baguio uli

for once in my life i wasn't excited to go up to baguio because i knew i was going to be just cooped up in our little lodge doing work.

but, i was able to get out for a while by offering to buy some stuff for the other facilitators. at least i got the chance to walk around session road. hopefully i have enough time to eat some corn at burnham park. and that will already make up for the tiring trip and the quickie no-quality stay in baguio. hehe!

but yeah... at least i got to walk session road. something i always liked doing in baguio. walking and people watching.

butuan-surigao

Beautiful.

To spend an afternoon in front of Lake Mainit in a place called Jabonga. And silly as it was, I dipped my finger into the ocean to check if it was indeed hot, or at least warm, as the name infers. My guess was correct. It wasn’t. So why is it called Lake Mainit? Allegedly, its source IS hot. That is something I’d have to figure out, huh?

To be comfortably chauffered by the priest’s chauffer throughout most of the day. Driven around anytime, anywhere is always good.

To witness a FULL-ARC RAINBOW in complete and vivid ROYGBIV glory! And God sure knows how to surpass Himself by actually placing a less vibrant but still magnificent twin rainbow. I would have loved to hunt down the pots of gold on both ends… or four! And I prayed that it was a promise of something good for those who took time to admire its beauty.

To ride at the back of a pick-up late at night while going home from the barrio, the wind whipping my hair and caressing my face and seeing the dark dome of sky freckled with stars the size of a powdered sugar grain and the Milky Way disguised as a wayward cloud. Spectacular.

To finally have my curiosity sated and see Surigao City once and for all. It’s still not Siargao but I am already impressed by its mesmerizing beauty. A quick trip to the Pebble beach got me falling-in-love with Surigao right then and there. A rocky beach, crystal clear water, a scenic view of Southern Leyte… Without actually seeing the area we were supposed to be helping soon, I was actually shouting, “approved! Approved!” Beautiful. Simply magnificent.

And oh… not to mention the surfers dining at Jollibee (I am assuming they are… no boards or anything… but they look like they hang ten). With eye-candy like that… how can I not want to go to the surfing cup (but I can’t go. Dang!)?

To view Lake Mainit and the mountain range that surrounds it at dusk time, with the houselights from the other side signaling signs of life by the mountainside… only God can imagine and create purple in various hues in one moving picture… hu-waaaaaw. Simply breathtaking…

Those are the times I’m glad for my work.:)

tambak

yan po ang aking mga files na patong-patong-patong. wah! lumalala ang migraine ko kapag nakikita ang mga yan. at at at... sabay pa nun ang paghahanda sa darating naming training next week. hahay.

i so so so want to join my sister and her family to boracay. di ko gustong pumunta ng bora. gusto ko lang makasama ang mga pamangkin ko at magpaka-tita. at least that's a job i know i can do well. pag-uusapan lang namin si super inggo at spiderman the whole time. deadma na sa problema ng mundo. o sa gagong abalos o sa mas gagong angelo reyes na yan. hmph.

dirty finger and other things

here's mine. how about yours?

i never missed a single election. i take pride in casting my ballot, despite the many threats to its sanctity. (and if you have been watching the news, there have been a lot of deaths just for a government position. jeesh.) i will not give up on the elections or democracy by refusing to vote. all the more that i should because there are many out there who have sold the value of that ink on their index finger. that stain is very precious to me as a Filipino citizen. i love my country and i will continue to hope amidst my anger to the current government.

* * * * *
i have never been this tired for assisi in my life. never. and the funny thing is... the things i should be doing for my program is taking a back seat because i'm doing stuff for something else (and not whole-heartedly at that).

buti na lang, kahit na sobrang nakakapagod nung post-deployment gathering namin for assisi volunteers, the results with the scholars have reminded me that in a way, i still belong where i am. that the effort i exerted for the last three weeks was well worth it.

everything after today though... i can only hope.

ang nakakainis lang ay... mukhang patuloy pa rin ang absences ko sa frisbee games. kalagot!

a new toy!

but it's not mine. but of the children's program (the program i am handling). which makes it as good as mine as long as i am employed by this foundation. bwahahahahaa!!!

'cept, i am getting it end of the month pa because it's sitting in the manila office waiting for somebody to go here or somebody to go there.

tasha (my near-decrepit digicam) will be having a little bit of rest in the meantime. or not. i love tasha despite her irritable quirks.

and look at this review. o-hah! (sayang di umabot sa baguio trip. tsk tsk.)

new toy, new toy! *grin, grin!*

mixed emotions

JOYFUL
i like my job again.
i actually enjoy going to the area and having an adventure.
i actually want to do something more than just what we have plotted on paper.

thanks to the youth participants of kalindogan 2006. their idealism and hope for the future were infectious. thus served as catalyst for the good feelings i have for my work right now.

riding a disposable bamboo raft, an ututin horse and a itchy carabao for work was just too fun, that i feel buoyant about my last trip.

CONFUSED. but not quite.
questions. questions. questions. to go or not to go.

i have been provided the opportunity to be reassigned to manila.
which means i can be near jan. i can have education in a classroom (as opposed to online education). i can travel abroad or palawan at a lesser cost.

but staying in davao far outweighs the possible benefits i will receive and the change in title that i will have.
because davao means spending quantity (if not quality) time with mom. leaving home at 845 and still be at work on time. getting home at 7pm (at nakadaan na ako ng SM niyan!). savings because i need not pay rent and transport is much cheaper here. the family feeling when i'm in the office.

basically, i have better quality life here than in manila. and more than having a better title and benefits, i like the peace and quiet i have here compared to the angst i constantly faced when i was working in manila. mostly due to stess of travel and socialization (seriously! it can sometimes stress me out.) plus, i am so not into the corporate set-up of our main office. that could just be a reason if ever i resign.

so the answer is not to go. (unless patusin ng admin yung condition ko that i stay in davao half the time, then i would have to reassess my decision).

VERY SAD
one of our teachers in midsalip just committed suicide.

her brother found her hanging from their house, with her one year old baby holding on to her legs. he was able to bring her down alive, but they still weren't able to save her. our partner and their teachers were quite affected by what happened because there was just no sign from her. though she did share a bit about her family problems, she was projecting herself as coping with the problem. they are trying to move on even with the mourning.

i really feel terrible when i hear news of people taking their own lives. especially since there was a time that it was always on my mind. suicide as an escape from a harsh, bitter life or to at least have people acknowledge your REAL-ity, a desperate KSP measure. but then, it was all just thought. because i know i can't bear to hurt people or God that way.

yet when i hear of it, it pains me. to know a person who has lost all hope in life, and all faith in people and in God.

please include in your prayers Ms. Rosalie R. Dag-uman.

dear sally, may your soul find its peace that it did not find on earth. you have my prayers.

14 minutes to go...

til my hour is up in the internet cafe.
kids are singing carols outside. i think... now, i'm sure. there's a we wish you a merry christmas that i hear.

anyway...
i'm in butuan city.
walked around so i can say i've been to butuan city, not just passed by it.
nothing much to see. it's like any other city in the country.
there's a jollibee, a greenwich, a chowking...

but the nice thing about it is... i decided to get out of my comfort zone. it was nice walking around in a new city despite it looking like any other city. too scared to take a photo though. sayang, because i just saw CAPTAIN BARBER's. obviously a barber shop. aliw!

anyway... pa din.
means my sense of adventure is back a little.

plus ika nga ni tatit, pang amazing race talaga ako. kasi this last trip...
i rode the standard habal-habal to the area. except i was always in danger of falling off because it was an awfully rocky road. the bike keeps tottering here and there.

and then i rode a bamboo raft they call gakit to one of the areas. that was for about an hour and half. nice serene trip.
on the way back, i had to ride the horse, so i wouldn't have to get too wet from crossing the river. on regular days, i wouldn't mind getting wet but my visitor is on the way out so any chance to be dryer than most is welcome.
on the way home, i rode a carabao for the same reason.

mas masayang kuwento pa sa mga karanasang susunod.
8 minutes have passed. 6 minutes to go.
and i need to get back to the bishop's home before dinner.

the last few days have been fun! (kasi i get to take a bath!)

knee-deep in mud (another midsalip story)

Those were my feet after going to Kenuren, one of our community schools in Midsalip. Along the way, it has been cleaned several times over. This picture summarizes the adventures I go through with my job. And looking down at my feet after that trip made me write another journal entry in my long-forgotter recycled paper notebook.

(edited entry)
October 5, 2006
8:25 PM - Midsalip

Today we visited Kenuren. Among the seven schools we sponsor in Midsalip, that was the only one I have not visited yet.

And what a trip that was! Going there, one has to pass through the rice fields. And as always, the fields proved to be a wondrous sight to behold. It was nature's quilted blanket, each rice patch a symbol of a farmer's hard work. Indeed, it was a good view, but not exactly the best path to take to go anywhere.

It wasn't actually a road less travelled, as many farmers and children traverse the pilapil on a regular basis. But on a rainy October, there was hardly any solid ground. Rather, it was a marshy chocolatey muck that separating one field from another. There was no choice though but to use it. There was just no other way.

For some reason, I didn't mind. I usually have distaste for mud between my sole and my sandals because it made it harder for me to walk. I could have removed my sandals and walked barefoot instead. There was no logic of not taking them off since my feet would be as dirty with or without it. Walking would then be much easier, but I didn't want to carry footwear with my hands. So that ended up to be my excuse.

Strangely, I relished getting muddied up to my knees, enjoyed slipping and sliding in the gooey earth. Each squish between my toes reminded me that I have achieved one of the things I used to aspire for in my youth -- to be different.

The week in Midsalip reminded me why people go 'ooooh' and 'aaaah' and 'talaga?!' when I explain what I do for a living. In truth, there is nothing spectacular about it. It's just different.

Which made me realize that that's what I have always wanted. Spectacular didn't really have anything much to do with my life's choices. Being different did. For some though, different is spectacular.

After this thought, I laughed to myself. This, while we were still knee-deep in mud. I was feeling jolly during that walk, because I get to have siesta, ten hours of sleep a night, and a clean bathroom. Had I been in an area without a decent crapper, I'd be drafting a resignation letter in my mind. Hahaha! :)

It's nice to feel jolly. :)