Bobohol... Doing Nothing

September 21...

Like my past Davao trip, I was lazy to pack up my things/clothes. All girls naman, puwede maghiraman.. hmmm Nokia naman si Ellaine puwede maghiram ng charger... hmmm damit? hmmm puwede na to...

Good thing I was able to pack everything I needed and the clothes that I chose were just right. So here we go on my 4 day adventure to the Land of Chocolate Hills: BOHOL...

First off, we were booked for this trip since March I believe. Parang di pa kami nakakaalis for Davao eh may trip na ako agad na kasunod. Thanks Cebu Pacific! But when it came to choosing the hotel/resort that's when we got tied up with work that it was only in August that we started to look. Who would plan a trip during the monsoon season? Surely all resorts will have available rooms now. Well we were dead wrong. My first choice, Isis Bungalows, was already fully booked for the said dates. Which prompted an exchange between me and Vanessa (the caucasian looking girl) which goes like this:

Mel: "Vanene!! Fully booked na daw! Whadda?"

Vanessa: "Really? Sino naman pupunta ng ganitong panahon??"

Mel: "Mga kuripot na tao tulad natin"

Vanessa: "So pano na nyan?"

Mel: "Hanap ka, then hanap ako"

Vanessa: "Sige tapos rank natin"

Mel: "Okay, game!"

BTW, yeah she's Filipino...

A lot of drama happened along the way, I think we finalized our booking with Alona Kew White Beach Resort two weeks prior to our flight. Whew! And when we got there we noticed that you don't need an advance reservation, there are lots of available rooms - binigyan pa kami ng discount.. well it was just a precaution anyway..

4:45 am at the Domestic Airport. We were first in line: Ellaine, Vanessa and Me.. and where's Sab? Let's just say I'm glad I called her. Around 5:40ish Sab arrives looking like she just rolled out of bed. Well she just did... Flight got delayed by an hour -- pasalamat ka Sab...

(dun-dun-dun) "Sa mga pasahero tungong Tagbilaran, maari na po kayong tumungo sa lagusan bilang isa" (dun-dun-dun)

And just when I was to doze off, we arrive in Bohol.. The airport is simple, quite simple.. well at least it's an operating airport.. Right after boarding off, we searched for a washroom and then ten minutes later, voila! our bags were on the floor... Well I trust that we can rely on the honesty of the people there.

Since we woke up at the crack of dawn and I was up till midnight convincing Sab to come along (makinig ka kay Goy, Sab. Sumama ka na! or else...) we decided to spend day one DOING NOTHING, which we got to do. Ah yeah, before I forget... There are a number of tourist guides/vans for rent that you can avail of in the airport grounds. Php 2,500 for an L300 van (yes they still exist) for an 8 hour tour covering everything that Bohol has to offer. Great price specially for a big group. It also included transfers to the hotel.

Bohol countryside was nothing new to me, goodness I live in the province sceneries like those are not new to me. But still, it was very relaxing. Alona Alona Alona Kew... First thing that greeted us was this dog, whom I called Brownie...

Brownie never left our side throughout our walk of the seashore.. And then there was another dog, then another and another.. let's just say there are a lot of dogs in Bohol but I did not see a pregnant dog and yet there are a lot of dogs.. Aside from our canine friends (Surbaybor, Bruno, Patrash, Brownie, Princess Sara, Lotty, etc) there were also lots of European tourists and Europeans who have decided to live in the idyllic island of Panglao. (Oh yeah, did I mention that we stayed in Panglao Island?)... Anyway, we just sat on the shore on day one, had a massage in the afternoon and tried out the swimming pool. There were a few tourists, enough to say na dinadayo talaga ang Bohol. Lunch was at Hayahay. We asked the waitress what it meant, she asked the people in the kitchen and yet we yielded no answers. Siguro its when you ran out of answers on where to eat. It was definitely the best place we've dined at, best ambience pa...

"Uyy san tayo kakain?"

"Kahit saan"

"Hayahay naman oh"

It was a bit cloudy and the sea did not look that inviting but hey it was more than enough for a day of doing nothing.

When Love Ends

The music stops playing, the world moves in slow motion. Colorless, lifeless... It renders food tasteless and living becomes a burden.

I Need a Pedicure...

well... I've been meaning to get a pedicure, manicure and have a hair cellophane treatment for quite sometime. But since I'm married to my work, I just don't have the luxury of time. I've been spending 11-14 hours or so in the office for xx number of weeks now and I am dead, dead, dead and dead.


Last March, Ellaine booked us a flight to Bohol - thanks to the piso fare promo of Cebu Pacific "Now everyone can fly". September 21-24! Woohoo, right after the 'super, hyper, mega' OT period.

So here we are, Me, Sab, Ellaine and Vanessa - doing what we do best DOING NOTHING. Bohol is a great place to unwind, relax and talk about Vanessa's lovelife or (lack of), my non-existent lovelife and partly, Ellaine's lovelife (the lone one who actually has a working relationship). I'll gab more about our trip, itinerary in the next postings. For now, I just would like to say: I was in Bohol! and when I return to work, you guess it, OT galore again!

Lani Misalucha

When I was about 7 or so, I had a nightmare. My cousins and I had an outing at a resort and I stayed for the night at my lola's house (no, it's not haunted). That night I ran a high fever. I woke up wailing and for some strange reason I had ant bites all over (yiiiiii.. taas balahibo). Other than that, what made it more traumatic for me was the dream that I had. While splashing around in the pool area, I saw my mom, wearing her ube outfit that I like so much, my dad and Joseph leaving the area. I shouted for them, but they did not seem to notice me. I tried running after them but the people kept pushing me back. That’s when I woke up wailing. I remember my tita trying her best to soothe me, and she changed the covers for fear that the ants might eat me to death.

Ever since then, I have this fear (kept way, way down in the tunnels of my weird mind) that I will be left all alone. It never really affected me in a big way but now that I am on an emotional roller coaster I can’t help recalling that dream and that fear.

I feel so alone right now even if I have tons of friends. Come to think of it majority of them now are from work, which I will soon be leaving. It hurts me so much that there is nothing I can about it and that somehow I feel victimized. I can’t help feeling so bitter and so disdained at some people. What hurts more is that I understand the whole damn thing. Hmmmm I’ve heard that line before… ahh The First Daughter starring Katie Holmes – the dramatic scene between her and Michael Keaton (who plays Mr. President).

So now I am waiting for the positive “Melissa” to shine through this dark, beastly storm. Calling into mind Lani Misalucha’s song “Tila” …tila lilipas din ang ulan, tila lilipas din ang bagyo. Liliwanag din ang kalangitan at ang araw ay sisikat nang muli...

One Hundred Thirty Pesos Toll Fee

I don't care if it's raining cows and carabaos outside, it is still a beautiful world.
Just this weekend, I saw dinosaurs in NLEX. Yes, Dinosaurs!!!
Granted they were white and the Tyrannosaurus Rex was missing a head, eh dinosaurs pa din sila. Truly you can discover a lot of things in NLEX.

I never sleep on my bus ride home to Pampanga. Except for that time when I was reeling from a hang-over. And why not? I might miss out on something along the way. Maybe this week the fire trees might be in bloom, or the rice fields might be green with all their glory, or migrating birds might be making a pit stop along Pulilan (parang bird zoo!).

I enjoy the NLEX so much, it was my topic for one of my composition for Litera1 in college. Prior to college, the number of times that I pass thru NLEX is, on an average, 4 times in a year. And now I pass thru it twice a week!

Rainy season... By this time, the once African-barren-looking NLEX is somewhat akin to a giant lake. So imagine those documentaries in National Geographic featuring the monsoon season in Africa or India. It's like life is starting to sprout once the first drops of rain fall. The once brown and dry fields are now transformed into a lush greenery and ponds teeming with tilapia suddenly appear.

But what I like most about it is the sight of that wonderfully familiar blue hue of SM City Pampanga. That's when I can say that I am truly home.

Oh well, I could expound more about NLEX but I'm sure Rena is already shaking her head over my choice of topic. And Pat, would probably be concocting a road trip already to verify if what I've been blabbering about is true.

Visit the North Side!

Plateau-ed

Sometimes it’s better to feel pain, at least you know what you are feeling.
The feeling of emptiness, of space and hollowness – what a cruel thing to experience. You don’t know whether to cry
Or toughen it out and go through life as normal as you could possibly can.
You hail a bus, get on it and pay the fare. Upon reaching your stop, you go off the bus and walk to your building.
Another day, another 24 hours of going through your task.
You go through your day the way you’ve done it for as long as you can remember.
And then the day ends.
The sun sets.
Midnight blue blankets the sky until darkness takes over.
You sit there wondering, “Where did my day go?”
And then realize you still have a deadline to meet. So you turn your chair around and face the computer.
At one point you give up and decide its time to go home.
You walk out of the building, proceed to the bus stop.
You find yourself standing in the bus, no big feat since you’re used to it.
Standing there, staring at your reflection. You look tired. You dream of a far off place. You’re happy. Somewhat an impossible dream from where you are now.
And then you’re at your stop, jerked away from your fantasy.
You go off the bus, walk to your building.
You’re home and yet it doesn’t feel like it.
Sigh.

Jinternets! and a lot more...

Hmmm.... just visited Crabby Patty's blogsite and let me say, I'm amazed that he was able to post a lot of entries already. It must have been a very sloooowwww night that time (right Pat?)... ü Thanks for that, it inspired me to finally create an additional entry in my (palamuti lamang ba?) blog account.

Well a lot has happened since I've created my account (given that I've created it, like what, 4 months ago?) hehe I now exercise, and no my friends, its no longer just walking and malling. I am now a badminton player and a boxer. Yep, boxing... you heard me right...

Renski is an exercise addict (admit it) and she has convinced me to spend pesos on activities that would leave me bed ridden two to three days later.

Briskwalking... The first exercise that I tried out with her is briswalking which I thought would be a breeze since I like walking and I like parks. So one Tuesday night, off we went to Velasquez park. It was a perfect night, weather was just right, nice park with adequate lighting, the kids had come out to play and there were other briskwalkers like us. The scene at the playground was like a UN conference, kids from different backgrounds converged, laughing and playing happily with each other. It only took three rounds before Renski gave up and decided to sit down (nangangati ako Mel eh -- yeah right). I on the other hand, the ever go-go-go person, gamely finished 5 more rounds on Renski's order for me to beat my previous lap time. I think we ate after that.

Badminton... I think everyone played badminton when they were younger. Complete with the sando attire, tsinelas galore. They sell a complete badminton set at the palengke for 50 pesos. We would start playing around 4 pm until they turn on the lights. Then once in a while, playing time will be disturbed by a passing tricycle (huy, tabi!); strong winds and the occassional "outside eh" "pano naging outside?" "ayan o, lumampas sa line" or when the shuttle cock was accidentaly hit inside a neighbor's yard "ikaw kasi eh lakas lakas mo tumira!"

Friends from the office invited us to play badminton with them, held every Thursday night. It was my first time to play badminton on a real court with rubber shoes on! I think my jaw dropped when I saw how they played. I've never heard a more powerful shot that could emanate from a badminton racket. Suddenly I saw images of me grabbing my face, my neck and my chest, grasping for breath and mutely screaming "tell my mommy and daddy i love them and that i have insurance". Oh my god. That was when I finally convinced myself, I could die playing badminton. Getting to the court was an exercise in itself. Elevators were under repair so we had to take 4 flights of stairs to get to the court. I had fun though! I think our friends were challenged by me and Renski, since they had to go down a few notches lower on their level of expertise to accomodate us. And then we had dinner after playing. Chowking, Pioneer Center.

Boxing... I've never watched a boxing game before until the Olympics where Onyok Velasco won the silver medal. Which brings into mind, where is Onyok now? hmmmm... Manny Pacquiao... hmmm ever since his name became a household staple, i've avidly watched his matches with my mom making side comments "bakit ba gustong gusto nyo pinapanood yan?". And then Manny decided to run for congressman, why??? Though i watch his matches, I still don't like boxing. I've never seen Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby nor Ali. It just seemed like a patriotic duty to watch Manny Pacquiao in action --- even if I was rooting for Larios.

Then one June night, Renski invited me to Punch Out for boxing lessons. After seeing too many Juday ads with her boxing, I said yes. What the heck.. My trainer was Manny. No, not Pacquiao. Just to brief you, I find it difficult to coordinate my hand and feet, oh and brain. That's why I still don't have my driver's license and that I am now on my third student permit. So imagine me, with hand wraps on and gloves all ready in place and doing warm ups. Warm-up pa lang, palpak na. So I said good luck to Manny and off we go to my first ever boxing training. At first I was very conscious of how I looked like while boxing. But after ten minutes, ay bahala na! hala suntok suntok!! of course I was laughing all the time, which prompted Manny to ask "Ma'am bakit tawa ka ng tawa?" Then he left me on my own boxing a thing that resembles a human tonsil. And then he made me do 100 sit-ups while holding a medicine ball. "ANO??? pagsisit-ups mo ako???" "oo, ma'am 50 na ganito ang hawak sa bola tapos 50 na ganito naman position" "100 lahat?!?" at least I was seated on a bench that looked like it was meant for sit-ups unlike Renski who was strapped down to the floor by a tire. Then we had dinner after.

So there, that's part of what I've been doing for the past months... Hope to post a new entry soon.. Well I hope it won't take two months before I post a new entry...