Office work plus job-hunting and all its drama drained all energy and creative juice in me in the past months. I became the employee who’s waiting for play slips to arrive so he can pay his bills. I lost all motivation and consciously failed to meet my deadlines. But that’s another story. It is good then that summer has arrived to save me from all the negative vibes surrounding me in the office.

Travelling on a shoestring budget is nothing alien to me and that’s mostly the theme of my vacation this summer: making the most of the peso you have. It starts with looking for airline promos early on, buying summer clothes that can be “recycled”, having friends with you so costs can be divided, and buying only what’s necessary.

The itinerary this Holy Week Vacation is CDO-Camiguin-Davao, but we skipped staying in CDO since actual swimming and excessive adrenaline rush due to rafting is not my forte #excuses. Two days in Camiguin and the remainder of the holiday in Davao City is the new gameplan.

Camiguin Island

More than the usual tourist destination, the smallest province in Northern Mindanao boasts of multiple swimming locations and historical spots. People who are used to the hustle and bustle of Puerto Galera and Boracay must know that Camiguin is not a party place. The island has a soul. There will be moments when one feels the island is alive and it draws everyone to its beauty. Mystical spots like the Katibawasan Falls, Sunken Cemetery, and Guiob Church Ruins are must-see places for people who want to have a first-hand experience of the mystery in Camiguin.

Tourist Spots:

1.     Katibawasan Falls

2.     Ardent Hibok-Hibok Spring Resort

3.     White Island

4.     Sunken Cemetery

5.     Guiob Church Ruins

6.     Sto. Nino Cold Springs

I wasn’t able to try much of the delicacies in the island except of course the ever-famous Pastel. Most department stores in Metro Manila sell this crème-filled bun but it’s a different feeling to eat it oven-fresh. Kiping, similar to a taco shell but made from ground cassava then drizzled with a sweet sauce, is a staple in most tourist spots. Everyone should try this. Another sweet treat for tourists is the ginanggang. It is similar to the banana fritter but the ripe banana is put over charcoal flames until slightly toasted. And while on the White Island, one should try the tuyom or the sea urchin. Too bad for me, I’m allergic to seafood.

Delicacies:

1.     Kiping

2.     Ginanggang

3.     Tuyom (Sea Urchin)

*Davao chronicle in the coming post

YOU AND I
Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle

 
Just you and I
Sharing our love together
And I know in time
We'll build the dreams we treasure
And we'll be all right, just you and I
Just you and I
Sharing our love together
And I know in time
We'll build the dreams we treasure
We'll be all right, just you and I

And I remember our first embrace
That smile that was on your face
The promises that we made
And now, your love is my reward
And I love you even more
Than I ever did before

Just you and I
We care and trust each other
With you in my life
They'll never be another
We'll be all right, just you and I

And I remember our first embrace
That smile that was on your face
The promises that we made
And now, your love is my reward
And I love you even more
Than I ever did before

We made it, you and I

Sadness is a passive emotion. It comes out of nowhere and slithers through your system on a fine December day, piercing and abrupt. It covers you like a blanket until it’s too late to escape its grasp. You will try to resist, find a distraction to consume your thoughts. However, your efforts will all be in vain. Everything you do, watching TV, filing office documents, taking a morning bath, will be tainted with a grim poison and you can’t do anything but to give in to it. Falling in the trap of sadness is such an easy task.

On the other hand, happiness is a conscious effort, a deliberate attempt. One cannot be happy and not know it, or will for it to happen. It is not served in a platter. It is yearned for, worked hard for, prayed for, waited for, and thanked hard for.


Tonight, sadness is a foreign concept. I will be happy because I found happiness in you.


I love you, Dad.

i.

It was a hot and lazy afternoon right after my schedule as a BPO slave in one of those call centers in Alabang. I was too tired to speak. Too tired to eat. Too tired to sleep. But never too tired to flip over that stack of porn under the bed sheets. I was about to do what boys do when I heard footsteps outside my room and someone rushed inside.

It was mom.

She was crying.

She said something about the result of her biopsy.

She told me she had Stage 3 Breast Cancer.


ii.

We’re having trouble with our finances it seems but help, even the financial kind, kept pouring in. My parents never made us feel we’re living from pay check to pay check. However, I know I can’t just quit my job because I have to help with my younger brother’s school expenses.

Mom and dad were discussing their plans for mom’s immediate mastectomy and chemotherapy. They were listing down options for the hospitals and the cost implications. UP-PGH is on their list. Overhearing this, I pointed out that UP-PGH is the best option and it would help us if we won’t be spending too much for her medical bills.

She said, “Matitiis nyo bang nasa PGH ako? Hindi ba kayo naawa sa ‘kin?”

iii.

Mom wants to have her hair permed so she can keep it a bit longer while she’s on chemo. She had her locks kept long since I was in high school. I even bought the perming solution and the hair clips that day.

Minutes after the perming, I saw her on the verge of tears. “Akala ko, magdidikit-dikit ang buhok ko. Lalo pala natanggal.”

I called up a former professor and borrowed her wig she used when she was undergoing chemo. Mom used it for a number of months.

iv.

It’s been more than three years since she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. Just two more years, she’ll be called a survivor.

I love my mom, very, very much. I might not be the best son she can ever have but God knows that in every dream I dream, my family is always there.

Sira si azi, ang aking lappy. Am not in the mood to write. I feel guilty for not being able to update my blog these past few days. Got really, REALLY busy with work. And get-togethers with friends. 


But since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I will relish this occasion with a smile and a whole lot of lard on my face.


Happy Halloween, everyone! Let the witching hour begin!

You are the reason why...





THE REASON WHY
John Farnham

What did I do

Before the day I set my eyes on you?

Spending my time

Just working at the things I had to do

And then I saw your face

I was captured heart and soul

You gave me so much more

You're the reason why

I listen in the night

And steal the softest kisses

While you sleep

You're the reason why

Tears will fill my eyes

Just looking at a photograph

Of you

Touching my frown

Tell me what you read between the lines

Every thing's alright

I know sometimes I act a little strange

You bring me so much joy

Conversations make me smile

How could I love you more?

You're the reason why

I speak with foolish pride

Whenever there's a chance

To show you 'round

And you're the reason why

I lost this heart of mine

At the very moment

You arrived

And I can't believe this life

Was ever lonely

No, I can't imagine life

Before you

You're the reason why

I'm holding on so tight

I never want to let

This feeling go

And you're the reason why

My love will never die

My heart just could not sing

If not for you

What did I do

Before the day I set my eyes on you?

You won’t find Love in Malate, or in any place that reeks of sex, booze, and dark spot concealers. He won’t be leaning against the wall in his usual nonchalant self, looking at you with warmth and yearning. He won’t give you scotch on the rocks and won’t utter the wittiest of pickup lines. He’s not gonna be there to take your hand and whisk you away from the dance floor. He won’t give you the most consuming of caresses. He won’t have his car to take you to his pad.

He does not exist here.

Alas, as the wizened and wise would put it, you will find Love when you least expect it. When you’re not looking, not aware, not guarded. You will find him on a bus ride to Philcoa on a rainy Friday night. He’ll be that friend you’ve known since God-knows-when. He’s the guy that makes your morning coffee a celebration. You may even have just read his life online and be fascinated by it.

You will question his validity thinking that he could be just another one of your fruitless conquests, someone you can spend your excess while with. However, little by little, you will realize that the pieces fit together as if on a puzzle. A common interest, a common friend, a common habit, a common principle in life.


You found him.


And after finding him, for sure you will, thank the Universe for making a conspiracy of epic proportions. Love him more than he’ll ever know.