halloween then

halloween is not really a Filipino tradition. the event just caught up in the last ten years or so, manufactured by malls and consumerist products. however, back when i was still living in angeles city in a village full of expats (since we were near clark air base), my october 31 was all about halloween. i had two or three neighbors who'd put up ghouls and ghosts in their yards and would invite me and my yaya at their houses.

what i looked forward to during those times were preparing for a costume and getting free sweets. i'd usually end up dressing as a fairy since most of the stuff i can find in the baul were my sister's gowns for school programs back when she was studying in ateneo de davao grade school.

after every invitation, with me wearing my sister's ten year old gown holding up a star-tipped barbecue stick or jeans with an old robin (as in batman and robin) shirt of my kuya, i'd hop, skip, jump home carrying a few bags of candy. there was the usual chocolate fare of that coconut chocolate thing which name i forget, small bars of snickers and mars and baby ruth, some chupa-chups, mint candies and my favorite -- candy corn.

so it felt strange that when i share halloween stories with friends and i get all wistful about candy corn... they don't seem to know what it is. it can get to be frustrating when i'm so terrible with describing it. yellow-tipped orange conical thing a little bigger than a tic-tac and very sweet. how else can you describe it? so to those guys i have shared those pampanga halloween stories to... here's a photo of candy corn. :)

you got mail

Rowie posted about a letter writer in Vietnam, a man whose power over words have brought together many people. Reading through the article, I realized what a great service he gives to his people... to find and form the words that others can't speak.

Words wield power. It can bridge hearts or destroy it.
And whoever said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" doesn't know what he is talking about. Never has any cliche been this false. Words cut deeper and heal longer, perhaps never.

* * * * *
When was the last time you received a snail mail? Have you ever thought about that? With the age of technology, bridging barriers is only a send button away. This is something I am thankful for, especially being isolated from many of my dearest, oldest (in length of time, not age. hehe!) and most comfortable friends.

But I remember those days when I was a Jesuit Volunteer, especially when I was assigned in Calapan, letters would pour in every week from other volunteers all over the country. Tatit, won the letter cycle queen award, and very much deserved it especially with those cute rainbow drawings and written on Grade 1 pad. Hehehe! But I think I deserve to be a runner up, having completed the cycle four times, minus birthdays.

Nothing takes away the loneliness compared to opening a sealed envelope with your name on it. Of flipping open a folded piece of paper containing lovely words of pangangamusta, of stories of new experiences - different from yours but can fully understand, of adventures and misadventures, of pain, of joy, of longing. Of reading someone's personal history.

Clicking open an email can never ever duplicate that. There are no coffee or tear stains on an email. No smudged writing from using sign pen. No change in handwriting after two pages of writing. None of those beautiful things that convey the soul of the writer.

As for writing it, there was the gift of calloused and stained fingers. The ache of arms of holding the pen tight. The pile of crumpled paper in the trash bin. The search for the perfect stationery, often the cheap and enteratining Korean and Chinese Engrish ones and scented at that.

Those were the days.

* * * * *
Would you like to receive a snail mail? Post your name and email on the comments box, and maybe we can arrange something for you. ;p (Credits to toni for having done this activity some time ago.)

romancing baguio

my heart is palpitating, probably from the caffeine and sugar rush from the cafe mocha and tiramisu i am eating slowly. am hoping to stretch it to two hours. the approximate time it will take jan to get here from pangasinan. mike and rowie shall be coming up tomorrow.

here is zola cafe and restaurant here in... BAGUIO!

the alternative learning system national summit is finally done and over with, thank goodness. my companions have already left this afternoon. and so i have the entire baguio to myself. after i have settled myself in my lodging for the night, i set off for session road. busy but romantic session road.

the smile on my lips refuses to leave. there is something about walking in a town you love but have not seen for a long time. especially when you are alone. i felt a certain freedom. as if i conquered baguio, as if i conquered my soul. it's been a while since i've been here last. and so it was a re-acquaintance with old friends kinda thing. a lot of things that have changed... and yet it's still that same old pal with the same old kinks. that kind of friend that makes you feel comfortable and accepted even after years of parting.

i decided to take my first dose of freedom in days to... SM. heheh! i took a quick look from the terrace, and there lay before me burnham park, a school oval, a soccer field (i was eyeing for discs flying in the air, just in case there were ultimate peeps there. hehe!) and the rest of baguio... the sun was almost ready to set.

after the movie was done, i set off for zola. because i saw the wi-fi sign the other day i was walking around. the moment i stepped out of the mall, the crisp cold air nipped playfully at my nose. again, that sense of freedom. of independence. of oneness.

i realized i wasn't this in love with baguio ever. maybe because those times were spent with my friends, touring the place, wanting to see as much of it, do as much with it. but the past few days, i just needed to be here.

this is the first time that i can take pleasure in walking in the cold, with no clear destination. this is the first time that i am on my own. even if it is just a few hours. i think of no one, of nothing, but baguio. i am in love. in love with this old friend who welcomes me once more in its arms.

at bagets pa rin!

it has been a while since there has been a buzz in my blog. thanks to bagets, there has been much activity both here and in my multiply site.

adie and tonton, whoever you are, thank you for the link you posted. (wala bang ninja kids dyan?)

come one, come all bagets fans! nostalgia manila has several clips from the movie, including the opening bill board (sooooo fun!), bagets in school (flashback my own memories of HS and college. hehe!), their summer vacaction including william martinez and raymond lauchengco in trunks (gasp!) and some other clips in the film. walang birong nostalgia talaga. sayaaaa!

mukhang nakahanap ako ng tropa dito sa nostalgia manila ah!