BELEN sa JONES

i was walking thru jones when i saw this belen. their faces weren't mannequin-like with features that are rough on the edges. i thought, this is the pinoy belen - Cebu style. i took a snapshot.

looking at the belen, i can't help but want to go home and be with my family. i think that's what any belen that you see just about anywhere reminds us - Christmas ( or at least Christmas Day) is family time just like the three inanimate statues along the busy Jones Avenue. I'm glad i know better.

THE CROWN OF CEBU

Cebu's tallest building is also its tallest Christmas tree. The Crown Regency hotel and Suites boasts of its flickering neon lights that runs up and down and around its sides that anyone who'd manage to glance up would notice the towering edifice at night. It is flamboyant and ostentatious, as if telling anyone who glances the building in envy, 'Your month's electricity bill is worth our day's use for the lights alone". But yes, it is a sight at night and people waiting for jeepneys would strike a pose just about anywhere along Jones with the landmark as background.

I have also watched more than week ago in a local TV Show the Edge Coaster on the top of the skyscraper. The coaster ride goes around the edge of the topmost part of the building - probably the roofdeck. Surely, the view must be fantastic from there during sunset and at night - the whole of cebu in 360 degrees. Hmmmm, i saw the ad of the ride and it said it costs P800 per person which already includes a buffet dinner. I'm not sure however if the ride is the freebie or the food is...tsk tsk...

I have been telling friends about it and everyone is suddenly all interested. I told them how much it costs. They never spoke about the ride since.

I MISS K n K

if there is anything i regret being away from home, it's not seeing my niece and nephew - Kindra and Karl - grow up....

BLUE CHRISTMAS

for the second year in a row, i will be celebrating christmas alone in cebu..

last year, i prepared food and had some friends come over to my place where we ate noche buena. it wasnt much and the party didnt really take long, hehehe. the food didn't require much preparation. just some items i had picked up earlier that day from monterey - embutido that didn't need cooking, bola-bola and lumpia ( i only know prito ...hahah). my friends came with some food too. the day wan't as merry but it was more than i could have hoped for...when they went home before midnight, i slept...

this year, it's worse i guess. the friends who came over last year are not around anymore. most have gone home to their places and some i barely bump into because we work for different companies already. I will be greeting Christmas alone in my room. :(

i was also used to receiving gifts back home before. not really the expensive ones. just the clutter-bound things that are wrapped neatly with Christmas wrappers. this year, i haven't received a single one just yet. the kris kringle we had at the office doesn't count since it is obligatory.

so to anyone out there, who reads this...can u spare me a nicely wrapped present?..please?...sob sob

( the photos are taken at twilight. looking at the lone star hanging on a tree, makes me miss home...i miss home terribly... tsk)

SAYONG BUNTAG

photos taken just before sunrise...

SIRENA SA MALA

So this is how a mermaid looks like on land.....

HEADLINERS TODAY....or YESTERDAY

MAN OF THE HOUR

Congratulations Manny...You made us proud!





MANNY - The MEXECUTIONER

Manny was interviewed in an early morning show today. With the whole country in a frenzy celebrating his victory, the morning show joined the wagon and splashed the boob in little Philippine flags and jackets of red, blue and white like it's june 12 all over again. Waking up and seeing them in Independence Day mode during Xmas season made such a confusion i had to check my calendar for a moment. Manny was interviewed by Igan.

Igan: Manny, may bago nang tawag sayo.Anong masasabi mo sa bagong bansag sayo na
MEXECUTIONER?
Manny: Hindi naman. I am just a boxer doing my job inside the ring.

*****Owwsss see?... Manny delivered it like a pro. Seems like Manny's past the HIDDEN SHOULDERS days huh... LOL..

GETAWAY VEHICLE

One news i picked up in TV Patrol tonight was the shootout that cost the life of a man in black jacket and black helmet. Apparently, the man is not a suspect as the immediate family claims, crying foul over the death of their beloved and contending that one cannot be simply judged a suspect just because one wears a black jacket, a black helmet while driving a motorbike. The report however, did not say if the dead guy was using a black motorbike.

The mom of the dead guy was interviewed.

The MOM: Sa liit ba naman ng motor na yon, pwedeng gamiting getaway car?

****Hmmmmm.. Forget about the color black..The mom has a different angle of the
story....

TGI FRIDAYS sa LUNES

Sa AYALA, duha ka manang milabay sa TGI FRIDAYS...

Manang 1: Ay kalain pud aning restorana, abri man diayg lunes.

Manang 2: Mao. Dapat unta alisdan na ug TGI Lunes inig Lunes uie.

Manang 1: Haaay, makalibog.

xxxxx

What can i say? They have their calnedars checked i guess...

Center of the STOMACH

When my sister was here in Cebu for a medical check-up, she and her husband did their rounds of shopping at the malls. They bought presents, decors, clothes, books for my niece and nephew and God knows what the rest are. It wasn't really a big shopping spree. Just the normal shopping for Dipolognons who visit Cebu - usually pasalubongs. And so while shopping at a clothing department in one of the big malls an American guy was busy grabbing clothes (probably for presents) for her Filipina girlfriend who happened not to be with her. He was specifically looking for revealing clothes. At least that's what I thought with the gestures he was making to the saleslady. Two other salesladies were kind enough to offer help to sales lady number 1.

Saleslady 2: Hala ang amerkano o, nangita daw og sanina sa iya uyab kana dawng makita ang pusod.

Saleslady 3: Kani ipakita day o kay nindot ni na color

Miduol sa Amerkano si saleslady number 2 and 3..

Saleslady 2: Sir you choose this one, it's nice. For sure, u can see your girlfriend's center of the stomach...

Saleslady 3: Yes sir, and for sure it will fit. Promise.

Amerikano: Ahhh, I see. Salamat. This looks great.

Amerkano, mi-smile ug after a few minutes ug pamili ug laing mga sapot, mibayad sa counter. Saleslady 2 and 3 mibalik sa ilang pwesto duol sa akong in-law while saleslady 3 nag-assist sa Amerkano pagbayad.

Saleslady 2: Day, sakto ra tong ako ingon?

Saleslady 3: Di jud ko sure day.

Saleslady 2: (Miduol sa akong in-law ug nangutana) Sir sir, unsa gali iningles anang pusod.?

Bro-in-Law: Navel. Pwede pud bellybutton.

Saleslady 2: Ay, hala sorry abi jud nakog center of the stomach. Hahaha...

Saleslady 3: Hala uie kalain. Wa jud ta tudloi ana sa grade 1...

XXXXXXXX


MORAL OF THE STORY: We should include bellybutton and navel in the anatomy charts in elementary school. i remember caption only reads stomach....hmmmm....may point ang mga salesladies...unsa ba namay center sa tyan, PUSOD man...tsk tsk

KRISMAS NA SA SUGBO...

well, we're down to the last 28 days of 2008 and its another year again. i am not that giddy of the whole new year thing, i noticed. i have become less hopeful about my future, not to mention the future of this country. i am still glad though that there is that part of me who tries to hang on to that little spark of hope. maybe because i still wanna live. Ergo, i struggle to survive. i'm still keeping that teeny weeny hope under my sleeves. life hasn't been all that bad to me and i have more than a handful of lessons that i learned this year. but yes, i am the most forgetful person so i surely couldn't remember all of them. and since this isn't really a blog about lessons, i will spare you from that harangue.

it's christmas...hmmm almost. i am sad that the only carols i hear in Cebu so far are those of the out-of-school youth that hijacks jeepneys and sing their piece of 'Pasko na Naman' which would put you in shame if you give just a peso. Their songs literally demands 5 pesos. It's funny that everytime they jump on a jeepney and sing their carol, everyone inside the vehicle has something very important to do - checking their phones,texting, fixing their hair, changing the songs on their ipods and some just pretend to doze off or just stare blankly out of the window. Dedma. Well, i am one of them when i don't have a penny to spare. hahaha...I miss the carols on the radio that wakes me up at dawn when Christmas day is fast approaching. Especially the Max Surban song about the Krismas Tree... I might just have to visit the mall to hear it if that's even played there...ts tsk...

and so the jeepney speeds through jones avenue and approaches Fuente Osmena...it's Max Surban's giant Xmas tree you'll see.

the giant Xmas tree was lighted on the first day of December. fireworks and all, the hoopla gathered people inside the Circle and caused a humongous traffic. I took a few photos. it's hard getting photos using the cam i'm using because it's nighttime and the tree is a bit far from where i was doing the clicking. While taking the photos, some professional photographers not so far away were flashing their Nikons and Canons - professional cameras with all the lengthy accessories. My camera paled in comparison and retreated back to my pocket. I swore I will have that cam one day. Hehehe....

PASSERBY - ala lang, labay lang

Passing by the Sto. Nino Basilica, the Magellan's Cross, the Cebu City Hall and Fort Santiago, I took some snapshots again. i liked most the photos of the two old ladies selling candles. i felt a tug in my heart seeing them there under the heat of the sun working to the bone when their bodies are too old for it. . But then again, i was glad they're not one you see begging for pennies. Oprah should give them a vacation in that Tucson, Arizona Spa featured in one her show episodes where she gave some 50 women a treat of a lifetime for being such formidable forces in another person's life. Well, she ain't seen our ladies at the Sto Nino church. Somebody should write Oprah real quick...








and yes, i was only passing by all of them...LOL...

TULAY ni KA MARCELO

(Sidenote: Remember how Cebuanos are so lazy to pronounce the letter L so that balay is pronounces as ba'ay, wala as wa, batikolon as batikon and so on? The list is endless but Cebuanos never fail to pronounce the word TULAY as it is...hmmmm? what possibly could it mean?)

In a truly unplanned trip, i and three other friends - Nanoi, Diane and Eric - went to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. It was not some big trip idea but that which randomly pops up and beats your ass to keep that feet moving instantly.







It was my first time to be under such humongous bridge and be on top of it. There is a nice small park under the bridge which i noticed is pretty popular hangout of lovebirds. we did a little videoke in a small sari-sari store where diane belted almost all Regine songs effortlessly. when dark cam, it was time to go. But not until we have crossed the bridge from Mactan island to Cebu. Yes, we walked across the bridge and took pics along the way. It was a such an experience. i probably won't be able to do that again. the Cebu city nightscape is breathtaking.

i was tired. but it was worth each sweat.

As i learned, the bridge was named after former Senate President and Supreme Court Justice Marcelo Fernan - a true-blue Sugbuanon and the only Filipino to date who has the distinction of having occupied the highest positions of two separate branches in the government. the bridge was opened in August 1999 and is 1237 meters (4058.40 feet) in length and is 185 meters (606.96 feet) high at its center. Thanks go the bridge, traveling to Mactan is not so much a hassle.Well, the fare still is...tsk tsk..

The TERRACES at AYALA

Competition is good. SM opened the North Wing a few months ago and it was spacious with its high ceilings, wide alleys and high-end shops that I could only afford to peep from their shiny glass windows. My meager salary ain't enough ticket to even look at those pricey tags. Duty Free also recently opened its doors to those who have passports to get inside and dollars to spend on chocolates that could otherwise be found in the supermarket. Bread Talk had also got people talking about the prevailing price of flour and sure, coffeeshops is almost everywhere like a painful reminder that i can only afford to drink the free coffee at the office pantry. Thank god there is Powerbooks!

Well, Ayala seemed to notice most people are flocking at SM recently. And so they came up with The Terraces - an extension to the the jigsaw puzzle architecture of the Ayala Center. The Terraces boasts of its ambiance. The park feel of the area is an easy spot to lounge around for people who don't really have cash to spend in the mall, errr like me. At least the designers were kind enough to consider the fact that, really, most of the people who go to the mall are simply window-shopping or just cooling the steam off their heads brought about by the increasing world temperature due to pollution. And so there are a few Talisay trees around, a carefully maintained garden and nice sights of the Cebu skyscrapers. Coffee shops are virtually everywhere. Food is in all directions. It is a well-planned design, I thought. Most people think so too.






Now, i can go to the mall without having to worry i am not bringing a paper bag from one of its shops. I can just sit around the its garden, ponder about life, get lost among the people and go home. if budget permits, i can always go upstairs and watch a good movie..tsk tsk...or better yet, just keep my fingers clickin' on my cam..

ANNE FRANK-what's with this girl, eh?

I have just finished reading THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by ANNE FRANK. I know, I know.... I should've had read the book already a long time ago but it was only last weekend when i got to convince myself to pick the book up and bring it to the cashier at National Bookstore.



It was a good read. I was expecting stories of death, of people saponified, gassed to death, bloody killings and bombs raining from page to page. Instead, i was welcomed by an intelligent young lady recounting each day of the lives of 8 people hiding in a Secret Annexe from the Gestapo for 25 months during the holocaust. It was a very honest, heartfelt story of unwavering hope despite the odds. Bombs did rattle their very beings but it did not stop them from searching for that light in a dark place where clouds seem to close in faster and faster. It showed their brave attempts to live normal lives in times that simply do not allow them to live normally. The girl has such great insights and maturity it made me feel like an idiot. I couldn't have reasoned the way she did on things that I may have similarly experienced. It also reawakened my desire to read more books...sigh!

HMMMM......right now, i'm starting to read TWILIGHT... yes, its because of the movie. ..and yes, i read the book at work.. tsk tsk...

ESCARIO

i travel the whole spine of Escario each day to work inside the speedy jeepneys that seem to drive their drivers. it worsens a bad hair day. stepping into the elevator has become such an awkward mahangin-ba-sa-labas moment. it's easy to pick who rode the jeepney or the taxi. thank God, its dressdown all week -- a bad hair day can easily be mistaken as your mood of the day...

i snapped the pics while waiting for a jip bound for home...