Where When How

the sea (Mindanao 2011)

Unfavorable travelling conditions can be a bummer especially when it causes delays to a very tight itinerary. Strong waves and an unpredictable undercurrent were the reasons I got from the boat operators as to why I have to wait for more than an hour just to get back to the mainland. With my handy camera and an energy for an adventure, I wandered off the port to snap some pictures. For some strange reason, like sunsets, I am drawn by the sea. I love its smell, its energy, and overall affect when I look at it. It seems so deep (no pun intended).

feeling adventurous, I stood on a narrow crumbly breakwater to snap some of these photos:

I touched these ropes but ended up getting cut.

school of fish.

a double-masted ship!

some kids would swing on these tires without falling on the murky waters.

chicky and the game

I love to play sidewalk games. They bring back fond memories of my childhood when I used to bet P1 from my allowance to win the grand prize- usually a colored chick, a dove, a white rat, a fat chubby hamster, food, or triple my P1. 

Most of the time, I would win in these bets. My biggest win was 50 Euros in Montmartre, France versus two gypsies who bet against me that I won’t be able to figure out where the ball is hidden under the three moving cups. I can still remember the sullen look in their faces after losing 50 Euros to an asian kid (little did he know that back in Manila, i do this as a past time). 

A few weeks back, I once again indulged myself in this activity. I was lucky enough to win this: 

I dub thee, Chicky the orange chicken.

The story behind Chicky was that I was busy walking around taking pictures of people when a small ruckus behind me caught my attention. This was what I saw:

There were kids who huddled around a small push cart where they wagered their P1 versus the lady vendor. Basically, the game required the player to pick a piece of paper from the lady vendor’s bag and would have to guess what number will come out of it when dropped in a water solution. The player would have to choose a number between 1-12 and guessing it correctly can either triple your initial bet or win you a cute feathery pet.

The game:

1. the game cart. 

2. pick a number and hope it comes out of the piece of paper you draw

3. win a prize if you got it correctly or go home and cry if you lose

The technique here is to pick the paper before betting. If you are fortunate/unfortunate enough to have a sweaty palm, your sweat could be acidic enough to help reveal a bit of the number to give you an informed guess. 

So I ended up winning chicky. 

Unfortunately though, probably because of the harsh chemicals used by lady vendor to dye chicky’s feathers, he died after a few hours despite providing him the best shelter and chicken food. he arrived dead on the veterinarian’s table. :(

farewell!

a year

this is me. a few days before my birthday in the year 2011. As I tried to recall how I was a year ago, I can’t help but be grateful for a lot of things. I started listing them all down, and the list never seemed to end.

I am really grateful. For the whowherewhenwhatandhow’s of my 22nd year, thank you.

and thank you for this picture :)

december!

warm, fuzzy feelings when its december! It is arguably the most fun and jam-packed part of the year for these reasons:

1. I was born on december

2. Remembering Jesus

3. Completing Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo

4. Tons of food to eat

5. Reunions and parties left and right

6. Vacation time to go away and take pictures

7. End of MarkProf Training

8. Gift Giving to my godchildren and receiving gifts!

9. Caroling!

10. Fireworks preparation for New year 

Have a great december folks!

grimace! (2011)

I have always wondered what Grimace really is. There have been a lot of stories as to the origins of this purple mascot of McDonalds. Here in the Philippines, Grimace (I don’t know if he’s a he or a she) I’ve been told that he’s an ube, shit, or some kind of melted syrup. Nonetheless, I find this character both freaky and cute :)

Here is a rare encounter I have of a molten Grimace:

a sudden realization (2011)

Here’s a sudden realization:

(brothers and sisters- taken at the Manila North Cemetery last 11/01/11)

“marketing and philosophy are intersecting fields where the heart of the matter lies in the human person- the understanding, development of it, and the attainment of the common good.”

love and time- a lesson from my mentor. (2010)

For November 21, I would like to share one of my favorite learnings from my jesuit mentor and friend, Patrick Nogoy SJ. This article never seemed to lose its significance and meaning even after we’ve parted ways :)

This article was also published in http://theclearingroom.blogspot.com/ as a response to a string of philosophical discourse between two intelligent individuals.

photos were taken at  Van Gogh is Bipolar last November 21, 2010.

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my sweet tooth.

Baking is a fun and challenging discipline.

It requires precision, patience, and practice before one gets to a level where the dish is not only delicious but also visually appealing. I’ve eaten in a lot of places and I hardly encounter dishes that perfectly marries those two critical traits. In fact, there is an abundance of delicious treats out there that lacks presentation and those that look good but fail to live up to its appearance.

As I was going through my picture set, I was glad to have found this lovely set of baked goods that not only taste good but also looks sooo good, you get an initial feeling that you shouldn’t eat something so beautiful.

Here is a lovely fondant cake with a carefully crafted design of cute snuggly bears and flowers that one oft seen in kindergarten. The sight of the cake just makes you want to remember nothing but cute pink memories.

Whoever baked the cake above pushed her creative juices further by creating these popular figures from Angry Birds, Plant vs Zombies, and Despicable Me. If only I could remember who was the one selling these and interview her so that I could learn from her (I am already assuming that the one who baked this is a woman)!

hook and line (2011)

I’ve always been fascinated by fishermen because of their patience. I admire their craft but I don’t think it would be something I would be interested to do.

When I traveled to Misamis in Mindanao early this year, I had a chance to observe a peculiar group of fishermen employing what I’d consider a very innovative fishing technique. Instead of the traditional fishing rod, net, or fish cages, these men were using a long nylon string with a very sharp hook at the end. they would stand on the dock and throw their lines as far as possible. from there, they would hastily pull the string back making the hook move as if it was swimming. There was no bait or meat tied to the hook nor was there a lot of waiting time. These men would do a strange wrist movement that surprisingly hits schools of fishes near the dock giving them a bountiful catch of shrimps, eels, parrot fishes, and other never-before-seen fish.

The activity has become more of a past time for the men who lived near the dock. They were even competing for the biggest catch. The fish were not traded but went straight to the kitchen for their lunch.

Out of curiosity, I asked if I could try it but alas, it was not as easy as I thought it was. I never caught anything at all! So I just took pictures and talked to them.

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Over a cup of coffee

Coffee is one of my favorite drinks (next to water and tea).

It is very simple and flexible. To me, more than a culinary treat, a cup of coffee is a journey with a very rich cultural/historical value that starts from the farmer who tended the beans, down to the person beside me sipping it with a tasty scone on the side while enjoying a great conversation with friends and loved ones.

What I see when I go around - Rizal x Majayjay (2010)

I love to travel. Travelling is a great opportunity to learn a lot of new things. It builds character and most of all, forms lasting memories/relationships.

One of my favorite spontaneous “long-drives” is the stretch of road from Antipolo that goes all the way to Quezon. It is an interesting route that shows to you the hidden beauty of three provinces: Rizal, Laguna, and Quezon.  

I just wanted to share some favorite photographs I took of while I was driving along that long and winding road.

This first image was taken from a cliff in Antipolo. It might look very different because if I am not mistaken, this is a marble quarry. What I liked about this image was that it somehow reminded me of Golgotha; the place where Jesus and 2 others were crucified. The trees in the area would have passed for olive trees and desert shrubs to the undiscerning eye.

(church of Majayjay Belfry)

Another interesting place I’ve been to is the quaint municipality of Majayjay, Laguna. It is located at the foot of the mystical Mount Banahaw, rising at 1000 feet above sea level.

It was a very difficult place to go to because the roads that lead to this town are quite steep and narrow. At the same time, one has to cross the River Olla before reaching it. 

There are actually 2 bridges that can bring you to Majayjay, the first one is the Caprichio Bridge (Bridge of Whims)- a bridge made by Fray Victorino Moral de Calatrava using the Mamposteria Technique and the usual DPWH bridge that would easily bring you to town. 

(side entrance to the church)

I’ve heard a lot of stories and historical and cultural anecdotes about this farflung town that it motivated me to really go to it despite the difficulty. The list includes:

1. its church is one of the oldest in the Philippines (Church of Majayjay / Church of Saint Gregory) having been constructed in the year 1575 with its beautiful algae/moss covered bricks and belfry that houses arguably one of the oldest bells in the country
2. The church and the town was where the iconic Filipino Movies where shot. Titles include: Maruja, Ganito Kami Noon Paano Kayo Ngayon (You Were Thus Then, How are you now? 1976) by Peque Gallaga and Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos by Mario O’ Hara where Philippine Superstar Nora Aunor was the main character.
3. Some Scenes from Francis Ford Copolla’s film Apocalypse Now was shot here. He even blew up a bridge there.
4. A certain story was passed on to me by old folk that if one was able to get a chip the church’s stone, it shall bring you luck and wisdon.
5. Majayjay was the town where Filipino Hero Emilio Jacinto lived for some time.
6. William Howard Taft, then the Governor General of the Philippines, was so in love with the beauty of Majayjay, that he ordered a road from Botocan Falls to Majayjay.
7. It has beautiful ancestral houses that once hosted parties with Manila Officials, distinguished guests, and European Royalties. 

One day, I plan to go back to Majayjay and take pictures once again.

sunset.4 from my window (2010)

Here is another picture of a sunset. This was from my window when I woke up one lazy morning with my camera still attached to its tripod positioned the night before to take pictures of the evening sky. 

The past few days have been very busy with life hence a brief break in the usual posting schedule. To be honest, I already have a pipeline of posts but most of them are just stuck in my drafts folder because I absolutely cannot publish something that is half-baked. I know its another one of my sunset photos but I just can’t help taking pictures of the sky during this very beautiful part of the day. Everything just looks so warm and orangey. :)

1:keep.me.where.the.light.is. (2011)

[please] keep.me.where.the.light.is.

unexpected. amazing. surreal. time. it is never enough.

coffee talks and evening walks. pictures. places. faces.

your hand in mine. those eyes that shine. there is something i’ve been dying to try

life as i knew it, forever changed.

thank you

Fiesta.1- San Isidro de Labrador (Saint Isidore the Laborer). Pulilan, Bulacan (2011)

May 15 is such a wonderful day to be here in the Philippines because it is the feast day of Saint Isidore the Laborer or more known to the locals as San Isidro de Labrador. He is for some strange reason the patron saint of a lot of towns in our provinces here. So every May 15, there would be a lot of fiestas in most of the barrios to honor him.

For a few years now, I’ve been going to the different fiestas in honor of San Isidro to celebrate, eat, and most of all, take pictures. There are two famous fiestas of San Isidro that are widely visited here in the country, one is Lucban’s Pahiyas and the other one is what I am writing on- Pulilan’s kneeling carabaos. 

Pulilan is a small town in the province of Bulacan where most of the Luna side of my family came from. According to my lola’s stories about her hometown, it was famous for these kneeling carabaos that were trained by its farmers to genuflect in front of the church to usher in rain and good harvest. 

…

I arrived in Pulilan on a very humid afternoon. The sea people waiting for the parade of kneeling carabaos only aggravated the afternoon heat.

Photographers were almost everywhere trying to get that perfect shot. I never really understood why they wore scarves all the time… 

There were also a lot of marching bands and I was very delighted to hear their creative renditions of modern pop hits. Their songs and quirky choreography was more than enough to set the tone for the fiesta. Plus, their uniforms were so nice to look at.

I also took pictures of the crowd. The ushers were having a hard time making them stay within the barriers.

There were also dancing girls with matching flowers and ornaments. I think they were students competing with other schools for the best dance. This one had a very colorful flowery dresses that matched their yellow and white ribbons.

After quite some time, the carabaos arrived.

These creatures were greatly ornamented and the photographers were rushing to them like crazy to capture the moment that they will genuflect in front of the church. The farmers who were able to make them kneel would get a prize from the government :)

There were a lot of carabaos, more than 100 participated. However, I took shots of those who really stood out like this shrek/the grinch inspired carabao. 

Surprisingly, there was a COW that was able to kneel. This was able to gain a lot of attention because there was hardly any cow that bothered to join the parade. It was, according to some residents, a traditional carabao affair. Kudos however to the farmer who taught his cow to kneel. 

After the 50th carabao, heavy rains began to pour. This caused the parade to end short with the crowds dispersing everywhere. I got separated from my companions and unfortunately got wet. There wasn’t enough shade for me! Because of this I ended up in the middle of the road and got a chance to take a picture of this young carabao being tugged by its humongous mother. 

I was very sure that the mother was looking at me when I snapped her photo. :)

Hopefully next year, I’d get to take better photos of this fiesta!

My unusual habit of taking pictures of where I am standing at.

I like to take pictures of my feet and where I am standing at. It gives me a sense of belonging to where I am at that current moment.