busted

everything's busted:

. my cellphone

. the light in my room

. my wristwatch

all in the same day. ack.

in memory of

at lunchtime today, Dad's cousin, Dominic died of stroke. At age 71, she's a spinster who lived a very frugal and almost Scrooge kind of life. Although we all know she has amassed a huge amount of personal wealth (from the pension she's receiving from American government and just the fact that she doesn't spend for anyone but herself), she was not in good terms with most of the people around her and her health was spiraling down. when we saw her for a family dinner last December, she just got out of the hospital from a week's confinement. I heard she's had grievances with the sister who lived right next door to her. She's also not in speaking terms with one of the nephews she financially aided when he was building his own house.

as i sat at her wake thinking about these, i wonder if there was any person who actually felt her loss. was there anyone at all who was grieving at her death? or was she a dead person to those around her even during the time she was alive?

it was a disturbing thought and one i wouldn't want to happen to me.

in several events, this theme has been recurring for the past months--life is about relationships, not about financial wealth.

what are you building your life on?

{not as sweet}

Mom's side of the family has a history of diabetes. to ease my qualms of inheriting it, we both decided to have our FBS (fasting blood sugar) taken on heart's day. normal would be 120.

mom was overboard at 256!

i guess i'm just not as sweet as mom. mine was normal at 92. sweet!

{beautiful am i? i am beautiful}

30 years on earth and only two people have told me up front that i am beautiful. thanks to the Philippines' bias towards fair-skinned women, nobody even turns to take a second look at me.

this morning we had our usual bible study at the office and my sister surprised me when she revealed in our cell group how much she admired how i can keep a secret and keep my mouth shut specially in trying times. that, to her, is a beautiful thing.

a friend sms-ed:

"a truly beautiful person is one whose heart rests secure in God's love, who no longer seeks man's attention, but is concerned with what pleases her Maker."

then i remembered my favorite passage [I Peter 3:4]

Be beautiful in your heart by being gentle and quiet. This kind of beauty will last, and God considers it very special

-Contemporary English Version

belly laugh

getting my daily dose of 3 belly laughs. teehihihihi.

de - caffeinated

i thought it was the usual pain that came with my monthly period. but it came off the schedule nd the pain was unbearable. i felt like someone who had been beaten on the chest. like a battered wife.

when i finally had the courage to face it, the doctor said it's just fibrocystic changes--women who reach the age of 30 normally experience that. nothing to worry about. just take in 600 iu of vitamin E everyday and steer clear of any caffeine-- coffee, tea, mocha, chocolate, soda.

and so i was determined to fight this battle. even if coffee had been a vital part of my life as breathing, i strictly obeyed the doctor's orders. sure it mellowed me down and i didn't feel any more pain, but drinking only milk and juice for 5 straight months? something's gotta give.

i self-declared i was healed. so at the beginning of the year, my supposedly 6th caffeine-free month, i drank a cuppa. then the following day, i took a bite of a litl bit o chocolate. so far so good. no more pain. i felt invincible and this girl was back to her caffeinated lifestyle again.

less than two months and that's when the pain started again-- like rekindling an old flame. aargh. just when i was about to enjoy...

what's left for me to do now? back to square one: the doctor's boring orders.

but, when life throws lemons at ya, make a lemonade. God must be smiling at me when He made two of my greatest caffeine-free fixes ever:
1) decaffeinated earl grey tea
2) coffee made from roasted rice

oh and another thing, a good friend doctor of mine recommended that i get these too:
1) exercise (crunch time, baby. let's do the jiggy)
2) 3 belly laughs a day (someone, make me laugh, please?)

ollie bollen

Marleen and Michelle preparing the ollie bollen

Finishing touches

Yummy oily balls!!

Prooost!

This is the second time that we had foreign guests celebrate New Years with us.

In 2008, we had Kamera and Harley (Maories from New Zealand).

This year, we had 3 Dutch girls--Josine, Marleen, and Michelle. They made their traditional ollie bollen (oily balls) which they still brought from the Netherlands. We had a full house since our late brother's friends Paolo and Joods also spent the holidays with us.

b.u.s.

this vietnam-cambodia-thailand overland trip has found me sitting inside a bus for hours.

dream job

{written 2007}

pretty interesting discussion i had with my sister tonight. "if you were not helping out with the family business, where would you be?"

she'd be a talk show host. and perhaps team leader or supervisor of a call center.

growing up, she always wanted to be a doctor.

i, on the other hand, would be juggling 3 things in my busy schedule. i'd be teaching.

toddlers would be a happy group. yeah, i'd be teaching pre-schoolers. we'll be doing a lot of loud action songs. we'll get messy doing finger-painting. and i'll bring the kids to the farm. see how many plants that begin with the letter "X" they can identify. *evil laugh*

i'd also be an assistant chef. sous-chef, is that how they call it? while the big boss commands the orders, i'll be chopping, julienning, dicing, mincing, zesting, blanching, baking, stir-frying, and plating the most delicate masterpieces. the kitchen is pretty heated up but lively and chatty. everything i'd serve is organic and healthy. inside my white uniform, i'd be wearing a green shirt that reads "Veggie Lovers Dream Team".

and on weekends or on selected week nights, i'd have several friends or family over for an intimate dinner i've especially prepared myself. i'd wow them with my infusion of italian and ilocano cuisine. pesto with longganiza, anyone?

the job that would keep me most busy? i'd be a camera man for a travel documentary. i'll be away from home most of the time, but i'd be meeting interesting personalities from different cultures, sampling their exotic dishes, witnessing colorful festivities, catching magnificent sunrises and sunsets, getting bumpy rides, staying in posh hotels or roughing it under an "all-star accommodation". during breaks, i get to read a fast-paced fiction. or better yet, i'd bring out my notebook and pen, reflect on the good things in life that has come my way and blog about it when i get home. the best part? i get to be paid doing the job i love most.

T'boli Song

T'boli Dance

T'boli

I felt so honored to have a homestay arranged with one of our National Artists, Lang Dulay. Beh (grandmother) Lang, as she is fondly called by her populous grand children, is hailed national artist for t'nalak weaving (indigenous loomweaving out of abaca fibers). Since I couldn't speak with her in her native tongue, I chatted with her grandchildren.



Perhaps one of the most interesting conversations in my life, I learned that in the early days, T'boli men can have many wives. The main reason for that is they had to enlarge their clan. That way, the head of the family can become a datu. How can a man be a datu if he has no constituents (or a small family)? So, from only 2 sons of Lang Dulay, one son married 6 wives, the other 9. Just think of how many grand children and greatgrandchildren she has now. They also practiced arranged marriages. So a teenage girl can already get married, have kids, and populate the clan. Can a woman marry out of love? Sadly, arrangements can only be turned down if you're rich enough to return back the dowry which the male's family has given--which is very rare.

Asked how the younger generation are taking it: they're sick and tired of the tradition and would want to find love by choice. The same goes with t'nalak weaving. To them, the entire weaving is a tedious process and is too complicated for them to keep. Most of them would rather get good education and become professionals. Does it mean that as they turn their back, their tribe's culture would die a slow death? I hope not. As I've personally witnessed, there are still many ways they're known for, like their music:

lake sebu

and so my adventure begins at surallah, where my coordinator Danny Antenor agreed to meet me at the terminal. "are you afraid of riding a motor bike?" came his text. i replied, "No."

as expected, he came with a single motor. and i, with a 10lb-ish pack on my back, was about to experience the bumpiest ride of my life!

not wanting to waste any more precious time, we made our way uphill to Lake Sebu-- a good 30min to an hour trip-- exchanged quick pleasantries with a few locals and headed to the famous??? Seven falls. Two of these are easily accessible to any tourist. I was here to see the other 5.. through an unexplored trail. "Which trail?," you may ask; to which I asked myself, "What trail? There's no trail at all!!!"

It was like that hike to kampung Semuti somewhere in the jungles of Sarawak (Malaysia), but this one is multiplied to the 3rd degree of difficulty!!! I slipped more, fell more, brought home more bruises and insect bites, and my knees were shaking halfway through.

my guides (the Dongon brothers, whose family own the land bordering the falls) were merciless! they just kept on going and going. There were moments when I wanted to give up, rest for a whole hour, or use my non-existent supernatural powers to fly, but every single time we stopped to enjoy each waterfall, I was instantly invigorated. the view was just glorious.

my favorite would be #5 and #4. the water fell so strong (i'm not quite sure which words are proper to use to describe it) that it created mists. imagine a giant evian. imagine it spraying not just your face, but your entire body, like a free shower. it was so refreshing. i wasn't totally prepared for it since i expected to take a dip in a pool it would create. so, note to travellers, waterproof everything. get a waterproof camera as well. and if you're planning to take the unexplored "trail", eat a lot. and ask your guide to take lotsa break. i was amazed it only took us 4 hours back and forth. locals said it was a feat! even seasoned climbers couldn't cover it that quickly. also, if the idea of climbing a steep 90deg angle clinging only to roots and crossing rivers don't scare you, then by all means, take this challenge!

my waterfalls exploration was finished off with a trip to one of the easy falls (#1). there, we were met by the other Dongon family (who managed and maintained the falls) and were eager to see photos I took of the other falls. they haven't gone there. after showing them some shots, they were happy that somehow they had a glimpse of it.

lake sebu, south cotabato

manaoag

wanderlust strikes again. it's one of those moments when i just had to break away from my routine.

having just finished my monthly audits to several systems, i had an urge to go somewhere else. this place in Pangasinan suddenly roused my curiosity and i had to see it for myself. Manaoag is a place where Catholic devotees offer up prayers when they have a special need. Vigils are common specially during the Holy Week.

From the main road, the sign says 5km to Manaoag. I took a mental note of how much time it would take me to get there so I can estimate how long i should linger before i head home and before it gets dark. slowly, i rolled down my windows, put on something upbeat in the player, and just began soaking up the beauty of the journey.

Reaching my destination, i was quite disappointed at how commercialized it has become. The town is teeming with followers and the road is lined up with vendors selling their wares from religious articles to local handicrafts to cheap clothing and native delicacies. Where's the reverence in all this?

Amidst the chaos, my eye caught another sign that read "This way to the Virgin's Well". Somewhere, there must be some place more serene. Turning right, the road inclined and the concrete path turned to broken concrete, then unpaved rough road. 3kms later, I made it to the well that was said to have healing powers.

I am no Catholic, and going there didn't mean anything special to me. but it filled the need for me to have a destination so I can have a closure to my aimless wandering. I've arrived and now I need to get back. leaving Manaoag, i have yet again ticked off another destination in my "Places to visit in the Philippines" list.

cows grazing

a barangay of goats

enchanting india

when i went to india 3 years ago, i could never explain in words what attracted me to that mysterious country and what, for the most part, kept it interesting.

today, getting a dose of my blog-reads, i chanced upon one traveller whose post puts it well:

Travelling in India is not an easy or comfortable experience. There will be times when you’ll be nervous, and times when you’ll be thrilled, times when you’ll be freezing cold, and times when you’ll be melting hot, times when you’ll be in awe, and times when you’ll be in disgust, times when you’ll be homesick, and times when you’ll forget where you came from, times when you’ll be angry, and times when you’ll practice compassion, times when you’ll feel lonely, and times when you’ll feel you’re part of a new family, times when you’ll be exhausted, and times when you’ve never felt so alive. It’s best not to go with our first inclination to label these experiences as “good” or “bad” but simply recognize each experience for what it is -- an experience. For ironically enough, it’s rarely the memory of a comfortable couch that we treasure, but exactly those experiences that push us out of zones of comfort and put us on cold and sharp ledges, that transform our lives and perception of it.

www.solbeam.com

my visualDNA

what shawi is made up of.

radar

June 4, 2007. the reason why i insisted on climbing the mountain that Monday was because i wanted to remind myself of something--that a task is never big enough that i could not conquer it.

i remember trekking the ranges of bordering Malaysia and Indonesia (um, almost Indonesia) last March and i clearly recall not even being daunted by it. the entire hike (one-way) took almost an entire day, the trail was tough & challenging, we had to cross rivers, slog up and down the mountains, all under the sweltering heat of the noontime sun, and yet i hardly broke a sweat (metaphorically speaking)! but the whole time, i really had a blast and never considered it such an arduous task.

that trip taught me a few things:

- never look too far ahead of you, lest you be overwhelmed and decide to turn your back
- take one step at a time
- enjoy every moment

you see, my father recently took over the management of existing systems in 3 more towns. you can equate that to more work for me. there's just too much to do since we're also upgrading our billing system. and my sister still isn't here to give me a hand. it's just overwhelming!!!

i needed something to remind me of that precious lesson i learned a few months ago which i almost instantly have forgotten.

the local energy station announced that there would be a province-wide power outage that day, so i grabbed the opportunity since i couldn't do much work in the office without electricity anyway. next was to find me a buddy for the day's climb. my cousin Maki was also perfect since he's a bouncy energetic teenager who was up to any action. he picked me up at 6am and we set off with our day packs and a determination to reach the peak.



along the way when i started to whine (which was more than occasionally), Maki would cheer me on and say, "We're almost at the bridge" or Just a few meters more or You can do it! Three and a half hours and countless breaks later, we reached the summit and stayed in this rundown office-cum-resthouse with a spectacular view of the town.

that was all i needed.

i came back home with throbbing joints & muscles and a sore body, but the task ahead of me did not seem so enormous anymore.

watchdog

exercising my right of suffrage. Precinct 1-A, Bantay, Ilocos Sur

May 14, 2007 Election

i got an invite to a most unglamorous and risky job.

you get a few hours of shut eye the entire week, and i heard that in the southern part of the country, violence is expected. in Manila though, each person is insured up to P50,000.

i'm talking about volunteering to be an election watchdog.

why not? the last altruistic thing i ever did for my country was join the Edsa Dos which ousted Joseph Estrada.

my IDs say i am a LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Elections) and PPRCV (Parish Pastoral
Council for Responsible Voting) volunteer. the group i joined in is an "accredited citizen's arm of the Commission on Elections whose task is to monitor the canvassing of tallied votes in cities, municipalities, and provinces around the country."

together with other volunteers, i took up to the task of encoding election returns (in my province Ilocos Sur) to come up with a quickcount which we can compare against ComElecs' and other entities' results.

along the way (our second day perhaps), we were surprised that there were massive election irregularities. some election returns were tampered, others had no thumbmarks and no official seal, there were conflicting totals, and several ERs were noticeably written by just one person. one cheater's attempt came accross as hilarious by sending a copied ER and typing at the back, "this is a certified true photocopy"!!!

i was appalled. and deep inside, i was screaming "dirty politics". these "spoilt" entries shouldn't even be counted! but what can an ordinary volunteer do? i wanna tell our chairperson to do something about it. to not just stand there and witness all these crap happening. that's what we're here for, right?

being an election watchdog is not a walk in the park. for all the effort i did, all i got was a shirt, a week's free lunch (and breakfast), some multi-vitamins and new-found seminarian friends. i never volunteered to expect financial remuneration. all i was after was clean elections. and i can't believe i witnessed cheating first-hand.

i went back home dejected thinking this massive cheating is a desecration of the people's right to choose who they want to rule over their nation.


May 27, 2007. tonight as i watched the news, PPRCV Ilocos Sur was featured. Our chairperson actually had the media with her and exposed these irregularities. i let out a sigh of relief. by making the people aware, at least now i can say that my time was not wasted. it was for a good cause after all.