I finally had the time this Sunday to visit the wake of Karen’s dad and it turns out that they lived for some time in San Juan before transferring to their current residence in Fairview. Her father had suffered from a mild stroke previously but this time, it was a fatal stroke that left his nerve endings in such a bad state that the doctors told them bluntly that he would not make it.

Mr. Romeo Daulat worked as a councilor in San Juan and was able to help a lot of people during his term. I also found out that he and Miss Daulat (his sister) were from Mindoro originally.

Karen confided that she couldn’t stop crying until she read a poem in one of the mass cards that suggested that God Himself had called her father so he gladly left everything and everyone behind in order to follow his Creator. She was very happy to see our film photos from Matabungkay and even took a pic of the print using her camera phone.

The events of the past few days has made me realize that life, with its many twists and turns, is more thrilling and surprising than any roller coaster ride found anywhere else.

P.S. Went to Paco earlier and bought a new pair of shoes, violet slippers and a brand new blouse. Had a fun day of shopping and I remembered how Jasper responded when I told him about the death of Karen’s father: we should take the time to enjoy what life has to offer — including the food we eat — and the company we keep.

After sleeping for less than three hours, I woke up pretty excited for our trip to Enchanted Kingdom. When I arrived at the parking lot where the shuttle for EK was waiting, I saw that the bus was almost full already so I bought our roundtrip tickets immediately. By the time Jasper came a little after 10 AM, the bus was full and several people had to wait for the next bus that would leave at 12 noon.

The trip took about an hour and when we arrived at EK, we immediately rode on Anchor’s Away. The ride left our knees weak and I couldn’t move my hands properly for several minutes because of my death grip on the handle bars. We moved on to Bump n Splash where the motor of his boat died right in the middle of the ride and an attendant had to fix it. I liked the feeling of the powerful motor responding to my directions and I briefly entertained the thought of learning how to drive.

We ate lunch and only then did we learn that April 23 was also the Family Day of Unilever, which explains the high number of people at EK that day. Jaz then suggested that we ride the Bumper Cars and I had a blast taking pics of us while he drove.

Then it was time to ride my favorite: Rio Grande Rapids. Right before we were launched into the raging river, a digital camera snapped our picture and we each took a copy of it after our ride. My clothes were soaked after the ride and fortunately, I brought clothes but Jaz had to buy a Rio Grande shirt from the store. I also bought wizard sharpeners from the souvenir shop.

By afternoon, we felt ready to face the Space Shuttle and there was a slight delay when it was our turn so we got the chance to take a picture before the great plunge. We noticed a lot of elderly people going on the ride including a grandfather who had a cane and a grandmother who rode with our batch. The rush of adrenaline was so amazing and I loved every second of it.

We then fell in line for Jungle Log Jam and luckily, we didn’t get soaked again. By that time, the sun was setting and we only had a few hours left before the fireworks began.

My only frustration is that we were unable to watch in 4D because they required reservations beforehand and they didn’t inform us about it when we inquired earlier.

After dinner at Jollibee, we went for a ride in the Grand Carousel and we were lucky because we were among the last persons they let in before they closed the ride to give way to the fireworks.

The lights, laser and pyrotechnics show was held in the Space Port at around 9 PM, and we were mesmerized by the effects that were prepared especially to celebrate the 10 magical years of Enchanted Kingdom. While watching the sky light up with fireworks, people in wonderful costumes as well as the wizard mascot performed onstage.

Truly, EK is the premier theme park in the country today.

Click here for my photo gallery of this magical trip.

Despite feeling a bit under the weather, I pushed myself to finish the articles assigned to me since we needed to send them by the end of the shift. After working late into the night and early the next morning (!), the three of us who were left finally submitted everything and Maryan suggested that we eat first at McDo before heading home. I was reluctant at first since I wanted to catch some zzzzz’s before my trip the next day but I couldn’t pass up the chance to bond with my officemates so I went along with them. Despite our sleepiness, we laughed and joked about the day’s events and I was glad that I joined them that cold Saturday morning in McDo St. Francis Square. Lala and I went home together and had our own misadventures as a result of our paranoia from travelling in the dark streets of Ramon Magsaysay.