Another trip to Quezon

I just came from Gumaca. Ahh it seems I've been travelling a lot this week. Except for the long hours involved in the trip which somehow cramps my leg, I enjoyed my trip.

Gumaca, which is part of the Quezon Province is the farthest I've been so far south of Luzon. Maybe someday I'll get to travel as far as Bicol and have a glimpse of the famous Mayon Volcano. In the meantime I just get to enjoy the sites I see along the way.

What struck me most in my recent trip is a part in Pagbilao. It was just a small strip in the highway on top the mountain where you see the other mountains, the plains and the calm sea. It has been raining so that the earth is green. Those kind of sceneries always does something to my spirit. I wish I could get off from the bus and just linger there a while and enjoy the beauty while I hum Bette Midler's song From a distance.

From a distance, everything seems to be in harmony... at peace... you don't see any chaos or the activities that goes in those areas... and you can't help but thank God for the beauty!

Oh okay, I might as well end this entry with the song. Sing it... or hum it and just be at peace!

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
And the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
And the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.
It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace,
It’s the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
And no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
No hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments
Marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They’re the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
Even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
What all this fighting is for.
From a distance there is harmony,
And it echoes through the land.
And it’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves,
It’s the heart of every man.

It’s the hope of hopes, it’s the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.
God is watching us from a distance.

Manila...Negros...Manila

I just came from Negros Occidental to attend a sort of family reunion. I took a boat ride going to and from Negros, just the budget class since I am short of cash. There wasn't much passenger plus the sea was calm so that the trip was good... just long! I haven't been on a boat trip for a long time and things have changed. I remembered, before, the moment you step on Pier 2... people starts talking Ilonggo. You are sort of an outcast if you don't speak it...this time many people were talking in Tagalog... even the crews talks in Tagalog. Is that a sign that there are now more tourist taking the trip or is Tagalog gaining ground among Ilonggos... I didn't ask... I just wondered...

Manila...Bacolod
Our boat left the pier at 12:00 noon and arrived in Banago port at past 8:00 am. Most of the time, I was talking with my sister so that I didn't get to see much of the view. It is very seldom that we get together and talk... i mean really talk. We always have family day but considering that there are so many children, we don't really get to talk... so we were there lying in our bunks just talking... and talking. In the evening, I accompanied my niece and nephew surveying the ship, even sung one song each in the videoke (I got 96.. a perfect artist.. what can I say??? Actually i think the machine was programmed to really score high..hehehe). The next day, when the boat arrived in the pier, we were greated by dancing porters. I actually smiled when i saw them!
We rushed to the shuttle so we could get a free ride to the Ceres Terminal... I realized that we really did not have to rush since there were only few passengers and they could accomodate everybody!

Bacolod...Kabankalan...Kauayan
It is very seldom that I see an airconditioned Ceres bus going to our place so that I was really glad when there was one! It was already leaving so we rushed... 5 of us! It was a comfortable ride going to Kabankalan and the kids were hungry when the bus stopped in the terminal there we decided to take our lunch. We were not yet finished when I saw the bus move and transfer to another side. My sister was finished so i told her to go ahead... but she could not hold her pee anymore she decided to take a short trip to the comfort room. It really did not take long for us to finish, we moved when we saw the bus move... and when we reached the other side, we realized that our bus was gone! THEY LEFT US -- ALL FIVE OF US!!! Our things were in the bus including the videocam of my nephew! We talked to the dispatcher who was not that keen on helping us and just told us it will come back.. but it we were waiting and it was not coming back. Finally my sister got mad and asked how the conductor could forget that he left 5 passengers behind... how could he even miss the two of us since we are tall people seated in front! She told the dispatcher that they will be responsible if any of our luggage was lost... guess he panicked and called a detachment to stop the bus and wait for us. So we took another ride... a regular bus and I even had to stand since it was full. An inspector came and I asked him if he noted that 5 passengers of the airconditioned bus was missing... and he said... oh so that was you, then said that the bus will unload our things when they return... I told him that the dispatcher mentioned that they will stop the bus and wait for us... and it did. We saw the bus and some of the passengers were outside.. Oh they were mad (of course I knew that, I would be mad too if I was one of them) but they were no match for my sister.. she was more mad!!! and since she understands only very little Ilonggo she could not really understand what they were saying.. she was just feeling their body language! When I saw that our things were complete and safe, I laughed with one of the passengers as we shared our stories... then we reached our destination! The conductor was a bit scared since there were a lot fo people waiting.. there were frown on their faces while they motioned the bus to stop... and smiles only came when they saw us! I forgot to mention that we called our relatives to stop the bus and get our things if it gets there without us! So everything ended well after all...

Back to Bacolod
On our way back, one person in the Kabankalan terminal remembered us... of course it was easy to recall... there was a weird incident last time we were there plus we are tall people... easy to recall! It was smooth ride back to Bacolod

Bacolod...Manila
We left the port at Almost 3:00 pm and arrived in Manila at almost 1:00 pm... This was really a long long ride! I did not pay much attention to our trip going to Bacolod but this time I enjoyed looking at the islands we were passing. We first passed the panay island since that is the nearest to Bacolod and we were not far from the shore that I enjoyed the mountains and the shore... it has a big shoreline so that it was already dark and we could still see it. I saw the lights of several fishing vessels--- small fishing vessels and when I asked where we were they said that we were in Estancia, Iloilo. I checked it out and it claims to the the fishing bowl of our country.. by the number of lights I saw there, I guess they are right!

I took a nap and woke up at 10:00 pm and took a bath for it was warm! I then went up the deck to check on more islands... we were passing the Romblon islands by that time. The moon was bright (almost a full moon) so that I could see the islands... I particularly enjoyed the lights coming from the lighthouses... there were a lot for them. I stayed on the deck a long time to enjoy the sight!

The next day, I woke up to the tail end of Mindoro.. we passed it earlier and i was still asleep to enjoy it... then we passed Verde island and Batangas. I never realized that there were a lot of Island in Batangas and they identified for me one of them as Fortune Island...it took 4 hours to travel the shoreline of Batangas before reaching Cavite... and finally Manila Bay...

So I am back... next time we try to travel by the Nautical highway... land trip and boat trips combined. Some say it is good and I am looking forward to it!

The fugitive!

One of the blogs I visit has to transfer her blog to another site because somebody was bothering her. She advised the regulars of her new site but requested everybody not to link her new site since the person she is avoiding might be able to trace her.

All her old entries were in her new site, even the template (well almost!).. it is only the website name that was changed so I told her that if the person really wanted to find her, then she can be found even if people don't link her. Isn't that the purpose of search engines? You give keywords and the possibilities appear and you trace what you are looking for through that...

Well she said that if the person finds her again then she'll transfer again... and again... and again!

Wow! that could be tiring!!! She has become a fugitive!

I never imagined that blogging can have such problem...oh well... things happen!

Anyway, I wish her luck! She lost her whole site before through an accident but through her perseverance she was able to retrieve everything through the help of blogger people... now she is losing her identity because of that person bothering her...oh well she is a funny person... am sure she'll be able to build it up again! Of course that will make it easy for the person to trace her again...hmmm I guess fugitives somehow enjoy the cat and mouse chase...hope she has a good time! Goodluck Mrs T, enjoy yourself :-)!

"I hate weblogs!"

Nooo!!! I did not say that but I came across an article titled "Why I f---ing hate weblogs!"

I got the link from another blog and naturally got curious. The article uses profane language but I was amused while reading it and actually found some truth to it. The writer categorized personal webloggers into 10 types and I am still thinking on what category I would fall into... hehehe…

Anyway, I am sure that the writer would think kindly of bloggers, particularly Pinoy bloggers, once he sees the success of the "Yan ang Filipina" campaign.

The success to uplift the "filipina" in the internet came about because of the efforts of Filipino and Filipina bloggers… including personal bloggers. I feel proud that even my simple blog has a small part in the campaign’s success!

So he may hate weblogs… I don’t!

I like blogging and even though I didn’t like many of the blogs I’ve seen and even got a virus while reading the "next blog" in blogspot, I realized that I was just looking at the wrong places. There are lots of good blogs out there and I hope to come across more.

I also know that I still have a lot to learn about blogging... not just on the art of "bugging" people… Hehehe…but on the technical stuff as well…oh okay not that technical but just something to get me by and make me smile after I’ve accomplished something I like!

Long distance love!

One of my field auditors sent me a text message last night telling me that he had to confide something. I asked him if it was related to work or love. It turned out to be on love.

Yesterday, I told him that I was already going to pull him out from Visayas and transfer him back to Luzon. That probably triggered his message. He fell in love with someone there and the thought of being separated is painful. He said "he has never felt this way!"

Oh he knew that he can’t stay long in one area, in fact they already cried together last week when they talked about their impending separation. That’s the problem when you are a field auditor in a company that has branches all over the Philippines, you don’t stay in one place a long time and he knows that. He wasn’t really planning to fall in love… but sometimes your heart has a mind of its own… it doesn’t follow your logic! Love strikes you… and Bam!

I told him that they should already practice communicating through the internet even using webcam. He said it was not necessary… they promised each other (to be true???). He was not really thinking of a definite way to keep in touch but probably believes that "Love will find a way."

He sounded so in love… will their love stand the test of time and the distance? I don’t know…
But if their love is really meant to me… then probably love will really find a way…

First Flood!

It rained hard this morning.. not really that long and I was already on my ride when it did, so it shouldn’t have mattered but that short rain caused flooding which in turn caused the heavy traffic!!! Arghh..

The flood was worst in the LRT station in Recto.. It is not just high water there but black, dirty high water! Yuck!!!

It always flood in that area and I don’t know why they put the main terminal there. It is not just the bad drainage that’s the problem there but I’ve been told that many pedicab drivers actually put plastic and other stuff in the drainage to further aggravate the flood so they could get more passengers…ahh the things some people do to earn a living!

Manila is actually a low area prone to flood and the government should really do something about it. Maybe they should consider putting flyovers all over or elevated pathwalks just like in Makati? Just a thought since rainy season is near and that means flood. Don’t want to be walking on floods anymore!

On the plus side though, the rain further lessened the heat. I like that!