yey my own personal domain is finally up! benjaminpadero.com is a gift from cuzin ej so thanks marami cuzin ! 😀 yey !

celebrated my birthday here in mindanao. considering the family’s expenses after my dad’s operation i opted not to spend for a big dinner. staging a frugal peasant fest, i enlisted my cuzins and sisters to sponsor the food we’d be eating on the day.

cuzin maylin and her husband chef ibo sponsored and prepared 2 fabulous pasta dishes: seafood negra pasta and carbonara with saffron. wicked ang itsura, winner ang lasa ! i was particularly fascinated by the tomato-based squid ink pasta as we dont normally encounter such things ! haha mamati and husband papi brought lechon manok (as per request) and cases of ice-cold pepsi (ice-chilled, not on the rocks). ama, mother of papi, brought a roll of chiffon cake, and mamayette prepared her staple mixed fruit salad in lychee juice (also as per request).

despite the menu, i wanted to get sashimi and kinilaw but i forgot the wasabi in the icebox at katipunan, and the fresh tuba (fermented coconut wine) we got spilled all over the feroza carpet while in transit.

it is a normal thing for the RER paderos and the duranos to get together on special occasions. hell, even under normal circumstances we would eat together and dinners become quasi-parties! this bday was no exception. notified to come by though were my grandparents, godmother, who’s to leave for the US in 2days time, some aunts and cuzins. only tonio, ace, and niko were able to drop by.

nevertheless, my birthdays, whenever celebrated with 2 or more family members and loved ones, are always cherished and i will always look forward to them. pasta will always be on the menu, along with lechon manok, friendship, companionship, love and grace from God. thanks to all. i had a great time 😀  pictures to follow

udpate on dad: upon receiving his biopsy results done in cebu, he immediately had himself confined friday afternoon of june 22 for a saturday operation the next day. the procedure went without a hitch and by 3pm, june 23, dad was wheeled back to his room. recovery took a few days and by wednesday, june 27, dad drove us out of the hospital back to the house haha. i guess he wanted the operation to be done immediately so that he’d be home comfortable esp that my birthday was coming up. he’d rather be home than in the hospital.

my dad’s still not cancer-free but we’re expecting a decrease in prostate size soon and hopefully the cancer will be manageable for further administering. for now, that’s good news 😀 thank the Lord.

my dad is sick, his prostate is enlarged and it’s cancerous. recently he had a colostomy done in cebu. at the very least he’s out of the catheter. now he’s scheduled for another operation by next week, to stop hormones from feeding into the prostate, thus hopefully reducing the enlargement and preparing it for radiation or whatever.