Fiesta!!!

Yesterday, June 24, was the Feast Day of St. John the Baptist - patron saint of my barrio Tipas. For the first time in many years, the fiesta fell on a Sunday - which means I spent the day without playing hide-and-seek with people who annually wait for, aim, and throw water onto helpless passers-by as a custom of celebrating the day of St. John. Instead, I got to be one of those pranksters.

And as far as I can recall, it was also the first time that houses nearby, including ours, prepared food and drinks in line with the village-wide merriment. The Hermana Mayora, Mrs. Mary Ann Opeña - a familiar name among TV and movie stars today because of her connections to Lolit Solis, Boy Abunda, Unang Hirit hosts, et al, - brought even more color to the festivities by inviting Kapuso artists on the eve of the the feast.

I also enjoyed the morning parade that traversed almost every street of the four barangays comprising Tipas. I think, it was also the first time I toured our village after being a home buddy for a very long time. I got to see old friends and former classmates. The procession was not exempted from the people who from nowhere suddenly splashed water on our faces using hoses, buckets, water guns, and water balloons. It was fun!

The fiesta reached its peak with a 15-minute fireworks display and ended with bottles of Red Horse. Haha.

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Yesterday, too, my cousin who happens to be a nurse, measured my blood pressure after I complained to her that I feel pain on my chest and nape. The sphygmomanometer read at 140/90. In short, high blood ako. Lagot.