May 9, 2009
Who would have thought that the day would start showing some sun today after debuting with an early onset of drizzling rainfall?
Baliwag/Baluag, Bulacan. Some pictures were taken by Diannel, Jeco and Paolo
I was thinking of naming this one either 1) “Split Ends”, 2) or “Shear Genius” but the thought of barbers chatting with each other while on the job really caught my tongue. I mean, what we don’t know from what they’re talking about while cutting our hair could be one of the most interesting and intellectual conversations ever produced?
After more than a month after my disastrous heck-of-a haircut last time in Polo, I decided to have my hair cut to this other barber shop I know in Tatawid for a change. In complete contrast to my usual choice of barber shop, this one has barbers that knows good hygiene, knows what “clean” means to their customers, and give full priority to every detail of every strand of hair needed to be cut according the clients’ wishes.
Despite the sharp contrasts, there’s always things barbers all have in common: magchika-chika.
I know right?
They chatter about a lot of things, with topics ranging local politics to daily life happenings. You’d be very surprise on how barbers would respond to issues. If you get t listen to their conversations carefully, you’ll see how their responses reflect their intelligent viewpoints as citizens in our country.
Call them the “silent politicians”, they debate on what should be done around this country, on how it should be run, or even how they believe a certain politico would affect us in whole after he is elected into office.
No wonder the Filipino barber is part of Philippine pop culture. We certainly don’t see the superior mind and intellect they possess beneath the jeans and white tees we usually see from them.
Kung magkuwento talaga ang barbero!
My thumbs are covered with ink…again…
On an unseasonably rainy summer May day (the 7th), I went off with my brother to go to my mom’s office for us to be accompanied by one of her co-workers to DFA later in the afternoon to have our passports renewed.
But that would have meant braving the summer rains from our house until we arrive in Manila halfway down to the Metro coming from the North. Waagh! My shoes got wet and water got my socks soaking weeeeet!
Tito Noel, one of my mother’s co-workers in DOF accompanied us to the Department of Foreign Affairs. Once there by half an hour before our 2PM appointment, we seated in a row of long wide chairs among the line of people waiting for their turn.
Cut short to 2:58PM….
“…..HABITAN?!”
“Ooh, that’s us! That’s us!”
“Iyung si Jaime Luis muna….”
I got a hold of my application and I was like “Wow! Ang guwapo ko, ah!”. Looking at that cute, handsome passport picture of myself…Dazzling…Charming…My eyes could melt a girl’s heart (They are my best assets, you know). Ooh, feels so good to be myself! Mmm, mmm, mm!
Ang vain ko! :)) (Please, let me be like this just for once)
I compared this picture of mine taken last December to that I had way back March/April 2001. I still had some baby teeth, chubby and was the on my 3rd/4th month wearing glasses.
The DFA lady had me sign my signature on my application form confirming that what is written on it is correct and accurate. Next thing I knew I had to pay downstairs and show the lady the receipt and after that, I’m all done!
Unfortunately for Jorge, he’s not old enough to have his passport renewed without the accompaniment of one of our parents. Papa’s at work while my mom’s at Camp Aguinaldo lecturing guys of the DOJ about the global financial crisis. Those dude don’t stand a chance at my mother’s taray powers. Bwahahahaha!
So in the end, I still am the lucky one hehehe. And, as how I said it on my status on Facebook, I’m inches away from my dream of going abroad again after such a long time!
Singapore, beware of my wrath!!
Wow…Another out-of-this world dream! This time, it’s set like a post-apocalyptic movie.
In this dream I had last night, people started to feel sickly all of the sudden and slowly…one-by-one, they started to either 1)disappear, 2)fade out, 3)turn into liquid. Don’t know how it all came to be but for sure my dream owe its existence from me having watched this 2-part mini-series aired on CineMax last Sunday titled “The Andromeda Strain” with a pinch of Mark Wahlberg’s “The Happening”.
Then the cameras rolled to the hero in my dream. He decided “I’ll go to Japan to see if I could find a cure!”, and off to Japan he did! In a convenience store, he finally found the antidote that will stop the growing epidemic and could somehow bring back those who disappeared.
The focus of the dream suddenly changed when, on another side of the Earth lies a largely unrelated story of my dream’s next heroine. She went to the palace to tell her dad the truth about her evil rival to the throne. The rival denied the accusation thrown at her (whatever that is!) and argues it’s all a ploy to take back her claim to the throne. But the heroine brought out a tape that contains the rival’s sinister plans.
After that, the dream ended. Weird, isn’t it? I could even hear a song from “Si Mary at ang Lihim na Hardin” as a background:
1) Ano section mo nung 1st yr high ka?
~ BLESSED REGINALD
2) Eh nung 2nd yr?
~ ST ALBERT!!
3) 3rd yr?
~ MOTHER F!
4) 4th yr?
~ DOMINIC (Dapat sa ka-palayaw ko pero hindeh!)
5) Anong best year for you?
~ 4th Year
6) Marami ka bang friends nun
~ Di ako masyado affiliated sa mga barkada pero I have friends here and there
7) Saan kayo kumakain kapag lunch?
~ Canteen o kaya sa may mini-garden
8) Saan tumatambay after school?
~ BAHAY!
9) Lagi ka ba late pag morning?
~ PAGBINAHA ALONG THE WAY
10) Nasuspend ka na ba?
~ EVER! Di kaya…Good boy ako, ‘no!
11) Bakit?
~ Tinanong mo pa!
12) Have you ever danced on stage?
~ Sort of, counted ba ang roof deck?
13) Nanligaw ka ba noon? (for boys) May nanligaw ba sayo nun (for girls)?
~ Wala 🙁
14) Nagka bf/gf ka ba nung highschool?
~ Same as above
15) Sino all time crush mo nun?
~ It’s already an open secret pero di ko pa rin sasabihin :D. Meteor Garden!
16) Would you go back sa HS?
~ YES!
17) Ano lagi mong binibili sa canteen?
~ Sampung pisong Ice Tea!
18) Overpricing ba ang canteen niyo?
~ Sakto lang sa baon kong Php50
19) Nakakita ka na ba ng multo sa school?
~ Hindi pa pero minumulto ako ng mga bullies, oo.
20) Have you ever sang on stage pag may program?
~ “Baby you’re my destiny. You and I will never be…” PWEEEEGHHH!
21) Fave subjects?
~ 1st year -SOCIAL STUDIES (PHILIPPINE HISTORY)
~ 2nd year – SOCIAL STUDIES (ASIAN HISTORY)
~ 3rd year – SOCIAL STUDIES (WORLD HISTORY)
~ 4th year – PE/SWIMMING! (Di ko nagustuhan ECO)
22) Bumagsak ka na ba?
~ Science and Math. The school kicked my A.S.S.* because of those two areas!
*ACADEMIC SUPPORT SYSTEM
23) Have you ever been sent out?
~First Year nung English class namin ni Ms Mendoza (wala akong nakabisadong poem non tapos sinisi ko pa iyung panonood ko ng Dekada 70 para sa Social Studies 🙁 )
24) Malayo ba ang HS bldg sa canteen?
~ NOPE
25) Have you ever ran in the court?
~ YUP
26) Varsity?
~ Proto/Semi-Varsity sa Taekwondo (Di pa siya official varsity while I was still there)
27) Do you miss your school?
~ Pretty much
28) Sino pinaka-dakila sa batch niyo?
~Iyung crush ko kaso maraming naartehan sa kanya daw
29) Ano mga awards mo nun?
~ Conduct Award at Loyalty Award (Plus 2 Silvers for my only 2 athletic exploits)
30) Mga advisers mo?
— 1st yr: Ms Payson (Nagpakasal na)
— 2nd yr: Mrs Rodil/The former Ms Enriquez at Mr. “Piolo Pascual” Castillo
— 3rd yr: Ginang NUQUI!
— 4th yr: Mrs JQ Quiambao
31) Naging officer ka ba?
~ OO…
32) May nakaaway ka ba nun?
~ MAY NANGAWAY SAKIN. SINUNTOK NIYA ULO KO SA LIKOD TSAKA NADURAAN AKO NG LAWAY NIYA. YUCK!
33) Anong role mo pag foundation day?
~ BUMMER
34) Pinaka close mo nun?
~ PINSAN KO…We’re cousins eh
35) Pumasok ka ba sa CR ng opposite sex?
~Hell no!
This morning, I went to Valenzuela City’s local COMELEC office found in Karuhatan/Maysan have myself registered as a voter for next year’s election.
Kinda excited really but the nervousness lingers since I’ll bear the responsibility of the more than 40 million Filipino voters of choosing the rightful leaders of our nation (in whole honesty of course!).
The day started with the rain and drizzles that affected the city past midnight the night before which was for the whole day hot, humid and dry. I went to Karuhatan with my sister who was on her way to the Valenzuela City Government Center along McArthur Highway to pay some dues. The Comelec office on the otherhand is found in front of City Hall.
Good thing thatI went there at a time when voter registration period is at its earliest. There were no long lines present and the process of registration is fast.
First I had to give them a photocopy of my valid ID (in this case my CSB ID card) complete with my signature and present address. Unfortunately that valid ID had bears no address so I asked if I could photocopy my other ID which bears my current home address.
After giving them the xeroxed copies of my ID’s I waited for a while outside the Comelec office sitting on a chair until my name was called for me to fill in three identical application forms wherein I put my personal information and stuff. I made a slight mistake with the info about my parents: I wrote my dad’s name wrong LOL! 😀
After submitting the filled in (not ‘fill out’) application forms, I was told to wait for a bit until I’m called to have my fingerprints printed and stuff :P. There was a digital camera attached to the PC one of the Comelec officers is using and was told to look at it. I didn’t have the chance to smile except to remove my glasses but seeing the photo, I kinda looked serious.
But then again, I still didn’t have the chance to smile.
I was told to write my signature on a digital writing pad using a pen attached to it. The signature then is uploaded as digital data sent to the software prgram the officer is using. Afterwards, he pointed me to a computer fingerprinting machine, a small machine that could capture digital images of my fingerprints uploaded into the computer. There’s a double pattern to it:
1=Right Index finger-2=Left Index finger-3=Right Thumb-4=Left Thumb and REPEAT!
Then to make it final, I had to wet my two thumbs with ink to print out my thumbprints to my three application forms. Next thing I knew, I’m done!
They told me to wait until further notice on when I’m going to get my voter’s ID.
Now that’s straight AND fast!
I slept a lot longer than I should last night. I called the night off passed midnight, only to end up waking up at 9am, although I had a short call of nature around 7 I still went straight to bed thereafter. By the time I woke up, I remember two dreams I had in my sleep, which I find it rather strange.
Dream #1
Me and the rest of my Sondesn class were summoned by my professor, Sir Zahn Yu. In my dream, he looked very disappointed as he looked at us. Based from his voice, he’s not in a good mood (this is a dream after all, in reality he’s jolly fun and active!).
He said something about us being unable to do what we were “supposed” to include for our finals project. He, in the dream, criticized the work we had saying that could have done it better than what we presented to him during Finals Week.
On me, he said I could have added something that would make presence of my existing work as well as remove a few unnecessities.
As the dream progressed, turns out there was an awarding ceremony of some sort. Had we in the dream passed our work in the best way we can give to Sir Zahn, certainly they could have ended up nominated on a category that recognizes our work.
Weird….
Dream #2
I always have this recurring dream sequence of me taking a bus or jeep route to a certain area in EDSA or whatever road found in Metropolitan Manila. This one’s no exception.
My sister and I were, in the dream, looking for a bus that would take us to a friend’s birthday party. We did but somehow took a shorter way to get there (make a turn and you’re there so why waste money riding a bus?).
The house’s exterior is covered with green plastic thingamjigs which serve as “windows” of some sort although the interiors looks awfully like the one in Jerico’s new house in Paco. I’m not exactly sure whose birthday it was since the face of the “Birthday Boy” seems so vague, or at least not thoroughly seen when I was dreaming about it. Although I do somehow recognize a few of the party guests: Me, my sister, Paulo (Perez or Catalo) and one person whose foot is he had it raised and placed over the chair he’s sitting on. One thing’s for sure is that many those who came were Jamers.
The second dream I believe could be a premonition. Many of my premonitions come true but in a somewhat different form and setting but nevertheless still happen in an almost exact way. it could happen anytime soon I don’t have an idea whose birthday though is coming up in the next few months though (except for Louie’s who is 11 days older than me).
The fact that I still remember that may bolster the likelihood of it coming true except though for the first dream since I already took Sondesn last term last school year.
😀
You’ve never let me down,
a friend that’s always around.
You’ve been with me through good and bad,
Through all the seasons in my life
You’ve picked me up, you’ve made me glad
Through all the good times that I ever had
My only radio for life!
(With you, I never have to be all alone)
My only radio for life!
(You are the best friend that I’ve ever known)
Things may change, love may come and go
But one thing’s that I know…
You are My Only Radio…For Life!”
I know that traveling to a far-away place could be draggingly long and boring so I see as a must to keep myself occupied by three things: 1)Have interesting conversation with me, my siblings and my cousins inside the car, 2)Listen to my Ipod, and 3)Turned the car stereo on to FM.
Last Tuesday, I kept myself tuned in to 99.5 RT using my CD Player (embedded with FM/AM radio, for the complete lack of a proper term on how to pu it )until later when its signal began to weaken by the time we’re halfway through the SCTX.
Maybe when we were around Tarlac, my parents had the radio tuned into MOR 1031, a station whose signal came all the way from Bagiuo (A place I’ve never been to for life). Funny though that the first program we heard from it has its initials patterned after the station’s name: Morning On the Rush. Same goes with the program following it, Movements Of Rhythm (which plays mostly RnB songs). One turn-off maybe while listening was that during ‘Movements of Rhythm’, the DJ conducted a contest for those who wanna get a prize for singing the “Speed Babad” jingle.
Talk about ewww…It’s the worst jingle I ever heard. What’s worse was that it’s Piolo Pascual who sang the jingle in the first place. It makes the song a lot cheesy than it already is.
Anyway, 1031’s signal began to weaken so we had it switched to another station.
Throughout the five days we’ve been in Ilocos, I’ve so far got hold of the following: 90.7 Love Radio Laoag, MOR 95.5 For Life! Laoag, Radyo Natin Candon City, 99.5 iFM-Laoag an Urdaneta, Magik FM Vigan, and one station I can’t recall in the meantime but heard in Tarlac City as well as another in Ilocos Sur.
There was this one DJ I found rather irritating in terms of how he speak on the air. He sports a very foreign-sounding accent and I can’t determine whether it’s British or Australian (somewhat leans a lot more Aussie than Briton). I had my sister listen to his voice and she told me it’s fake. And it’s true, the DJ’s accent is so not natural so why force himself to sound something he’s not? Unless he’s the type of of person who grew traveling all around the world and somehow formed a very exotic accent in English. I couldn’t imagine what he would sound like if he spoke in Ilocano/Tagalog.
Most of the FM stations received by my radio are using mostly Filipino as its medium. On the other hand, there are those who uses English otherwise.
When I first got to Pagupud two years ago, my radio could also received signals from a local Chinese station all the way possibly from Taiwan, given its proximity to Ilocos Norte. For many of the AM stations I explored, most if not all use the local vernacular as their language medium. There is at least one station from AM I could remember, Aksyon Radyo.
During the early afternoons, if you’re lucky, you get to listen to radio dramas spoken in Ilocano and Pangasinense (depending which province you’re in) your nose will surely bleed.
When we’re on our way home last Saturday, I asked my mom if she could have the stereo tuned to 1031 once more, we’re already by taht time crossing the border between La Union and Ilocos Sur. We stayed on that station until we were already somewhere in Bulacan-NLEX. How far the Baguio station’s reach still amazes me.
MOR Baguio’s other programs also bears the stations initials like Mix of Rock and Music on the Road. There’s one program that was not: Sabado Nights which plays old school rock and reggae. The best thing when you listen to this station is its very cool station jingle, as posted above. it’s catchy, youthful, and suits perfectly of MOR’s image as a music station.
I wish we had that kind of station here in Manila 😀
We only spent our stay in Pagudpud overnight, for biyahe purposes, but I didn’t waste time to enjoy what the white-sand beaches of Pagudpud has to offer. Some say it’s the next Boracay but I say that it is, without the stench of crowding beachgoers by day, and the lost innocence of the evening by night.
The big bummer though was the unnecessary drizzle falling down in the area. The blue skies covered with clouds while strong winds blew hard and slow across the horizon.
The day after, we headed back to Currimao and stayed there for one final day.
The past five days have been a wonderful experience for me and the rest of the pack who were with me as well: My family, my cousins, and my tiyuhins.
On the 2nd of May, we left Ilocos for good and in a span of almost 10 hours. We made a quick stop in Vigan (which is in the middle of celebrating its own festivities) and had lunch near Plaza Burgos: Sinanglaw and a 355mL bottle of Pepsi. Yum!
Have I told you that from Pagudpud southwards, I’ve counted a total of 17 checkpoints, the last being in a town within Tarlac. My mom on the otherhand counted as much as 30 construction roadblocks starting in Ilocos Norte downwards. Hehehe.
Thanks to SCTX, we got home in Valenzuela as early as 10pm…yey! The trip in NLEX was exceptionally smooth, being able to take a turn to Valenzuela Exit and headed towards Maysan Road before emptying itself to McArthur Highway. We took a left turn to Gen. Santiago Street in Malinta and crossed the border to Santulan, Malabon which is in the middle of its May festival before taking a right turn to M.H. del Pilar northward to Arko.
And the next thing I knew, we were home….
END
Oh, yeah…I forgot to tell you. Here’s another politico making his presence known via a tarpaulin of his we found in front of the municipal hall of Sinait, Ilocos Sur:
Buti na lang, ngayong taon ay na-push through na rin ang bihaye namin patungong Ilocos Norte. Last yearf, hindi kami natuloy dahil hindi available ang karamihan, kasama ako na nasa kalagitnaan ng summer class sa CSB.
Sa awa ng Diyos ay nakasama ako ngayong taon. Akala ko noon ay hindi ako makakasama nung nalamang sa mismong huling linggo ng finals ko gaganapin ang trip. Buti na lang inusod sa April 28, kaya sama rin ako!
Mabilis iyung biyahe mula sa amin sa Valenzuela hanggang sa La Union. Dagdag ginhawa ay nung nagamit na rin namin sa wakas iyung South Clark Toll Expressway (SCTX). Hindi na namin tuloy kinailangang dumaan pa sa mga bayan sa Tarlac gaya Capas at Luisita.
Nananghalian kami sa dati namin kinainan sa may Bauang, Pangasinan, ang Oasis.
Tumagal lang kami nung nasa badang La Union at Ilocos Sur kami. Sa kasamaang palad, ang daming mga roadblocks sa daan gaya ng mga road construction at mga checkpoint sa Ilocos Sur. Alas siyete higit ng gabi na kami nakarating sa D’Coral, isang beach resort sa Currimao, Ilocos Norte.
Nung sumunod na araw, ako, ang kapatid ko’t pinsan ay sabay na naligo sa dalampasigan. Ang saya nga namin. High tide nung panahong iyon pero sinubukan ng magpinsang bunso na i-explpore ang lugar. Grabeh kung mag-emo si Jorge…Katapat pa sa dagat heheheh!
Sa nalabing bahagi ng araw, deretso tulog lang ako. Medyo gusto ko ring magrelax din kahit papaano sa pamamagitan ng pagsiesta. Kinagabihan, pumunta kami sa bahay ng kamag-anak namin para kumain ng hapunan. Sarap talaga kailanman ng pancit miki…Mmmmmm.
Kinabukasan ay umalis kami sa Currimao, papuntang Bangui na nasa hilaga pa. Naglunch kami sandali sa McDonald’s Laoag bago dumiretso na kami papunta sa bayan.
Nung dumating kami doon sa harapan ng munisipyo ng Bangui, malaking gulat na nakita namin ang isang malaking tarpaulin ng isang certain na politico:
Hay…grabeh…
Moving on…
Pumunta kami sa tenant ng lupain namin. Nalaman ko two years ago na may pag-aari kaming mga lupaing bukid sa Ilocos. May kuwento daw noon na ang lupa ang katumbas noon sa pera kaya daw sinasangla ng mga tao noon ang mga lupa nila sa great lolo ko na si Lolo Kiko Sibucao. Sa huli, may mga iba na hindi nakapagbayad kaya napunta sa kanya iyung mga sinanglang lupa. Hehehe…
Kaso, karamihan sa angkan ng mga Sibucao ay nakabase na sa Malabon pero taun-taon ay may pumupuntang kamag-anak doon para kamustahin naman iyung mga tenant at makapagbayad rin ng buwis namin sa munisipyo ng Bangui.
Nilibre pa kami ng kapatid ng tenant ng sariwang mais. Sarap!
Tapos non ay tumuloy na kami pahilaga pa rin. This time, patungo na kami sa Pagudpud…
Durugtungan…
