11.20.2007
10.23.2007
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
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 goats10.18.2007
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
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
8.26.2007
8.24.2007
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.
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.
6.02.2007
watchdog
exercising my right of suffrage. Precinct 1-A, Bantay, Ilocos SurMay 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.
5.23.2007
urban pleasures
not wanting to have my hair done by a stranger, i opted to forego going to the salon. back in manila, Arcy alone can cut my hair.
being in the rural province has its setbacks.
so i dared to do what no woman would dare do. standing in front of a mirror, i picked up a pair of scissors, muttered a little prayer, and snipped away. at least if it didn't turn out well, i've no one else to blame but myself.
as it turned out, i managed to create a soft layer with bangs and an uneven trim. haha.
in college, my university stood in front of a row of eateries ranging from fast food to pastry shops to semi-fine dine restaurants.
one of my fondest memories was a particular shop called hmm, what was it again?
anyhow, it has the word "angel" on it and what makes it special actually, is one comfort food i discovered there-- lemon squares.
now, what do you do when you suddenly crave for it and you find yourself in a rural place without shops offering that specialty?
google it and bake your own. good thing there's a recently opened supermarket here that offered lemons. otherwise, i guess i'd have to improvise and recreate it into calamansi (green local Philippine lemon sized a quarter of a golf ball) squares.
here's the recipe...
LEMON SQUARES
A recipe for lemon squares, a popular bar cookie dessert made with a cookie crust and lemony topping.
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 sticks butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 eggs, well beaten
* 1 heaping tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
PREPARATION:
Sift flour and powdered sugar together. Cut in butter until well blended. Press mixture over bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan. Bake about 25 minutes at 300° until lightly browned. Combine remaining ingredients and spread on top of the baked crust. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Makes about 12 servings.
being in the rural province has its setbacks.
so i dared to do what no woman would dare do. standing in front of a mirror, i picked up a pair of scissors, muttered a little prayer, and snipped away. at least if it didn't turn out well, i've no one else to blame but myself.
as it turned out, i managed to create a soft layer with bangs and an uneven trim. haha.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
in college, my university stood in front of a row of eateries ranging from fast food to pastry shops to semi-fine dine restaurants.
one of my fondest memories was a particular shop called hmm, what was it again?
anyhow, it has the word "angel" on it and what makes it special actually, is one comfort food i discovered there-- lemon squares.
now, what do you do when you suddenly crave for it and you find yourself in a rural place without shops offering that specialty?
google it and bake your own. good thing there's a recently opened supermarket here that offered lemons. otherwise, i guess i'd have to improvise and recreate it into calamansi (green local Philippine lemon sized a quarter of a golf ball) squares.
here's the recipe...
LEMON SQUARES
A recipe for lemon squares, a popular bar cookie dessert made with a cookie crust and lemony topping.
INGREDIENTS:
* 2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 sticks butter
* 2 cups sugar
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 4 eggs, well beaten
* 1 heaping tablespoon grated lemon rind
* 1/4 cup lemon juice
PREPARATION:
Sift flour and powdered sugar together. Cut in butter until well blended. Press mixture over bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan. Bake about 25 minutes at 300° until lightly browned. Combine remaining ingredients and spread on top of the baked crust. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Makes about 12 servings.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)