The Habagat frenzy and the nonstop downpour that followed days later did not stop my little brother from celebrating his 10th birthday. Unfortunately, the only guests he had were Tita Fe, Tita Annie, Annica, and BJ (one of his petty ka-barkada). Sending out invitations on such a short notice turned out to be a bad idea after all.

Since Mama went to work that day, she asked me to cook Carbonara. The last time I cooked such dish was the summer when we had no yaya around to tend to our shitty orders, making Jill and I liable for any household mishaps (i.e. late dinner, hungry dogs, huge pile of dirty laundry, sticky floors, et cetera). That was the summer of 2007, a little more than five years ago. So boohoo. I did not know what to do.

Ate Madel made things a bit easier for me though-- she rounded up the ingredients (evaporated milk, pasta noodles, cream of mushroom, bacon, garlic, onion) on the counter. The only thing I'm in doubt of is the order in which the ingredients must meet its hot end.

In the end, naghula-hula nalang moi.

A little before 4pm, Mama arrived with a box of chocolate cake in hands. Apparently, she was not able to acquire the ice cream cake she ordered online since she was not able to print out its voucher.

Honestly, I find the celebration quite sad since there attended only a handful of guests. I myself was not able to give him a present since ang daming gastos sa school and the suspension of classes during the flood delayed my receipt of allowance from Mum. Walang pera forever, period.

And to the smelliest, most arrogant monkey I have ever met, happy 10th birthday! I love you besides the fact that you hate taking baths and that you would sometimes even lie about the fact that you had not yet taken a bath or brushed your teeth yet. I'm so glad I have you in my life-- you're kind of the most important touch to it. :D