A sight for sore eyes

Tinuy-an Falls, described by newspapers as "one of the most beautiful falls in the Philippines" and a "baby Niagra Falls." It's located in Surigao del Sur, and I'm going there in less than 2 weeks!

Shameless plugging

I'm on a high right now, because my addiction article for Good Housekeeping Philippines is out! Check out the July 2005 issue:


On page 84:


I had the most fun time doing this article, because it incorporated everything I like to do: (1) meeting interesting people; (2) debunking misconceptions I have about certain people or issues; and (3) having the opportunity to educate other people about these same misconceptions.

I interviewed a big-shot lawyer who squandered all his money on all alcohol, to the point that he had to transfer his kids from private school to a public school; a good-looking guy from a pretty well-off family who was hooked on shabu for 365 days for 5 whole years; and a 22-year-old gambler who put up his family's car as collateral in a casino! So yes, not all addicts come from poor families, broken families, or because they're freaks of nature. They can be our co-workers, our neighbors, or even our own family members.

This wasn't included in the final article, but the biggest thing I learned from my interview with the director of the rehabilitation center was this: addiction is a disease—much like cancer. Meaning certain people are already born with the predisposition to be addicted to something, be it shopping, shoes, alcohol, or even sex. You will only know what substance you are addicted to once you've encountered it. So addicts are not at fault. The disease is incurable, they can only know how to manage or control it. That is why, even after rehab, there is always the danger of relapse.

And yes, I was actually offered to interview a sex addict. That would've been fascinating, but I had to pass as it was not included in the list of addictions I was assigned to feature. Maybe next time. I'm sure that story/experience will require a separate blog entry altogether.

Overdue "Batman Begins" review

Everyone's probably watched it already, but I can't resist not posting something about this movie.

I agree that it is the best Batman movie of the franchise. I especially liked it because unlike the past movies, the Batman doesn't use too much special effects or hi-tech gadgets. Instead, he relies on hand-to-hand combat to show just how astig he really is.

And while I will forever be in love with George Clooney, I think Christian Bale is the most aptly casted Bruce Wayne/Batman to date. Michael Keaton was too skinny, Val Kilmer too brooding, and George Clooney too Bruce Wayne and not enough Batman. Christian Bale, on the other hand, can look the part of the suave playboy one minute, but you also find yourself believing that he can kick ass when he needs to.

I also like that they didn't make Katie Holmes' character into the typical damsel-in-distress type. And Cillian Murphy (the guy who plays Dr. Crane/The Scarecrow) is creepingly hot!

I can't help but raise eyebrows at how Bruce's father was protrayed though. Can anyone say "good-two-shoes to the max"?

Epilogue

While in Mindanao, I ate with members of the MNLF and MILF (now turned government officials or entrepreneurs), stepped on tuna entrails, and skidded down the muddy trails of Mt. Apo. And I had the time of my life.

When I was planning my itinerary weeks before, I planned it in such a way that I would get out of there as soon as possible. Two days into the trip, I was beginning to wish I could stay longer.

***

First things first: Central Mindanao is safe. I'm tempted to say "very safe," but there are, of course, indicators to the contrary.

Like military checkpoints every few kilometers along the highways, and in cities like Cotabato and GenSan.

Like how the mall we went to in Gen San was guarded by the military! Not just security guards, and certainly not security guards with bomb-sniffing dogs, but soldiers in combat fatigues and wielding high-powerd
machine guns.

And like how our very own driver (who himself was a member of the MNLF) was packing heat!!! I found out on Day 2 that he has a .45 caliber pistol and 2 grenades stowed inside our van! He says he brings weapons along when he has guests from Manila, "just in case." I don't even want to know just in case what.

But the bottomline was I felt very safe. In Cotabato City, for example, I never once felt I was in the city that US officials described as a "doormat for terrorists."

***

People always ask me why I went through with my trip to Mindanao. I always tell them that as someone from Manila, I have had my share of foreigners feeling afraid to come here because they see from the news that it's a dangerous place to be. I always tell these people that the news they hear is blown out of proportion, and Manila is not as bad as it looks.

Well, when I was told I was going to Central Mindanao, I asked friends of friends living there and they all said the same thing--that things are not as bad as they are made out to be by the media. And so I went.

***

And the people! I don't think I can ever rave enough how everyone--from the hotel bellboys to the city officials to the farmers-turned-entrepreneurs--were nice, warm, gracious, charming, and accommodating. (And the men were pretty good-looking too!)

Cynical Eric says they were only being nice because I was from the media, but I insist that's not the case. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, many of them did not even know what media establishment I was from!

***

I also have to tip my hat to the government people I met. I have never seen a more hard-working group of DTI and local government officials. They're low-key, know what they're talking about, and are really in touch with the small and medium enterprises that they are trying to help. My photographer, Bahaghari, has gone to other "Best of the Regions" trips for Entrepreneur and he says it's the same in other provinces--the DTI and LGUs are civil servants in every sense of the word. Unlike those in Manila. Or Pampanga, I guess. Ugh.

***

This trip was an eye-opener for me, and debunked a lot of misconceptions I had about Mindanao and the Muslim culture. Such as:

1) Mindanao is not wholly Muslim populated. Where I went, there would even be more Christians than Muslims.

2) Which means not all the women I met wore veils, and not all the men wielded a kris.

3) Tagalog is widely spoken and undersootd, although am starting to have an appreciation for their Visayan lilt.

4) While there are mosques, these are usually just one-story "bungalow types" rather than the huge structures we see in Manila. Most homes, I was told, have their own mosques. Here, it's actually the Christian churches that draw attention.

5) The region is not as underdeveloped as I had thought. The roads are very good, the water strong and constant, and cellphone signals (well, at last for Globe and Smart) are strong. My Sun line was useless, but then again, it's useless in other parts of Metro Manila as well.

***

Life in Mindanao is easy and simple. It's even better than Manila in a lot of ways--no traffic, no noisy buses or jeepneys, no pollution, no billboards, and did I already say no traffic?

People in Mindanao say that when they go to Manila, the most they can stay there is 2 weeks, tops. Manila, they say, is too noisy for them, the pace too hectic and stressful.

***

I would like to think I came out of this trip a better person than I originally was, if only because I got to learn and see so many new things that I would never have gotten to learn, meet or see if I had given in to fear (and a lot of other people's fears) and just stayed home. I'm still on a high right now, and I can't wait to see what my next trip (to Caraga) has to offer.

***

P.S. The clouds seemed more pretty in Mindanao...

Day 4: General Santos and back to Cotabato City

Bright and early, we went to the Gen San Fish Port, the biggest in the country. Sashimi galore!

And according to the people I talked to, konti pa itong mga tuna, because it’s low season now. I can’t imagine how the place must look (and smell) if it’s peak season.

Caught tuna are cut and cleaned…


Before being loaded for export to Japan and all the way to the United States.


Discarded tuna heads are sold in the market, where they can be used to make paksiw.


After lunch, we were on our way back to Cotabato City, where we passed by the house of the Maguindanaoan provincial governor. We were told it cost PHP80million to build! This picture doesn’t even show half of the whole place! Paging the BIR….


And if you see colorful flags like these lining the roads of Muslim territory, it means that a member of Muslim royalty is about to get married. Yes, it seems being a datu or a bai (“princess”) still carries some weight.


Hmm, maybe I'll hang Chinese lanterns across EDSA for my wedding...

Day 3: Tacurong and General Santos

Tacurong, the commercial center of Sultan Kudarat, is only 30 minutes away from Koronadal. The manager of the oil palm plantation whom I interviewed did not know Entrepreneur, but he knew FHM! Figures.

This is part (just part, can you believe it), of the oil palm plantation we visited. They actually let pythons roam free on the grounds, because they keep the rats in check. Of course, they only told me that after I stepped onto the grasses to get this shot taken.


In the afternoon, we traveled another two hours to General Santos City, the commercial hub of Central Mindanao. Right after General Santos is the province of Sarangani, a sleepy town where, according to the DTI, the rich are very rich and the poor are very poor. No middle class here. Their provincial capitol was pretty impressive though.


Can’t believe the adventure is almost over.

Day 2: Kidapawan and Koronadal

Woke up bright and early and traveled to Kidapawan City, capital of North Cotabato, and the Fruit Capital of Mindanao.

The highlight of the day was our trip to Mt. Apo. The first stop was the geothermal power plant located 1,20 meters above sea level. The pipes are 20 kilometers long and ferry steam whose temperatures amount to 280 degrees Celsius on the average! The wells are 3 kilometers deep into the ground. The plant has 29 wells and each cost a whopping PHP75M!


From the area where the pipes are, you could already see the peak of Mt. Apo:


On the way down, we passed by Lake Agco, a steaming lake located in the middle of the mountain. What you see behind me isn’t fog, but steam rising from the lake.


Because the water from the lake itself is too hot to swim in, the government built pipes to channel in cool water. The result: a pool that’s just right enough to be spa-worthy.


It was already close to 6:30pm when we came down from the mountain, and we proceeded to make the 2-hour trip to Koronadal, South Cotabato, where we would spend the night.

Now, the highways of Central Mindanao are not conducive for people with weak bladders, as I discovered from experience. One hour into the trip, I desperately needed to pee, but there was no place to stop. Because unlike our North or South Expressways, the highways there do not have gas stations or restaurants where one can make pit stops. Just agricultural fields! Or huts! And there aren’t even any street lamps, so stopping to use the toilet of these huts (if they did have one) wasn’t even an option. Finally, we passed by Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat (it’s closer than Koronadal) and I was able to relieve myself. But I swear, that was the most harrowing 1 hour of my life.

These are what border the highways of Central Mindanao. Imagine traveling these roads with nothing but the moonlight and car headlights.



We got to Koronadal in time for dinner, where Ms. Nellie took us to Lelita’s—and it was a beerhouse! Okay, not really a beerhouse per se, but it was semi-open air, they served those grilled pang-pulutan dishes, served beer, and there were two sexily-clad girls singing in front! So it was definitely a beerhouse! And in Mindanao! Which is supposed to be Muslim! It was quite a culture shock for us, but as my photographer dryly put it, “Mga tao rin ang mga Muslim.”

There, we met up with other members of the DTI regional office. A couple of them were my age, and it was nice to chat about non-work related stuff. They invited me to go karaoke with them afterwards, but I was beat. Maybe next time, when I come back.

Day 1: Cotabato City

Cotabato City is 1 hour and 20 minutes by plane from Manila. That means it is faster to go there than, say, from Makati to Quezon City during rush hour.

We arrived at Awang Airport at 830am and were met by Ms. Nellie, an officer of the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry and our escort for the trip. On the way to the city, we passed by a couple of military checkpoints. Cotabato City is very safe, Ms. Nellie assured us, but since it is in the ARMM and elections there are coming up, the military is not taking any chances. The soldiers were surprisingly young and fit-looking, unlike the leery, pot-bellied types we see so often in Manila. They simply peered into our van and waved us off without a word. Their no-nonsense, unsmiling demeanor, not to mention their heavy-duty arms, showed they meant business, and discouraged me from taking their photos.

In the city, we were brought to a restaurant where the highlight of the 45th Araw ng Cotabato festivities was taking place—a crab-cooking contest! Cotabato crabs are supposedly the best-tasting in the country, and today it was launched as the priority product/industry of the city. While I was busy interviewing the entrepreneurs lined up for the morning, the organizers asked my mom to be one of the judges!

Here she is in action:


And here are some of the entries. We ate them all during lunch and yum!



We would’ve wanted to bring some fresh crabs home as pasalubong but there was the problem of packaging. No matter how you pack those crabs in cardboard boxes or styrofoam, they can still use their claws to pierce their way through. “Muslim yung mga alimango e, matatapang,” was the joke.

Cotabato City is about 50% Muslim and 50% Christian, and the two groups get along pretty well, cracking jokes about each other’s customs. For example, a Muslim man is allowed to have 4 wives; if he has 5 wives, he’s considered a Christian! Hahaha.

I also got to try out some Maguindanaoan delicacies, like the tinagtag, which is a mixture of flour and brown sugar. It’s not as sweet as one may think, and it’s now my new favorite snack:


There’s also the pastil, which is rice with viand wrapped in banana leaves. It’s a nice alternative to sandwiches when one wants to have lunch or dinner while on the road:


In the afternoon, we visited an inaul malong weaver. “Inaul” is the Maguindanaoan word for “handwoven," and it takes about 2 weeks to finish one inaul malong.



The way malongs are worn reflect one’s status in society. You see how the ends are draped across this woman’s arms. If you wear it this way, it means you are royalty (because you don’t need to work with your hands). If you wear it knotted around your waist (so your hands are free), it means you are a commoner.


Other photos from the day:

Maguindanaoan grandmothers at rest.


By the banks of the Tamutakan River, one of the rivers which encircles the city. I could get used to waking up to this kind of scenery. There are 14 rivers and creeks criss-corssing the city and also serves as its boundaries, hence, Cotabato City is called the “Island City.”


Because of outsiders’ fears regarding peace and order, development in the city is slow. Franchises like Jollibee and Mister Donut, in fact, only came in recently. Badminton is still the craze, though, and badminton courts are one of the few establishments in the city that open past five.

We ended the day quite late, almost 9pm, and by then I didn’t think it would be possible for me to smile through another interview. Still, we ended the day in one piece, and that’s good enough reason to feel good. Our adventure was just starting.

My Mindanao Chronicles: Prologue

I'm not sure if I'll have time to update my blog daily while I'm away, but I figure I might as well start my "travelogue" with an introduction about where exactly I'll be going (in less than 24 hours!!!).

Region 12 is geographically known as Central Mindanao, and better remembered as the SOCCKSARGEN region. The name is an acronym that stands for the region's four provinces and one of its cities: South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City. The administrative center of the region is Cotabato City, located in the province of Maguindanao. Cotabato City itself is part of SOCCSKSARGEN, but Maguindanao is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Cotabato contains the Rio Grande de Mindanao, which is the longest river in Mindanao and the second longest in the Philippines.

Among the major crops produced in Region 12 are rice, corn, coconut, pineapple, asparagus, cassava, pineapple, sugarcane, and rubber. The export winners of the region are fresh/canned/frozen tuna, fresh/canned pineapples, frozen octopus/shrimps, other fish products, coconut oil, cutflowers, asparagus, and gifts and houseware products.

Here's an image of the general area...



And something more detailed:

Confessions of a Mexican virgin

There's a new restaurant here in Galleria called Otra Cosa, which is Spanish for "another thing." They serve Mexican food—fajitas, enchiladas, tostadas, etc.— at fairly affordable prices (P100-P150 per dish).

I know someone is going to diss me for this, but yes, I am a Mexican cuisine virgin. Unless you count the tacos of Taco Bell, or the pita bread of El Pollo Loco. Otra Cosa was the first Mexican-themed restaurant I have ever been to and it was definitely the perfect place to introduce me to the world of salsa and tortillas. I ordered the Chicken Enchilada and when it arrived, the aroma was just mouth-watering. The tortilla wrap was tender, the chicken not too herb-y, and the garlic sauce not too...garlic-y

My co-workers told me Mexican cuisine is actually healthy because they cook the dishes using very little oil, and you can already get full from one simple dish (because of the carbohydrates from the tortilla wrap). So I'm definitely going back to that restaurant soon. Viva Mexico!

*****
Otra Cosa is located at Level 2 of Robinsons Galleria, between Piadina and Cheesecake Etc.

Decisions, decisions

My carefully planned morning was thrown into a bit of a loop when one of our Human Resources people told me that they would have to take away my Sun Cellular line at the end of the month, because it was, technically, property of my old department and not mine. Bummer. I offered to just absorb the account and make it my personal line (because most people already know that to be my number), but they said that it wasn't possible.

Staff of regular magazines aren't allowed to avail of a company phone. So now I can't concentrate on work, because I'm too busy running alternative scenarios on my head. Do I just go back to using my Globe line for work and personal calls? Or do I get my own Sun Cellular line? if I get Sun, do I get a prepaid or post-paid account? Which rates do I get? Which is more sulit?

True, I can have my Sun expenses reimbursed, but do I really need the hassle of having to pay for a second extra sim and second phone? Because while having a second phone now is a bit inconvenient, it's fine because at least it's free.

As you can see, when I get anal, I'm overly so.

At least I still have a few more weeks to think about what to do.

The price of Siargao

Last night, got my itinerary for Region 13 (aka Caraga), the second of my two trips to Mindanao.

The good news—Siargao is included in the list of places we'll be going to. Surfing capital of the world, baby! Okay, so I don't surf... but still, it'll be nice to go to a beach after a long while. And I'm sure the waves will be awesome to look at.

The bad news is this particular leg will take 6 days—Sunday (July 10) to Friday (July 15), which means I'll be missing Eric's birthday lunch on the 10th (it's a family tradition of theirs). Argh.

I told Eric I'd make it up to him by bringing him some sand from Siargao, but he didn't seem to consider that an acceptable consolation, hehe.

But how can I possibly give up the chance to be up close with this:


Cloud Nine, one of the more popular surfing breaks in Siargao, and voted one of the 10 best waves in the world by "Surf Magazine."

Vanity check

I've been feeling guilty the past month, because I've been negligent in doing my exercises as well as adhering to my diet. I would always tell myself that as long as my pants didn't feel tighter, then I didn't have anything to worry about.

Yesterday, though, my worst fear was realized when a co-worker told me, all perky, "Hey Jac, you're gaining weight, but in a good way."

She saw the look of horror on my face and hastily added, "No, no, I just meant you look blooming and happy."

I don't want to be one of those brides who perpetually obssess about their weight before the wedding. But still, there is no "good way" in gaining weight when it's three months before my wedding, and two weeks before my first fitting for my gown.

People were always telling me that brides don't need to exert to lose weight, that the stress of the preparations should be enough to make one naturally lose weight. The problem is, I'm not getting stressed out at all!

So I resolve to resme my diet and exercises today. No more munching on Oreos while watching Friends on DVD and no less than 30 minutes of jogging every night, no matter how late I come home. Beauty before comfort...Beauty before comfort...

The day wasn't a total waste after all

After a 3-day weekend, I came back to work today all recharged and ready to meet my self-imposed deadlines. Unfortunately, just as I was happily typing away at around 230pm, boom! The office plunges into darkness. You can hear everyone cussing all over the office (it's the day before printing deadline), but we all thought the power would be back within minutes. (Yes, unfortunately, brownouts are common in our mall).

After two hours of fanning ourselves with the latest issues of our magazines, we found out that the brownout was caused by a busted transformer/electric post/whatever along the Poveda Learning Center. And knowing how efficient Meralco is, we were all certain that the problem would be fixed.... never not within working hours. So I went home at 5pm, feeling pretty bad that I didn't get to be as productive at work as I hoped.

Still, silver lining: I reached home at about the same time that my mom was starting to cook dinner. So I had an impromptu cooking lesson on how to make spaghetti.

Yay! So now I can cook Eric something other than Spam or scrambled eggs when we're married.

The soundtrack was pretty good too

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were hot (as expected)....

But Vince Vaughn was the coolest!

Region 12, here I come!

Spent the whole morning and early afternoon finalizing my trip. Instead of the original 4 days/3 nights itinerary, the DTI people there asked if we could go a day earlier because they wanted us to celebrate Araw ng Cotabato with them on the 20th. Cool! So now we're leaving on Monday and coming back home early Friday morning. We're visiting seaports, malong weavers, fruit plantations, wood craftsmen, and lots of other interesting industries and places.

Monday = Cotabato City in Maguindanao
Tuesday = Kidapawan City in North Cotabato (hope we get to see Mt. Apo!) but we spend the night at Koronadal City
Wednesday = Morning at Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat and then General Santos City in the afternoon
Thursday = Whole day at General Santos City (a.k.a the Tuna Capital of the Philippines)

I spent the past week torn between feeling excited on one hand and apprehensive on the other, but once I got the finalized itinerary, to hell with all the rumors of Muslim fundamentalists and malaria-infested marshlands. I'm off for a once in a lifetime adventure (literally, because there is no way Eric will let me do this again when I'm married) and I plan to just make the most out of this opportunity and have fun!

See why I love my job

It's almost 6pm but I still feel full! A restaurant was so grateful that our magazine featured them, they sent us some of their food for lunch today! There were entire bilao-s of pancit, chicken galantina, pork liempo, lumpiang ubod, and melts-in-your-mouth biko! Yum! It didn't help that the food arrived at 2pm, so we attacked the dishes like the patay-gutom that we already were, hehe. Now if only a dessert company would be as grateful...

Buti sana kung diamond-studded

Eric and I were looking at bedroom furniture at some of the stores on the 4th floor of SM Megamall last night, and we saw this bed that costs P600,000!!!! When I first saw the price tag, I had to blink, I thought I was seeing a typo, because there was nothing about the bed that looked remotely worth P600,000. Man, that's just insane.

Addicted to Artemis

I finally bought a copy of Artemis Fowl 4: The Opal Deception at Powerbooks yesterday with the original intention of bringing it with me to Mindanao to read. But my bad: I couldn't resist taking a peek at the first few pages—you know, just a little appetizer—and now I can't put it down.

For those not familiar, Artemis Fowl is like Harry Potter in some ways. The titles both refer to the names of the boy-heroes of the series; and it's about humans intermingling with supernatural creatures (wizards for Harry, fairies for Artemis). The only difference is while Harry is clearly the good guy through and through, Artemis is sort of an anti-hero (he's described as "a brilliant teenage criminal matermind") trying to deny that he has a good side. But thanks to the fairies, he actually finds himself saving the day from the real bad guys on a lot of occasions. Oh, and the fairies here aren't the squeaky Tinkerbell-y types of our bedtime stories; here, they're smart, sassy, and can kick ass.

The Opal Deception is definitely darker than the first three of the series--a major character gets killed early on and the villain is absolutely maniacal. Still, it's an enjoyable read. I got a headache reading it on the bus on the way home; I skipped watching Smallville last night to read it; I woke up extra early this morning to catch up on a few more chapters; and I even brought it with me to the office today so I can squeeze in some pages should I get writer's block (hey, any excuse will do).

At the rate I'm going, I'll finish reading it by today! But even if I do, I'll probably still bring it with me to Mindanao to read again. Yup, it's that good.

And I was having such a good day

Shit. Shit. SHIT.

I left my house keys at the office.

Argh! I hate it when I misplace my things.

Surprisingly (and buti nalang) my parents were quite blase about the whole thing.

At least I know where I left it last. And at least I know it's not right smack in the middle of my desk for all the world (and any klepto) to see.

Still, it's disconcerting, thinking of my keys just lying there, so vulnerable.

This is the only time you'll hear me say this--I can't wait to go to work tomorrow morning.

I feel bad for thinking this, but....

Sometimes, I wonder if there are people who really, totally, just absolutely clueless about how inconsistent their actions are.

See, I have this friend. I've done her a couple of favors through the years, some of them big ones I might add. I never asked for anything in return. And I didn't mind (well, not too much anyway) that she's never given me so much as a "Thank you."

But when people she encounters only once do her a favor, she acts all grateful and in awe of their seeming kindness.

It never used to bother me, but an incident tonight is making me wonder if she's just monumentally insensitive... or maybe she just feels that beause we're such good friends, it's expected that I help her out when I can and she doesn't have to thank me (a point that Eric supports, and makes me want to bash him on the head).

God, I can't wait for PMS to be over.

I wonder if I can squeeze in an F4 song?

I've finally come to one of the few stages in the wedding preparations that I'm actually excited about—picking the songs for the ceremony and the reception.

It's good that our musicians of choice (Da Capo Chamber Instrumentalists) has a pretty comperehenshive songlist, so I had choices other than Pachelbel's Canon in D for the processional and Steve Curtis Chapman's I Will Be Here during the picture-taking.

The hard part, though, is choosing the 25 songs for the reception. It's easy to ignore the Must-Not-Have's, like Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On or David Pomeranz' Born For You (cringe, cringe). And it was a piece of cake to choose the Must-Have's, like Julia Fordham's Love Moves in Mysterious Ways, Basil Valdez' Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka and The Company's Now That I Have You.

Now, I'm debating over including songs which I really love but whose lyrics convey a dubious, un-"happily-every-after" vibe, like Paolo Santos' Living In Up (which celebrates a breakup!) and Maroon 5's This Love. And conversely, there are songs whose lyrics are very romantic, but whose melody is just too mellow; I would really want the general tempo of the night to be upbeat.

Still, Da Capo has a pretty extensive repertoire, and they did tell us that they can play songs that are not on their list as long as we advise them ahead of time.

I'm so excited! I have a feeling that during the reception, I'll be spending more time listening to the music than participate in the rest of the programme!

Chivalry depends on the bus

Whenever I find that I have to commute to go home, my default choice of transportation is the air-conditioned bus. More often than not, the bus is packed and I find myself having to stand during the entire trip. Everyone is pretty much kanya-kanya on these buses. Guys here don't give up their seats for women; if they do, I have yet to see one.

But I really don't mind standing. I know everyone's pretty tired and entitled to rest. Besides, sometimes I prefer standing than getting squeezed in the back; it's harder to get off when your stop is coming up.

Last night though, for some reason, there was a scarcity of air-conditioned buses headed for Fairview along EDSA. So after waiting for half an hour, I sucked in my gut and decided to take the non-aircon bus plying that same route.

It was also packed when I got on, and I was just trying to figure out where to hang on when the guy in front of me stood up and offered me his seat! And it wasn't just me. Pretty soon, all the other men who were seated were also standing up to offer their seats to the other women who have gotten on. And I'm not just talking about young women like me; even fat, middle-aged women were offered seats! This went on throughout the trip. I never saw any woman stand on that bus for longer than necessary. It was always the men.

I'm just pleasantly surprised because, at the risk of sounding snobbish, I would expect that it's the men who take air-conditioned who would be more gentlemanly. Because they're the ones dressed in slacks, polos, who have salaries above minimum wage, who definitely had higher education. I always kinda had this impression that men like these had more manners.

Men on the non-aircon buses, on the other hand, are those who are in ratty shorts, T-shirts, who wear slippers--minimum wage earners on their way home. But they're the ones who promptly gave their seats up for ladies.

Again, I'm not complaining about whether or not I was given a seat. Just wanted to share that I'm glad chivalry is still alive. Although in the unlikeliest of people.

Some updates

Re: My tape recorder. It's been working fine the past few days. So what the hell happened last Monday?!

Re: My trip to Mindanao. Am tentatively scheduled to go to Region 12 from June 21 to 24, and then Region 13 from July 12 to 15. The DTI people in those areas are nice... but a bit slow-acting. Those in Region 12, for example, are moving as if my trip won't be for another three months instead of three weeks.

I was tempted to schedule both regions in one leg—Region 12 and 13 in 7-8 days. But, seeing that my mom is coming with me (yup, it's definite), I don't think she can rough it out for that long a period of time. Am still trying to convince her not to go, but I think I didn't help my cause any when I told her that the Summit photographer coming with us has a mohawk and tattoos. I thought of telling her in advance so that she wouldn't be surprised when she saw him on that day. But now I think I just made her (and my dad) more antsy about the trip.

Re: Wedding preps. I'm getting pissed at my wedding coordinator. She promised she'd do a lot of things for me but everytime I remind her about them, she backtracks and says she's busy, can I just take care of them instead? I don't know if she's really like this to her other paying clients, because she's a good friend of Eric's sister and is just helping us with the preparations as a sort of favor (we're paying her for on-the-day coordination). I swear, if she wasn't Eric's sister's friend, I would've made a separate blog entry just to rant about her. I just keep telling myself not to get too worked up, that worse things could happen. Like this bride-to-be in this wedding egroups that I'm a member of.... her original wedding date was January 2006.... Last Monday, she posted that her mother-in-law was sick and is doubtful she can make it to January. So the family has decided to move the wedding date to....June12, 2005! Now that's stress!

Re: My new job No regrets so far! I've been meeting a lot of interesting people and learning new things. Like yesterday, I finally grasped the concept of "leasing"! Pathetic to others, I know, but to me it was a thrilling experience, hehehe.

Relaxing with Jay

The past week has been exhausting for me, but fortunately I had something to look forward to everytime I came home. Mbaboy from the Tsinoy.com Forum had been kind enough to lend me his copy of Leading With My Chin, Jay Leno's autobiography. I'm a huge fan of Jay's and reading his anecdotes was a great way to de-stess.

I laughed through all the chapters, but my favorite parts are those about his family's eccentricities. Here is one story about his elderly aunt and uncle's first enounter with an answering machine that I find particularly hilarious:

...To avoid confusion, I made sure that my answering machine had a very basic greeting: "Hi, this is Jay. I'm not in right now. Please leave me your name and number."

So I got home from the road that particular Sunday and played my message. And I heard: "HELLO? JAAAAAY? HELLOOOOO? JAAAAAAY, IT'S YOUR UNCLE MIKE!"

Then I heard him say to my Aunt Rose, "I don't know where he is! He picked up the phone, then he walked away!"

Then I heard my Aunt Rose say, "Well, maybe he's in the bathroom."

For the next ten minutes, I heard a television in the background. Like they were waiting for me to come out of the bathroom! Then finally he shouted. "JAAAAAY, JAAAAAY? I DON'T KNOW WHERE HE IS!" And he hung up.

Then he called my mother to tell her I hung up on him!

She called me, furious, and said, "Why did you hang up on your Uncle Mike? He said he called you yesterday afternoon, you picked up the phone, you said hello, then you made a funny noise, and you hung up on them!"

"I didn't hang up! I wasn't even at home at the time! My machine picked up!"

"Oh, Mr. Big Shot with a machine! Mr. Fancy had the machine answer the phone!"

"I'm not Mr. Fancy! Everybody has an answering machine!"

"Well, your father and I don't have a machine!"

"YOU'RE EIGHTY! YOU DON'T NEED AN ANSWERING MACHINE! NOBODY CALLS YOU!"

I wish the book had been longer.

Rants of a self-confessed "jologs"

I was at Starbucks ABS-CBN for 3 hours this afternoon and did not see a single artista.

Which, I guess, is a good thing, because I don't think I would know what to do if Bernard Palanca had come in while I was in the middle of an interview.