Kuya D has come and gone. He stayed in the guest room. His flight landed on Tuesday, and Uncle L picked him up from the airport. That night, we all gathered at Auntie R's house in Olympia. Grandma was sleepy but thrilled to see him. I drove home with H after the reception.

The next day I had a cable appointment; different guy this time. He jiggled something in H's room and my reception came back. He told me to email a complaint to comcast about the blonde kid who didn't know what he wwas doing.

Then I went shopping for dinner. I bought a crab and cooked it with black bean sauce. We also ordered a crispy chicken and pea vines. C made a white-trash dessert. M showed up, even. During dinner my dad called. Auntie R could tell by the way my tone of voice changed. We passed him around the room as a joke.

When they left, I took Kuya D to the Space Needle. When we had gone around once he was surprised that that's all there was. We came home and met H. And then we just talked. Apparently, he had let the cat out the night before (he didn't know). Those women are obsessed! They all were outside looking for the cat! Those two stayed up late talking.

The next day we got up late and went to the airport to take care of Kuya D's reservations. Then we picked up H and went to the waterfront, aquarium, and market. We had a doughnut before meeting C and M for Spiderman 2. I made a joke about cops and doughnuts, but he said that in the movies, cops are always eating Chinese food.

The movie was great. There was a little bit of over-communication, and there was a big fat crucifixion that was hard to ignore.

Afterwards, we went to Alki, which was a mistake, since everything was closed. We ended up at Salty's. It was dark and unremarkable. We took a few pictures and came home.

Yesterday we got up early to visit Grandma. She was sleepy but glad to see D. She did not eat her potatoes. Then we went to Uncle L and Auntie A's place and spent the day eating. The highlight was watching the 1986 birthday video. H and M were still little, and A was just a baby, but C and I were awkward teenagers. I missed my little ading after seeing those videos. Poor Kuya D must have been bored out of his mind.

I've always wanted to know D and D better. On this side of the ocean, we are not casual about who we call Kuya and Ate. I've always been the oldest here and there was an expectation to set an example and look out for the younger ones. I've always wished there was someone who would look out for me; especially after college when I was out work and had no place to live. Anyway, it was such a relief to finally spend time with my Kuya D.

It makes me sad, though, to see that he internalizes the stress. I made sure he had antacid tablets, and I almost scolded him for worrying about me bringing the girls' shoes which he had left under the coffee table.

This morning I met them at the airport exactly as they arrived, gave them the shoes, and told D to take care of his stomach. I wanted to say more, but didn't.

Last night I got lost in Bothell trying to meet K and the gang for karaoke. Why is my nose congested?