Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan (Bob Ong)

So Bob Ong has 8 books scattered across the Philippine Literature section of National Bookstore. I used to follow his books religiously and agreed with what he shared in his printed works. Then I realized that... Wait. 

Again.

Ulit.

Naalala ko na may entry na pala ako sa aking blog tungkol kay Bob Ong at sa huli niyang librong aking nabasa - Kapitan Sino. Sa nakaraang buwan, bigla ko lang nabasa habang naghahanap ng oras ng UAAP Finals na may isa pa palang librong nailabas si Bob Ong pagkatapos ng Kapitan Sino. Ito ang "Ang mga Kaibigan ni Mama Susan" na kumalat na noong 2010. Nalungkot ako na hindi ko man lang nabili kaagad ang libro noong nakaraang taon, pero nagpabili naman ako kaagad nito matapos kong malaman na iba na ang ikot ng kwento ngayon. Hindi na tungkol sa mga nakatatawang jokes at pangangaral ang ginawa ni Bob Ong. Unang subok niya ito sa horror o di kaya'y supernatural na genre. 

I was really hoping that Puno parin ako ng pag-asa na hindi na gagawin ni Bob Ong ang mga shortcut niya sa pagsusulat. Alam kong maraming tumatangkilik sa kanya at mga simpleng "niya" "siya" na nagiging "nya" "sya" ay nakukuha ng mga mambabasa na marahil ay paniniwalaan nilang tama. Grammar Nazi ba ako? Hindi ah! Ako ay concerned citizen lamang. Nabigo lamang ako, namimilipit ang aking mga paa tuwing nababasa ko ang "sya." Balik na nga lang tayo sa libro. Parang journal-type ang style ng pagkakasulat, nagsasalaysay ang bida ng kanyang mga karanasan sa Maynila at makalaon,  sa probinsya kung saan naroon ang kanyang lola - si Mama Susan. Kaya nating paganahin ang ating mga imahinasyon at alam natin ang tagpuan ng mga kinaugaliang horror movie, kaya sapat na ang mga detalye para makita mo ang nakikita ng bida sa istorya. Hindi ko ikukuwento kung ano ang nagyari sa libro (baka gusto mo pa basahin, go lang!) pero masasabi ko lang na hindi nakatatawa ang libro (malaking kaibahan sa mga unang naisulat ni Bob Ong) at kahit hindi masiyado pulido ang istorya, saludo ako at sumubok ng ibang genre ang may akda.

Aral: Mayroon pala talagang mga libro na maiisipan mong sinayang lang ang mga puno sa paglimbag dito. Isipin mo, PHP150 din yung libro ah, parking fee ko na iyon sa 3 araw. Kung gusto mong basahin yung libro, hiramin mo nalang sa akin.

The Band Perry - If I Die Young

I've always known I won't live that long, to the ages when I just count leaves that fall from the trees, or dust being swept away by the wind. Don't mistake me for being scared of senility. Growing old doesn't appall me but I really believe I'm not the type of person who wants to experience Earth revolve around the sun a little more than 60 more years.

I may have missed the point of this song but it's really such a beautiful one. And no, I'm not dedicating this to my current project nor lifestyle. :)


If I die young bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother
She'll know I'm safe with you when stands under my colors, oh and
Life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no
Ain't even gray, but she buries her baby

A penny for my thoughts, oh no I'll sell them for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'
Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

The sharp knife of a short life, well
I've had just enough time

Lost and Found Identification

So when Rach was complaining about blogging and how she misses it (maybe because of work), I told her it was like I was cramming my blog entries for the past few days - obviously I'm doing my best not to let a month go by without posting anything (yes no one needs to remind me I missed posting entries for February and April this year). I don't know what to post for September 29 aside from I brought a really late gift for a friend and that pretty much sucks if it's the highlight of my day.

I was really looking forward to the project celebration when I returned to our office area. I found out that my ID was a goner! I even walked all the way back to McDonald's across our office just to trace back my steps. No ID holymotherofhebejeezus! I talked to the guards and also to the receptionist about it and the latter gave me a paper to fill-out. It was a report of loss form and it had too many fields. So while I was down and about to give up, one maintenance personnel approached me in our workspace and handed me my ID. He mentioned that when he saw the ID, he noticed the photo, realized that it was familiar, and thought that he recognized the person. So he went straight to me ending his speech with, "Buti ma'am ako nakakita." I wanted to hug manong right then and there!!!! Then my officemates asked me how come he knows me. Good question, since I've been staying on the 7th floor for almost a month and was a no-show on the 5th floor (where manong approached me). :| Nonetheless, manong saved my day from being ruined at 4:30pm!

So I won't mention here that I ate a lot during our project celebration, got really sucky emails from this horrible person, that I almost hit more than 12 hours in the parking lot (Php 100 will burn like fire), and that it was the first time I reached 110kph driving on the road (EDSA-Ortigas FTW!) that is not a freeway, plus I still ate after going home. Hahaha such a pig, a stressed out pig.


MORAL: Share a smile with strangers. You don't know how vomit-inducing their day has been. :)

Awkwaaaaard

September means new and returning series for everyone.

So aside from the multiple tv series (Grey's Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, Nikita, Glee, Desperate Housewives, did I forget something else*?) I am copying and downloading and not sharing any information about how good they are, there's a new MTV series I'm getting my hands on and it's...

Awkward. (That's the title!)

This is probably the last still that Jenna Hamilton looks like this
because she becomes fabulous afterwards and no, it's not makeover.

They thought that social outcast Jenna Hamilton tried to kill herself wherein she just got into an unfortunate accident and this event begins her rise as a celebrity in her school (as the recipient of the negative kind of attention). The cool, err, crazy semi-retard guidance counsellor is a great source of hilarious-WTF moments while her friends fart witty banters left and right. Awkward has a very decent soundtrack (no duh, it's from MTV) and a humor not everyone will love - and it perfectly works for me. Sad part is that it only has 12 episodes per season and I'm not sure of its longevity.

"Oh look a dead girl playing Dead Stacy. Congrats, Jenna. You just became a cliche of yourself."
"Cliche means stupid, right?"

WIN.

Where's my The Walking Dead and secret-violent-or-murderous-something series?


MORAL: Be afraid. Be very afraid of the teenage American culture.

*Oh yeah, New Girl starred by Zooey Deschanel looks promising, too, but only because it's Zooey. Would probably write about it when they have excreted more episodes.

Sink or Swim - Sinkholes!

Ever since I saw the photos of the urban sinkhole in Guatemala, sinkholes have taken my mind to another level. And when there was another touch point of sinkholes in my life - thanks to Grey's Anatomy season 8 - from sinkholes I have moved on to reading about hyperventilation, mammalian diving reflex, shallow and deep water blackout, and freediving.

One minute you're driving in the city
then the earth crumbles then... POOF!

A HUGE BOTTOMLESS PIT APPEARS IN THE INTERSECTION!!!!

While sinkholes in the middle of cities are extremely mind-altering, there are those that can leave you awestruck. Here's one sinkhole from Oman (you can find a couple more in the link below). I don't know the name but it's still beautiful (and accessible!) nonetheless!

Of course, with freediving comes greater measures of wonder. Others have their dream vacation spots (hello, Santorini!) and here lies the Top 10 Coolest Places to Swim - our sinkholes definitely included in the list (not the Guatemalan sinkhole you coke-freak!).

I'm still hesitant to learn scuba diving because I fear that I would go crazy on it and blow off my money on diving so I'll settle for the Devil's Swimming Pool on top of the Victoria Falls in Zambia. Well, I'll probably be a homeless person for the airfare going there anyway! Look at the natural infinity pool that has a to-die-for (pun intended) view from the top that is not brought about by latest true-to-life LCD television screens.

Devil's Armchair. Fall....in love.

See the Top 10 Coolest Place to Swim here.


MORAL: This world is amazing and we are forever living in mystery of its beauty. So don't freaking blow the mountains, the coral reefs, or uproot all the big trees you can find.

Run To You

Would probably update this with the photos of the singlets, no?

While I was dying with all the stress and time-sucking corporate activities, a friend managed to slip a fun run into our busy schedule. Yes I know I haven't posted much for August and September (funny I didn't have any trips scheduled on both months, too) and we're fast approaching October! Geez, I can still remember things that transpired last March (where is my Korea post/entry?!) and when I look at the time, holy heaven geebeezus, it's REALLY almost October already!

Back to the fun run topic, the last five runs I have joined, was forced to join, was threatened to join, are all for charity - or at least their advertisement says so. I only have 2 requirements when joining fun runs - for a cause and singlet inclusive (whether it fits me or not I do not mind anymore).

1st - December 12, 2010 - EcoRun 2010 at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
My first 5K run, I initially just wanted to try running a 3K because I have been running in the gym (hello treadmill) for about a month. However, my friend Troy said we can pull off a 5K so we upgraded our registration (no extra cost anyway) and ended up running an extra half-kilometer because we got lost - we were running the 10K route! Well, a lot of people got lost because of the lack of marshals! After joining a few more runs, indeed, this is one of the poorly organized running events - very few hydration stations, late gunstart (the sun was sharing UV rays already when we started) and lack of marshals.
Running for: more trees!

2nd - April 30, 2011 - Skyathon Boracay Beach Run 2011 at Boracay Island, Aklan.
This is also my first beach run and my first time in Boracay (loser me). Well, there are not much beach runs anyway. I swear I'll be coming back to Boracay! Two of my officemates and I ran the whole 5K with our barefeet and the sand was really fine. Surely any callus you have will be one with the white sand, which the early beachgoers will rub onto their skins, haha. There were a lot of sponsors for this event (best loot bag EVER), free food, and they even had a disposable timing chip for the run. A very memorable run as we drank a lot the night before and had no sleep. Hahaha! Not to mention the singlet fits perfectly. Way to go, Skyathon organizers!
Running for: beach clean-up!

3rd - July 03, 2011 - Vision in Motion Fun Run 2011 at MOA, Pasay City.
First 5K fun run with my new running buddy, Taliztae. No sleep from the night before! We just watched movies and brisk-walked to and from the venue, perfect warm-up and cool-down. Worse singlet fit ever I had to wear my Adidas tank underneath!
Running for: Ideal Vision's foundation and "Save Your Sight" campaign.

4th - August 07, 2011 - HP Fun Run 2011 at McKinley Hill, Taguig City.
We're leveling up! Taliztae and I have been running around McKinley for a couple of times already, with all the uphill and downhill challenges the venue gives us. So running 9K would be easy, right? NO. We have to run around the area 3 freaking times, with crazy uphill and downhill on both ends. Good thing is that there were a whole lot of hydration centers in this race, not to mention it freaking rained a few minutes before the event and drizzled during as well. First wet run! Fuuuuun. Running in the raaaain!
Running for: PGH Wards 9 and 11.

5th - September 25, 2011 - Fam on the Run 2011 at McKinley Hill, Taguig City.
First 10K run! Since we were not able to get any map for the race, I initially thought we're running the same course as the HP Fun Run last August. WRONG. This 10K run starts at Venice Piazza fountain area then all the way up to Fort Bonifacio and onwards to Bayani Road reaching Heritage Park and back. The fail part here is that I thought it would not start on time like what happened in the last run. So I ran far from the starting area to change clothes and then went up to our office to deposit my things and then back to sprinting uphill all the way to catch up with my friend. She noticed how red I was and I was so parched (where are the dang hydration areas?!) I wasn't able to speak until after our slow jog, actually I thought I would black out there from sprinting uphill and not stopping at all haha. There were lots of freebies, too, not bad!
Running for: The Medical City's Department of Pediatrics Charity patients.

What's next? Improving my 10K time! What's the ideal time to finish, anyway?


MORAL: Don't just run for the singlet, run for the challenge and the cause! Yes, running for charity makes it easier to say, "even if my time sucks, it's okay, it's for a good cause anyway." So you won't beat yourself over and over for running really slow on the event.

City in a Forest - Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Still going with the Pasalubong Guide, Itinerary, Budget, Tips, and Contacts part.

This was supposed to be set last May but my PM then suggested that we schedule our trip to July. So there, we had our Palawan adventure last July 7-10, 2011. A bittersweet nature trip it was.

Puerto Princesa, Palawan is one of the most beautiful places I have seen. It is the cleanest city as well as considered to be the "last frontier" from non-sustainable urban development. It is a marvel to see such a wonderful place in the Philippines. Amazing flora and fauna. Truly breathtaking.

From Puerto Princesa airport we were picked up by our transfer and brought straight to Manny's Guesthouse - a backpacker's haven. The rate is very affordable and if you're travelling with friends and decide to get the 3 rooms on their 2nd floor, you can have the supposed-communal kitchen and bathroom all by yourselves. Mr. Manny is a very kind person (you can ask him of the good spots to eat and place to buy souvenirs).

Ka Lui's!

Suggested restaurants are the Balinsasayaw for real bird's nest soup and Ka Lui's for their good food, great interiors, and homey feel that's not overpriced. It was pouring when we started out our tour, visiting Plaza Cuartel where there were memorial markers for the American Prisoners of War. Afterwards we visited the neighboring church and while the heavens were dumping water on us, we just went to the tiangge-tiangge for first shot of buying souvenirs. Here, truckloads of cashews, magnets, keychains, and pearls can be found.

A marker for those who were starved and burned to death.

Someone's looking for pearls!

Next stop is the Binuatan Creations. Don't forget and hesitate to try out weaving. If you're such a cheapo or not in the mood to purchase bags but is feeling guilty that they let you try out the machine, you can purchase pretty 15-peso bookmarks. Yes I did, so quit snickering.

It's fun to use those machines!

Apple really wanted to see the crocodiles so she was ecstatic the moment we got to Palawan Wildlife and Rescue Center. This is also where you can buy/order nice shirts that can be personalized (put your name or whatever you like such as scientific names). Picture-taking with a baby croc costs Php 30 while they also sell crocodile sisig and sausages. Don't forget to have a photo with the fruit-loving bearcat.

Biggest croc caught. That's really big. Promise.

Long live these hung-over crocs. Don't you dare drop your cam.

Next in the list is Mitra's Farm. It has a nice view perfect for couples. Yes it ends there. Hahaha. Next would be the nearby Baker's Hill wherein you can stuff your mouth will crinkles and get a real sugar high.

Fresh air!

Afterwards, off we went towards Iwahig River for a short visit to Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm (open prison!) and go Firefly Watching (an awesome display of natural Christmas lights). The mangroves and the population of the fireflies here are amazing, so are the guides. They really know their work. Here is where you have to apply 10L of insect repellent lotion because I got the worst mosquito bites of my life.

You can't get in, just stop to take a photo.

Iwahig River

We basically prayed the whole night for sun the next day and if we can, we'll blow away those cumulonimbus clouds as we're going to our Honda Bay Tour (snorkelling and island hopping). Dang it! This adds intensity to the already amazing Puerto Princesa.

This is just a parking lot for the boats. PARKING FREAKING LOT.

Three places only: Pambato Reef for the corals, Snake Island for the sandbar and the fishes, and Pandan Island for swimming and sandbathing - basically just rolling over the white fine sand of Puerto Princesa. There are other islands that can be visited for the Honda Bay Tour but those three were the ones we got for our tour.

Pambato Reef

Snake Island

Pandan Island

So what is Puerto Princesa all about? The finalist for new wonders, the Subterranean River National Park aka the underground river with basketfuls of bats. It's really so beautiful you may want to cry.

Another beautiful docking area.
Just a docking area for the underground river-bound boats.

Just passing by.

The outside of the Underground River. :)

Pretty pretty. Batman and Robin would be so proud.

Fall in love!

And then the Mangrove Paddle Boat Tour wherein you can see lizards (you have to be sharp to see them so eat your carrots) and get the chance to have a close-up on those centuries-old mangroves. Those trees are hardcore I tell you, flexible but sturdy. Also, don't forget to have a taste of the local woodworm (tamilok).

Tamilok in vinegar. Just like oyster. Hum!

Planking on a log in a swamp.

Must be from Pandora [Avatar].

The last leg would be of Ugong Rock. Spelunking plus zipline equate to a perfect end of the trip.

My really thin friend Ryan on ropes. Haha.

Welcome to the Family: Liam and Zumi

Two new additions in my trash bag are Zumi and Liam. :)

I love Moses to death, he's been loyal to me since the start of my college life. He's my default companion whenever the benches are full and he made commuting and walking (whether along Katipunan or inside Ateneo) tolerable. Then there's the thing about me enjoying the whole running phase. I don't know, I think I can run farther when I'm not listening to music, I don't know. Well, a bank company sent me an instant credit card and their promo is a discounted 6th Gen iPod Nano with a watch/wrist strap. So now, I have Liam, the iPod Nano six generations younger than Moses! I pretty much ate my words as I said I'll just switch iPods if mine's not working anymore. Moses still has the guns, I just need to update him and he's up to par with Liam, even if the latter's memory is more than twice what Moses can handle.

Liam in a red wrist strap. You have to guess his real color, though.

Ever since I sold my Holga, I'm still attached to the whole lomo-effect, complete with vignette, saturated colors, vivid effects included. So what's the next best thing? When I was able to have a few bucks to spare (which I could have donated I know) and news that the lens company is not producing more of the lens they use in this camera, I was all set to march to where I can buy this digital "lomo" camera. Hello Zumi, the Digital Harinezumi 2+++ (triple plus!) camera by Superheadz imported from Singapore! Expect random photos included in the posts courtesy of Zumi.

Zumi's camera-shy. So settle for the photo he took. :p

Hullo Liam and Zumi, you both were the results of my bereavement. And both are pretty painful in the wallet.


MORAL: If you can't sleep because of it, if you can't eat because of it, if you can't breathe well because of it, it's just one thing: infatuation. Or in this case, gadgetoholism. Shut up, I just made that up, okay?! August has been really tough on me, really, really tough. I'm just holding on.

The Submarines - Brighter Discontent

Got a brand new roof above my head
All the empty boxes thrown away
I rearranged the place a hundred times today
But the ordering of objects couldn't hide what's missing

All these things, should make me happy
Make me happy to be home again
All these things, should make me happy
Make me happy to be alone again

Got myself a bottle of red wine
Got a night with nothing else to do
I think I might know what I really want
But is a brighter discontent the best that I can hope to find
Got a big black television set
Now I can watch just what I want
But I'm here staring up at pictures on the wall
Where are you, you're still stuck inside 'em all


But love is not these belongings and surroundings
Though there's meaning in the memories they hold
A breaking heart in an empty apartment
Was the loudest sound I ever heard
Got a desk, I'll write myself a notePretending that it came from you 
On hotel stationary, from the time we first met
Whatever I can do, 'cause I won't throw my hands up yet

But love is not these belongings that surround you
Though there's meaning in the memories they hold
A breaking heart in an empty apartment
Was the loudest sound I never heard
But I'll be fine if I don't look around me that much for what's gone
If only I could wait here just a little while and let time pass in my room