I Do. I Did. Now What?

These days, everyone asks me how it is like to be married.

I haven't quite figured out a way to answer it. Each time I get asked this question, sometimes people answer it themselves, or they hang on every word. Sometimes L and I answer at the same time, sometimes with the same answer. Sometimes only one of us answer. Sometimes we just smile.

"Pareho lang ba?" (Is it just the same?)

Everyone wants to know if anything has changed. Maybe they don't really want to know and are just being polite, but I thought about it one night while I was busying myself with two books, a muted TV show at the background, and my stew quietly simmering. I still pursue so many things at the same time, I still have my own thoughts and endless lists. He has the same sense of humor and languid weekend disposition. We have bills to pay, stress from work, dreams of travel; we share chores and debts, as well as savings and ...long-term goals. Yes, we actually started sharing with each other our goals and are consciously spending more time between friends and families.

The truth is, it's been peaceful, light and more fun (ok don't kill me). We rarely fight, as if (finally) the score has been settled. We poke fun at each other for gaining weight and continue to shower each other with warm thoughts and kind words. (Cheesy ba?)We continue to support each other's goals and dreams as if life depended on it. We laugh out loud; we laugh more often.


Sometimes I forget, but I remind myself I have to think about what he wants before making a decision (Should I buy the shoes or just hide my loot in my bag? LOL. Actually more ordinary stuff like what kind of food will I cook). He swore he won't forget that I will be the first one he will share his good news with, and that he can't omit or hide big purchases (I know someone who hid his Macbook from his wife and kept it in the trunk of the car for months- of course she discovered it; someone with a big shoe collection, someone with a Vespa collection). I removed my Sunday badminton game to spend more time with him on weekends, and he was willing to sit through Eclipse with me (Eclipse was terrible, but he is NOW willing to try a chick flick every now and then instead of just watching only action movies on the big screen). There is a lot more of sharing that the only danger I see is losing one's self by giving in to what the other wants. But then we know that won't happen as we married late and we both love our individuality. He has his thing and I have mine.

We just have to get to it soon, as more often it just feels more comfortable to cuddle on lazy Sunday afternoons.



*Book title by Jenny Lee

Ever After

Here is a write-up from a former medical student turned movie critic/writer turned florist and event stylist. Dylan Gozum of Vatel Manila interviews me for his blog.

http://vatelmanila.blogspot.com/2010/06/photographer-focus-pat-dy.html



You guys probably wouldn't believe it when I say that as of this writing, I have not met Armi yet, our bride for this wonderful summer wedding in Boracay (our very first!). I think Armi and I started communicating some time late February. It started with an SMS inquiry. I immediately noticed that she spelled out every word and I felt some sort of immediate kinship because not many take the effort of doing that (SMS, methinks, says a lot about a person's character).

The bride had only one instruction for her bouquet: it must reflect the reggae colors of green, yellow, black and red. This was to reflect the groom being a rasta. I agonized over this for a long time because as is our aesthetic, we never wanted to do anything so literal as to actually use anything related to the reggae theme. I admit I was tempted to use a reggae bonnet as the bouquet's handle ribbon, LOL! In the end, good sense got the better of us and we stuck to the classic idea of a bridal bouquet without pushing the envelope. The bride's bouquet (above) used yellow Ecuadorian roses mixed with chartreuse Cymbidium orchids, red Hypericum berries, and ended with a base of seasonal Jerusalem berries. A black lace applique covers the handle, and is adorned by a brooch and a black tassel. The bride eventually described her bouquet as "joyful". :-)

Yep, yep. Joyful indeed was the mood for this wedding! One can almost feel the party vibe pulsate through the pictures. I suddenly miss the island - and binging on mojitos! I wish to thank you, Chris & Armi, for making our first foray into the Boracay wedding scene possible. You believed and trusted in me even if you haven't met me at all. For this I am forever grateful. I also wish to thank the bride's friends who brought the flowers to Boracay; I forgot who actually hand-carried the bridal bouquet (as the rest were in a box) & I am sure she didn't sleep during that dawn flight for fear of dropping her fragile cargo.

Below, Pat Dy's photos and the bride's thoughts on the preps & the wedding. Happy viewing (& reading)!




How did you two meet?

Wow. It was ten years ago when I began dating (a late bloomer!) and after several dates with different guys, I agreed to meet Chris after chatting and talking to him over the phone. (Yes, I met him through the internet - during the era of ICQ and when there were still no internet cafés yet.) There was something about him and me that clicked plus it also helped that I was telling the universe at that time that I was ready to go into a relationship. Ha ha!



Tell us about finding your wedding dress:

I looked at the internet and magazines for inspiration. In Style, Wedding Essentials, Style Me Pretty were my favourites along with the website of Jose Villa, a wedding photographer from the US who only uses film (really!). I narrowed down the look according to what I felt fit my height, body structure, skin tone, and the theme of the wedding. Then I looked for designers to see what designs appealed to me.

I saw Debbie Co’s gown in Wedding Essentials and liked her aesthetics-clean lines but always with an accent that make it very feminine and classic at the same time. I used to visit her shop in Astoria Plaza but I didn’t know she did gowns. I sent a pdf file of my overall vision for the wedding and over ten gown pegs with my annotations. I did this with three other designers - met with them and compared prices. The most efficient was Debbie and it was pretty much a smooth experience from that first e-mail. I ended up having my mother and the mother of the groom, the flower girls’ tutu dresses, the ring bearers’ kaftans plus the bridegroom’s outfits done by her as well. It was a very enjoyable experience.




My favourite memory of the day was:

Walking down the aisle. They were all telling me to take it slow, to waltz my way and to enjoy that moment which is the bride’s alone. I heeded the wisdom in this, and as I walked I remember all the beaming faces as I passed them by, the smile and the cameras all raised and hovering around me. All that love was powerful and it felt grateful to be loved. As you know, that’s when I got teary eyed, and my girls, too.

Another highlight is the reception when we were watching the SDE photo and video coverage. Here is what I wrote in my blog,“At first there was clapping, a lot of oooohhing and aaahhing, then peals of laughter, tears of joy...and then finally shrieks. The photos and videos totally captured the tone, the mood, the colors, the vibe, the loveliness of that special day.”

---

Anything DIY for your wedding?

The entire planning was DIY. I only had 4 months to plan a destination wedding. It hinged on my Maid of Honor’s [experience with her] previous two-wedding coordination for her sisters and her stint as a wedding coordinator for a Boracay wedding sometime in 2005. However, Consuelo suddenly went MIA when she transferred to SG in the middle of the preparation. Good thing I planned everything from the start and had a lot of good help from family and friends (plus she did the coordination on the day!). Here is a list of our DIYs:

1.) Our Save the Date info was sent via MMS and email- a photobooth rendition of 4 shots seemingly taken from a photobooth but was taken at home using Chris’ Canon DSLR.




2.) Instead of monograms, we decided to use the photo taken by our friend in Serendra with Chris’ Vespa as a sticker for the invites and the misalette, which helped create the overall theme of the wedding.


3.) The Boracay sunset postcard, two photos of the famous sunset with the words Thank You and our names, date and location of the wedding inscribed at the back were also DIY- all we had to do was to send it to the printers. The postcard then became personalized thank you cards and souvenir at the same time.


4.) The directional signages with our names hand-painted on them using the same font as our stickers were also made by a friend. They were lovely!




5.) The flowers at the church were set-up by Chris’s relatives from Iloilo. The flowers were bought in Dangwa and were hand-carried by my family.

Because I only had 4 months, and this is a first wedding planning for me, there were many details missed but this is nothing compared to the joy of that day.



(VM: The dried starfish boutonnieres were DIY, too! Our first time to use a glue gun! Ever! LOL!)

What was your biggest splurge?



Choosing Discovery Shores and Pat Dy. The 4-month planning for a wedding was only made possible because Discovery took charge of everything when it came to the reception. I thought I could not afford Pat Dy, but girls, this is a sage advice: pictures last a lifetime. I would have gladly paid him more. (Rhetorically, of course. I brought him cake and serenitea when I visited him after the wedding, hehe).


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What was the design inspiration for your wedding?





With Boracay’s White Beach as a backdrop, we knew that our beach wedding would be a cinch. Initially it was a Sonya’s Garden meets Boracay theme but when Chris saw this, he said where was he in that wedding? Oo nga naman. My guy is a rasta; he was non-compromising on the beach wedding, on the rings, and wanted a reggae theme. This started the whole vibe and wedding look book. Of course all of it had to be done tastefully - no to shabby chic or rustic vibe.


How does it feel getting wed on the beach?









We were married at the Holy Rosary Parish in Boracay because we wanted the solemnity of the mass and the tradition that went along with it. But this is Boracay! As soon as one stepped on the island, the whole feel and pace changes you, and so it felt like everyone could let loose, be on vacation but instead of just you and the barkada or you and the family, it was you with ALL your family and closest friends. It turned out that way and more, as we were going to one party after another, our friends and families were having their mini reunions, and there was a lot of eating and partying that weekend. When I asked both of our parents to recount their weekend in Boracay, their grins were from ear to ear and there were many stories to tell. That was what we were going for!



What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding?

The budget. We had to make do with what we could afford. Our entire decision had to fit the already over budget. In the end we had to cut down on some things, and had to prioritize our non-compromises. We could not serve beer even if we wanted to; it cost P120++ per bottle at Discovery Shores!


Tell us about your photographer:

What can I say? Pat Dy is among the best wedding photographers in the country, but he is also very nice. During the wedding preparation, I told him my friend wanted to have a photo shoot with him and he obliged (which made my friend really happy). He helped me find my best angle and guided me gently to pose “Love yourself” for the camera. (Those are the ones with the dramatic shots). When happy with his shots, he’d let me take a peek. He captured so many emotions of love and joy during that day - from my mother as she was looking at me with my veil on, to a father walking down her flower-girl daughter who was shy and sleepy, to the toothless grins of Chris’s Dad and our 3-year-old ring bearer. Some of the shots were directed, but many of my favourite shots were raw emotions captured as they unfolded. Bravo!





Tips to brides to be:

Enjoy the planning, but let go on your wedding day. As my BFFs wrote to me the on the day of the wedding, “All shall be well.” That was very heartwarming and made me smile for the rest of the day.

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Photos by

Pat Dy
2nd floor, Wilson Square Building,
Wilson St. corner P.Guevarra St.,
Greenhills, San Juan,
Metro Manila, The Philippines
Office:(632)727.4381
Mobile:(63)917.899.1275
Email: patdyphotography[at]gmail.com

Ala CSI

Reeling from the muscle aches of the badminton queuing last night, I wake up to the sound of the chirping of the birds, which for a moment, made me feel lost. There were no bird chirping sounds in Boni where I live. There are drilling, yes, and the faint sound of cars passing by Edsa. Ah yes, I am in QC, where I hope to someday live, maybe even retire.

My life as a thirty something singleton? Could be busy, could be boring. These days, as I eagerly await the 9th season of CSI Vegas (Will Warrick come back? What would it be like with Lawrence Fishbourne there? I would so miss Grissom..), I turn to CSI New York, and in the process fell for Eddie Cahill. But the real reason I, and I guess, most everyone is hooked with CSI is because their stories told in many different ways, mostly teach us two facts:

1. how methodical and scientific processes can help bring out the truth
2. people lie

Anyway, I don't think too much nor dwell on negativity so several times during the show when the cops would be careful to examine the evidence, or careful not to touch the evidence before the CSIs arrive, I would remember several skirmishes with the local police. Oh yes, I am of age, and dealing with cops is part of the experience.

When I was still living in Manila, where I would park outside, there was one time my car was towed, my side mirrors were stolen thrice, and one time, I almost caught the perpetrator. I don't know what came over me but I woke up early, maybe it was not even 5 AM. Mama is already sweeping the front yard and told her I think we have to check my car, which was parked on the avenue at the corner, certainly not within eyesight. She was surprised, probably worried if I had gone sick, but she went with me anyway.

Baranggay tanods were supposed to be patrolling, but thieves would have their way. As it happens, I had a very strong gut feel because the thief apparently heard our footsteps and scooted away, leaving behind a broken rear seat window pane (the smaller one,to unlock the car), a set of screwdrivers, and his fingerprints all over. There was also the car radio missing, which he would not be able to use because the head is gone (the bf told me to remove it each time I park in a public place). I can almost see the thief probably tucked behind a tree, or within an alley while we call on the baranggay tanod (who, in Sampaloc, are either bums or occasional drug users). Nobody saw anything, they say, but they heard running.

I took a ziplock, and careful not to touch the screwdriver with prints, I lifted it and placed it onto the plastic bag. There were 2 small tools I think that the thief also left, which I also put in. Early in the morning I went to the nearest police station in Sampaloc, sa presinto quatro,and gave the evidence to the police at the desk. I told him about the incident, and said that I am bringing in the evidence. He looks at me, takes hold of the ziplock, and unloads the contents on his desk. Then he touches them all, one by one, while explaining to me that the odds of catching the thief is almost impossible. While he was doing this I was aghast, and told him

"What about the fingerprints?" (In tagalog, syempre)

That was when he told me, by his action, not by his words, that they don't do that. It is safe to say that in the Philippines, cops don't do this. At least for petty cases of robbery.

I don't remember much of that day except that moment. I still have the screwdriver from the thief. And oh yes, by some weird underground network of thieves, addicts and baranggay connections, my radio head was returned to me, but that's another story.

Saguijo

Finally, after much texting and planning, DEP and I meet again. We went to our usual hangout, the Greenbelt compound, and tried the mainstream offering at Spicy Fingers. This resto/bar in GB2 now has an in-house band, but the music, no offense to the band who can carry a tune and play music, is so 80s and reminiscent of any band you'd see playing in Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and most other Asian countries. So when L, whom we ditched for our girl talk said he is meeting up with Marku to go to Saguijo, we tagged along.

Taking the Buendia, Pasong Tamo, Gamboa route, then we make a right to Guijo Street where the music can be heard and the crowd spills onto the street. Unlike most commercial places, Saguijo is all about the music- no LV-clad, seen and be seen outfit required. In fact, the more relaxed, the better.

From their website:


On a nightly basis, saGuijo proudly features some of today’s most exciting bands. Just as our establishment is founded on the concept of complete artistic freedom, we encourage our musicians to experiment with the entire spectrum of sound. Genres are unimportant so long as the music is good, true, and sincere. Despite coming from diverse musical and social backgrounds, our artists share a common element of passion. Passion for creation. Passion for composition.




That night Pinikpikan was playing, followed by Cynthia Alexander and Severino.
Talk about seeing all types of people- young and old, dreadlocked or shaved, white, black, Pinoys, Chinese, photographers (amateurs and professionals), one can not be out of place. We saw Ate Loi, our former choirmate who used to be with the UP Concert Chorus, and she played the keyboards plus other instruments to accompany Cynthia Alexander, who was also playing with two Indians who had with them a small accordion and bongo drums. It was a flurry of sounds, there was chanting and yes, there was definitely some Indian grooves; foreign chants which were uttered and repeated over and over again. Razorback's guitarist (or was it bassist) was accompanying Cynthia while we sat on the floor as the small apartment was filled to the rafters. Marku and L were taking photos, while everyone was chugging their Red Horse Beer.



Outside, pretty girl L and DEP went out for smokes, while L and I chatted them up. "We like getting drunk, we can say anything..." and these lawyers laugh their stress away.





I was tipsy by the time Pinikpikan started their set, and I love their beat. The energy of Saguijo is just remarkable and it's all because of the music. There we met musicians, photographers, saw old friends and made new friends. Next time, I'd like to go to a jazz bar. Not the croony, creepy type with a girl in a sexy outfit, but something like Saguijo, an underground bar of some sort, where the main star is the music.







7612 Guijo St., San Antonio Village, Makati City
Tel. (02) 8978629
e-mail: info@saguijo.com
http://www.saguijo.com/calendar.php

Pagudpud and Tales of Our Childhood

While on our Laoag trip we stopped on a bridge to have our picture taken at the border of Pagudpud and saw a bunch of kids who were diving onto the lake below. They were all boys, in shorts, and were taking turns diving, swimming upstream, then going up again to dive again. Some children are easy to photograph because all it would take is a smile and kind words and they would smile back. This boy waited for me to signal to L to catch him in mid-air. He was wonderful. His spirit felt as free as a bird. This dive made me happy.









Looking on was this young boy who positioned himself onto a rock, and although his friends were shouting at him, teasing, cajoling him to have fun, he stood like a rock and just looked on. The boys were laughing at him. To me though, he looked at peace.














The older boys were a little harder to convince to pose for a shoot. They were shy, but I talked them into it, and got a little reaction. I thought it was a wonderful subject, little boys with their innocence intact, children of God.












When I was a child growing up in a drug-free Sampaloc, where there are no rivers but the streets would be an extension of your house, I would play patintero, teks and bahay bahayan with the other kids. Our bahay bahayan would just be creating a makeshift house using kumot (blanket), chairs as posts, and we would pretend to eat inside this tent using our toy plastic plates and spoons. I have one officemate who told me he played bahay bahayan and lost his virginity there. He said he lay on top of the girl and did what mothers and fathers did. Ok, he turned out to be gay, and yes his childhood story is so out of the ordinary.


Today while driving under heavy rain, we recalled the story of this girl we love, an ex-officemate named E who lived in Corinthian Gardens (an exclusive village in Ortigas). She told us one time during lunch that she and her sister would play bahay-bahayan too. But their version, they call as "squatter- squatter". They would hide under their dad's executive desk at home, build makeshift walls in the form of blankets and ask their yaya to bring them instant noodles. Then they would pretend they were children who lived under the bridge. I forgot to ask what they talked about, but we thought her version of childhood play was funnier than the one who lost his virginity.

30Something Thinking

distract me,
talk to me about anything, something
confuse me, silence me
with your words,
swirling thoughts...

Before I could get distracted by myself, my call master message tone beeps.

M:12 hours of alcohol. Fun. If i were still in college. Fuckit.

Me: So you're lasing and texting me huh. I'm trying desperately to distract myself from calling the ex

M: Fuckit. Yoko na uminom. And no, october is best spent with non exes. So zip it. ü

Me: Am seated at the throne, writing,nothing coming out (of the writing, and the throne). I just want a dreamless uninterrupted sleep m. Is that too much to ask? Maybe if I drown myself with wine I can. I will.

Me: I'm not calling him or seeing him. It's the brain, confused from lack of sleep. Why am I so stupid when it comes to men? Powtah,gimme some of that beer..

M: Try staring into black empty space.

Me: I definitely have the wrong cd on. Sade will not lead me to black empty space

M: 30mins worth lang of a playlist ha.

Me: Dude bakit may time limit?

M: At the 31st min tulog ka nyan.

M: Try Portishead. ü (the "obscure" CD I asked him to burn for me- a collection of songs from unknown artists. Turns out I have a cd of portishead circa 1998.)

Me: Its not working. And portishead leads me to an abyss. I don't get them. Hahaha

M: Not getting them is good. If you're able to relate, you process. Otherwise its just ambient noise. Take it from a recovering insomniac.

Me: But it is noise. Like the dead calling out to some poor soul to come join them in the abyss.

M: Hehe. U wanted obscure. ü

Me: My lullaby songs these days are Apo-the Original Hit Songs, 10 Years Together and Banda Rito. But my heart is thumping now.

M: Apo! Pakshet thought provoking. As bad as the Hotdogs and VST and Co...For best effect I listen to lounge music. With the subwoof to full.

Me: Nah. Bores me with their sing songy melody. But when I'm awake I love them. Is that weird?

M: Not at all!

Me: Pare for someone who's lasing, your grammar and spelling are still ok. You're very coherent. Inum ka pa

M: You're monitoring my grammar?!

Me: Relax. There's nothing wrong with it.

Me: Ahh. I get it. He's (the ex, there, drinking) with you.

M: Ha! Am with a girl.

Me: Uhmnnnn..then why are you texting me. Panget yan noh.

M: Sos. I do it under the table.

Me: Ok, boring sya. Maganda sya pero boring sya.

M: Korek.

Me: Hahaha. Kakatawa ka. That's good though. Am totally distracted.

****
This is my friend M, who, somehow, ends up texting me when he's drunk, or thinking of getting drunk. Then he disappears...into the abyss once more. I like his short appearances, though. Stimulating.

Beef Noodles and Shao Long Pao

A trip to Taipei would not be complete without a taste of local cuisine, ranging from street hawkers selling various fried foods to the most savory or spicy beef noodles. The retail area is lined up with small shops, the quaint ones in dark alleys but most probably with a nearby well-lighted convenience store around the corner, and on ther other hand, there are a lot of self-service noodle houses where the clerk hands out a menu/price listing on a clipboard to you, you tick off what you want, and the quantity then you wait til it is served on your table, then you pay on your way out. Efficient, convenient, and fastfood, especially after a hard day of shopping or cruising the night market, or the Guang Hua electronics market. The best way to find the most popular shops is to ask the taxi driver to bring you there. We did and found one near our hotel. It was way past dinner, and our afternoon meal with Melody at Ikea restaurant (where we bid her adieux as she leaves for London tomorrow for her masters) has long been burned from looking for the best deals for hard disk drives, thumb drives, Wii, PSPs, power adaptors, wireless routers, Ifan, flat LCD screens with TV tuners, and hentai.

I remember Sim Lim Square in Singapore, and I remember the vibe, the energy of the mostly guys shopping, negotiating, comparing prices, window shopping, looking for a bargain there, and I compared this with the crowd at Sulin Night Market where there are rows and rows of shoes, blouses, mini-dresses, and other trendy casual outfits; one stall after the other, and there are girls who go ga-ga over shoes, trying on one pair after the other, looking for the right one, and ending up buying 3 pairs.
By 10 PM, Xtin and I could hardly feel our legs, and we wait for the guys as they max up their credit card, use up their local taiwan dollars, and try to withdraw some more in order to satiate their gadget fixation. What is it with men and gadgets?I looked around and I see a lot of new stuff- a digital photo frame costing NT$3700 (roughly PhP5.5k), lots of ipod/ifan/boxter accessories, 12 megapixel digicams and many other things you don't need but you'd want.




Lost in the gadgetry, geek looks and reeking scents, I marvel at this industry, and looked back at the time, once in a galaxy far far away where I was part of Fujitsu, and our hard drive output is 1 Gig internal hard drive, to be shipped to the US and Japan. This is circa 1996. Almost a decade after, the old technology is obsolete and prices are going way down, and the electronics industry is more alive than ever. Even Gilmore in the Philippines is turning into something like the PC destination.


I knew what I wanted, and I did not have enough excitement over gadgets as I have with shoes, so I was done after a few minutes but had to wait for my boss who was beyond himself, passing by the stall where there are 2 chicks manning a digicam store, and looking for cables and adaptors and other stuff. He has just been here the night before. Xtin was almost about to faint from hunger, and we finally get to sip the hot soup at past 10. Three convenience store stops later, we head back to the hotel and decide to have a nightcap at the ground floor bar. She drank milk, while I took Taiwan beer. The other franchisees and guys were there, and we laugh a lot about our Guang Hua experience. What can I say, the guys just love it!

The night before, Sam took us to dinner at Noodle Master, a lovely pricey noodle house, also down at the East Road. But the best dinner was at the basement of Sogo Hotel in downtown Taipei, a restaurant called Din Tai Fung, where we taste the best shao long pao, handmade, with pork and soup inside the tiny morsel of steamed flour, the best seaweed appetizer, and spinach dumplings. The noodles are handmade as well, and are assembled where shoppers can view the entire process. We ate more than enough, but did not dare pick the last piece of the dumpling, because the Taiwanese say, the person to eat the last piece will not get married, ever. Since Xtin is getting married next month, and I am hoping to, one day, we don't touch it, and instead, finish off our soup, which is always served the last, in the Taiwan tradition.

It was a tiring trip, the past 3 days, but the Taipei experience this time is different. I wonder what tomorrow would bring. With the way things are going, with all of us shopping with our third world salary when we visit another country, we might as well not eat for the rest of the month, just to make our own balance sheet. Why do we do that? And then pretend we are happy, while the Chinese would not be able to sleep without 30% of their pay going to their savings.

I will talk about my one on one with Barbara Gonzales next time, and would attempt to recount each lesson. I saw her just before I left for Taipei, and I have an assignment. With her, we do not talk about food, but the rain...

Next stop: Bangkok in October; if not, Malaysia before the year ends, but definitely not Singapore.

Practing Paparazzi Shots, Finding Mr. Baoz and Other (Mis)Adventures

Since this is our 3rd time to attend the trade show, we tried practicing our paparazzi shots; instead of the usual pose with the best-angled smile, we looked for something different, unmindful while other Taiwanese attendees looked on.








Here's Xtin who looked a little drunk here, but it's obvious she is wilder than me:












I need to work on mine, DEP. He-he.



On our search for a food adventure, we went to Taipei county, about 40 minutes away from downtown Taipei,spending over NT$2000 on cab fare to look for Mr. Baoz!













Looks lovely, don't they? I'll let you know how they taste as I am about to attack 18 siopaos today. Part of the job! What do you think Puto, do you think I'm having fun? He-he-he.


****
By 7:30 PM, we were back at the hotel, waiting to be picked up by Sam and Dennis. We ask them to take us to Guang Hua, the local akihabara or electronics town, but instead we go to a nearby mall where there's bad airconditioning and all items one buys does not come with a plastic bag- you carry it all. No frills, no fuss, discounted. Or so I thought. I buy the ipod car charger/tuner, the ipod clear case, and the ipod wire snap (pink of course) at a pretty good price. I pay NT$2199 for the 80GB Maxtor hard drive (Fujitsu is out of stock), only to learn that my officemates got the 120GB Fujitsu at $1800, with the casing at $250. Darn. I will try to return mine and buy one at Guang Hua.

****
We were back by 9:30 PM from dinner with our 2 friends from PCSC (big guys there) and decided to take a cab to the Shilin Night market, a translation and a 20-minute ride away. There the pulse is more energetic, the crowd, younger, and the shoes-es, much much prettier. I buy a polka dotted black and white pumps, and a really aquamarine blue flat pair. Shoes sell at NT$390 a pair.


****
Xtin and I knock off at 2 AM, and I get my period this morning. She got hers last night. We blame it on the walking.

Kuya Turns 5 and 5 Other Jarring Moments

Isn't he the cutest?





*****

I almost bumped into Jessica Zafra the other day at Starbucks Metrowalk. I wanted to greet her, say something to her. What do you say to your idol when you get starstruck? I almost spilled my brewed coffee when I turned around and Bob caught me staring at her. I told him I can't just approach her, she may be sungit. Ha-ha-ha.


*****

I found out they line me up at the last minute for the trip to Taipei because the guy I assigned to go fractured his bone when he hit the base of the sofa one brownout night. You really, really never know what's (literally) going to hit you, sometimes. I suddenly get another trip, just when I though my wanderlust yearning has been satisfied. One major trip a year, and I have exceeded my quota, perhaps compensating for other major losses. I am thankful, I am grateful.


*****

After my trip to Cagayan de Oro, I picked up my car from the office, and took my usual WakWak route to get home, and while I was in full stop position in front of Starmall to get across to Edsa, a truck inched his way so close to me that it scratched, (we're talking big scratches that peeled off the paint of the right side of the front headlights and bumper), and then he sped away. I stood there motionless, jarred to my senses (WTF???!!?) and thinking "Oh well, Shogunai desu ne?" (It can't be helped.)


*****

That same week, just when the week was about to end, I went to see Leng at Century Park Manila, and I was texting, texting all the way to and fro. I was exiting the parking at Harrisson Plaza when I hear a thud. What do you know, a green car bumped the front right side of my car making a tiny scratch mark. It was one way, and he was on the wrong side of the road; he was apologetic when he said:
"One way pala, sana binusinahan mo ko at hindi binangga.."

I knew it was a lost argument, after all, I was texting when it happened.

*****

I was sleepy, after all, it was way past 1 AM, and I get a call. I don't know what B is getting out of this, nor I. What do I want?

Finally.. I Make It To The Corregidor Tour!

I guess you can say timing is everything.

" When it feels right, it is right.."

I say this in retrospect because a lot of people have been to Corregidor, and I felt I was missing out on something, and yet, I did not feel the urge to get to this destination until last week. I was finalizing the 4-day trip of Ime with her 3 Malaysian guests, whom we call Aunties-single, thirty something Malaysian Chinese who can't seem to make up their mind as to what they want to do. We choose from Corregidor to Carlos Celdran's Intramuros Tour, Tagaytay vs Boracay, and by Wednesday 10 PM, when Cie and I met up with Ime at the Manila Pen for a late night coffee/ tea session, they were still unable to make up their minds.

We finally decide to go to Corregidor eventhough we needed to meet up at 7 AM-- Ime has not been there as well. It is perfect timing because I just finished a refresher course on pre-colonial, Spanish, American and Japanese occupation history at the Ayala Museum, and I have better appreciation of the past. Not to mention that I just came from Cagayan De Oro, where General Douglas Mac Arthur was sneaked in from Corregidor, before being transferred to Australia, right after he uttered the famous line, " I shall return." Yes, indeed, an appreciation of the past is needed for this tour, which may not be to everyone's liking, but for someone who is interested about knowing their past, about the quaintness of old objects and relics of the war, a day tour is enough to satiate your hidden interest on WWI and the Philippine's involvement in this war.

The Schedule

Confirm Reservation at the CCP Terminal: 7 AM
Boarding time: 7:30 AM
Depart from Manila: 8 AM
Arrive in Corregidor: 9: 15 AM
Guided tour: til 12

Lunch: 12- 1 PM

Continue guided tour up to the Top Hills
Optional Light and Sound Show at the Malinta Tunnel
Tour Ends at 2:30 PM
Arrive Manila at 3:45- 4 PM

How To Tour Guide

Sun Cruises Inc. offer guided tours in English and Japanese that day, and if you can, look for Ramon Alonzo, who at 71, was a WW II boy, and his script recalls not just the Corregidor history, but some engaging stories of his own interspersed with the tour. Ramon showed me how it is to be a proper tour guide. He has passion, humor and at 71, he pretty much can get away with anything- ordering the tram to stop with the stern voice of a grandfather ordering the driver to slow down, and at one point near the end of the tour, an altercation erupted between him and the Japanese tour guide (a Nippongo-speaking Filipino) because the other guy's voice was too loud and his group and our group were near each other-- "He could have lowered his voice, or not used his mic." He later apologized for the outburst, but he is forgiven, after all, he put all his heart out onto his tour, and you can see he loves doing it. He says he will do it til he is 80. " Think positively, and you can do, yes sir!"



Instantly, he builds rapport with 3 American men- young Nick who buys the book on Corregidor (P375), Daniel, a History Professor at the University of Virginia, and Tony. Another guy, an Aussie later on warmed up to Ramon, and would interject comments. It was a lovely interaction between tour guide and tourists. Daniel, would often share facts and additional stories, and Ramon would acknowledge and thank his insights. At one point, Daniel was able to answer Ramon's trivia on the last 3 states to be included in the American flag, and Ramon was ecstatic, for no American has been able to answer this, prior to him. My only moment of contribution came when we went alongside a Japanese delegation, and asked Ramon,

"If you were to do the Japanese tour, how would you do it?"

The Americans all had opinions about this of course, concluding that it was a kinder version, where the Japanese won the battle, and that they had nothing to apologize for. Ramon said the same, that the Japanese would come here thinking they won the war, but they would be in for a surprise at the end of the tour. I know for a fact that the Japanese soldiers involved in the WWII were regarded as heroes in Japan, and they all have a place at the Wakayama Memorial. The 4500 soldiers of the 61st infantry division and other troops were buried in Corregidor, but their remains were dug up and transferred to Wakayama. What is left on this island is a memorial honoring the dead soldiers that were once buried there, and yes, a lot of ghosts.

There were many tunnels and bomb holes dug up by the Japanese, where most of them ended up blowing themselves off in harakiri fashion, saying Banzai, For The Motherland!. The Americans , who led a surprise attack by arriving via paratroops surprised the Japanese who thought they were arriving via ships, which led to the fall of the Japanese. In the end, the Americans were forced to bury all the Japs, because they were all killing themselves(with bombs,guns and bayonets), all 4500 of them, and the stench was overpowering.

The Corregidor Tour is remarkable to me because:

1. It is a well-preserved destination, a one of a kind experience where relics of the war are all located in one island. For war buffs, those interested to see gallant guns - there are four 12-inch mortars that can revolve 360 degrees, compared to the European guns that fire in one direction. Battery Hearn's seacoast gun, the longest gun in the island has a firing range of 17 miles, compared to the guns now used in Iraq which can fire up to 5000 miles! The Americans built a total of 20 batteries in the island.








2. Mile Long Barracks: the most photographed area in Corregidor, which served as quarters for 2000 officials, including Gen. Douglas Mac Arthur. This is a dramatic area, the closest we can have of Rome's ruins. There is quite a different feeling seeing the ruins. It made me imagine what the people were doing at that point in time when bomb after bomb were dropped and shells were gunned down on the area, as they try to kill Mac Arthur, who seemed to have 9 lives.







3. The island in itself is an attraction with the cool wind air (don't go there during summer, I think), the view of the sea (I can see why the Americans loved it there), and Philippine fauna. It was relaxing while riding the tram, which are exactly the same railway cars in the San Francisco area. You see, this island had the best of the American transportation (trams and railways) and technology (underwater reservoir is running using a General Electric generator for its 3 million gallons of water usage) of the 1920s.







4. Their tour guide, Ramon Alonzo (can't say about the others) has a lot of passion,is precisely on time, and is very engaging. He was part of the group that guided Bill Clinton in 1994.

5. Malinta Tunnel: Don't miss this one out (additional P150 as donation for maintenance). It's a 30-minute light and sound show which chronicles the significance of the place as it served as center of American operations during WWII. I recognized Joonie Gamboa's voice as that of Pres. Quezon, who took his oath, along with Vice President Osmena, under this tunnel.

6. Pacific War Memorial: Costing $1.23 Million, this was built by the US government to mark the war, and one of only two in the world- the other is at Pearl Harbor. I had my photo taken here by the Corregidor photog, Slyvia.


" In these surroundings where heroes sleep
May their ashes scatter with the wind and live in the hearts of
Those who were left behind.
They died for freedom's right and in heaven's sight,
Theirs was a noble cause. "


Finally, if you have to go to Corregidor, do it with someone you really really like, it is a whole day, after all, and there are a lot of nice moments. It is remarkable because I did it with my good friend Ime. I plan to send my father, who is a war junkie and my mother, here, on a date, hoping his arthritis won't be much of a hindrance, and yes, I thought about you, with your war books and love of war machinery. But just for a moment.

Day 3: The CDO Travel Diary

We knocked off at 10 PM on our business review the previous day, and while the others head off to play bowling and do a bit of Magic Sing-ing, I head off to The Lodge to resend the weekly report my marketing director failed to receive due to our network issues. By the time I finished working on it and washed up, it was past 12 and I am smiling as I go off to sleep. I am smiling even if I am way past being too tired.
****

I wake up to the birds singing, and I am almost tempted to sing The Sound of Music's opening lines, but ooops, my roomie is already up and about with hair curlers and a fully made up face. I wear white because today it is going to be plantation tour, pineapple picking and a trip to the dairy farm. Let me tell you about breakfast!

sunny side up eggs
bacon
corned beef
fried rice
toast
home made pineapple jam (some of which I get to bring home- now sitting at my table)
freshly brewed coffee
fresh fruits
sampling of fruit flavored tea- kiwi, apple and peach tea
Del Monte's famous steak
ice cream cake



The view at The Lodge includes pine trees, freshly cut grass, lovely ferns, acacia trees and the lake.



How all so decadent!

***
Whilst the cannery tour is impressive due to its heavy machinery that peels, cuts the core, bottom and top of the golden pineapples and a gravity conveyor that overhangs from the tin can plant to the pineapples, I distinctly remember why I did not want to work at a plant after a 2-year stay in a similar facility (manufacturing hard disk drives). I felt my creativity is being stifled, and I belong out there in the world, or in this case, this time, out there in the field.

The Del Monte Farms in Bukidnon spans 5 municipalities, and they are still set to expand to Malay Balay Bukidnon as the new management team aims to double its revenues in 5 years.

The tour starts at the R & D laboratory, a 287 sq. meter facility that proliferates pineapples and papaya by the thousands. Pineapples, apparently are easier to grow- one bud can harvest 1000 pineapple plants, and after an initiation stage, the greenbud is now ready to proliferate. In about 6 months, the nursery is now ready to let go of their babies out onto the field. Now get this, imagine a bed that does a forward and back motion, all day. On the bed are papaya buds. Apparently, they are harder to grow and needed to be stimulated with that forward and back motion incessantly to "disorient the cells, allowing them to grow either ways- top, bottom, sideways". I chuckle.


We then proceed to the local coop souvenir shop where I buy PINAKURAT vinegar, pineapple tarts and cheese sticks. We head for the cows, and get a taste of pasteurized fresh milk and choco milk. Sayang, didn't get to milk the cows, because they were scheduled at 3 PM. The cows are a cross breed of Australian and tropical horse breeds. Within the rest area, Sarah the guide, points to me a bull, which is used to stud the cows. Imagine the life of the cows at the farm: pregnant each year, milked 300 days in a year, and resting for 65 days. Holy cow!




***
The plantation tour is short but sweet, I felt the "malapit lang" is such an irony, for I see nothing but rows and rows of pineapples, and the drive seemed like forever to get to the harvester- a machine that pulls in manually picked pineapples. They have over 2000 workers in the farm, all members of the coop, all with their own housing benefit and a community within the facility. We get to pick pineapples, and have our photo-op.



Later, we went to the fresh fruit packing house and wanted to look for the grand mother packer (ha-ha Rex Navarette, you rock!).


Apparently, all the workers in this old building are grandmothers, or mothers (basta they were old), and one grandma showed us her pineapple cutting skills as she cut, chopped, sliced pineapples for us to taste. It was the Sweet Sixteen variety, and let me tell you all about it: the color is golden yellow, the smell oh so sweet, the texture- parang mestisa, and as it touches your palate, you can not help but utter such admiration for its sweetness. Quite exquisite, really! Walang sayad, walang kati, it was oh so sweet!

And that concludes our Cagayan De Oro adventure. It was more than what I wished for. And that is enough to mark a lasting impression.