where are you christmas

things to do this christmas:

1. make the kids' party a little bigger this year. just the thought of it, gikapoy nako. done with most of the shopping though (gipangkutkot nga ngali tong mga chocolate sa akong kwarto), i'll have another tomorrow, good luck jud sa traffic ug sa kahuot sa gaisano.

2. lose weight. im bulging now. ni-shrink na akong mga panti. nyahaha!

3. buy something for myself. i just learned this morning, wa man diay koy pinaskuhan para nako. ingnun ana ko kapobre. tsk tsk! i think i'll get for myself a cozy house by the beach. >.<

4. greet everyone. greet nalang kay way tay pangregalo.

5. get a massage and/or sleep. i cant wait!

ps: photo is a scene at the lobby of waterfront lahug. title is borrowed from the grinch movie, faith hill's version is better though. ako rang gitaytol kay ganahan man ko. he-he!

now, i need to do item no. 4:

merry christmas, everyone! =)

MICS in Action

last sunday, we trekked to this uppermost sitio of barangay manipis, talisay city, to show some care and love to the people there. it is almost christmas anyway.

mics, btw, is a new organization formed just last november by a group of palahubog and palakaon... (there will be a site for it soon). and i dont know what came into our minds when we decided to do some good in campinsa. we were probably drunk when we thought of it. hmmm...

initially, we only thought of a feeding project, but since we were already at it, we gave some more...



these are just a few of the 131 families who received the bundles of joy....i just hope they loved it.


one of the 114 kids who took home some goodies from me...aw, from mics! =)

si justin feeling politiko.

we also had lugaw for them. and for ourselves. nangaon pud mi no! lol


two weeks ago, we visited sitio campinsa. a far far away place of talisay. about an hour away from the highway, and a 15-minute super rough ride to the place. mura kag ni-travel sa north pole.

and this is what we saw on our first visit there:



a makeshift classroom for the grade-one pupils. it was a sad sad situation, happening just in my city. dont worry, we already "reported" it SEVERAL TIMES, until they all wake up and start doing something!


and this too! road going to campinsa, which makes the 15-minute trip there a hell.

on our way to the site, i tried sitting at the part of the car for a good view of the cliff below, but that was a mistake. i almost died of heart attack. from my seat, it is just a breath away to the mananga river below. and by below, that's at least 100 meters. i dont like that kind of death, fyi! LOL

we also "said" something about that, i just hope something really positive would come out from that visit and constant reporting.



but the good side of it though is this, nope, not our haggard faces. ahahaha...

about 2 weeks of planning and we did it! bow!

thanks to those who helped us.

criminal mind

last time i fired a gun was last september, on my birthday. i love target shooting very much. i think love guns more than i love men. lol! that was almost 3 months ago, but amazingly, i did better today than the last time. a double bullseye in two consecutive shots! and not only that, i hit the same whole i made with my first shot. that felt sooo good. XD

here's the evidence:



my range officer/city councilor Ben Abatayo.

today, my spine, and more

9am—-woke up (forced to wake up!)
10am-on my way to jollibee tabunok for a meeting with MICS (I will have a post about this new group soon)
1010—-suroy suroy sa gaisano kay wa pa naabot ang mga tawo. I don’t like waiting, fyi!
1025--back to jollibee
1030—-the meeting proper (kaon2x pud)
1130—-done with eating and the meeting
1130-past12—-canvassing of grocery items for MICS’s project (to be posted here once we’re done with it)

around 12—-office message: "go to minglanilla." location: tabunok, talisay
12 something—already prepped to go to mingla when the motorbike we were riding had a flat tire. There were 3 of us in it. location: still in tabunok

almost 1-—at a vulcanizing shop nearby.

still almost 1—still at the shop. office: “where are you?”

1pm—still at the shp, motorbike tire already done, then it rained.

1pm plus-—me to office: "im almost there."

1pm plus plus—-me to MICS people: “ what to do now?”

120-—we, 5 of us, took the multicab. a few minutes later, rain stopped.

130—location: nearing naga (naga is next to mingla)

135—driver: “fyi,naga na hapit.”

136—everyone out of the multicab. rain was back. office: “yo!”

136—-me while eating something and drinking mirenda from the plastic:”im lost!”

140-—friends from mingla rescued us, brought us to the "place."

147-—already at the place.

2pm—-my deadline. one of the friends: “videoke, guys? okay, to the house!” she owns the car she was driving, it was raining. MICS: (speechless)

210-—at her house, eating banana cue, the rest doing the work.

230-—office: “where are u?” me: (silent mode)

310-—me: (calling one of the guys who were enjoying the robotic massage): “oist, ingna imo kong boss, nanawag.”

311—one of the guys to the house owner: “mam, nah nanawag nang office.”

312—off to some place. mics: (speechless)

318—-at a party place. one of the two friends: “okay, meet my other friends.” mics: “hi, sir! hi, sir. hi, everyone.”

330—still at the party place. one of the mics pips: “guys, we should kiss our jobs goodbye now.”

333--one of the friends felt our concern. sa wakas!

340—she dropped us somewhere. mICS: happily hopped into the waiting multicab. pfft.

350—arrived at a vulcanizing shop to get the bikes. bound to the office like crazy.

355-already near tabunok overpass when another motorbike overtook us, we almost died. me to god: “god, if I die today, pwede later nalang, napa koy isubmit?”

356—to the traffic guy. (I don’t know what the traffic guy did to the overtaking bike)

4pm—at the srp. zoom…me: (praying. lol)

420—worked.

725—breathed!

728—dined.

8pm—blogged while jasmin uy was massaging my back, and discovered that my spine is no longer in its "right track.wengkat: “dear, u have scoliosis.” me: “i dont know...” Jasmin uy to wengkat: “ikaw pud, dear, letter T imong spine.” toink!

830—died.


next post: wanted: healthy spine.

Ang Pag-ibig Ayon Kay Bob Ong:

1). 'Kung hindi mo mahal ang isang tao, wag ka nang magpakita ng motibo para mahalin ka nya..'

2). 'Huwag mong bitawan ang bagay na hindi mo kayang makitang hawak ng iba.'

3). 'Huwag mong hawakan kung alam mong bibitawan mo lang.'

4). 'Huwag na huwag ka hahawak kapag alam mong may hawak ka na.'

5). 'Parang elevator lang yan eh, bakit mo pagsisiksikan ung sarili mo kung walang pwesto para sayo. Eh meron naman hagdan, ayaw mo lang pansinin.'

6). 'Kung maghihintay ka nang lalandi sayo, walang mangyayari sa buhay mo.. Dapat lumandi ka din.'

7). 'Pag may mahal ka at ayaw sayo, hayaan mo. Malay mo sa mga susunod na araw ayaw mo na din sa kanya, naunahan ka lang.'

8). 'Hiwalayan na kung di ka na masaya. Walang gamot sa tanga kundi pagkukusa.'

9). 'Pag hindi ka mahal ng mahal mo wag ka magreklamo. Kasi may mga tao rin na di mo mahal pero mahal ka.. Kaya quits lang.'

10). 'Kung dalawa ang mahal mo, piliin mo yung pangalawa. Kasi hindi ka naman magmamahal ng iba kung mahal mo talaga yung una.'

11). 'Hindi porke't madalas mong ka-chat, kausap sa telepono, kasama sa mga lakad o ka-text ng wantusawa eh may gusto sayo at magkakatuluyan kayo. Meron lang talagang mga taong sadyang friendly, sweet, flirt, malandi, pa-fall o paasa.'

12). 'Huwag magmadali sa babae o lalaki. Tatlo, lima , sampung taon, mag-iiba ang pamantayan mo at maiisip mong hindi pala tamang pumili ng kapareha dahil lang maganda o nakakalibog ito. Totoong mas mahalaga ang kalooban ng tao higit sa anuman. Sa paglipas ng panahon, maging ang mga crush ng bayan nagmumukha ding pandesal, maniwala ka.'

13). 'Minsan kahit ikaw ang nakaschedule, kailangan mo pa rin maghintay, kasi hindi ikaw ang priority.'

14). 'Mahirap pumapel sa buhay ng tao. Lalo na kung hindi ikaw yung bida sa script na pinili nya.'

15). 'Alam mo ba kung gaano kalayo ang pagitan ng dalawang tao pag nagtalikuran na sila? Kailangan mong libutin ang buong mundo para lang makaharap ulit ang taong tinalikuran mo.'

16). 'Mas mabuting mabigo sa paggawa ng isang bagay kesa magtagumpay sa paggawa ng wala'

17). 'Hindi lahat ng kaya mong intindihin ay katotohan, at hindi lahat ng hindi mo kayang intindihin ay kasinungalingan'

18). 'Kung nagmahal ka ng taong di dapat at nasaktan ka, wag mong sisihin ang puso mo. Tumitibok lng yan para mag-supply ng dugo sa katawan mo. Ngayon, kung magaling ka sa anatomy at ang sisisihin mo naman ay ang hypothalamus mo na kumokontrol ng emotions mo, mali ka pa rin! Bakit? Utang na loob! Wag mong isisi sa body organs mo ang mga sama ng loob mo sa buhay! Tandaan mo: magiging masaya ka lang kung matututo kang tanggapin na hindi ang puso, utak, atay o bituka mo ang may kasalanan sa lahat ng nangyari sayo, kundi IKAW mismo!'

19). 'Pakawalan mo yung mga bagay na nakakasakit sa iyo kahit na pinasasaya ka nito. Wag mong hintayin ang araw na sakit na lang ang nararamdaman mo at iniwan ka na ng kasiyahan mo.'

20). 'Gamitin ang puso para alagaan ang mga taong malalapit sa iyo. Gamitin ang utak para alagaan ang sarili mo.'

21). 'Ang pag-ibig parang imburnal...nakakatakot mahulog...at kapag nahulog ka, it's either by accident or talagang tanga ka..'

pinoy survivor update 4

bec she was a "threat" to the remaining castoffs, nanay zita was last night's victim. it was like the end of survivor.

bwisit!

the remaining castoffs: jc, cris, charisse and rob. kaye was already voted off in last friday's tribal council.

kiko is gone. and now nanay zita, too.

it is the end of survivor. BOW!

(edited) ang kabaw ug ang manok

kabaw: witwiw!

manok: eew!

shot in Island in the Sky (Balamban)

next post: ang manok ug ang itlog

my 2008 christmas wishlist

none is too hard too get. just a handful of things i want to have this christmas to get me started with my new hobby.

so ordinary and non-expensive.



and some i'd like to have but just cant afford to get.



a big bike and a wetsuit!

just that. no boyfriend. ^.^

pinoy survivor update 3

marlon is finally out. voted off in last monday's tribal council. but the mood was not all happy with his exit. he was after all a nice guy. the world was probably shocked to learn that there was actually some good in him. lol!

the hidden flint was actually a joke.

his other surprise attack however is real. but as to what it is, that's for us to find out. or ambot basin joke na pud na niya. patriling!

now that marlon is out, cris, another asshole in the making, should be next.

i missed last night's episode. according to another fan, jc won the immunity again. i just hope he'd take away cris this time.

pinoy survivor update 2

last night was probably the best tribal council in pinoy survivor history, well, so far, kay naa pa man ang final tribal council where the sole winner will be picked.

what happened was, the baboy, who already felt he’d be voted out, made his last-ditch effort to save his ass. He did not only have one move, he had two:

1. he hid the flint and extinguished the fire at the camp before they left for the tribal council. while still at the camp, after losing the immunity necklace to jc, he already wrote something on a piece of paper of what he did. at the council, before they could cast their votes, paolo then read this out so everyone would know. fire in the life of a castaway is more important than food. those who were thinking of voting him out are probably having second thoughts now.

2. that “it’s for you to find out” statement of his. either he also hid the rice supply of the tribe or put some poison on its water tank. he’s that mean.

we should have seen the last of marlon last night, but because of this twist, gma prolonged the suspense. And it’s likely there’s still more of him in the coming days…bwisit!

so expect this Monday, with all those revelations in mind, some more twists in the show.

either the 5 naak members would:

a. go ahead voting marlon, as earlier agreed upon
b. or vote anyone else instead of the baboy

i. kaye and cris are already thinking of getting rid of either rob or jc to break their small alliance. But since jc has the immunity necklace, rob may get the vote.
ii. charisse being a former member of jarakay could be it.

however, since they could no longer talk to one another, it’s possible they go ahead with plan a.

i hope.

for episode recaps, visit www.survivorphilippines.tv

frustration no more

sa tibuok nako nga kinabuhi, since i could remember, nag-ambisyon na jud ko nga mamahimong painter. not actually like picasso, bisag ala-juan luna lang gud. hehehe...bitaw, i remember when i was in high school i asked a neighbor who could paint to teach me his art. armed with all my painting stuff and an illustration board, i went to his place to see him paint, and try it myself too. abi ko it'd only take minutes to do a simple art (subject that time was an angel in the garden, ambisyosa kayo ko!), one hour the most. but three hours later, we were still far from finishing the thing, and it was already time for him to leave for his flight somewhere. ana ka dugay ang show. so i brought the unfinished "masterpice" at home, all done with it, the mother nga usyusa then asked if i did it. and the hambugera that i was, niangkon sad. bakakon kayo bisag igo ra jud ko nag-trace ato. wahahaha!

hahay! mao to. i even made a few more, pero di kayo nindot kay ako naman lang usa. but all were lost with our constant moving from one place to another. sayang lagi, each might have fetched at least P50k in the market, i was told. joking!

so now that we have a new workmate, and i was told he's a good painter, nibalhin naman to og lugar akong mentor sa una, i decided to get back to it. just over a week ago, i brought things for our lesson: a box of watercolors ug mga brush. but even before i could tear the plastic of my 2-yr-old watercolor, our boss here said he already suggested to our big boss that all "talented" workers be allowed to do an exhibit early next year. wow! i so want that. exhibit dayun, wap-a gani nahimo bisag usa. hahaha! i havent asked him though if the big boss agreed to the idea, but all seven "talented" workers, this blogger included (i can go crazy with this!), have already signed the letter-request. there, it stated we would be given materials needed for the task and a venue for the exhibit. right now, im excited to inform everyone of that, so prepare your money kay og mahitabo na, sigurado ipapakyaw nako ninyo akong "paintings." mangluod jud ko og di mahalin. hahaha
hay lord, i really dont know if i should be happy about this one, di pa nuon sure though og madayun, kay added responsibility jud ni sa akong busy life. char!

anyway, thats one dream that is set to come true. IF EVER. now, im thinking of what subjects to make. i should stop doing anymore mother and child thing, murag sobra ka lisud. siguro mga nudes. what i need now are my subjects. anyone?

ps: for those who want to pose nude, let me know. LOL

pinoy survivor update

in last friday's tribal council, vern got voted out. although i would have wanted marlon to be in her place. vern was just a force to reckon with, that if she continues to be in the game, with her strength and suble wit she will likely beat all of them.

marlon, the baboy from jarakay, was one i was rooting to be voted out even before jarakay was merged with naak! for those who dont watch the show, this guy im talking about is asshole personified. but he was just sooo lucky, i hate it!

the next tribal council will be this friday. im already preparing a huge clubhouse and a cold coke for that, in celebration of marlon's demise. he will surely be next!

then his fellow jarakay member charisse will surely follow. since she's from that rival tribe, theres no way she can get into the last five.

as of this week, it's 5 naak members against 2 jarakay. and if my prayers would be heard this time (nidakot na jud ko's pitalo ganiha!), that leaves charisse alone (to become next week's casualty)...let's just wish the baboy would remain a baboy in this week's immunity challenge.

therefore, all 5 naak members will then fight for the title.

so this is how i see things will go when that happens:

all the boys: jc, chris and rob will form their own small alliance. they will send home either one of these ladies in the tribe: nanay zita or kaye. nanay zita, being the most influential in the team, will likely get voted out first. and kaye will follow...

but if things get better for nanay zita (which is very possible since she's a nice person all throughout the game, and everyone knows that. i just hope they'd never forget it.), jc and chris will have her in the alliance, giving her another week in the game. rob, on the other hand, will be in kaye's side, naibog man na siya ni kaye. hahaha

then the couple goes, one after the other.

from the start, ive been rooting for nanay zita and kiko. but kiko is dead already...so nanay zita shoud be it. fyi, she's bisdak. lol!

jc may win too.

as for chris, he is just not my favorite. not even a bit. so damn him for sabotaging naak's plans!

but right now, i cant wait to see marlon's stupid smile die with his torch.

ps: this is so far the best survivor franchise i've ever seen. mondays-fridays, 10pm, gma7.



>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>nanay zita and the baboy<<<<<<<<<<<<<

the return of the comeback

this was not supposed to happen. just dont ask me what went wrong, im in hurry. so now that im back, i've a handful of things to do for this poor blog.

1. take that ATOM thing asap. i just dont know how though, so if anybody down there who does, pls tell me. thank you.

2. do some pimping here. this is all i can do. i would have loved to see more fishes in the background. steaming coffee on one side, and some moving texts on the other. but cripes, im only good in imagining things. daizuke, if you dont change your mind soon, i will really kill you!

3. go back to work. i need to do the real thing now. so bye!

closing time

to everyone who came for the last 3 years,

thank you so much. =)

look who's talking (again)

the following are a few of the conversations i had with my little friends:

two nights ago, i fetched a six-year-old daughter of my friend from their place. she had a dance performance that night near our place. for several minutes, she had me waiting. and when she finally emerged from the second floor of the house...

I asked: diin gud ka gikan?
em: namulbos, nanudlay, nag-off lotion!
me: nganu gud tawn nag-off ka???
em: haluuu...sa inyuha naa tay dengue!!!
me: *GULP

yesterday, i went back to their house, and in the living room, i saw her 5-year-old bro, Third.

Third: ate, ate, you like animals?
me: yep! (smile)
third: (takes something from a drawer, and shows me his rubber snakes!)
me: shit!
third: di man ni shit, te. snakes...snakes.
me: *dies

at an old neighborhood several weeks ago...

jovic: ma, singko bi?
his mom: sigeg pangayo!
me: (hands a P5 coin to the 5-year-old kid)
jovic: tenks, te. kaw nalang taud sa akong ribbon ig graduate nako ha?
me: imu diayng mama?
jovic: di ko! di manghatag og kwarta!
me: okay (haha)

at a friend's house, while we were eating, Third was suggesting me i should paint our house with the same colors as theirs. fyi, i don't remember asking him for it.

Third: te, inyung wall kay white; ang ceiling, green; stairs, brown..blah blah (he was actually looking at his surroundings while saying this)
me: how much man akong magasto ana tanan, dong?
third: (thinking) umm...infinity.
me: huh?!?

i was on my way home one night when i met jovic somewhere down the road...

jovic: nganung ga-shades man ka?
me: sakit man akung mata. (fyi, i was only wearing correctional glasses then)
jovic: mura na nuon kag lola.
me: lola bitaw ko.
jovic: nganung ate man akong tawag nimo?
me: di mag-lola ka.
jovic: mayg gasungkod ka!
me: haay...

back with Em2x...

me: baby, pagdiet na uy, mo-grade one na raba ka.
em: (facing her mom) mama, ingun si ate_____ pwede diay mo mag-diet...
(then facing me) te, okay ra pud ko mang-lipstick?
me: hoyyyy...

bad breath?

Most of us don't know if our breath is no longer that desirable. Thus, to ensure we don't kill each other with our foul breath, we normally do this: cover mouth with the palm and breath, and smell it. And? And forever hold your breath. At least, there's no casualty here. Or, the safest (I always do this): gum chewing. The latter keeps breath fresh even if you don't open your mouth for a period of an hour or so. But when the gum's power is gone, man, it's back to silent mode again.
No one is spared from having a bad breath, as according to the author of the following article, published at The Freeman, our mouth is the "porthole" and our stomach as the "sewer." Please read...

Ewww! Bad breath!
By Debbie Duraliza, RN
Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Do people gag and cover their noses when you say “Hi”? If you brush your teeth three times a day but still sense that you have bad breath, trust me, you probably do.
Bad Breath (Halitosis)

Try to imagine your mouth as the porthole and your stomach as the sewer. The smell may come out of your mouth but the problem comes from inside your body.

If you don’t practice good oral hygiene after eating, food is left in your mouth. The food collects bacteria, rots, and causes a bad odor.

You want to know if you have bad breath? A quick way to check your breath is to lick the side of your finger, then let the saliva dry for a minute or so. Smell the spot and you’ll know what your breath smells like. Have smelling salts on hand, in case you faint.

Common food culprits
*Garlic
*Onions
*Cabbage
*Cheese
*Coffee

When these are digested and absorbed into the bloodstream, substances from the food items get into the air that you breathe out of your lungs. This can cause bad breath until all of the food is gone from your body.

What you can do
*Crank up your brush! Bacteria in your mouth break down food particles and create volatile sulfide compounds (VSCs), which smell like rotten eggs. In addition to brushing, try a tongue scraper for a clean sweep.
*Consult your dentist. Cavities, gum disease, dry mouth, or an abscessed tooth are just a few oral ailments that can contribute to bad breath.
*Dry mouth? If you are always breathing through your mouth, it can cause bad breath since you have less saliva to cleanse the mouth. Dry mouth may also be a side effect of the medicines you are taking.
*See your doctor. Respiratory infections, sinusitis, kidney and liver conditions, and diabetes are just a few of the medical problems that can cause bad breath.
*Stop smoking. D-uh! Do we really have to explain this one?
*Go natural. For a quick fix, munch on fresh parsley, mint, or ginger. These are natural breath fresheners.
*Drink tea. Lab studies have shown that drinking black or green teas blocks bacteria in the mouth from making the chemicals that smell bad.
*Chew sugarless gum. It stimulates saliva, which neutralizes acid and helps remove plaque, and freshens your breath. Gums containing the sweetener Xylitol can help limit the growth of bacteria.

You can also use a mouthwash. But if you need to constantly use something to freshen your breath, you should see your dentist/doctor to help find the cause.

a text message

"No matter how strong we hold on, still there comes a time that we suddenly fall."

from my email inbox

Lesson Number One
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Number Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy. "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fortnight, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, whoshot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Number Three
When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions." The feet said, "We should be Boss as we carry the brain. The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money." And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the asshole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the asshole being the Boss. So the asshole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the asshole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed. All the other parts did all the work while the Boss just sat and passed out the shit!

Management Lesson: You don't need brains to be a Boss - any asshole will do.

Lesson Number Four
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Management Lessons:
1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

pawagtang's duka

mga bangkero

amazing. 4-year-old kids of Sta. Fe, Bantayan Island.

food galore

Here, as requested by iyaan, that I should take some shots of food. though she wasn't so specific of this special assignment, so here, ako nalang gihilugwayan tanan nindot man pud. i would have loved to do the food tasting with her, but i did not know there was this kind of food feast till i came that night. the invitation to come here in Mactan Shrine, it was in april 22, was received only a few hours before the event. and i was already in Hilton, which is just a walking distance from the place, so it was no problem going there. they were celebrating the Kadaugan sa Mactan, and the food festival was one of the many activities there. it was really a big event for food lovers like me. i've been to a number of food feasts already (festivals of mangoes, lechon, local delis, etc), but this one is different. there were so many choices, and they were prepared and served by big hotels like Hilton, Shangri-la, Plantation Bay, among many others. and priced at no more than P60 per meal. when we got there the place was already jampacked with people, and food was gone before the show closed at 9pm. the event was really for the food lovers. anyway, as promised, here are the photos, for your visual treats.

PS: special thanks to ms divine who lent me her N70 for these visual treats.

coastal cleanup (april 23,'08)

The project was sponsored by Hilton Cebu Resort and Spa, and it was pure luck that this blogger was invited to this annual event, that she's been wanting to be a part of (char!). Environmentalist man kunuhay ni sya. haha!

This is Hilton, taken from Manny O's Wine and Tapas.

Past 7Am, the group started the first dive. a few-minute ride by speed boat from the resort's shoreline is the resort's marine protected area that was unfortunately littered by trash.

For 20 minutes, the group collected several sacks of plastics, tube pipes, ropes (from boats), tin cans, papers (mostly boat tickets), et cetera. It was really taxing. I even had a hard time lifting my sack back to the boat cos it really became heavy.

But it wasn't all that. After our second dive, done in Talima Reef (that's in Olango Is, a few minute ride by speedy speed boat from Hilton), we visited the neighboring resorts to check their share of the coastal cleanup. Actually most of them were done with it by the time we got to their respective places. This photo shows Maribago Bluewater's man-made island. This island sort of surrounds the main resort. It was good seeing it, so clean and inviting. But if you knew its real story, you'd really feel sad of its existence. Refer to news stories, pls.

Hilton at early in the morning. All clean.

Shangri-La. Just adjacent to Hilton, which was my base for this activity. Just so glad they had me there ;)

Tambuli Beach Resort is next to the Shang. This photo was taken when we were moving out of the place to proceed to Maribago, our next stop.

Maribago. There is no photoshoping involved in here. I think I'm getting quite better with photography. Ha-ha-ha!

This is already outside of the real thing. Taken on the morning before I went down to work. You see the rest of the island of Mactan gleaming with its beauty complemented by the nice sunrise. It really feels soo good to be up so early sometimes. Yep, with such a grand view, who'd ever complain. =)



Sunset. Another view from room 1213, where I was.

Sunrise.


My tired feet. I left my slippers in a speed boat that took us to the dive spot, so here, I'm wearing Hilton-issued "sandals" on my way back to the city. lol! Seriously, this promdi, no matter where you put her, she'll always be what she is.
Sebu, Hilton's stuffed fish (sold for P500).

Like I said it was tiring, but fun nonetheless. Glad to share it with you. Till next adventure!

PS: some of the photos are courtesy of Miok Loyola of Hilton.

what are you

It is difficult to gather friends who are already adults even if you live in the same place together. Work or the "more important things" in your life will always be among the top execuses not to attend a gathering hosted by a friend, for example. In my case, I'm always available, actually too available that I've become the group's icon. lol! I'm talking about my friends back home. Last time we finally got together as an almost complete group was last Sunday, a post birthday celebration of a friend who now works and lives outside our city. We did not try to remember the old times, of course, why would we waste our precious time for that. Instead, we ate and got a little drunk, and talked and laughed like kids. We were supposed to sing in the videoke, but forgot about that bec there was just too much to catch up on. These are my childhood friends. And below is a list of other friends, of which I have at least one of almost each kind.

I got this one from a website, and i'm posting it here (wa ko nananghid). The author posted 19 types of friends, which I cut, revised, made some comments (in italics) for this blog. Here goes...

The Best Friend: The gold standard of friendships. A best friend
listens but never judges, helps you out of a jam, tells it to you
straight, and often forgives a debt. Best friends resemble invisible
friends in that both are most common in childhood (and may not really exist).

I used to have a bestfriend before. And it's true that your bestfriend
always listens and never judges like what the author says. I remember those younger days, this bestfriend would never get tired of my telling her my problems and all. She would even cook my favorite food while i sit in their kitchen chair telling her all my present aches. And eveything would be over og mangaon na ming duha. It was at this stage of life that i weighed 56 kg while she 72, and we were both
teens then. Five years ago, she went abroad, and even with the distance, we've managed to keep our friendship, i think. And our weights as well.

The Old Friend: Ideally, a lifelong bond that stirs fond feelings and cherished memories...In reality, most old friendships are embedded in a complex economy of favors. President Bush rewrote the entire tax code for his old friends.

I am no president. But I'm almost always around for my friends. That sometimes they can become abusive of that benefit. Pero no worries, that is just a bit of a price to pay for keeping someone who is demanding, obnoxious, mean, annoying, and i can go on forever enumerating the bad side of me. :P

The Older Friend. Someone your senior who mentors you with wit and wisdom, as portrayed in the best-seller Tuesdays with Morrie.

I like this one. Good conversations, free coffee, and more freebies.
Because he/she earns more money than you do. Lol! Seriously, this type of
friend can also be an older sis/bro that you never had, minus the sugo. Hehe
The Wild Friend: The friend whose bad behavior never ceases to
entertain and may at times inspire you, for better or for worse. Though
wild friends get a bad rap, they save as many lives as they ruin.
Boring people—writers, for instance—desperately need wild friends.

I don't I have wild friends in my list. And godhelpme, I'm not a
boring person. Lol!

The Ex-Friend: Don't ask, but if you do, the answer may well involve money or sex. Or both.

Former but never enemies. That'd be fine.

The Scary Friend: Someone who never fails to nudge you out of your comfort zone—way out. Scary does not mean quirky. If a friend likes to spend his weekends re-enacting Civil War battles in period dress, that's quirky. If he shows up at your door in uniform late on a weeknight, that's scary.

I'm so glad that although most of my friends are crazy, none of them
is scary. Ako ra ngali. nyahahah...

The Boss Friend: A person higher on the org chart who thinks your
brittle smile and the startled look in your eye is an invitation to further terrorize you outside the workplace.

People, stay away from bossy people. That's an order!

The Confidant: Someone who wheedles more out of you than you planned
to share. Sadly, many confidants are also talented gossips who will soon be bartering your deepest secrets for someone else's.

Oh, never trade secrets to people not in your circle. Seriously, you
know even from the first encounter if the person is "it" or not.
Well, anyway, secrets are secrets, they should be kept where they are
safe. Keep them here! (points to self!) ;)

The Single-Modifier Friend: Any companion you proudly describe, if
only to yourself, with one word: for instance, "my gay friend" if you happen to be straight, and vice versa. You can train yourself out of the habit by slowly adding modifiers, as in "my neat gay friend" or, with practice, "my socially inept and secretly homophobic straight friend with a godawfully bad haircut."

...I'm already used to hearing my college friends (most of the time if not always) introduce me to another person as a "classmate from college." While my workmates, me their “workmate” or “officemate” or former workmate, for that matter. When it should have been workmate slash friend or a college friend. Yeah, I like it when the word friend should always come in the introduction, I don't mind if adjectives like sexy, voluptuous, talented, or anything else that is
also me will be omitted. Just being "your friend," it's fine. (LOL)

The E-mail Friend: A digital update on the kind of letter-writing
friendships that thrived in the era between the invention of ink and the arrival of cable. If the medium is the message, as Marshall McLuhan claimed, then the message of most e-mail friendships is goofing off at work.

I think it's much better than textmates. Because you both get to exchange longer messages, and it's more fun than sending messages through SMS, which is bounded by characters and load. Emails give you more chance to say anything you want, and you know when a person is serious with your correspondence when he/she replies to your mails. Libre na bya ni, syaro moingun pa jud siya nga way load!

The Special-Interest Friend: Group friendships form around a shared
passion—for diving, food, movies, et cetera.

Because you share the same passion, this type of friend can actually make a very good company, bisag makadlawnan pa mog tabi.

The Friend-You-Only-Drink-With Friend: A subspecies of the
special-interest friend. In extreme cases you might not even recognize such people in the harsh light of day, having only seen them in the barroom glow—and from the side.

..I'm sorry I don't drink.

The Secondhand Friend: When someone introduces you to someone
else, supposedly because they think you'll hit it off, it could be a clever strategy to ditch you both. Which is good: Secondhand friends are a better deal than new friends, which, like cars, lose 20 percent of their value once they leave the showroom floor.

Secondhand or not, if you hit it off you hit it off. The value will always be there, granting it has been there since. Because a person is different from a thing of which value depreciates by the second!

The Dormant Friend: Every so often a dead friendship will spring back to life, bringing two people even closer together than they used to be. The reawakened friendship speaks to the mystery of friendship in general—especially
if you've forgotten why you drifted apart. But give it time; you will be reminded.

Basta ba, no bad words said during the hiatus.

The Friend with Benefits: Not the kid down the street with a
trampoline or a parrot that swears. We're talking sex buddies. Popularized in a lyric by singer Alanis Morissette, friends with benefits....

Hmmm...apart from that, there are also friends who only remember you when they need you. Ack!

The online Friend. The author forgot to add this. But this is self-explanatory...

I have a number of friends I only met online. And because I'm a bit of an internet freak, it feels good to have some familiar people in this new-age tambayan, too. I'm not talking about chatmates sa ym, bec I don't go there that often, and I don't enjoy chatting with strangers. I'm talking about fellow bloggers that have also become friends bisag di magkita.

So there, i thank the author for providing me a nice material for this blog that has been dormant for over a week already. Baboo!

seriously?

These are not song titles, but mails, spam mails! Gad, how I'd love to know those people who send them to me everyday!

"Fill her up right now"

"1day sale: P1/pill for ViagraPill, Cializ, SQMA..."

"Your device will make her shudder"

"Get the rod of your dreams"

"Do you want the biggest main organ?"

my (small and big) dreams

At the moment, I can only dream to be this or that:

1. An Egyptologist. This is someone who studies the history of Egypt of which includes mummies!

2. A politician. This has been an old dream. Since grade school. And it's not coming true yet. buhuhu

3. A service crew member (at Jollibee). I like to do things quick, no dull moments. And I think I'm good at multi-tasking, and especially good at cleaning tables, mopping floors, and balancing food trays. Believe it or not! :P

4. A lab-asera. This is someone who sells fish at a public market's wet section. I so love shouting for customers. And counting the many crumpled paper bills in my apron's big kangaroo-like pouch, er, pocket after a long day at the merkado.

5. A surgeon. Someone who specializes in either (or both) brain or cardiothoracic surgery. I have a background in medicine, I've even been a part of several minor operations before. Circumcision and some suturing of open wounds just like that (winks). And everytime I did it, I'd always think, my hands are steadier than yours, doki. lol! During those 3 years, I did not want to be like that doctor. Hay, blame it on Grey's Anatomy!

6. A filmmaker. If you're a movie lover, what could be best than making your own movies?

7. A barista. At Starbucks! I know this is too much. Hehe

8. A travel reporter. This is really one of those jobs that, they say, offers "higher jolts" in one's lifetime. I wish I could really break into this. Fingers crossed! =)

9. A car racer. Racing at high speed, this is really more than what the word exciting means. But I know how expensive this is.

10. A private pilot. Just of a small plane that can go to unchartered places like Sagada. I was in an aerial tour last week, and learnt from our pilot that I need to have at least P1M to learn the flying course. I also gathered from him that there's a big demand for pilots worldwide. Each, if hired locally, is paid at least P100K per month, or at least US$25K abroad like in Qatar. We quite had an interesting conversation that day, that had I been rich to afford his 8-month flying course, I would not have gotten off Mactan airport without enrolling in his school first. Not for the money, but just for the love of going to places. But it's like, P1 million???

as of the time being though, this is all i can afford to do: watching the sea that separates cebu and bohol. it's like me here and my dreams there. hmmm.