Mom Comes Home Again!

I woke up today feeling really, really horrible. I don't know what happened yesterday, but I just felt an immense amount of body pain in the morning, even though I slept for a proper 8 hours. Still, I had to pick up mother in the morning. She's supposed to arrive at NAIA sometime around 10 a.m. so, at around 9, I got ready and booked a motorcycle ride there. I got there pretty much on time, which was surprising because it was a Monday morning and we're so close to the holidays, but I got dropped off the wrong part of the airport. I was supposed to be dropped off at the arrivals part, not the departures part of the airport. I couldn't find a way to get down from outside the airport aside from jumping and falling to my death, but I asked a security guard and he told me that there are elevators going down, and I had to go inside the airport itself. It has NEVER occurred to me that I can just waltz into the airport with no ticket, no passport. Security didn't even stop me.

And when I entered the airport, holy shit was it an experience.

It's been decades since I last went inside an airport, and the last time was when we went back to the Philippines after living and studying for a while in Singapore, and that was in the mid-2000s. I was so awed by how big and promising the airport seems. When I was in high school, I used to dream about going to the airport and leaving the Philippines for good. I even dreamed of my Korean parents taking me away, but that's besides the point. I was in so much awe from stepping inside that I just took it all in for a while and snapped a few pictures. Someday, maybe next year or in 2026, I will step inside once again and fulfill my dream of leaving the Philippines. But I eventually made my way downstairs and then waited for my mom. It was actually a hassle because we didn't have a clear way of checking where she was, and I didn't know her actual flight number until much later. I walked and paced around the huge arrivals area, I saw travelers from other countries arriving, a couple of tourists getting scammed by people hailing for a taxi, and people reconnecting with loved ones.

My sister eventually sent a photo of what my mom's outfit would look like and that made her easier to identify. After waiting for a bit, I checked that the flight was delayed and it was supposed to arrive at 11 a.m. or something, so I decided to go and visit the Burger King at the airport for some food. But before checking, I went on Google and checked the flight number again and saw that it had already arrived, and it arrived late. I went to go check the arrivals gate again and saw my mom there! It was such a massive coincidence but I'm glad to have found her so quickly. We catch up and I thankfully get an easy time trying to find a car ride home. It was considerably cheaper than her paying for her own taxi, which would be around 1,000 Pesos while my ride was actually only worth around 240 Pesos, but mom insisted I give out the 300 Pesos I had in my e-wallet. Mom and I catch up and tell stories while on the way home.

When we got home, my sister cried to mom and she vented about her frustrations at work. She cried for a good while and we eventually unpack mom's stuff in her luggages. She shows us all of the stuff that she got us, including new shoes for us and this year I got new Addidas shoes, which would be replacing the Nike shoes she got me last year. I also got what I had requested: lots of Bounty candy. I contemplated getting it myself and just buying it online, but I'm glad I just waited for my mom to come home to get it. We ate some of the adobo that my sister cooked and I ate a few Bounty bars. My mom got me 2 outfits that were really nice and totally fit my style. They were both black long-sleeved shirts and I love the texture of them. She also got me a great black cap that I was sure I'd wear for a long time. After unpacking mom's stuff, we got ready to go to Market! Market! Initially, we were supposed to get our teeth cleaned and mom had to dye her hair at a salon, but those didn't go through. We eventually went for a massage instead and I wore new clothes that mom had gifted us. We booked a ride there and we eventually got our massages. We visited Daiso Japan for new plates and other home essentials, and then I had to leave them both so I can attend that Christmas gathering Loy invited me to.

I book a ride going there and eventually arrived at Loy's house a few moments later. When I arrived, things were awfully quiet and not much food was prepared on their table.

We eventually waited for a bit until Macximil, a friend who I hadn't seen or talked to in years, showed up. That's when it clicked that it wasn't just me dining with Loy's family, but that our old Discord group in IMC Taguig would be coming here for a get-together.

People who I haven't talked to in years, people who I had cut off, will now meet and share dinner with me.

I honestly wanted to leave on the spot and kind of regretted leaving my mom and my sister, but they were already going home since they bought a lot of fragile things. Eventually, the other members of the IMC Taguig Discord arrived and it was pretty awkward meeting with them. They eventually prepare their dinner and they mostly talk amongst themselves, they use the time to catch up with each other. We prepared our cooking station outside of the house, but essentially at Loy's front yard/garage. We were going to have samgyupsal, Foz and Jaze were the ones who mainly cooked our food. For the most part, I was just a fly on the wall and I didn't really talk to them that much. It's only fair because I'm literally the outsider of this group, the one who gathered this group of people but eventually left due to some complications in 2022. Ead eventually talks to me about how I'm mostly quiet throughout the whole night and that the purpose of this night was to reconnect amongst themselves, including me.

I eventually came clean to this group that they aren't my friends at all, which seemed harsh to them, but it was true. Loy was completely shocked because he thought I considered him as a friend, when I didn't consider him that close of a friend after all. I even told him that I mostly just listened to his problems, but I never told him mine. He couldn't name a single problem I had in life for 2023-2024 and he was honestly shocked. I told him that I just listened and listened to his problems, but I didn't really trust him enough to share my problems, and for a good reason because he would share it to this group of friends I had cut off.

We get down to the heart of the problems which was that I didn't appreciate what they did to me in 2022. Instead of helping me, supporting me through my tough times, they made fun of me in 2022. They got mad, annoyed, even made me the butt of the joke. I NEVER appreciated any of that, even though they claim their intentions were "for the better" or something. That they were giving me "tough love" and "calling me out" so that I would come to a realization of some sort.

In reality, I don't appreciate that kind of behavior. I treat people how I want to be treated, and I honestly just need gentle support and a friend to listen. Something that I've been doing to Loy for his problems. Ever since Loy has been telling me his relationship problems, I never called him names or even made fun of him for it. I just gave advice. Even when me and Jaze were together, I never made a joke at his expense. I didn't call Loy names even though he technically qualified for some mean name-calling insults, but he and this group of people were quick to label me and shun me for going through normal problems.

I even told Foz that if he told me his problems, I wouldn't make fun of him for it. They got my point, but I still didn't receive a simple sorry from them, even though Foz did want to apologize and make up. I think my trust towards them is fundamentally broken, to the point that I don't even think I could share what I ate for breakfast with them, but whatever. Since they wanted to make up, I'll give it a try. The normal round of talking amongst themselves continues and I try to make conversation with Macx and Ead. Eventually, we all had to go home before 3 a.m. and we cleaned up. Me and Jaze also re-followed each other on IG and, in going home, I was in a car with Foz and Fritz. They dropped me off and I got my rest after getting home.