God's Quill

This afternoon, I went out to give Mom flowers at Forest Lake, my usual routine every Sunday afternoon. It's been almost 6 months since Mom passed on, and I can't help but think that, maybe, this is what a lot of people were talking about... a scar that won't heal. I got this text message a couple of days ago... It's something about the different kinds of scars that we sustain as we go through life's struggles and fight the battles we were ordained to fight. Some scars heal and leave a faint mark. Others leave a disfiguring trace that people wear with pride, symbols of battles fought and won. Still, there are some scars that simply won't go away. And with time, they persist, often sadistically teasing us with searing pain to remind us that, sometimes, there are battles we were never meant to win. They are a constant memento of life's bitter blows and painful wallops. The thought filled my heart with so much longing for the Mom that I lost not too long ago. It still brings me pain and sadness, like a scar that opens up and bleeds with every good or bad memory. But maybe, just maybe, this is a scar that I am proud to wear... For, like the love that was shared between Mom and I, this scar will never leave. It shouldn't leave. Like the love that bears its name, this one is meant to last forever. Mom may have left us physically, but she's very much alive in my heart. God has written her name there with His quill... And its ink will never dry up... Not time, not distance, nothing can ever erase it... I love you Mom... And I miss you so much...

*******

NOTE: While Manang and Dad were trimming the lush growth of grass over Mom's grave, my gaze was caught by an odd cloud formation that seemed to take the shape of a feather. Dad said it's called a "jet stream"... It was so beautiful I hurried to take a picture of it with my camera phone. It's a good thing I always have my phone with me, coz the cloud formation lasted only for less than a minute. It kinda reminded me of Mom... Beautiful, yet fleeting... No wonder God was in such a hurry to take her back. Such a beautiful person is not meant to stay for long in this imperfect world...

Home, Sweet Home

I miss my bed.

It's been exactly 6 days since I traded off the comfort of my own bed with someone else's sheets. It's been 6 nights of not savoring the all-too-familiar "Arni" scent that "perfumes" my pillows and blanket. Instead, the unfamiliar texture of cheap linen and chlorine-smelling pillows were permanent nocturnal fixtures. And in place of the soft, almost imperceptible, droning of my AC, the chugging sound of antiquated AC and the hypnotic monotony of snoring lulled me to sleep for almost a week... Tonight, I'm looking forward to finally being by myself and basking in the glory of isolation, at least for the night.

Naks! Parang intro ng soft erotic novel. Haha! Nope, I'm just looking forward to FINALLY sleeping in my own bed after almost one week of island-hopping adventure. Yehey!

Anyway, I won't make this long. Eto na po yung ibang pics. Kainis. Fafi Cito still hasn't given me a copy of all the pics. I'll just bug him to his death. Haha! Good night!

A-woo! A-woo! A-woo!

Lemme see…

Eat all you can buffet bar by the beach…
Big fish / Smart event in Station 2…
Techno dance party with Globe in Station 1…
Reggae music and Rasta crowd in Creek’s Bar…
Sand castles…
Huge Havaianas…
Beer, beer and more beer…
Sex on the beach…

Of course, I was talking about the cocktail drink, not THE actual sex on the beach. That would be illegal. That pretty much sums up our first night, a Black Saturday, in Bora. But lemme back track a little…

Fafi Cito and I were really excited about going back to Creek’s Bar, him more than I was, although Creek’s has always been a fave of mine since two years ago. Last year, my sister, Fafi, Feypot and Sir Resty spent the night under the stars, on the sand, listening to awesome island music in Creek’s. I dunno, there’s always something special about the colors red, green, yellow and black. They spell fun! The reggae kinda fun. And Fafi, being a fan of Bob Marley and everything Rasta, put finding Creek’s on top of our agenda tonight. Despite years of spending summer here in Bora, I still couldn’t remember where the good bars are. It didn’t help that the shore changes face practically every month! What I did remember was the gecko lizard logo of the bar… and that it’s in Station 2. So while waiting for the two girls to get dressed for dinner, Fafi and I walked from Station 3 to Station 2 looking for Creek’s and commit the directions to memory, which wasn’t that difficult to do since ALL bars practically line the beach. Anyway, we ran into a few more familiar faces… I literally bumped into Will Devaughn, coz I was a tad too preoccupied with getting the sand off my flipflops. Nice guy. And a bit shorter than I am. Haha! Ran into that Polo guy again. And Aliya Parcs, THE ultimate crush. Haha! Anyway, by the time we got back to the beachside resto, the girls we were supposedly waiting for didn’t wait for us anymore and immediately stuffed their huge mouths. Talk about gratitude. Haha! But it was okay. We just couldn’t wait to get through dinner and hit Creek’s…

Reggae and the beach really do go together. Over drinks, awesome music and a bit of discussion on vanity issues which, I still firmly believe, plague our friend Donna, the night was shaping up to be one of them fun ones which we always have here in Bora. We met up with our other friends who were also scouring the island for good hangout places. We spent a few hours in Creek’s, although I still can’t remember the name of the band who played that night… The lead vocals were really good. We made our way to Station 1, passing through, but not stopping for, the Big Fish thing. We saw a few more recognizable faces. I think we saw Iago Raterta with a group of what seemed to us like models? Bora at peak season is a virtual parade of Amazon babes and Spartans. Next year, we’re gonna be Spartans and Amazon babes ourselves! Haha! We can only dream. The Globe event near Cocomangas seemed much more fun so we went there instead. I actually wanted to be there for only one reason: ALIYA PARCS! Haha! Champ Lui Pio (I think that’s his name) of Hale was there with Bianca King… And John Lapuz, too. And a lot more whose names escape me right now. I think two servings of sex on the beach and three bottles of San Mig Light aren’t a good combo…

Hmmm… I’ll just let the photos tell the story. Imma hit the sleeping bag for now. We’re gonna do the island-hopping/snorkeling thing again tomorrow. Gnite, guys and gals! It was a really fun night! :)

A Few More Minutes Of That And I Would've Wet My Board Shorts! (Or, "Why I Hate Long Drives...")

Last night was our last night (huh?) in Guimaras (there you go!). I’m definitely gonna miss the island. And the people. Ilonggos are really very sweet people. In our two-and-a-half-day stay there, the local people were very generous and truly accommodating. Over dinner of sinigang na tanigue and adobong pusit, we talked about the beaches, the fishes, the sea urchins, the sea cucumber that Raimond mercilessly “abused (haha!), the gooey white stuff that DJ splattered all over Donna’s head (uh, “There’s Something About... Donna”?...) the starfish, and the sweet Guimaras mangoes. I was actually surprised that I enjoyed the adobong pusit, notorious as I am for abhorring anything adobo. It turns out, when it comes to calamari, it didn’t matter to me any which way it’s cooked and served. I’d still gobble it up. And the “stench” wasn’t that bad, at least not as bad as the “stench” of adobong manok or adobong pork. Fe’s NFF (new found “friend”) and her PVP (potential victim of pedophilia… haha!), Arjay, joined us for dinner, and Fe was very “game” with our endless teasing. If there’s anyone I would always love to hang out with on vacay, it would be Fe. The girl’s just so, uh, I dunno, cowgirl!

This morning, with our bags packed and ready to go, we boarded the next ferry to Iloilo. We stayed for an hour in the city for a taste of the authentic La Paz batchoy (my first). I couldn’t tell what was so special about it. To me, it was just noodles (very salty!) with innards. I eat a lot of weird stuff, but I can’t stand liver. Anyway, the others seemed to enjoy their bowl of batchoy, so I guess it must have been good. I didn’t get to finish mine. I found it too salty for comfort.

The almost-four-hour drive to Caticlan was part-fun (halfway through) and part-torture (the last hour-and-a-half!). We, all fifteen of us, minus the driver, with all our luggage, were squeezed together inside the van we rented, and the driver had delusions he was Schumacher or Alonso. I dozed off many times during the drive and the crazy, maniacal guy behind the wheel coursed around sharp corners as if he was in the F1 race track, so I bumped my head on the glass window many times, not to mention the frozen knees which bore the weight of two heavy backpacks! All I could think of was how, when we get to Bora, we’d forget the horrendous drive from Iloilo to Aklan. On a positive note, we did get to Caticlan in less than four hours, no thanks to Mr. Driver’s need for speed. We were told that in the hands of a sane driver, the trip would take over five hours. So I guess we should thank him for shaving off almost two hours from the usual travel time. I’m a glass-half-filled kinda guy.

The Caticlan port was crazy! I mean the people there were crazy! There were so many getting on and off ferries, but I guess it’s understandable, I mean, this being the Holy Week and all. And it was oppressively hot and humid outside. So with a heavy backpack and a small bag in tow, I and my friends walked about 100 meters, from where our van was hopelessly stranded, to the port gate. I’m guessing it was prolly at least 38-degrees outside, and the only protection I had were a baseball cap, my shades and a thin film of sun block (yeah, yeah, the SPF 50 with skin whiteners) which I rubbed on before we boarded the ferry to Iloilo this morning. I think I must’ve downed almost a liter of water during that short walk. Good thing I decided to bring a backpack. I can only imagine how difficult it must’ve been for Fe and Donna who were lugging around large duffels and suitcases, although Donna, Y2K-ready as she is, managed to dupe poor Jay into carrying her bag for her!

The whole “one entry-exit point” in Bora, I think, is absolutely brilliant. In the many years we’ve spent summer in the island, the constant docking of pump boats near the shore throughout the entire length of the beach from Stations 1 to 2 was an eyesore. It’s a good thing they finally did something right for the island. And the DOT people offering free transport from the dock to the resorts were very helpful. It was also nice that, for people like us who didn’t make advance reservations, they helped us look for a nice play to stay in. So while the rest of us had a late lunch in some nice resto (mixing people-watching with gustatory satiation… oh, and we’ve only been here for less than an hour and we already ran into this Polo guy – forgot his surname – whose large billboard of F & H I regularly see along the northbound portion of SLEX, and another gloriously tanned, and “eye-poppingly almost naked” Era (?) Madrigal), the others went hotel-hunting with the DOT guy. In about half-an-hour, we were moving into this nice, affordable place between Stations 2 and 3, very close to the beach and the night life, with a restaurant in front. Jackpot! It’s gonna be a fun night tonight, I can feel it! We’ve got everything planned… There’s a Big Fish event in Station 2, sponsored by Smart, and another Globe event in Cocomangas in Station 1. Not to mention our usual reggae night at Creek’s Bar. Imma catch a few z’s, prophylactic sleep as I call it, so I’d be pumped up and ready to partee tonight! :)

The Average Modern Pinoy Mutt Ain't 5'8" (aka, The Guimaras Tales, Part Two)

I woke up this morning quite early. I dunno. The bed was comfy, although the sheets weren’t exactly made of Egyptian cotton. Someone turned the thermostat up during the night. And everyone knows I like my room frigid and blustery cold. Then again, I’m sharing a room with Fafi Cito (whose idea of “cold” would be anything less than 25 degrees!), Fe (totally devoid of insulation), Donna and Sir Larry (let’s face it… age makes people cold intolerant), and August (dunno much about his internal thermostat… the guy needs some serious script-reading!), so I guess I’d have to bear with the slightly higher room temperature than I’m usually accustomed to. Anyway, I woke up before everyone else did (I heard some serious snoring from the bed right next to mine… whoever the culprit was, I had a pretty good idea although my survival instinct prevents me from spilling it out, since she could jump on me and turn me flat as a pancake…), and instinctively headed for the door to check on our friends next door and also to see the sunrise. As a Manila denizen, I hardly ever get to see the sunrise, partly coz of the blanket of smog that shrouds the city, and partly coz I get up before the sun does, or I sleep through most of the morning and shake the sheets off after the sun hits its zenith. On my way out, with my eyes still half-closed and my brain still in hibernation mode, I hit my head on a wooden plank jutting from the roof of the cottage… They freakin’ built the roof way too low for a 6-footer guy like me! Dazed and bruised, and hugely embarrassed after being seen by the other early birds clumsily walking towards the beach, I managed to plop my ass on a chair, massaging my head and trying to remember who I was. Haha!

After a hearty breakfast of, what else, hotdogs and eggs, we started to get ready for what the oldies planned for the day… island hopping and some more snorkeling. Apparently, where we went to yesterday was only a sample of the beauty that Guimaras is. There were still lots more to explore, and more reefs to see.

Today’s adventure began with a short boat ride to an enclosed portion of the sea where the water was still and the coral garden pregnant with marine life. The schools of fish were diverse, and we did see a few sea snakes swimming towards cracks of underwater caves. The water was, as usual, refreshingly cold despite the searing hot sun. Sir Olan swiped a blue starfish. Oh, and did I mention yesterday that he also caught a puffer fish? Well, Aquaman did. I’m not a good swimmer, so I stayed close to the boat. The others went about exploring the reef, sans snorkels. Galing! Anyway, it was really fun!

We had lunch on Turtle Island. I dunno if the name holds special significance, or if it’s really its official name. What I do know is we went there yesterday also, and Donna had her picture taken with a captive pawikan. Paging DENR! Haha! Over a sumptuous feast of grilled squid, shrimp, pompano (a really yummy fish!), clams, green mangoes and bagoong, and followed by an assortment of fresh fruits, the gang got into some serious discussion… on why native dogs are so good at picking meat from fish bones! Haha!

Guimaras, I have to concede, is one place I didn’t even consider in my list of places-to-be during the summer. It has always been either the mountains up north, or Bora. But the place found its way into my heart. Maybe it just wasn’t the place. I went there with a mixed up gang of people I’ve never gone on vacation with, with the exception of Fafi Cito. But that was such a really fun, and loud, group! But, of course, what made the adventure special was the wealth of marine life that greeted us. It’s a good thing the natives worked really hard to bring back the beauty of the place.

Oh, and we missed the crucifixion. Darn. But we did get to do the stations of the cross, all 15 of ‘em, Of course, we had to climb a steep hill (nobody told us about a hill!), but the view at the top was well worth the climb! A small chapel was strategically built right next to an observation tower with a huge cross. I’m suspecting DJ knew about the climb that’s why he opted to stay behind. It’s his loss, though. Haha!

Tomorrow, we’re heading back to Iloilo, and then a four-hour road trip to Caticlan awaits us. Boracay, get ready! :)

Guimaras... Sans Oil Spill

The first day of our 2007 summer getaway actually started the time we boarded the Super Ferry en route to Iloilo. I must say, for a first timer in a ship, I really enjoyed it! Of course, it helped that we weren’t booked in economy, and that we had comfy beds and the privacy of our own cabin to spend the night in. We even managed to catch American Idol 6 on TV. I can’t remember, though, if Sanjaya did well that night, coz we were basically channel surfing between AI6 and MSKM, which has become a hard habit to break. I love Anne Curtis. Haha! Anyway, I slept like a log the entire night, gently rocked by the waves outside. And it was so cold! I found the temperature quite cozy, though, even if Donski, Feypot and Fafi Cito were wrapped in two thick blankets each! Haha! I still remember that night in Sagada, two summers ago, when I took a shower, after a day’s worth of spelunking, with really cold water which I found quite, uh, “soothing,” and Fafi Cito and Sheila followed suit, thinking that the water’s temperature was quite tolerable, only to end up screaming their lungs out after the first splash of water hit them. I s’pose I’m one of ‘em truly warm-blooded mammals who take to cold weather like a duck to a pond. Anyways, when I opened my eyes, it was already light out, and we planned on going to the ship’s bow at exactly 6AM to go dolphin watching. We were told dolphins love showing off their acrobatic skills when passenger ships sail close to Iloilo. And that would be around 6AM. Only problem was, it was quarter past 6, and the three bozos were still catching some z’s! First plan foiled. But we didn’t really miss anything, coz we learned from DJ over breakfast that Flipper didn’t really make an appearance that morning…

We got off the boat at the Iloilo port at around 9AM this morning, and went straight by jeepney to the other side of the city to board the ferry that would take us to Guimaras Island, first stop in our island-hopping adventure. The sun was already beginning to sear our skin. Good thing we did dab on some sunblock right before we checked out of our cabin. Mine was SPF 50. I learned the hard way not to mess around with SPFs. The only sunblock I should use, and this is medically-proven, should have an SPF of at least 45. When I went to the mall a few days ago to pick up some stuff I needed for this trip, I was so in a hurry to get back home and start packing that I practically just grabbed stuff that looked familiar off the shelf. The sunblock I brought with me did have an SPF of 50. But it also had whitening ingredients! Good luck, tan. Dammit. Haha! I know I would have to bear with endless teasing from the two hags Fafi Cito and I brought along. Haha! Well, SPF 50 with whiteners is much better than first-degree burns.

We were met in the port by DJ’s contact, a 17-year old kid named Arjay. Fe, behave! Haha! The whole Fe-Arjay love affair started as beautifully as Jerry Maguire’s “You had me at ‘hello’…” Something tells me this would make for pretty interesting, and brutal, teasing for the next few days. It only took us about 15 minutes to reach Guimaras from Iloilo, and our bags were searched for mango seedlings at the Guimaras port. These people are just so rabidly protective of their famed mangoes! I say good for them! We still had to take a jeepney ride though, about 45 minutes, to the resort we’d be staying in for the next couple of days. But first, a quick stop at the market for some fruits, and lunch…

We had lunch at this resort right beside ours. It was a virtual cornucopia of the sea’s bounty! I really didn’t intend on flaunting my belly during this trip, but this afternoon’s lunch did nothing for my diet. Oh, well… We’re here to have fun, and what could be more fun than stuffing our mouths silly with grilled "everything"! We waited for 45 minutes (everything in Guimaras, apparently, takes 45 minutes!) before they served us our lunch, and during the wait, we whiled away the time by people-watching. Don’t you love sun glasses? Especially the dark, heavily-tinted ones? Haha! Anyway, after lunch, we went straight to our resort, unwound a little, then slipped into our swimming stuff and went onboard another pump boat that would take us to the surrounding islands for some snorkeling. Good thing I brought my own snorkel set. I can’t bear the thought of using snorkels that have been inside someone else’s mouth. Eewww…

The marine life around the island is so diverse, and there’s not a single trace of that horrible oil spill a few months ago. The water was just too, well, blue and pristine. And the sand’s so powdery white. I didn’t think anything like this could ever be found outside of Bora. On a side note, Fe didn’t jump off the boat to join us, afraid that she’d make the water turn red, or that sharks might be enticed to attack her. Haha! But while I was busy doing my own snorkeling and staring at a school of Nemos (clown fish?) on a coral garden a few meters off the shore, the others moved to another spot, much deeper, with Donna hanging precariously from the “katig” like a huge octopus! Haha! Eloy got stung by sea urchins, and Fafi Cito saw a couple of sea snakes. While Fe, well, she was busy making fun of a group of adolescent boys making a sand castle, or their pathetic attempt at a sand castle.

When we got back to our room this evening, we were met by a huge platter of sweet Guimaras mangoes, honey dew melon and water melon! Sarap! And we had a really delicious feast of sea foods for dinner. And we capped the night with beer, grilled hotdogs, great company and good conversation…

Tomorrow, we’ll be exploring the other islands off Guimaras and do some more snorkeling. And yeah, have our pictures taken with a tortoise (pawikan?)… That would prolly put us on the DENR watch list, but hey, what the heck! Haha! It’s gonna be Good Friday tomorrow, so we’ll see if we can witness this actual crucifixion on some hill near the town. That would be exciting. :)

Super Ferry... Talagang Trip Kita

NOTE: I love my O2 atom... Being away from my laptop is something I can't bear. Ever. But having my atom with me is like having a security blanket. And in the next few journal entries, I'll be posting entries in my atom which I wrote while I was on my 6-day Holy Week adventure with friends. Thank God for small favors. :)

Toiletries... Check!
Wet ones, tissues... Check and check!
Undies... Check!
Sunblock... Check!
Charger... Check!
Flipflops... Check!
Aquashoes... Check!
Boardshorts, shirts, trunks... Check, check and EWWWW!

Guimaras, Bora and Mindoro, HERE WE COME!

It's been a while since I last frolicked under the sun, and, after days of careful deliberation and endless squabbles with Donna, Fe and Fafi Cito on where we're gonna spend our summer break, we decided on joining our other friends on an island hopping adventure that would take us all the way to Iloilo, Guimaras, Capiz, Aklan, Bora and Mindoro. Sagada always was on top of our list, except that Donna pretty much was chicken about the whole "Pag nadulas ka, patay! Pag nakabitaw ka, patay!" thing, that, serious as we were about enduring the 14-hour (total) road trip from Manila to Sagada just to get a whiff of that oh-so-precious fresh mountain air (my sixth, Cito's second, Donna and Fe's first), we decided to save Sagada for some other time when the people we'd be going with would be more "game" about it. I'm quite sure that Fe, cowgirl as she is, would be as game as ever. But Donna might be the proverbial "fly in the ointment." So instead of the mountains, we'd be turning 180-degrees and head instead for the beach! Bora has always been a favorite place of mine. Save for 2003 and 2004, I've spent most of my yearly summer getaway on that paradise island which has evolved from an idyllic to a party place. But it has never lost its charm...

I was very excited about going to Guimaras. Before this, I've never set foot on that island. Most of what I know about Guimaras I saw on the news after that infamous oil spill. But Sir Larry and DJ swore that the spill has been cleaned up, and the island's back to its full glory. And we'd be going there via Super Ferry! A ship. On water! Yikes! I'm scared of being on open sea. I dunno where this virtual hydrophobia came from. It's not so much water that makes me shake in my socks (I don't wear boots), but the thought of not seeing land for miles... I don't remember ever having a bad experience in the water, but my idea of traveling would be jumping in a car, or checking in an airport and boarding an airbus to Cebu, Kalibo or wherever. This would be my first "boat" trip, and this morning, I was excited and anxious at the same time. But being with friends kinda dampened the anxiety and after checking in at the South Harbor (which, I must say, didn't disappoint me... I mean, it looked, well, "acceptable"), we had fun while waiting for when we could board the ship.

Super Ferry looked like an average 3-star hotel inside. And the trip wasn't bad at all. In fact, I'd go as far as saying I actually had fun! Of course, most of it was because of the people I was with. A bunch of real wackos! Haha! And we made a new friend. Stephen, whom everyone mistook for a Chinese national, except that he actually spoke better Tagalog than I do! And I slept like a log until the wake-up call the following morning...

This afternoon, we were on the ship's bow, enjoying the sea breeze (more like a sea "hurricane," what with the wind-blown hair we all sported when we went inside) and took snap shots of the sunset over some island (ano nga uli yun, DJ?)... Nature's so wonderful and awesome. I can't wait to get to Guimaras...