Hugs to Marawi 09012017

Reminiscing about the past while accidentally opening a folder of photos from my heartbroken years (2015-mid-2019), I  chanced upon some photos of my stuffed toys. In September 2017, exactly on Eid-ul-Adha, I once again stood as one with our Muslim brothers and sisters. It was a holiday and instead of  resting or working on my papers, I jumped at the opportunity to help out in packing donations to be sent to Marawi. (Just a brief background, ISIL supporters and Maute militants captured Marawi in May 2017 and battles ensured between them and the armed forces, resulting in the destruction of the city and evacuation of its residents. As of the moment, rebuilding the city is on-going.) The nearest venue for me was Sto. Domingo Church where I met the resident father in 2015 in a volunteer trip to the north and where I have been volunteering whenever my schedule permits.

September of 2017 also saw us packing and moving things nonstop as we move to a new house far up north. It was a decision made by our parents with the express approval of my eldest brother, the only one who seemed to be fine with moving out of the heart of QC. At that time, I decided that the suffed toys I have accumulated over the years will have to go. Never mind the sentimental value, I will have a lot of explaining to do to my friends who gave me these stuffs knowing I love anything cute. But they have to go and it's time new arms take care of them rather than have them gather dust. So before I give them away, I took photos of the important ones, which I share in this post.

Modoki and Kon which I got on my 18th birthday from my ever-supportive HS friends

Giggle Bunny, my first stuffed toy from my Ninong. 

The scented white bear was from someone who had a crush on me in HS, the brown one was a graduation gift from a close friend. I think the white seal is my sister's....

We packed all these children's books. Tiring work but totally fulfilling.

Pila, Laguna 04092015

April 9 is Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor; commemorates the fall of Bataan during World War 2... As we are talking about the supposedly joint forces of Filipino and American soldiers against the Japanese forces, I cannot help but be angered at how the Americans made a mess of our history to portray themselves as allies when it fact they were, and still are, colonizers and imperialists!). I chose not to work so that I can join my new friends in mapping Pila, a historic and heritage town in Laguna.

Pila Church: San Antonio de Padua Church, taken late in the afternoon after raining. Lovely effects.

It was a good decision since Pila was also where the 2014 fieldschool took place, except I wasn't part of it although I would have wanted to. We discovered an old bridge, a Gabaldon inside the school, an old church and convent currently being renovated, ruins of an old church, and of course have my picture taken finally at Pagsanjan Arch. We capped the day with a lovely dinner at Calle Arco. It's got sizzling tofu which is a great fave of mine. C ordered that and I had chicken burrito. YUM!!!

Too bad we didn't get inside the museum. It was closed on weekends. HMPH!

monument

Pila Church retablo and altar

Pila Church choir loft

Pila Church marker

Pagalangan Ruins: an church used to stand in the site but was relocated because of flooding; the site was near a lake

my two companions are lucky to have this pic taken from under the Puente Sta. Clara-Norte: I descended to further inspect what's under the bridge

marker of an old Spanish-era well

an old Spanish well inside a private property: the waters are allegedly so clean in the morning that it is fit for drinking

where I had fake bulalo without knowing it because I was so hungry: Instead of beef, they used pork. Ugh!

Formation House

antique collection of a heritage house owner: I'm always lucky to be invited inside to see antique stuff :)

Pila Municipal Hall

a heritage house in Art Deco style which appeared in one of the Nissin wafers TVC

Gabaldon building

Remembering the Light 001

Earlier this month my sisters and I agreed to attend the 5AM mass at Sto. Domingo Church for the Light's 100 days. Since the Light's demise, I could feel that the bond we three share became strong. Even without words, even though I am not comfortable crying in front of them, there seems to be some unspoken understanding that exists among us, that we were lucky to be at the receiving end of her goodness and generosity. And with that comes the unspoken grief and sorrow that each one of us holds in our hearts. 

While having lunch in Binmaley last week, I instinctively took out two pieces of bukayo and kept them in my bag. Out of habit I have been doing this since I was young to have something for the Light. Whenever I could I would bring her simple treats especially those which I enjoyed in my travels.

Those two pieces were left almost forgotten in my bag and in the office while looking for a pen in my messy bag, I chanced upon those two and reflected on how some habits are hard to break.

I think back on the day I came back from Mexico, bringing chocolates and biscuits. But my favorite person in the world was no longer there to greet me. The only person who took joy in listening to my travel stories is now gone. 

Once while on the way to work, I thought of her. I was a mere five minutes from the gate and tears were forming in my eyes. It was painful having to suppress the sadness. I had to force silly thoughts in my mind, it's like gulping down your favorite drink while having alcohol on your wounds.

September 2015 Part 2

Earlier this week, posting something on Facebook got a former officemate commenting about how much she could relate to my post. That and with her complaining about how little time I have for friends. It was just too cute to pass up so I made sure to meet up with her. [I very rarely post anything sentimental these days but I just missed someone so bad. He was someone I just met in one of my travels and we would chat every now and then on Facebook. Then late last year he asked me out on a movie date. Dunno if that qualifies as a romantic date though but he paid for our tickets.]

We met up in Shangrila Mall. The original plan was to watch a movie because Cine Europa was on and has just ended yesterday. Who would have thought that many Filipinos are getting interested in foreign films other than the ones from Hollywood. While I am happy about it I am also bothered that there will come a point in time wherein it would be difficult to grab tickets because of the crowd.

And for the first time in my life I didn't get one because I got stuck in the toilet. Times when I have to use the toilet I hate being female. It sucks having to wait for women who take so long inside the toilet. I wonder what they do inside? One can relieve herself in less than a minute!

Because I wasn't able to get a ticket, K and I agreed to just have our late lunch. Our choice was Johnny Rockets in the East Wing. Everytime I pass by that resto I would always make a mental note to save up to have a taste of their burgers. But then imagine my disappointment when, ordering their Grand Canyon, I discovered that it wasn't so grand at all. The bacon was not fried to a crisp and was badly sliced too thickly and was hard to chew. The patty had nothing special in it. The bun was soggy. I felt pitiful eating that junk and I couldn't help but miss my favorite burger place. And it's ridiculous to spend P645 for that burger. But anyway, lesson learned. I will never drop by that place anymore. Even the fries are pitifully lacking in flavor compared to Wendy's! Sigh. That's money down the drain. Seriously.

Johny Rockets' not so grand Canyon

We did a bit of window shopping with me checking out stores selling baking stuff. It's been a dream to bake and that dream got revived when I got Nestlé Professional mixes for making panna cotta, crème brûlée, and chocolate mousse. My first attempt was a flop and people at home didn´t like it. Bruised my ego big time but then again they never really appreciate anything I do so that´s no surprise. Will just make desserts for others then.

Then off we head to K´s place. MRT was down due to technical problems. ON A SATURDAY, I have to emphasize. Seriously, what the heck is the MRTA doing??? So we took the bus and for the first time in my life I was happy not to spend over an hour in EDSA.

We swam a bit that night then off we went inside the sauna room where we talked a bit about life in general but mostly focusing on love life. Because at this age, both of us are a bit preoccupied about finding a decent guy who can be with us in this lifetime. (Ugh! That's a somewhat gross topic when you write about it but it's the truth...) When a girl entered, we stopped talking for a while. LOL.

That night, we watched 時をかける少女 the animated version. It's a drama comedy about a girl who suddenly could turn back time. Every time she did, there's always at least one negative incidental consequence (love that phrase which I conjured up just weeks ago when we had visitors at the office LOL!). And if there's one thing she learned, it's that "time waits for no one". Makoto has always been boyish and was upset when a friend asked her out. Trying to evade his feelings, she turned back time many times. Yet in the end, realizing the sacrifices made by Chiaki who turned out to be the original time traveler, she accepted his feelings. Except theirs is not a happy ending because they belong to different time periods. (Awwwww)

Then more chatting. We seem to have the same view that girls who flirt get boys faster than decent girls do. Just whatever happens to boys these days? I'm not playing self-righteous here but I do believe that I am brought up with principles. I don't even let boys pay for everything when I go out with them. Do boys really need girls who depend on them? Can't they stand independent, strong-willed girls? Are boys really that insecure to ever want to have an achiever for a lover? [As a drifter, I question if I am an achiever sometimes but then again looking back, having hurdled a lot of difficulties and having faced a lot of challenges, I can confidently say that I've leveled up a lot. In that respect I can say that yes I am an achiever. People will have different notions of what it means to be an achiever. I may not be my own boss, I may not have won an important award, but I've come to the point wherein I can proudly say that I am proud to be me.]

The following day was a Sunday and we woke up before 6AM to attend the earliest Sunday mass. Then off we went to Legaspi Sunday market to have a taste of their offerings. I got to taste those awesome Polish dumplings and even talked to the Polish guy who was manning the kiosk. Very friendly guy. When I remarked that Polish is one of the most difficult languages to learn, he agreed and even let me guess how a word is pronounced. I did poorly, obviously. [And I wondered if maybe I should pursue a degree in linguistics...]

There were too many foods we wanted to try but prices are on the expensive side. A meal costs P150 on average. I wanted to eat laksa, roast duck, oyster omelette, and lasagna. In the end we settled for 6 pieces of assorted Polish dumplings. (Our fave was the one with truffle oil. I superrrrr LOVE it!) We also had takoyaki which disappoint for its lack of real squid inside. The liter of carabao's milk I bought was sad to say, a letdown. I've had better carabao's milk at a cheaper price, too. But we both agreed to go back there for the things we weren't able to eat. [Right now I drool at the thought of oyster omelette. Sigh! To think I just ate one last Friday when my sister treated me to Sincerity in Banawe which by the way, deserves a blog entry, too!]

takoyaki

Polish dumplings and Vietnamese spring rolls

We went back to her place feeling drowsy from eating [and because we had little sleep]. Since we're both feeling sleepy, we slept on the roofdeck while in the poolside. LOL. The cool breeze was wonderful but when it was time for a swim it felt cold. It was wonderful to be in the water again, though. I love how I could already swim short distances. Will just have to build up my stamina and breathing techniques. Then sauna again. I love it when I sweat a lot.

After everything we went out in search of Japanese food but all Japanese restos close from 2PM onwards til 5PM. So we bought some groceries at the Japanese store. It was my chance to buy my favorite curry noodles but I fought the urge because I was on a budget and I chose to buy some canned goods and curry powder instead. A Booksale visit was also part of the itinerary as well as eating at my favorite Thai kiosk at Makati Cinema Square. I super miss that place. It was where I first fell in love with pad thai. Too bad they don't have tom yum.

beef wanton noodles

my favorite eatery in MCS

It rained hard on the way home. It was a wonderful experience nevertheless, to catch up with a dear friend and to just relax on a weekend. 

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Despite the many bad luck I encountered, I felt lucky because I got a crush's cellphone number. He's way older than me and I think he's mature. [Okaaaay this feels like something written by a highschool student. Ugh! Pardon my giddiness.]

Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, Mexico

Early in the morning of July 19, Sunday, R, C, and I decided to wake up extra early to be able to attend the first mass at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, an important National Shrine due to an alleged appearance of the Virgin Mary in 16th century to an Aztec named Juan Diego to instruct him to build a church at the site.

The lights were the first thing that caught my eye... and I jaw dropped in awe of its beauty.

Find the Philippine flag! :)

According to the story, the then Bishop first doubted the report but when presented with roses in winter and when the image of the Virgin Mary was miraculously imprinted on a cloth, he immediately ordered the construction of the church. This church became one of the most important tool to convert the Aztecs to Christianity. Two centuries later, Our Lady of Guadalupe became the patron saint of Mexico which continues to this day. Veneration of the Lady strengthened in 1921 when a bomb explosion caused parts of the church including the marble steps to be destroyed but the glass case of the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe remained intact.

new church where mass is celebrated

Maybe because we went there too early but we didn't get to enter the old church. Would have wanted to see its interiors. With the significance of the church to the Mexicans, I am sure that the interiors would be VERY beautiful. We were also in a hurry because we wanted to catch the breakfast spread at the hotel and attend some sessions since Sunday would be the last day.

old church preserved (the sun was just about to rise)

 Outside the church complex, there is a building that sells religious items. The merchandise are on the pricey side since it's a touristy place. In fact, that's the reason why we went there early, to avoid the crowds that are sure to flood the church. (Except the downside to this was that we were not able to take beautiful photos because of lack of natural light... Ah well I'm a fan of silhouettes anyway so no prob with me. Though if I were to study the details through pics, that wouldn't help.)

religious merchandise being sold outside the church complex grounds

So going back to the hotel we were in luck to still be able to eat decent breakfast and to attend the last day of the conference.

The following day, we went to Teotihuacan. It would be the last day for most of the participants including C. That night also started my solo travel towards Yucatán Peninsula. It was full of misadventures but I put my faith in God and in humanity so I still can say that I had the best adventure of my life... so far. :)

Also read:

Misadventures Part 1

Misadventures Part 2

Tabasco History Museum/ House of Blue Tiles

and more updates in the coming weeks

Note: I am just taking a break from writing two papers for a conference which will be held at the end of this month... WISH ME LUCK and please... PRAY FOR ME.

Santa Cruz, Laguna

If you have read my earlier post on part 1 of my Laguna adventure, you probably are already aware that I went around the province to check out the churches. First stop was Santa Cruz, Laguna. I first came to know about this town for its quesong puti (cheese made from carabao's milk) which I like because it's not heavily salted.

first heritage structure we saw

A friend of my sister also resides in the town so when I got there I asked for her cellphone number from my sister so we could at least meet up there but she replied when J and I were already on our way to Nagcarlan.

We started our Santa Cruz trip asking around for directions to the Aglipayan Church where the famous wooden Marian image is located. On the way we had breakfast and since I was on tight budget (as always) I went for breaded chicken with rice for P50.

budget meal of fried chicken and rice

Off we went around town to see the churches both Catholic and Aglipayan.

facade of the Immaculate Concepcion Parish Church

altar

choir loft

ruins

Aglipayan Church

the Marian image in the wood

famed wooden Marian image adapted to the tainted glass

As we were leaving, we saw a procession with people spraying water at each other. Turns out to be a fiesta celebration! We were lucky people didn't think of spraying us water!

water celebration

Crossing the bridge, we came face to face with this grand mansion!

This constitutes my Laguna Trip Part 1, together with Nagcarlan, Liliw, and Majayjay. 

Laguna Tour Part 1

Before the mapping project ended in April this year, I was able to forge alliance with two other active volunteers who had already exceeded the required outputs early on. One is from Calamba, Laguna and the other from Bulacan. The three of us have previously mapped Pila, Laguna last April 9, taking advantage of the holiday Araw ng Kagitingan to do volunteer work.

J who hails from Bulacan was my buddy for the day. Plan was that we would meet up with C somewhere in Laguna but since C suddenly had lots of deadlines to meet that day, he only joined us for dinner in SM Calamba, his treat at Max's Restaurant remembering how fond I was of sizzling tofu.

J and I met up in Cubao to take a bus going to Santa Cruz, Laguna. From there on, we visited Nagcarlan, Liliw, Majayjay for their churches and snapped photos of heritage houses, most of them already dilapidated. We also paid a visit to the Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery which is really a small one but the fine architecture of the chapel there with some ceiling paintings intact makes it one important cultural property.

It was a tiring day. I got home at close to 12MN. because when the three of us gather we talk endlessly about plans, dreams, frustrations, and the future of the project. It's amazing how fate brings together three persons from different disciplines but who share the same passions and who have almost similar experiences of not being understood by our respective families.

Read more:

Santa Cruz, Laguna

Nagcarlan, Laguna

Liliw, Laguna

Majayjay, Laguna

This is just Part 1. Part 2 is yet to materialize and when the time comes, I'll make sure to go to Pagsanjan Falls!

Candles and Visions

Do not read this if you are fearful of dark prophecies. You have been warned.

One late afternoon last month, I was invited to a post-outreach dinner by the organizer and his childhood friend. At 5:40 they were chatting with and/or texting me it would be at 6PM. Not wanting to be the cause of delay (God knows how moods change when one's hungry!), I prepped up in just a few minutes and asked my mom who was also leaving to do some shopping to drop me off at the church.

Mass had started when I arrived. I stayed there and just informed them I'd be attending mass. Wise decision because I would learn later on that the organizer's car was affected by the color coding scheme and so he will only be able to travel past 7PM.

I don't know why I stayed. I had turned on my mobile data connection to chat with a fellow volunteer who lives nearby and he advised me not to be a martyr, get my ass off where I was seated and go home. I was complaining to him then about how boys are jerks because they always make girls wait. Okay. Scratch that. They always make THIS girl wait. Soon enough memories of boys asking me out and they'd be the ones to be late filled me with contempt for the opposite sex. They know how preoccupied I am with a lot of stuffs and they couldn't even respect my time.

Then again something pulled me to an area in the church: the candles. 

In one of my travels for cultural heritage, a fellow volunteer told me that when it's your first time to visit a church and you make a wish, that wish will come true. That gave me hope, for all my naiveté and all too trusting nature, I visited as many churches as I could to wish for the Light to be healed.

Another volunteer told me that it's always nice to light up candles where the flame has gone out, for the prayers of those who originally lighted them to be sent to the Heavens. So that time, while waiting, I watched the candles glow and flicker as the final electric lights were being turned off until it was dark save for the light from these candles.

As the winds picked up and were putting out flames, I contemplated about what would happen to the world if the lights are gone? Then a vision, of flames going out, "like an army falling one by one by one" (to quote Linkin Park). 

Yesterday I learned of a scary vision. And I immediately thought of the images that flashed before me while I stared at the candles that time.

And then there was the number 24... (but I cannot go on further. This is the biggest clue in the puzzle.)