The severe typhoon "Milenyo" passed through the South of Luzon on through Metro Manila northward. Peter, Aunty Prossy and I were fortunate that we had left Manila on Wednesday experiencing some on and off rain showers in Bacolod. Due to the heavy rains, we did not get to tour around the main town of Bacolod. The most convenient place for us to go to was the mall - Robinsons (SM Mall is still under construction and will soon open this December). Aunty had her hair colored on Thursday since we had to cancel our appointment with a friend to tour the Sugar Mill in Victorias. Peter was still recuperating from the colds so he just hung out in the hotel while we were malling.

That Thursday night news of the destruction in Manila and the neighboring cities and towns caused by "milenyo" were all over the TV news coverage. I was getting a bit worried that my parents and brother will not be able to fly out to Bacolod for the wedding. I tried contacting them through the cell and the land line and all three phones weren't picking up or was busy. I was already imagining things but was hopeful that all was well. Later that night I tried calling again and visualized that my dad answered and thank God, he did. My worries quickly disappeared. The airport had resumed flights that afternoon and they were sure to fly out the next day. Thank God for that. I was able to sleep well that night.

By next morning the Sun came out and dried out all the rain and the wet roads. Peter and I went to McDonald's hoping to try their McCafe only to find out they weren't open that early. We had their regular pancakes instead. After breakfast we walked back to the hotel. At least even though it was just a short walk we got to experience Bacolod without the rains. We packed up and checked out of the hotel around 9 a.m. then took the shuttle to the Palmas Del Mar hotel where the wedding was going to be held.

Palmas Del Mar is a resort hotel near the ocean and right behind the airport. They have cabanas, function rooms, huts, swimming pools, etc. My family and I were given a 4 bed cabana and a connecting door to my brother, Aunty Prossy and Uncle Romy's cabana. Most of the guests of my cousin's wedding, most specially the out of town guests, stayed there. It was very convenient for all us, logistics-wise.

The day of the wedding the weather was a bit overcast and humid. It rained in the late morning but thankfully stopped just in time for the wedding preparations and set-up to start. The family and relatives had a leisurely time spent eating and talking story with one another. By 2:30 pm the pictorials began. And by 4 p.m. the wedding ceremony started. My parents, my Aunty Prossy and Uncle Romy were just 2 couples out of the 10 pairs of Principal Sponsors for the wedding. My brother was one of the Groomsmen. Peter and I, fortunately, were just guests/photogaphers.

The ceremony was held outside in the resort's garden with a raised stage and tent decorated with lovely pink and blue flowers. The guests and the bridal entourage faced west toward the stage. It was beautifully decorated and the twinkly string of lights hung on tree branches added to the romantic effect. The bride was radiant. As she walked down the aisle butterflies were released alongside of her providing an awesome feeling of life and beauty. That was the first time I saw anything like that. It was one of those "wow" experiences.

The whole ceremony took place in an hour and a half with the releasing of the wedding doves right there on the garden just before they began the picture taking session. Afterwhich we were all directed to the cocktail area for drinks and pupus before the dinner reception. I snuck out after the picture taking and walked with sore feet back to our room to change shoes (from balck pumps to chocolate crocs) and change outfit (from Ladie's Barong blouse to an all black attire with turquoise blue shawl). I wasn't comfortable wearing the pumps because there was never an occasion for me to use them in Hawaii. Luckily I was just a guest and I could wear anything comfortable as long as it's presentable. I managed to escape Aunty's criciticism about my attire but not the glare! Anyway, Peter, my brother and I were assigned to the table with my two other cousins, Franz and Pinky, along with their escorts and two other cousins from their mother's side. The food was good but my eyes just got too big that I ended up getting so much and leaving most of it uneaten.

The program for the reception included the Couple's first dance, the cutting of the cake, the garter fun (where the single men rushes to put the garter through their body and pass it on to the next), the bouquet fun (where ribbons were attached at the end of the bouquet and each single lady holds one and at the count of three pulls their ribbon and whoever gets the one that is firmly attached to the bouquet is supposedly the next bride), the "how well do you know the couple" game, the toast by the best man, the message from the Groom's Dad and the Bride's Mom, the picture taking of guests and couple per table, and well wishes from the guests. My brother had a great message for the couple, it goes: Love is not a Word but a Sentence. It's a Life Sentence. But I hope that you serve that Sentence well! I commented that it was one of the good messages I have heard at a wedding. And he responded by saying, he had to research on wedding messages because he was a best man at a recent wedding in Huangzhou, China.

Everything ended at around 9 p.m. Most of us went back to our respective rooms and started packing. Our relatives that came from Dipolog whom we haven't seen yet hung out outside our cabanas for some dessert and fruit and beer and water. My parents and their cousins talked story for a long time. Peter and I and my brother were so tired that we slept early.

This morning my mom and Aunty Prossy left to buy more fruits for breakfast. They came back with one Durian, 2 Marang, 6 Atis (sweetsop), 1 small oblong watermelon, 1 Kilo of Lanzones, and Rambutan. YUM!

By 9 a.m. our cab came and brought us to the airport. We were there a half hour before the waiting area and gates were open. We had 4 checked baggage (our bag had a long umbrella attached to it (because we heard we couldn't hand carry it). Boarding was a little late, about 10:50 a.m. The flight was only 55 minutes.

THE STORY OF THE LOST LUGGAGE
We arrived NAIA a little after 12 noon. Got off the tarmac and straight on to the shuttle bus. At the baggage claim we waited for our four baggages. Three came but our (Peter and my) bag was nowhere to be found. We waited and waited until we were directed to the PAL office. There was a crowd of people getting their confiscated items and looking for their lost items and baggage. One particular person, a Mestizo Filipino, was getting so irate because the airlines had lost his "Truffle Oil" which was very expensive. At the same time a Japanese couple were waiting for their lost luggage, their situation was not good because they had a connecting flight which was soon to leave. Then there we were puzzled as to how a small airport could loose a luggage that was supposed to be for the only flight in the morning. The person helping us tried to contact the Bacolod PAL office to check but no one was answering, even on their hotline, on that end. He said that they will send a telex to inform them of the lost luggage. We gave him the description of the luggage and our contact information so they can deliver the bag when found. We waited a bit and finally we just left to leave them to do their job. The Mestizo Filipino with the lost oil was still there and just couldn't get any answers from these PAL representatives - poor thing, I wonder how much that Truffle Oil cost, I guess it was so expensive that he'd rather take the risk and put it in his hand carry and be confiscated than pack it inside his checked luggage. Oh, well, that's the price he paid for the choice he made.

While on our way to Lagro I texted my cousins in Bacolod telling them about our situation. They informed me that they will look into it. Anyway, we arrived Lagro at around 2:30 p.m. While eating I received a call from my new cousin-in law, Lou Jeane, that they have found our luggage and talked to the personnel there to make sure it made the 7:05 p.m. flight tonight. She said that her brother, Ramon, who did the inquiry almost wanted to scold the people at PAL but decided not to. It was a good thing I think because if you scold them they might just react a different way instead of the way you wanted them to react. Now happy to hear that our luggage has been found, Peter called that PAL office and asked them if they had any luck - no luck, they said. When Peter told them that we located the bag they were surprised and asked how we did it, Peter's answer was, "cellphone technology, we are in the 21st century". We deduced that PAL, eventhough it is owned by one of the Filipino Chinese billionaires, Lucio Tan, aren't given the correct resources to be up-to-date. They still operate on landlines and no cellphone contacts at all. How ancient! Well, Peter will continue to call them until that bag is delivered tomorrow morning.

So that's the saga of our lost luggage. Hmmmm....I wonder if that guy did find his lost oil? I checked the internet only to find out that the oil doesn't really cost that much, well, maybe if it's really from a rare variety of truffle.

The city of Bacolod, from the air, looks like Maui with its sugar cane fields. The city is shaped like a boot they said and the main town with its main road, Lacson Street, looks like a fish's skeleton.

You can find everything here in this booming town. The traffic is much bearable that Manila and Cebu but they say the drivers here are much worse. So far I haven't seen too many cars cutting in front, swerving, or stopping anywhere and any way. Not too many people crossing the street anywhere they want - well, maybe the rains have helped lessen this. They have the biggest McDonald's restaurant here with its own McCafe that boasts of a relaxing ambience that can compare to Starbucks or Seattle's Best. They say a lot of groups or people come to the McCafe just to drink their coffee and talk shop or do meetings. I haven't gone inside yet but if the weather proves to be better tomorrow morning Aunty and I might just have our breakfast at the McCafe.

I haven't seen what the specialty of Bacolod is but from what I know now is that sugar is their main industry. This Sunday, for the entire month, the Maskarra Festival begins. It is like the Sinulog in Cebu or the Kadayawan in Davao or the parade in New Orleans. Unfortunately, we will be leaving on Sunday and will not be able to check out this yearly festival. They have begun putting up kiosks and decorations for this month-long celebration all over the town. We might be able to get some souvenirs at least.

Anyway, I'll post more about Bacolod later.

City of Bacolod, Negros Occidental or Oriental (not sure)

I am posting while waiting for my Aunty Prossy who's having her hair tinted at the next door salon. I might even do some window shopping while she's still in there. Peter is at the Inn doing some Internet surfing too.

Yesterday Aunty Prossy, Peter and I left Lagro early in the morning for the airport. My dad took us to the nearest taxi terminal and got a cab that brought us to the airport in less than an hour. Our flight was at 9 a.m. and we got there a little before 7 a.m. We waited quite a bit but was grateful that we had enough time to relax after waking up so early. The flight was a bit bumpy due to the cloudy and rainy weather in the area. Little did we know that there was a typhoon headed to Manila. After 55 minutes flying time we arrived to a wet and rainy Bacolod. Lou Jean (my cousin Ansen's bride-to-be) picked us up from the airport and took us to the Business Inn located in the center of town. The room she reserved for us was the Presidential suite which has a king sized bed and a single bed. As soon as she left to pick up Ansen from the bus terminal (coming from Cebu) the three of us took the chance to get some shut eye before they came back. Peter came down with a cold from our previous trip to Dipolog that he wasn't feeling too good and needed some sleep. Ansen and Lou Jean came to the hotel after an hour and all of us had a fun time talking story. By 2 p.m. we all decided to brave the rain and have lunch at one of the restaurants that offer their famous Chicken Bacolod - apparently this dish is just grilled chicken but wherever you go the taste is different, the only thing in common is that they serve this dish with the oil drippings from the grilled chicken so you can drizzle this on your rice or garlic rice. After 2 hours (an hour for eating and another hour for talking story) Aunty and I got dropped off at the Robinson's Mall after Peter got dropped off at the hotel to get more rest. Aunty and I was at the mall until about 7 p.m. We brought some siopao (manapua) for our dinner that night. I slept early as I was so tired walking around the mall with Aunty.

Early this morning the rains got harder and harder that I had to cancel with my Dad's friend, Tita Bing, our tour of the sugar mill where she works. The rains didn't let up until after noon just before we came to the mall. Hopefully, the typhoon will pass quickly so that flights will resume tomorrow and my parents and brother will be able to come to Bacolod and have a safe flight, also with my relatives who are taking a land trip from Cebu can have a safe drive over.

Please help us pray that this typhoon will be on its way out of the Philippine Islands by this evening. Thanks so much.

We have just arrived from a short visit in Dipolog. On Sunday we left for Dipolog at 12:30 pm arriving an hour later. The weather was nice and cool in the afternoon and wet and cold at night. Little did we know that there was a storm brewing somewhere to the north. We had a late lunch at the Sunburst restaurant below Hotel Camila. Met my Uncle Totong there - he's the person my brother has entrusted to get the building permits for the development of the commercial building in my mom's property. That evening we attended the English service at the UCCP church there. It was an English service but the sermon was both in Visayan and English so Peter and I had a difficult time understanding some of the words. For dinner, we shared a huge durian fruit and a large marang fruit. YUM YUM!!!

On Monday my Aunty treated us to a Jollibee (like McDonald's) breakfast. Then we all went our separate ways: Aunty to get her residence certificate and senior citizen ID, Peter to check the internet, and while I returned to the hotel room and get some zzzz's. Lunch time we went to Jo's Chicken Inato. It rained hard while we were there. Aunty Nemia's (my Aunty from Seychelles who's married to an Austrian diplomat) driver picked us up from Jo's to bring us to her property in Minaog so Peter can meet the property owner Mr. Antonio Luy who's selling the 2 hectare property adjacent to Aunty Nemia's. While Peter went with the men to check out the property and locate the "muhon", Aunty Prossy and I stayed and talked story with Aunty Nemia. It rained later that afternoon just after Peter and the guys came back from their trek. We had to wait a little longer for Mr. Luy to return from renewing his license and to bring the caretaker who knew where the other corner of the property was. Aunty Nemia's property is so windy and sits perfectly on the top most edge of the ridge facing the ocean. It was so refreshingly cool and breezy. By 5 p.m. Mr. Luy came back with the caretaker and Peter went with them again to find that "muhon". It was already dusk when they returned. At least the rain stopped by that time.

Anyway, after seeing where the four corners of the property were Peter has decided that this property wasn't the right one as it wasn't located on top of the ridge facing the ocean, just like Aunty Nemia's, but facing the valley and was much lower than where we walked the first time so the temperature there was more humid than cool. At least this trip helped us to realize where we should put our priority - the beach property in La Union.

That same night we got invited to dinner at the Kamayan ni Manay in Dapitan. Aunty Prossy's old friend from Church, who was married to an American from Seattle and has a beautiful house in Turno, treated us there. We had sinigang na hipon (shrimp on sour soup), grilled nokus (squid), inihaw na baboy (grilled pork), inihaw na lapulapu (grilled lapulapu fish), and a huge durian fruit for dessert. After dinner manang Alice Brace toured us around Gloria De Dapitan - a complex filled with shops, restaurants, amusement park, bowling place, cockfighting arena, etc. We only drove around the place as we were all tired after eating the sumptious meal. Manang Alice otook us back to the hotel at almost 10 p.m. that night.

This morning Aunty Prossy had to continue following up here senior citizen ID while Peter and I just hung out in the hotel as it was raining hard outside. We left the hotel around 9 a.m. to go to the market and buy fruits (marang, mangosteen, lanzones) to bring back to Manila. By 11:30 we went back to Jo's Chicken Inato for an early lunch before going to the airport.

We left Dipolog at 1:45 p.m. and arrived Manila by 3:15 p.m. It was quite a bumpy ride but thank God we made it back safely. We took the airport coupon taxi which is thrice as expensive as the regular taxi BUT is much worth it as the driver will definitely bring you to the destination even if it's far.

Now we're back in Lagro we went straight to packing our stuff for our trip to Bacolod early tomorrow morning. Aunty Prossy has so much stuff to bring that she's still packing as I write this post. I will have to end this here for now as I will need to wake up really early tomorrow.

Next post will be in Bacolod. Goodnight!

Lagro, Novaliches, Q.C.

This will just be a short post to let you know that we are still here. We've just been to busy bringing my Aunty and Uncle from New York around the malls in Q.C. and Manila. A very exhausting experience. More on this when I regain some energy after two days of constant walking, browsing, eating, more browsing, etc. Will post in Dipolog. We leave tomorrow noon.

For now, have a great day!

Lagro, Quezon City

At long last my parent's have internet connection! Now we won't need to go to Netopia in SM to check our emails and post on the blog.

Yesterday we had the privilege of being invited to The Farm or Agape Springs in Cavite. My Tito Peps have taken the responsibility of managing this property owned by a corporation (mostly CRL friends who are stockholders). Agape Springs is an event and rest house place located not too far from Manila yet isolated enough to be a perfect place for retreats, seminars, conferences, parties, etc. Tito Peps' vision for this place has now come into fruition with so many years of time, money and effort invested in this property. You can check the simple site which Mona,one of my oldest and dearest friend, put up for anyone interested in using the facilities. The address is http://agape-springs.blogspot.com

We were picked up early yesterday morning by Virgilio, Tito Peps' drivers. Picked up Tito Peps and Mona at their condo in The Alexandra in Pasig before heading on to Agape Springs. It took about 2 hours to get there. The weather was cooler than in Manila or Quezon City because of higher elevation and the tons of large trees surrounding the area. The main building houses the full-size kitchen, dining area, comfort rooms and main office on the ground floor; dormitory-style rooms on both ends with bathrooms on the 2nd floor; and an additional loft for extra bedspace.

Tito Peps took us on a tour around the place while giving us construction advice on our beach property. He is a geological engineer, the only one who graduated in his batch in fact, and was tapped to work at the BBFischer Mining Corporation. You could really tell his fascination for rocks because all over the property you can see a variety of rocks, boulders, monoliths, etc. He never took no for an answer especially if he wanted something done in the property, he will simply do it and if it proves to work then great but if it doesn't then at least he tried.

The property also includes a small public school for the village children, another property owned by an Australian who lets the visitors of Agape Springs use his swimming pool, fish ponds, an area where the spring goes through and where the village women come and wash their laundry. Tito Peps believe that if you allow the village folk, the neighbors to share in the abundance of the property then they in turn will repay you with respect when using the property. Simply prohibiting them from entering and using the area will cause problems.

We had a nice cool drink in the terraced area among the trees. After which an abundant spread of delicious lunch was prepared by manang Loreli and Lea (Tito Peps' helpers). There were four of us plus the 3 staff and 6 construction workers who partook of the sumptious meal. My brother came later and enjoyed the left overs. During lunch Peter was fascinated with Tito Peps' beginnings in the mining industry and the two of them talked up a storm about a variety of topics, while Mona, my brother and I talked about marketing strategies and important things we need to think about for the beach property. Very interesting conversations and information. Mona has lots of experience with the marketing and business side as she was employed by Tokyo Fashion for 4 years and moved up to a Sales Managerial position. Now she is the marketing director as well as the managing staff for Agape Springs.

By 4 pm we left for home. Manong Virgilio drove us back to Lagro after dropping off Tito Peps, Mona, then Manang Loreli. It was a long day but worth the time.

This morning I woke up as soon as my parents left for the airport to pick up my uncle romy and aunty prossy (from NY). I needed to clean the upstairs bedroom, my brother's room (where my parents will be staying) and my small room. It took me b5 hours non-stop to clean all rooms. They arrived just after I took a bath and set the dining table for lunch. Photo-finish!!! Fortunately, thanks to my brother came and took the resposibility of cooking food for our lunch. While Jovi helped with putting stuff away and fixing the downstairs toilet flushing system and dealing with the BayanTel DSL representative who just installed the connection this morning.

Now I can relax more knowing that I have gone through and cleaned all the rooms, all the closets and cabinets, all the spaces underneath the beds and other areas in the house. I just hope that when I visit next year it will be just simple cleaning and dusting. :-)

This afternoon, after my aunty and uncle wakes up from their nap, we will go to SM to cool off. I'll post later again.

SM Megamall, Pasig, Metro Manila

Here are some things we want to make note of when visiting and traveling around the Philippines:
1. Make sure you bring a roll of toilet paper with you at all times. Some comfort rooms that charge a fee might have toilet paper but most of the time they don't. So be prepared.
2. It is wise to buy packs of wipes to bring along with the toilet paper. The women of this country spend so much time in front of the mirror that if you wish to wash your hands after using the toilet you will need to push your way through to get to the sink. Otherwise, just use your wipes and leave. (Peter said, the men also spend time in front of the mirror, so be advised.) 3. If you book a domestic flight via the internet, make sure (check it twice) that you have booked the correct date, because if you make a mistake, you will have to re-book it via the phone the go in person to the ticketing office, wait 2-3 hours just to be re-issued an e-ticket and pay the penalty fee. So, always double check the booking before confirming the order. (More on this later)
4. Also about domestic flights: not all airlines travel daily to a certain destination. Make sure that when you book online to check on the date.
5. Have a thick but breathable mask to wear with you while walking the streets of Manila or Quezon city, or while riding a jeepney or bus.
6. Bring an umbrella, a fan and small towel with you. It helps deal with the heat and perspiration.
7. Avoid the Malls during weekends.
8. The Malls in Manila and Quezon City are the places everyone wants to go because the heat outside will make you want to cool off in a Mall. Eventhough you want to play tourist and see the old ruins and historic sites the humidity and the heat prevents you from enjoying the tour.
9. Night tours are good but make sure you have someone to drive you home or to your hotel.
10. Beware of sodas or drinks with ice - you simply don't know where the ice cube comes from, what water they used to make the ice, or where the ice was placed before it was put on your drink.
11. When riding the FX (shared airconditioned taxi), if you are going to "Highway" (in EDSA) and the sign in the FX says "Highway", double check with the driver if they are indeed going there because sometimes they will go "under" the Highway.

Some food or drink you should try while here:
1. Quickly - soft tofu (taho) drink/slush with ube ice or choco ice and nata de coco (palm fruit) and sago (tapioca)
2. Letty's Buko (coconut) Pie - the best young coconut pie ever!
3. Binalot - a lunch place where you can choose different plates wrapped in banana leaf.
4. Grill Queen - the chicken tail bar-b-q, YUM! (Make sure they didn't microwave this before grilling)
5. Via Mare (my sister-in law Nyvia's favorite) - for the native dessert and snack delicacies
6. Cafe Briton - for a variety of crepes (sweets, desserts, meats, etc.)
7. Crepes and Creme - for the cheaper and more serving version of the crepes
8. Dulcinea - churros con chocolate! and the paella!
9. Max Fried Chicken - of course, the best fried chicken in the country!
10. Binagoong Rice - salted fish sauce and rice with pork, cucumber and other delicious stuff, YUM!
11. Betty's Sans Rival in Katipunan - the best ever butter icing layered with wafer cake!

Yesterday we were at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila. We had an italian lunch and the crepes for dessert. On the way back we stopped at SM North Edsa to catch an FX for SM Lagro. You notice that most of the main terminal stops are at an SM Mall. Well, the brilliant Henry Sy, the owner of the Shoe Mart Malls (began with a small shoe store in Manila and grew to a billion peso branch mall) had the foresight to build his malls at the corner of a main thoroughfare or simply build it where he sees the growth of the area is going. So whenever you go somewhere you always end up at an SM Mall or quite near it. Everyone goes to SM even if it's just to buy a simply loaf of bread, drink coffee, check the internet, or pay bills. And it's very convenient for everyone to just be in one place to do everything.

Today though we were in Robinson's Galleria to re-book our tickets at Cebu Pacific. Because of my mistake of not double checking the date of departure (I simply assumed that they had daily trips to Dipolog) that mistake cost us 2 1/2 hours of waiting at their ticketing office. Fortunately, Metrobank is next door and Peter was able to transact his errand while I waited for our number at Cebu Pacific. We had no choice but to eat lunch at Robinson's. There were a good number of places to choose from: Peter had laing (taro leaves in coconut milk) and pinakbet (mixed vegetables in bagoong) from Inihaw (grilled); I had tapa (like pork jerky) with salted egg and tomato, and binagoong talong (eggplant with salted shrimp) from Binalot. The food was good!

To burn off what we ate we walked south to SM Megamall. We will go around this 5 storey mall about a half mile wide (maybe not the entire mall) then proceed to the other mall next door, Shangri-la/Rustan's where we will take the Metro back to SM North then back to Lagro.

This entire day is truly the Mall Experience. No other way to spend the day cooling off from the heat. Maybe the best times to really enjoy sightseeing outdoors is around December and January when it is less humid. For now, we choose to go "malling" like the "mall rats".

Till next post....

Mall of Asia, Manila

We arrived Friday night from La Union. The 6-hour bus ride to Manila was pretty uneventful and pleasant. We got off at SM North Edsa to catch a jeepney to UP Diliman stopping at Jollibee Philcoa to meet my mom. She was already there when we arrived. Then we took a jeepney to Lagro. It was a very long day for Peter and I.

The tiredness got to me the very next day. I slept most of the time only to wake up to eat breakfast and lunch. That night we were invited to an anniversary/housewarming party. It was a very well attended party except that it was so hot and humid in the club house that instead of enjoying the food and entertainment we were having a miserable time dealing with the heat and the perspiration.

On Sunday we went to Church then straight home. It seems that staying in Manila makes us lazy or bored because there's nothing to do in the house except clean and to get out you have to deal with so much people, the pollution and the heat, and the traffic. So it's always a problem if we start the day late we just don't want to get out anymore.

Well, my aunty from New York will be arriving this Thursday and we plan to bring her around. This will give us some motivation to get out more. Also we will be going back to Dipolog to meet the seller of the property we are planing to buy. Then the day after we return we go to Bacolod. We are always out of town that I barely had time to meet my friends. Maybe on the last week I can spend time with them. We'll see...

Anyway, Peter is waiting by my side now wanting to have some crepes at Cafe Briton. So, this will be all for now.

Two more days and we will be back in Manila. My parents haven't seen me enough since we arrived and went straight to Dipolog then to La Union. They feel that it's about time that I am back in Manila to spend the last weeks of my visit with them. I completely agree but also feel that someone needs to be here to monitor the progress of the fence project. Hopefully we can entrust this responsibility to my cousin's husband, Noel, to report to us regularly.

Anyway, this morning Peter had a good time surfing. He feels that everytime he visits the swell comes at the time when we are about to leave - he feels deprived. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another good day for surfing. Even while Peter enjoys his surfing time he still keeps an eye on the fence and clean up project of the property. Unfortunately today the workers were needed at another site so they had to postpone pouring more of the concrete for the wall to tomorrow. Hopefully we will get to see the gate put up by tomorrow afternoon.

During this visit Peter and I spent time talking with my Lola and asking her to relate stories about her experiences during the war and when my dad was born and when I was born. It amazes me at how much she still remembers about those days and of course, when I was born and when I stayed with them during the summer months. I kept on urging her to write these stories and to put them all together so we can self-publish a book about her memoirs. Peter says she has begun writing some stories on pads of papers - wonderful! That'll keep her busy and excited.

Aside from spending time with my Lola I have also spent time with my nieces and nephews. My oldest niece, Maurine- 8yrs., along with her young brothers, Marthy- 7yrs. and Marion -5yrs, are children of my cousin Renmar, whom everyone calls Maui (he used to be called Em-Mau). His sister, Renelen (or Lenlen), is the mother of my youngest niece, Marianne - 1yr. I have four other nephews from four cousins. I am known as their "fun" Tita (equivalent to Aunty here) because I would play with them and talk with them. Maurine always comes to Lola's house to play chess or dama/checkers with me. I would get wet kisses from Marthy and Marion. While Marianne, being the youngest, simply is a 30 yr old in a 1 yr old body - so funny and adorable. I love all of them. I am such a lucky Tita!

BTW, we have been using our old red corolla everytime we go to the beach property. We do not use it when we go into town because it lacks some papers and we do not want to be caught without them. So, we only use it going the opposite way. One afternoon we went after it had been raining the previous day. The ground was muddy and wet that Peter decided to back the car up in reverse from the main road into the drive way. The small entry way into the driveway is situated in an area where it's a bit difficult to see oncoming traffic as it is between curves in the road. As soon as we see it's kind of free Peter pressed on the gas so hard to make sure we do not stall in the middle of the road. As he turned, almost like a U-turn, the back right door which was stuck forever, opened by itself. I was surprised to see the door wide open while Peter was reversing the car into the drive way. It was so funny that Peter's hard turn caused the door to un-stick itself and now we can open it without any problems. Well, the car in itself hasn't given us any problems either. Driving back and forth from Lingsat to the beach property is a pretty good way to keep the engine going. The pick-up is actually pretty good considering its age and upkeep. At least using it as a shuttle is good enough for us...for now.

Well, this will be all for today. Till next post....

We have been in here in the San Fernando City for about three weeks now. Three weeks has given us enough time to get to know the city, the people, as well as what goes on in their day to day lives.

San Fernando has only recently, less than a decade, I think, been declared a city. It's province booming with so many people and commercial buildings, a new casino and soon a newer airport to facilitate more frequent air traffic. What was once a quiet and small town is now a busy and sprawling city. The roads are often clogged with jeepneys, tricycles, buses that travel from the far far north to Manila and vice versa, people. Just in Lingsat alone there are a number of colleges and schools: Lorma Colleges with it's school of Nursing as the flagship, now with an annex and an Elemetary and High School building in San Juan; St. Louis College; CICOSAT (a Science and Technology college); a College for Pilots and a Maritime College; as well as the public Elementary school. During weekdays it would be wise to avoid driving or going out at 7 a.m, 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. These are the times when the students are out and about. Also, if you want to check your email at Netopia or an internet cafe, do it when the students are back in school or at home because you will not find any computer available.

People are so enterprising here. They would buy fresh produce at the market and re-sell it by going door to door. My Lola has a regular vendor who comes to her house and sells whatever she has in her bucket - it may be fresh fish, a hand of bananas, soursop, freshly de-feathered chicken, etc. She also serves as the water person for my Lola - giving her extra income by buying bottles of purified water for her. Another person comes delivering meats on some days. Very convenient, but quite expensive, for my Lola who rarely ventures out of the house. One time we needed some knives, axe and garden shears sharpened. It was just like our minds were read by the very person we needed - the "manghahasa", the sharpener, who uses disassembled upside down bike for sharpening the tools, who came to the compound just within that hour. Another person who comes daily is the "magtataho", the person who sells hot soft tofu drink - YUM! The "magba-bakal, bote, dyaryo", the person who buys metals, bottles and newspapers, do not go around town with a cart but with a motor tricycle - what an improvement!

Aside from vendors, the betting game of jueteng, pronounced hu-we-teng, is popular here. My relatives and the other neighbors in the compound bet 3 times a day multiplied by the three people that come and get your bet - so that's 9 times per day! It's like lotto but you have to pick two numbers between 1 and 37. If your two numbers come out then your money is doubles. Peter and I have no idea how this works but we sure know that it's such a waste of money. Everytime I see the three people who come to get their bets or tell them what numbers came out I cringe at how much money me relatives give them to bet new combinations. Sometimes they have their formulas already written out in papers to give to these people. I just don't believe that this game is worth any time and effort.

As you might remember from my old posts from the Philippines I mentioned about the dogs here - the askals, short for asong kalye or dogs of the road. There are so many of them that some end up being eaten for dinner or pupus. Some are pretty good watch dogs and very low maintenance pets. Most of the time they use the streets, the sidewalks, or everywhere as their huge toilet. Whenever we walk outside the compound Peter warns me of holes in the ground or some puddles or some doodoo. I usually walk with my eyes to the ground because I know that I might step on dog poo. Well, yesterday we were walking back to the house when I accidentally stepped on dog poo just as Peter was warning me to watch were I was walking when suddenly he stepped on one too! Instant karma, I think! Ha, ha, ha.... To be honest, I really was looking where I was going but it seems that the dog poo here just materializes when you are about to make a step. It's bizarre. Even Peter says he didn't see it there. I guess we'll just have to really keep a really good eye on each step we make.

This is all for now....

San Fernando City, La Union

We are still here. I was able to convince my dad to give us 5 more days (hopefully, the fencing of the property will be finished before then).

Our old red '71 Toyota Corolla which was fixed and retrofitted with my grandpa's jeep transmission was taken to the Ilokoslobakia Auto Shop and Clinic for some minor repairs to the gas tank connector, etc. Peter spent almost $100 for the repair and labor. The very next day after it was delivered to the compound we took the car for a ride to Bacnotan - about 20 kms from Lingsat. Peter had to concentrate on the accelerator as it tends to stick - he needs to step on it quickly to unstick it. Aside from that he had to concentrate on the road, avoiding pedestrian crossing at the wrong time and wrong places, public jeeps and buses stopping without warning or swerving at anytime, oncoming vehicles overtaking and other distractions.

The car's body is extremely strong and well preserved but the inside upholstery, dashboard, and stuff are just falling apart. The windows rattled because all the rubber moldings were removed. The wipers are not funtioning nor the front signal lights working. This car is just a fair-weather and daylight vehicle only.

As we drove out of the compound and left into the national highway, Peter was getting a bit tense because he didn't want the car to die out in the middle of the highway. We succeded in crossing the street and going into the gas station to put 500 pesos (11 liters) worth of gas. The gas station clerk was motioning to us to move closer because he thought the gas tank was on the right side but in fact it was in the back behind the license plate holder - truly an antique design. Next, we needed to turn left again into the National highway to go north - Bacnotan.

As Peter was driving it felt like he wasn't really stepping on the brakes to avoid vehicles and pedestrians but just swerving to miss them. It was such a hilarious and tense drive. Fortunately, as we drove north the lesser the cars were.

In Bacnotan, we visited the gravesite of Lolo Maximino Nebres, Lola Gregoria and Aunty Dorcas. The workers there cleared up the site, removed all the overgrown grass and plants and trimmed the guave tree growing in the front left corner of the area. Some small grass were already growing back because of the constant rain. The workers suggested a thin layer of cement poured all over the ground so that maintenance will not be expensive in the long run. We told them we'll get back to them when we've discussed this with Dad Dan.

Our drive back to Lingsat was equally funny and tense. As soon as we drove into the compound we were both relieved. It's just incredible that this old car that I used to drive when I was in College and which we had for so many years, experienced so many accidents and crashes, is still intact, except for its parts that have been retrofitted, is still able to drive us from point A-B. Maybe if we spent time and some money fixing it up it will be like one of those old VWs that is low maintenance. Maybe my cousin Ryan can do it - he can use it for his dates. :-P

That lunch we were invited to a 3 yr. old birthday party for Noel's niece, Clarisse (the daughter of our contractor/engineer). They had great food: turbo fried chicken, bopiz, kilawin, kinilaw na fresh tuna, kaldereta, battered fried chicken, and other viands. (Yep, no veggies in sight. :-( ) Anyway, it was a good time for us to talk with Jess, the engineer and to enjoy other delicacies.

On Saturday Ryan, Uncle Tird, Peter and I went to the beach property to do some clean-up of the trash in the ground. The caretaker, who's supposed to take care of the property, didn't really do his job of caring for it he was just focused on making so much money from the people coming to picnic under the huts, people who just want to hang out, eat and sing (videoke), and people coming to use the water pump (which we own) to shower. The caretaker moved next door and continues to do his business and raking up bucko pesos especially during holidays. Well, we hope to close up that pump so that he won't be able to use it and be forced to leave the premises. He's just taken advantage for 10 years. Not one cent was paid to my grandma. Hopefully, we'll be able to get his customers to come to our property once it's open. For now, we are just clearing up the site.

That afternoon my dad arrived. We wanted to show him the property but everyone in the compound was invited to the1st birthday party of Shane Jacob at Max's Fried Chicken. All of us, except for my lola and my dad, were there enjoying the fun kid's games and most especially the food. There were lots of viands: Max's fried chicken, of course, pancit, dinuguan, lechon, sweet sour fried fish, beef with veggies, etc., mushroom soup, lots of desserts and drinks. We were so stuffed that Peter and I decided to skip dinner.

The next morning we went to the beach property with my dad. It was raining so the ground was wet and muddy. The workers were able to pour some concrete on one of the gate posts. We didn't stay long because the rain began to pour harder. Instead we drove straight to CSI to buy some grocery.

Back in Lingsat, we got ready for our surprise lunch for my Lola - Grandparent's Day. I asked my Aunty Esther to make the miki noodles and the puso ng saging diningding. Noel cooked chicken inasal, sinanglaw, grilled milkfish, kinilaw na bulilit. Aunty Marilen made the gelatin drink. While I spent for the cake. It was a surprise for Lola. She looked really happy and really appreciated this special lunch for her. Despite the heat inside the house we all had a wonderful time eating and talking story with one another. There were only a few viands that had some leftovers but the rest were all demolished. The cake was still plentiful and the ice cream about half full. I am glad that there's this special day to celebrate Grandparent's and that we were here to help celebrate with her. I guess, this is also an advanced birthday celebration for us as we will not be here on October 14. Overall, we had a great time spending time with Lola and with one another.

That night the rain poured buckets and buckets of water, which felt and sounded like hale. It only abated around the early morning hours letting the sun peak through the clouds. Now it's nice and cool due to the slight breeze. Hopefully, it will dry out a bit so we can do some cleaning at the site this afternoon.

Lingsat, San Fernando City, La Union

We are still here. Peter has been busy going to the beach property everyday staking the areas for the huts, the resto bar, the admin, etc. He is also monitoring the progress of the fence and the property clean up.

Since the last post, my relatives, Peter and I had some time spent at the beach. Last Saturday we all went to check the property, hung out at one of the bamboo huts next door and had some snack/merienda. The next day we had a picnic lunch. Cousin Noel prepared most of the viands: sinanglaw (a hot soup made of pigs innards - really delicious), spiced prawns, oysters, seaweed: ar-arusep. Aunty Esther provided the squash and veggie dish. I provided the dessert: crema de fruta (cream and fruits) and sodas. After lunch I joined my niece and nephews in the ocean. My youngest niece was also there carried by my cousin, Ryan, but she was a bit scared of the water. Poor thing. We stayed there until about 2:30 p.m.

The next couple of days I stayed home with my Lola. She's already 85 yrs. old and is a bit weak in the hips but she still walks, slowly, and cooks for us every single meal. She has this chronic itch in the throat that causes her to cough hard. And I recently found out that arthritis is a constant trouble and cause of pain for her. Hence the reason I wanted to spend time with her, even if it meant just sitting with her watching TV or eating. We'd have conversations too but most of the time she'll end up rehashing old stories that make her cry. My Lola is also the day or watch in the compound. She would look out all the time to see who's there, what car or van is driving in our street, or when my younger cousins come home from school. For two nights she sat outside the house waiting for my youngest cousin, Jennifer (17 yrs. old), to come home from cheerleading practice. She didn't come home at the exact time she specified to my Lola so Lola was worried the entire time she waited outside. Peter, Ryan and I kept her company so she'll get her mind off of worrying about Jennifer. Finally she arrived after several text messages between me and her, and between Ryan and her. The other day she came late again but this time Lola wasn't too worried but much calmer while she waited outside for her.

I love my Lola very much. And I am simply happy to spend this time with her. Hopefully, before we leave for Manila, she'll come with us to the beach property so she could see what's being done there. (BTW, my Lola rarely leaves the house now, except for the one time my cousin, LenLen and her husband, Noel, convinced her to come to Manila with them - that sure was a great surprise!). Anyway, I think Lola will continue to be with us until maybe in her late 90s or early 100s - remember her eldest brother is still alive and is turning 104 next year!

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The weather here has been so humid. Even sitting makes you sweat. For me, eating makes me sweat! I wonder if any calories I take in is turned into sweat immediately. Hmmm... I guess you could say, eating here is an exercise. :-P

Last night it rained hard. The thunder and the lightning were a bit scary - I haven't heard or seen lightning so close. But the good thing about it raining is the humidity goes down.

This morning is back to hot and humid weather. I'll be staying in Lingsat with Lola while Peter will be at the beach, where it's really nice and cool from the ocean breeze. This will be all for now....