Otter and Brother Otter.

On Wednesday, my brother (cousin) will be on his flight from Detroit to New York to Japan and then here! I bet he's going to be so tired but he'll be with us and we're going to go see our grandmother! I'm so excited! He hasn't been here for eleven years! Yup~ He was suppose to come in 2008 but instead, something came up and his girlfriend was even going to give birth early and gave his ticket to me so I can go to Canada to see him, I lived with them for more than half a year.

Here's a little more information about him: He's five years older than me, graduated high school in Canada and graduated college as a registered nurse (RN) and is now working at a hospital in London, Ontario. He has a girlfriend that he's been with for almost 10 years (since high school) and they have a son that's turning three this coming May 29th.

He has been there for me since I was born; whether he hated it or not, he stuck by me. Every time I come over, I bring in the new games that I have on my Family Computer but sometimes, he would hog it and I can't play with him but I can watch. (laughs) I remember we do almost everything with each other... Or sometimes, we would self-invite ourselves to hang out with each other even if we don't want each other around. Whenever he hangs out with his friends on this hill in front of our grandmother's house playing pogs and marbles, I would leave the house to find him and hang out with him, still in my onesies-pjs, uncombed hair and eye-boogers - you know, all the works. He told me that I wasn't allowed to play because I was too young but allowed me to hold the pogs and marbles that he won and that was enough for me to hang around.

When we went to his school for his birthday to give his classmates cake, juice, ice cream and little gifts... He would totally ignore me and when our parents left, I was all alone and he made me sit at the back of the class and wait until class was finish. Some of his classmates would make small talk with me and he would watch over me like a big brother from a distance but wouldn't show it.

Every Saturday morning always had the best cartoons so we would both sleep on the couch in the living room with two pillows and we would share a blanket. Since we were both bone-skinny, we both fit on the couch. We would sleep there so we would be able to catch the cartoons and still not wake anybody up.

When I was little (this is what he remembers) and still in diapers, he remembered that our parents and their friends left to go clubbing and have a couple drinks and he is to watch me while I'm in the playpen but while they were all out and he was too busy playing video games... He didn't realize that I've already crapped my diapers to the point where it's splurging out all over the playpen and when everyone came home, slightly drunk... Everyone was shocked and he just acted like he didn't know. Or the time when I was going to take a bath in a basin, he was called to watch me for a couple seconds while my mother gets a towel. I was sitting down in the basin and I slipped and I was submerged underwater and he just watched me, laying underwater and when my mother came in, she yelled and freaked out!

When I was about five-years-old and he would be about 10, we went to La Union in the resort place called "Cabana", he was planning on teaching me how to dive into the water while holding my breath. He took me to the deep end of the pool, held onto me and told me to hold my nose and if I can't hold my breath any longer, I have to give the "thumbs up" saying that we need to go to the surface so we gave it a try... After a few seconds, I couldn't hold my breath and gave the thumbs up but he couldn't see because his eyes were closed!!! I eventually had to struggle to get out so I could breathe but then, he couldn't hold his breath any longer and we both came up... I think that was his first plan to kill me.

In the same resort and in the same pool, we both saw this empty inflatable purple and white boat... No one was in it, no one was watching it and it seemed like someone just left it there. My brother then told me to get in, I wasn't sure if I should because it's not ours but he insisted that I should get in and he was the one that helped me... Moments later, the owners of the boat came back and found a little skinny Asian girl in their boat in the middle of the pool. My brother thought it was funny and our elders didn't see it so they were really shocked but my mother was able to take a picture before letting me out. (laughs)

There was a time, he had a pet rabbit. It was all white with brown eyes and he was always in the cage, my brother didn't really play with it and since I was around, eating chocolate sticks... I decided to share it with the rabbit. I gave it two sticks~ The next day, the rabbit passed away from a chocolate intoxication. He got so mad at me but of course, he couldn't yell at me because I was too young and he knew that it wasn't going to change anything so he just didn't talk to me for a few days. (10 years later, I got my karma when I ended up winning a bunny of the same color during an Easter raffle back in 2005)

In 2001, when he was in Canada and I came to visit, we went to the video rental store and rented a bunch of movies... He had a bike and at the time, I still didn't know how to ride a bike so I rode my scooter and when we had to leave to go back home, he would ride his bike so fast that I would lose sight of him and I would end up scootering back home alone. When I reached the house, he won't be home and then would come home five minutes later saying that he's been looking all over for me and thought someone kidnapped me and of course, I was gullible and thought he was telling the truth. I bet he got a kick out of that...

Every morning, he would wake me up just so that we can walk to McDonalds and get breakfast then we would walk to the mini grocery store to buy Ben & Jerry's ice cream and stop by the video rental store.

One day, when we went to the park, we were going around and then next thing you know, I don't see him. I walk around the park, wondering where he went and just when I was starting to worry, I see him hiding behind a tree... He goes back behind a tree and when I yell out, "I SEE YOU!" and approach the tree, I see him running behind another one so I approach that one, he then runs to his bike and rides it home~ Then I go on my scooter to head home. When get into the house he says, "Where have you been?" and I said, "I was just chasing after you!" and he would say, "What? I've been home waiting for you... You took a long time and I was about to go and find you outside." and he would make a conversation where he's trying to mind-trick me.

Or when we're walking back home from the video rental, he would cover my eyes and ask if I trust him and of course, I'll say yes because my life's on the line, being blind-folded by hands and I can't do anything about it so I walk 15 minutes back home with his hands over my eyes and I'm walking around like some kind of blind goose while he's telling me directions. (laughs) and by the time we get home, he would say, "See. You're not dead."

We ended up being so much alike since our other cousins were never around, we only had each other. We knew of our other cousins but they were never around or never contacted us so we rarely spoke to them. We had each other and I suppose that was enough... He doesn't act like he's protective of me but I know he is and always concerned, always worried and things like that and that's me, vice versa.

It's been two years since we've seen each other; that was when I was living with him. Now that he's finally coming to visit to pick up my grandmother to bring her back to Canada, I'm so excited to see him! We can visit all the other places that we use to go to and see his old friends that we use to hang out with... I swear, it's going to be so much fun! He has already talked with some of his old best friends and old classmates about coming over and whatnot, even talked to some old uncles about his arrival and such. He's pretty excited~! We all can't wait!

I will update you guys about it~ And I will post pictures in a bit!

Otterly excited,
Otter