Homebuddies

We seated at the third row seats of an FX on our way back home from malling, after attending an anticipated mass last Saturday. He blurted out, smiling: "Mamalengke tayo bukas? Gusto mo ba yung plan ko na yon? Ha, kulit?" He sounded playful. The two ladies infront of us tried to control their grin. But I thought it was cute-- the way he said it. Another Sunday morning to look forward to.

He woke me up at 7AM the next day, then we headed to Paco market. After our nth plastic bag, he said straight from the shoulder: "Siguro akala nila mag-asawa tayo." He meant a young couple. I asked why. "Eh kse pag bumibili tayo sa kanila, tumitingin sila tapos ngumingiti ng may kahulugan." Some observation. I was laughing until our next stop.

I've been spending almost every weekend with him, mostly at home, watching all the movies and series that he downloaded. After our recent trip and before the next one, which I don't know when, "chill out lang" muna, as he puts it.

These undemanding weekends have always something in store for us. Little things that make me proud. =)

Screwed

Somebody tried to break in to our house this afternoon.

The nerve. It happened between 12PM to 330PM-- an assumption because Kenn had left the house past 11, and Kat and I arrived there around 4PM. That somebody left an obvious ugly scar on our main door, possibly in an attempt to unlock the doorknob, and get in. Kat and I became a little paranoid, thinking about our laptops, which are the only valuable and portable things that can be taken away from us in an instant. So, the hunt for the screen lock began.

I - I reported the incident to the management, which, at that time, had been preparing to get home. A guy wrote our unit number and my name on a piece of paper, and told me that they [the management] will send someone to look into the matter. I asked about the maintenance who could fix our lock, and they told me that we [I] need to have all the materials with us first, then come back the next day to fetch the maintenance. Ugh.

II - We started pondering about our temporary workaround. We considered shifting in manning the house, or taking a leave, or asking him or Tabz to stay and sleep there in the morning. The last option would be the sweetest, kindest, relieving thing that the three of us could get today. I asked Kenn about Tabz. She asked Tabz about it. Tabz agreed. There. One workaround solved.

III - I had been pacing back and forth, thinking how we could nail the situation, while Kat had been prodding me to eat the misua that she made. Lalamig na raw. We walked toward the door, looked at the scarred wood, walked back to the room, then waited for a text message from anybody. Some sympathy, I guess. It had been the routine for almost an hour. Then, we heard our neighbor's door being opened. Bright bulb flickered. We went outside. Kat, with her guts, asked for some "tools", which we don't have (and I think, we should've had), and relayed our sob story.

IV - Our warm neighbors, whose names until now we don't exactly know (we just heard one time that they had been calling "GG" to open the door, from 4AM to 7AM), lend us their hammer and screw driver, and offered to call a maintenance guy they personally know. Nag-feeling kami ni kat, planning to do the job by ourselves. But, it remained a plan. Buti na lang.

V - The maintenance guy arrived past 6PM. Thank God. He looked at our materials-- an aluminum lock with six screws for the six holes. I showed him the drill, which Kat had brought from Antipolo. Then, he started fixing it. Thank God, again. Our warm neighbors, one of them, I eventually learned is "GG" (and he's a guy), started taking stuff like electric fan, screws of different sizes and extension wire outside their unit. I was embarrassed but grateful. Kat wasn't there to witness it; she had left for some vanity affair just before manong arrived. I had been hearing "ribit", "rebit", or whatever. They said that we should have had those instead of screws because the former are more durable and are designed for aluminum. My buddy has been right all along. He had been telling us about it several months ago. Been advising us to get a lock for the screen. I had been agreeing but doing nothing about it.

But how could we know that anyway-- ribit, rebit, or whatever? "GG" had been helping manong figure out how to attach the screws temporarily as replacement for ribit or rebit or whatever. It took them almost one and a half hours to finish the job.

VI - I had been holding in my hand a 100 bill, which we were supposed to give to manong. Imagine, I had been deliberating how much moolah to give. [I started at P50. Then, P100. Back to P50. Then, P70. But after one and a half hours, I decided to give him P100 for the hassle.] But GG blocked that plan. Right after they cleaned the mess, he told manong to go inside their house to chow (they happened to be friends). I tried to steal a chance to talk to manong and hand him over the damage. But GG, with all his will and persistence, screened him away. And told me that his service is free, no worries. Ugh. I was more embarrassed and ever grateful. I even tried to bribe them with two glasses of iced-cold cranberry-raspberry juice, which, I know, was a risk move. I was not sure if they would even like the taste, but that was the only flavored, thirst quencher we have had. I was rejected twice. Hmmmp. But thanks. As in super thanks.

VII - I left Kenn to spend a night with Nay and write this stuff. Kenn and Tabz will guard our little mansion tonight until tomorrow. Kenn will make a follow-up on the ribit, rebit, or whatever with the management first thing in the morning. Kat and I will look for a hardcore double-lock for our main door tomorrow after our routine walk with Jay around Global City. And we will live happily ever after.

To that somebody who tried to break in-- screw you mahn.

Overpass

nonpartisan. that was how broe described me after hearing some recent incidents from job and kat. and i think here's why.

whenever there's tension between a friend and another friend, ako raw yung nonpartisan. yung uninvolved. or someone who doesn't give a crap. whatever you call it. for example, friend A often tells friend C about the conflict with friend B. realizing i'm in the scene, they would both falter at first. but realizing [again] that i'm the nonpartisan, they would resume swapping details as if I don't mind. and they are probably right-- i don't mind.

but i've been thinking about it. that label. am i, really?

rewind 12 years ago. nine years ago. a couple of years ago. several months ago. two weeks ago. yesterday. i'd like to believe that i'm not. i may appear to be one, but i also have my own biases. honestly, reacting is a piece of cake if what is at stake is my family or him or his family. no brainer. and i'd be transparent to the whole world about my stance. other than that, i really don't mind. not that i don't care about other people, but it's just that i'm not easily affected by somebody's intricacy. i can let it pass and forget about it the moment i walk out the door, as if that encounter never existed. when someone throws me some attitude, i stop taking that person seriously. i become invincible.

maybe that's why i appear to be nonpartisan. don't you think, broe?

i'm not even sure whether being labeled as "nonpartisan" is a complement. but who cares? =)

Good Friday

Recap: We visited 9 churches last year. Either 14 or 7 daw dapat yon. We chose 9 simply because it was our number. We weren't able to take pictures of the churches, though.

Last March 31, we made sure that we prepared the shots. And this year, we agreed on seven churches. We started our bisita iglesia at 8AM. The original plan was to get up at 6AM, but we were still heavy-eyed that time from a three-hour sleep. [We watched one more movie the night before.] So after boosting our stomach with a decent meal, we hit the road.

I am thirsty.
- John 19:2 -

Sto. Niño Parish in Pandacan

Saint Mary Goretti Parish in UN Avenue

San Fernando de Dilao Parish in Paco

Sta. Cruz Parish in Sta. Cruz

St. John the Baptist Church in Quiapo



Chapel of the Holy Sacrifice in UP Diliman

Saint Vincent de Paul Parish in Ermita


The visits finished off past 2PM. And we still had enough energy for the rest of the day. Good Friday, indeed.

Down Southwest: Palawan V

Day 5: March 9

Marked our 31st month.

6AM, attended mass at the Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral. Headed to the public market for cashew nuts, dried fish, and dried pusit afterward. Snatched a swift breakfast at Jollibee before going back to the hotel.

830AM, prepared for our 1030AM flight back to Manila, leaving Sol and Rosch, who went with Sha and Joel to Honday Bay.

[Our boarding was a bit distressing. Both guys were lax, thinking passengers would not board on time. But that airport was on time. We ended up rushing almost everything, from checking in to selecting our seats. As a consequence, the three of us had been designated seats far from one another. Good thing, there were vacant, and we managed to find two seats next to each other just before take-off. It was a no-no, but we did it anyway. Convenience over security. Ooops.

Medyo na-stress ako dun ha. Yoko talaga ng mga ganung hassle. Nati-threaten yung comfort zone ko. Wag na natin ulitin yun ha, kulet?]

To wrap it up, our Palawan trip was almost 4 out of 5 stars.

The inconvenience (and some others) that we swallowed were nothing as compared with the places that we visited, the company that we had, the quality time that we both shared, and the patience that you gave.

And I'm sorry for acting like a brat on our way home. Mi luv yah, buddy ko.*kugos*

Down Southwest: Palawan IV

Day 4: March 8

530AM, on our way back to PPC. Entire trip was relatively quiet. Slumber time for everyone, waking up ever so often just to check out the time or the view outside. [The mood was probably due to exhaustion from the activities the previous day, or maybe because we were hoping to stay a little longer. We stopped by a small eatery along the highway for a coffee break.]

Lunch at Viet Ville. Almost empty when we got there, except for the staff of its restaurant that serves authentic Vietnamese cuisine.

Checked in at Starlight Hotel. Two airconditioned rooms with cable TV, T/B, and small laundry area/veranda cost P2,880 per day. Spent an hour downtime to recharge ourselves. Dashed ahead to Palawan Museum, waiting for Sha, and her boyfriend, Joel, who had just arrived from Manila. Part of the couple's tour package was a free private van for city tour. Sumabit lang kami. Thanks, Sha.=)

Stopped by the Palawan Wildlife Resource and Conservation Center, formerly Crocodile Farm.

Mastered the "10-shot" pose, which we had been doing since day one.

Made it to Mitra's Ranch, overlooking Honda Bay, for another photo op.

Left the ranch after several minutes for Baker's Hill. Tried newly baked hopia, crinkles, and some bread.

5PM, returned to the hotel to refresh. Took a late afternoon stroll to explore the city proper, including the Provincial Capitol, cathedral, and public market [all of which are situated far from one another], and to look for some souvenirs.

830PM, dinner at Kalui, a cozy, spacious, Hawaiian-inspired resto along the stretch of Rizal Avenue, a few minutes away from the airport and very near to Pagdayaon Inn, where we stayed on our first day. Made our reservation three days in advance.

[Guests are required to take off their shoes, sandals, or sleepers, which can be kept in shoe drawers, under the wooden seats, or even just on the floor at the entrance. Guests can also choose to enjoy their dinner on regular dining tables and chairs, or on the the floor as they sit on huge pillows.]

Ordered delish seafood plates and fresh fruit blends. Reasonable prices. [We tried to order their lobster (or was it steamed prawn?). But since it was peak hour, we cancelled the order to save our time.]

Yumyum! And another rewarding dinner.
Went back to the hotel at 11PM.

Today was swell. Right, buddy ko? =)

Day four was 3 1/2 stars.