Friday, May 30, 2008

Is it a Sport or Is it Not?

I just finished talking on the phone with a neighbor (now living in Alaska) and I was so shocked when he told me he lost about 900$ for a cockfight during their vacation in the island. Wow! It’s almost like a month salary.
You know what? I can’t believe I was so ignorant about cockfight when I was a kid. One Sunday, we went to visit my Mom’s officemate and I was so surprised to hear a lot of screaming from afar. They lived near the coliseum. I didn’t know anything about the cockfight. I never even thought it’s such a huge deal to some people especially rich guys who can afford to gamble their money.
Did you know that the estimates put the number of fighting cocks being conditions at about 12 million pesos (300 thousand US Dollars) at any one time? This estimate does not include the chicks, the growing game fowls and the brood fowls. With the price of a trained fighting cock running by the thousands of pesos, the value of all game fowls combined, each of which is a prized possession compared to meat, egg or native chickens, should be in the tune of billions of pesos, making the game fowl industry similar in size to or even bigger than the chicken meat and egg industries.
When the Spaniards came to the Philippines, cockfighting was already very popular in the country. It’s even more surprising to me when I see a neighbor’s backyard full of this specific and high-breed red jungle fowl. Of course, that's a lot of money so they take care of it more than their own families. Amazing, eh?
Currently, millions of Filipinos take part or enjoy the sport even just form the sidelines. Obviously, the recent status is definitely the result of the Filipinos love for cockfight. While I don’t consider it as a sport, it just doesn’t make sense to me. Even so, it still remained a part of the culture I was born with.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Philippine Fiesta

When I was a kid, I always look forward for our fiesta. To me, it meant a lot of food, a lot of visitors including my cousins whom I only see during summer. I can still remember our neighbors have their own pigs in their backyards for the fiesta. Some have 2 or more. They bragged about it and were very proud that there’s going to be a big celebration!

(poor piggie, he doesn't know he's gonna be eaten tonight_:(

The word “fiesta” comes from the Spanish word. It is passed on by the Spaniards during their 330 years colonial rule in the Philippines. Presently, fiestas continue to be a heart of Filipino culture. It was initially observed to honor a saint or to commemorate a religious event. Processions, church services, competitions, parades, dancing and drinking are all essential parts of every festival, carried out with greatest enjoyment. Although the fiesta has become more secularized and now celebrates the founding of a specific "barrio" or town, the annual harvest of the main local agricultural crop, some historical or mythological event, or a combination; still it remains a picture of fun-filled activities.

Fiesta for me, is a celebration of “Thanksgiving” and “Reunion”. After a whole year of blessed health and good harvest; it’s time for the villagers to give back. It’s more of feeding people with the fruits of your harvest. When I came back home, the tradition had remained the same despite the crisis. Maybe they just don’t want the tradition to disappear. Oh, I noticed there are people that come out from their tribes-we call them "mountain people". You can see them grabbing a lot of food, put it in their plates, put it inside their plastic bags and will go back for more foods. It’s annoying sometimes because of course; they don’t know what table manners are. Oh well, I believe that’s what FIESTAS are all about, right? To feed the hungry- not to impress your rich friends with what you got.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Unhidden Beauty



It wasn’t long ago when we don’t have the prestigious beauty pageant in our town during fiestas. It used to be just a simple selection of ladies from each village. As part of fund-raising campaign to finance the whole activities, each contestant must raise the money and whoever raised the highest amount will be the “Beauty Queen”. Some people take it seriously though that they can raise as much as 2,000USD or more. For a small town like ours- that’s a big amount of money. Okay then, it’s all about pride.

Nowadays, the government would spend 4-5 grand (USD) for a beauty pageant. As we all know, it is a competition based mainly, though not always entirely, on the physical beauty of its contestants, and often incorporating personality, talent demonstration, and “question & answer” portion as judged criteria.

I think, I’m one of those who are so critical about this beauty contest thing. I don’t particularly like the way they present the ladies- especially in the swimwear part where they're almost naked in front of a large crowd. It may be an art but these ladies are so young. There I go again, being so conservative. I just don’t understand why it has become such a prestigious affair. Again, it’s all about pride, I guess. But what if the lady cannot deliver her answer- obviously, a memorized answer? It’s such a pity just like the previous, controversial Bb. Pilipinas Pageant.

Anyway, here’s what I got during the Beauty Pageant in our town, Mahinog. In fairness, they were so superb and modestly dressed.



Happy Memorial Day!


Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died for the nation's service. For older generations, it is a time to remember their ancestor's sacrifices while to the younger ones- it's more of a drinking celebration, haha!

Anyways, I got a Meme Monday from my friend-Earthlingorgeous again:) Thanks for sharing this, girl!

Here it is:
<*start copy*>

The Myers-Briggs typology test. Imagine, finding the blog of another person that shares a similar (or maybe even the same) personality type as you. If you are curious to see what personality traits others bloggers have and what dominant type of person fills the pages of the blogosphere with anything from personal journals to information rich SEO blogs.

Rules:

1) Do the test.
2) Post your result on your blog.
3) Go to OMB’s blog and message him so he can include you in the compilation of test takers and their results post in his blog.
4) Post your link here after the person who tagged you.
YOUR LINK HERE
5) Pass this tag to every blogger you wish to take the test.
<*end copy*>

************

Okay, here's my result: INFJ

Meaning, I am:
-moderately expressed introvert
-moderately expressed intuitive personality
-moderately expressed feeling personality
-moderately expressed judging personality. Hmmm...


Now, I'm tagging:
Shiela

*********** Happy Memorial Day, everyone!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Wonderful Harmony

Wow! I was just so happy that David Cook won. I thought he was incredibly talented guy. He really deserves it. I really liked his rendition of “Billy Jean” and “Always Be My Baby”. Do you believe in destiny? I guess so. David Cook came to the auditions initially to support his younger brother Andrew (who did not make it to Hollywood) and then decided to try out himself. Isn't that great?
Everyone in my Mom’s family can sing. They can play different instruments. I even remembered how excited I was when my cousin sang on stage on an amateur contest. We are actually at the same age. He doesn’t like singing on stage but my Grandpa was so pushy. I don't blame him it's his pride, I guess.


When I came back home for the fiesta, everything is pretty much the same. Our fiesta is a 3-day celebration of eating pigs, basketball tournaments and night activities. One of the highlights is our version of American Idol. That is, after an 8-week of elimination then there’s the championship. And because there’s not much to do, everybody would love to spend their night at the Amateur Singing Contest place. My husband would call it a “karaoke” place, hahaha!





Isn't that a big deal? Of course it's more than a Karaoke :) When we were kids, we had to hurry just so we can squat on the ground right in front of the stage to see and hear all the singers.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Inescapable

In the night of death, hope sees a star;
And listening love can hear the rustle of the wing.



It’s very sad disasters that had struck Asia last week specifically the cyclone in Myanmar and the big earthquake in Western China. Sometimes it’s unthinkable but some things just happened. As to why and how, nobody really knows.

It was my last week of vacation in the Philippines that I was stranded in the island because of the typhoon. It wasn’t that bad but the heavy rain kind of worried me. If it could have been in California, I would be more grateful for that. You know, I can just count with my fingers on how many times we had rain in CA. It was pretty strange to me. Then, we had the wild fire. It’s really confusing how natural things work.

I remembered when I worked in Taiwan I was very scared of earthquake. It was just a normal thing to them though. Imagine- we experience earthquake at least 3 times a month. After a few months of earthquakes; sometimes it has become predictable. I noticed when it’s very warm then suddenly it will rain- then there’s gonna be an earthquake after that or the other way around. The Taiwanese doesn’t seem to care so much since they’re used to it just like we are used to the typhoon.


One time, I was shopping all alone in the mall in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was Easter Sunday. I was inside the fitting room half naked in the ninth floor of the building trying to fit some clothes when all of a sudden there was a shaking. The ceilings were cracking and people were screaming. I hear a lot phones ringing and people were heading towards the escalators while I was stuck in the fitting room- didn’t know what to do. It was the worst earthquake I ever experienced then: magnitude 7. It lasted for a minute and when it stopped I hurriedly tried to reach for my shirt when there was an after shock that was worse and lasted for a couple of minutes. I really thought I was gonna die naked then. I even thought of my family in the Philippines as to how they’re going to trace my dead body? Some part of the ceiling had fallen down on me and all I thought was my identification card. Did I bring it with me? I just prayed for my salvation as I really thought that was my end. Finally, it stopped leaving the mall empty. When I got out of the fitting room, the sales lady was so shocked to see me. There were just a few employees left. Everybody had just gone out of the building.

How about you? What was your close call?

Give and Go

I had read this interesting tagging on how to increase your Technorati authority ranks. Here are the rules:

1.Copy The List Below into a blog post of yours.
2. Add Your Link To The List
3. Comment On This Post So That We Can Update The List With Your Link
4. Watch Your Authority Sky-Rocket..


*–Copy Here - Technorati Authority–*
1. Brad Blogging.com - Daily Blog Tips For The Masses
2. Daily Blogging Tips At The Daily Rambler
3. Blog Chews - Blog About Anything
4. Steve v4.6 - Big Made Small
5. GIVEAWAY CITY
6. Indo Contest.com - Find the Latest Contest Here
7. POTPOLITICS-We Smoke the Competition
8. ATA - AskTheAdmin.com
9. Dolly’s Daily Diary
10. The Tech Juice - Tech Tips And More
11. Wendy’s OBA, Blog Tips & Tricks
12. Wendy’s Reel - Fact And Fancy
13. A Grateful Heart
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17. Contest Whiz - The Blog Contest Expert
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19. Esmeraldasblog - Como aumentar la Authority de Technorati
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See the original post where you can sign up at bradblogging.com. Don’t forget to promote this article via social networking and word of mouth.. It only means better results for yourself and everyone on the list.
*–End Copy - Get Pasting! –*

*********************

Sunday, May 18, 2008

My Beloved Camiguin

Growing up in a small island of Camiguin is such a pride. It used to be an unknown island, so remote that nobody ever recognizes that it exists. I remembered we don’t have electricity until I was 12 nor signal from any TV stations in our part of the island, Mahinog. People who have never been to the island thought we wear grass skirts- that primitive, huh?

Okay, here’s an overview of our beloved island:


The island-province of Camiguin is a pear-shaped volcanic island in the northern tip of Mindanao. It is approximately 90 kilometers north of the City of Cagayan de Oro. It is bounded to the north by Bohol Sea, to the west by Macajalar Bay, to the southeast by Gingoog Bay and to the east by Butuan Bay.

Camiguin is the smallest province in Northern Mindanao, with its land area pegged at 29,187 hectares. It is composed of five towns, namely, Mambajao – the capital town, Mahinog, Guinsiliban, Sagay and Catarman. The island plays host to seven volcanoes, including the still-active Mount Hibok-Hibok. According to the National Statistics Office, Camiguin has a total population of 74,232 persons- making the province the second smallest in the Philippines in terms of population.


The name Camiguin is derived from the native word “Kamagong”, a tree of the Ebony family that thrives near Lake Mainit in the Province of Surigao del Norte. The original inhabitants of Camiguin were “manobos” who migrated from Surigao. The old native language in Camiguin is called “Kinamiguin”, which is similar to the dialect spoken in Surigao.

The island is blessed with a few beautiful tourist spots and 2 other small, scenic islands with white sands.


KATIBAWASAN FALLS


The 250-feet majestic beauty cascades to a rock pool surrounded by ground orchids, wild ferns, trees and boulders. Its ice-cold waters provide an ideal summer splash to locals and tourists alike. Rock picnic tables, seats and cookout facilities are available for use. It’s surrounded by virgin forests where you can see a lot of primates playing.


ARDENT HOT SPRING

The local hot spa is a natural pool of about 40 deg Celsius springing from depths of Mount Hibok-Hibok. It is ideal for night swimming, a place to rejuvenate both mind and body. This is my favorite destination.


Sto. Niño Cold Spring


It has a pool measuring 25 meters by 40 meters. It is 2 meters deep of cold spring water sprouting from the sandy bottom. I love this place too but it’s just too far from us. It’s at the other end of the island (from our place).


We do have our very own cold spring too called Macao Spring. It’s not developed- yet, it’s open to the public. I remembered every weekend we used to hang out there just to escape the warmth weather and get some refreshment.



Taguines Lagoon


Oh, I will never forget the Lagoon. I’m such a seafood eater, hmmmm. That’s the first place I visited. I really missed the kinilaw or our version of sushi and the crabs, yum! It has its own pond where the fish and crabs are cultured. You can fish and let the restaurant’s crew cook the fish that you just caught. Its cloak of limpid waters, rocky cliffs and huge boulders standing like sentinels, gently rolling hills with peaks covered by creamy clouds and a continually restive sea provide guests with a sense of tranquility and peace.


Mount Hibok Hibok

The only active volcano in the island, the 1250-meter slope is a challenge even to the seasoned mountaineer, as he has to contend with loose rocks and boulders. Mount Hibok-Hibok has a crater lake at the peak and has steam outlets abound. The peak also offers a breathtaking view of the islands of Cebu, Negros and Bohol.


CROSS MARKER AND SUNKEN CEMETERY



A huge cross marker has been installed by the government to mark the community cemetery that sunk during the 1871 volcanic holocaust. Years ago, gravestones were visible during low tide. Today, it is an interesting diving site. With it’s crystal clear water, it’s really amazing to see school of fish playing around the area.


We do have a Soda Spring too. Soda or otherwise known as carbonated water found in most of beverages contains an amount of sodium bicarbonate - an alkaline, believed to have medical effects that helps neutralize an acidic stomach. It is a by-product of the normal atmospheric high pressure underground.


Oh, I almost forgot we still have the two other islands.

WHITE ISLAND

Two kilometers off the coast of Agoho, Mambajao is the Camiguin's popular sand bar. At times it is in the shape of the letter C, sometimes the letter I, depending on the ocean tide. It has the picturesque Mount Hibok-Hibok and Old Vulcan as its backdrop. It is ideal for swimming, sunbathing and snorkeling.

MANTIGUE ISLAND

Three kilometers off the shore from Barangay San Roque, Mahinog is an island four hectares of evergreen forest fringed with sandy beach. The boat ride to Mantigue is quite exciting, as one has to contend with strong diverging currents due to the open sea. One side of the island is ideal for swimming as it is shallow and has few corals. The opposite side is a deep drop off ideal for snorkeling and diving. I have fun memories in this islet since it’s more accessible to us. We spend some nights in the island when we are craving for more sea foods.


On the other hand, we have been known for the Lanzones Festival. Lanzones is a tropical fruit that grows abundantly on the north-central coast of Mindanao. It is said that the sweetest lanzones comes from Camiguin. The lanzones fruit has a pale brown skin and sweet translucent flesh similar to the lychees. This fruit ripens sometime during the third week of October. The harvest of sweet lanzones fruit is celebrated every year in October with a weekend of street dancing, parade and pageants in the main town of Mambajao. This festival includes an exhibit of agri-cottage industry products, barangay beautification, indigenous sports, tableau of local culture, grand parade of the lanzones which is the golden and extra sweet fruit found in the entire province of Camiguin.


Another popular Panaad - is an annual Holy Thursday and Good Friday activity. This is a gathering of people from all walks of life from Camiguin and nearby provinces for a yearly devotion to spend the Lenten Season by walking the 64 kilometer circumferential road of Camiguin and trekking Mt. Vulcan. In the climb up Mt. Vulcan they go through each of the life-size statues depicting the 14 stations of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which are interspaced from each other. Thousands of Christian pilgrims make the island of Camiguin a Mecca in observance of the Holy Week as an expression of penitence.



Be Tagged!

Wow! It's been fun, fun, fun vacation! Although most of the trip was windy, rainy and stormy still I managed to spend a lot of times with few good, old friends and family the most (specially to my niece and nephew).

I would like to thank all my friends who always visit my blog despite my out of posts. I was gonna do some draft posts but then I don't really have enough time. Now, I'm facing a lot of work to do from billing to statements, invoicing and blogging, hahaha!

Anyway, am still coping up with my body clock and am happy to be back. I'd be blogging more this time, hahaha!

**************
20 Questions:
This tag was given to me by Earthly Explorations .
Rules:
Remove one (1) question from below and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag eight (8) people in your list. List them out at the end of this post.
1. At what age do/did you wish to marry? I never even thought of that when I was a young girl.
2. Have you ever shoplifted? Yes, once when I was in college while riding a jeepney. My calculator :(
3. Where is the place that you want to go the most? Italy, yehey!
4. Which part of you that you hate the most? The few scars in my legs.
5. When you encounter a sad moment, what would you do? Just live with it, taste it, and smell it till it's gone. I never suppressed any good or bad moments. Deal with it.
6. What are you afraid to lose the most? None anymore.
7. If you win $1 million, what would you do? Give to the charity including my own family & relatives.
8. What do you loved the most last year (2007)? Our Christmas vacation and a week-road trip from our our home to Yosemite, Lake Tahoe, San Francisco & Santa Barbara.
9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you: Assertive, Outgoing and Optimistic.
10. How do you cope with boredom? Blogging, gardening and cooking.
11. Till now, what is the moment that you regret the most? I never have regrets, promise. All things happened for a reason, that's my stand point.
12. Which type of person do you hate the most? SELF-RIGHTEOUS!
13. What is your ambition? I believe I had achieved what I thought were my dreams! In the end, accomplishments doesn't matter at all, it's how you lived your life at the moment and how you will be remembered when you're gone that's matter the most.
14. If you had one wish, what would you wish for? For my Dad to grow and be a big man that he is!
15. How did you celebrate New Year? We had a toast at our room in the hotel in Santa Barbara while watching the New Year's countdown on CNN.
16. It is already 2008, do you have a new year's resolution? Not much at all.
17. What do you look forward to in 2008? More business in EBay and more progress on my husband's business too!
18. If your life is a song, what title best fits it? Give Thanks with A Grateful Heart
19. What is your inspiration in life? My God.
20. Where are you at this stage in your life? I'm at the point of contentment but still struggling for more to give & share which in return, has been given back to me.
I am tagging:
1. KCee
2. 4ever7

3. Shiela
4. Pinay Jade
5. Photographs & Memoirs

6. Maya's Window

7. Marilyn Kate
8. Filipino Life Abroad
****************

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Go Smell the Flowers

I was stunned when I saw the parade of beautiful ladies inside the mall. I didn’t realize that it’s the month of May already. Nor did I think that some people still practice the tradition- SANTACRUZAN. It was very nice to see that it’s being practiced although the whole meaning has been changed throughout the years.

The tradition is also known as Flores de Mayo (flowers of May). Flores is a Spanish word meaning "flowers". It refers to the whole Flower Festival celebrated in the month of May in honor of the Virgin Mary.

A Santacruzan is a religious-historical beauty pageant held in many cities, towns and even small villages all throughout the Philippines during the month of May. It is one of the most colorful May-time festivals in the Philippines which depict the finding of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena, mother of Constantine the Great.



The festivity commemorates the search of the Holy Cross by Queen Helena (Reyna Elena) and her son, the newly converted emperor Constantine. After the Holy Cross was found in Jerusalem and brought back to Rome, there was a joyful celebration for thanksgiving.



Nine days of prayer (a novena) in honor of the Holy Cross precedes the Flores de Mayo or Santacruzan. This festival was introduced by the Spaniards in the Philippines and has since become part of Filipino traditions identified with youth, love and romance.


Well, I remembered way back second year high school. I was the Reyna Ezperanza- my only memory of being in a pageant, hahaha! It was fun to be part of the traditional parade. I was a member of the “Hijas de Maria”- meaning “Daughters of Mary”. Our leader is an old lady who is very conservative that discouraged us to have a boyfriend at a young age. It was nice to think that kids during those times were still so innocent. My younger sister was so eager to attend the daily novena every afternoon where she wore an angel costume. I still remember how happy she was that she received a gift for perfect attendance after the end of the month. The A-V-E M-A-R-I-A is represented by eight (8) girls all wearing long white dresses with wings to make them look like angels. Each one carries a letter to complete the word "AVE MARIA."

Anyway, things are so different now. Seldom will you see young girls participate in the religious activities in our town. It’s even surprising to see these very young girls were so busy texting- you can’t have a real conversation with them. Their cell phone or mobile phone is more important to them. I don’t even understand how or where they got the load or the phone itself, knowing that their parents are not well-off. Maybe they are not that innocent anymore at the age of 13.

Saturday, May 3, 2008

Home Away from Home!

Wow! It was my first time to go on a long flight. I have been sleeping all the way from Los Angeles to Japan then more naps to Manila, hahaha! I took 2 sleeping pills and it's been a great help. As soon as I arrived Japan, I looked for money changer booth to have money for the Internet use as I have to e-mail my husband. I was waiting for my 100 Yen only to find out it's only like a quart-size coin, hahaha!

I arrived Manila very late- 11PM. It's been so shocking crowded at the airport and warm. There is that familiar attitude of impatience and aggressive crowd that had annoyed me (again?). Anyway, thanks to Jason and his wife for the warm welcome. I never told my family that I'm coming home for a vacation except my brother. We arrived 12 midnite at the other airport for my domestic flight. It was funny where all you see are people sleeping on the benches- waiting for their connecting flight. I had my early connecting flight- 5AM. My brother waited for me at the local airport in CDO. It was fun to see the shocking faces of my sister and my other brothers in the apartment. I just woke them up to do the household chores because it's late, hahaha!

The next day, we travelled to the island to my parent's house. It's pretty early (4AM) that we left Cagayan de Oro just to avoid the warm weather and hussles and for us to catch the first ferry ride to the island.

I told them not to tell anybody yet. My Mom kept on calling my brothers to come home for the fiesta. So, he just said, we're going home early but with a visitor from UK. What the heck? Who is that visitor? Okay, they just guessed, maybe it's my cousin. Soon as I get out of the vehicle, my Mom was outside the house. I was hiding but she can hear my voice and was just teary-eyed to see me! It was indeed a heart-warming homecoming!