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facing your personal clowns
I hate mimes.
I hate clowns.
I hate them because you have no idea who they are under those chalky, freakish makeups. I hate that I don’t know what else is there. I hate the uncertainty.
***
I was looking at this photo i took with my first roll and questioned myself of the things that scare me… I dislike so many stuff, from small beach crabs, to roaches, crawlies, untrained pushy salesguys with flyers and oily muscle men. But afraid? I can’t say exactly what I’m afraid of- suffice to say, most of my old fears were overcome already. The only general remainder is.. uncertainty.
For the longest time, all I have are plans, plans, plans. Plans to travel, start my own enterprise, author a children’s book, go back to school and live without missing a thing. The hardest part is always implementing. I battle with my personal critiques, debating the pros and cons. I speak in behalf of every middle class twenty-something that we don’t have the same freedom most privileged kids possess. We love so many things, impassioned and even talented at that. But we don’t have the luxury of a back-fall should anything go wrong. Our families depend on our earnings to sustain themselves. We are expected to help out and walk the line for our younger siblings to receive their college diplomas. We save on ourselves but still find our target savings not met by the end of the month because an emergency happened at home.
Sorry for ranting a little, but to give you a view of how mid class yuppies are in Manila: For us, luho = getting a nice haircut once in a while or rest on a weekend for a quarter. Walking along Ortigas, you come across funky haired conyo rich kids who are featured to be “creative” and “brave” because they have the resources to dye their tops to match their jackets anytime. You see obviously lousy businesses sprouting and have your judgment confirmed after half a year when they close shop. Your business meetings in a coffee shop are constantly interrupted by rowdy (not to mention insensitive) college dudes with Macs, ogling over their newest download or complaining about how Daddy grounded him and he cant go to Bora for sembreak. Yes, even the daily grind is harder to chew when you realize that you’re only making the ends meet til your next payday. We weren’t sent by our parents to after-school activities and outside the country to learn about the arts, culture and whatnot. Our childhood memories are set in lolo’s farm, chasing after chickens and playing tumbang preso.
(whew! i got that one out!)
Point is, because of this long straw of contextualized history, we’re made to walk along what’s safe and sufficient. We always dream big but struggle to make that first step… I was thinking, maybe we are trained to BE afraid. to BE cautious. to BE comparing (?) to accept but COMPLAIN deep inside.
But it’s not all the same for our profile. My best guy friend never ceases to inspire me. We shared the same quote of childhood but he’s gone ahead of how we mostly fared. He listens to my ranting for more than his fair share but never complains. 
I don’t think I’ve heard him complain about anything other than his love life. hah! From his Masters before til the meeting with venture capitalists last week, he’s never griped. Coming from a close, Christian family, I feel that he saw the world differently at a young age.. All he asks from me are prayers… And his response to my rants always point to one thing: patience.
Everyone’s got their own time. Not because we earned it directly, but because God grants it when we’re ready. Wisdom comes with age and some things are best decided on when you’re older. Now, a year after surrendering myself for His works, opportunities are unfolding before me. Things I’ve wanted for so long to the point I have forgotten them, He’s finally letting me have. Wishes tucked in my heart, He knows and are giving me freely.
What am I afraid of?
I know the concept of uncertainty and shifting gears make me breathe harder… I am not “afraid-less“, I haven’t gone there yet..
But i know, that I am less afraid
“For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love and wisdom.”
II Timothy 1:7
Filed under: Reflecting | 5 Comments
Tags: being afraid, dealing with uncertainty, uncertainty
Eating Japanese
I was devastated upon finding out that Ajisen Ramen along Libis closed down! Now is there another branch for this? Ajisen’s a fast-food chain with franchises in North America, Australia and around Asia. They serve the best ramen with a winning combination of hand-pulled noodles, secret stock recipe. If you don’t know what you missed, read Lori Baltazar’s entry about this place here: http://www.dessertcomesfirst.com/?p=544
We have to refresh our list then of the best Japanese restos near us in QC… There’s Omakase – one in Eastwood (near Power Punch) and another in Tomas Morato. If payday’s still far and Sugi (Greenhills) is out of your options, this is the best bet to get authentic Japanese food and sumptuous sushi. Omakase, roughly translated, means letting the chef decide or giving your trust to the chef. Try their American Dream fusion sushi- salmon, crab meat and cream cheese J
If your appetite’s really demanding, Zensho’s a great place to get your money’s worth. Unlike Saisaki that overwhelms you with a variety of choices (gone cold), Zensho offers an eat-all-you-can menu. A table is assigned a chef and a Teppanyaki grill where the magic happens. We ate there with B’s family for his birthday dinner and we were burping on our way home. Haha. 600pax all in, you can have your fill of sushi, salmon, oysters, steaks, < lamb >, meats, fish, tempura, sashimi and almost anything.
Chef Roger showing his moves :p
Writing this just made me realize why I’m gaining weight. But with good restos disappearing all of a sudden, can you blame me for seizing the moment? 
Zensho
168 Tomas Morato cor. Roces Ave. Quezon City (Near McDonald’s)
Omakase
-Unit 207 Intrepid Plaza, E. Rodriguez Ave.,Libis, Quezon City
-Scout Rallo corner Tomas Morato
Filed under: Foodie | Leave a Comment
Tags: ajisen ramen, Japanese food, japanese food manila, Japanese restaurant, Japanese Resto, omakase, zensho
4 Days is not enough for one to experience the beauty of the Bicol region.
Travelling alone will cost you 2-4 hours depending on which town you’ll move to. We took the Legaspi route and headed for Donsol. Our reservations were in Casa Bianca, which was 3-4 resorts away from the Tourism Office in Dancalan. Not bad for its price, Php1,700 for an air-conditioned room fitting 5; though I deem it best to not recommend it instead. Hehe. Perhaps the best lesson learned here’s that planning is soooo crucial. Haha! Thanks to Ate Agnes, a local and daughter of Amor Farm Beach Resort’s owner, transfer and itinerary arrangements were made easier.
Food’s cheap and yummy at Amor’s (sobrang media mileage na to!) too, no surprise that the Presidential kids Luli and Datu were staying there. Hehe. Chismis. We sampled their version of Sinigang with Buko (young coconut meat), Kinunot, Laing and adobo. Breakfast was served there too, funny that they label hotdogs as sausages. Hehe. Banana pancakes anyone?
Registration and a 10 minute orientation at the Tourism office will prepare you for the whaleshark encounter. Our BIO (butanding interaction officer) was the best! Kuya Apollo carries a whaleshark tattoo on his chest, proof that he’s taken the love for these wondrous animals to another level. The tourism also brought livelihood to this otherwise sleepy town. Of course, since it doesn’t involve capturing and disturbing animals, I’m all ok for this trip.
The night before our scheduled encounter, we hopped on 2 boats to cruise along Donsol’s river lined with mangroves and palm trees. The sunset-night activity’s perfect for couples… I’m reminded of 2 scenes. 1 is in a Samurai X episode where Kaoru and Kenshin were with flocking(?) fireflies and 2)anaconda! Hahahaha. Ang ganda. Imagine hundreds of twinkling lights, flying, settling on trees and even your arm! You’ll need a high-tech cam with night vision to catch the view.
By 8 am the next day, we were sailing away, watching the seas grow deeper in blue. Until from a little distance, a black formation was moving to the right. Our BIO signaled us to get ready with our flippers and masks. Without any time to back out, he shouts “sa kanan, talon!” (to the right, jump!). The funny thing is that I don’t swim. Haha! If only to save my life, but I’m sure I looked like a poor paddling dog with fins. Heck! I wouldn’t pass the chance to swim with these creatures. We got around with a total of 10 butandings, the largest ones were 9-10 ft. long. They’re sooooo beautiful. The hard work’s been worth it. By hard work, I mean getting kicked by Americans and shoved by Chinese tourists who are chasing after the same whaleshark. Interaction’s limited to 6 per shark but well, that wasn’t the case. Still, that didn’t prevent us from getting as close as less than a foot away from the gentle giants.
After a quick lunch by 11 am, we headed for Gubat, Sorsogon. A plain mistake because it’s a ghost town. We had a ball laughing at how sorry we are for booking the resort that night. The girls ended up sleeping in the same room as the guys’ because we were freaked out. Hahaha! A word of caution lang, the people in smaller towns are not used to tourist, so be more modest in terms of clothing or how you act. It can get uncomfortable, to be honest. But let’s not go there.. I’d rather skip this part and head for the capping stop: CamSur!
Because of the MNC sales skills, we traded our 2 standard rooms for an executive and very exclusive villa and saved ourselves Php4000 more! Villa Del Rey Villas have their own pool. Only one family was staying there so it’s technically ours, haha! The custom bed and zen/Asian inspired interiors of our villa spreads to its personal yard and porch. There’s even an outdoor tub for us to enjoy. Way cool! :p
Food in CWC (CamSur WaterSports Complex) is reasonable also. Prices similar to Manila’s Dencio’s or Gerry’s. The best part of course is the wakeboarding! But waiiit… since we’re beginners, we have to start with kneeboards first. Sounds wimpy but your body will object. The ge-force left our muscles sore til days after. CamSur’s a good place to stay in too, only 30 minutes away is a white beach and an hour more will lead you to the Caramoan Peninsula. Sadly, it’s closed to the public because Survivor Italy’s using it as their cast-away island. Kewl. By the end of this year, a new lagoon in CWC will open: a bigger one using a speedboat to pull its riders instead of cables.
Okay, so there were some hits and miss but the trip generally rocked!
I have contacts for those of you who’d the same itinerary.
Dali! Whaleshark season’s only until May. If not, CWC’s always a good choice to stay in
Some notes:
-Agnes Amor, Amor Farm Beach Resort- 09176941687
-ask for Kuya Apollo as you BIO J
-Whaleshark interaction- Php3550/boat. Max of 7
-snorkel gear @ Php150/set
-van rentals vary depending on distance, but contact service vans with a route to get a cheaper rate rather than the typical for-hire ones
-Firefly cruise @ Php1100/boat J max of 5 people
-great beaches are in Matnog (tip of Sorsogon), Camarines Sur and Camarines Norte
-For divers, try the Manta Bowl. Jump off is at Donsol too
For more photos, visit my multiply album: http://appsie.multiply.com/photos/album/80/bumi-Bicol_with_the_Hard_Core_
Filed under: Photos, on the road | 3 Comments
Tags: Bicol, CamSur, CamSur WaterSports Complex, CWC, Donsol, Firefly cruise, Legaspi, Whaleshark, Whaleshark Donsol
am baaack!
I can’t be more excited to blog about our Donsol-Sorsogon-CamSur vacation over the last 4 days. I can go on and on about seeing whalesharks and dolphins, kneeboarding, pigging out plus eating Laing and Bicol Express for 4 days straight. But it’s back to reality for me!
I used 2 rolls for my Holga and hundreds of images are stored in my digicam. waaaah! best trip to start the year. The company of “butandings” aka Hard Core Friends made it all the more enjoyable. We’ll definitely go back for some real wakeboarding then.
Til tomorrow or the day after, for now, it’s back to my tasks.
Btw, the new WordPress interface rocks! kudos to the WP devt team. hoorah!
To the Butandings, Kota Kinabalu, watch out for us!
Filed under: Random | 5 Comments
Tags: CamSur, Donsol, vacation, Wordpress
gone Berlitz
I’m finally attending language school Yeay! another tick in my to-do list for the year.
Technically, this will be my 4th language if we count Nihongo which I took up in college for a year. We got until the intermediate level then 4th year StraMa (thesis) came and I wasn’t able to continue. In fairness, Jap’s easier to learn than Mandarin. The pronunciation’s kinder for beginners. I still have my old books and my friends in Japan can always send me resources so I can study on my own.
Now comes the challenge- learning Mandarin using the Berlitz Method. Started by Maximilian Berlitz, this approach to foreign language study’s being used for more than a hundred now. How different is it? For starters, it’s a total nosebleed. Not entirely, but it gives that impression! haha. That’s a no-translation class and your Lao shi speaks to you only in the language you’re studying. Of course, there’s the study materials like book and cd but this set-up forces you to stop translating and eventually pattern your thought based on the target language. Isn’t this how we learn to speak in the first place? That’s their rationale. Lao shi points at things, colors, numbers for you to get what she’s saying at first. Half an hour later, we were mimicking her tone and pronunciation already as well as answering questions how effective!
I’ve read reviews that Berlitz might not make you so fluent but this is the perfect jump point i think. Before you can do basic presentation in a business set-up, you should pass level 3 first. Each level’s 15 hrs. long. Instead of concentrating on writing (though pin yin is used), you learn the logic of sentence patterns on your own. Another plus is the small class size. We’re limited to 3 students in a class to maximize the experience. Hehe, we’re a happy bunch- Apple, Carry and Christina.
I’ll be getting my Chinese name tonight. hehe. I’ll let you in on that after.
Then Friday to Monday, I’ll be out of town with B and our Monde friends. Will be posting photos and entries for sure.
Cheerios!
Berlitz/Edu-Care: 5th Level of Shangri-La,
Filed under: School | 3 Comments
Tags: Berlitz, Berlitz Mandarin, Berlitz Method, berlitz shangri-la, foreign language, foreign language class, mandarin
