tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74094732875169219472024-03-08T01:23:37.357-08:00the green backseatto live, to laugh, to love, to linger.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-59119845014864143732011-10-08T07:29:00.000-07:002011-10-08T08:01:06.704-07:00tick-tock, tick-tockit's past 10 in the evening and my day is just starting. <br /><br />my head just cleared from the splitting headache i had upon waking up from an hour-long afternoon nap, coming from dee's game.<br /><br />i intended to sit down and work on the write-up at around seven this evening but surfing for additional facts to back-up my report got me to visiting flickr, facebook, and blogger--and that did me in.<br /><br />i just learned upon entering the coffee shop earlier that this particular starbucks branch have an earlier closing time on weekends; it spells bad news for me--why oh why do you guys have to close just in time when my system's just starting to rev-up? oh well. i just have to go home and see where the night leads me.<br /><br />so much for the scheduling i did last night, haha! i've to turn in a write-up on monday for consolidation with other write-ups in the group. clock is ticking, and my nerves are ticking, as well. LOL.<br /><br />no regrets though. i was able to watch dee, even for at least 1 game, and it counts a lot. i can just imagine the scenario by dawn--dee coming in to find me wide awake, high on the write-up. i'll just smile, and let him sleep the remains of his day off. he'll smile back and say "get in bed". <br /><br />i'll smile back and say, "just a couple of pages to go".<br /><br />two people in the same room, separated by time.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-60868853450084363932011-10-07T09:40:00.000-07:002011-10-07T09:49:21.197-07:00orange is the new greenstarbucks columns.<br /><br />been surfing the net and drinking my grande hibiscus blend hot tea for hours now (and its not hot anymore)--looking for COA and CSC facts i can use for my report (only two subjects to go) while simultaneously devising a new look for the backseat that has long been buried into oblivion.<br /><br />yes, i'm planning to resurrect this little monster after quite a long hiatus from the blogging world. i really don't know if i can still command a following; but what the heck. i just want an online outlet for my thoughts that's been running awry ever since i can remember. my preoccupation with work and my masters course requirements cannot seem to contain them, and so i'm re-decorating in between visits to coa and csc websites.<br /><br />i've updated the orangey look i made for season three to reflect a contemporary look that sure to elicit oohs and aahs from my old followers. oops, i forgot; silly me. reminder to self, you just said that you are writing for no one but yourself; to contain your seemingly uncontainable thoughts... you just said that, right? so stop this nonsense about orange looks and oohs and aahs. it doesn't fit in the equation, haha!<br /><br />i'm sure i have majority of the data i need for my report, for now. tomorrow's gonna be a long day, tying up loose ends, trying to write a coherent report from this sea of madness called GRP's local initiative in the fight against graft and corruption. in the meanwhile, i'm gonna post this--qualifying as the backseat's first entry for the fourth season--and while waiting for dee to get out from work, i'm gonna stare at the screen, grind my teeth, tap my fingers in anticipation of the first comment. oops.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-76985502951011658262011-06-07T03:06:00.000-07:002011-06-07T03:22:36.448-07:00innocent and harmlessit's been months now since i last posted. i looked at my last entry and marvelled how childlike and naive it seemed, gawking at the wonder that's hongkong. so much has happened since then. i enrolled in a master's class, and its really lots of work. lotsa work that lately, i think i've been getting the ire of my boss cuz there have been lotsa "sick" days when i call work to inform them that i cannot make it to the office. she hasn't really confronted me directly, yet. but i feel that its gonna be one of these days. there have been "innocent" questions like "when's your masters gonna be finished?" or "are you required to come up with a thesis?"--questions that have me asking myself, "why? and what are you really asking about?". i just might be over-analyzing things again, as has always been the case with myself, and the questions might really be harmless questions after all. i just want to finish my masters as early as possible so i can go back to the way things have been; socialize with my friends and family more often, and be seen more frequently at the office.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-10107608837485407722010-10-20T02:46:00.001-07:002010-10-20T03:22:06.971-07:00i love farmer's plaza!back from my first trip abroad with alec and van. nalula ako sa hongkong; i appreciated the sights and the tastes the city offered us during our five-day stay there. the wanton dumpling i tried at the SM food court equivalent in their Gateway Mall in Kowloon harbor is particularly good, and my curiosity had very well had its share of ample serving, what with the temple street night market just one block away from the hotel where we were billeted. but it also made me realize how well we have lagged behind as a country. the interior of train stations are much like many of our posh local malls here. and don't bother even thinking of farmers mall in cubao making that list, cuz for that i will not speak to you for months, nor dare utter your name even in hush-hush conversations with the closests of my confidants. LOL. the trip afforded me pleasure, but also opened my eyes that as a country, we have a lot of catching up to do. five days flew fast, like hunters competing for a fresh kill; and after screaming like crazy in disney's haunted hotel and staring wide eyed at those lovely sea creatures wading at the ocean park's many aquariums, i am finally back to reality, and with Hongkong pictures to last a lifetime, LOL.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-3719198124166405302010-10-10T18:35:00.000-07:002010-10-10T18:56:05.588-07:00zombie!no sleep last night. i dunno what came over me, that drove me on a read-athon all the way till the wee hours of the morning. i can't easily point my guilty fingers to the lord of the rings, although i must say that tolkien's writing is way too delicious for my starving literary stomach. the last time i had a serious reading fit was when i was still in good ole UP, during my anne rice phase that ended when i started work some eight years ago. the years that followed were years of intense social beefing-up and the physicality of those years rocketed sky-high, just way off the grid if ya ask me; but now it seems the geeky kid has resurrected from the depths and just wants to wreak havoc on my schedule like a rampaging beast. i mean, halleur, i have work to do, and that work demands me to be on my desk at exactly eight in the morning. a four in the morning read-athon finish and an eight o'clock work doesn't exactly carve what one might call a healthy lifestyle. ugh.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-19251209298918596072010-04-12T01:53:00.000-07:002010-04-12T01:59:11.330-07:00the bumpiest, the swerviestAfter a month or so of absence, i finally am able to write again. And guess where i am writing this entry, my dear reader? Where else but on a bus! Hehehe. Yes, on a bus. I’m on a bus, at the farthest end—the bumpiest, the swerviest (hehehe. pardon the word, i don’t know if it even exists at all. It seems my long absence from the blogging world has caused me to get a bit rusty with my command of the English language) part that seems to get better and better with every sentence i am turning. The road thinks he’s gonna beat me to it, and i’m soon to get tired of this attempt to update you. but nope. I’m not surrendering. Nuh-uh. Not one bit. Swerves and bumps be damned!<br /><br />So. A month! A lot has happened, i don’t even know where to begin! Well lets start with my passions. I’m still as passionate and in love with photography as the day i first clicked my first click. I’ve already a growing collection which, a month ago, had been in dire need of organizing. If not for the week-long holy week vacation that was made possible by the generosity of our lolo johnny, i wouldn’t have even begun the task of building a solid portfolio from the mess that has been four months of just clicking and clicking and no deleting whatsoever (yes, i kept even the blurriest and crappiest photo i got); now i have 427 strong images that would speak directly of my art, or rather, my eye for art in anything and everything that passes me by, captured with the aid of my trusty cocoy. <br /><br />Gizmo wise, if cocoy has been solidly turning in brilliant performances with every click, gael it seems these days, i find to be in a very sick condition. He’s been constantly crashing on me during the last two weekends that i’ve been using him. i’m getting a bit worried for him, what with just a year and a half of being with me. i’m thinking of having him reformatted sometime soon, if the problem continues to persist. Good thing i have all my important files backed up already.<br /><br />We’re already approaching the sctex-nlex intersection by this time, and its already dark. There has been some sun in the sky when i started this entry, and now the harsh halogen lights of the sctex are in full blast. Tomorrow's gonna be the start of another work week, which i kinda dread, what with the pile of work waiting for me when i arrive. The surge of new laws and issuances have been in full blast since the middle of last year, that in retrospect its a miracle that i lasted this long, in being able to somehow keep up with all the activities needed to process a single law or issuance. <em>Ang sisipag naman kasi ng mga boss namin</em>. Hehehe. good thing, the benefits keep pouring in, thanks to our tireless union leaders who see to it that dedicated employees like me (hehehe) get rewarded for all their troubles. LOL. Through the efforts of our union, the management has recently approved a mass upgrading of the filled-up positions, and for the first time in six and a half years, <em>makakatikim ako ng</em> promotion, hehe.<br /><br />This afternoon i posted at facebook a picture of me taken sometime in 2005. That was the year of endless hairgels, when i was trying too hard to look adorable and <em>gwapo </em>like the artista’s that time. Richard guttierez was the toast of GMA that year, doing one primetime show after another, a streak that will continue up to the present. dennis trillio was a fairly new discovery back then, but was a serious threat to richard’s career that bisaya, as have been reported in some gossip shows, had to take measures to ensure that dennis does not eclipse richard’s star. Both sport hairdos spruced up with the magic of hairgels. <em>At dahil</em> feeling matinee idol <em>din ako, hindi ako nagpatalo</em>. <em>Nagtaas din ako ng buhok ko</em>. hehehe. it amused me to think that i was so vain that time. going to my derma, going to the gym, and spending lots on hairgel tubes just to keep that youthful glow. nowadays i’m way past that Richard guttierez phase. I lead a more relaxed life, no longer worrying of not arriving on time at the gym and missing my fitness first classes ; or fretting over the traffic that kept me away my precious treadmill time. i still do yoga, but not in a class. I still run but not on a mill. I grow my hair long, and i feel like i’m jun pyo’s long lost brother. LOL.<br /><br /><em>Toll booth na</em>. My stint on the road is nearing its end. I don’t know when the next entry’s gonna be, but i sure do hope that when i write my next entry, <em>wala na ako sa likod ng bus. Kahilo, ampotah</em>. Ciao.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-34217967744192087532010-03-02T16:31:00.000-08:002010-03-02T18:40:19.639-08:00ho-hum.i rarely post entries these days. if asked, i would usually reason out that i busy myself with other things. photography. yoga. my mini-novella. stuff. but truth is--and this, i've trouble admitting--i've simply lost interest, chronicling the mundane. the wonderful. the magical. the earth-shattering. stuff that make my world go round. like a poetry-reading session i recently attended. or those magical late-afternoon photowalks i had, going around guadalupe with eyvicat. its not that i lost interest in the things that make my world go round. i just got tired writing about them. i don't know if its just a phase. or something that would bury the greenbackseat six feet under. i rarely visit and comment on my virtual playground too--blogs that caught my fancy when the backseat was in its heydays. gosh, what gloomy talk this is turning out to be. i talk as if the backseat will really close. i don't really know what's come over me to write about this, or have the gall to even think about this. <br /><br />if you'd care to even analyze me, i've the tendency to write on my blog during my most stressed-out episodes. or when i'm too inspired and overflowing with creative and literary ideas. given that my mini-novella's about to end, my life struggles at a stand-still--the ugly sick pig episode ending happily--and no idea for new poems or another novella has sprung out from my mangy mind yet, i suspect this phase will extend indefinitely. and yes, i'm heartily living the life i could only have dreamed of when i was in college. too content perhaps to even write about the little sparks that illuminate the daily gentle life.<br /><br />oh, on a lighter note, i will be with friends old and new, at boracay this saturday. its my second time to strut the gentle stuff in this lovely island. i hope it would be a much more pleasant experience than my first one back in 2007, when i was down with terrible fever and unfortunately plagued with a bloated face.<br /><br />ciao. gentle signing off.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-10392934623588254442010-01-24T18:04:00.000-08:002010-01-24T18:08:06.585-08:00praktis ako ng praktis!Most of the time I feel like that kid in the lucky me commercial. The crybaby who said to his mom with tears staining his chubby cheeks “praktis naman ako ng praktis”, when he learned he didn’t make it in the tryouts. Well, I haven't really been practicing, in the past two months. Actually I’ve been in hibernation, so to speak, when it comes to the matter of regular exercise; so I have no right to compare myself to the kid. But I share his frustration. Mine’s been accumulated over the years, as I tried so hard to maintain a slim figure through diet and exercise, afraid of going back to my old form—that fat kid everybody loves to squeeze because he’s so squishy-soft, but low in self-esteem coz he’s physically different from all the normal-looking kids around him. But yes, as the past entries lamented, I’ve been letting my guard down. I’m still far from that picture that I loathe looking at, but I will not wait for the time when reality meets history. In the last four days, I’ve been trying to go back to yoga. My sessions have been itty-bitty ones, not the full-length sessions I used to do. Small steps, but steps nonetheless. I’ve my exercise bag with me now, so that after office I could go back to working the treadmill at the gym. As I said in my previous entry, no weights first. I just want to feel the regularity of exercise coming back to my system. Yes, it’s me again back to “praktis ng praktis”, lets just hope I get to see some results in due time. Sabi nga ng nanay sa commercial, “tomorrow is another day”.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-90527610482519254122010-01-22T00:53:00.000-08:002010-01-22T01:12:02.149-08:00your one minute gentlenahihilo ako. kelangan ko na talagang magbawas ng kain. ang hirap naman kasing magpigil. kakakain ko lang sa chowking ha--sulusyon ko sa hilo. haay. <br /><br />i'm discovering the joys of stop-motion animated movies once again. thanks, coraline! napadaan tuloy ako sa friendly neighborhood muslim vendor, and bought an 8-in-1 disc movie collection. marathon ito mamaya.<br /><br />fuck, napurga ako sa commercials ng mga pulitiko sa bus kahapon. kanina din ulit, kasi maghapong bukas ang tv sa bahay. one could tell malapit na talaga ang election. ang kaisa-isang commercial to make my day e yung commercial ng lucky me about a boy na praktis ng praktis pero di pumasa sa tryout. hehehe, kulit.<br /><br />tumambling ako sa usapan kanina nung mga kapwa ko nag-aantay na tawagin ang number ng bank teller. apat daw ang thesis nya. hello, buhay ka pa. pinagchismisan din nila yung mga batchmates nilang nakikita nila sa facebook. may koment si ateng bangka sa lahat ng mabanggit na pangalan. sobrang taba. sobrang payat. mukha nang matanda. hindi na nya babalikan yung isa--napagsawaan na daw nya. napalingon ako. hello ate ang ganda mo.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-54365210157463433102010-01-20T19:42:00.000-08:002010-01-24T04:08:58.162-08:00sunog sa kabilang kalyeMaaga akong nagising, mag-aalas singko pa lang ng madaling araw kanina. Ginising ako ng landlady ko. May sunog daw sa kabilang kanto. Naglabasan din yung ibang mga nagrerent para silipin ang kaguluhan sa kalsada. Fire-out naman na nung lumabas kami at naki-usi—usok na lang ang natatanaw namin coming from the roof of houses. Buti na lang mabilis mag-respond ang mga bumbero namin. The last thing i want to do is to haul my things outside the street at magtatakbo palayo sa nasusunog na unit ko. hehehe. wa-poise. <br /><br />So ayun, balik na kami sa kanya kanyang unit. Got to meet two renters na nun ko din lang nakita, and malamang yun na rin ang last na pagkikita namin. May kanya-kanyang mundo dito, most of the renters here work at call centers, and malamang yung iba kakarating pa lang from work, nag-reready matulog. Yung iba naman have day jobs like me, and malamang papagising na din to prepare for work. Ako, well nakaleave ako at pauwi naman ng province later, hehe. Since medyo mahaba na din ang tulog ko, i took advantage of having rested my body quite sufficiently, to do something i haven’t done in a while. Since my operation, i had zero physical activity relating to exercise so i tried my left wrist for the first time in nearly two months, if it can already withstand the pressures of chaturanga dandasana. Ok naman, nakaka-balance naman ako with the yoga push up position pero i notice that said wrist and arm kinda tremble with my weight when i lean forward, getting to the full pose. Yes, the operation weakened my wrist. Not the one to easily give up, i pushed myself to meeting the 14 repetitions of a full sun salute cycle i set myself to do on the outset. Natapos ko naman. Yan, puro sun salute muna in the next three days or so, just so masanay ulit katawan ko with exercise. Next week i’ll be including treadmill na, kahit pakonti-konti. Lifting weights will have to wait a little longer. Kung sa body weight nga lang sa yoga, nanginginig na ako, how much more with actual weights? Gudlak.<br /><br />After that, i got to editing some pictures still in my sd card. Gotta remind myself to buy a reserve card; grabe, in just two months of shooting with cocoy (my Nikon dslr) napuno ko na kaagad yung freebie na sd card, hehe. Pwede na ko umuwi after typing this, actually, pero may bilin pa si geloy, and that anime shop doesn’t open til 12 noon. So i guess, i can still upload some pictures for flickr, and go to the fort to buy cupcakes at sonja’s. Shet, antakaw ko. haha! Hindi kaya!! Gusto ko lang naman patikman si ate, di pa kasi nya natitikman yun. Layo kasi ng the fort kung sasadyain ko straight from work in the evening tapos byahe na din kaagad ako pa-probinsya.. e anong oras na kaya ako makakarating non, no?!gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-36622085429403155022010-01-11T02:42:00.000-08:002010-01-11T02:43:11.412-08:00of ugly sick pig and meat falling off the bone<em>Go on, sear me a beauty<br />That’s it—tender, falling off the bone<br />That one sure looks tempting enough;<br />Succulent, til the last drop<br />that’s bound to glaze my lips, wet my tongue<br />Stoke my hunger for more<br />As you stoke that fire to a roaring splendor</em><br /><br />I intended to post this one over at my poetry site but i was never really comfortable with it to begin with. I honestly think its crap. It must be that i’m still not over with the holiday bug—all those delicious food, haha! Well it just goes to show that gluttony and poetry do not mix very well. <br /><br />My office pc is finally working—was just delivered today. Now i can finally go back to REAL work. I hope it doesn’t bog down on me again. Hah! So much precious data.. can’t afford to lose a single one.<br /><br />Anyways, i’t gonna be a real quickie.. its nearly seven in the evening; in a short while the floodway will be teeming with schools of fish all wanting to be out. But this has just to get through : the ugly sick pig incident has finally reached a satisfying ending. Its a hard battle, but i ended victorious. All the hard work has finally paid off, thanks to the people who rallied behind my cause. The ugly sick pig has fallen to the ground. And i couldn’t be anymore happier.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-27425170014798763462009-12-31T05:39:00.000-08:002009-12-31T19:44:52.255-08:00goodbye, 2009!Four hours to go before midnight. I’m in my room, having just finished editing some pictures for upload at flickr, with Geloy playing by my desktop pc at the back. A little later, i expect Ate to be calling us down already so the yearly ritual of eating-til-you-drop could begin. But i still got some time. i haven’t been blogging as much as i ought to, as my previous “dear blog” entry would attest to. I don’t know if i could still sustain the same fervor, and gusto i had, writing down things in my mind, as i did at around this same season as last year. But whatever the case, i at least assure you dear reader, that the green backseat is still in operation and will still be the official home of gentle for years to come. As proof of that, i just finished working on my season four cum holiday banner—something that should have been done earlier, as i’m way well onto my fourth season; this being my fifth or sixth entry already.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SzyrFk_6XzI/AAAAAAAAAvM/zFCdrgHS5Mg/s1600-h/DSC_0394.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 197px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SzyrFk_6XzI/AAAAAAAAAvM/zFCdrgHS5Mg/s400/DSC_0394.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421396163766673202" /></a><br /><br />The banner’s a bit different from its predecessors. Devoid of pomp and special effects, what you get is an in-your-face gentle; a gentle that is stripped down of layers and layers of adobe effects; the use of which, for some year now, has been espoused by yours truly—the self-professed prophet of adobe—extolling its virtues over raw, unedited, unprocessed images. Why the sudden change of preference? I don’t know. It must be that it comes with age. I know myself. Confident i could present myself to anyone and not afraid anymore of being seen for my flaws, i chose my latest picture without having to hide under blurs and color distortions. This is gentle the way he should be.<br /><br />The picture’s part of my latest trip to Baguio with my cousin, Anno. This one’s at the ampitheater in front of the bell house, in Camp John Hay. The camp holds a lot of happy, dear memories i had as a child, with my family and the rest of my close-knit relatives. Now, my aunts are all indisposed, tending to their different illnesses, some of which i managed to blog about in my other entries. Being that Ate and her family went to Pampanga for the long Christmas holiday, and that i cannot take Nanay with me on a long bumpy bus ride, i managed to get Anno, the cousin closest to my age to tag along with me. this next one’s taken along the camp’s eco-trail, beside the wall-climbing facility and butterfly sanctuary.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Sz07GIOE34I/AAAAAAAAAvU/Naq9kUY4-s0/s1600-h/DSC_0346.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Sz07GIOE34I/AAAAAAAAAvU/Naq9kUY4-s0/s400/DSC_0346.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5421554502895722370" /></a><br /><br />Before going home to the province for the long break, i sortof managed to jot some things down on paper so i could just retype em the moment the urge to blog pops up. Work issues have been getting me down as of late, and there’s no refuge i could think of than good ole backseat. The paper’s still on my wallet, but on second thought, besides not up to the job of typing down what has already been written—i’m more comfortable in writing my thoughts as they come—i’m also not keen on picking on fresh wound. Madrama ba? Speaking of wound, my other wound, the physical one, is healing quite well already. Nakapaghugas na ako ng plato kanina, without the fear of over-twisting my wrist and stirring things underneath my still visible stitch line. Yes, contrary to others telling me that i could and should already be moving my wrist normally to answer to the daily chores of life, i’m still a bit apprehensive as to its effectiveness in handling the normal gentle routine—lifting weights and yoga, that is. But seeing that my waist’s growing more and more comfortably relaxed with the established gentle appetite, i therefore resolve that by the coming year i should put a little more effort into losing weight and shaping up. Part of aging gracefully is knowing how to take care of one’s body; something that i should be putting more effort to, as i haven’t been getting enough sleep because of another addiction that just developed—Plants vs. Zombies, that is, hehehe. Geloy, this is all your fault. But seriously, i need to develop a healthier sleep pattern too, next year. <br /><br />so, sabi nga ng mga chikadora sa mga showbiz columns na binabasa ko sa opis pag turn ko nang magbantay sa monitoring desk (news articles are so boring) after na nilang mailatag ang latest showbiz chika for the day.. they always end their column with “so, there”.<br /><br />So, there.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-40210156364212265162009-12-18T02:46:00.001-08:002009-12-18T05:03:23.251-08:00sa pilipinas, ginto ang snowflakes!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Sytdomuf4DI/AAAAAAAAAvE/g6IIGdJ1s8Y/s1600-h/CSC_0248a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Sytdomuf4DI/AAAAAAAAAvE/g6IIGdJ1s8Y/s400/CSC_0248a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416525929014878258" /></a><br /><br />glorieta 4, makati city<br /><br />merry christmas blog friends!!gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-68777781027928368212009-12-14T19:08:00.000-08:002009-12-14T19:12:24.127-08:00insensitiveI was at the CR this morning when I overheard our office janitors havin a conversation about their thirteenth month pay. <br /><br />Janitor 1 : O, dumating na daw yung 13th month natin?<br />Janitor 2 : Oo, kahapon lang. <br />Janitor 1 : Magkano?<br />Janitor 2 : 5 thousand pare<br />Janitor 1 : Ha? E di ba last year nag-8 thousand na tayo?<br />Janitor 2 : Dinig ko nga 4 thousand nga lang daw sana ang ibibigay ngayong taon.<br /><br />I didn’t stay long enough to hear what Janitor 1 replied to his colleague. I went out knowing fully well that everyday, they are exposed to the employees talking how much “benefits” they are going to receive this Christmas from the big boss, or what additional cash benefits the employee union is still lobbying for the common good of the employees. <br /><br />The office outsources its janitorial service to third party service providers, so the janitors do not enjoy the same monetary outpouring as the rest of the employees receive at Christmas. Its just saddening to think that these are the most overworked people around, doing numerous other things at the beck and call of most employees, other than cleaning the office premises, and they get a meager bonus for Christmas. We (I’m not excusing myself from this) remain day-in, day-out insensitive as to even remind ourselves to hush up a bit in their presence when the topic of conversation veers towards christmas bonus. Ampangit tingnan, di ba?<br /><br />Sigh, office culture has crept into my veins.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-66240940099666136372009-12-08T02:49:00.000-08:002009-12-08T04:30:56.289-08:00ang drama ko naman talaga o, kainis. haha!Dear Blog,<br /><br />I know I haven’t been writing on you quite as much as I would want to. These past few days, I have been really itching to report to you what has been keeping me busy, happy—taking much of my time to the point that I’ve no energy left at the end of the day, to compose my thoughts and be with you even for just a few minutes—but I know you’re just there, constant in your undying affection for me, your inconstant, ungrateful friend. One year is no easy feat in the blogging world, and we’ve manage to hold onto each other through the grueling twelve months, sharing the highs and lows of everyday living; and it is this recent unnatural new high that has caused me to write this one, knowing that you would be jealous no doubt of my new-found friend. But don’t be. You will always have a special place here in my heart. It’s just that my creativity is now spilling onto other forms and other media, here on the internet. I recently fell in love with photography. And having been consistently reporting to you until about a month ago, I have no doubt that you already saw this one coming. Yes, havin a DSLR camera paved the way for me to have another avenue with which to pour my heart. Suddenly, my poetry and short fiction which I have so prided myself to having created, nurtured and kept alive for the last twelve months or so, had to take a backseat (maybe this is what the “green backseat” title is for—did I have foresight in coming up with a title for you; knowing that someday this would happen… the backseat taking a backseat? Hehehe). well, I know this is just temporary. As with other things that went before, when I finally have my fill, it will eventually go back to normal, with me taking alternately and in moderation all the wonderful things that make my world go round. But for now allow me to share to you this one. And please don’t get jelous.<br /> <br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojcruz">http://www.flickr.com/photos/ojcruz/</a><br /><br />Love, <br />Gentlegentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-34869770497646138622009-12-03T07:50:00.000-08:002009-12-03T07:52:39.314-08:00si nanay at ang mga panget na tutaDadalawa na lang yung tuta namin out of the three that i wrote of, in my home alone entry last October. Yung pinakakyut sa kanila na gustong gusto ni nanay, dinampot ng mga hinayupak na kapit bahay namin some days ago. Marunong na kasi silang lumabas ng gate. Last ko syang nakita on the first night after my operation, nung kakarating lang namin ni ate from Manila. Pinansin ko pa nga, kasi last week lang eh behave pa sila. Kahit bukas pa yung gate, di sila lumalabas. and then yun nga, nung papalipat na kami sa kabilang bahay for the night biglang sumunod silang tatlo with the two grown dogs at lumabas ng kalsada. Ala namang gaanong nag-effort na papasukin sila kasi nga maliliit pa lang sila at nakakalusot pa sa siwang ng gate kaya kayang-kaya nilang bumalik after ng gala nila. Pero hayun, the next day ala na sya. Bumalik yung dalawang panget na tuta except sya. Problemado tuloy si nanay. She’s thinking baka yung isang taga neighborhood na palaging bumabati sa aso at nag-oofer pa kay nanay na bilhin na lang, na sya ang salarin. Syempre ang nanay ko sisimple-simple lang yan pero may natatagong taray din kaya’t nakarinig na lang si Anita (ang mahaderang neighbour) ng “they’re not for sale” in ilokano. Hehehe. that day, palagi nya yung binabanggit. Syempre, palagi mo ba namang kasama sa bahay tapos bigla-bigla na lang mawawala. Nakita ko pa ngang nakadungaw sa terrace si nanay at medyo nakatulala. I thought it couldn’t be the pup entirely. Matanda na si nanay. Mabagal nang maglakad at medyo bent na ang likod. Most of the time, pag wala kami dahil may kanya-kanyang pasok (even CJ, na may speech therapy sessions in the afternoon), she’s left with the dogs and her afternoon telenovelas. so just imagine it for her, the loss. Kinakausap-kausap pa nga nya yung mga yun. And yes, i couldn’t help thinking that it might be other concerns too, relating sa pagtanda. Haay. Ayokong maging emotional dito. Medyo malakas pa naman si nanay. Sya pa nga ang gumising sa akin at nag-asikaso ng almusal ko when i left for manila to see my doctor yesterday. i just dread to see the day na bigla syang manghihina. Parang di ko kakayanin.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-11106754647759556862009-12-02T04:38:00.000-08:002009-12-02T04:43:03.631-08:00season four pilot | episode one : chubby fingersIt’s been five days since my surgery at the Makati med. My left hand and fingers are back to their normal size once again. Finally i can type this one, which has been germinating in my mind and accumulating in details ever since the anaesthesiologist woke me up at the operating room, without so much as wincing in pain whenever i try doing it in my normal pace. When i say the word bloat, can you picture my right hand with its bony fingers placed side by side with my left, which has never been anything but chubby and bursting with mysterious fluids during the first three days post-operation? If you can, well and good, coz that’s not the end to it. Picture my bloated left hand’s knuckles slowly turning purple; the purplish hue seeming to crawl up, toward my fingertips. And if you have an overactive imagination like the one i have, you might probably be thinking the same thing i’ve been thinking, prior to the follow-up consultation i had with my doctor yesterday, wherein he vanquished all those negative thoughts down the drain, to the last savory drop—that no, i’m not dying; that if the purplish hue reaches my fingertips my fingers will not start falling off like wilted leaves from the main stem, leaving me with a super productive stump for a hand—i just need to flex my fingers so that blood will circulate healthily through them, and that’s what i’ve been doing. This entry is exercise for my fingers, hehehe.<br /><br />Going back to the moment i woke up—i’ve no words but thank yous, to the medical staff who assisted in the operation; to Casle, my nurse who saw to my needs during the operation, to the motherly anaesthesiologist who never left my side way until i’m out of that super deep sleep—if you ask me now, that was one freaky, creepy sleep. It felt good. I was havin good dreams. It wasn’t a flat sleep with no dreams but a busy one (though i couldn’t remember any of the details anymore), but its also something i don’t have control over. It could have gone on forever, with me rolling from one dream to the next, and never waking up at all. And so just imagine the relief slowly creeping up my being when i did wake up, realizing where i was, with my left hand and wrist bandaged neatly on my side.<br /><br />I’ve so much to be thankful for! My friends and relatives who kept me strong with their text messages. I kept reading a long list of you-can-do-it messages days before the actual procedure just to have the proper mindset, hehehe. Thanks to the bulldog, shattershards, eyvicat, scheez, geek, grems, ryan, ada, and mar for those encouraging text messages. To my online blogmate-well wishers, i appreciate the comments you’ve been leaving on the various entries i wrote relating to the dreaded surgical operation. Special thank you goes to my cousin Melvin, who tended to the wound because i’m too scared to even remove the bandage and look at it. I got four stitches, hehehe! It really pays to have a nurse for a cousin, huh. And yes, the last one goes to my family who supported me throughout all of this, with Ate even taking a leave from her work to accompany me on the day of my surgery.<br /><br />Love you all. Pag may nakalimutang banggitin sana huwag magtampo.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-72900452498382540022009-11-22T16:43:00.000-08:002009-11-22T17:07:54.170-08:00how bout a poem for a season ender?thus ends another season of the green backseat. <br /><br />here's a poem i managed to thumb with the help of my trusty celfone yesterday, at the bus going back to Manila. the passenger in front of me slept all throughout the travel, reclining her seat to the maximum so i couldn't bring gael out to jot my thoughts. my imagination was so fertile yesterday that i was feverish--unable to stop til i get the words right; and i did, i think. <br /><br />the title is <strong>love at first prick</strong>.<br /><br />go figure. hehehe.<br />_______________<br /> <br /><em>and she laughs—<br />sickly and sweet;<br />saunters silkenly,<br />holy down your highway;<br />tears up her skirt,<br />cracks up a dance;<br />to taunt and to tease—<br />tear you out your wits<br /><br />oh she crackles—<br />and you crack;<br />bones break, <br />burning and barking <br />mad;<br />boiling your brain a soft<br />gooey goo –<br />flushable, edible<br />straight down the loo.<br /><br />and she sings—<br />close your eyes,<br />hear her sing;<br />lull you sick,<br />lull you sweet;<br />loose your marbles <br />bit by bit<br /><br />and she laughs—<br />hoarse as a whore’s,<br />wild as a child’s;<br />close your eyes,<br />close your eyes;<br />swirl round and round<br />her rasping, lilting <br />hurtling lullabye</em>gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-1202965806470741142009-11-22T05:07:00.000-08:002009-11-22T05:41:19.718-08:00can you spell grr in five letters?GRRRR.<br /><br />kainis. may magjowang nauna sa akin sa sakayan ng tricycle, and i had to wait for frigin five minutes more before deciding to walk home na lang kasi wala nang dumarating na tricycle sa pilahan. five minutes lang naman na walking distance ang bahay ko (well, yung nirerent ko) from boni--that is if you're walking like cops are chasing after you; mala-walkathon ba.. walk to death for 250 meters. ganon. meron namang mga tricycle actually. di nga lang sila umaabot sa kinatatayuan ko. lumiliko na sila kaagad mga sampung hakbang lang from where i was standing. ano ba, di ba nila ako nakikita? dun sa tinayuan ko naman ang tamang antayan, i'm so sure of it. sang taon na din naman ako dito. at mukha pa silang mga nagmamadali lahat. dinaan-daanan lang ako, potah. at lalo lang ang inis ko when i'm in my last stretch toward the home run (home run talaga!) nang magsulputan silang lahat sa tabi ko nang sunod sunod. heto ako naglalakad, nagmamadali para makuha sa bahay yung ipapalaba ko sa laundry shop bago ako mapagsarhan for the night--at kumakain ng alikabok nyo. cough, cough. shempre dapat soshal pa din sa pag-ubo.<br /><br />naka-abot naman sa laundry shop. after much trouble. thats trouble spelled in all capital letters--TROUBLE. Potah talaga.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-46209758390297642872009-11-21T19:35:00.000-08:002009-11-21T19:49:51.973-08:00oh the flare!Question : What do vain people with camera celfones do with their idle time? Gosh, is that even a question? Take self-pictures of course! Hehehe. after four years of unabashed posing, be it at work or the bus, or the restaurant—to the horror of uhm, mortified onlookers, i have managed to accumulate almost 200 worth of these cute and priceless gentle pictures, haha! I haven’t really given much thought of transferring these to gael or to other devices, but since the ongoing trend during the past week until now is transferring pictures, well i guess it’s high time that my camera pictures receive an equal treatment as with my other picture files, and get transferred to much secured storage devices as well. Whew. Four years. looking at these many gentles, i’ve noticed one thing : iisa lang ang anggulo ko! hehehe. and that is the slightly upturned face, revealing my sexy neck and moderately angular jaw. And of course—my flaring nosetrils! Hehehe. syempre, nagkakatalo lang sa overall mood kung nakasimangot ako or super ngiti. For documentary purposes, having accomplished this momentous task four years in the making, i will upload—not 200 of them—but a few that passed quality control. And for my dear gentle readers who suddenly feel nauseated by all these, you’re welcome to throw up in the privacy of your respective CRs. Hehehe. Trip-trip lang. ;)<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwiyBxyD9lI/AAAAAAAAAuk/2sa1YpHOppk/s1600/simangot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwiyBxyD9lI/AAAAAAAAAuk/2sa1YpHOppk/s400/simangot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406767096271205970" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swiybi6yCuI/AAAAAAAAAus/tg3PEF3uPlQ/s1600/bangag.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swiybi6yCuI/AAAAAAAAAus/tg3PEF3uPlQ/s400/bangag.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406767538957847266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwizcXgQSrI/AAAAAAAAAu8/HhVZMWXm01w/s1600/long+hair.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwizcXgQSrI/AAAAAAAAAu8/HhVZMWXm01w/s400/long+hair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406768652585290418" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swiy6MS0y8I/AAAAAAAAAu0/EKmPqKZtryE/s1600/pakyut.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swiy6MS0y8I/AAAAAAAAAu0/EKmPqKZtryE/s400/pakyut.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406768065460620226" /></a><br /><br />hmm. i think that with this entry and the previous ones, the backseat might already be fast evolving into a photoblog! well. that remains to be seen in the coming season. ;)gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-2092098330647948722009-11-20T07:25:00.000-08:002009-11-20T08:02:24.872-08:00click!i spent the whole day with my camera. i went home to the province this morning, holding my camera--in the mrt, the bus. i took snapshots of people and terminals.. and stuff; <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa3e9l1lEI/AAAAAAAAAt8/xQPL9RVTnpw/s1600/DSC_0462.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa3e9l1lEI/AAAAAAAAAt8/xQPL9RVTnpw/s400/DSC_0462.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406210145262081090" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa4YTfCOUI/AAAAAAAAAuE/I0n6Q5LeIR8/s1600/DSC_0484.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa4YTfCOUI/AAAAAAAAAuE/I0n6Q5LeIR8/s400/DSC_0484.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406211130391673154" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa5IfvXIwI/AAAAAAAAAuM/A0rSPd9jj9s/s1600/DSC_0503.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa5IfvXIwI/AAAAAAAAAuM/A0rSPd9jj9s/s400/DSC_0503.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406211958315098882" /></a><br /><br />and then my battery went dead. <br /><br />note to self : must buy extra battery... uhm. i might need to buy a longer zoom lens too--i seem to fancy photographing people doing their stuff; and i'm havin a hard time, doing it with my itty-bitty lens. hehehe. when i got home this afternoon, i charged my battery right away, for me to take some more pictures.. clicking all the way til the light won't permit me to click anymore. i took a snapshot of my mom.. and then some flowers.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa6PiD-QcI/AAAAAAAAAuU/olS0JCp_kWw/s1600/DSC_0541.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa6PiD-QcI/AAAAAAAAAuU/olS0JCp_kWw/s400/DSC_0541.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406213178709131714" /></a><br /> <br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa6tdh2pFI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Qu8gXudr1Ho/s1600/DSC_0564.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Swa6tdh2pFI/AAAAAAAAAuc/Qu8gXudr1Ho/s400/DSC_0564.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406213692888360018" /></a><br /><br />i'm going to manaoag tomorrow to pray for my operation, and to have my camera blessed too. and yes, to take pictures. :)gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-60179509123687671752009-11-17T18:00:00.000-08:002009-11-17T18:03:16.299-08:00manong joe and mikee's momManong Joe was just across the corridor, consulting with his doctor; outside, a female staff, a driver and two bodyguards were patiently waiting for him to come out. Mikee’s mom, Tingting, in a gold and black ensemble, was strutting her stuff along the corridor as I was waiting for Medicard’s approval of the three tests I was supposed to undergo prior to the operation, and the operation itself. Three hours at the Makati Med just for all these stuff. I fear. Like all people about to undergo an operation, I fear all there is to fear. i close my eyes, trying to remember the confidence in my doctor’s voice as we were talking about my decision to have it finally removed. I close my eyes, trying to picture all these rich, politically-powerful people, entrusting themselves to this same hospital, this same team of doctors my health card privilege affords me to consult with—and I am somehow comforted. <br /><br />9 days to gogentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-34212016420887579712009-11-15T23:55:00.000-08:002009-11-16T01:25:45.889-08:00the caramoan picture storybook<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEH5AR8PuI/AAAAAAAAAt0/U7BMOp9bViE/s1600/peep+hole1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEH5AR8PuI/AAAAAAAAAt0/U7BMOp9bViE/s400/peep+hole1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404609703730495202" /></a> a scene from the window seat, going to camarines sur<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHrLV-JHI/AAAAAAAAAts/vcJkLYmcA2o/s1600/inland+water1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHrLV-JHI/AAAAAAAAAts/vcJkLYmcA2o/s400/inland+water1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404609466182018162" /></a> the inland waterway going out to sea is teeming with lush vegetation, mostly nipa and bakawan<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHWbCwxtI/AAAAAAAAAtk/vL_g_1iqJ_w/s1600/street+scene1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHWbCwxtI/AAAAAAAAAtk/vL_g_1iqJ_w/s400/street+scene1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404609109619164882" /></a> caramoan town proper at 6:30 in the morning. this is already the busiest part of town; so "busy" that most people here know each other by name<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHKxeuo-I/AAAAAAAAAtc/112pPss1q8k/s1600/tricycle1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEHKxeuo-I/AAAAAAAAAtc/112pPss1q8k/s400/tricycle1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608909483615202" /></a>this was the modified tricycle we rode during the two days worth of sight-seeing<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEG_FfjchI/AAAAAAAAAtU/lT1GhE1eHxM/s1600/old+house1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEG_FfjchI/AAAAAAAAAtU/lT1GhE1eHxM/s400/old+house1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608708697354770" /></a>an interesting old house we found by the roadside, on our way to the "stairs"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEG1RBS0yI/AAAAAAAAAtM/Wf6rmOBnBLI/s1600/stairs1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEG1RBS0yI/AAAAAAAAAtM/Wf6rmOBnBLI/s400/stairs1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608539992970018" /></a><br />the stairs - 537 heart-thumping steps all in all, led us to<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGsj-uU1I/AAAAAAAAAtE/NmkD-ySmhEA/s1600/panoramic+islands1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGsj-uU1I/AAAAAAAAAtE/NmkD-ySmhEA/s400/panoramic+islands1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608390463640402" /></a> this breath taking view<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGgam5TJI/AAAAAAAAAs8/xGDl7gmbgWg/s1600/ripples1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGgam5TJI/AAAAAAAAAs8/xGDl7gmbgWg/s400/ripples1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608181789346962" /></a><br />one of the clearest waters i ever saw. clearer than that of boracay's; little fishes kept playing by my feet the entire time we were on this island<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGWrp7API/AAAAAAAAAs0/nejiPf6Zgms/s1600/island1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGWrp7API/AAAAAAAAAs0/nejiPf6Zgms/s400/island1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404608014566752498" /></a><br />our tour's last stop - this island held many fun corners that i discovered one by one with my camera<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGOCzvQwI/AAAAAAAAAss/r_Y_ktLXLwY/s1600/beachtree1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGOCzvQwI/AAAAAAAAAss/r_Y_ktLXLwY/s400/beachtree1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404607866163118850" /></a><br />like this one, straight out of a tourist's brochure<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGEwQXr7I/AAAAAAAAAsk/D7Biqwj11hA/s1600/tree1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEGEwQXr7I/AAAAAAAAAsk/D7Biqwj11hA/s400/tree1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404607706564112306" /></a><br />and this magical spot: the sunlight falling on the water's surface is glorious<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEFwUJVN7I/AAAAAAAAAsU/lXncrz6Zkiw/s1600/mayon1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 269px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/SwEFwUJVN7I/AAAAAAAAAsU/lXncrz6Zkiw/s400/mayon1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404607355421013938" /></a><br />before leaving the caramoan port on our last day, we were treated to an unexpected and very welcome "extra" - a peek at the mayon volcano; majestic from a distancegentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-60269972480877265192009-11-09T16:32:00.000-08:002009-11-09T16:36:08.361-08:00counting down to caramoanfour days to go to caramoan.<br /><br><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Svi1EX4-zMI/AAAAAAAAAsM/66R4eBuGnSo/s1600-h/103_6879.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_EYTOFaQg_EY/Svi1EX4-zMI/AAAAAAAAAsM/66R4eBuGnSo/s320/103_6879.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402266839768026306" /></a><br />excited for the next big pose.gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7409473287516921947.post-43902052472029401312009-11-03T01:36:00.000-08:002009-11-03T16:45:23.096-08:00the checklistMember data record, <em>check</em>. <br />Form 1, <em>check</em>. <br />Certification of member contribution, <em>check</em>. <br /><br />I remember doing this exact procedure—going from one office to the next, obtaining the required documentation and signatures, around july of last year when I elected to have a newly discovered tendon cyst surgically removed at the Makati Med. The process I underwent involved punching two holes around my wrist and pressing on it hard, forcing the gel-like cyst out from its receptacle. It was done by way of local anesthesia, and was finished in a matter of five minutes. In a matter of one month, the mound that was flattened, grew back to its original size. It’s been more than a year already, and once again, prompted by cancer-scare brought about by the recent turnouts of cancer cases in the family, I once again go under the knife. Only this time, the doctor, who is an orthopedic surgeon, suggested that I go to sleep because local anesthesia might not entirely cover the pain once the procedure begins. <em>Natatakot ako. Di pa nga ako nadedextrose sa tanang buhay ko, ngayon kelangan kong matulog for an operation? Pano kung di na ako magising? Masakit ba ang tusok ng karayom,</em> going through your veins? I have to accomplish this major task before the year ends. <em>Ayoko nang palaging may iniisip</em>. But before that, I’ve one more major outing with the guys this coming November 13 at Caramoan, in CamSur. I know, it’s gonna be hard on my part, trying to condition myself to enjoy an outing knowing that I have to take care of serious business once I get back to the metro. But I’m not Gentle for nothing. Pleasure has always been my province. But pain? Uhm…gentlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04533617086781345963noreply@blogger.com7