September 08, 2006

Oh Brother!


Our loony family’s big baby bids a permanent, albeit slightly melancholic, farewell to his teen years by turning twenty today. After blog-roasting our mother on her sixtieth, it is but fair that our brother also get his due in commemoration of his special day.

Voila!

Here’s a list of twenty things that make David Maria Angelo Vistan Castillo the superbly extraordinary individual that he is.

1. Mom had David when she was almost 40. I was 14 and my other brother Don was 11. When Mom announced she was pregnant with Dave, my brother Don and I were very shocked. Our simple minds just couldn’t absorb the outrageous idea that our parents were still doing IT.

2. At the last minute, our parents inserted the name “Maria” in David’s birth certificate because he was born on the same day as the Blessed Mother. To this day, Dave bewails the feminization of his full appellation.

3. When he was in kindergarten, he adored The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (He even had a real turtle named Michelangelo as his pet.) He badly wanted to be one of the Ninja Turtles for Halloween. Unfortunately, the turtle costumes were out of stock in the department stores so Mommy bought him a caterpillar costume instead. Poor little David could not fathom why there were antennae sticking out of his (supposed) turtle outfit!

4. David has a vast collection of academic medals and awards. All that Playstation must be doing his mind some good! (Or maybe he just takes after his sister. BwaHaHa!)

5. One sunny day, our Mom and our helper went to pick up David in school. Mom had our maid in uniform alight from the car with an umbrella and get David, who happened to be hanging out with his grade school classmates at the ledge. Naturally, his friends all jeered as he left. Dave, who is the epitome of cool, was incredibly upset and made Mom promise that she would never, ever do that again. Thank God she has held true to her word.

6. He used to pronounce the letter “W” as DAVOLYU.

7. David is by nature a peacekeeper. Strangely enough, he is also an avid wrestling fan. (Hmmmm… Could it be he is plain bewitched by the WWE Divas??) He and my brother Don can give Triple H and The Undertaker a run for their money. They are always at it – flipping each other on the bed, kneeing each other, pinning each other down. Lately, they have excitedly found a protégé in the form of my toddler Niccolo…. to my inevitable alarm.

8. Being the family’s youngest, David can get away with a lot. He successfully hosted secret beer parties at our house while our parents were away in Europe. Our Dad and Mom only found out months after they returned from their trip. And wouldn’t you know it? They did not get angry. They actually laughed in amusement. Dave will always have my undying admiration for this triumphant coup.

9. David is a Master of Reverse Psychology. When he wants to buy something and our parents hesitate, he will immediately say: “It’s ok. I’ll just save up for it with my own money. I don’t want to impose. No problem.” This quickly melts the heart of our sympathetic folks and they immediately give in. I admit…this phenomenal style of his works on me, too.

10. From time to time, Dave also manages to convince me and my husband Allan to get him stuff, like a new Playstation, a celfone, DVDs, CDs and even presents for various family members. He does this by earnestly offering to help pay for the things with his allowance on an installment basis. Upon receiving the items, he will pay us a small amount (ranging from Php50-Php100) once. . . And then that’s it. We fall for this ingenious scheme every time.

11. David can be really dense when it comes to girls. Really. Do they have to spell it out for him???

12. He is always on the computer. His favorite excuse is that he is checking to see if Mom has received any email. The thing is nobody even knows what our mother’s email address is or if she really has one. We have no choice but to take Dave’s word for it.

13. Dave is forever attempting to join his 11-years-older-brother Don in his night escapades. And Don is forever trying to dissuade Dave from joining him.

14. When he was 5 years old, silent tears would fall from his eyes whenever he lost in a computer game to Allan or me. Because of this, we would take pity and let him win. We are now wondering if he wept on purpose to get us to lose to him.

15. Until now, he is trying to find out if I am his Santa Claus. HOHOHO!

16. When David is around people, he usually hangs around unassumingly. But beware! His sponge of a brain is actually absorbing every word and building his elephant memory so that he can use what you say against you when you least expect it.

17. He makes the funniest greeting cards for all-occasions.

18. Our clan is not ordinarily of the touchy-feely kind. But David is as thoughtful and cariñoso as they come. He does not hesitate to utter the sweetest things and give a hug or loving pat when he feels like it. He is sure to make some girl very lucky.

19. He is 20 going on 35. Dave’s high degree of maturity, fierce sense of responsibility and strong level of self-discipline never cease to amaze us. Our youngest can sometimes act the oldest and wisest.

20. He is the family’s eternal favorite baby….next to Niccolo! c”,)


HAPPY 20TH BIRTHDAY, KUTO!!! Love yah!!!

8 comments:

Lizza said...

Haha! I can relate. My own younger brother is a kuto himself.

Clickin Mama J said...

Sounds a lot like my brother...

Anonymous said...

You're quite a good writer, and very funny at that. I'm surprised to know David is your brother. Very smart and one of the nicest kids I've ever met. I also remember him for being exceptionally polite. Teachers really like that. He was my favorite.

Irene said...

Why am I not surprised to hear that David was the teacher's pet? c",)

He really does take after me then. I was also the perennial favorite in the classroom. I was so good at fooling my professors. BWAHAHAHA! :p

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to visit anytime, My Brother's Teacher! =)

Anonymous said...

David stood out in my class because he was that rare combination of quiet intelligence, exquisite manners, and humility. He was simply different from his classmates from whom childishness, arrogance, or apathy for anything deep and intellectual are things not unexpected. You don't really notice him right away because he's very quiet. But he certainly does act way beyond his age. A class act and a whiff of fresh air for an oftentimes frustrated teacher. He goes against the grain in that he exudes a sense of responsibility and kindness, rather than a sense of entitlement, which sadly abounds where he sharpens his mind. If it is not too wicked, I would scheme to cause one of my nieces to break up with her beloved and arrange an "accidental" meeting with David. Why, I'd like to have grandchildren that might turn up just like him. I congratulate your parents for an amazing job with David. An A++ plus a gold medal. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to place my order now for two babies (maybe three, haven't really decided yet), if ever you decide to clone him later. Willing to pay a premium, but prefer rush delivery. :)

Irene said...

My Brother's Teacher: WOW! You will make my mother weep uncontrollably when I show her what you wrote. I'm sure you know my mother. Everyone does. She is quite the character. :p

Thanks so much for the laudatory words about David. He is everything you say and more. I am praying my baby son will take on his virtues as he grows up. But right now, all he seems to be imbibing are David's wrestling moves! Sigh!

You write well, too. Do you have you own blog? Let me know if you do so I can link you up. I promise not to tell my brother! :p

Thanks again for taking the time to leave such a wonderful message. Appreciate it! c",)

P.S. So, when do you want to set up the "accidental encounter scheme" with one of your nieces? Bwahaha!

Anonymous said...

Well, here's part of the scheme: I ask my niece to give me her resume and tell her I've set up an interview with a company's Chair of the Board (David's Mom) and CEO (David's Dad). Chair and CEO tell her that company does a modified Rorschach Test during interviews (the Rorschach inkblot in this case would be David's picture). While the Chair shows niece the inkblot, CEO asks niece what she thinks of inkblot. Chair then hands niece David's own resume, and Chair asks niece what she would think if a job applicant with that (David's) resume applies for job to company. Here's the clincher. David's Mom must ask my niece this question: "If you were made a CEO of this company, and you realized it would be for the best interest of the company to marry job applicant (David), would you do it?"
Are we on to something or what?! On the other hand, it seems evil to manipulate my beloved niece this way (she's from that well-known state school, and she plans to spend time in Spain or South America to polish her Spanish and then go to law perhaps; very cute).
Ok, just tell David to check out Ms. C. G. from his school's Computer Science Dept. I don't know if she graduated already, but she was my favorite student in her class about two terms ago. She's very smart (dean's lister)--and get this-- breathtakingly beautiful. I believe she can program in at least 5 different computer languages-Python, Pearl, Java, C++, etc. She makes her male classmates weak at the knees, but her brain intimidates them. She also made me say "yes" every single time whenever she asked me to do a favor for the whole class (such as postpone an exam, etc.). Maybe it'll work out for both of them.
So, how about we start a Top Caliber Online Dating Service? (I have to remain anonymous though to keep my day job.). Have to do some work now. Nice chatting with you.

Irene said...

The Rorschach Test? Hmmmmmmm. Are you a psychologist? Well, I hope you are because I sure as heck need one. Mwahaha!

There's one hitch in your scenario. Our mother will never ask a potential in-law ONLY ONE question. She is a more daunting interrogator than Jack Bauer!

I tried to tell David about your recommendations but it seems he is doing fine without our help as he is already "prospecting" someone. Hmmmmmmm.

Sure, I'm game for your proposed On-line Dating Service. Just don't force the applicants to analyze inkblots or that will be the end of it. Bwahaha! :p

Nice chatting with you, too! c",)