Anywho...

... let's move on and wrap up my vacation, shall we? hehe. I've only got a few things left to mention about my trip so here goes.

1) What? Me a Writer? I wrote an article about the 1990 Baguio earthquake and it was published in the Baguio Yearbook earlier this year. Since I was going to be in Baguio, I told Editor Chi that I can pick up my payment for the article. I met her and co-publisher Jack Carino at Luisa's Cafe in Baguio City. It's weird (but neat) to get paid for something I wrote ...... and also to see my writing in bookstores. Here's the magazine at National Bookstore in Trinoma, Quezon City:Since I got my first paid writing gig, Bill said that I was now officially a writer. Yeah, right. Real writers don't exactly use smiley faces and type "hehe", now do they? hehe. My late dad was actually a freelance writer with his writings appearing in some Philippine pubications, but I never had the desire to become a writer. I don't know if I could be a writer. For one thing, Bill and Gina (who both have experience as writers/reporters) tell me that writers hardly make any money. Another thing, I make way too many grammatical mistakes. But I guess that's what editors are for. hehe. Btw, I don't get why they have to put plastic around every single magazine when they sell the magazines in the Philippines. Yes, I realize there's a lot of folks who just browse and don't buy, but that plastic isn't exactly biodegradable.

2) Manila Ocean Park. I got a chance to check out the new Manila Ocean Park. As I mentioned in Daphne's blog, this place reminds me of an elementary school with all the kids running around. I guess it's one place to take the kids to keep them out of trouble. hehe. Here's a video I shot of the place (with all the crowd and noise ... hehe):The place is not complete yet, but what was there was pretty good, especially the tunnel. Bill was nice enough to keep me company at the park. We had originally planned on going to Corregidor, but the price there was too high. Bill said the price for Corregidor was prohibitive, meaning that regular folks wouldn't be able to visit the place.

3) Nice to Meet You. One last thing I'd like to mention are the bloggers I met for the first time during the trip. In addition to Jack, Chi and Ganda, I also met the following bloggers for the first time: Toe, Tin, Carlotta, Gina and Single. All nice people. :)

Technorati tags: Baguio Yearbook, Manila Ocean Park

(Mis)Adventures in Romance

I have a confession to make. My real reason for going to the Philippines recently was not to go surfing or hiking. Sure, it turned out to be an opportune time to go because I was essentially in-between jobs and it would be great if I got to go surf or hike. But those were just secondary, if not incidental, reasons. I mean, c'mon, who goes to the Philippines for vacation during the rainy season? hehe. The real reason I went home is because ....**dramatic pause** .... I was there to meet someone. **Cue audience saying, "Oooooooohhh"** hehe.

Anyway, I'm not going to use her real name so let's just call her ... hmmm.... how about Hermione Granger? hehe. Hermione (hehe) is a really cool gal. I really liked her. Sure, she had her issues (who doesn't?) and we had our differences. I wondered if we were even compatible with some of our differences. Our goals in life and views on certain things were different, for instance. But I was willing to overlook those differences because she had other qualities that made her cool. For instance, she had such a sharp sense of humor that sometimes bordered on being silly and crazy. That's my kind of humor. She reminded me of my celebrity crush Tina Fey -- smart and funny. She was someone I could see myself getting into a serious relationship with. Not to mention that killer smile. hehe. I was smitten, for lack of a better word. She didn't feel the same way apparently, but I'm getting ahead of myself. hehe.

So how do I go about telling her that I was interested? Well, since she was an online chat buddy, I'll tell her there. So several months ago, I brought up the topic of us being more than just friends. Unfortunately, she just brushed it off by saying she was interested in someone else. hehe. So we chatted for several more months without the topic being brought up again. I just let it go. But two months ago, feeling particularly brave (or maybe stupid, not sure which... hehe), I decided to bring up the topic again. I asked her again if there was a possibility of us being more than just friends. This time, the answer was... well, neither a yes or a no. hehe. She said that it wasn't impossible. Ok, double negative.... not impossible = possible. I guess that's a good sign. hehe. I then pressed on. I told her that if there was a possibility of it happening, then I would try to visit her in Pinas. Again, her response was neither a yes or a no. She said that if I feel someone is worth the risk, then I should go for it. I had to think about it. The price of a plane ticket isn't exactly chump change. But a few days later, I called her and told her I would visit her. She said ok, but that there would be no guarantees. Well, that's fine with me. I don't really expect us to be an item as soon as we see each other. hehe. I called her several more times during the subsequent days to check to see if she was still cool in meeting. She said it would be ok. So I took the risk: I put my job search on hold, used up my remaining vacation time and bought a plane ticket. It's now or never, as the Elvis song goes.

However, there would be no happy ending to this story. We saw each other a couple of times and talked for some time over lunch. But she later told me that she didn't think we had any chemistry and that there were some things about me that, well, turned her off. Ouch! I .... ummm.... I .... whaa.... ouch! So that's where the story ends -- rejectionville. Oh, I can come up with excuses or rationalizations like "well, maybe there was no chemistry because I didn't want to force the issue" or "the circumstances weren't ideal" or "I forgot to go to charm school" or "I could've done this or that". Shoulda coulda woulda. The fact is I just didn't win her over. If there's any consolation, I did give it my best shot. Yes, it was an expensive way to date someone (as my Manang Chyt told me) or to find out if someone is "the one". But that's what life is about -- you go for things that you think are worth going for ... as Hermione said. hehe. I agree with her. You don't want to go through life wondering "what if" because you never took the chance.

Technorati tags: Lack of Chemistry, Rejection, What Was I Thinking?

Modes of Transportation

During my recent trip to Pinas, I realized that in order to get around Manila, I could either take a cab, the light rail (aka the MRT), or a jeepney. Or I could walk, which was actually an option since the walking distance from my hotel to Greenbelt was just a 20 minute walk. Cabs, as I've said before, I'm not a fan of. They have a tendency to take roundabout ways to your destination, not have change when you pay up or act like they have no idea where you destination is. Ok, so you're a cab driver and you don't know your way around? I was actually surprised when I got a cab driver from Greenbelt to the airport and the fare actually seemed right. hehe. The MRT, I'm a fan of. I never took this form of transportation before but I like that they have such a system in place. I also liked that a lot of people use this form of transportation. It was pretty packed when I used it. But then I realized that if a lot of people use the MRT, why are there still traffic jams? That just shows how crowded Manila is. The ticket system though is not automated as other light rail systems. They did have ticket machines, but they were broken each time I was there so I had to wait in line to buy my ticket from a ticket agent.

As for jeepneys, I have mixed feelings about them. The bad thing about jeepneys is that they seem to be big air polluters. I wonder if jeepneys have to adhere to strict air quality standards set by the gov't. Not that they're the only contributors, of course. This view of Manila smog is not just due to jeepneys, I'm sure:What I like about jeepneys is that its easy to figure out if the jeepney is going to where you're going: just ask the driver. hehe. You can also try asking fellow passengers, but that doesn't always work. For instance, I once asked a fellow passenger how to get back to my hotel. She told me to take so-and-so jeep. I followed her advice and took that jeep. Unfortunately, it took me nowhere near my hotel. I got out at the last stop and found myself in a strange neighborhood at night with no clue how to get back to my hotel. So I did what I could and asked the other jeepney drivers if they were going anywhere near my street. I eventually found a jeepney with the street where my hotel was. I wasn't sure if that jeepney was going near my hotel, but I knew I had to get out of that strange neighborhood. Once in the jeepney, I kept my eye out for the street signs and once I found my street, I promptly signaled the driver to stop, paid my fare, and got out. I walked another 15 minutes to walk to my hotel. It was a brisk walk, btw. hehe

Technorati tags: jeepneys

Law and Order in Makati

A few weeks ago, I was standing outside an internet cafe on Makati Avenue when I noticed the following scene taking place (yes, I realize its a  lousy picture .... hehe):The guy in blue is a Makati cop and he is facing what appears to be a Korean guy who had just thrown his cigarette on the street. The guy looked like a typical young Korean guy, probably in the country to study English. They were talking for a few minutes and the cop appeared to be lecturing the guy about littering, pointing to and picking up the cigarette butt thrown by the Korean guy. The cop then points to the vehicle (as shown in the picture), insisting that the guy get in. A fellow cop in the front passenger seat also opens his door after the Korean guy wasn't too eager to get inside the vehicle. Apparently, littering is a major offense in Makati so it looks like they're going to take him to the police station. hehe. Anyway, the Korean guy was a bit resistant. I could hear him say in poor English something like he had to go somewhere or that he had to get back somewhere (his hotel or someplace he was staying). The guy keeps protesting for several minutes until finally, the guy gets into the vehicle, which was labeled as powered by biodiesel, btw. However, after they all get in, the vehicle doesn't go anywhere. It just stays parked. Several more minutes pass. Finally, the guy exits the vehicle and the cops drive away. Hmmm .... I thought they were going to take the guy downtown for littering. They must've just given him a stern lecture about properly disposing cigarette butts and the Korean guy must've pinky swore that he would never litter again, right? hehe.

Technorati tags: Makati Police

Music and the Rain

Updated 9/7/08

I can't remember the last time I was in the Philippines when it was raining. Maybe it was in the '80s. That's b/c I never went back to Pinas during the rainy season. Who would, right? hehe. So that's what greeted me during my first few days in Baguio courtesy of tropical storm Karen:I had planned on doing some surfing or hiking, but it looked like those activities would have to, well, take a hike. hehe. I wanted to check out the surfing spot in Baler, Aurora but I also didn't want to get swept out to sea because of the storm. hehe. So what can one do in this weather? Well, thankfully, there's always music bars. :D So that's what my cousin and Uncle decided to do. Luckily, Karen had let up so the weather wasn't that bad that night. As it turns out, life goes on even during the rain -- people were actually out and about. That must be why they invented umbrellas. hehe.

Anyway, we first went to Ayuyang, but there was no live band until later that night so we didn't stay more than a minute. We then hit Le Fondue. That place had an ok singer, but we soon left that place after an hour for another bar called Mandarin. The singer there wasn't bad. When his set was about done, my companions tell me that Jun Utleg had just entered the bar. It looks like he'll be performing. Utleg is a former member of local Baguio band Binhi, which I first saw nearly two years ago. Just my luck, I don't have a video recorder to capture the performance just like the last time. All I had was my cellphone so all I could do was take a really, really low quality picture:Looks like a classy joint, don't it? hehe. Note to self: get a cellphone with a better camera, perhaps a Nokia with a 3 megapixel camera. ;)

I enjoyed the show just the same. He pretty much played the Binhi songs (e.g. "Igorota" and "Sagada") that my cousin and other audience members shouted at him... err, I mean the songs they requested for him to play. hehe. I particularly liked the song "Ang Bata". Although it's a song with a social message, I liked the song more for its catchy melody.

Before we left the bar, I asked my cousin to find out where Utleg was going to play for the rest of the week. So in between songs, my cousin goes up to Utleg and asks him. Utleg says that he will be at Kubo Grill on Legarda the following night, 8pm and 10pm. Cool. I'll make sure to bring my video camera. The next night, we arrive at Kubo Grill at about 8 or so. We wait there for about half an hour but with no Utleg in sight. We finally ask the staff when Utleg was going to play. To our disappointment, they inform us that they cancelled the show b/c there wasn't enough people. *#@$^%#! hehe. So much for recording the performance yet again. Oh, well. I guess I'll have to settle for the studio version courtesy of Ayuyang Bar again. ;)
Updated 9/7/08: Click here for a link of Binhi performing "Ang Bata".

Technorati tags: Jun Utleg, Tropical Storm Karen