Livin high and takin it easy

We have a scheduled trip to Bohol on September, just us the little family, and another trip to Batanes with the little family and my mom and her eight other friends but tell you what, I am finding it quite hard to plan for these trips. Why? Because it seems I am losing the traveler in me. Could that be possible?
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I took Lia, who was exhausted and fell asleep the minute we got into the cab, home from Astoria to nebulize her and put her in her crib – then off we went to Leia’s send-off party at Bahay ni Juan in Kapitolyo, Pasig Friday evening, July 16th.

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This past week, I found myself blog hopping, or more like Multiply site hopping, for some unconscious reason. Perhaps it started with Jay-jay Cenon‘s post about going to Zambales to shoot landscapes, something he has not done in a while, and from then on, hopped to Ed’s Magsayo’s, to Rex Literato’s, to Romulus Rueda’s, to Cha Santos‘ and to Cedric Valera’s. Multiply has a lot of nice old data, nice for all those walks down memory lane… back from the time when everyone was there, having so much fun – all this before the Facebook take-over, of course.

I didn’t really think of it much until the Cebu Pacific’s Summer photo contest’s first winner came out and I remember just looking at a photo with the same concept the day before (that explains previous post).

I used to go to the Shutterbox website where I got the information about Travel Factor’s Photoholic trip to Ilocos. I haven’t been to the site in years and it has not been updated since October 2009 but at least it still exists.

I remember having this conversation with Ryan:

Angku: Let’s go to Ilocos on this trip.
Ryan: You go. I have been to Ilocos already.
Angku: But I have not!
Ryan: Libre mo ko. Samahan kita.
Angku: Okay, I have enough money saved.

And that’s how we ended going to Ilocos, on a trip I paid myself for the two of us, which was really cheap, considering it was only P9,600 all in! From all the transportation to accommodations and all the food, and even the drinks during the socials! I don’t drink but the idea of “socials” always catches me.

Photoholic trip is open to all photographers at any skill level with any kind of camera; film or digital (point&shoot and even camera phone users are welcome).

Open to Photography Enthusiasts, Posers, Barkada and Solo Travelers.

Open also to all who just want to hang out with us and explore the beauty of the Philippines.

So we showed up at McDo Quezon Avenue with our backpacks, not knowing anyone else on the trip aside from Jpax and Fem who went on the trip with us on a short-notice whim because of Ryan. I met Leia and Rex who were manning the registration table in one corner of the fast food, for the very first time. It was very forgettable. More

I have been observing this contest with curiosity (I did not join, of course) since it was first published and announced on Cebu Pacific Air’s Twitter site.

Today, they finally announced the first winner… and I was quite, what can I say, um, disappointed?

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So I need some inspiration today as I have been working with text all night. And for my “daily” dose of inspiration, I check tumblr and from there on stumble from one site to another.

And this is what I found today:

And it so happens to remind me of this:

The stupid Mac newbie that is me just recently realized she has an SD card slot in her Mac and it was thus useful in downloading yesterday’s photos of Lia with her luggage.

I have been packing our stuff little by little and moving small stuff to the new house every now and then in preparation for the big move on Saturday – May 8!

Yesterday I emptied the overhead cabinets and the linen closet, as well as packed some clothes and bags.

In the middle of it all, Lia found her luggage. We bought a set of three – a large one for Ryan, a medium one for me, and a small one for her. I guess she knows which one is hers.

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Right now I would be (or at least I hope so) in the island of Calaguas in Camarines Norte, having fun with friends and doing grown-up things, I suppose. No, I am not bloggin’ all the way from some remote island – this is a scheduled post.

I set this trip a few months ago thinking I would be able to bring Lia with me and not miss her a lot. I mean, not bring her with me to the island where we will be sleeping in tents, but I thought, maybe I could fly to Naga, leave Pili in the early morning of Saturday and get at the Vinzons port just in time for the arrival of the other beach bummers from Travel Factor and from then on, hook up with them to the island. The going back plan was leave Daet for Naga after lunch and be back to Pili in two to three hours. All things considered, I would only miss Lia for one night. But I had not factored in the event that I would have an actual job that has responsibilities and would not be able to fly out of the city whenever I wanted to.

Thus, the flying plan was scrapped and the bus plan came in. To be brutally truthful, I hate taking the bus. I cannot remember the last time I took a bus going to Bicol. I will not elaborate now as to why, but this much I will say, I never look forward to travelling overnight by bus. Just the thought of traveling by bus makes me think of not going..

.. but I guess (or at least I hope) I am now in the island and survived the bus trip. I am (probably) laughing and having so much fun with friends frolicking in the beach…

Only trouble is, I miss you, Lia love…
 
 

 
 
My dear little one,
 
 
I wish you are laughing here with us just like we did in Matukad Island in Caramoan.
 

 
 
And you are enjoying the sun on your face, the breeze blowing your hair, and the sand on your feet..
 

 
 
We will play in the sand and splash water all around us, and over our legs and even at our faces..
 

 
 
I promise to put as much sunscreen on you and all over you so that you do not get burned like you did here:
 

 
 
We can be castaways. You can stay naked all the time (isn’t that what you always want to be anyway?) and I will take care of you.
 

 
 
I miss you Lia and I wish you were here with us.
 
 
Love,
Mama

Once or twice a week, I go out on a paddle boat to nearby coves. I now have this golden brown color, a far cry from the pale skin I had when I got here almost eight months ago (and I sometimes pretend I’m a surfer girl, though there is no surf whatsoever wherever near.)

My calloused hands are a small price for what I come out for. The brown skin or the muscles I am building are not the rewards; rather it is the rare moments I catch whenever I am out in the open. The simple overwhelming feelings of the small memories I gather and keep in the recesses of my mind. Those that are mine and mine alone. It is the stillness of the turquoise waters and the gentle swishing of my hands in it. The whispering kwssh sound of the paddle as it goes out of the water and water rushing against the outrigger. It is not getting to wherever we are going in the absence of any feeling of [rush]. It is feeling so right to just be still, to just be. It is resting my paddle and lying down to watch the clouds, with the boat unmoving, more tranquil than floating on my back in water.

It is watching big great waves rushing towards us, being in the midst of turmoil yet feeling unthreatened, safe with the knowledge that we are going to get home. It is the rushing of wind against my face, looking out into dark grey waters and dark grey clouds blowing away. When you’re out there in the middle of billowing waves, feeling like you’re alone and everything is so unsafe, yet feeling comforted.

No camera can capture the shimmering of the waters under the sun in the distance. It is only in my mind I can record how I sat in the sand under a flaming orange tree and felt so free and so happy to be witness to things as such.

The sound of hundreds of small fish swimming in the water, crackling, tingling.

Staring into the water to gaze upon clumps upon clumps of corals brown against the white sand, and the green waters with gleaming white stripes of the sunshine on the surface of the water.

The butterflies flying with the wind, across kilometers of water.

It is swaying in a hammock under the shade of a tree and a purple sarong billowing in the wind.

It is falling asleep with the wind in my face, the sun in my closed eyes, curled in the sand.

Written January 23, 2006

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Originally posted here.

The past two days has been really busy but exceptionally productive days. In fact, it can be easily said as the most productive days I have had in the past two years! Of course, if you consider having a baby as a very productive, or reproductive, activity, then that one tops the list. I have not done anything else. I gave up my studies, my work, my travels and even my friends to have the baby.

Ryan was in Phuket for a conference and I had to go to a little job interview for a part-time writer job, we asked the in-laws to baby-sit for us. Instead of spending an afternoon to look after Lia, the in-laws thought of getting her to stay with them for a few days – leaving me alone at home to do my own things. I wallowed for an entire day before deciding that that was the best time to do all my pending tasks. Some of them pending for the last two years!

So yesterday I went to my job interview. I was early and they were running late so I did a little banking first because there was a BPI two blocks away from the office. I deposited the downpayment for the Travel Factor Calaguas trip slated for April 17 and 18.

I dropped by my friends’ apartment to leave copies of the “Like Water for Chocolate” film and picked up a few things too, like Lia’s Speedo life jacket.

From there on I went to Columbia Photo in Megamall to leave my Nikon D80 for check-up and cleaning, and from Megamall, I went to the Travel Factor Headquarters in Bloomingdale Plaza in Shaw Boulevard to pick up Leia’s Christmas presents for Lia. What a day!

Oh, more importantly, I got me a Macbook Pro. Yes, I am now officially a Mac user. Hoorah! Hoorah!

I posted here a few months ago about my desire to buy a new laptop. Back then, this HP Touchsmart was the choice. I ended up getting a 13″ Macbook Pro instead! I am ecstatic!

I have cleaned up my IBM Lenovo laptop of all files, transferred it to my Western Digital portable hard disk and is so ready to sell my old laptop. I have installed my Bamboo pen tablet and Canon printer on the new Mac. I am all set!

Ryan was supposed to arrive at seven in the evening (although I thought it was five in the afternoon) from Bangkok but his plane had to turn around thirty minutes into the flight because of engine problem and he was back in Bangkok airport at six in the evening waiting for a replacement flight. He arrived at about eleven in the evening in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and was home after thirty minutes. We had a lot of stories to tell to each other!

Today, I decided that instead of wallowing in my longing for my baby to arrive from her grandparents excursion, I went to my old workplace, St. Paul College Pasig, to work on my clearance. It was due two years ago!

As a side note, I found this while googling for images. An interesting aerial view of the campus, with all of its pre-school, grade school and high school buildings. No, the campus has no college students despite its name.

From St. Paul, I went to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to inquire about getting a student driver’s license.

Lia arrived with her grandparents at about six in the evening and the first thing I said was, “Lia! You lost weight!” I suppose she didn’t get to eat or sleep much or she did a lot of going out.

The past two days has been quite productive and very rewarding over-all. A sense of accomplishment is always a wonderful feeling. I hope to have more of that this year.

We accidentally found Bellini’s Marikina during our last visit to Lia’s pediatrician for her measles vaccine. Actually, our finding it was not really very accidental since we knew Bellini’s is around the area, as was mentioned to us by our good friends Abet and Hash, who had their anniversary dinner same day Bellini’s  celebrated their first anniversary in Marikina. (The original Bellini’s is in one of my favorite places in Metro Manila – Cubao Expo, formerly known as the Marikina Shoe Expo.)

Bellini’s is right across from the nearest and perhaps only available parking space in the area. I must say Marikina is such a nice city because it seems like a bigger and more spacious version of Quiapo. I always make it a point to buy fruits from the market across the clinic where fruits are cheap! This time around, walking from the clinic to the parking space, we also accidentally found a nice store to buy cheap brandless diapers and baby wipes. No need to go to Quiapo! Hoorah for that!

It was about eleven in the morning when we got to Bellini’s and it was empty.

The well-trained staff assisted us with our menu choices. We ended ordering the appetizer, which looked good on the table from where I was sitting.

If you know me, you will not ask me what these are, since I am absolutely stupid when it comes to food. I just eat away and don’t bother to know what I am eating. These appetizers were good though! Real good! I thought to myself, “Maybe next time I go to Bellini’s and just order the appetizers.”

And of course, since this is an Italian eatery, we ordered pizza and seafood pasta.

We had a hard time though with their high-chair since it was not ideal for kids of Lia’s age group.

While we were eating, an Italian came in, we think Bellini’s son, came knocking at the door. Yeah, he actually knocked. Then he was chatting with the staff and then us. He even ran around my table to pick up the fork I accidentally dropped on the floor and immediately replaced it himself.

When we left, he was standing by the table of an elderly couple who came in about thirty minutes after we did, chatting away.

Our bill was about P1,100. Ryan said afterwards, “I think we’ve found a better Italian restaurant than Cantinetta!”

I shouldn’t even have to say that I love Italian and Mexican food. It might just be worth mentioning too that I do not eat Japanese food at all.

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For more on this Italian restaurant, read what this blogger had to say.

Also, read what Anton has. It’s informative and so much better than this post. Hahaha! Not that I’m competing, I am just documenting my otherwise boring life. Haha.