Chino Raymundo’s Birthday

Chino Raymundo shares the same birthday as Edmund, well almost. Edmund was born a day and several years earlier.

First time I got invited to his yearly celebration usually held at his newly built residence in Quezon City although Edmund was always at his party.

My husband said sa bahay lang daw yun, casual.
E——“Kahit naka tsinelas pwede”.
OMB—-“So pwede na ganito?” I came from an errand and was wearing a simple daster like Zara cotton dress. Edmund looked at my dress with disapproval. I got the point.
So dali-dali akong nagbihis. I picked a white and blue cotton dress from India. I wanted to wear this on Oyen’s graduation day pero it had a high slit pala, kita ang tumbong ko. I had it patched up muna for decency’s sake.

We went to church first then went straight to his house after the anticipated mass. Ikot kami ng ikot, my husband forgot where Chino’s house is. Yun pala the party was not in his house but at the village’s clubhouse. We’ve been going around the clubhouse not knowing that’s where the party was. Kaya pala merong mga waiters duon.

The first thing that struck my attention was the color motif. You know I love blue. And the darker shade of blue suits Chino’s personality.

Chino with his children.
Always remember: A family that smiles together loves each other.

The most delicious lechon I have ever eaten. Dyos mio, I ate two small plates. The skin was so thin and crispy.

Looking at this photo makes me hungry. I haven’t eaten breakfast and lunch.

My daughter and I wanted to buy Chino a cake but Edmund didn’t think it’s necessary. Buti na lang pala merong syang cake.

I wasn’t able to finish a small serving of this buko pandan kasi sobrang tamis.

The buko lychee gelatin was really good. Hindi sya matamis. I think I ate two slices, big ones.

It’s buffet but the waiter kept on bringing food to our table. I like going to the buffet table, exercise kahit ten calories man lang mabawasan ako.

Aww, my son was not smiling. I scolded him kasi regarding his time awareness.

Midlife Crisis band members include Ronnie Henares. I greeted him but he didn’t remember me. We were at Maymay’s dinner party. Couldn’t blame him, that was several years ago.

Ronnie Henares asked the audience if the instruments were too loud. 99.99% of the audience said NO. I screamed “yes, it’s very loud”.
Napagalitan ako ng anak ko. Eh talaga namang very loud, ang hirap magkwentuhan.

Adrian’s daughter pala is 11 months old na. Ang bilis.

Damas and his dance-savvy wife. I first met them at the baptismal party of Adrian’s daughter at Chef Jessie Sincioco’s 100 Revolving Restaurant in Eastwood.

Raymund Puyat, joining the band. He also sang Me and Mrs. Jones together with Chino and his wife Maritoni. My camera ran out of memory so I wasn’t able to film Chino singing.

The cutest and the youngest among Chino’s guests- Noelle. I couldn’t resist her cuteness. Parang ang sarap kagatin.

Oyen with Det de Leon, wife of Elmer. Their daughter Bea plays for the Ateneo volleyball varsity team. At 18, she’s already 5’11 tall. Boys, please eat more Star margarine.

While Edmund and I were standing at the back, his friend Honor Mendoza came up to us holding a bottle of liquor. Uminon daw ako kahit one shot lang. Edmund told him hindi pwede kasi I am allergic to alcohol. Honor didn’t seem to believe it. I am really allergic to alcohol. At saka, baka malasing ako eh magpa-tumbling-tumbling ako sa harap. Eto oh kunwari white wine. Water lang yan.

Chino’s wife Maritoni arrived late. She was wearing a white and black stripes same as her children. I forgot to take a photo of her with her husband. Her family owns Burgoo restaurant. I wonder where she and Chino met. Baka college sweethearts. Their youngest are triplets daughters. I failed to attend their debut because there was a conflict with my schedule. How does a couple get to produce a triplet? Does it mean that their passion and desire for each other were three times more intense?

#midlifecrisisband #happybirthday