Counting down the days

It’s almost 2.30 in the morning and I am at last alone in the house. My friends have left an hour ago, leaving me to tidy up the kitchen a bit. I just took a quick warm shower and I’m writing this before I finally go to sleep. Outside I can hear the steady patter of rain.

Today (Sunday) is the end of the long weekend that comprised the annual observance of ‘Pchum Ben’ in Cambodia. By Monday life in Phnom Penh will be back to normal. My friends and I set out to do our own celebration of ‘Pchum Ben’ through a 3-day event that was held in my house. There was no clear structure of how we were going to spend the 3 days. What was clear to us was that we were going to try to have fun as much as possible.

On Wednesday I woke up early and cooked 2 dishes (Menudo Kapampangan and Ma Po Tofu) for lunch. Ted and Hav soon arrived, bearing a few cans of beer and white chocolate brownies. May-May followed after about an hour with her son Ethan, infant nephew, and her mother. When Dave arrived we set up the MagicSing karaoke microphone (basically a karaoke machine inside a microphone that you plug into a television) for karaoke. Luz arrived later to eat and join the karaoke. Then Wowie called me to say that her trip to the province was canceled so I invited her to come. She brought Dinky (the erstwhile DSWD secretary of GMA doing consultancy work here in Phnom Penh), who contributed a few cans of beer to our stash. They didn’t stay long, but they promised to come back the next day for some Arroz Caldo. The karaoke went on until early evening when people started to leave. May-may promised some baked macaroni the next day. Dave, Ted, Mother, and I decided to play mahjong. When Mother went home also, the 3 of us played mahjong until 12 midnight.

On Thursday I woke up around 10AM and after checking my emails, I made a quick trip to the supermarket to buy firm tofu. I then proceeded to make fried rice out of the left-over from yesterday and cooked eggplant and tofu in black bean sauce. May-May and her family (husband Glenn, son Ethan, sister Ana and her Baby, Mother & Father) arrived shortly before noon with trays of baked macaroni, roast chicken, snacks and fruit. Ted (who brought chocolate cream cheese brownies this time), Hav, and Dave followed suit and we started having lunch. Afterwards the MagicSing and mahjong were set up once again in the living room. I then started preparing the Arroz Caldo. Just as I finished cooking, Wowie and Dinky arrived. It turned out that they came from a trip to the countryside. They brought some mangoes and rice cakes filled with bean paste and bananas. Luz and her family (husband Rolly, sons RJ and Clark) joined later. By that time I was already immersed in the mahjong game. Later in the evening Nill and Marikit arrived. Marikit received a crash course in mahjong to become our 4th player and she won her first 3 games. Imagine that. The game finished at around 1AM. When they left, I washed pots and pans, swept and mopped, and took a long hot shower. I managed to sleep around 3AM.

On Friday I woke up at around 12 noon. I checked emails and did some writing. May-May had gone back to work in spite of the holiday (she works in a restaurant). Ted called in to tell me that he had woken up late also. I started cooking (fried rice again and chicken macaroni soup) around 3PM. Luz arrived around 4PM but had to leave shortly because of a prior engagement. Marikit and Ted followed at 5PM but Marikit left at 6PM to go to church, promising to come back. While waiting for her, Ted and I just sat in the kitchen chatting. Marikit went back from church and soon Dave, Nill, Romyr, and Eng arrived also. While they were eating, we set up the mahjong game. The players on that night were me, Ted (with Romyr as substitute), Dave, and Marikit (with Nill as substitute). The game went on until almost 2AM and I slept at around 4.30AM.

On Saturday I woke up at 8.30AM when my mother called from Manila. I could hear my housekeeper in the kitchen as I spoke with my mother. My housekeeper was probably wondering what happened to the house while she was gone. After the call I tried to get back to sleep but managed to doze off for a few minutes only so I just got up and went to my computer. I actually started writing this post but opted to finish it at a later time. After eating a simple lunch of Khmer soup and bitter gourd omelet I took a shower. My masseur (courtesy of Marikit’s spa) arrived a few minutes after 2PM and I got a 2-hour massage that relaxed me immensely and relieved me of the fatigue that I was feeling from 3 days of working feverishly in the kitchen like I was possessed by the spirit of Julia Child and hosting up to the wee hours of the morning as if possessed by Martha Stewart. Whew! Just writing that last sentence felt tiring already! Tito Bobot (my favorite uncle) called from New Jersey at 6PM and we had a long chat about his recent cruise to Italy, Greece and Turkey and our travel plans to Manila. Marikit, Nill, Romyr, and Eng dropped by at 9PM for another late night mahjong game. As I expected (for reasons I will not disclose here), Dave was a no-show.

And now, back in the quiet of my house, I write these words to recount the last few days. My friends and I have accomplished what we had set out to do. Spend the holidays having fun: eating,  singing, playing games, and hanging around. It was an effort, true; but well worth it. Though I’d been relaxed by the massage that I got, staying up late again has brought some of the fatigue back. I probably will have to sleep early tonight. Try to get another massage on Monday perhaps, if I still feel spent.

It’s a good kind of fatigue, though. It’s been quite a long time since I’d opened my house to my friends because of my busy schedule. Good thing I have taken a break from work. I also like the way my friends appreciated the food I prepared for them. I love to cook and the greatest complement a cook can get is (apart from the rave reviews) the sight of empty pots and pans where the food used to be. I may not be the greatest host; but I make up for it with the food I serve.

I am so looking forward to staying late in bed today.