meet the fockers

so yesterday was my big meet-the-mum dinner.

i had set my heart on a particular outfit to wear that was both fabulous and covered-up (a satin draped blouse with 3/4 sleeves plus a pearl shoulder-grazing earrings and a pearl cuff) but instead had to pull out something sexier because of the heatwave (an itty-bitty nude lace camisole with huge gold hoops and gold cuff).

i hemmed and hawed on what to give his mum with only two days notice. i missed the opportunity to ask my mum to shop for some accessory a woman her age would like, so i finally decided to get the second jar of good shepherd halaya my sister brought home from baguio. unfortunately, karl thought this a bad idea, since the stuff would spoil on her flight back to cambodia. i think she would have loved it though, had it not presented such predicament, since she'd been looking all over for pinoy delicacies to bring home. the most convenient would have been a cd or book from work, or even from national or house of praise nearby, but then it was difficult to pick out something she'd like. gladly, after our radio tour and late lunch, the artist dropped me off at shangri-la and i was able to pick out a nice pair of earrings before taking the train back to abs-cbn.

on the trike to the station, i noticed a missed call from my boss, and didn't mind it till i was back at the office. when i arrived, i regretted it since she was asking me to go to broadway centrum and bring the same materials i had dropped off earlier at abs-cbn. a) how the fuck am i supposed to broadway centrum? b) why the hell did she forget to bring these materials? my officemates were coaching me on commute routes, and i found it would have been easier to get there if i had not gone back to the office. it took a lot of time to prepare another set, and for all my fabulousness, i had to leave my pointy slingbacks and borrow some flat sandals to rush this whole package. to top it off, i was apprehensive to take a cab with all the chinese penny pinching sentiment flying around. and then, on the bus to cubao, she'd call me every five minutes to check on where i was. and then she finally said the magic words: "MAGTAXI KA NA!!" i jumped the bus before i reached aurora boulevard, where the cabbie wove through cubao and san juan sidestreets, cutting the possible 30-minute trip to 10. and my boss drove me back to the office with a hell of a lot of instructions that of course, i have to follow in the next week.

i can't believe i had to go through all that on the day i was meeting karl's mum. i was afraid that the stresstabs commercial would happen to me, and she'd whisper to him that i look a lot older than i was, having been harassed at work. thankfully, i had enough time to primp before going to UP, and i even took a cab to preserve the effort.

when we finally met, she sent karl to have something photocopied at SC, so we had a lot of time to chat without him. the first thing she said to me was "alam mo ba kung saan namin ginawa si karl?..." oh lordie! hahaha, she sure isn't quite like any mum. except maybe tita nell, may's mum. hehehe!!! mark even dropped by for his cam before karl arrived. it was really hilarious, all those things she went through before.

anyway, after dinner and dessert, we put her in a cab home, and took a short walk. the verdict (given while i was at the ladies' room): "she's a sweet & simple girl" - yes, even with the fabulous gold hoops and pointy shoes; and "she's not intellectually arrogant. she doesn't have any hang-ups." YAY!!! welcome to the fockers.