Intense Ilocos

 spent Labor Day weekend in Ilocos with The Rookie and my mom's family. While the pictures are yet to be posted, I have to say that the experience could be summed up as intense and interesting.

My mom's cousin died before we went to Laoag, so there was a wake and a burial during our stay with my uncle. It was really amazing that some Ilokano traditions are still practiced even to this day. The day before the burial, a group of women flocked to my uncle's house to hold an hour-long prayer and song ritual. After an hour, a marching band sat right outside the house and played songs for the dead.

Since I am a magnet of the strange, I became the object of affection of one of the musicians of the dead. All throughout their stint, he played his trumpet but kept staring at me intently, making like a Jedi and perhaps trying to convey a message I refused to receive. Who hits on someone during a funeral? I'd tell you who:

The Chaz