My Dad

Many of you knew him as the person who loved Christmas. Not just the gift-wrapping part, or the rotating tree full of ornaments, but the house completely decorated inside and out. He proudly hung his not 1 or 2, but 3 parols outside. 1 of them was even personally shipped here by my auntie Armie who lives in the Philippines. And to be honest, my dad decorated so much that I told myself when I grow up that I would never decorate my house because I was just so over it. But when I finally moved out into my own space, I missed all the decorations and ended up buying my own Christmas tree and lights because that was what I grew up doing. So, I hope this Christmas and every Christmas that comes after that, you think of him during his favorite time of the year. 

My dad moved from the Philippines when he was a teenager, but his love for his country stayed with him. Once The Filipino Channel was available in the US, that meant watching WoWoWee every day, growing up, and hearing the various songs from that show on our many road trips to Vegas. I won’t miss the endless filipino shows, but I am thankful that they were in the background during my childhood giving me a sense of my Filipino culture.

My dad studied computer science in college, but his ultimate passion was in cooking. For our many, many, countless parties at the house that we all know, love, and miss, my dad was always in the kitchen cooking before the party started. My mom and I were always recruited to help. And even when we didn’t have parties, I grew up in the kitchen helping my dad cook. Some of his favorites things to cook were pancakes for my mom, palabok, and lugou. My personal favorite was his beef stew.

My family is a Laker family, except for my cousin Jessy who throughout my childhood proudly loved the Chicago Bulls. But during the golden era of the Lakers, we would go to games and signings, and he would be all Laker’d out and that was something that really brought us together. 

As we all know my dad loved to shop. Black Friday shop, the day after Christmas shop, or just look at the ads and wait for a sale shop. But his favorite store was Best Buy. We ALWAYS got the optional warranty and when DVDs were a thing, my dad loved to collect them. 

My dad’s favorite color was burgundy, so that meant he always wrote with a red pen and in all caps for some reason. Once things became digital, you would get all his text messages in all caps. No, he wasn’t yelling at you; it’s just how he texted. 

Some of you might be asking why he is wearing a Hawaiian shirt during his funeral. If you knew my dad, you knew how much he loved Hawaiian shirts. I like to think it’s because it reminds him of the time he honeymooned in Hawaii with my mom. 

My favorite memories of my dad are the ones that remind me that I was his one and only little girl. He always spoiled me while I was growing up.

That meant going to Universal Studios twice a week every summer as kid for as long as I could remember. My mom would carry our lunch in her bag. My cousins and I would run around in the splash zone and memorize all the words to the shows. We basically could have worked at Universal.

Or the time we went to Disneyland for my birthday in December. Which of course also happens to be around Christmas time. So it felt like a two for one and my dad would record it all on the camcorder. 

That meant being the cool dad during high school and college, he knew all my friends, would ask about them, and sometimes even drive us to one of our many adventures. 

Or the many gifts I would get, not just for Christmas or my birthday, but for Easter and Valentine’s day or any holiday really. Even when I was an adult, my dad always saw me as his little girl and would have something for me. I even posted a couple years ago on Instagram that being an only child meant you still get an easter basket. Thanks dad. 

And finally knowing how proud my dad was the day I graduated from college. My dad took what he learned from his life and wanted better for me. That meant for him, going to all the parent teacher nights and musical performances I had as a kid. He always told me to put my education first and being educated was something no one could take away from me.

Lastly, I wanted to end with what I will miss most about my dad and that is his jokes and his creativity. He loved to tease me, always saying he was going to join me and my friends on my next trip, or to the movies, or dinner. It didn’t matter. My dad and mom were also getting ready to go as if they were joining me.

Life is not forever. Love is. So let the memory of my dad be with us forever.