iloilo dinagyang!

i was back in the nose-shaped island of Iloilo for the GMA's pre-Dinagyang celebration event of which the Kapuso artists were a part of.
once more, i was reconciled with Iloilo's beautiful people and the very warm members of its local press...

the pictures are better left to speak for itself.


with SunStar Iloilo's editor Ms. Kathy Villalon-SIngco and Kapatid na Mon Salvilla who was kind enough to tour me to Jaro's beautiful Cathedral, the now-famous Capitol and Museo ng Iloilo.


here with the various writers and editors of the local papers.


night out!


on the streets of Iloilo! hahahahaha

more island-adventures, i hope. minus the workload soon!

si kuya cois.

this is a post that has been long overdued....

two days (i think) before Christmas Day when i happened to drop by the media center...the hub for reporters covering the poc-psc beat..i was brimming with enough smiles that would put the Baywalk's lamposts to shame.
when i opened MC's well-badgered door, i saw kuya Cois inside.
i found myself beyond smiling.

he was sweaty and flushed, the perfect picture of a basketball tourney aftermath.

i went on tiptoe to give him a beso, but he gave me a big hug,
"how are you?are you okay?"...

i swear. i tried not to cry.

somewhere between the then of the 12 months that have past and the now when i was locked in this man-child's embrace, sudden rush of thoughts and images flooded me all at once. threatening to knock the wind out of me. and i felt warm.

it was that kind of hug that offers solace. security.
it was the kind of embrace that underlines a silent promise - that at times of piercing melancholy, one is not alone.

it was a tangible affirmation of better things to come.
and somehow, being with two of the best guy buds in the calling i once practiced,
i felt a sliver of peace and bliss settled in my core.

i'm good. i'm okay, i told him. and he looked me straight into my eyes. and i smiled. and i found my voice. much stronger. coming in a fluid blast.

"i'm okay kuya."
"fyi, i'm now dating," i winked at him.
furiously trying to hid my embarassment. given a fraction more, i would have cried....happily though. but it was good that i was able to blink back the tears.

it felt great to be with them...even if only for a while.

i've always had this tough facade. nothing could make me blink. no one could make me cry. i could take care of myself. i'm the best person to vent one's frustrations with. the most reliable shoulder to cry on. i have this rather fascinating ability to shut down on my personal issues and attend to other person's needs first. lend time to others, rather than confront my own concerns.

maybe, that's why when i've had my fill of everyone's shit, some are shock to know that i am capable of crying.

well, newsflash!!! I'm also human.
i breathe. i feel. i laugh. i get hurt. i smile. i get disappointed.
i fall in love.
i cuss. i curse.

while some thinks i'm a mutant, well i have my weakness too.
even Superman has his Kryptonite moments right?

si Kuya Cois idol ng lahat. kuya ng lahat. gustong i-please ng halos lahat ng bagitong kilala ko.
madalas siyang busy. madalas siyang maraming kausap. marami siyang kaibigan. marami siyang ka-jam. marami siyang drinking buddy. coffee body.
pero nung time na hinug niya ako, naramdaman ko, 'yung sincere concern niya...

i felt a rekindled bond.
something that must've been blurred by the daily grind perhaps, the infrequency of our meetings, the sparse test messages/emails/calls.

but it was just great to see him again.

i think i've fallen....

i think i've fallen, fallen in love with you...

i have fallen for her charms.
the warmth of her smile that seems to echo in every soul that litters her glittery street...the way her face lits up with the yawning of a new day...the softness of her voice that comes in singsong fluidity speaks of home.

i have fallen for her charms.
indeed, i am Cebu lovesick.

this is me, on top of RGMA station wherein i enjoyed an overview of the city and the immediate lush greenery that borders the station's mountainside.

the weekend that has just passed, was my first on the Queen City of the South.
and i believe i haven't paid enough homage to its colorful, culture-rich court.

it was the first time i have stepped on its charming shores but in less than five minutes i have breathed its air, i silently made i pact with myself.
i shall come back for a visit that will know no time, no deadline, no pressure, no re-booking hassles.

i am intensely enamored.
the city pulsates with so much life. and yet, it dictates an almost laidback pace.
it quietly speaks of its history, and proudly parades its religion.
and yet, it has embraced so much advancement and has become the very picture of progress in the South.

sigh. what is Cebu without experiencing Sinulog?
i know. it's a regret i'm bound to nurse in the coming days. but my hands are tied and my time is not mine to ticky by. in my heart of hearts, i know i shall be back in this beautiful city which i have yet to explore, and yet the thrill of re-discovering on my next visit is enough to send a thousand sliver of pleasure running up and down my spine.

as i was walking down the ramp towards the boarding area, soft splinters of the morning light damped a welcome warmth on my cheeks. and i simply smiled. i think, it's Cebu's way of comforting me...that it's just a plane ride away, if i feel like visiting it again.

i felt a tender aching, as i remembered i was not able to visit not even one of the city's beautiful churches. i sighed. one day, i shall be back on this island of a thousand smiles. where beautiful people abound and sampling great food comes as a bonus.

in less than a minute, my plane has roared to life.
bound for Manila, i can't sleep. Cebu flits in and out of my head. unmindful of the plane's hum and the stream of chatter wafting in and out my consciousness, i'm already planning of my next trip to the island.

i know, i have tattooed Cebu in my mind.





the beautiful Cebu Press with Angel Locsin.

guilty.

it's the second week of the first month of the year.
and i am already guilty of breaking some promises i've made to myself.
that i should be straying away - as in with a 10-foot-pole , from junk foods. but what do i do?

yesterday while deciphering graphs and figures for a report (that's long overdue, not my fault really) i decided to take a break and make a beeline for the elevator.
i took a quick trip to our grocery where the cashiers greeted me with the kind of smile and casual chit-chat that's bred by my frequent sojourn in that comfy junkie paradise.

bought myself several packs of that darn, yummy, crunchy Bread Pans, tossed a bag of all-time cheesy Mr. Chips and that all-too-familiar fire-engine colored bag of Chippy.
sigh. heaven.

one guilt pleasure that i've promise to deny myself of, beginning Sunday of this week.
not until i've earned it of course.

sheesh.
i could feel the brunt of my unhealthy options when i started my gym class.
sheesh.
i'm not exactly a pro when it comes to dancing, but i know and was confident that i could hold my ground when it comes to storming the dancefloor.
last night, i was beyond disbelief! punyeta.
i couldn't believe that i couldn't make a decent body wave. well, i tried. but i must've looked like Marshmallow Man in his pitiful execution of the slide.
after the session, i huddled with Mommy B - a senior semi-regular gym bud and C who's about my age and JC our dance instructor.
there we were a quartet of whining jammers who are cursing to high heavens the loads of carbs, sweets and junk food we've stuffed ourselves with - but of course, it was with a good laugh.

and a round of good laugh we had even as the combat started.
the instructor was really nice.
with every jab that i've unleashed comes a muttered oath and curse that i should really listen to my body anew. why, i couldn't even do those muay thai jumps and kicks with the kind of fury that i used to execute!!!!

arrrrghhhh!!!!!!
did i mention that i'm guilty of promises broken? yes, you've read it all.
it's piggin' out twice over.
so there.

Paris.

while skimming through the mountain of newspaper back issues, i came across this piece on Paris. see, i have this habit of detaching the Sports and Life section of the Business Mirror as i find its foreign feature pieces a worthy read....and so came this material about Paris, written by a Pinay journalist.

scanning the prose, i cannot help but sigh.
for even before my mind could comprehend swirl of images and flavor that the author is trying to feed me, my mind and heart is racing towards that City of Lights, also dubbed by not a few couple as City of Romance --- Paris.

there's something with Paris that i cannot quite put my finger on.

while there are a lot of beautiful and breathtaking places i have yet to set on my beautiful Philippines, i crave for that moment wherein i'd be taking in Paris' magic - perhaps, next to Spain ( my boss, R, has promised to get that Real Madrid jersey with BECKHAM's name emblazoned on it when he comes back!) and Italy's enchantment....

maybe it has something to do with these country's old world charm and the soulful nostalgia it is capable of waxing...all powerfully reverberating, even at the mere mention of its name....the arts, the lights, the feeble throbbing that tickles the romantic in me even at the slightest, briefest moment of conjuring it inside my head.

Paris.

one day soon i shall be taking a stroll on its avenues...sipping cappuccino on its cafe al fresco...taking that Musee Louvre pilgrimage, inhaling the art works of the Rennaisance Geniuses and the masters of art that the country has produced...sigh....

'till that day....i'll always have Paris in my head...and on my DVD. >wink!<

new year!

Happy New Year!

boy, am I glad that it's 2007!!!!

methinks i'm the solid, tangible proof of hitting rock-bottom then resurfacing with a fresher perspective on things.stronger.better. constantly evolving to become the best person i could be.

this year, i shall rock the world anew. i shall be bouncin' with renewed vigor.

2006 was something else. while it was not exactly a bad year, it was a period in my existence which I'd promptly and properly tagged as a year of healing...just like what I've predicted to D on Christmas Eve of 2005.

it's like a phase wherein you get to rebuild yourself after a series of tornadoes flatten you out....a period wherein you get to rejuvenate your deflated bearings after carrying a ton of emotional baggage that has almost sucked the very life of you...a period of purging wherein you allow every particle of negative energy, vibes, ill thoughts and feelings be siphoned off your system - from the tips of your toes to the very tip of your hair follicle...'twas a time of self-rediscovery and reconciliation...a time to re-check one's spiritual connections and practice.

wow! 2006 was one heck of an interesting year.

not once have I faltered in my belief that I'd survive it, but it's undergoing that arduous process of recovery that had my patience really stretching into impossible limits.

but i did.
it was a surreal experience.
a catharses that had literally and figuratively grazed my knee.

yes. you read it right. "catharses". plural.

and I survived.

love.life.fate.

love knows no distance
life knows no limist
fate knows no boundaries
...BARCELONA