I never really realized how much I miss my home country until I read this nostalgic entry from my friend Genefel‘s blog. I have been away from the Philippines for nearly two years now. Come the first of October 2009, it will be exactly two years to the day.

To be honest, I miss so many things from my hometown, the beautiful coastal Iloilo City, foremost of which are my family, friends, old colleagues, the accessible public transport system, and the delicious, affordable food.

I am dying for a piece of Jolibee Chicken Joy or a slice of Andok’s liempo. Or at least a proper KFC Original Recipe meal, with steaming-hot gravy and a cup of rice.

However, I miss my pet Japanese Spitz doggie, Pikachu (yes, shamelessly named after the perky, literally electrifying Pokemon), much, much more than all the aforementioned Pinoy culinary delights combined.

Pikachu up close

Pikachu from another angle

Pikachu giving me a wet kiss on the cheek!

The above photos were taken back in 2007, give or take few months before I left for Oman. I found all these files from the memory card of my trusty Nokia 6600. Apologies for the not-so-high quality of the images!

Pikachu is not a pure Japanese Spitz. Her mother, Choco, was, but her father was apparently a strapping poodle. Thus, you can see that Pikachu has inherited her sire’s big eyes and floppy ears.

My doggie has been with me since May 2003. She was so tiny when she first arrived at our home, being only a few months old back then. She didn’t know how to eat from her pet bowl, but would guzzle milk like there’s no tomorrow.

Pikachu grew fast and shed and grew back her thick, fluffy, white fur even more quickly. She liked to eat my favorite food as well – chicken liver, baked ziti with mixed tomato and carbonara sauce, roasted and butter-fried chicken, among many others.

I intend to go home early next year, perhaps sometime during the first calendar quarter. I will finally see my pet in person again, not just from a fuzzy webcam feed.

My mother always tells me over the phone that my baby has gained lots of weight because she now has even more food to eat, what with yours truly working abroad and all!