Remembering

In the middle of dawn I remain awake
Rummaging through keepsakes and memories
Reminded of moments that passed through time
Those not forgotten and erased
Just hidden in a treasure box to be kept safe

Oceans and different directions
Creating gaps between confidants
However only physical and geographical
Invisible strings of the soul remain
Continuing the tangle and bond maintained

The times may gradually change us
Each thought may wander where ever
But once in a while a soft nudge
Heartstrings pulled back to reminisce, to recollect
And realizing friendships pure and true we hold still

~melancholik

Davao Vacay

My first vacation for 2013-- off to Davao! Thanks to airplane promo fares, it's much easier to travel these days. I haven't been to Davao since I was in grade school. When I saw Davao being one of the destinations for the flight promo, I immediately told my mom to buy us tickets so we could visit her siblings there. Good thing she agreed; we booked tickets for January 25.

We had our trip arranged by my cousin who works in a travel agency, we were basically on a relaxed trip since everything was settled. She booked us in D'Leonor for 2 nights. We didn't expect we'd be staying in a suite room. It was complete with living room, kitchen with appliances and two bathrooms. It felt like our little home away from home-- comfy and homey.

Our home away from home

Day 1:

First stop was Eden Nature Park. When we arrived at around 11 am, we first checked with the front desk for our day tour reservation. We got booked for 2 pm so we had a little time to kill before lunch, strolling around their Pasyalan, taking pictures of the feathered friends and having pictorials around the beautiful scenery of the park.

By 12 noon, we were already hungry and ready to feast on the lunch buffet at the Vista Restaurant. The resto was packed with tourists, we even found it hard to get a table so we took seats outside where tables were set-up. The food was delicious and colorful my plate looked like a feast. The PhP 470.00 meal rate was worth it, with awesome food variety. While munching, several peacocks roam around freely. If you're not used to these creatures getting near you, better eat inside, but they're actually harmless as long as you leave them be. At around 1:30, we were all ready for our guided shuttle tour. By 2 pm we were off to see the wonders of the park. I didn't realize how vast the park was until the tour started. There were varieties of trees, both fruit bearing and non-fruit bearing, mangostene, durian, and pine to name a few. There was an area that highlighted the cultural history of Mindanao called Tinubdan. There are a variety of activities to do at the park like fishing, hiking, and zip-lining. It was an awesome getaway from city living with all the greeneries and cool air.

The entrance

Amphitheater

Wishing well at Lola's Garden

Tinubdan

The Japanese Tunnel was our next destination.  The tunnel stretched for miles and miles, parts of it lead to Samal Island, the NCCC Mall, and even Mt. Apo. I can't imagine how long of a tunnel it is but the area left for tourism is only short since the rest of it is dangerous to pass through because there are already many houses and establishments built above them. Along the tunnel, the guide showed us an actual meeting table, prison cell, guns and bullet casings that the Japanese left behind during World War II. It was an interesting destination; somewhat like entering a time capsule of the 1940's.

Before going down the tunnel

Right at this spot was a Buddha with its neck filled with diamonds

Up to 10 Filipino prisoners were detained here. Unimaginable!

Posing for the tunnel

We shopped for souvenirs afterwards at Aldevinco, taking home bags, t-shirts, wallets, and keychains for ourselves and for pasalubong at a low price. For durian and mangostene candies, the driver brought us to Lola Abon's Durian Candy Factory, claiming they sold the best durian candies and he was probably right because their candies tasted really good.

For dinner, we had a bite to eat at Jack's Ridge overlooking the city lights of Davao. It was raining real hard but the beautiful sight was not even tampered by the pouring rain. Romantic and breathtaking-- two words for the place.

Day 2:

We spent the whole day at Pearl Farm Resort, experiencing the white sand beach of Samal island. We took the boat ride from the city at the Marina, it was about 45 minutes tops to the resort. There was an area in the resort under renovation, it was kind of an eyesore but everything else was pretty good. We strolled around and came across women of Mandaya tribe who were selling beaded accessories, we bought  bracelets as souvenirs. We headed to the neighboring islet which was still part of the resort, enjoying the white sand  beach trying to get a tan. Part of the day tour package was a lunch buffet, a really huge one at that with a wide variety of food from seafood to Chinese dishes to Filipino recipes to western cuisine which my eyes could all muster but my stomach can't. Anyway, I tasted everything I could just to get back what we paid for and it was worth it. I couldn't stand after that. Hah! Call it gluttony but nah... who cares?! We took a dip at the pool while waiting for our massage schedule, just enjoying the water and savoring the tourist life. Aside from the food, the other highlight for our day at Pearl Farm was the relaxing arm and shoulder massage. We were looking for the cheapest massage since we wouldn't want to burden our mother for any more bills. Haha! But  seriously, the massage felt more expensive. At PhP 200, my sister and I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated  All my muscle pains were miraculously removed from my body. I'm not exaggerating  the massage therapist was really good at her craft. Our day at the resort was great, enjoying the vacay life as much as we could was awesome.

The water bungalows

Pearl Farm Villas

My my... if only I had a stomach with unlimited expansion

The pomelo was excellent! The best I've tasted so far.

This was the pool near the entrance of the resort

Day 3:

Farewell Davao City; hello Tagum City and New Corella. It was a one hour bus ride from Davao City to Tagum. I'm pretty impressed with their huge highways rowed with palm trees that gives the trip good vibes. When we arrived, our uncle picked us up at the bus stop and he drove us around the city. We checked out their two cathedrals, the old one had big statues of angels and saints while the new church had a huge  Sacred Heart of Jesus statue with a big rosary below it surrounding the fish pond. Afterwards, we drove by their city hall which was still in the process of contruction but it was probably 90% done and it kinda looked like a mall. I'm amazed by the architectural design, I haven't seen a city hall quite like it before here in the Philippines. When we were done with Tagum, we went off to New Corella where our uncle and aunt lives. By the evening, we went to Matin-ao Inland Resort to take a dip in their 10 feet deep pool. My cousins said it was famous among locals and tourists alike having 7 pools in different shapes and sizes (they even have a heart shaped pool), including one half-olympic sized pool. It was raining but we took a swim anyway since we were leaving early the next day so we savored what the water had to offer. It was a short but fun reunion with our relatives.

I'm loving this highway

Sacred Heart of Jesus & a huge rosary at Tagum's new Cathedral

The rainy dip at Matin-ao Inland Resort

Day 4:

On our way back to Davao City, we were caught in traffic because of the flood. The night before was a long night of rain. Davao has been flooding recently since typhoon Pablo. Our uncle was supposed to drive us all the way to the airport but his car couldn't get through the flood because it was pretty high so we transferred to a bus. Most buses that drove by were full, good thing there was one with vacant seats. What was supposed to be a one hour ride to our destination became two hours because of the traffic. That was our first experience of knee-deep flood (but we didn't have to take a dip). So far we didn't hear of any fatalities due to that flood which is positive news. We hoped and pray for the safety of the people in Davao. After two hours of travel, we arrived just in time for check-in. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Davao.

Traffic jam!

This flood stretches to a couple of municipalities

Our trip to Davao was a great experience. It was our first travel for the year 2013 and I hope for more getaways for this year and the years to come. Ah, the joys of travelling! I'm hungry for more and I'm so ready. Keep it coming!

A New Year Musing

The past year has been a good one and has been more than I expected. It became a year of travels and reunions. A twelve month stretch, however, cannot escape struggles. It's true one cannot appreciate happiness without sadness or disappointments, they always come in tandem. Major decisions had to be done and I decided to take a leap of faith. So far I can see one window open, I hope when I move further it will become a door. I am extremely grateful for the blessings I've received as well as the challenges I had to face. 

I haven't written for some time, somehow my zest for writing anything under the sun has evaporated in thin air. My creative side has grown shy and went in hiding for a few months. Of course I would not allow that point in my life to extend any longer. I realized even if I'm stuck in an uncreative environment I should not let myself get absorbed by it. To swim against the current-- if that's what has to be done then that's what I shall do. 

This year, I'd like to expand my creative horizons and venture into some stuff, new and old alike, that should make me feel brand new but unchanged at the same time. My hopes are up for 2013. I'm wishing for the best.

Woes Concealed

Engulfed in shadows of weakness

Realizing I alone am my own enemy

Tears flow

I tried to swim but drowned

Engaged in saving them

Unaware of my own need for redemption

Swallowed by fear and resentment

Adrift in miseries made

Torments of past nightmares

Haunting my waking hours

Ghosts of forgotten faults

Arose to remind my present state

Time moves but sorrows remain

Enclosed in an envelope of secrets

They wail for release

In my sleep I hear them, I weep

~melancholik!

A Bookworm's Thought

Lately, I've been reviewing for an English proficiency exam. I came across a topic in the writing task which I found interesting because I had something to say about it and especially since it involved books. I was kind of restricted though as there was a time limit, it needed to be formal and academic, and there was a word limit as well. So, I thought I should share what I had written for this sample writing test.

Technology has evolved so much over the years. Most people these days have become avid users of gadgets from computers to smart phones. Recently, e-books are introduced to the world, making reading more convenient and less bulky. With this new technological development, people are torn between thinking that printed media will become a thing of the past and believing that the existence of e-books will not cause the disappearance of the former. People always run back to the basics when all else fail. Printed media is a basic reading material and it will not be replaced that easy.

With the birth of tablets in the technology world, many have opted to invest on e-books rather than purchase heavy and bulky books. Techy readers can have all the editions and volumes they want in their iPad or Kindle with just a touch without the burden of carrying a huge bag or having to stack piles of books on the table. They can read their favorite novels in the first bus and scan the newspaper articles in the second bus at an easy click. It cannot be denied that e-books provide convenience to readers.

Readers who were already book lovers before technology introduced e-books are very fond of the feel of pages on their fingers and the crisp sound as they are turned. When readers open their book, they love smelling the vanillin scent of the yellowing pages before starting to read. Such moments bookworms have with their books are priceless and special. E-books cannot give these out of the ordinary feelings that traditional book readers experience. the goal of filling up the shelves with their favorite authors' masterpieces can only be realized with real books.

E-books may be convenient and practical but such advantages cannot lead to the extinction of printed media. The priceless feeling of holding a read-worthy book is enough to compensate for the money and space used up by it.

Trick or Treat?

Halloween has just been recently adopted in my country probably because we don’t have pumpkins around which is by far the most famous symbol of the event.

Three years ago, my childhood friends and I decided to hold a costume party for Halloween just for the sake of fun. We didn’t expect that it might become an annual celebration since it was merely a random idea. Turned out, we’ve been having this party three years in a row.

Our theme for this year's party was “Trick or Treat.” All of us were basically dressed in scary attires in line with the theme. Here’s an idea of how the party goes. A notification is very important to gather us around resulting to the preparation of the invitation which is posted online. The decorations are never forgotten, of course. The orange and black color scheme does the trick. Fake cobwebs, plastic skeletons, and paper bats are staple ornaments creating a spooky effect. A background music adds up more spice – just a few horror movie soundtrack on repeat and we’re good to go. To make sure all of us have something to eat, every person coming should bring a dish as a contribution, in other words, potluck.  A Halloween themed food would be desirable but not compulsory. What’s required though is the costume. There is a “No Costume, No Entry” policy for our party. This is actually for everybody to have fun and to be fair and square to those who’ve made effort with their costumes. Thriller by Michael Jackson is perfect as a spooky dance music, that’s why we made it as the dance theme song for this year’s party. After the eating and picture-taking, we prepare parlor games for everyone to enjoy, like the mummy wrap game. It takes a lot of effort to don the costumes, so we make sure to give a humble prize to the spookiest person before we all bid farewell for the night.

After the party, all of us went home with smiles on our faces and a memory to live by as all of us enjoyed our Halloween celebration in a fun and spooky fashion. 

Checking the vitals

Tomb stone sandwiches

Apple and mallows as smiling mouths

Cookie spiders

Mummified hotdogs

The creepy visitors

Having fun with the parlor games

Injecting Joker

The doctor is in

Bloody everybody

Zombiefied

Frustrated Artist

There's always an artist in each of us. In my case I should add the word frustrated. I'm definitely not note-worthy and I haven't sold any of my works ever (just gave some to very close friends). Funny thing is the painter in me has an on and off switch. That's why I can't call myself straight as an artist; there's always the word frustrated somewhere.
Since I was a kid I always wanted to be an artist. I tried drawing and doing crafts and stuff. When I was a junior in high school, I participated in a summer art workshop which fed my frustration. Believe it or not, I actually cried my eyes out to join the workshop because I really wanted it. That's how frustrated I am. During that workshop, I concentrated on learning how to paint. For the culmination of the workshop, we had an exhibit and our guest speaker for the event was French-Filipino watercolorist, Gion Gounet. He appreciated my work and invited me to put up one of my works in his one-man show in Bool Church convent. I was pretty amazed and happy to know that my work has caught the attention of an awesome artist. In college, I joined a little group of young artist from our university called the Order of the Golden Palette. We had an exhibit in the College of Arts and Sciences building showcasing our artworks based on song lyrics. While majoring in nursing, I was busy for clinical duties and paper works. Without the luxury of time, I only get to channel my artistic side through writing poems since I'll only need paper and pen or even only my mobile phone, hence, I can practically do it anytime and anywhere.  I'm kinda lazy, so I don't get to make a lot of visual art everyday. I actually need a little push to make art. I'm just making excuses, I'm really lazy to say that again or I'm just not that artistic.
My artist mode has been turned off for a while, I became a very boring, stagnant person. Good thing, I got involved back in 2011 in an all-women artist collective-- Baji, that hosts an annual arts exhibit for Women's Month. The artist in me resurrected from the dead and I got inspired again to do art. For this year, I made a painting especially for the event, which I was happy about because I get to share again a piece I can call my own  and the speaker cited my work during her speech.
I hope the inner frustrated artist in me never goes to sleep again. I just have to keep inspired. Note to self-- keep calm and make art.

My works and I:

Reproduction pieces and original ones when I was in high school

Behind me is my entry for Baji 2011

First artwork for the year 2012

Matri, oil on canvas. 2012

Painting and poem; my entries and I during Baji 2012