we were (still is, hehehe), we never completed a round.
• Having a mini sari-sari store a few doors from ours (we're in 301, they were in 305) This old Chinese couple used to sell Nissin's instant noodles, the one that comes in the blue (for beef flavor) and red (for chicken flavor) packaging. Yes, the original one. Not the "Nissin noodles" sold nowadays. Sobrang ibang-iba na talaga ang texture ng noodles noon sa ngayon (nyak feeling noodle expert hahaha). They also sold Coca-cola. The bottled ones. Bottled Coke tastes better than the ones in plastic bottles. Seriously.
• Boracay family outing. Yeah, I've been to Bora... when I was too young to remember it. Haha. I remember stuff, but they are the memories that you have to delete from your memory bank. Medjo R-rated kasi sha eh. Haha.
• Family reunions every December. I loved family reunions, not just because of the food and the gifts (shempre kasama yon! hehe), but mostly because it is the only time in the year that we see each other (relatives on my father's side). I loved seeing new additions to the family every year. Ang dami namin, in fact, that even now, I can't keep track of all my cousins's and pamangkins' names / ages. Medjo memory gap pa naman ako. My goodness. I hope I remember my inaanaks as well. Medjo dumadami narin sila ha. Hehehe.
• Bible study/Piano lessons every Thursday. Though I dreaded my piano lessons back then (because I rarely practiced), I loved the Bible study that came afterwards. FYI, my piano teacher was the daughter of my one and only ninong (who's now with the Lord). She's really, really nice. Never shouted at me, never slapped my hand or anything horrifying like the ones you usually hear of piano teachers. And she and my ninong (who hails from Montalban, Rizal) came EVERY THURSDAY NIGHT, RAIN OR SHINE, to minister to our family. Their persistent discipling produced a harvest, w/ our family now being actively involved in the ministry as well. Praise God for Ate Abigail & Ninong Senyong. ü