PHOTOS: An Amalgam of These Two

It's ALL their fault.

When I introduce my friends to my mother, I tell them to direct all complaints about myself to her. She did afterall create me.

Mom: teacher, entrepreneur, loves gardening, entertaining friends, travel, books, classical music, school and community leadership, volunteer, devout Catholic, involved actively with family and church, danced filipino folk dances, graduated with honors from university... extremely independent and strong-willed, a bit eccentric, somewhat progressive, popular among her friends, standoffish to boys

My dad passed away when I was young but I wasn't spared from his influence.

Dad: engineer, loved to travel, hike, garden, listened to pop music, loved cooking, a bit of a jokester, liked fast cars and said if he had to choose a new career he'd be a race car driver, in general, quiet and pensive. extremely independent and strong-willed, a bit goofy, somewhat conservative, adored Spain and Spanish art, music and dance, popular though a bit reserved, liked to collect pieces of art and sculpture... was a bit straight-forward and confrontational but very good at flying kites, bought me boxing gloves when I was six years old

My mom has a lot of funny stories about when she was young and single. Recently, I asked her how she met dad. Besides being discouraged from the get-go to have eyes for my dad, she didn't know that she liked him until she graduated from university - when she realized during her ceremonies that it might've been nice if he was there. It took her four years of friendship and her graduation day to show her that she missed him... therefore telling her that ... maybe.. maybe, she liked him... and that he liked her, she just didn't have a clue.

So these two people forged my personality and the physical and perhaps psychic manifestation of who I am through their customized taste of parenting. The next time someone calls me an "enigma" "freak of nature" or "interesting" person... I must credit it to my parents...

JNET