into the blue are the bloody bokyas!

The heat. The long journey. And the bad weather. They were all worth it. Well, the bad weather could be blamed to phoebe, the calamity girl slash har har! And not to forget, the itchy stings of the Kulang sa Pansin nga mga jellyfish/bokya (sus!).

It would have been great if I had some pictures, to post here, of that weekend escapade but we were all too preoccupied to ever think of bringing a camera.

Late Saturday afternoon we reached the Basdako beach in Moalboal (89 kms away from Cebu City) and were greeted by the “storm.” It would have been fine had the lightning not join the fun. Good luck sa maigo!

And when it was over, Jute and I, while the calamity girl was already tucked in bed (the place was back to normal at last), made mountains, volacanoes, valleys, and chuchus in the white sand beach. The hours we spent making those “artworks” was worth it as they made good beds for the stray dogs. Bwahaha!

Very early the next day, we rose to see the sunrise. But the side where we posed to view the coming of the sun was not the direction where it was set to rise. It was actually in the opposite direction. It would have been one of the rare times when I got to see the sun rise, but the zero sense of direction in me (or in us?) is just too great to bear (haha!).

And we tested how great our sense of direction was when we tried to look for this “Magpayong” beach. And it was very far away. On our way there we met all colors (and types) of starfish, corals, sea urchins (the dreaded), and other marine lives we only see when we dive. The place was really great, well, except for the damned jellyfish that kept on following us wherever we went. And of course the guardians of the sea, the sea urchins.

Magpayong boasts for its umbrella-like rock formations and that “bell” of a rock that when you pound with a smaller rock creates a gong-like sound. You rock!

Too tired to make the journey back to our side of the beach (most probably 30 minutes away by slow walk) we asked a new friend if we could ride in his bangka. And the goodest guy in Moalboal agreed.

All three of us plus this guy climbed to the latter’s little boat. If it did protest, I didn’t hear it. And we set off to the “sea.”

This guy asked if we wanted to be taken to the lawom (the deep). Of course man! And there all the “ohs” and “ahs” were heard when schools (or universities) of fish of various colors and kinds (we only see in aquarium) were seen underneath until we came to the “cliff.” My breath stopped. I’m pretty sure we, except the guy, were in a panic mode. I mean we were not prepared to see that bottomless pit right under us and yeah we could swim but only a bit. Not a chance of survival if we had fallen into that abyss. Although the sight was really amazing the danger we were in could only be a single movement from our boat. Nay!

So we “sidestepped” that amazing but dangerous sight.

At last we made it back to our beach. In one piece, each, and a story to tell. Haha!

And we swam like there was no tomorrow and jellyfish. The heck!

The sikwati was great! The mangga, budbod, etc. Thanks to Jute’s mom.

Till next time!

i'm guilty! ugh!

yay! ive got spies.
pero hindi ako bakla, my golly! hahaha

I've got a lot tell...here.

I'm just so busy right now. No, I'm not saying I'm shutting up.

Explain ra gud.

So help me God.

BRB

tsk!

whatever happended to you sweetie boy :( tsk tsk tsk!
this explains my being inconsistent...who cares!

just plain crazy me

Oroquieta City, Misamis Occ.-I just thought I should let my family know I'm here (if they could read this). Guilt is eating me now. Told them when I left the house that I'd be in Moalboal for an outing. Liar!

The place, by the way, is a million miles away from home (11 hours by slow boat).

Next time I should learn to say no. Or at least look in the map where I'd be taken to before saying yes. Darnit!

But I'm not complaining. Read: What are friends for?

Just shoot me!

---

BY THE WAY

I was (together with another reporter) summoned by our GM re: Disrespect? Sweet!! topic. No, he did not read my blog. He just probably had enough of me. Me, minding other people's business. Okay, he learned (from nosy co-workers) that I called the accounting to ask for a computation of the separation pay my friend received. Everyone in that office, including him, freaked out. I was only asking for that simple thing. They did not give it to me saying I was not the involved party. So I phoned the involved party, that friend, who I found out was not satisfied by what she got. She was just too scared to complain.

I schedule a meeting with her the next day to tell her personally she was supposed to receive twice as much as she was given. And to talk about so many things...

And just an hour after my meeting with her our GM asked to meet me.

After more than an hour of listening to all his lies...I couldn't even figure out how I'm gonna treat him when I meet him again, which is not impossible as he is my boss, well, as of the moment.

He asked that I should go back to my "dating ako." He speaks tagalog, by the way.

I'm pretty sure he noticed I was getting sleepier with each of his words.

I mean lies.

During that meeting he denied he ever terminated my friend (okay, I'm not defending her because she is my friend but because of the unjust treatment she is getting which I strongly feel against). He could not have done so, from his mouth again, as what this friend did was not ground for dismissal as it was not done within the company's premises. But, she was terminated, or forced to resign, anyway. How could she not when they were already condemning her for that immorality thing. And he was one of them, when he refused to listen to her, to us. The situation left her without a choice but to go.

They want me to shut up. I don't want to.

I was right all along to defend her. And it would be stupid to end this fight too soon. We may win it. Or we may not. Our other friends have stopped talking to her. While most of the people believe the lies.

They suck.

This is probably crazy but I'm willing to look for another job.

*bang!

this movie is a joke

KROCODYLUS (shown sometime in 2000 kuno)

The worst movie, EVER!

Blame it on me I picked it.

Anyway, since there was no other movie available, except for that R-18 flick of Wendell Ramos (can't recall the title), the majority, especially the kids, agreed on this one.

We were all positioned in the living room, where my uncle’s remains stayed for two nights since his death. In attendance were some cousins I only see on Christmases and deaths of loved ones (thank God it is rare in our family) and their kids.

Last night as the last of the nine-day novena, and we culminated the affair, Filipino-style, with a sort of reunion. I think that was the most happy reunion we had. Before the movie watching everyone went to the cemetery for the first time after the body was laid to rest, part of the tradition man kuno, to visit my uncle's grave. And there these cousins of mine made fun to just anything they could think of, even with their dead father. Sus! I didn’t know how we managed to finish the prayers with all that.

Then at night everyone was in the living room: drinking, laughing and eating. Gone were the funeral parlor’s lighting equipment and whatevers.

And since we could not play "tong-its” anymore, movie was the best option as it was still too early for Jewel in the Palace. No scary movie muna, or we would all leap out of the windows if we’d hear the slightest noise from the movie or from the house (some of my cousins and their wives who stayed at this house during the wake actually experienced some spooky incidents like lights turning off by themselves and the banging of the door).

So this Krocodylus movie was the only choice to lengthen the last night before we could all go back to our respective places.

Some facts I know about crocs (I may be wrong ha)…they eat once a month and won’t bother to hunt for food within that period of time, they are not that mobile…and most of all they don’t fly! The movie, entirely shot in some island here, made the croc looked like an animal version of dracula, a flying croc with an endless craving for food. Although dracula doesn't eat whole his prey. The players, by the way, included Maureen Larrazabal, Susan Africa and Archie Adamos, who, my golly, as a local pirate, spoke fluent English.

The most funny part was when the croc refused to cross the lake (or river) to get to the remaing three actors, who were in the other side of the lake. Scared of getting drowned? And, it did not hesistate to jump to the cliff, where the remaining couple (the Australian lady was already eaten alive when she incessantly kicked the face of the croc which she believed was already dead. stupid!) had jumped before it. Bombs did not kill it. It was that stupid jump! That stupid croc landed on a single pointed stalagmite-like rock specially placed there for that purpose. Stalagmite down the cliff? Gad!

Wa juy ayo salidaa.

It was supposedly a thriller movie...

I still can imagine everyone’s expression after the movie. Funniest ever!

What's there to argue about?

Fuss. Sus! This is just a movie. Plain fiction. Dan Brown has admitted so. And even if he did not, we, I think, are smart enough to figure it out that Leonardo da Vinci was not born during the time of Jesus, thus, he did not know what was really going on then. And Brown? A pirate. Although he won in his case, there is already a connection, although unproven, of his work to others (read the case). So what’s the fuss? Maybe our Church leaders should also read the book first.

Okay, we can kill Brown for such a blasphemy to our faith later on (and the others too). But that won't solve the problem, either. Or we can also throw ourselves to the stake for patronizing his work.

Oh come on, we are only humans.

And because we are we can always go to the cinemas to watch DVC the movie.

And sleep in the middle of it.

fame of rica

Yeah, I know I shouldn't be posting it. But I just did! Sensya na, tao lang!

I got it from tinapa's blog.

---

A friend just gave me a Hillary Duff concert t-shirt! straight from the US of A. waaaaaaaaaaaah...

I LOVE IT! Thanks bro :D :D :D

there!

I found this article from Philstar.com's Young Star section. Might as well publish it here for future use. Yeah, summer is moving out soon (or it already has, we already have rain here) and this piece may be a little bit late. Ah basta!

Beat the heat
STILL TALKING By Enrico Miguel T. Subido
The Philippine STAR 05/05/2006

I recently moved back down to Manila after about a month of chilling out in Baguio, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that it is HOT, man. Even my friends down here are complaining about it, and that it’s been the hottest summer they can remember in a long time. I have devised 10 ways to beat the summer heat, some of them are moderate, others extreme, but all of them can be done. So here we go:

1) Fill a large bucket halfway with ice, fill the rest with water, and dunk your head into the mix. When temperatures are high enough to roast a chicken or maybe even a turkey, this is the first and most obvious solution. It’s quick, requires little effort, and delivers immediate and satisfactory results. This will definitely take your heat migraine away, and it can also prevent you from doing more dangerous and insulting things, such as having uncontrollable fits of rage ("It’s so hot! I want to go out, pick a fight, and lose!"), and being just downright rude (To someone in line at a fast-food joint: "Hurry up gramps, not everyone has the time to ask for their food to be osterized for them!").

2) After feeling the ice cold water sliding down your neck and all the way down your back, go to the nearest store, buy some beers and stick them in the same bucket you finished dunking your head into. No one can make a beer colder than you, you can do it! You can also buy some more ice to ensure sub-zero temperatures for your brew. If you buy cans, you can also do this (it’s a bit wasteful, but if the heat is just too much and it takes control of your brain and motor skills, then you have no choice): after letting the cans chill, take one, shake it up a bit and let it sit. Then look for a clean pen or screwdriver, or just something that can poke a hole. Make sure the pressure in the can is high before poking it, so shake it some more. Quickly bust the can open and place your mouth in front of the opening. This will create an extremely fast jet stream of beer, half of which will go into your stomach and the other half onto your face and clothes. You’re gonna smell like a cheap wino after this, but hey, at least the score is You-1, Heat-0.

3) Buy an inflatable swimming pool, fill it with water and maybe three or four bags of ice. Keep the bucket in solution no. 2 near, well stocked, and cold. Once you are submerged in the ice water, it’ll be hard to get up and walk the 10 meters to open that beer. If you end up drinking more than that bucket, then at least you have a nice cool place to pass out, right? Just make sure you wake up before someone fills the pool with more ice and more beer while you’re still in it.

4) Hold an ice-sculpting contest with friends and family. The venue? Your refrigerator. When that one runs out of ice, go to another willing persons house and show them how to sculpt the Pieta inside the freezer. Since the freezer door stays open, cold air is constantly on your face, so that’s a good thing. Your hands may get a bit numb after a few minutes of fiddling with the ice, but if they’re numb that means that they can’t feel the heat, and that’s two parts of your body that you don’t have to worry about overheating.

5) Stay cool and make money, start a neighborhood carwash thingie. Charge a reasonable price and get paid while playing with water. Of course, it would be a bit hard to do this on your own, so look for some like-minded friends who do nothing but complain about the heat. You can also ask your female friends to help you, just make an agreement with them about a dress code: that they have to wear white T-shirts, and that you get to wet them. This will definitely attract more customers. You can also charge more for a carwash by having bikini-clad women manning the hoses and sponges. Just make sure that the girls you ask are game, and that you give them their fair share of the booty. While the patrons are waiting for their cars, you can also set up a tent or some kind of collapsible roof and a table and sell them some of your leftover beer (unopened, of course) from solution no. 2.

6) Instead of keeping your drinking glasses in their regular places, make space for them in the icebox or even the freezer. This ensures a cold drink whenever you are thirsty, and it looks cooler than just plain ice cubes. But always keep ice cubes handy anyway, especially with the heat now. That nice frost that forms around your mugs and glasses will surely melt two seconds after they’re removed from the refrigerator.

7) Go out for a 5-km run at 12 noon wearing leather pants, boots, long-sleeves, a sweater, and a trench coat. You may wear a hat, but it has to be a big, furry one that goes over your ears. People will definitely stare at you and call you silly names, but you are smarter than them and will have the last laugh. By doing this, you will have considerably increased your tolerance to the heat. When all the layers of clothing come off, everything will definitely be much cooler. While everyone has to endure the heat for the rest of the day, you already have the upper hand and can withstand whatever else the sun has to dish out because you’ve felt hotter than that. Since the run is done at noon, when the sun is at its highest point, you will experience how hot the hottest part of the day can get, but hotter. The rest of the day will be a breeze as temperatures descend after 12 noon. You may also start a bonfire at 12 noon. This will result in the same personal heat tolerance increase.

8) Write a story about Eskimos living somewhere in the Antarctic. Create a story about an Eskimo family that has the same dilemmas as the family in 7th Heaven. Or you could just imagine yourself doing the Eskimo grind. Transplant yourself into their world, and all the ice and the cold they live in, and you’ll definitely forget about the heat. First you have to get your facts down though: How do Eskimos live? What seals are they allowed to eat? How long do they wait, on an average, to catch a fish while ice fishing? Get your research right, and you’re ready to imagine that cold place, WHERE IT’S NOT HOT. Our country, since it is located in a tropical zone, will never experience snow. But, through the power of imagination, you can be an Eskimo, romping around in the snow, playing with dogs, fishing, making moccasins, living in an igloo, and doing everything else that they do. It may be hot in the Philippines, but the cold of the Antarctic is just a brain impulse away.

9) Decorate your house early for Christmas. This will create the illusion that the "brrr" months (September, October, November, December) have started, and that it is colder now. Initially you and everyone will know that Christmas is still a bit of a way away, but little by little you’ll begin to get the feeling that it is Christmas, and colder, already. You begin to realize that with each passing day, it is a day closer to Christmas. It then occurs to you that the days are getting colder. You realize this because it is the natural course of the weather to get colder towards the end of the year. Next thing you know, you totally forgot about the heat, and it really is Christmas. This solution will need some time to take effect, but the sooner you do it, the sooner it will start working.

10) Dump eight to nine industrial- size sacks of laundry detergent into the main waterfall of the Manila Peninsula, wait for the surrounding area to smell like newly washed towels and watch it spew foamy goodness into the air. I’m not quite sure how this one will help you beat the heat but that would be a sight, wouldn’t it?

Alrighty then, you now have the proper knowledge and know-how. Go forth, brothers and sisters, and show the sun who is boss. End.

---

Fine. My uncle was interred early this afternoon. Minus one. But there are lots of cute little devils and angels sprouting from all direction, from our bloodline. Minus one PLUS 100 diay. Yay! Patay ko ig pasko ani!

I wish I could read them all before I die

LASHER by ANNE RICE

second part of the Mayfair Witches trilogy



UNDEAD AND UNEMPLOYED by MJ DAVIDSON

Part 2 of the undead series


THE FOURTH ESTATE by JEFFREY ARCHER

Pick of the Week (Yoho!)

North Country

Girl Power!

I like it. Talks about how women some decades back fought for their rights. And won!

Charlize Theron was amazing! And the flirty Sherry played by Michelle Monaghan (MI3’s Julia) was a real charmer in this film.

Not bad for a two-hour holiday.

Watched it alone in a cinema. Was so bored yesterday, and the newsroom is not a good place to while away time (with the heat, and the people...suffocating each other with their lies. nsabah!), not like before.

Disrespect? Sweet!!!!

I will be two years in this company come June and I can't wait to retire.

I hate this company with its rotten policy. I hate it! I hate our GM for being so unreasonable. He terminated one of my friends here at once without even giving her a chance to explain her side. He did not bother to investigate the “crime’ she allegedly committed. Dismissing her is like slowly killing her and her child. And they don't seem to care about it. I've never been disappointed with a person this much!

If there was really a crime involving this friend that is already beyond the company’s jurisdiction as this supposed crime was committed beyond office hours and outside the company’s premises.

And, God help me, the basis of her dismissal was “immorality!” We are not running a Catholic school here, for goodness sake! In our department, where half of the population is single perhaps only a handful few are virgin. I’m not against anyone touching someone, single or not, as long as they are happy with what they are doing, and no one gets hurt in the process. And here comes our boss, totally pissed off with that similar situation that he outrightly dismissed two employees (I don’t care about the other one!). If immorality is enough ground for dismissal why not fire most of us here??!

---

When I learned that this friend was already terminated I texted our GM asking him to hear her side before jumping into conclusion. I so respected this guy, being my head, and a co-member of the company’s foundation, of which my membership I already relinquished following this incident. The organization with a heart. With a heart, my ass!

Anyway, I later got it (from a fellow reporter who was told by our news editor) that our GM took my text messages as “disrespect” to his position. I was so disheartened that I wanted to quit. Those two messages were never disrespectful no matter how I see it. Okay, I understand I was not supposed to meddle with the management’s affairs. But I did it because I wanted to save a friend, who is single and has a little girl to feed!

Because of those text messages I was summoned by our editor-in-chief (yez, my “bestfriend). There were actually two of us, the other one texted our GM when she learned of that incident hoping it was the best idea, but it turned out it was not.

In my case, I don’t regret doing what I felt was right. Nor do I regret it when I asked our eic what he did to save his loyal assistant, my newly-jobless friend. He was so mad with that question...that I was not in a position to ask him that. Why because you're my boss?!! The hell I might have kissed him if he would recommend for my termination.

I might have been emotional during those times. My friend already begged our GM but to no avail. And I felt I, like some of her few close friends here, needed to fight for her (the others were already feasting on this issue). Our eic, who’s got no balls at all, warned us not to do it again because he would not want to lose his job. I so love him!

Two days after the incident, Wednesday, this friend has decided to resign. At least our boss finally gave her a choice, so she can claim some cash for her several years of working for this company with its rotten policy. At first I opposed to her quitting, with the people here still blaming her for "spawning the crime" and she would just leave without saying a thing to clear her name. But after talks with some friendly editors and colleagues I got it it was a good move, or at least the last thread of hope she could hang on to save what there was to save. Now I'm sad for her kid, who was like my little sister. She who kissed me (or I forced her to kiss me in the cheek) once I got inside the office. And a lot of other things that remind me of her presence.

---

They don’t want us to scream for our rights (three or four of us talked of boycotting the company's operation even just for day but we felt it would still be useless...). So we are only up to reporting those people or groups whose rights have been violated?? Fine! Lintik lang ang walang ganti!!!

I’m already resigned to the fact that my friend will have to go and find another job. I am very sad for this injustice.

I want to scream.

I want to quit.