Maybe I shouldn't have started this blog now, not with everything that's been going on.

The three day lapse (four if you count the holiday tomorrow, making only two entries this week, and last for the month) is explained by the wake and funeral of my mom's cousin in the province.

It wasn't until Monday night that I decided to go with my mom, aunt and uncle, seeing as they weren't going to bring a car and "no seat for me" was no longer an excuse.

Since the trip was to start 4am Tuesday, I didn't have any more opportunity to log on in school and give advance warning about my absence. In the days I was there, the only time we were near a place that had an internet shop was during the funeral procession itself, and it seemed bad form to go on a detour.

So my explanation had to be after the fact.

The deceased was a 40-year-old Grade I public school teacher, one of three among their siblings. Including my aunt (my cousin/student's mom) and my mom's youngest sister, that makes six of us in my mother's side of the family alone, seven if we include their adopted cousin's daughter, although that doesn't somehow fit the theme of genes.

As far as I know there are also no teachers in my father's side of the family.

I guess my only difference from them is that I'm teaching in college (in what is supposedly one of the top three universities) which led to teasings of "professor" from all around during the wake.

I wasn't that much comoprtable with their local label for a teacher, which is "maestro/maestra". Knowing the word's other meaning is "Master" brought forth visions of calling my students "Grasshopper" in a hoarse voice and a bad accent. It felt less right at that.

My "aunt" who passed on was either an active and/or well-known member of the town's Teacher Association. So when it came to a few words to be said by her co-teachers in the church after the mass, after three speeches by her colleagues (including one by her principal) there were more than 50 people who stood up in the aisles to sing two songs to their departed co-worker.

These were the slightly revised English version of "Aloha Oe" ("Farewell to Thee") and "Sino Ako?" ("Ang buhay kong hiram sa Diyos/Kung di ako magmamahal/Sino ako?").

It was difficult to believe these were all from the same school, until I realized that they were from the Teachers' Association, and were actually from schools all over town.

Had her death actually occurred during classes instead of during the summer (like my brother, in March) the church would probably have been packed with students and former students, and maybe parents as well.

Lastly, they cited her dedication to her job as being her undoing. They weren't supposed to report to work to prepare for the coming schoolyear (and the elections) until Tuesday. It was a Monday. The jeep she rode (picking up passengers) was hit by a truck from behind who wanted to overtake the minibus behind them from the shoulder, not seeing the jeep in front of the minibus.

My aunt was also one of the last ones brought to the hospital, because she had no wounds. Seated at the end of the jeep, though, she actually was the most jostled, and all her injuries and bleeding was internal. She lasted in the emergency room for less than an hour, complaining of back pains before she expired.

She left two sons in college and one in high school. But our family is very close knit on that side, and we'll pull together to sustain her kids until they graduate.