updates

been quite busy for the past few weeks because of tons of paper works to accomplish. can't find the time to blog about some happenings that occurred recently. so these are what happened:

MAY 1: BATAAN OUTING WITH THE MCF RIDERS

we had an outing with the MCF riders in a beach resort in bataan during the labor day holiday. the MCF riders are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts from the cityhall. we were originally about to go to san juan, batangas but there was a sudden change of plans, the reason why we travelled to bataan for a long and gruelling 6 hours. that's one problem if the trip is unplanned; no itineraries, so instead of spending more time enjoying the place, we spent more time looking for a resort to stay in.

our group have our own van so we left early from the beach to go to the dambana ng kagitingan in mt. samat in pilar, bataan. we planned about going there long ago so this was the right time to go there. we just made it in time before they close at 5 pm. the entrance gate is located at the base of the mountain and one has to pay a P20 entrance fee (P10 for children). you will then travel way up to the top of the mountain on a zigzag road passing through some lush greeneries.

after marvelling at the awesome sight from the mountaintop, we went up to the viewing deck located at the top of the cross. there is, again, a P10 entrance fee. in getting to the top, you have options of either taking the elevator (with an 8 person capacity) or through a spiral staircase. but mind you, taking the stairs up the 36-stories high structure is no joke. no wonder cobwebs are forming on the steel stairs. who in their right mind would climb the stairs anyway?

i was caught speechless as i look at the panoramic view from the viewing deck. it was simply awesome. the strong winds, the golden sunset, it was a perfect moment to contemplate. we took lots of photos before going back down. after descending the photo shoots continued until we decided to head back to manila at dusk.

MAY 3: MOBILE PASSPORTING

it is the role of every local government units to provide the most convenient service to its constituents. as part of this, the city government of marikina through the local civil registry, in cooperation with the department of foreign affairs conducted a mobile passporting service in marikina to accommodate the passport needs of marikina residents and non-residents as well.

being the coordinator of marikina in this project, it is my duty to receive, check, and verify the documents and interview the applicants. we had 698 applicants where 641 got approved.

on the may 3 processing and payment day, everything turned out just well. even though this is my third time to handle this kind of activity, i still get nervous fearing an unexpected problem may arise. but because of proper planning and coordination with the concerned departments, possible problems were averted. i was congratulated by the DFA consuls present and the staff as well, whom i have known for some time already, and even joked about me transferring to their department.

this mobile passporting activity is held every quarter, depending on the availability of the DFA mobile passporting staff since many cities and municipalities also conduct the same activity.

elementary reunion 3: success and fun-filled as usual!

last april 29, we held our third reunion with our elementary classmates at gerry's grill and starbucks at the bluewave mall. it was a bit more special since it was the first time two of our classmates abroad confirmed their attendance. being one of the organizers, richelle and i originally planned it on a weekend so we can spend more time even until the wee hours of the morning. but since the balikbayans' schedules would only allow the 29th where they can make it, so it was set as it is.

my classmate/cousin rexon (from papua new guinea) and francis (US navy) were both much too excited for the event. we had long chats through the net about this event and i can really feel their excitement and longing for their former classmates.

i arrived at the meeting place a little past 7 pm. another reunion first time attendee cinderella (who by the way prefers to be called just cindy) was already there waiting and was about to leave. good thing i arrived early and we just waited for the others to come. bryan, angelo, richelle and the others started to arrive one by one shortly after.

as we were ushered to our table, the thrill of the get-together is clearly felt. updates, exchanging of numbers and non-stop laughter was everyone's contribution. lucky me, i had a porcelain keychain pasalubong from richelle who just came from germany for a work-related trip. that's our little secret. i'm the only one who got a pasalubong. hehehe. but she brought a gummy cola for everyone, also from germany.

rexon texted richelle that he would arrive at about 9 pm. so we started ordering food, since the balikbayans promised to shoulder the bill. at around 9 pm, richelle got a text message from rexon. she went outside to look for him as we anticipated for his appearance. richelle then got back with an envelope and a startling news. inside the envelope was a letter printed from an email. rexon couldn't make it. he's still in papua new guinea and was unsuccessful boarding a plane since he was just a chance passenger. gahd, the day before the reunion we were chatting and decided to talk about other stuff when we meet up. he just asked his cousin to bring the letter and quite an amount of money for the food, and some starbucks coffee. lol.

and so we continued with our merry-making despite what happened. i jokingly quipped that the amount he sent us was enough for another round of beer buckets plus some take home food. after seeing that no more classmate would come, we took photos for souvenirs.

we were prompted by the restaurant staff that they are about to close so some of us called it a night. some went to the hospital to visit a highschool friend who was about to give birth, while some, i included, trooped down to starbucks nearby. we talked about future plans, reunions, and other stuff. i think that with the cooperation and enthusiasm of our classmates, there would sure be more get-togethers to come.

on my part, whenever we have this kind of gathering, it makes me thankful that we have reached where we are right now. i find it rather funny to look at my classmates now then imagine who they were and what they look like years back. oh those were the days...

went home at past 1 am.

am i a dog in my past life?

this perplexing thought has come upon me as i was bonding with my japanese spitz. am i a dog in my past life? maybe too much bonding i'm having with my cuddly canine, or perhaps my "past" starts to connect with me, lead me to this thought.

anyway, before i chew on my shoe, these reasons made me think of such:

1. i tend to become too attached with people. dogs can be arrogant at first but once it has become used to someone's presence, they become attached to the person.

2. i am loyal. once you become my "master", you will have my unwavering loyalty. count on me thru thick and thin.

3. being too playful by nature. seldom do i take things seriously. for me, everytime is playtime. even if i appear dead serious, even if some people think i'm a worrier, bitt.. err, let's leave it at that. i'm playful. hit me with the ball and i'll hit you back. then hit you back again. and again and again 'till your patience runs out drought-dry. i may be serious but one can never know what's running on in my mind.

4. a dog's love and compassion for his master is incomparable. their sincerity towards their human friend is one of the most unquestionable, genuine and long lasting than any other relationships between humans and animals. my sincerity goes not only for my friends but also to other people.

well at least dogs are lovable. so am i. *whines* being compared to a dog ain't a bad idea at all.

the great ilocandia escapade

what started out as a dream became a reality just a week ago - to experience ilocos. together with some equally eager friends, we travelled to this province of history, heritage, and beauty.

after a gruelling 12-hour drive and 2 gasoline full tanks, we arrived at our first itinerary, pagudpud. pagudpud is a sea-side town famed for its pristine beaches. dubbed as the "anti-boracay of the north" it is a good match to boracay, minus the night life and parties. it is about an hour drive from ilocos norte's capital, laoag city. we arrived at about 5:30 am and immediately proceeded to finding a good place to stay in. unfortunately for us, who took an advice from a friend who lived there, we got lost after not being able to locate the direction he's telling us. the darkness of the dawn made it difficult to see the markers and as the sun breaks in, we found ourselves a few towns away in the neighboring province of cagayan. exhausted and a bit exasperated, our group decided to stop over for a while to grab a quick breakfast where we also had the van's tires checked somewhere in sta. praxedes in cagayan. we proceeded back to pagudpud afterwards.

going back we asked for some directions from the natives who are all very congenial and helpful. we inquired for some nice resorts to stay in which led us to hannah's place beach resort in brgy. malingay, pagudpud. we asked about the place from the tour guide cum brgy. treasurer who's manning the outpost entrance to the said resort. we were not satisfied with the place so we scouted for another location.

this brought us to brgy. saud where the saud beach resort and hotel can be located. we found the resort nice contrary to the price of the room and cottage fees. we opted to billet ourselves to one of what they call "homestays" near the resort. homestays are private houses that can be rented

for P1,500 a day. with a little bit of negotiating, we managed to rent the house for P1,000. it has 2 bedrooms, 3 toilets/baths, living and dining room. an additional fee will be charged if you will use the oven.

after settling and a little rest, we started to stroll around. we found out that the public beach whose entrance fee is P20 and P50 for cottage fee stretches on to the private saud resort where entrance fee is P50 plus a mandatory P500 cottage fee. since no barrier is built, people can roam freely to and from the public and private beaches.

the beaches of brgy. saud are indeed very beautiful. sparkling clean, clear waters, white powdery sands shaded by rows of coconut and other trees caressed by the cool gentle breeze that makes the setting perfect. small fishes are visible on the shallow part of the water seemingly welcoming its visitors. one could not help but utter, "aaahhh... this is the life..." unlike boracay which has become too commercialized, pagudpud beaches are well preserved and maintained.

after swimming in the morning and having lunch, we decided to have some siesta. the adrenaline level resulting from the excitement has vanished and we started to feel tired. some of us slept at our rented house while i, together with two friends, decided to take a nap at our rented cottage by the beach. despite the discomfort of lying on the bamboo table, i easily fell asleep with the wind kissing my face and the gentle sounding waves being the lullaby.

at around 5 pm when the scorching heat started to mellow down, the people around started to flock in again. we strolled again along the beach taking some pictures before taking a dip. the sun started to set and the sight is simply awesome. perfect for a romantic moment.

the darkness started to envelop the place and we decided to satisfy our tummies to one of a few eateries nearby. foods are quite expensive so we brought along some canned goods and just asked the cook to at least heat it for us. we just ordered some rice and fried eggs to at least compensate for the amount of space we occupied. hehehe. after some long chats and good laughs together with the owner of the establishment, we headed home and just had some drinking session. a few hours later, we hit the sack and again eagerly anticipated for the next stop-over, bangui windmills.

early morning of april 7 we packed our things to set for another long journey ahead. after a quick walk to the beach for an early morning breeze and some photo shoots, we started our travel and decided to have breakfast somewhere along the way since the eateries are all still closed.

we headed to bangui, the town before pagudpud where the famed bangui windmills are located. there is a part in regine velasquez's video "byahe tayo" shot here. along the main road, one cannot see unnoticed the gigantic windmills standing majestically along the coastline of bangui beach. we turned right after seeing the signage, passed by a small quiet village, traversed along a two-way rough road headed straight to the beach.


we finally arrived and the sight is very much a scene to behold. these 15 23-stories high windmills standing side by side along the gray-sanded coastline attracts tourists for some photo opportunities. standing at the base of these towers and looking up high to see the propellers is really dizzying but that's nothing compared to the awesome feeling of getting to see the sight especially when you see the "giant blades" starting to rotate in unison. (trivia: these windmills provide 40% of electricity to the province). again after some wacky shoots and friendly chats with our co-tourists, we then proceeded to laoag for some breakfast before heading to vigan. took a brief stop over to the viewing deck by the highway to view the windmills from a different location and get a bird's eyeview of the town of bangui.




famous for its bagnet (somewhat similar to lechong kawali but a lot more tastier and delicious) and the ancestral houses, vigan is the capital of ilocos sur and is about some 2 hours drive from laoag. we bought bagnet from the market, (i was kinda surprised to see that the wet section of their market is located at the second floor and the dry section at the ground floor), drove around town then proceeded to the famous ancestral houses.

with the tourist information office fronting the famous street, we knew this is it. parking just within the vicinity, we eagerly started to stroll around.

the whole stretch of calle crisologo is where you can see the main attraction. vehicles are not allowed here so you have to park nearby and walk by foot. by the time you start walking along the street, it gives you a great nostalgic feeling as if you are being transported back in time. my imagination started playing tricks and started to hope i'd bump into maria clara somewhere behind the calesas but the maria clara i've bumped into was someone with a mega-gigantic, chemically-enhanced mutant breasts in microminis. i wondered if the katipuneros would mistakenly identify her for an alien with her way-too-far exaggerated "proudly japayuki" blonde hair. going back to my nostalgia, i've thought i should've worn a camiso-chino to complete the feeling of being able to feel what it's like back then.

most houses here were somewhat renovated where the ground levels converted into souvenir shops, cafes and other establishments. but there's still a few which were preserved from its original design. the interiors of the houses and compounds reflect a great spanish influence over the community. it is a meeting point of the past and the present where the old ages seem to manifest its presence in our modern day world. unlike other streets nearby where a few modern buildings are built, calle crisologo's heritage is much more preserved, and just rightfully so, so the future generations can appreciate and actually feel our great culture.

took some photos with my camera phone in sepia mode then bought some souvenirs and their famous korniks for pasalubong.


we then headed back to manila after a hearty lunch. all of us were happily recalling our experiences and rejoicing over the fact that we've finally made it through after almost not being able to go because of some last minute problems.



we had to cut short some planned itineraries due to time constraints and decided to settle for the main tourist attractions instead. some places we decided not to go to are those found not along the way like the tirad pass and mostly museums but maybe we can just go back sometime. when that time comes, we agreed upon travelling by plane where we only need 45 minutes to get there unlike the 12 hours of land travel.

the ilocandias are really a good tourist attraction. the unique sights and sounds prove to be an awesome experience which will make you want to come back for more. i strongly recommend you to come and visit these provinces up north to experience it yourselves.

as of now, we are planning for our next get-away. sometime soon.

arrived at manila by midnight. back to reality.