The Home That Is Iloilo <3

When I am at home, I feel different. The positive different.

Unlike when I am in Cebu or Manila where work calls me to be up and awake all the time, Iloilo is like a pillow-blanket-mosquito net combination. The place enables me to laze around all day and be happy in a world full of anything but rules and needs.

When I am at home, I have time to think. About me, my life and the people who surround me. I can think about them and space out for hours. Only my mother’s calls of the three most wonderful time of the day can break the spell.

Iloilo makes me lazy. While Cebu and Manila demands of me to clean my room or wash my clothes, Iloilo encases my being and makes me a bum. My mother would bark the list of chores that needed to be done, and I would pause for a moment and think that these is one of the best music undiscovered by men.

This is the only place where I feel most comfortable even when I have not taken a bath for days. All I seem to do all day is open the refrigerator and plug in something in the socket.

When I am in Iloilo, I can be very productive in the ideal sense. I have time for stimulating thoughts—not the ones filled with memos, attendance and office rules.

I lavish at the thought of leaving this place to go back to the workroom. Because it is only during that moment that I look forward to the day I can go home to Iloilo once more.

BOOM! New Year na.

Every year, my brother, Shaun, and cousin Remy (below photo) would spend thousands of pesos on firecrackers. They would scour Jaro Plaza for good firecracker discounts. They would look for the ones which “shook the Earth” like the pitcher-sized one (the name escapes me) which is illegal.

This year with my brother at sea, only my cousin went to the city. He told us he was not able to buy the pitcher-sized firecracker. These are just some of these which he was able to buy.

His role would also include igniting them and running away as fast as he can while ours would be to cover our ears and cringe. The dogs would be under the beds or in cracks far away from where the BOOM happens.

We hope to have more firecrackers next year. Yes, the illegal ones included .:D

Hello 2012. No signs of being useful yet.

It is the start of 2012 and much as I wanted to feel happy with the rest of the world, my selfish self has confined me to a small corner of our house where only 3 things can be found on my table: laptop, a bottle of water and a pack of delicious muffins.

The muffins? They’re for 20 pesos per pack. Each pack contains 4 palm-sized muffins baked into perfection. For bulk orders, drop by the Iloilo City PUJ Terminal (found in Super) near Robinson’s Mall.

P.S. I heard they taste better than JD’s. XD

I chose to be this miserable. I am not entirely happy. My happiness fluctuates depending on the hour of the day and on my activities lined up for that day.

Sometimes, much as I want to give our garden plants a drink, I am too rationalized to stay in front of my laptop and do nothing. I can help my mother do the chores but I do not. Oftentimes, when she passes by me watching House Season 4 or any Western movie, I would notice that my expression is so immersed. Like I do not want to be disturbed. Like whatever I am doing is so important than making sure that we have heated viands for lunch.

I am utterly useless when I am at home. That’s why I need a new job. XD

Isa Ka Aga

Isa ka aga,
timprano pa ko nagbugtaw.
Kalinong ka palibot,
waay gali tawo sa balay.
Insa ayhan?

Diin ayhan sanda nag-adto?

Nag-adto ko sa kusina, waay.
Nag-adto ko sa sala, waay.
Waay man sanda sa CR kag sa sulod aparador.

Diin sanda man?
Gin-miss call ko si Nanay,
nabilin na cell phone na.
Gintext ko si Tatay, pero na-send ko na ang message
kang nadumduman ko nga waay gali tana load.

Diin sanda man?

Nanghiram-os ko.
Alas otso na gali.
Naggwa ko sa balay.
Dali lang, daw may tawo sa unhan gate haw?
Daw kanami gid karakadlaw nanda
samtang gaduko-duko.
Si Nanay! Si Tatay!
Iririaw sanda nanday Nang Neneng
kag Nong Roger kag iban pa.
Naka-long sleeves sanda tanan
kag naka-kalo.
Tingala man ko.
June na gali.

No usual traditional “Memento Mori” for me.

Before November stepped in, a lot of my friends were asking me if I have already dropped by the cemetery. Some sent GMs (group messages) saying they were heading to the cemetery. My family in Iloilo are preparing malagkit (sticky rice) and all its relatives: suman, ibos, calamay hati, to name a few.

Three hours earlier, Jennie and I walked to the next block because all the carinderias next door are closed. The whole block resembled a ghost town. There were only a few people sitting outside of their homes. Crossing the street was not as adventurous as before; only a few jeepneys braved the holidays.

On our way to Sinangag Station, we passed by Manang Fruit Stand. [We did not bother asking for her name; hindi maganda ang vibes, hehe.] Her fruits look as sullen as the day. [Later on when we bough fruits from her, Jen and I got a bit annoyed. She gave me a dirty and seemingly-used cellophane with one of the handles missing and Jen almost did not get the right amount of grapes.]

Eek. Dead end. Even Sinangag Station was closed. We made a beeline for Jollibee. So much for a no-fastfood week.

Inside, only a few people were enjoying their meals. Even the usual happy songs that Jollibee used to play was replaced with slow and easy songs akin to Barbie Almalbis’. While Jen and I were eating, I was pondering on what I can do for the souls of my grandparents back in Iloilo and in Bicol.

She said I could offer them prayers. Check. I remembered buying candles when we first came to Cebu. “For brownouts”, was my answer to Jennie’s open mouth and questioning look. Thankfully, not a single brownout disrupted our movie sessions since June.

After the last episode of Project Runway 3, I decided to light a candle and put it on the altar just outside our room.[I actually planned on having a quiet hour for them, but my bladder is against the idea.]

Then I prayed.

Home, and how much it sucks not to be there on Halloween.

I want so badly to go home.
[cue: Home by Michael Buble]

I miss Iloilo. I miss my sister’s unkempt hair. I miss the dirt road in our place. I miss Nong Roger, our family friend who always comes too early in our house but refuses coffee. I miss my father’s vegetable garden. I miss my own plants in my mother’s vegetable garden.

I miss the thought of being there.

I realized I had never been homesick before. Even when I was in college, I would go home twice or thrice a month. Now, I can really relate to my classmates who lived as far as Pagadian City.

I hope some miracle happens and I get to ride a boat home. Even for two days.

.
Pototan, the Rice Granary and Christmas Capital of Western Visayas

(photo taken from photobucket)

My father, his collection of love songs and videoke classics and why he does not patronize Filipino music and movies

Jennie is mocking me (hahaha!) because my music life was nonexistent when I was in elementary. Particularly because I did not know that Eraserheads (among others), the greatest Filipino band of all time (until they disbanded), have songs which I was not familiar with.

I cannot blame her, though. I know I should have been more familiar with OPM. But I guess I was a passive listener.

See, my father wakes up early. Probably at 6 in the morning. Then, in trying to wake us up without being too “motherly”, he would play songs from his Greatest Love Songs Of All Time Collection. Actually, there was no such collection. He just made it up.

Kenny Rogers. The Cars. The Beatles. The Carpenters. Bon Jovi. Eagles. Michael Learns to Rock. Spandau Ballet. Gloria Estefan. Bryan Adams. Eric Clapton. Carlos Santana. All the classics, he has them. In CDs. In a large bottom drawer of our divider.

I do not know why he does not have OPMs. Perhaps it reminded him of his “dark days”. Feel free to give you own connotations. Hehehe. Or perhaps, he just isn’t into them.

He also does not patronize Filipino movies. He told me once that he does not like the cheesiness and quality of Filipino films. Most of them lack taste. The stars who bag the role are not deserving and they cannot and do not know how to act. And so on…

I tried loading Mano Po 3 on the DVD player once and happily announced that I am watching it to see if it will make me cry. My father–perhaps out of curiousity–went to watch for less than 30 seconds, scoffed, and went away to tend his vegetable garden.

An hour later, he woke me up. XD

Home for two days only. Hahaha!

Since I was a college junior, I was looking forward to the annual Advertising Congress. For me, it is the Mecca of all ad people.

We were informed of the chances to join one (Davao, I think), but it was already late for someone like me who cannot simply dig out 10,000 pesos from my parents just for the AdCong. (Other than ‘personal interest’, it has no direct relationship with the increase in my grades. Hehehe.)

Also, our class were only assured 10 slots for the event. At first, there were almost 15-20 of us who were interested. The number lowered to 5 as the year ended. Eventually, no one from our class went. The biggest reason could be summed up in a scary word with two syllables: thesis.

Out of the blue, our boss offered us the chance to go with her to this year’s AdCong. Of course, I was jubilant. The event will be in Camarines Sur, one of the provinces with a fast-rising tourism industry (thank you, water sports). Media and business giants will also be there. Who in their right (and very interested mind) would not be excited?

Then came Mobile Giant’s simultaneous events in the country. I am not yet allowed to disclose other information since the details are still being finalized.

We had no choice but to forgo AdCong. For one, our stay there would not be for free. For MB, however, we will be earning, not to mention get the chance of flying to other provinces within the country: Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and CDO.

I was giddy about AdCong but I realized that I cannot possibly have both. Financially and physically. Come to think of it, my boss assigned Jen and I on our home provinces, Bacolod and Iloilo. Even if the evnt will only be for two days, still we were given the chance to ‘smell’ Bacolod and Iloilo.

My excitement with AdCong did not soar as high as with MB’s events, but as I eventually realized, my enthusiasm about being able to be back in Iloilo even just for a couple of days is slowly building up too. :D

I can already smell Batchoy, dates with friends and giving baths to my dogs at home.

This isn’t Lyla, but she kind of look like this one.
*excited*

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# # #

somebody to stalk

I have a new crush! [cue ear-splitting shriek]

And he’s younger than me (one? two years?)
And I haven’t met him before.
And we’re friends on Facebook.
And he looks a bit like Johnny Depp. :3
And when I showed some of his photos to my friend, Jennie, she immediately declared having a crush on him too. Waaah.

To my new crush:

Be very afraid, bwahaha! Just kidding. Just want to let you know that I will be stalking you. :))