[Ge]N[er]ational Anthem

My brother, nephew and myself were singing along to this Fra Lippo Lippi song while we were in the car last Christmas evening. One thing I can say about my family is that music is one tie that binds us together. I dare you to show me another 8-year old who sings Fra Lippo Lippi.

Incidentally, this was the first song played by the band during our high school batch reunion last night. This goes to show how good music transcends generations...

In Bacolod

Just got here this afternoon after an almost 2 hour delay with my flight. Salamat, Zest Air...

This few days are going to be hectic with all the meetings to attend to...so it might be awhile before I can once again attend to this blog. Currently piggy-backing on someone's wifi connection. Salamat, unrestricted wifi...

See You in Bacolod

This will be my final "vacation period". The next homecoming's going to be permanent but that'll still be in April...

Just want to give out my advance holiday greetings to everybody who will be visiting or straying onto my blog. Will do my best to post updates during the vacation season. Suffice to say that I'll be busy for the next few weeks. hehe

Tomorrow I'll be making my way to the airport for my flight.

Be safe everybody and see you all in Bacolod.

Final Updates

Saturday

Brian spends most of the day riveted, deep in concentration on his various quests. such concentration only interrupted by screams of "Tito Miiiike!" whenever he found himself stuck at a level or quest. Assistant gamer and nanny rolled in one. Hay...

Caught a throat irritation because of gorging on too much ice cream.

Sunday

All Saints' Day. Throat irritation grew worse. Had to make a short trip to the mall to procure medicine. Pretty sure this is an allergy so I gulped down a few antihistamines. Didn't feel the wrath of Santi here in Bacolod.

Monday

All Souls' Day. Early morning trip to Manapla with Mama and Papa to pay respects to our beloved dead. Throat irritation morphed into a sinus irritation. Allergy it is. After paying our respects to the dead, we had to pay our respects to the living - necessitating a side trip to our relatives in the barrio. Sat quietly for two hours and respectfully responded to queries and engaged in small talk. Sidetrip to Robinson's and wolfed down a sandwich at Taters. Mmmmmmm...

Tuesday

Sinus irritation on the mend. Mama's off buying pasalubong while I'm here updating my blog.

See you all in Manila...

Vacation Updates

Wednesday

Papa finally arrives around 9 PM with a retinue of former acquaintances and friends filling up a van. Little wonder since Pa's former job as a driver often had him parked at the airport. Iba talaga 'pag sikat, no? hehe

Thursday

Visited the high school once again, but this time to reconnect with an old friend and college batchmate who happened to have been hired just this year. The whole night was spent in kumustahan and chitchat. Our triumvirate, however, was incomplete as Apol was unable to make it due to prior commitments. Glad to see you again Bones, and we'll always have next time, 'Pol...

Friday

UNO-R. Again. Attended the Living Rosary and sent a wireless message to The Man Upstairs in behalf of an old friend and her ailing parent. I believe the Big G listens to prayers, most especially if these prayers are intended for another person and does not embody personal, selfish interests...It's Sir Harry's Birthday! treated to lunch and more chit-chat at the ACC...had to come home early in the afternoon as visitors were expected...

My cousin Nong Rudyard, his wife and kids paid a visit...so did Nang Jenelyn and Brian and Irene...and as usual, all the kids were huddled in front of my laptop playing Insaniquarium...thank God for PC games...

Brian spent the night at home and embarked on his new quest in an RPG game of mine...I get to try out his laptop and the Globe Tattoo Prepaid Internet...

So guess what I'm using to connect to the Internet and make this blog update?

See you all soon and stay tuned for other updates. Adios!

Emotional Rollercoaster

Vacation updates:

Monday

1. Met with Pax Florius and engaged in a few rounds of Wii games. Managed to snatch a Neverwinter Nights installer from Pax and also borrowed a Che Guevarre documentary hehe. Much appreciated. Brought my CPU to IECC for some diagnostics and repair.

2. Dropped by the High School and reconnected with old friends and acquaintances; briefly basked in the adulation of adoring former students. Naks...

Tuesday

3. Paid a visit to the doctors in order to indulge the hypochondria of mis padres. Initial appraisal by Dr. Guancia and Dr. Eusebio: NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME! Appear!

4. Got the news that Papa would be finally be coming home for good since his working visa expired and his company no longer renewed his work contract. Papa deserves his rest. I, on the other hand, had been given a sign that THIS IS IT. (apologies to MJ)

Wednesday

5. 9 AM-11 AM: Subjected self to a battery of tests (see #3). Will know results tomorrow.

6. 11AM: Brought my CPU home from IECC. tried installing Neverwinter Nights onto my newly resuscitated PC. A single mistake erased one whole hard drive full of games, music files, and other documents. Too depressed to comment further.

7. 1PM: Bout of depression resulted to a self-imposed exile at SM Bacolod. Met some former students along the way. Roaming around for a few hours did me good, though.

8. 4 PM: Bought some materials for an impromptu project: making a "Welcome Home" banner for my father.

9. 6PM: Father boards plane in NAIA domestic, banner done and installed. So proud of my work. hehe

10. 6 PM: tried installing NWN again. This time was careful to recall the proper procedure. Installation successful.

11. 6:10 PM: tried playing NWN on PC. Game unable to start because of incompatible software.

stay tuned for more updates...

More Proof of Life

The 2008 UP Lantern Parade, December 17, 2008


At tinubuan na nga ako ng sungay sa Diliman...

UNO-R Grade School Batch 1995 and High School Batch 1999 Reunion, December 27, 2008 at Chicken House Mandalagan, Bacolod City. Mas marami, mas masaya...









Part 2 of GS/HS Reunion at the MO2 Annex, Goldenfield Complex. Bring out the drinks!


Photos courtesy of the friendster accounts of Kayzer and UNO-R HS 1999. Madamo nga Salamat...

Vacation Report Card

1. Played the role of "child minder" (sosyal na version ng yaya haha) to my pamangkins when they dropped by the house. If ever they would spend the night there, my room became the default kid center since my PC has a number of games that would serve to distract them for hours on end. Pwede nang tatakan ang mga noo ng mga kids ng "This Sleep-over was brought to you by...Blizzard and Microsoft Games..."

2. My long-delayed 226 report finally is on its way toward completion. Conclusion na lang ang kulang, atsaka footnotes. I can finally show my face to Prof. Jose very soon...

3. The last few days of my vacation was spent poring over readings for my classes. I finished Cesar Majul's Apolinario Mabini: Revolutionary. I thought that the book was my assigned reading for my book review. Turns out that it was another Mabini book by Majul - Mabini and the Philippine Revolution. So ang ending, magbabasa ulit ako! Hay buhay!

4. The Pasig Museum Project is gathering steam. I was able to keep myself abreast of the updates online despite the lack of internet connection at home. Meron namang internet cafe sa mga malls atsaka sa halos bawat sulok ng Bacolod City... Hope everything goes well in the following weeks...good luck na lang sa atin...

5. I finally knew who the Eva Fonda is...hahahahaha matagal na din akong di nakapanood ng TV...

6. TV programs I developed an "addiction" for during my vacation(NOT Eva Fonda!): Mythbusters (duh!), and Bull Run, a reality show/racing show/car show which featured several racing teams, their unique cars (one team had vintage Chevy, anothers had a Lamborghini, while another team had a vintage Oldsmobile that is one of ony a handful in the world), and a grueling race across several states in the U.S....may isang team na composed ng mga Fil-Americans...the eight-rayed sun design on their shirts was a giveaway. Plus they voluntarily pulled out of the race because of a death in the family - Pinoy nga sila...

Proof Of Life

Hello, kiddies...

Buhay pa po tayo dito. Buhay na buhay ang Bacolod.

Medyo busy sa kakalakwatsa (lagaw-lagaw ah)

And of course, there's the paperwork that needs to be done...

Hope you all had a happy and meaningful Christmas.

See you all in the New Year...

One Week

Some thoughts (coherent and incoherent, go figure) on my "enforced vacation"

1. Anybody who claims descent and affinity in our family should be able to withstand chronic sonic fluctuations ranging several decibels. In short, kung hindi ka sanay sa mga taong malalakas ang boses at nagsisigawan - kawawa ka sa pamilyang ito.

2. I am utterly useless and completely boring in the swimming pool. Good thing the pool at the water park had a maximum depth of FOUR feet or else Tom would have been unsuccessful in convincing me to take the plunge. hehehe

3. The power of conditioner goes a long way...I'm loving my long tresses...when I had my hair trimmed at the salon, the stylist asked me: "Nagpakulot po ba kayo ng buhok?" to which I replied "Hinde"; he then asked "Nagpakulay po kayo ng buhok?" and again I replied "Hinde"...for the record, my hair is naturally wavy (a fact I realized only when I grew my hair long) and I never thought my hair had a shade different from dark brown but a few commented that my hair had a slight tint...my hair seemed to reveal a few mysteries during that week.

4. One week of non-stop airconditioning from the house to the taxi to the mall could be considered a trial for an anticipated vacation to the UK. This trial, unfortunately, I failed. My acclimation went bonkers...

5. Two typhoons raging on a wide mesa! the Earth trembles, China Falls, Chaos reigns for a few minutes! Holy F*ck my laptop! wahahahahahahaha

6. I had planned to compose my research on Spiderman during the research break, but the exigencies of vacation made it impossible. The good thing though, is I was able to start reading for my book review - managing to sneak away from my nephews for a few moments to read up on the Philippine Commonwealth. This gives new meaning to Sneak Peek...

7. Bonding Time with my English nephews! The previous encounter a few years ago was a bit of a disaster since all of them were still brats and my temper is naturally short with kids. But this time Tom and Sam had grown up which leaves Ben as the only remaining 'brat,' so to speak. It was easier this time since Tom and I were broadcasting on the same wavelength, even managing to utter the same sentences at the same time (like "oooooooh" and "to the left...to the left.." hahaha sentences ba 'to?)Sam's habit of becoming quiet when bored made things easier, as well as Ben's conditioned fear of my raised voice (which made things even easier when it comes to reining him in - Tito Mike will shout! hala...) All in all, the boys were good and our interactions were fun and memorable. Though their brotherly banter and roughhousing seemed cute at times...

8. Games and a World of Fun! Dungeon Siege! Warcraft! Feeding Frenzy! Luxor! Bowling! Bump Cars! it was a week to indulge my inner child once again. I am looking forward to getting back on the bump car hahaha parang Grand Theft Auto for Toddlers. In fairness, I execute a mean drift on the bump car. Jonah had his first try in bowling while Tom became addicted to Dungeon Siege II...It was FUN! Though I suspect gaming may have been a BIG factor for my difficulties described in #6.

9.Balik UNO-R Tayo! Beer-ness Santo! Finally, the long drought was ended with several liters of Red Horse littered on the table...but before the fun, there was a bit of work to do. Saw the final output of Yearbook 2007 and consulted with Sir Harry about it. A decent work, though I expected better from the printing company. Still, I am proud of my staff for their work. And despite the flaws, I hope they would be proud of their yearbook, too. But enough about that...Inuman Na!

10. The Long Goodbye...At the Bacolod-Silay Airport - located in Silay...Tom was asking (a bit loudly, as he doesn't have the discretion that characterizes us Filipinos when we are complaining) what's taking so long for us to proceed to the Departure Lounge as it was a hot morning when we left Bacolod. I told him that this is "The Long Goodbye" and if he were to visit the Philippines regularly, he better get used to this. I whispered to him that "This is for your Lola..." whom we were leaving behind in Bacolod. He got the point and shut up.

Sin Noticias de Ditch...Pero Hoy...

the title of this post is a rip-off from a Spanish film that made me see Penelope Cruz in a different light hahaha.

I wasn't able to gain access to the internet during the last few days of my vacation in Bacolod so this post is now being written at the boarding house -- where one of the (paid) perks is unlimited internet access...bwahahahaha

So before my early-onset Alzheimer's kicks in once again, allow me to recapture some of the memories of vacation in this second-to-the last part of the 'Noticias/Mga Nakaw Na Sandali" series...

Yearbook 2007

Finally! the masterpiece of UNO-R HS batch 2007 is just a few months away from being released come Sembreak 2008. The long delay from last year's sembreak when Lelis and I finally completed the yearbook (dummy-form) was due to the very hectic schedules of Sir Harry, to whom the task of final approval was assigned, and Mrs. Song (final text corrections naman ni kay Ms Alon). Thus, the final submission of the yearbook to Alpha kept getting postponed. It was only when I arrived that Sir Harry had enough of a break so that both of us could finally deliver the final, approved blueprint of the Yearbook to the prnting company.

When we finally delivered the blueprints to Alpha, the staff informed me about a complaint that was brought to their attention regarding the Yearbook. I won't delve much into details since I already addressed this issue in a very LONG friendster bulletin but suffice to say that the concerns aired were unfounded and though initially I was irritated by the news, we finally laughed it off as a misunderstanding which was unduly complicated by rumors and tsismis.

A great weight has been lifted from our shoulders (and minds) as Sir Harry and I finalized the details of the yearbook. Now, all that's left is to wait for a few months until the eventual release of Yearbook 2007. Lelis, the Yearbook EIC, herself is excited but we still have to iron out the details of our respective sembreak schedules so that we can be on hand to oversee the release of the Yearbook.

Initially, the Yearbook staff and I envisioned Yearbook 2007 as the first yearbook to be released within a year upon graduation. Since that goal was not met, consolation prize is that there is a great possibility that Yearbook 2007 will be relased earlier than Yearbook 2006. haha!

Though earlier I announced that the release of the yearbook will be on September 2008, a quick glance at last year's school calendar revealed that sembreak starts on October 2008...oh well, nothing another announcement can't fix. Basta Batch 2007, release of Yearbook will be during the Semestral Break. I will be confirming within the next few months if indeed it'll be September or October. Apologies for making you wait a bit longer but I promise that your yearbook is worth the wait...

Noticias (a.k.a Mga Nakaw Na Sandali)

hehehe had to come up with a "cute" title for these series of posts regarding the "happenings" here in Bacolod while yours truly is on vacation. I'm currently in Netopia in SM Bacolod renting a PC for 48 pesos an hour -- Mierda! That's why "nakaw na sandali" ang subtitle sang post nga ini hehehe
the phrase could mean two things: ako ang gapangawat tiempo o ako ang ginkawatan 48 pesos...

hinay aircon di SM Bacolod ah! hehehe

OK, updates, updates...

Arrival

My flight touched down at the new "Bacolod-Silay" Airport. Though I found the terminal small compared to the other terminals of international standards like in Manila and Cebu, I found the place adequate in its facilities and the location itself is indeed appropriate for an airport which I suppose in the near future could be upgraded for international service.

Upon exiting the terminal I was immediately assaulted by my nephew, Brian, screaming like it were the end of the world. My niece Irene, though initially aloof, began to warm up as we got to the car and during our dinner at Pala-pala, she was back to her normal self -- hyperactive like her brother. Mama and Nang Jenelyn were there as well but most of the time during the dinner I had to play referee to the extremely kinetic brother and sister tandem of Brian and Irene. Brian managed to lose his toy car in Pala-Pala -- accidentally dropping it into the artificial pond --and I had to play the role of grief counselor to the kid, who at first wouldn't stop crying but later calmed down well enough to occupy himself with other matters -- like testing the limits of the rotating Selecta signboard.

One interesting anecdote during my trip back to Bacolod was about my UP shirt. I wore one of the UP shirts that I bought on the day of my departure from Manila. It was a black shirt with the name and seal of UP printed on the upper left portion, small enough to remain inconspicuous to the casual observer I believe -- wrongly, it turned out. The first to notice my shirt was the taxi driver who took me to the airport. Though it wouldn't take him a lot of brain power to figure out that I came from UP since I hailed a taxi inside UP, the T-shirt I was wearing became corroborating evidence that I was a student of peyups. The taxi driver, after having received my affirmation that indeed I was studying at UP, went on a monologue about how smart and talented UP students are -- as in "alam mo, lahat diyan ng mga nag-aaral sa UP matatalino..." then mr. taxi driver then proceeded to the conclusion that I also was one of those "intellectually superior" specimens from UP. Then he commented on the way I spoke tagalog. Since early in our conversation (a taxi verion of "kwentong kutsero") I happened to mention that I was from Visayas -- Manong taxi driver was from Bohol -- he remarked that my tagalog had no "tono" unlike the other Ilonggos who were in Manila. So it is really a big deal for an Ilonggo to speak tagalog without the characteristic tono ala Miriam Defensor Santiago...hmmmmmmm

And confirming that my shirt wasn't as inconspicuous as I thought it would be, I was accosted by a security guard at the NAIA domestic terminal who had been eyeing me since I got my boarding pass. He was unusually courteous and accomodating and the reason for that was confirmed when he asked me, "estudyante po kayo sa UP, sir?" I had to suppress a smile when I answered him: "Opo..."

To which the guard said: "Matalino po pala kayo, sir..."

At that point I couldn't help but chuckle. It seems that UP still maintains a high standing in the eyes of the masses, which is a good thing.

I think I should've bought a shirt with bigger prints on them...hehehe

Haircut

Yes, people. After about ten months of boycotting the barbershops and hair salons my mother finally convinced me to get a haircut yesterday. The result of which was a not-so-astounding-or-amazing-make-over but still presentable, though. My hair is still long but I'm comfortable with the way it turned out. What was interesting about the experience was when the hairstylist started blowdrying my hair and it came out straight. I looked at myself on the mirror and nearly burst out laughing. So THAT'S how I look IF i had long, straight hair hahahahahaha

For a few hours, there was this nagging smell of toasted hair follicles hovering around me. A long bath and a few hours later, my hair was back to its old wavy self.

Lessons learned from the experience: always have an idea of how you want your hair to turn out. If possible, bring a picture of the hairstyle that you fancy. Second, I think I need to let my hair grow a bit longer so I could have several options regarding the hairstyles I want to have. The hairstylist remarked that she can't do much with my hair because "it wasn't long enough." OK, so i guess given that I just had my tresses shortened, I suppose that my next haircut would be about a year from now. I could just imagine how I'd look a year from now...

Laika y otras cosas

El nuevo perro en la casa se llama "Laika." No seguro como escribo se nombre pero mas prefiero. Laika es muy negra y muy loca, siempre corre todos los dias. Laika es muy amable y muy linda. me gusta muchisimo esta nuevo miembro mi familia. Realizo esta nombre "Laika" es de una telenovela sobre una mujer cambia al perro blanco.

No veo mucho telenovela hoy pero mucho veo documentarios en National Geographic y Discovery Channel. Me gusta mucho el serie como "Mythbusters."

Basta! No mas cosas para hablar pero otro tiempo estoy online doy mucho noticias sobre mi adventuras en la ciudad de sonreir. Adios!