Monday, February 25, 2008

BREAKFAST FOR LUNCH DURING MERIENDA..what was it again?

It’s one of those days. You feel burned out after work. The sun feels like needles pricking you all over. You’re so hungry the people you see look like walking fried chickens you wanna smack them. Yes, it was one of those days you can hardly muster a smile. How else would you end that aggravation but with a full plate of All Day Breakfast with Bacon and Egg!!

After an exhausting day at work, my teammates, my TL and I went for an afternoon breakfast. Yes, breakfast is available anytime of the day now. Looking for a place to eat has never been so hard, I thought. What with all the restaurants in Lahug closed by the mayor – I don’t know exactly the reason why since I’m really inactive with current events right now. My ears shutdown upon hearing the word politics. Ok, ok, I indulge sometimes. Tsk tsk…Later it got me guessing if some food poisoning happened along the avenue. Or maybe it’s just that they don’t pay their taxes. Whatever that was, it was an extra mile of walk we had to endure because all of them are taking their day off until further notice.




Well, we finally settled at ILA PUTI located at I2 in IT Park where call centers are thriving. There are a lot of restos in the area, I’m glad I don’t work near there. The place is nice. We were lucky we owned the place the entire time we were there. We ordered the All Day Breakfast with Bacon and Egg, extra rice and a pork something, I forgot what that was. The food was great I ate like I hadn’t eaten for days. It’s not all that cheap but hey, I don’t get to eat the best bacon everyday! I had a full meal. I was satisfied, I reckoned. I was ready to sleep then.





We decided however to chit-chat for a while over cigarettes. I sniffed second-hand smoke, enough to get me intoxicated.It went for hours so the chit-chat became stories, then tales, then tall tales. We figured the conversation is getting out of control, so we wrapped up and headed home.

I slept dreaming of bacon. It was just heaven.

UKAY-UKAY LANE

Somewhere down the ukay-ukay lane are the most hilarious signs you'll see....




CAN'T BURN ME DOWN..



This is what I did when my apartment almost got burned. Taken over a month ago, I cant imagine myself I still managed to take a pic of me in the middle of the chaos. Kaya mo yan? 50 houses were on the process of being reduced to smithereens and hey, I still managed to smile in the midst of all the chaos there was.

KURDAFYA

Bem bem is finally a dad to a beautiful daughter last Feb 21!! Yehey! Congrats Kang and Bem!



Initially, the baby girl was named Kurdafya. We are waiting for the dad to finally snap back to his senses...

Monday, February 18, 2008

SUPERHEROES and POLITICs




Come on, everybody’s crazy about Spiderman slinging his butt to save that train from a fiasco of unimaginable proportions! Superman too has enough crimes of his own to solve not to mention doing his own share of good deeds by well, stopping an airplane from crashing in a stadium during a baseball game – what a way for publicity! Even heroes have their own way of sneaking for a slot at primetime news. Now I’m thinking that if their nationality is Filipino they would be now in the Senate discussing the Lozada case. It would be interesting because they would be divulging instead each other's secrets we haven’t known so far - secrets not written on books and shown in movies yet. What with their powers on the roll there will be a lot of mind-reading, flying, slinging, power-grabbing and more. On top of them we will finally know if Superman is wearing an underwear under his tights as additional to the red overwear brief he flaunts. That is if some naughty mutant with see-through vision would divulge that million-dollar question over heated discussion with the Man of Steel. And then we can go ahead and confront him if that is for hygienic reasons or just for the security of his mojo when in very dangerous situations. Let’s just say our senate is for spilling guts.

It will be more than just our regular telenovela because our heroes are now playing errr, heroes! It’s easy for them to save a kitten from peril but can they save a country? This poses greater challenge which might have gotten our superheroes to politics. Maybe saving lives isn’t worth it anymore. Statistics are showing that there are more and more people being killed than superheroes actually saved. The movies about their good deeds splashed all over the movie theaters each week are not doing well to influence the people. People love all that saving that’s going on but hey, they don’t wanna be saved. Oddly, our superheroes also don’t launch themselves in combat in Iraq, Afghanistan or in our case, Basilan. They base in the metro, get a fancy job as a reporter for instance and save a few petty crimes ( so watch out, Mike Enriquez could be an alter-ego of some popular superhero disguised on that popular mask you see on TV). Alright, alright, saving the world from doom because some wicked lunatic is making a very huge and despicable-looking island is heroic but come on, can somebody really make a continent? Get real!

But then again, we don’t need superheroes to make the Senate a circus. It already is.

***************



I forgot to mention that we have our own share of superheroes on TV that are worthy of mentioning. Panday was popular before but his excalibur won’t do good against the guns and besides Panday can’t even fly, sling and cartwheel like Jackie Chan does in real person. Where would you put him in an era where sword-fighting is even considered a forgotten sport. And the outfit can’t be redesigned to keep up with the modern times because it wont be Panday anymore and Panday don’t wear skinny leather outfits. . No one can’t redo the Panday look that’s why we had to bury the hero with FPJ.

And there goes Darna who never chokes when she swallows that stone. I’m also at a loss where the stone goes inside her body when she swallows it. Does she purse it inside her lungs? Or does the stone dissolve into magma which then circulates with her blood which in turn causes an explosion of smoke and voila her costume has changed? Does the magma sloshing in her nerves make her fly? Everything must have a scientific explanation but somehow Filipino superheroes blame it all in some cosmic power only the albularyo in a turban can explain which by the way is an easy escape since we tend to blame things on the trees, the rocks, the engkantos and all. To hell with science. Darna, in summation might be actually a negative influence since children are watching such movies and swallowing rocks isn’t a good example at all. And when Darna’s saved the day, does she put her fingers in her mouth to let the stone out? Is Darna bulimic? Hmmmmm…

And then there is Captain Barbell. Can he not fly without those weights? It’s a good thing that he is teaching us to be physically fit but hello, you don’t get your powers from the barbell do you? And does he bring it all the time when not on call for duty? If so where is he keeping those humongous thing – in his pants' pockets? Too big, can’t be. Maybe under his house. But what if he needs to save a lady with such urgency and he is, say, 20 miles away from home? Does he ride a jeep to get to his secret weapon or just sprint home? I’m also wondering if Captain Barbell can do what gymnasts do while flying on the barbell – like swinging round and round on air and all that. Now we have a bet for the Beijing Olypmics. But what sport – gymnastics or weightlifting? How about wrestling?

I’m not really feeling fiction these days I have to pick on our superheroes.

***************

JUMPER





The reason why these things came across was because I recently watched JUMPER starring Hayden Christensen, the guy who played Anakin Skywalker in the last installment of Star Wars. Kristen Stewart was there too for errr, about 30 seconds. Yipee! Jumper was fun but useless. Our hero has the ability to teleport i.e. transport himself across space and distance instantly. He can’t go back in time though which is kinda disappointing since he could’ve changed history and become the most powerful man on earth. But that would be playing God and the writers must’ve thought giving him that extra power to travel across time is too much. Unlike our average superheroes, he is different because he steals millions from banks and cars and maybe his shaver. He is lazy – he teleports all over his house and do not consider walking an exercise at all. Still, he has the body women would die for which is an insult to those who walk for an exercise and spend their free time on the treadmill but can’t seem to get a pound off their weight. The movie is entertaining but that was it. He never used his power to save some kitten. He never saved a life in the movie except his girlfriend. It was more realistic though because I would’ve done the same if I had a similar ability – teleport to all the beautiful places in the world, eat the most delicious food among others. I noticed also that the main character was a bit poor in geography – he only visited a few famous spots again and again like the pyramids of Egypt, Hongkong, The Empire State Building, the Big Ben, the Colosseum among others. He forgot to visit the Great Wall, the Niagara, the Sydney Opera House, the Rio, The Eiffel, the Red Square etc. It was understandable because it was never mentioned that our hero graduated from college or high school after he left home and went to, where else, the Big Apple. Instead of saving people, he spends his time eluding Samuel Jackson who plays the villain,and almost ran amok looking for a place to teleport where he couldn’t be found. If he seriously doesn’t want to be found, next time he should consider going to Colon.

Poor boy, doesn’t know the Philippines is the best place to hide. Let’s just say he skipped geography class.

P.S. Hayden Christensen wil star in the movie "BEAST OF BATAAN", set in World War II during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.The movie though is on its pre-production stage yet so hold your horses. Click here fore more.

Post- Valentine's Day loVe Notes

I know this is kinda late but hey, I wouldn't be able to sleep if this love notes won't make it here. These were posted on the board at the office where everyone is free to express their amorous lines to just about anyone....

These are the top two that I liked most...


ANDRE AGASSI now resides in CEBU!!!!

Who would've thought that Andre Agassi is hiding somewhere in Cebu. In fact, I ran across his residence. So, this is where you're hiding dear Andre.

ON being LOST, doubts AND goodbyes

A few days from now, i will be marking my 6th month stay here in Cebu. Many things have happened but nothing much changed for me. I still wake up from nightmares - haunting nightmares that cloud my thoughts if this is the path I should've taken six months past. I admit there are days I have doubts. I have my own share of fears of not achieving the goals I so believed I could accomplish. There are also moments when I refuse to be dampened by the distractions that keep me from living my life. I had to I snap out from those blurry lenses and remind myself this is my life and life is better if seen through a clean pair of lenses. If I screw up, it will be my fault - no regrets. Sometimes, I see myself walking down a deserted highway. A little lost but moving on and forging forward. It's not clear where exactly I end up or if I will even get there - wherever that is. I could see myself savoring the feel of the breeze on my skin, enjoying the scenery that passes me by, tasting the freedom of being unconstrained like it's the first time, and embracing the liberty to take control of my future. It's not all about work and dreams sometimes. It's enjoying the journey. Failing or succeeding at them, either way you're not happy if there are no captured moments of how you claim them or bomb it away from your reach.

I kinda feel weird that I got regularized with my present job at the callcenter I'm working at. It seemed like I had a hard time passing the metrics. It's funny because I had a more difficult time passing said metrics than with my previous job at a bank. But I'm glad I made it, though there are just some things I think aren't fair with regard to how we are gauged. I definitely could write a long dissertation about that but it wouldnt be interesting and it's a waste of time. Like everyone else, I ride with the waves because I get paid for it.



What's sad is that not all of Team Hugawan will be regularized. It's my rest day today and I'm not really sure what's the buzz of who's in or not but news flies fast - especially the bad ones - so I got few clues. I heard I probably won't be able to see some of my teammates tomorrow when I report to work. I don't know but saying goodbye to people you look forward to see each day is not easy, partly because they are the ones you consider your closest family in a city where no one knows you. I will miss my teammates for sure. Sob!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

INTO THE WILD

“rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness… give me truth.” Henry David Thoreau



I bought new dvds recently and came across a final copy (that’s how they call it) of Into The Wild, a movie directed and written for film by Sean Penn and based on a book by Jon Krakauer recounting the life of a young idealist, Christopher McCandless. I have been anticipating to watch the movie due to the great raves I have read and the nominations it garnered when I watched the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards a few weeks ago. I wasn’t sure if it had reaped trophies but there’s something about the movie that attracted me. At first I thought it was some kiddie adventure to Alaska to see the moose and the polar bears in the wilderness. It turned out it was a movie that pierces deep into your being. I thought Gone Baby Gone is the best movie I’ve watched so far this year. After 6 grueling hours watching the Senate hearing circus, I gave up and got my dvd player workin’ out the best movie I’ve seen so far this year – hands down!

The movie stars Emile Hirsch as the self-proclaimed ‘aesthetic voyager’, Christopher McCandless. Fresh from college, McCandless donated all his savings from his college fund, gave up his Harvard break of becoming a lawyer and left everything – even his family- for a journey to search for complete joy. The movie is way much more than a great Alaskan adventure. It was a story of self-realization, of a life changing voyage to the wilderness for a greater purpose of ‘killing the false being within’. McCandless adopted the name Alexander Supertramp as he went on his way to Alaska, hitching on travelers and tramps like him and working occasionally on a few jobs to support his effort to get to Alaska. The people he met, the conversations were so profound they have a different tug on my chest. Though the movie ended tragically as McCandless suffered starvation in the wilderness for having eaten a poisonous weed that inhibits ingestion, it left a very strong message – “Happiness is only real when shared”.



We view things in different light. Some may think he was a disrespectful young man who packed his bags and left his parents without a word until the next time they saw of him was his dead body in an abandoned bus in the wilderness of Alaska. True but there was something that I learned from his story. McCandless was no saint. I may not be able to do in my entire lifetime what he did, but it became clear to me that there are lot more important things than the things we hold so dear and cling to so tightly; that we need to experience loneliness in solitude to know the meaning of happiness; that joy isn’t found in human relationships alone but in all the things that God has surrounded us; that more than anything truth is what matters; that when we forgive, we start to love; that the pain of loss can be a healer of deep wounds of scarred hearts that have been silent to long; that in ultimate freedom we learn what we are capable of doing; that it’s important not only to be strong but to feel strong; that the wonders of nature is just outside our window waiting for us to discover and that life is still beautiful as I has always been!

The film was well-crafted. Emile Hirsch was perfect with his unforced portrayal of McCandless. The movie was also backed with a strong ensemble of actors – Vince Vaughn, William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener and Kristen Stewart who by the way sang and wrote a song featured in the movie. Stewart was just simply beautiful even though she had very small but important role. The last time I saw her was with Meg Ryan in the movie In The Land of Women. Also the soundtrack is just perfect for the melancholic feel of the movie – the lyrics and the guitar driven songs of Eddie Vedder (whom i just learned is the lead singer of Pearl Jam) edges on nostalgia that continues to hum on my ears even after the movie has ended. (Gotta download ‘em on my Ipod real quick)

I wasn’t able to sleep tight after watching the movie, tsk tsk tsk. I had to put on Tori Amos to die down the film’s soundtrack from playing in my head and had to cover my eyes with my pillow to keep me from staring at the ceiling where Emile Hirsch was scribbling notes of words by Tolstoy, Thoreau and London. ( Don’t get me wrong, I might have had a hard time putting myself to sleep but yes, I definitely slept.) Its one of the few movies that bothered me a lot. Maybe because it stroke a chord within. The movie is a gem and I probably wouldn’t be able to see a movie that will have the same effect on me for quite along time as Into The Wild did. The movie served as a reminder of a lost soul that from time to time goes astray (that would be me I guess..tsk tsk).

Now I’m really thinking I’m Alexander Supertramp. Daggumit, anyone there going to Alaska with me?

********here's a New York Time's review of Into The Wild, one of the reviews I've read of the movie. Also, i just learned the song Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder won Song of the Year at the Golden Globes. I wasn't surprised.. :)

i miss KINDRA...

i was browsing through old photos when i came across this very cute photo of my niece, Kindra, and I. When i said cute, I did'nt mean me.

this photo makes me wonder how big my niece must be right now. it was taken around may last year. there's just something about this pic that makes me wanna go home. i don't really know why....sob sob..

SIGARILYO Bai...

Just when i thought smoking kills...




P.S. Beware of said signs. Laughing to death can be fatal..LOL...Photo courtesy of Nanoi taken at Gloria de Dapitan, Dapitan City, Philippnes. (The sign was immediately corrected after the manager was shown this pic.)

Saturday, February 9, 2008

SOAKED...

Finally, I have resized all the photos that we took using my teammates camera, Sigrid. The files are too large, the reason why I wasn’t able to upload it on friendster and here in my blog right away. It took quite along time considering the number of files I resized – more than a hundred. My eyes were so heavy after staring on the computer screen for hours in the office and doing the resizing at home. But the long wait is over, I get to post it today and my teammates are so giddy to have their own copies and to check their faces out online – haha! (At least I have viewers now!. Haha!)

It was definitely a fun ride. I didn’t expect much of the trip. It’s better that way, I thought. The trip was an ice-breaker after the monotony of the callcenter life. Now I realize why callcenter people take time to go on a team outing and splurge. Yes, I say splurge because people really spend to go to the countryside, bask under the sun and soak in the inviting waters of the sea. We did spend quite an amount. Back home in Dipolog, the budget would've been enough for a large birthday party – with lechon and the permanent party staples. But it was worth it. The sea was relaxing. The sand gleamed in whiteness under the sun.Witnessing a possible nebula, two shooting stars and a thousand other stars hanging on the cloudless night sky is invaluable.And I also got to see Nemo when we were snorkeling along the shore! We also saw the Chocolate Hills version of Moalboal (see photo below) which really amazed me. There were food, alcohol, coke ( the softdrink, not the other coke ), music, cigarettes, horror stories and love tales that went on ‘til the wee hours of dawn. It was more than what we certainly hoped for.

Along the way, I saw the following signs but wasn’t able to get snapshots because the van was moving. It would’ve been funny if I had the photos to show you but here’s what I saw:
“Don’t through your garbage here!”
“No STAMBY allowed”
“The more you talk, the more you are likely to sin”

I saw the saying posted on a school gate. I thought the sign was weird, though I do think it rings true. Haha. Blabbers must be screwing big time their chance to go to heaven! Hmmm, sign language, anyone? Or texting? Tsk tsk! I asked who among famous personalities might have said the words? The team chorused, " The school principal!"

We went home tired, silent and all sleepy our eyes could fall out any minute. We were packed on the van for two hours and before we knew it, we were back in the hustle and bustle of the metro. I woke up to the sound of the engine of jeepneys speeding down the avenues of Cebu. The green landscape I last glimpsed before I closed my eyes to sleep was but a photo frame in memory drowned by the noise and gray color of concrete, of smoke, of dust. I could almost hear my blood sloshing in my nerves – rushing faster. Life is hectic once again, I reckoned. Work was waiting 4AM the next day. xxx

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And these are few of the pics....if you ain't seen enough click here...(it's not that organized but help yourself..tsk )

















Wednesday, February 6, 2008

MOALBOAL, CEBU...at last!

After long bickering whether we push through or not, Team Hugawan finally decided to drive south to MOALBOAL for a team outing. No one really was all that ecstatic at first. We said our YES's half-heartedly, if only not to displease our TL after all the preparations she had done - arranging with the resort, hiring a van etc.ANd so there were eleven of us. We had two visitors who came with us - Mackie and Jennylyn. To say we had a fun time is an understatement - we had a blast!

I will be posting more pics next time. Initially, lemme post two of the many many photos i took- one is the sunset at MOALBOAL and writings on the sand that i did which later on everyone posed with for a shot. If you're wondering why the pictures are really good, hmmm, aside from i take really good pics (hahaha joke), Sigrid's camera is really a gem. And the place was simply beautiful. I've never seen a sunset for the past 6 months since i left home. Sunsets still steal my breath. Now, I'm missing home. Darn!





P.S. I will be posting more pictures of our trip and more unforgettable stories. I sneaked posting this one at Sigrid's place while uploading the pictures on my flash drive. Thanks again Sigrid!