The last two days were extremely busy for me preparing for my daughter’s concert. My UP XDS family from Virginia and California came to help me with the fundraising. The day prior to the concert, my daughter got really sick and I was so worried that she would not be able to perform. I spent the whole day tending to her, making sure she was alright. The thought of canceling the show immediately popped in my mind.

Later in the afternoon, she started showing progress. She wasn’t as pale as few hours earlier. By 4 PM, she started rehearsing. I felt a sigh of relief. The show would go on as scheduled after all. By 5 PM, Tepsie, my husband, and Jake went to the venue and set up the sound system, which took about an hour. She went home to get ready and by then, it was 6:30 PM. She only had half an hour to dress up and to apply the make up. We headed back to the location at around 7 PM. It is a good thing that we only live within 5 minutes from the venue. It gave S the time to practice some songs with her sister.

The concert started on time. The president gave a brief speech right before the show. He talked about the Association and its objectives. He also noted that there were items for silent auction. The five of us had to walk around the stage and showed each items off to the audience. Too bad though, not too many people came. Well, for a town where Filipinos are few and far between, I couldn’t complain with the outcome. We auctioned off all our items. The Thai boat that I wanted so much, initially priced at $20, sold for $85. Not bad eh?

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The arrival of my XDS friends: Tony, Raff, Jake, Nene and Sam.

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Tony, Sam, Nene and Jake getting all the items ready for auction xds-2.jpg

Sam and Toni working on the poster in the comfort of my living room.

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Jake presenting the painting for silent auction while president Raff explaining the historical significance of the painting

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Tepsie singing her original songs.

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Lexie and Tepsie singing a duet

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As usual, the hard part was seeing my friends go. My husband and I had a really good time with them. Tony was hilarious. I have this high tech shower that baffled all of my guests. I was able to show how it worked to Nene but forgot to teach Tony and Raff. Tony went to take a shower one morning but couldn’t find the knob to pull for the shower to work. He gave up and lowered his head below the faucet instead and splashed water over his body. Nene and I laughed hard when we found out. I totally forgot to tell him. He jokingly said that I did it on purpose.

Nene is so sweet, cute and sexy. I understand now why she has done so well in her chosen career. Before the concert, she insisted that we make flyers and go door to door in the business part of our town, where I deliver mail everyday. I was so embarrassed to go inside the door yet Nene made it look so easy. She said, “there are only two things that can happen, they either say yes or no.” Wow, she is one great entrepreneur. I am pretty sure that if I hang around with her long enough, those entrepreneurship qualities of her would eventually rub off on me. Also, she has two beautiful and loving kids whom I adore so much. Sana maging balahe kami..hehe, (just kidding).

Raff, our dear president, was so kind, jolly, and adaptable. Since my house has only three bedrooms, he and Tony didn’t mind sleeping on the couch in the living room. They were going to sleep in the hotel but I managed to convince them to flop on the couch and in the sleeping bag in order to save a few hundred dollars. Hey, a penny saved is a penny earned, right? Worst of all, Raff gave my husband a heck of a fight in chess. My husband was simply blown away. I am sure he looks forward for a rematch.

Ahh, I miss them now.

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