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My Holy Week Vacation

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

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

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.

C for Mom

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.

Happy Halloween!

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!