MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It's the season of Simbang Gabi, Christmas parties, Gift-giving and food in gargantuan proportions. I'm very busy doing last minute shopping for pasalubong because I will be spending Christmas in Bacolod City with my parents. And that means there will be less time for me to blog because I will be preoccupied with enjoying my vacation. It has been three years since my last Christmas in Bacolod and I know there will be lots of catching up to do with high school friends and lots of adventures whether it be in the beaches in the Visayas or in the mountain resorts in Negros island. I will surely miss Baguio but I know that by the time I come back next month it will be awesome since the Centennial celebrations and the Pangbenga festival is fast approaching. And yes, I'm turning 23 on December 25th. The same birthday as my Creator. Now, for those who haven't prepared their gifts for me, I will be expecting it in Bacolod. Ha!

Here are 23 things I need to do during my vacation on December 23rd - January 15th:
1. Come up with a new blog called Simply Bacolod
2. Eat Napoleones at Pendy's and Chocolate cake at Calea
3. Binge on Seafoods from Diwal, Blue Marlin, Maya-Maya and Oysters at Imay's
4. Swim in Lakawon in Cadiz City or Punta Bulata in Cauayan town
5. Write Hiligaynon poems again with my mom (Yes, she writes better than me!)
6. Enjoy authentic Bacolod Chicken Inasal every day
7. Jog every morning at the Provincial Capitol lagoon or in our neighborhood
8. Explore Silay City and eat at El Ideal again (Guapple pie and Buko pie)
9. Go camwhoring at The Ruins and Palmas del Mar
10. Pray at the seminary of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross in Silay
11. Visit century-old mansions in Silay and Talisay
12. Party hard at Mugen, ICE, MO2, Bar21 and Club North
13. Spend quality time fishing with my dad at Jewels in Pulupandan
14. Travel to my dad's hometown in Moises Padilla and mom's birth place in Murcia
15. Go bat hunting in Mambukal or bird watching in Guintubdan in La Carlota city.
16. Adventure in places I've never been before like Hinoba-an's white sand beaches
17. Go jologs by going to the Bacolod Public plaza, old and new city hall and the public market
18. Write more poems and short stories in my room that I missed the most
19. Head over at my old school UNO-Recoletos and visit my favorite English teacher
20. Say Hi and Hello to friends at PIO Negros Occidental and Ms. Jo's Music School
21. Try to head over to the other side of the island: Dumaguete and Zamboanguita
22. Ride sea ferries to Iloilo and sun-bathe in Guimaras island
23. Heal my worn out soul in My Own Private Idaho

I'll update this blog as soon as I could. Promise! I'm already dreaming of this place again...

And this one too...

Baguio's Brotherhood for Peace

Are Baguio gangs up for the challenge of peace?

In the past years, news of stabbing incidents and brawls during the wee hours of the night hound the main thoroughfares of the city. The police points to the different gangs of the city composed mostly of high school students, college students and the out of school youth to be the main cause of these street violence. But now, these gangs in Baguio drafted a peace pact for them to foster a harmonious existence with each other ending the violence that has caused fear in many Baguio citizens every night. Now, there are 18 youth organizations who formerly associate themselves as gangs came in the open to involve themselves in worthwhile activities such as rap music rather than being involved in gang-related crimes.They are calling for more groups in the city to stop the existence of 'frat or gang wars' in order to prevent the death of more victims such as Germaine Calpito, a student of Baguio City National High School who was stabbed on his way home by rival gang members who were not yet members of the Brotherhood for Peace.

World Human Rights Day

Let's pray for all the human rights victims

Let us offer a prayer to all the human rights victims all over the world. The Day marks the anniversary of the UN Assembly's adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Let this declaration be an instrument for the condemnation of all people,groups and governments who oppress basic human rights.

Cordi studes barred from performing in 'bahags'

SM gives formal apology to PCNHS Teatro Pino

Before my blog turns into a Philippine showbiz-oriented blog, I will post some good news to the people of the Cordillera region. I was thankful that the assistant mall manager of SM City Clark already issued a formal apology to the Teatro Pino of the Pines City National High School for causing them inconvenience and embarrassment after barring the group from performing their ethnic Cordillera dances because they were wearing g-strings. Mall authorities barred the students from performing because of their allegedly skimpy attires. Wearing of g-strings more popularly known as "bahag" of course is common in the ethnic performances of the indigenous peoples of the region. This happening caused the outrage of leaders in the Cordillera region including Congressman Mauricio Domogan who arranged a meeting with the mall authorities to talk on this matter last November 29. Other Cordillera leaders who also condemned this discriminatory act of the mall authorities were governors Nestor Fongwan of Benguet, Maximo Dalog of Mountain Province, Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao and Floydelia Diasen of Kalinga.

JC Tiuseco: Pinoy Sole Survivor

True or False?

Since the spoiler on the result of Survivor Philippines came out in Showbiz Juice a couple of months ago that JC Tiuseco is the winner, I began doubting the result of the show. Then tonight, after the result of the final two survivors was announced. The spoiler's truthfulness is finally beginning to be more evident and clear to me. All I know now is that JC Tiuseco won the show and that the whole program was all done after all. Too bad the entire production didn't hold on to the surprise any further. Survivor Philippines was the one of the few shows I watch in GMA 7. At least, all the people in gay-lala land will be happy of this result. Congratulations JC!

JC Tiuseco

Again, this is just my prediction and own opinion. Maybe the show will have a different ending in the following nights with Rob winning. Who knows right? Showbiz is such a "magical" place. Anything can happen.

Manny Pacquiao Arrives in Manila Tomorrow

And takes the title Ambassador of Peace

Manny Pacquiao

Now that plans for a fight with Hatton and Mayweather Jr. are likely the next step for Manny Pacquiao, the man dubbed as "Pambansang Kamao" is not yet looking forward for his next big fight until he savors his latest victory with Oscar dela Hoya. He is arriving tomorrow in Manila. It seems the politicians are like leeches again sucking photo ops with the sports hero. I hope he doesn't get blinded with all the attention being given to him much more get all the fame into his head.

TAG TUESDAY

Redlan tagged me for this one so here it goes:

THE TAG:

A. Attached or single? Single (Afraid to commit again...)
B. Best friend/s? Cousin A, Dayny, Anthony and Jez (BFFs)
C. Cake or pie? Cake ( I miss cakes of Calea in Bacolod, Tea House cakes)
D. Day of choice? Saturday (Booze, Party, Fun)
E. Essential item/s? Laptop, Phone, Money (internet)
F. Favorite color? BLUE (Is white a color?)
G. Gummy bears or worms? Gummy bears (a packful)
H. Hometown? Bacolod (Baguio is already paradise)
I. Favorite indulgence? Books, Clothes, Gadgets (yes!)
J. January or July? January (because it's the start of the year!)
K. Kids? Oh I have one... (Just KID-ding!)
L. Life isn’t complete without? LOVE (it's supposed to be...)
M. Marriage date? WTF (celibate geek)
N. Number of magazine subscriptions: Two (Reader's Digest and Newsweek)
O. Oranges or apples? Sagada oranges! (cold Fuji apples too!)
P. Phobias? Flying cockroach and venomous snakes (Yay!)
Q. Quotes? SHIT happens! (Short but meaningfulL)
R. Reasons to smile? Secret (hikhik!)
S. Season of choice? Summer (525, 600 minutes...seasons of love)
T. Tag 5 people. I don'twant to tag anyone. (silly)
U. Unknown fact about me? I can stay awake for more than 48 hours! (Insomniac)
V. Vegetable? I love veggies! (Salads, stews and soups)
W. Worst habit? Smoking, Laziness (I am so lazy!)
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Got x-rayed due to a broken leg (when I was a child)
Y. Your favorite food/s? Chicken Inasal, Veggie Salad, Cakes
Z. Zodiac sign? Capricorn

THE TEXT:

"Each has his past shut in him like the leaves of a book known to him by heart and his friends can only read the title."

-Virginia Woolf

Marky Cielo dies in his sleep

Marky Cielo

I was on my way to St. Joseph Church in Pacdal today when I received a text message from a tabloid writer friend from Manila that Marky Cielo was found dead in his room early this morning. Mark Angelo Cadaweng Cielo more popularly known as Marky Cielo is a Filipino TV actor and dancer and the ultimate survivor of Batch 3 in the popular reality TV show Starstruck. He was born in Butuan city but his family moved to Mountain Province in 2001 where he would spend his teenage years. I remember then that the entire region was campaigning fervently for Marky with posters and tarpaulins of him scattered all over Baguio city. He was then a first year Architecture student at Saint Louis University here way back in 2005, when text votes from the region mostly from students in the educational center of the north helped increased his chances of winning the reality show which eventually resulted to his win. He was hailed as the Pride of the Igorots as he was quoted in national television saying : "I am proud to be an Igorot and I am willing to wear my bahag (g-string, loin cloth) as a symbol of my pride as a Cordilleran." Though he has made only one movie (Till I Met You in 2006), Cielo starred in numerous television shows at GMA network and his latest role was playing Bryan Lobregat in primetime romance-comedy Lalola. Upon finding him lying on the floor of his room this morning, his mother and sister rushed him at Antipolo Doctors Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival at 10 a.m. today. As of this writing, doctors are still investigating the death of the actor. His body will be brought to their house in Mission Hills, Antipolo where a wake will be held for two days. This Wednesday, his body will be brought to the Cathedral of the Resurrection along Magsaysay Ave. in Baguio City. After which, the family has decided to travel his body on Thursday to Bauko, Mountain Province.

Manny Pacquiao triumphs over De la Hoya

And rakes in a guaranteed $11 Million

Is Manny Pacquiao really a hero?

He's now lording over all the weight classes in boxing and receiving accolades from boxing aficionados the world over. And now after beating Oscar de la Hoya, what's next for Manny Pacquiao? Let me hear your opinion everyone!

December Chill

Sunday Coffee Musings

I woke up with the boisterous alarm clock sound ringing continuously as I lay curled up and in a fetal position on my bed today. My comforter is twice as thick as compared to last week's thread count. In pajamas and sweater, with a knitted wool bonnet on my head and thick socks, I hugged my hotdog pillow and covered my entire body with a comforter. I knew that the sun was about to rise yet my lethargic body didn't want to get out of the bed. The early morning chill here in Baguio made me lazy to get up or even open my eyes. But I had to get up just to put off the alarm clock that I strategically placed on my desk five meters away from my bed. With eyes half closed, I stood and dragged myself up just to turn it off or else the neighbors would be awakened by the shrill noise coming from my alarm clock. The four year-old alarm clock that my mom gave me in Bacolod showed that it was already six o'clock in the morning. I opened my eyes slowly and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. It's already December and the chill was starting to slowly creep unto my bones with my constant shivering as the most noticeable reaction. I saw the sun slowly rising on my glass window inviting me to a new day. With mist slowly forming on the other side of the glass window, I scribbled my name on the glass and drew a smiley. I poured water on my coffee maker and placed a scoopful of freshly ground coffee my friend sent me from Kabayan, Benguet. The smell of the coffee slowly brewing made me beam my pearly whites unto the clear sky I saw on my windowpane. I checked our in-house thermometer and 13 degrees Celsius was registered. A few minutes later, I went to the kitchen and grabbed my favorite mug and poured piping hot and freshly brewed coffee on it. I scooped a teaspoonful of creamer and sugar and stirred vigorously as the aroma of the coffee made me smile again. I placed Josh Groban's Christmas Album on the CD player and hummed a few lines while alternatively sipping my coffee.Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Marapait

A Tale of Baguio's Sunflower

These past few months, while going around the city, I noticed the abundance of yellow-colored blooms that has become a trademark and a symbol for Baguio city. Marapait is the local term for the wild sunflowers growing like grass here. How it got its name is because of its bitter-tasting leaves. Mara is an Ilocano term for “parang” (like, similar to) while pait, as we know it in Filipino means bitter. This often neglected wild flower has been a witness to Baguio city's growth as a highly-urbanized city. Slowly by slowly, these flowers have been disappearing in the mountainsides. Some hillsides, even though they are considered as geo-hazard zones that are not suitable for erecting buildings, has now been turned into subdivisions which in turn brought about the demise of the lowly Marapait.

The Marapait aside from being a great boost to the aesthetics of the Baguio hillsides, may also be used as a substitute for floor wax as its leaves when scrubbed on wooden floors would make it shiny. The plant is also a medicinal herb used for its ant-inflammatory properties. And who would not remember a young lover's ire for Baguio's sunflower by picking slowly its petals uttering repeatedly "she loves me, she loves me not" until there's no more.

The Marapait is indeed a beautiful metaphor for Baguio City. The city that has been loved by artists, tourists and just about everyone like me that has considered this mountain city their home.

Let's all love the Marapait! Let's all love Baguio City!

It's December!

And I'm not getting any younger

Today marks the start of my birthday month. It's approximately 24 days before my birthday and that of my Creator. With all the hassles and busy days that I have to go through everyday, I am thankful that I am still here blogging about it with a smile on my face. This past year has been another exhilarating journey for me. Life has been a roller coaster ride with a few setbacks, unplanned decisions and last minute change of plans. So far, I am enjoying everything. I promise that by the end of the year (or next year perhaps), I would be able to accomplish some of the things that I wasn't able to do. First, I want to travel more. I haven't been traveling for quite some time now mainly because of work and school. I hope that my trip to Bacolod on the 23rd would suffice for that. I would be spending some time in the Visayas until January 17th. My sister and I will also go to Coron,Busuanga in Palawan come March. We have been planning it for some time now and the expenses are already mounting much to my disappointment. Secondly, I'm planning to have some Baguio adventures of my own before December 23rd so that I wouldn't be bored with my daily activities. Lastly, I have a big project (that I will be announcing in this blog in the future) coming up that will keep me busy for some time. I hope this will not be a hindrance to keep my posts updated. This post is starting to be long now.

HAPPY WORLD AIDS DAY! LET'S ALL BE AWARE!