Sinulog 2012

I'll just say it outright: I never liked Sinulog. Regardless of how close our house is to the parade route, I never really watched it willingly.

The only instances where I DID swam through the crowds was mostly, then, because of school activities. This time, it's a whole new reason: work.

I literally got stuck in (human) traffic on my way to work. Did I mention that I had to walk half of the way through the most densely packed parts? Ugh! Sweat and paint from people's bodies smeared on my shirt. Not to mention that people kept on pushing.

Well, I was able to get to work thirty minutes late and in a sour mood. But there's nothing a bit of food can't cure. :D

The next hurdle is how I'd be able to get home. Cellphones are not reliable at this time since network signals are going crazy. People are packed in the mall where I work because of the fireworks display. I was going home alone and I was resigned to do so regardless of my crowd-issues but seemed that the universe doesn't want me to. I met my cousins inside the mall. Lucky!

With or without my cousins, we still had to walk all the way home. But sharing it with someone makes the distance seem a bit shorter. :)

I still hate Sinulog.

A Winning Month

The title says it all.

The Jean Grey Bishoujo Statue I won by joining Kotobukiya's giveaway arrived early this month.

And I was one of fifty that had the chance to be featured in 3 billboards for a whole week c/o Globe's "I choose Tattoo" promo. No 20k though. -_-

Pottermore Mania!!!

Registration for early entrants to the Pottermore world started a month ago and I got to be one of a million of Harry Potter fans around the world that was given the opportunity to know what it feels like to be a Hogwarts student.

I got my Welcome Letter near the end of August. They even got me a list of things to buy at Diagon Alley. I bought my wand at Ollivanders.

And got sorted into Gryffindor.

We even have the chance to brew our potions for house points. I can't wait to start Book 2. Maybe they'd give us an essay assignment on the Goblin Wars.


Our Pottermore mania didn't stop with the internet. I carved a wand as a gift for Drix (fellow Pottermore user) for his birthday. It's based on the wand he owns in Pottermore. :D

What I've Been Up To

Like anyone cares. ohohohoho

Since my last post, a few things had happened. For one, my article got published. Thanks zerothreetwo. Now I'm officially a paid Freelance Writer.

A few days after that, a fire broke out just two houses from ours. At around 2am, some guy was shouting "hoy!" outside so our initial reaction was "nagpinatyanay na". My brother went out to check because, as he said, something was off. It turned out that he was right. The fire was already a huge blaze when I called the Fire Department (hotline number: 160) while some of us was waking other family members.

We literally had only a few minutes to prepare because our Aunt was already screaming at us to get out of the house. I managed to grab a few things on the bed then went downstairs to grab the dogs.

It was another one of those surreal moments that leaves you wondering if it really was happening. This is the second fire in the past decade that came very close to our house.

More of the fire on Kim's blog.

I've been working on a project since May and the fire made me declare, "if our house survives this, it'll mean that I'm meant to do this." So I am meant to finish this one now.

Lolo got admitted to the hospital for Gastroenteritis last may then a week after the fire, Lola got admitted for warning signs of stroke.

On the 27th of June, the 14th grandchild was born. :D

Last week, Kim and I finally filed for our very first passports.

Lastly, I won 1 million pesos. Psych! there wasn't really a lot that happened. Just a lot of headaches. -_-

Who I Am

I've been listing some stuff I figured out recently about myself. An inner inspection of my quirks, I might say. I've been a bum for more than a year and aside from the paintings I do, the books I read and the internet surfing, it's that time before going to sleep that gives me the quiet time to delve deep into my twisted mind. *laughs like a maniac*

-I tend to rebel when I get told to do something more than twice. Why on the third? It's because the first one is the instruction, the second one is the reminder and when it gets to the third one, it's just a nagging. This doesn't happen all the time.

-I don't like being called by my name in public. Out loud. It's a psychological thing, I think. It makes me feel that once someone gets a hold of your name, they have the right to talk to you even if I don't know them.

-Although I like being praised--who doesn't?--I don't like being praised a LOT. It sounds insincere when overdone. I pretty much like it if that praise is accompanied with a reason than a simple, "nice~". Much better if that praise is accompanied by a "but".

-I'm a homebody. That's why my hobbies are those I can do in one spot. I don't see the point in moving around just for the adventure and thrill of things. I can have both of them just by learning new stuff and not even break a sweat. If I get tired, I could just sleep.

-I have difficulty sleeping anywhere besides my bed. This one is a hereditary quirk. hahaha. My Lolo has this thing also. That's why he doesn't stay overnight anywhere if he wants to sleep. Maybe it's the familiarity of the place that makes us feel secure enough to sleep. Once, Lola was admitted in the hospital and Lolo was reluctant to go home.

"Di man sad ka makatulog nganhi(You won't be able to sleep here anyway),"  Lola said.
"Nya, makatulog pud d-ay ko sa balay nga wala man ka(I won't be able to sleep at home if you're not there)," Lolo replied.

Ayeeee~ it sounds cheesier when translated to English.

-I can't sleep with the bedroom door open or when the moon is full. I don't know why.

-I think I have a Challenge-Accepted mindset. I hate reptiles, no matter the size, but I once held an iguana using both hands because I felt that I was being challenged then. I'm a closet competitor?

-I don't like being pushed to agree to do something I'm hesitant about. Without persuasion, I have about 3-5% chance of agreeing. But when people start telling me what to do, that chance drops down to negative one million percent plus a bad mood.


I'm a downer, ain't I? hahahaha

Holy Week for the Not So Religious

We instantaneously decided to go to Argao for the long weekend. There was a couple of last minute indecisions but we still managed to get going together. My mom was packing so much stuff that people can assume that we won't be coming back.

The reason why we want to go to the province was mostly because we want to get away from city's pollution and be able to relax from school/work/chores. The religious activity in the province is a plus.

I'm not even a tiny bit religious and I can say the same for my siblings and mother. Old churches fascinate me though. The way small vegetations start to grow on the ledges and the state of the wood and stone of the entire building. I was able to take a closer look at the stone walls of the exterior. It looks like limestone and you could see chisel marks on them. Probably because they had to manually shape stone boulders into angled shapes. Pretty amazing if you ask me. I wonder how long it took them to finish the entire church.

We set off on Wednesday evening, ate a little dinner at a fast food chain in Minglanilla--their service sucks--then straight to Argao.

When we finally arrived, they had to do a bit of cleaning. I say 'they' because I wasn't able to help with the wiping and washing. I had a mishap with a pair of scissors(whose handle is as sharp as its blade) a few hours ago. Ufufufufu is what I would have said until I scraped my wrists on one of the containers I was carrying. So that's two injuries in less than twelve hours. Good thing there weren't any stairs to fall on that day. -_-

Thursday was when the food fest began. First off, barbecue in the private cemetery. It may seem disrespectful, but we had our grandparents' blessing. :D

For dinner, we ate at Alex Kafe near where we were staying. I recommend their halo-halo. Yummy.

We finished dinner at around ten in the evening. By the time we got back, we were already prepping for a movie marathon--if you can call it that. There were only three(out of the eight) that were still awake by the time the second movie ended.

The next day was the main event. Food from morning until evening at Lola Dencia's house.

It is customary in the our region to serve binignit and biko during--but not limited to--Holy Week. Fasting and stuff.

Biko. Photo by Kim

Binignit. Photo by Kim

 
We had green mangoes, kropek and chocolate crinkles for snacks. We also got to meet some of our distant(2nd degree) cousins.

Cousins: Baby Athena, Kimberly and Kirk

For Dinner was fish and squid and some clear egg soup. Again, yummy.

Photo by Kim. I was too busy eating. hahaha

Photo by Kim

Photo by Kim

After dinner, we lounged around until ten then went back to our house played some rounds of Tekken then watched a movie.

The next day was the final one. We spent the entire morning packing up. We had lechon kawali for lunch then did some more packing.

We went home at around three in the afternoon(after saying goodbye to relatives). But we made another snack break at another fast food chain. hahaha

All-in-all, it was more of a culinary and art trip than anything else. You can appreciate more of the culture as a spectator rather than a participant. If you ask me, those 'participants' are just joining in on the activities without even understanding it. I mean, who would wear very high heels on processions. There were even some that were just texting and chatting instead of joining in the prayers. And who would wear seemingly all of their worldly possession in a very religious act when the church preaches on humility. The statues of the saints they were parading would have shook their heads in disgust.

Worst Best Friend, Best Enemy

A person you once hated with every fiber of your being does not stay that way forever. You two might encounter reconciliation along the way or you just mature more with time. In the same light, the person you might have thought was your friend will make you wish you never met each other.  Either way, it'll be a story that will leave its own mark on the both of you.

Back in elementary school, I was the shy girl at the back of the room that befriends the very first girl that talked to me. That girl was Christine. We had things in common –at least, that’s what I thought then. Both our fathers knew each other since they used to work for the same company. When my parents knew my blossoming friendship with Christine, they discouraged it. They said that I was only being used by the nine-year old. I was adamant at the innocence of our friendship and defended it until a changing event during my second year in high school.

During the time I met Christine, I met Marie. She was the bossy kid that wants everything to go her way. What she wants, she gets. I can’t remember what exactly happened but I know it was after school ended and I was playing with someone else and she made me cry. She wasn’t bullying me, she just taunted me. After that incident, I stayed away from her.

When we reached high school, I was still best friends with Christine. Marie became my friend and became part of our group along with Jam. This was the turning point.

It happened during recess. Our canteen then was selling fruit shakes and I often go there with this group and buy some. I bought a large mango shake with the little allowance I have for that day. Christine started asking me to buy one for her. For free.

Of course, I flatly told her that I can’t; my money wasn’t enough to buy another one. She pouted and walked away from me, dragging Jam and Marie with her. She left me there just like that. For years, I had never been without a friend so I tried redeeming myself and bought another shake, a size smaller than what she wanted because it was all I could afford. I tracked her down and called out to her when I did but she intentionally ignored me. The realization and everything my parents warned me against hit me hard. In my anger, I threw that tiny cup away, went to our classroom and sulked.

It was there that Marie and Jam found me. From then on, we never went with Christine again.

This event made me realize that I used the title “best friend” too casually and bestowed it on someone I’ve been the longest; not the one who knows me the most.  The value of that friendship was the same as that small cup of shape that I dumped in the garbage can without hesitation. My indifference to our friendship further convinced me that I never thought much about our relationship in the first place; it wasn’t something even worth fighting for. It wasn’t even worth any tear. I didn’t cry over our separation. Instead, I felt relieved: I was free of her oppression and bossiness.

I was blind to her misdoings because I was afraid of being alone. I even overlooked her habit of demeaning me when the fact was, I was a lot smarter than she is and will ever be.

Every one of us has our own Christines and Maries. Each one of us has the choice to keep or get rid of either one but it should always be us that make that decision.

To this day, Marie, Jam and I am still friends. Close friends. Best friends, in fact. Our friendship –as cliché as it sounds- stood the test of time. Of course, it wasn’t always smooth sailing; no relationship is. We had our fights but the most important thing is that we always find ourselves led back to one another. Another important thing is that we cried. We shed tears because if we know that if we don’t repent and forgave, we would lose something much more than the word “meaningful” will allow.

We went to different universities and months would often times pass without a single word between each other but whenever we have our annual meet ups, it’s as if we never parted. We always go back to that time in high school when we copy each other’s assignment or when we would just lounge by the hallways during breaks as if we had the entire school to ourselves. As for Christine, we never saw each other again.

Whoever said that time and distance could bring strain to a relationship has obviously never met us.