They let me have disneyland all to myself... Sort of

There is an expression that says a kid inside a candy store. Well, that was how I felt after the special treat they had for us after winning in Japan. Aside from the shopping we did in Japan, and the TV I got, one of the things I remember the most is when they let us have a ride-all-you can at the Fiesta Carnival in Cubao. It so happens that my partner's manager is part of the Araneta Clan and had the connections to keep the carnival open just for us. It was weird going there at about 11 pm when all the other establishments were closed. We were the only patrons inside the carnival, with our parents of course and the usual entourage. 

To the uninitiated, Fiesta Carnival is probably the first Theme park in the Philippines. During the 80's it was the big thing. Sort of like a mini disneyland but indoors. Imagine having disneyland all for yourself :)  What I remember the most is the Go-Kart ride. It was such a treat!

The Birthday from Hell

generally don't celebrate my birthdays. It's not that we don't have the money to do so but rather...i don't really know why we don't celebrate it. Right after we came back from Japan my parents decided to celebrate my birthday. We rented seats, cooked food for those who were comingand was really ready for it. The night before I was so excited. Too bad we didn't inform Gringo Honasan, the guy staged a coup d'etat on the same day.
 To give you an idea why i was affected by this, i lived right across an army base. my family (my dad is a pastor) lived right across the logistics command center of the largest military camp in the philippines. The  logistics  command held the ordnance of the Army along with its tanks and howitzers. In a tactical decision to gain supremacy, the rebels decided to bomb this area first. 
I woke up on my birthday hearing loud cannon fire on our doorstep. It seems the rebels did not hit the buiding they were supposed to, but seems they hit the surrounding area..meaning places like the one we live in. Thank God we didn't get hurt. Someone knocked on our door and some people asked if the Yard where I was supposed to hold my party could be made into a triage area for the wounded and dying soldiers. You get an idea of my party now?  the place where i was supposed to hold my party was full of blood and guts scattered around. As the fighting intensified the combatants knocked on every door asking us to leave. We didn't need to be told twice, We got some stuff and left. Oh boy! those were fun days indeed. Come to think of it, in retrospect, this was probably my most memorable birthday.