Friday, July 29, 2011

A special kind of friendship

Mga three weeks ago yata yun ng matapos kong basahin hanggang sa huling pahina ang ikatlong aklat ni Sir Eros, ang Ligo Na U, Lapit Na Me. At isa lang ang masasabi ko: mabangis.

Marahil ay ikinukumpara na si Sir Atalia kay Bob Ong dahil kung susuriin ay halos parehas ang istilo nila- nagpapatawa na parang mga host sa comedy bar habang minumulat ang mga kaisipan ng mambasa sa reyalidad.  Ngunit kahit halos iisa ang takbo ng tono ng kanilang mga likha, masasabi naten na magkaiba pa din sila ng istilo. Oo nga't parehas na kwela at may kahulugan ang mga pinagsasabi nila sa kanilang mga mambasa, ngunit sa aking palagay ay mas maangas ang pagsusulat ni Sir Atalia kesa sa original na idol kong si Bob Ong (na hanggang ngayon ay hindi ko pa din alam kung ano talaga ang kanyang tunay na katauhan).

Bakit kamo?

Sa aking opinyo e mas wholesome ang dating ni Bob Ong. Mga kwentong buhay estudyante, kwentong tambay, at kwentong kapalpkan at kabalbalan ng mga opisyales ng gobyerno. Si Sir Atalia naman ay halos gaanon din ang formula na sinusundan pero may mga add-ons tulad ng mga unique tips kung paano hindi magugutom ang mga mahihirap (naalala ko dati yung sinabi nya sa amin. Kinuwenta nya ang mga nagastos ng aming mga magulang sa aming pag-aaral at nagbigay ng ilang mga suhestyon para lamang mabayaran namen ang utang na loob sa kanila sa pagpapaaral samen ng halos 14 taon. Praktikal ang kanyang mga suhestyon katulad ng magbaon na lamang ng pagkain araw-araw, huwag bumili ng mga gamit, at maglakad pauwi ng bahay. Pero kung seseryosohin mo, sasakit ang ulo mo kesa sa tyan mo dahil panigurado pasakit kung hindi ka gagastos kahit pang Coke sakto lang mula isang buwang katas ng sweldo mo), ang buong tapang na pagtuligsa sa mga nakikitang niyang mga kakaibang gawain ng iba't-ibang relihiyon at ang isang paksa na sa tingin ko ay takot si Bob Ong talakayin dahil baka masira ang wholesome image nito---sekswalidad. Usaping sex.

Segue: Dahil palaboy-laboy ako sa internet, may mga ilang mga nakakatuwa akong nabasa. Dahil hindi malinaw kung sino talaga si Bob Ong, mayroong mga nagpalagay na si Bob Ong at Sir Atalia ay iisa lamang. Mayroon din akong nabasa na si Xerex ay si Sir Atalia daw haha! Panalo! Pwede!Pwede! Pero syempre mga produkto lamang ito ng imahinasyon ng mga taong malilkot ang isip...pero may punto talaga di ba?hahaha. Pero ang sigurado ako, si Sir Atalia ay isang magaling na propesor na kahit tinatambakan kami ng mga readings at nagpaparecite gamit ang mga magic index cards ng alas 7 ng umaga (first period namen sya) habang itinataktak ang sachet ng 3-in-1 coffee sa kanyang bibig (pero hindi siya iinom ng mainit na kape, obvious naman bakit) ay isa sa mga paborito ng klase. Napukaw niya ang aming atensyon (kahit mukha siyang antok palagi) dahil sa mga sinasabi niyang may kapararakan. Parang katulad ng mga libro nya, puro kalokohan pero dapat seryosohin dahil alam mong may katotohanang nagtatago dito.

Nakakatawa ang kwento kasi nabigyang pansin ang kakaibang kahulugan ng pag-ibig between special friends na nauuso ngayon,pero mas nakakatawa pag narealize mo na bagamat masaya e nakakagago, at nakakasakit ang ganung klaseng set-up na temporary bliss kasi alam mong kahit gawin nyo ang mga ginagawa ng magsyota-magdate, magtelebabad, magbigay ng moral support, mag goodluck pag exam, icheck kung kumain na ba, mag PDA, magsimbang dalawa, at kahit magsubuan habang kumakain sa isang fastfood chain--- e pag nahimasmasan ka mula sa pagka high mo, back to reality ka na hindi naman talaga kayo...practice lang kung baga.  Pero ang pinakanakakatawa pala sa lahat ay  mahulog ka ng tuluyan doon sa taong iyon ng walang kalaban-laban pero hindi mo namalayang matagal ka na pala nyang binitawan.

Nakakatuwa ang kwento, pero mas nakakatawa ako kasi nakikita ko ang sarili ko sa dalawang tauhan ng kwento. Nagbibigay at tumatangap. Gumagastos para masyahan, sumasaya pag may ginastusan kasi alam mong napasaya mo ang taong mahal mo.Natatakot umamin, inamin na din sa wakas sa sarili at tinangap din ang sitwasyon, ang mga nangyari. Naghahanap pa din ng closure...teka, meron na nga pala. Ah, isang matinong explanation pala ang hinahanap ko.Yun bang may substance.

Pero pinakanakakatawa sa lahat ay sa kabila ng mga nangyari, eto pa din ako walang kadala-dala. Marahil tumigil ng umasa, nagsawa na sa kakahintay ng isang substantive, reasonable, rationale, and acceptable explanation, pero tumitibok pa din ang puso para sa kanya, hindi nagsasawa. Hindi nga ba?Minsan naisip ko, baka naman dahil sa nasanay lang ako o baka awa na lang?Hindi ko din alam kaya nga nakakatawa e haha! Nakakatawa ang umiibig. Nakakatawa ang umibig sa isang matuturing na kaibigan. Nakakatawa pag naging kumplikado ang lahat dahil sa akala niyo pero sa bandang huli ay magiging akala MO na lang na may namuong pag-ibig.

Siguro nga uso na nga ang ganitong klaseng set-up ng "pagkakaibigan." O marahil, dati na talagang may ganito pero ngayon lang "na-out" sa publiko kasi mas adventurous at mas natutong magexplore ang mga tao, bata man o matanda. Hay, anu na nga ba ang nangyari?

Aantayin ko na nga lang ipalabas ito sa sinehan. Abangan...malapit na :)

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Bathroom Horrors

Next to my room, I find comfort and solace in our bathroom. Don't you enjoy every single moment while you're inside as you release/wash off all the negative vibes,literally and figuratively speaking, after a long, tiring, and stressful day? I do!I do! Haha
***
Every person has their own bathroom rituals/rules. In my case, I only have two rules. First, flush, flush, fluuuuush the toilet as a sign of respect to the next person who'll use it. My brother and I would sometimes fight because he always leaves the toilet dirty. Tsk! Second rule is to always keep the bathroom rugs dry and clean.
***
For strange reasons, I can't convince myself to deposit my waste in other toilet bowls except when the situation calls for it haha! In my 24 years of existence, I only used other toilet bowls (aside from peeing) in four occasions: in the school clinic when I had my LBM back in grade school, in the house of Dez's cousin in Cebu (twice) again due to LBM, and during our recent trip to Coron because I really need to release the negative vibes. Whew!  
***
Now, let me share my top 5 bathroom (not-so) horror stories:
5. Big spiders and cockroaches inside our bathroom really scared me...especially when they crawled on my legs while I was in the middle of scrubbing my body!Yikes!
4. During my first time in Trinoma, I didn't know that the flush is "high-tech" already. I panicked because I assumed that there's a sensor or something that would automatically flush itself, but there was none. So I decided to leave it as is. On my way out of the cubicle, the lady after me stopped me and said, "please flush the toilet" amp It was so embarrassing since there were many people inside!
3. Back in GS, my classmates and I used to scare each other because of the semi-haunted look of our restroom. Rumor has it that a headless body of a nun is said to linger in the restroom. One day, I excused myself in the middle of the class since I really need to pee that time so I went to the semi-haunted restroom...alone. I'm having second thoughts if I'll get inside and be surprised with the sight of a headless body or call a classmate. Being a chicken that I was, I backed out during the last minute and went back to the classroom feeling full (of urine) and uncomfortable. The next thing I knew, I already peed in my place haha. A guy classmate accused me of the crime but I was successful that I am innocent and besides, my classmates wouldn't believe him. Poor boy haha He mopped the floor where I peed  ^_^
2. I mentioned this incident in my Calaguas entry. One of the most traumatic bathroom scenes in my entire life is having to endure the awful smell of someone's vomit all over the toilet and floor while peeing in a very dark cr in a remote island. Simply disgusting!
And the top worst bathroom experience  is *drum rolls*
1. Finding a used condom inside the lady's cr in our office!Pak! It's just disturbing since I used to put my things on the exact spot where I found the used condom today. Shit!    

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

The Challenge

For some time now, I've been wasting my time in front of my laptop doing nothing at all except check my fb and twitter accounts and do a little stalking on the sidelines haha.Yeah, pretty boring huh? So over the weekend, I thought of challenging myself to do something worthwhile.

The challenge: watch a movie everyday and finish one book a month. I think it's somehow doable although the downloading of the movie will take some time. Anyway, I'll just make use of the "schedule" to read a book.

Since I started this project over the weekend, I've seen one movie and I was able to catch up also with my fave series hoho And I just finished the first chapter of the new book that my brother bought for me!Woohooo! Hello "productive and exciting nights"

By the way if you happen to know a decent movie and a good book, please please recommend me as many as you can!hahaha I will really appreciate it.

Now showing: Rio

Saturday, July 23, 2011

My pen just worked!

I'm just too happy that I am slowly getting my touch in writing again. I mean, serious and "creative" writing harhar.

I can't remember the last time I made a decent article.Worse, I totally forgot what the article was all about haha So you see, it's been quite a looooooooooooong time now.

My new work entails writing and researching which is really fine with me. Downside is I get to deal with some medical/scientific terms. So far, I'm coping as a health/fitness pr writer lol. I can say that I'm liking my work now since my skills are being developed. And I get to explore/experiment more on how to properly angle a story which I really miss. But what I really miss is the feeling of fulfillment and sense of pride when I see my article and name published for people to read (or so I assume haha).

I immediately told my parents to buy PhilStar last Tuesday since my article just got published.They were as excited as me but they wondered why my name wasn't published. I explained to them the situation. They were still proud of my simple achievement haha That's what I really like about my parents---they're very supportive of my endeavours no matter how small or big they are.

Now, on to the "creative" side haha!It's been months since the last time I wrote a poem. You see, I'm still a self-proclaimed frustrated poet and I still envy people who make a good damn poem. Just this morning, some sort of divine intervention happened to me. Ideas and words start juggling inside my head. The funny thing is, they are making sense (at least for me) so I wasted no time to get my notebook and pen inside my room and soon started writing....three poems haha.

And since I'm always proud of my "poems," allow me to share it here.

Monday Morning

Press 
Enter.
Press 10
Close.
Ting!
Open
Exit
Close.
Ting!
Press 
Close
Ting
UG.

I know, this one is sabaw hahaha! Anyway, here are the two additional "poems" I made.

Boredom

Count the dust particles on my desk
Sort mosquitoes from flies
Watch the ants as they march in single file
And listen to the lizard greeting me from above.

Today's headlines, I already know by heart
and recite yesterday's lottery winning number combination results
without batting an eyelash.

I stare at the monitor's white screen
hoping it will talk to me too.
Shift my attention outside the window
Geez, it's hot today, the sun shines brightly.

Look down, the tiles need some cleaning
and so are my toenails.
I lift my head one last time
I look far away this time
then lower my head back.

I shut my eyes
and open them once again.

It's only 2:30pm.

This poem explains more or less, what I usually feel at work haha! And finally, the last poem:

Skinny Jeans

The fit was perfect
From midway to bottom
and I feel so sexy
as you hug my thighs so tightly.

Your skin, it feels so warm
enough to cover and protect every inch of me
especially in cold, lonely nights.

No doubt,
I fit well in you,
you suit my taste well.
For the rest of the day
I'm yours, you're all mine.

As the night turns deep
I'll let you go down on me now
before I lay down and sleep
and just forget everything
except wearing you in my dreams.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Let the games begin

With the opening of UAAP's 74th season a few weeks back, spotlight now is on the Blue Eagles as they try to bag their fourth consecutive championship in the Men's (Srs.) Basketball Division. The last time a UAAP team had that achievement was in 1998-2001 courtesy of DLSU Green Archers. But it was the UST Growling Tigers who first tallied the said record in the whole UAAP history including the 1993 championship wherein they swept all of their 14 games. Woot, woot!

Now back to the four-peat seeking team, they really have a big chance to seal the deal this year and prove that the hosting jinx is an urban legend after all. Their line-up is pretty much solid since they only lost two key players by the name of Eric Salamat and Ryan Buenafe. They still have good shooters in Kirk Long and Nico Salva plus the addition of 7"1 Greg Slaughter and the sharp-shooting Kiefer Ravena in their line-up made their campaign even stronger.  

With most of the teams parading their imports and a couple of good rookies, the journey towards the championship will definitely not be an easy one. Let's wait and see if there's gonna be a bonfire in Katips sometime in October.
****
Aside from the ADMU Blue Eagles, the team to watch out for this season is the NU Bulldogs because of one reason: Bobby "Ray-Ray" Parks Jr. Okay, I don't know this kid but I first heard him last year from a friend and according to that friend, he's one great player! Now that last year's MVP runner up Mbe has a new partner, expect that the once underdogs to go as far as the Final Four....that is, if they play more consistently and will not choke during crunch time.
****
I think this year's set of rookies is by far the most talented batch I've seen. Slaughter debuted with 23 points while crowd favorites Ravena and Parks shrugged off their supposed rookie jitters and showed their real strength as they lifted their teams to victory during their recent games by contributing 24 and 30 points respectively.  And with bias intended (haha), UST's Kevin Ferrer, last year's Jrs. MVP, played consistently for his team with 12 pts and 11 rebs in his first game against the NU Bulldogs and a 19point performance against UE Red Warriors a while ago.Whew, ikaw na Ferrer ang bagong favorite tiger ko, next is Fortuna, then Camus!Hahahaha

Another rookie to watch out for is NU's Lee Villamor who also had an outside touch as evidenced by his 19-point performance against UST. Rookies of DLSU, UE, UP, and FEU seem to be needing a little more time to show what they got this season since compared to their counterparts in the three schools mentioned above,  their presence is not that much felt.
***
And since I'm a Tiger supporter, I think that this year's rookie will be a great threat in the future to the seven remaining teams harhar. Seriously, Ferrer and that Vigil guy are great guys. Cameroonian recruit Abdul may not be that monstrous but who knows, he'll improve over time. So far, I'm liking UST's line-up: Fortuna, Camus, and Ferrer although I have my reservations on Abdul and Jeric Teng.

I am not that confident though that UST will enter the Final Four this season...unless Abdul's performance will vastly improve and Teng will play more consistently and unselfishly just like what he did in 2009 when he won the ROY award. Oh well, I just hope the Tigers will do well this year. Kahit fifth placer man lang haha! 

And a win against ADMU pleaseee haha four seasons already passed but the Eagles kept on wounding the Tigers so hopefully, they'll win. And I'm excited for a Ravena-Ferrer match-up... Wait, is that possible? It'll be an interesting match-up for these former Jrs.MVPs.
****
Had a great time watching the UST-UE game a while ago with Dez and Shelly. Sa wakas, panalo na din haha!Ang sarap kantahin ang UST Hymn knowing that your team won. Kaloka lang ang almost choker moments ng UST haha! Luckily, they got away with it. I just hope for their consistency especially their upcoming games will be very crucial as they will face a much bigger and stronger FEU, ADU, DLSU, and of course ADMU. yay.

Don't forget UP's also playing well this season so UST should not be complacent with the Fighting Maroons.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Happy ONE

I just realized, my blog turned one this year (July 4 to be exact)! Hahaha!

Thank you dear blog for bearing all my non-sense thoughts for the past 12 months. I'm sure at some point you want to shut down your operations especially during those times that posting negative entries seems eternal. Haha And thanks to my only two friend followers for taking time to visit this humble blog once in a while.

So dear blog, now that we are officially a year together now, let me just say that I'm really really looking forward to spend the next 5, 10 years, or maybe as long as I can type in the keyboard and remember my password and make kwento and share my literary crap haha!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Just moooved out

I finally separated ways with SPCP last Friday after being with the company for six months. Despite my endless rantings about everything about the school- the system, the students, and the people---I do not regret being part of the community, honestly. I experienced soooo many things in a span of six months- some are nice but most of the time, it's kinda traumatic. Those traumatic experiences made me realize that I am no longer happy anymore and so I decided to simply move on and face the consequences of my action, which I did.

My last two months in the institution was the happiest. I am not that really friendly but for some reasons, I clicked with the people I worked with and soon, they became my buddies. I am just happy that I met them and made my last days less sadder.

My last day was just like an ordinary day. I visited one last time the people who helped me throughout my stay- Tita Alma, the principal's secretary and the people in IMC Tita Belle, Kuya Wilbert, Kuya Lito, and Kuya Pepito. I also made a "courtesy call" to Sr. TB as advised Ms. Anna and Ms. Liza.

My folks in the Registrars and IT office decided to threw me a pizza and cake mini-party. Hehe simple party with these simple people. But what made me almost teary-eyed is their "special gift"


In all fairness to them, nag-effort ang mga lola sa Registrar's office to make this letter complete with the school's paper header and SEAL! Hahaha Panalo!

They were laughing when I told them I had a hard time figuring out who the hell is Juliana Uno-Bente Onse though. Slow much haha

Yun lang, fail sila dito....
My name always gets mispelled haist
Mhadz?wahaha jejemon?
After work, we headed to Libis to attend mass at Fr. Pio Valenzuela Chapel. After that, we had our last bonding session over dinner at Sizzling Pepper Steak at Eastwood City.

The Registrar's people
My Baguio buddies Maan and Guia
Baguio room mate Maan
With my kapatid Guia
The cooking IT staff Ms. Liza
Ms. Ivy, kapatid, and me
Ms. Ana "flirting" with kuya server
Mag-ina starring Ivy June Villanueva and Analiza Seechua
 The six of us ordered the house specialty: Sizzling Pepper Rice. The food's just okay. Nothing spectacular and the price is reasonable. But what made this experience cool is the fact that the food is served in a sizzling plate with the meat still uncooked and you have to turn it upside down so that it will get cooked. Hahaha na-amaze lang ako talaga. It's like you're cooking your own food and watch as the meat turns brown from red a while ago.
From this....
...to this. Remember to turn it upside down.
After dinner, we separated ways since all of us were tired plus, Ms. Ana and Ms. Liza will go to work the next day even if it's declared a non-working day because of Pasig City Day.

This is my third despedida by the way.

The thing is, it's really hard to leave a place and the people that you've been with for a long time. Leaving is painful but being left behind is more painful. I decided to leave because I am still searching where I truly belong. I am not getting younger anymore. I need to find a good job... a true career that I can call.

It's like a having a relationship with someone. When you realize that you're not good for each other, you call it quits, you detach yourself, and simply move on with life no matter how painful it is hoping at the end of the day, you'll finally find the right one for you.

And this is why I always jump from one job to another. I am constantly moving and finding where I will truly fit-in. I will not stop moving until I find the right place where I can settle down for good.  
I like to move it, move it

MAY TRAVEL ADVENTURES 3: ENCHANTING CORON PART 4

Our last day in Coron is purely about rest, rest, rest. We woke up later than the usual, had our breakfast, and took last-minute photo souvenirs of the place. 

I like the place because it's very homey. It's not that sosyal nor that cheap but just right especially if you're on a tight budget. The room's nice and spacious and the bathroom is okay too. The aircon performs according to its function, unless power supply runs out (which happened in our third night. Until now, Palawan still has power supply problems). One bad thing that I can say is their bed sheets smell awful that we have to request the staff to replace it. They blamed the bad weather why their bedsheets have that awful order. We understand though.

Their restaurant is the big reveal here! We're just lucky that they served very delicious meals everytime we go there. As in! Their banana crepe loaded with lots of chocolate syrup is orgasmic!Haha

I also liked the interiors...very cozy and native. The owner also have a glass stand where different mugs, dolls, bells, and little plates ( I don't know the proper term haha) from all over the world were placed. Cool! The music being played is foreign and local reggae songs.

Is this the koumintang?or kulintang?

The owner's collection



The Bar

Pa-sweet much haha
The van that would transfer us to the airport arrived at 12 and we arrived at the airport after an hour. After we checked-in our luggage, we proceeded to the departure area and wait for our 3:00pm flight back to Manila. By the way, the guards made a manual inspection of the passengers' luggage. HUWAAAAAT?!

One "entertaining" incident happened at the arrival area. The 2pm Cebu Pacific flight bound to Manila were having trouble that their plane arrived late. Meanwhile, the 2:10pm flight arrived on time. The passengers of the 2:10pm were immediately directed to board the plane, much to the boos and irritation of the passengers of the 2pm flight. The passengers of the earlier flight were questioning the Cebu Pac staff how did it happen. Minutes later, their plane arrived. They boarded pissed yet quietly. 

As the plane was about to close, two "hunky" men came running with their luggage, much to the delight of the crowd. Hehehe That's because behind those muscular bodies, they cannot hide their feminine side as they started shouting at the top of their lungs, wait, wait to the crew of the plane which made it funny. 

Anyway, we arrived in Manila at 4pm. As mommy, daddy, and rap waited for our luggage, several foreign guys started to arrive in big groups, waiting for their bags also. Somehow, I have a pretty idea who they were especially when one one of their alalays started getting their bags from the convey or. My instinct grew clearer as a tall man, probably in his 40s, stood a a foot away from me. It's confirmed. They are who I thought they are: The Philippine Azkals team who just arrived from Iloilo City.  And the guy a foot away from me is coach Hans Michael Weiss. The Younghusbands were not there, though.

So that concludes my four-day vacation trip in Coron. The experience was really memorable because of my many firsts: 1446 steps, snorkeling, standing in a shipwreck, brownout in the province, soaking in a 40degree Celsius water, and huge and deadly waves that I experienced in my entire life!Whew!
Waiting is too long, huh?


Cebu Pacific at the tarmac
Finally, our plane arrived

Time to unload
Runway

Minutes before take-off





Despite the bad weather that we experienced, we're still thankful that everything went fine with the trip. Truly, as the song of South Border goes.... 
There's a rainbow always after the rain....

MAY TRAVEL ADVENTURES 3: ENCHANTING CORON PART 3

Our schedule during our third day in Coron wasn't that jam-packed at all. We only had three remaining must-see places before we left Coron the next day.

The weather's been cooperative during the last day of our tour.Yipee! 

First in our list is the Coron Shipwreck. This tour almost didn't push through but the Coron Lodge owner gave us reasons why we should not scrap it in our list. We're grateful we didn't!

The trip from the port in Lualhati Park to the shipwreck site took us two hours! Good thing we're entertained with majestic views (pardon my awful shots)




 
I don't know the real name of the shipwreck site that we went to since there Japanese shipwrecks are common in Coron. Anyway, we enjoyed the snorkeling experience. Highlight of the tour is stepping into the shipwreck. Yeahboi!
That's us getting ready for our snorkeling experience. Whew, I was so fed up with snorkeling hahaha! Maybe I'm no snorkeling fan but I am a fan of the beautiful creatures under and above the waters!
Shipwreck site, here we come
Our next stop was still a snorkeling site: Coral Garden.The view underwater is simply breath-taking. Too bad, we failed to take underwater shots.
This is, more or less, the Coral Garden site

 After our sulit na sulit snorkeling experience at the Coral Garden,  we headed to Paz Island as our last destination. We had our lunch in this island. Nothing special about it, honestly. Anyway, we just enjoyed the place which is not crowded at all.















Lunch is served



My Indian-sit inspired jump shot which is exclusively done during my trips
The mother-daughter jump shot
Time to go swimming
She sells seashells on the seashore ;p
Jellyfish
The 3Bs: Kuya Buknoy (the assistant), Kuya Buchoy (tour guide), and Kuya Bayok (the "captain")
Was surprised to see a very nice restroom in this island
Winners of the Bikini Bodies circa 1980s lol
We have company
Island Paz's sand
They can't get enough of their pre-nup photos
Closer please...better.
The return trip was very traumatic. We left the island at past 3pm already, the waters remained calm and peaceful. Everything was smooth-sailing. Minutes later, the waves become bigger..and bigger...and BIGGER! We we're laughing at the start and joked that the experience is just like that of riding EK's Rio Grande. Soon, I find myself reciting all the prayers that I know in my head while asking, is it the end of the world? The waves were really big, plus we're in the middle of the Sulu Sea so just imagine the mental torture that we went through. All our things, even ourselves, were wet thanks to the salty waters of the Sulu Sea.

Alas, after an hour, the waters became calm again. And soon, we find ourselves thanking our crew, who were very composed during the trying times at the sea, as we set foot on land again.

As Kuya Mags, our driver fetched us at the Lualhati Park, I started praying and thanking God for a very safe trip. We arrived at the lodge past 7pm and waited for 100 Days to Heaven to finish before taking our dinner.