Batchoy on papa's day!

Today is the birthday of papa. My niece sent me text message that mama will be cooking Pancit (noodles) for the family’s celebration and I won’t be there to celebrate with them. However, I had my own celebration aside from special prayers. It would not have been possible if I were still staying in Cebu City.

Everytime I travel to and from the plant I would pass by Gaisano Grand Minglanilla branch and see that they have Ted’s La Paz Batchoy there. I went around somebit in downtown Cebu and have not seen a single batchoyan in the area, understandable since Batchoy is for Ilonggo not Cebuano. Anyway, yesterday we transferred to a pension house near the plant and since there was no eating place near the area we went to the mall in Minglanilla and I was able to have my batchoy… I wonder if papa had some hand in it but it sure felt great to be eating batchoy on his birthday.

I remember how we would eat batchoy in Deco’s in front of UST. He went back to school that time to finish his college and I was also studying in the same university. We both enjoyed it so much! My memory went farther and remembered when one time the family ate in Scorpio’s restaurant in Quezon Arcade in front of New Frontier’s theatre (which are long gone) I was probably 6 years old then. Papa ordered a couple of regular batchoy and one special batchoy and of course the waiter served the special (bigger) to him but papa told him that it was for me!

Ahhh memories while savoring the batchoy served to me dashed with a good portion of ground black pepper. I even requested for extra soup as they are not stingy in giving extra soup in all the batchoyan I’ve eaten. And I learned that the people there are all Ilonggo as they are all from Iloilo.

So it was a good day to have batchoy in Cebu… a special day… and I enjoyed it so much and if papa is watching I’m sure he too would enjoy watching me celebrate his birthday with Batchoy.

Rainbow greeting!

I was feeling low when I woke up this morning...
I have not been sleeping properly since I came to Cebu...
I miss my family back home especially my mom and worrying a bit about the nephew under my care who'll have his examination this week and I'm not around to help in his review. Such was my mood when I got inside the van going to my assignment when it drizzled a bit and suddenly I saw a rainbow... first just a glimpse in an opening in between row of houses and establishments we were passing through, then a longer view as we passed through open spaces. The rainbow was full, low and you can see both ends plus the colors were very bright that it made my heart smile! God knows how to cheer my heart. His rainbow greeting really cheered me and it carried me through the day.

Cebu sounds and sights

I have been in Cebu for a week for work and I still don't know how long I will be staying here. Hopefully just another week and I will be going back home with my family.

The company I'm auditing is in south of Cebu and I am staying in downtown Cebu City so it is a bit of a long ride going to the work place and we have to leave the hotel early and be getting back late. However, I do enjoy the ride via the South Reclamation Project/Properties (SRP) and we get to see the sea, the breakwater on one side and the mountain on the other side. Then I also look forward to the mountain directly facing the road I'm travelling when we are near the company of our engagement. There is also a Gaisano Mall along the highway in Minglanilla that is new and looks better than the Metro Gaisano and Gaisano South in the downtown area. Another thing that strikes me and actually makes me smile are the group of young men (most likely highschool students or older) that practice their drum, bugle and lyre in the establishments or sidewalks near the road. I've always loved their sound since I first heard them in the Sinulog Festival way back in 2004 or 2005. Their music, particularly the strong beat of the drums, sends vibration to my body that seems to dissolve any negative energy... to me they are healing sounds! And looking at their formation while playing shows not just discipline but dedication to their craft. I think the local government encourage it not just for tourism but to claim the music as distinctly their own that the mere sound of it makes you think not just of the Sinulog festival but of Cebu.

So even if our engagement here is exhausting and I don't get a chance to leisurely tour the city plus missing my family, the sight and sounds gives me energy to stay longer.