Another mission checked off our family’s list this year—we finally renewed our passports! It had been over a decade since we last had them updated, and this time, it was extra special because our youngest applied for his very first passport. Back when we were just a family of three, our first (and last) trip abroad was to Hong Kong. Our eldest was just a year old then. Since that trip, life got busy, and renewing our passports kept getting pushed back—year after year. Booking a passport appointment these days isn’t exactly a walk in the park. Everything has to be done online, and every time I checked the DFA website, the slots in the satellite office near us were always fully booked. Eventually, I gave up trying—until a colleague mentioned DFA San Pablo City in Laguna. It's about an hour and a half (or two, depending on traffic) from our place. Out of curiosity, I checked their schedule and, to my surprise, found several open slots. I didn’t waste a second—I booked o...
Back in the day, when Holy Week was just around the corner, I’d always feel a bit uneasy. Not because of anything scary or religious — but because I knew it meant one thing: another long, “boring” week at home. As a 90s kid growing up in a typical Filipino household that wasn’t particularly religious or outgoing, Holy Week felt like being grounded for seven days straight. There was no television. Stations would go off-air starting Maundy Thursday, and the only things you’d hear on the radio were mellow songs or church readings. Even the usual laughter and noise in the streets would quiet down. Kids like me weren’t allowed to play outside, and it felt like the entire neighborhood went on a strict “quiet mode.” I still remember the eerie silence, only broken by the sound of the pabasa in a nearby house, or the occasional procession passing through our street. People in black sutanas (robes) would walk solemnly, and adults would warn us, "Ayan na ang mumu!" to mak...