This is the noise that keeps me awake
the trick is to keep breathingTrip to San Jacinto
5am, Friday, March 6
It was around 5 am when my mom woke me up. I just had about four hours of sleep. You know that feeling when your absolutely tired but you have no snooze option, I felt that doing my thesis till the wee hours of the morning years back only sleeping one hour and with no choice had to wake up get showered and dressed and drive to school to make a presentation.
Today was quite the same. If I snoozed I’d be left behind, by my mom and the airplane. I felt so sleepy. I didn’t shower any more since I showered before I slept. We took a cab, as usual since it as too early to disturb anyone to bring us to the airport that early, and we got to the airport as usual there were lots of people already at the centennial terminal.
The night before, which was actually just 6 hours ago, I was discussing with my sister what I would wear to the trip to San Jacinto. Since getting there would mean first a 15-minute or so cab ride then a 45-minute airplane ride then a short ride in a tricycle to the terminal where we’d either be taking a bus or van – about 3-4 hours, and then another short tricycle ride to the port and finally a 1-hour boat ride to San Jacinto. Doesn’t sound that bad huh? I was thinking wearing something thick and heavy because it would be cold in the airport and van but it will be hot and sticky in the tricycle and boat ride in the end I decided to just wear shorts and a shirt.
At the airport I was hungry and instead of eating at Delifrance again I went looking for this store where the last time I was at there, to go to dumaguete that is, I saw these two girls eating this yummy looking soup. After walking around my mom spotted the soup and the store was called vin vin. Actually it was longer but I could only remember vin vin. Hehe. The soup was really hot and good but the meat tasted uhm… old I guess.
I was already sick the days before and all this travelling and stuff just made it worse. During the flight my colds and the descent if the aircraft made my ears ouchy. They couldn’t pop or what even if I tried. It was so bad that I couldn’t even hear ambient noise anymore. And I couldn’t hear my mom or other people unless the talked directly to my ear. Weirdest of all I couldn’t distinguish how loud I was talking. Eventually it disappeared once we landed and I got out of the plane. Good thing because my ears hurt so bad already! Oh funny thing with the ears was I didn’t and couldn’t get dizzy. Haha I could ride so much roller coasters and not get dizzy.
Boy was it hot outside! We went straight from getting our bags to riding the tricycle, good thing number 10 was waiting, as what he usually does for the past how many years, there to help us with our bags. From there we got a tricycle again to the terminal to ride the bus and it was so so hot! Inside the bus my mom met tita Evelyn, who was the president of the tourism council at Sam Jacinto. And I was tasked to fix and design this stairway and promenade at the side of the church which stands on a peninsula. In the past I think this was fortified.
Anyway the bus driver was crazy and he didn’t know how to slow down on curves so it was terrible! My mom was throwing up! And I didn’t know if I wanted to throw up or sleep from exhaustion. I slept from exhaustion.
At Bulan we finally landed at the San Jacinto Store owned by Tia Kording who makes the yummiest fish soup and Sinagol. And there it was heaven. The place us no palace but the food is great. The fish soup is so homey and goooood!
The boat ride to San Jacinto was uneventful and dizzy! San Jacinto is such a beautiful place. It is so quaint and provincial!
My Lola’s house is her mothers house I think and it’s so oooold. But it has this character, like it holds so much stories and time and experience in it. My mom grew up there till gradeschool only because she went to high school at Philippine Science in Quezon City.
The first order of business when I got to the house was to take a shower! Then the whole day I slept and ate and that’s it. Of course the customary visits of friends and relatives occurred but that was it!
So that’s my first day at San Jacinto. Tomorrow a lot of things are scheduled!
Ciao!
Blogging from my itouch
And so they finished painting the ceiling of my room. And then I got sick. I always had a problem with my nose. And yet I never took the precaution of staying away from my room that now smells like paint. So now I have a terrible sore throat and a cold. At least it’s not my dreaded nasal drip that i hate so much. I wonder why I had to be so weak in the respiratory system.
This sore throat and cold kept me up the whole night. I woke up every 30 minutes or so to clear my throat. It was terrible. Now I have all the fans blowing on my room to remove that ghastly fume.
Anyway, good thing I downloaded this blogging tool from the iTunes app store. Now I can blog even if I’m going poo at the toilet. Hahaha!
Now if only I can figure out how to add pictures or video. This other application does that but im suspicious of software not written by the original author.
Oh my. Uh-oh My stomach is hurting. Got to go! I’ll blog again later!
Ciao!
Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) and now Super Typhoon Pepeng (Parma)
It’s always raining in the Philippines. And I don’t mind. It’s very hot in tropical countries and rain is God’s blessing when it’s scorching.
But this week I feel guilty. Because I love the rain and unlike many people who got flooded – whole houses destroyed and people who died – nothing happened here and I still like it when it rains.
In Maryland, where I used to live my mom said it would rain there like it rains here in Manila. Heavy rain with big droplets. Not like in Austria for example where my mom says it’s like there a perpetual drizzle and the sky seems to always be dark.
Let me veer away for a moment and compare how that gloomy scenario could the physical representation if possible of europe’s soul – dark, uninspired, unhopeful. And why? It is simple! They have forgotten the message of hope of Jesus Christ. They are allowing the whims of the world – secularism, capitalism, relativism, Islam, ecumenism, white man’s guilt, etcetera – to control their lives and destinies.
Back to my original topic. Oh nevermind my topic. I never really wanted to talk about the typhoon anyway. We always get them it’s just that lately it’s been getting worse. I feel like the COP15 at Copenhagen will be important for humanity. Something akin to the landing of the Vulcans in Boise, Montana. Or to the discovery by Luke that Darth Vader was his father. Humanity will find out that we are better than what we are now – hungry, greedy capitalists, ready to pounce ok the next rich resource to plunder and who cares about everybody else. The world is truly a complicated place but if at the very least the big people at the high government levels all agree that we have to finally get ourselves off this ditch and grave humanity is digging for itself then maybe we have hope that we can become an advance civilization instead of a dead civilization dedicated in spreading death and not hope.
Humanity has to finally unite to achieve a worldwide civilization – all peoples slowly reaching a standard level of civilization. Modern countries not thinking that they will lose their advantage if everybody else becomes advance. And poor countries not corrupting and depending on foreign aid to develop. Imagine a world where each country is more or less free of major conflicts. Where each nation will be preoccupied more NOT on antagonizing each other or bullying each other with missile launched and Islamic terrorist attacks but instead busy trying to find the next medical breakthrough – like a cure to cancer or aids or even ancient illnesses that still kill like tuberculosis. What about joint projects to terraform devastated parts of the planet from over extraction of resources? Or the space agencies of the world united to finding ways for habitation around the orbit of earth? And in turn maybe in two decades a united earth that will launch projects for the benefit of all humanity on earth – the colonization of the moon and mars?
Lofty ideals but better than our petty goal of trying to rein in north Korea as if it were a school bully with influential parents in the school board. We’d all rather be discussing the next olympics then who will be next to try to negotiate with Islamic Iran and their thirst for weapons.
So that’s my post for tonight. Goodnight every one. Und guten nacht kong.
–
The quiet night
The night is quiet right now
And the leaves are still
The sun is gone and it seems
The moon as well
Everything is in a shade of dark blue
And the air is as cold as ice
Nothing seems to move
Nothing seems to be there
I’d like to tip toe about
Outside and around
But it’s so cozy in my blankets
They’re heavy and they’re warm
My bed’s so fluffy like clouds
outside it’s hard and cold like rock
But someone or something’s outside
I can feel it, I feel just pass by
I have to find it outside….
Outside, just a little more outside
I tip toe about, outside and around
And at the corner I see…..
Nothing but a shadow of me.
Puppy lost his Kong
This a short story about a little puppy named Pong.
Pong was a little puppy. The kind you see on cartoons – a baby and a bit pudgy but he was playful alright!
He loved playing around the house and doing mischievous things although he never knew they were and didn’t mean to be naughty.
He was very loving and liked cuddling with people he had grown fond of. His favorite was a boy named Kong. He was a big boy who would leave Pong a bone near the mailbox at the front yard after school. And everyday Kong would leave a bone for Pong to chew and play with.
It became a part of Pongs routine thing and He was always excited. One time Pong caught Kong putting the bone near the mailbox on his way home from school. Pong was so happy to see Kong and ran to him excitedly and cuddly allover his feet. Kong didn’t mind his wet tongue licking his hands too. Pong would look forward to the times that he would catch Kong putting the bone – he’d get a gentle scratch on the forehead too!
But one Friday afternoon pong didn’t find his bone. But found a note from Kong that he set out on a quest and hopefully would be done by Sunday. So he could do nothing but wait.
He waited on Saturday. He waited on Sunday. He waited on Monday. He waited on Tuesday but still no bone. He started getting worried. Pong felt like he lost Kong. He started to get puppy eyes, the kind you see in cartoons. But Pong said “I will wait for Kong, he will never leave me.”.
And that is the story of Pong the puppy. Look out for the sequel and see if Pong ever finds Kong again.
Off to See an Old House for Possibly the Last Time
It’s 6:05 am and it’s freezing. I’m here at the airport and I’m wearing beach shorts. I was hoping that the weather was better oh well. That’s life. So funny thing my mom had this weird meeting scheduled at the airport gate lounge – two engineers and a secretary of a congressman. Weird.
I on the other hand am just quietly bearing the cold and hoping I could be beamed straight to San Jacinto. I’m actually writing so mike could read this. I hope he is. I know your having a busy week! But always good to keep in touch!
There are a lot if foreigners here, well that’s expected
Sometimes, not what it seems, as always somewhere else!
This was written May if this year, just published now!
So its been my fifth day here at San jacinto, ticao island masbate. It’s been raining the last four days. Not just raining a typhoon stationed itself just off the island so we were having natural aircon ala-typhoon. Yesterday was the most eventful day as of my trip. I went to mass that was sponsored by my family here then at night I played mahjong with my mom, my moms sister and my aunt. My Tito was there two playing proxy for my moms sister tita Palay. I won three times, but still ended negative!
Today is the fifth day. The rain finally stopped. It’s still cool but a little bit hotter than the other days. Imagine fiesta here is supposed to be summer. Hot, sticky, unbearable. I’m kind of happy it wasn’t hot.
I’ve been watching heroes lately. Season three, which I downloaded a week ago, I finished episodes 1-19 in about three to four days. I so badly want to be a hero. But like Ando I think it’s just the powers I want. I think to be a hero you need to be like Hiro. But in any case I would love to have powers. I want to go to New York too.
If I had powers it would be like Peter Petrelli or Gabriel. I like Gabriels better but it comes with a downside of being evil. So maybe I’ll just stick with Peters powers. I would immediately get Hiros powers. Because freezing time and going back in time is priceless!! Haha. Very very useful!
Sometimes it’s not what it seems right. You know I feel like going on a search like Dr. Suresh. Search for people with abilitites. But I try to analyze if it is possible to transmit powers through genes and if it possible that the human organism is capable of such ‘supernatural’ phenomenon.
I Regret Not Drawing More
You know sometimes you just have a hard head. You don’t listen or if you do you don’t find the urgency. Urgency is an important aspect in life. For opportunites at the very least this is immeasurably important. You might have the knowledge, a certain insight to something important. But it will only serve more than your pride if you actually sense the urgency to use that knowledge.
Thus, it is the same with drafting. You might have learned the principle behind the technique but have not mastered it because you lack the urgency to actually apply it. It’s stubborness as much as it is a lack of urgency. Is it also arrogance?
Well I guess that’s enough of that for now. Back to the drafting table.
Addendum:
I wrote this while I was still studying for the boards and for reasons only God knows it languished inside my iPod unpublished! And truth behold, I do regret not drawing more! I got an 85 and 83 in the first two parts of the exam and if I just got a little bit higher in my drafting part grade then I could have made it into the top 10! But hey I passed and that’s all that matters now.
PAL Ticket Office Makati Parking sucks like hell!
Today I brought my mom to the ticket office of PAL at makati. Now they changed address since this eaton building was being constructed so they went to this building near makati avenue. The office is big inside but the parking is non-existent. And plus it’s at makati so you can just imagine.
Doesn’t it just irritate you, especially If you have background in physical planning, when these establishments pop out of nowhere or decide to move to a location then make no provision or plans for sufficient parking for their clients?! It’s some sort of dumb-ass move for PAL to locate their main ticketing office for makati in a building with about 5 parking spaces when inside they can accomodate about a hundred or more people. These are people who want to fly they most likely come in cars you can’t just give the minimum.
I’m a lone voice in the sea. Most establishments do this and although many get irate nothing is done about it because those who approve such buildings in the first place are easily, very easily bribed and corrupted with money. These people unfortunately are not only the building officials but also the lowly rank and file who ask for grease money so that someone they know can fast track your application.
So this corruption is a vicious cycle and not only do you experience it by higher cost of service but by terrible lack of quality service to provide ample parking space for a commercial building!!!!!
Down with those corrupt building officials and inefficient owner of PAL!
Amen!!!!!
Sushiya on a Sunday
Right now I’m sitting down in a small bench good enough for one adult or two children. That’s because the other end is occupied by a big plastic koko krunch character. Every Sunday, which it is today, my mom does the grocery and sometimes it just takes so long, so I sit here. And wait. After what seems too long my mom passes by and we can finally be off and done with this grocery thing!
Lunch was at sushiya. We usually eat there when we have no other place to eat. We’re usually at robinsons the whole week so we finish all the places to eat before Sunday arrives. We should really go to Shangri-la more but on Sundays we’ve been going to mass at EDSA Shrine for so long it would be harder to have to go to two malls every Sunday.
Today, at the grocery I bought Jell-O! Raspberry and grape flavors. I’m cooking it because my two sisters will be over for dinner and that will me my dessert for them. My mom will be cooking Sinigang and Larissa’s favourite, Galungong!
Alright. I guess that’s all for now! Ciao!
