_Lagalag_

I finally moved into a new place...

After close to 3 years of staying in Guada, which I enjoyed and I leared a lot. I felt that it's time to turn another page of my story. I'm excited...too much that I finished fixing my place in just one day.

I saw the place in the internet that Allan shared me. Looked at it on Tuesday, paid for the downpayment on Thursday, moved my stuff yesterday and the place is ready to be setlled in today. The place is so nice that it doesn't look like i just moved in. This is a gonna be interesting...

here are a few things that endears me to my new place...

1. the sala set looks exactly like the one we had at home when i was growing up.
2. the house is always clean
3. there's a cute Rottweiler named Doglas who seems to have the same fondness of me.
4. there's a garden
5. the place looks and feels like home, not a boarding house.

To Ryan & Jo, it's been fun sharing a place with you guys. But i guess it's time for me to go. Thank you for all those wonderful times together. And i still look to seeing you guys.

Goodluck to both of you.

Now, I'll be resting in my new bed.

zzz....

I just realized that i'm surrounded by good writers. Make's my writing look crap, but it's not their fault to be gifted in literature/journalism, that's just the way it is. crap.

Even when I was in Bene, all my so called peers are part of the college paper...

Julienne, the psych-major-benedictine-scholar-former-housemate-friend of mine writes profound stuff that makes my mind zone out.

John Joe write beautiful stories...in full talagog.

JP... well he's with Star Cinema creative team, and that says a lot. If you see another Bea-John Lloyd flick hit the box office, it's his fault.

Ryan, the person who revived my love for reading, never to entertain me with his hilarious write ups. If you don't believe me, check out his travel blog: www.callcentercon.travellerspoint.com, if you don't think it's funny and appealing, i suggest you get a life! Now.

RJ, Sutil's frontman and my buddy writes beautiful songs

Allan, my ever-dependable colleague, on the other hand is many times a Palanca awardee. They are everywhere I tell you!

I feel out of place....

crap.

For lack of a person to blame, I'll blame Kuya Kim, the weather man. I know, it's not his fault to read the teleprompter verbatim. But im ranting.

The weather's been acting wierd lately, well it has always been. Flip thru news channels and you'll see what i mean. I think Julie's right, something's definitely wrong with the planet. Now im being paranoid, and im digressing. Focus, focus.

I don't know if you've noticed this week, but at exactly 8pm, all the water above pours down like a wild dog unleashed along with all the thunder and lightning. It's loud. It's amazing. It's scary. It happened Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the same time with the same intensity. Im not sure about Thursday though, coz i was dead to the world Thursday night. Funny thing is, it totally stops after 10-15 minutes, it stops as if nothing happened. Nothing. Weird.

7:45pm Friday night, I was walking along Ayala Ave when the unusually strong wind blew from all directions. I knew, it's her....the 8pm downpour. Perfect time to test the Anorak that a good friend gave me last year. I pulled the anorak out, put it on and prepared for Ms. 8pm's wrath...

After 10 minutes of walking under the rain, soaking wet, I made a decision. I won't challenge Ms. 8pm again....Fortunately the Anorak worked perfectly well. Thank you for the gift, friend.

I told myself, while on our way back to Manila, that the only way im coming back to Cebu is if my job requires me to do so and I won't spend a centavo, else you have to force me at gunpoint and drag me to the airport.

but if should come back, i'll be ready. Keeping in mind the things I shouldn't do while im there.

so remember, when in Cebu Do NOT...

1. Negotiate with a cabbie after you reach your destination.
2. Ask a lady at a souvenir shop to take a picture of you and your friends.
3. Allow a porter to carry your bag unless your not ready to shed some bucks.
4. Make negotiations with a sea vessel crew.
5. Believe a bystander when he says: "Malapit lang, lalakarin nalang yan jan sa dulo!"
6. Expect to be given utensils while eating lechon.
7. Pretend you understand the dialect if you really dont.
8. Drink Rhum-Coke while watching 'Sukob'
9. Drink Rhum-Coke while on a moving bus.
10. Put your plane ticket on top of a wet counter.

No, Cebu is nice, it's a fun place...I just wasn't paying attention.

Disclaimer: some or all of the items listed above may not apply to the reader since these are personal experiences of the writer that may have further aggravated the latters biases.

Intro muna...
It was a humid November night a few years ago. My high school friends and I were at the Clamshell in Intramuros. For those who never had the chance to see the place, it's best described as Filipiniana-Inspired Eastwood. Too bad it doesn't exist anymore. They were lots of people there enjoying good food, listening to good music and savoring the filipino culture and history. Locals and Foreigners of all shapes and sizes revel at the fireworks on a Saturday night. And if you're lucky, you may even bump into old friends and acquiantances. In our case, we saw two of our high school teacher, Ms. Computer-Adviser and Ms. High-Energy (the rumors are true! They are a couple). Clamshell reveals a lot.

Eto na...
So why did I talk about Clamshell? and what is it's relevance to the topic? Well it's because of one scene i've witnessed there. On one booth, there's a couple of Jabroni's (trashy looking non-locals) surveying the store. They started asking the girl which places she would recommend them going to. The girl gave the usual response. Bora, Cebu, Galera, Palawan, Etc... the next question was a blow, even to me. He asked "Have you been to those places?" I haven't. Damn. Foreigners gets to see the beauty of my country before I do. I boast of the country's best beaches only thru head knowledge and not actual experience. This should not be the case...

since then I made a decision that i will be proactively travelling to see the beauty of my own country. I will enjoy what was readily given to me even before i was born. Foreigners travel thousands of miles to take pleasure of the Phillippines. Why can't I?

As of today, these are the places i've set foot on. Soon I'll paint the whole map blue.

see how much you've travelled the country... check out this link:

http://forge.codedgraphic.com/lakbayan/