Firefly In July

I worked two weeks straight, yes… Saturdays and Sundays included.  Too much work, too little sleep and its driving me nuts.  This weekend is a short interval of rest before we start another closing process next week and a chance to squeeze in a little RnR, writing a post included.

This morning I attended my teammate’s son’s baptism in Biñan, Laguna.  The traffic was in full cooperation and we, Liezl – another teammate – and I,  got to the reception on time.  There we got to mingle with a few of the high ranking police officers who, surprisingly are young and without the unwanted stomach bulge that typical policemen have come to be notorious for.  They are not the usual officers who patrol the city and catch petty offenders but rather, lead some of the most distinguished units in the law enforcement body.  You might wonder how they happen to be there…. my teammate’s husband is among these officers, a true gentleman and obviously a loving husband and father.  He even graciously took us to the bus station when we finally decided to leave the festivities.

While we were on our way, we got nosy and asked alot of questions about his work and of course,  how he and his wife met (in short, chismis).  The conversation rounded down to one of his close encounters with death while pursuing a group of NPA’s.   He got shot with 4 bullets into the stomach, and at that time, they were just three months into their marriage.  I could just imagine the terror my teammate felt when she received the news.  Just married and so close to widowhood!  Terrifying.

Suddenly, my own past flashed back in an instant.  I knew an officer who’s passing caused an almost unbearable pain.  I cant quite remember how I got passed that but it was hard and it took a long time.

Our new found police officer friend said, that he constantly reminds his wife, to be always ready.  That anytime, a life can easily be taken away.  That’s a tough reality hanging above the heads of those whose vocation leans towards the dangerous kind.  When Joe Black beckons, we cannot do anything but heed.

Before the conversation turned morbid, he invited us to a shooting class and promised to arrange a session for us.   Im so looking forward it even now! It’s always been my wicked, secret dream to become a sniper… I dont know what I’ll do with that, but it may come handy someday.  Who knows.

Tags: Police, Shooting

It turns out money isn’t everything for Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite.  Now who in the world is he?  If I say, Kaka it may register.  If still you dont have any little tidbit of a clue who he is, in a nutshell, he is a brazilian football superstar.

I am not a football fan, the closest I came to following the game was the last World Cup when I attempted to earn a little fortune betting with my friends. hehehe.  Don’t ask me about the loot, until now, I’m still bitter.

What I am more baffled with is the colossal fee football athletes are paid, rather than the tiresome, ostensibly endless game where goal points are earned at a snail’s pace.   Kaka was offered $150M  to dump his current club AC Milan for Manchester.  Yes, that’s 150 million dollars… mais o menos.  For an athlete of his calibre it could have been easy to demand such a mind boggling sum, but he turned it down.  He turned it down!

Come to think of it, even without moving he’d still be earning a pretty decent fee with AC.  It’s not a very difficult decision really.  It was loyalty that prevailed.  The reports say that he wanted to grow old with the team and money was not the issue.  That’s a rarity nowadays, men who are not blinded by the bling bling.  Most people will jump at the first opportunity of becoming a multi-millionaire, regardless whose toes are trampled on.

Haayyy…. Some people are just so darn lucky.  If only I get paid even just a quarter of that amount… my work wouldn’t be as tiring as it is now… hehehe (wishful thinking).

( photo of the gorgeous footballer courtesy of kaka-football.com )

Tags: Football, Kaka

Cold.  That seems to be the prevailing climate in most parts of the globe.  Here in Manila, where at one point I was driven to tears for extreme heat, is not spared from the rare cold winds.  One of my teammates joked, that during these times, bathing has become an ordeal. hehehe. It is not very common in the Filipino household to install water heaters because of the tropical climate.  The ones who have are lucky to still be enjoying a long warm bath.  I’m also using two blanket now when normally I don’t even need one.

However, we are still more fortunate than most people in the northern hemisphere.  I hear that  rivers in countries like Germany had frozen over making it extremely difficult to transport coal for their capital city’s heating needs.  Adding to that, there’s this ongoing gas dispute with Russia, escalating the neighboring nations’ struggle in dealing with the harsh winter.

Anyways, what I do like is I get to wear the sweaters and jackets that I’ve been keeping at the bottom of my closet.  They’ve been taking so much space,  wondered when I’ll ever wear them again.  Now, I finally got the green light; the air, a reminder of my hometown and I’m relishing every moment of it.  Our dog Wilson, seems to be enjoying the natural air conditing too.  He hardly pants and sleeps long hours during the day.  I remember around this time last year, Mark was in China and he often complained that it was too painful to smile because his mouth felt like it’ll crack from the extreme cold.

I guess, the chilly weather makes us either comfortable or cranky, depending where we are in the world.

Tags: cold weather, january, winter

24 fans, the long wait is over!…. Jack is Back!  It’s a moment for jubilation!  Season 7 was supposed to air last year but it was put on hold due to the writers’ strike.  The long delay had blocked it from my memory.  But it’s back, and so is my recollection of the last 6 seasons.

It was boredom that introduced me to this 24 addiction.  An officemate was selling old copies of dvd’s and I was kinda coerced into getting  season 1 because I had nothing to do that day and my teammates beat me to the other movies.  I had the leftovers, which turned out to be the best in the pile!  Nobody actually forced me, its more of forcing myself to watch it after hearing alot of feedback that it wasn’t just good, it was outstanding!  But I didn’t believe it at all, I was full of skepticism after seeing the first part of the Filipino version over abs-cbn.  That version never really took off because the translation missed the important climaxes plus… dubbing Jack’s voice????  That killed the entire series and any possibility of the network airing another season.  Jack’s unmistakable voice is a signature.  Nobody is good enough to dub him.  Well, that is my opinion.  Hehehe.  What can I say, Jack is the first TV character I’ve ever idolized.  He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to get the job done.  Fearless.  And uhm, torture freak.  Obviously I’m now a believer and a devout follower of the series.

While the long wait for most is over, I’m yet to see the premier    My schedule is always in conflict with the showing and I’m very near to giving in to temptation and take a leave…. if only its not the year end close hehehe.  Anyways, I prefer to watch the season in marathon rather than keep vigil of the daily episodes.  I hear that CTU has been scrapped and Jack’s dear ol’ pal Tony is back from the dead.  No, not a vampire, but yes, a  villain.  Probably in search for justice for Michelle’s death.  Hhmmmm.  Knowing 24, it won’t be as simple as that.

Tags: 24, Jack Bauer

Eversince Mark got his  reverse macro lens, he had been scouring for bugs, beetles, worms, ants, and all tiny crawling creatures he can point his camera at.

The reverse macro kit is a cheap alternative to the real thing.  Although the photos are not as vivid and detailed, it can capture the essential characteristics of the subject in fairly good quality.  For instance, Mark took this photo of a common spider during our holiday vacation in Baguio.  Ordinarily, I will not give this spider a second look, much less consider it dangerous due to its diminutive size. That changed after coming face to face with its magnified image.

The camera was set up real close to get that shot, yup, in your face little spider! It’s spiky weapons seemingly ready to attack for this privacy intrusion, unaware that its mere portrait can send shivers down the onlooker’s spine.

Here’s how close the photo shoot was:

There’s another spider portrait but it isn’t as menacing as the first.  In fact, it looks rather cute.  The tiny brown crawler has an uncanny resemblance to a sand burrowing crablet.

Mark has more bugsy photos (you can check them out in his Flickr account @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/zymo4) but these spider shots struck me the most.  It altered the way I look at them forever.  Creepy!

Baguio City is not only known for pine trees and strawberries but also for the abundance of ornamental plants that grow best in its cool climate.   While passing by Kisad Road, Mark and I decided to drop by the Orchidarium and check out the flowers in full bloom for the season.

We were so captivated by the variety of colors but what we saw does not even qualify as a sneak peak for the annual flower fest.  That will be happening around February and certainly, it will be one mesmerizing, glamourous parade of flowers in their stunning bloom.

Tags: Baguio City, Flowers

Mark, Wilson, and I went home to La Trinidad to welcome the new year .  I haven’t been to the province for a long time and as always, I was excited to reunite with my family and rediscover the familiar places in my home town.

Nothing much has changed. There are a few new buildings here and there but nothing really surprising.

Just like the Sacred Heart Chapel. That’s not really a “new” structure but a very modern facelift made it look like a recently finished construction project!

The San Jose church, which now looks very ancient, is still standing.  It has not undergone any major renovation for decades, even after the disastrous earthquake of 1990 and  it’s actually amazing how it’s aged columns kept the whole thing erect all these years.  Despite its time-worn wooden walls, I’m very sure that parishioners will miss this church when the new basilica finally takes its place as the major catholic edifice in Poblacion.

Right beside the church is my high school alma mater. The original building was razed to the ground during the earthquake and the one built to replaced it a few years after looked untouched. In my mind, I can still picture the early morning students assembly as we honored the Philippine flag and prepared for a day’s bout with our teachers and classmates, our principal’s ominous voice calling the names of those who just can’t keep a straight line :-)

The Benguet General Hospital has long been given its own makeover but I never had the chance to take a photo ’til now. It used to be that rugged building, close to dilapidation. There was even a joke that circulated among locals that a patient would more likely catch a virus rather than recuperate in confinement. Now, the hospital is something to be proud of.

Just across the hospital is the main gate of the state university looking abandoned at this time of the holidays.  Nearby is obviously a far from abandoned McDonald’s.  I never imagined that this popular food chain will one day invade our local community.  And when there’s McDonald’s, trust that a few meters away you’ll find Jollibee

The provincial capitol sits mightily over the Poblacion hillside, and even from afar is a welcoming and comforting sight that at last, I’ve arrived!

It is with pride that I am able to show Mark what La Trinidad is known for, the famous Strawberry Fields. It used to be a dusty, rocky road leading to the fields but not anymore. The cemented road made it easy to walk all the way to the area which now is lined with souvenir stores.

This is the place that I missed so much. The community that somehow retained its simplicity while keeping pace with the fast changing world. The cradle of my childhood memories. The familiar faces. My family and friends. It felt so good to be home.

Tags: La Trinidad