Municipality of Carmen's contigent
Monday, September 20, 2004
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Saturday, August 21, 2004
Last week I realized how I’ve been neglecting myself when a good foot scrub with soft music and scented oil and a manicure afterwards can send me to seventh heaven. Or maybe I’m just getting old (ouch, array, aguy pa jud!). Gone are the days when my favorite past time was ballroom dancing, hanging out with my friends and listening to bands. Nowadays, I find ballroom dancing tiring and listening to bands a torture specially when all the songs they sing have almost the same tunes and indiscernible lyrics. Now my weekends are spent swimming, hunting for ukay ukay or hanging out with my “virgin” friends, we call our group the “virgin people” and I won’t elaborate even if you point a gun on my head hehehehe. Anyways, having another set of friends aside from my DTI friends is also quite a revelation to me. Another sign of old age? Maybe, but I realize that I need this and I’m sure my “other friends” understand it too. Its just that when I’m not working, I crave for activities or conversations that has nothing to do with work, and to do things that I’ve never done before. And anyway, I consider my DTI friends as family, someone whom I could always run to when I’m down and I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. I could always count on their support whenever and wherever and their acceptance and love for me come-what-may. And if one of them is reading this, I know he/she would say, “OA mo ha! Whatever!” It’s true though, we’ve come a long way, these friends of mine, we’ve been together in almost all significant events and moments of our lives, from birth to death in the family literally. We are so attuned to each other’s moods that we only have to look at each other and know what the other is thinking or about to say. It’s quite uncanny to think that people from different backgrounds, with no blood ties at all can love and accept each other like family. I guess what they said about adoption is true with friendship, “there are two ways of having children, from the womb and from the heart.”
Monday, August 09, 2004
July is the busiest month for me, what with the Sandugo Festivities, meetings to attend, reports to submit and people to entertain. The day merge into another, that each day seem to be like any other day. That’s why I’m very grateful to all the visitors in this province. They are the ones who unknowingly remind us of how lucky we are to be living in this paradise. As I would often comment, working in Bohol is not working at all, it’s like having a paid vacation (of course I don’t mean that I would work for free hehehehe). Imagine white, sandy beaches literally on your backyard, century old churches everywhere, the Loboc river cruise which is just a 20-minute drive from Tagbilaran and the world renowned Loboc Children’s Choir who up to this time still bring tears to my eyes everytime I hear them sing. The world famous Chocolate Hills, the Sagbayan Peak, Hinagdayan Cave, Alona Beach, Balicasag Island (great for snorkeling and diving). These are just some of the sites frequented by tourists but most of the locals take for granted, not because they don’t appreciate them but because they have been there as far as they can remember. Only when visitors gasped how beautiful they are that we take a second look, agree and thank our Maker for putting all these lovely sites in this island. And such warm, friendly and hospitable, people that some commented that hospitality is the national pastime of Boholanos. Of course, all is not perfect in this paradise, we still have problems, like infrastructure, communications, peace and order, poverty, waste management, water, etc., etc. But fortunately for us, the people responsible for their solutions acknowledged their presence and most of all, are doing something about it. I can mention all the initiatives planned, undertaken, and being undertaken but it will take much space and effort and I would rather not do that for obvious reasons (if it is not obvious to some readers, then it’s not my problem right? ;-) )
Anyway, I’m not a poet and can’t wax lines on these beautiful sites nor am I a musician to write lyrics, so I will just post some pictures and see for yourselves or better yet come visit us and experienced paradise.
Anyway, I’m not a poet and can’t wax lines on these beautiful sites nor am I a musician to write lyrics, so I will just post some pictures and see for yourselves or better yet come visit us and experienced paradise.
Friday, July 16, 2004
The Conqueror
July 5 – 11, 2004
So this blogging has become a weekly thing now huh ;-). Anyway, this week is my “conquering fear” week. How I wish my daughter left her digicam, the images captured this week would have qualified for the “most embarrasing pictures” award.
Fear is defined in the dictionary as “An emotion excited by threatening evil or impending pain, accompanied by a desire to avoid or escape it.” Swimming or trying to stay afloat in water without swallowing half of it has become an obsession to me. I don’t exactly fear the water, I love the beach, but my greatest fear is drowning and I don’t relish the idea of being pulled out of the water while half of the population of the island is watching while I’m being revived. Of course, if my lifesaver looks like one of the guys in Baywatch, I would not mind drowning every now and then and besides I know my family and friends would disown me if I become an item in the Bohol Chronicle. I could just imagine how it would be reported - “Near drowning in Panglao : Nimfa Virtucio of the Department of Trade and Industry nearly drowned in one of the beaches of Panglao while trying to swim. Eye witnesses accounts reported that the sea is calm and the water is just knee deep. Investigation is going on to discover if foul play is involve. A good Samaritan who happened to be nearby pulled the victim out of the water and revived her. As of press time, Ms. Virtucio is unavailable for comments.” Yukkk! I could never live that down. It’s enough being called a mermaid who could not swim. It’s not that I can’t swim, I can do a dog paddle but as my instructor, Boboy, told us, dogs do not belong to the pool. Besides, I have an excuse, I grew up in Tarlac, a land-locked town somewhere in Central Luzon, where the deepest part of the river is just knee deep and only used for washing clothes before the advent of the washing machines. And when I last visited my town, the river was no longer there, it has been reclaimed to give way to a big shopping mall. I also had two near-drowning experiences, one was when I was seven years old, when I fell in a big hole on the ground during one of the big floods Luzon is so famous for. Luckily, I was with my brother and a cousin when that happened. The second was when I was in my early teens, this time in one of the beaches of Cavite, I had cramps while a friendly neighbor was trying to teach me how to swim. Oh, there was a third, but this time I was supposed to be on a boat that capsized, thankfully luck was with me at that time, I refused the invitation to join the merry boat riders. I was told that one of the passengers, who is the son of a friend, was so traumatized by the experience, he refused to even step into the water for months.
When we moved to Bohol, I could no longer put off learning how to really swim. Bohol is an island and the beaches are beautiful and the dive sites breath taking, I was told. I often tell visitors that we have the best dive sites and yet I myself have never even seen them. So, I resolved to learn scuba diving in this lifetime, but it would have been ironic if I dive even if I can’t swim. Obviously, I need to learn how to swim! So with firm resolved, and with two friends, Inday and Nelin who like me have been longing to learn how to swim, I am now taking lessons, and I’m proud to say that with just two lessons, I now can swim across the pool free style hehehehehe. As my swimming buddies, Inday and Nelin told me, I’m an A-1 student. Well, bragging aside, I do learn quickly, I learned how to speak fluently the Visayan language within a year, I learned how to drive practicing in a rickety, Jurassic, Wily’s jeep, I learned ballroom dancing with only a few lessons, singing? Well it comes naturally, Filipinos love singing as evidenced by karaoke and videoke bars you find in every “eskina” (corner). I don’t sound like Celine Dion but at least I can carry a tune and I pronounce the words correctly unlike the guy who was in the news a few years back. He was killed by the guys in a nearby table who were so tortured with his singing “My Way” which he pronounced “My Wi”, that they decided to get rid of him permanently. Anyway, being a Gemini might have helped. Geminis are notorius for starting two or more projects at the same time without losing track of any of them, however, most of them don’t get finished. Classic examples, I have started to sew a dress, make a cross stitch picture of mine, grow bonsais, raise gold fishes all at the same time. Result? The dress is in the cornermost part of my closet with one shoulder strap missing, the cross stitch is finished except for the background, the bonsais are growing on their own, and the gold fishes are………… not dead of course, I’m not that cruel……. I gave them to a friend. Anyway, my mother (bless her soul) used to give me hell everytime I start a project and in deference to her and to show my gratitude, I make it a point now to finish each and every project I started. Besides, it gives me greater satisfaction when I do that, overcoming my baser instinct, and treating it as challenge and not as barrier (nobody has ever accused me yet of backing down from a challenge). I also realized that the first step or move is the hardest to do when overcoming a fear, when you’ve done that, everything falls into place. As the saying goes, it’s all in the mind. It also helps of course that I am good friends with my swimming buddies from the Bohol Investment Promotion Center (BIPC), Inday and Nelin. They are both cute ladies, who can almost outlaugh, outtalk and outeat some of my friends at DTI and they are as adventurous as I am. The night after our first lesson, we went to the Pier where the Sandugo Trade, Agri and Food Fairs were held and bought rice and barbecue to bring to Inday’s place to eat.
Back to the swimming lessons. The first lesson was to learn how to kick properly in the water, with legs stretch out and feet flexed. So that’s how I can’t float that long, I’m kicking the wrong way! Once we’ve learned that properly, we were then forced/cajoled/motivated to float and kicked from end to end of the pool and that was in Day 2 of the lesson. We were told that the next lesson would be to use our arms and do the free style, but since we were all too pumped up with our success, we proceeded to do just that and VOILA! We were swimming, baby! We were so excited, we decided to treat ourselves by buying new swim suits, but unfortunately it’s almost 9 pm and all the stores are closed except for the Sundry Shop of the Metro Centre Hotel, but unfortunately the parking lot is full and we don’t have enough energy nor inclination to park on the street and walk to the shop. As luck have it, our friend Edik called and we decided to invite ourselves to his pad, buy some food and eat our dinner of balut, crackers, sodas and chips in his pad. Edik is unlike any other guy I know. He is funny, thoughtful, malambing and very artistic. His pad is decorated according to his mood, this time it’s Mexican, with the walls painted in blue and yellow, even the bed sheets and the pillows match and he has an extensive collection of CDs and wines! We had a grand time raiding his refrigerator and cupboards, I believe we consumed his week’s supply of junk foods. The night in his pad capped the end of a very beautiful day. Oh, by the way, Edik my labs, I forgot to list the CD of Andrea Bocelli on you borrower’s list ;-)
July 5 – 11, 2004
So this blogging has become a weekly thing now huh ;-). Anyway, this week is my “conquering fear” week. How I wish my daughter left her digicam, the images captured this week would have qualified for the “most embarrasing pictures” award.
Fear is defined in the dictionary as “An emotion excited by threatening evil or impending pain, accompanied by a desire to avoid or escape it.” Swimming or trying to stay afloat in water without swallowing half of it has become an obsession to me. I don’t exactly fear the water, I love the beach, but my greatest fear is drowning and I don’t relish the idea of being pulled out of the water while half of the population of the island is watching while I’m being revived. Of course, if my lifesaver looks like one of the guys in Baywatch, I would not mind drowning every now and then and besides I know my family and friends would disown me if I become an item in the Bohol Chronicle. I could just imagine how it would be reported - “Near drowning in Panglao : Nimfa Virtucio of the Department of Trade and Industry nearly drowned in one of the beaches of Panglao while trying to swim. Eye witnesses accounts reported that the sea is calm and the water is just knee deep. Investigation is going on to discover if foul play is involve. A good Samaritan who happened to be nearby pulled the victim out of the water and revived her. As of press time, Ms. Virtucio is unavailable for comments.” Yukkk! I could never live that down. It’s enough being called a mermaid who could not swim. It’s not that I can’t swim, I can do a dog paddle but as my instructor, Boboy, told us, dogs do not belong to the pool. Besides, I have an excuse, I grew up in Tarlac, a land-locked town somewhere in Central Luzon, where the deepest part of the river is just knee deep and only used for washing clothes before the advent of the washing machines. And when I last visited my town, the river was no longer there, it has been reclaimed to give way to a big shopping mall. I also had two near-drowning experiences, one was when I was seven years old, when I fell in a big hole on the ground during one of the big floods Luzon is so famous for. Luckily, I was with my brother and a cousin when that happened. The second was when I was in my early teens, this time in one of the beaches of Cavite, I had cramps while a friendly neighbor was trying to teach me how to swim. Oh, there was a third, but this time I was supposed to be on a boat that capsized, thankfully luck was with me at that time, I refused the invitation to join the merry boat riders. I was told that one of the passengers, who is the son of a friend, was so traumatized by the experience, he refused to even step into the water for months.
When we moved to Bohol, I could no longer put off learning how to really swim. Bohol is an island and the beaches are beautiful and the dive sites breath taking, I was told. I often tell visitors that we have the best dive sites and yet I myself have never even seen them. So, I resolved to learn scuba diving in this lifetime, but it would have been ironic if I dive even if I can’t swim. Obviously, I need to learn how to swim! So with firm resolved, and with two friends, Inday and Nelin who like me have been longing to learn how to swim, I am now taking lessons, and I’m proud to say that with just two lessons, I now can swim across the pool free style hehehehehe. As my swimming buddies, Inday and Nelin told me, I’m an A-1 student. Well, bragging aside, I do learn quickly, I learned how to speak fluently the Visayan language within a year, I learned how to drive practicing in a rickety, Jurassic, Wily’s jeep, I learned ballroom dancing with only a few lessons, singing? Well it comes naturally, Filipinos love singing as evidenced by karaoke and videoke bars you find in every “eskina” (corner). I don’t sound like Celine Dion but at least I can carry a tune and I pronounce the words correctly unlike the guy who was in the news a few years back. He was killed by the guys in a nearby table who were so tortured with his singing “My Way” which he pronounced “My Wi”, that they decided to get rid of him permanently. Anyway, being a Gemini might have helped. Geminis are notorius for starting two or more projects at the same time without losing track of any of them, however, most of them don’t get finished. Classic examples, I have started to sew a dress, make a cross stitch picture of mine, grow bonsais, raise gold fishes all at the same time. Result? The dress is in the cornermost part of my closet with one shoulder strap missing, the cross stitch is finished except for the background, the bonsais are growing on their own, and the gold fishes are………… not dead of course, I’m not that cruel……. I gave them to a friend. Anyway, my mother (bless her soul) used to give me hell everytime I start a project and in deference to her and to show my gratitude, I make it a point now to finish each and every project I started. Besides, it gives me greater satisfaction when I do that, overcoming my baser instinct, and treating it as challenge and not as barrier (nobody has ever accused me yet of backing down from a challenge). I also realized that the first step or move is the hardest to do when overcoming a fear, when you’ve done that, everything falls into place. As the saying goes, it’s all in the mind. It also helps of course that I am good friends with my swimming buddies from the Bohol Investment Promotion Center (BIPC), Inday and Nelin. They are both cute ladies, who can almost outlaugh, outtalk and outeat some of my friends at DTI and they are as adventurous as I am. The night after our first lesson, we went to the Pier where the Sandugo Trade, Agri and Food Fairs were held and bought rice and barbecue to bring to Inday’s place to eat.
Back to the swimming lessons. The first lesson was to learn how to kick properly in the water, with legs stretch out and feet flexed. So that’s how I can’t float that long, I’m kicking the wrong way! Once we’ve learned that properly, we were then forced/cajoled/motivated to float and kicked from end to end of the pool and that was in Day 2 of the lesson. We were told that the next lesson would be to use our arms and do the free style, but since we were all too pumped up with our success, we proceeded to do just that and VOILA! We were swimming, baby! We were so excited, we decided to treat ourselves by buying new swim suits, but unfortunately it’s almost 9 pm and all the stores are closed except for the Sundry Shop of the Metro Centre Hotel, but unfortunately the parking lot is full and we don’t have enough energy nor inclination to park on the street and walk to the shop. As luck have it, our friend Edik called and we decided to invite ourselves to his pad, buy some food and eat our dinner of balut, crackers, sodas and chips in his pad. Edik is unlike any other guy I know. He is funny, thoughtful, malambing and very artistic. His pad is decorated according to his mood, this time it’s Mexican, with the walls painted in blue and yellow, even the bed sheets and the pillows match and he has an extensive collection of CDs and wines! We had a grand time raiding his refrigerator and cupboards, I believe we consumed his week’s supply of junk foods. The night in his pad capped the end of a very beautiful day. Oh, by the way, Edik my labs, I forgot to list the CD of Andrea Bocelli on you borrower’s list ;-)
Monday, July 05, 2004
I have been at this blog for almost two weeks now and I found out that it is a sort of a therapy for me, a sort of a “depressurization”. I realized committing the day’s activities and experiences in writing is fun and I get to view them in a different perspective and learn from them. Besides, this is also another way of sharing my experiences with family and friends who are not with me, especially my daughter (she’s in Manila trying to a carve a place of her own, I hope). I have a very special relationship with my daughter, I treat her more as a friend than a daughter and I know, although I’m not the typical mother, she appreciates it but not when most people commented that I look like an older sister than a mother :-). Anyway, much as I wanted to, I could not publish my accounts daily. Aside from being very busy (my officemates often say that I am the “meetingest” person at the office), I don’t have yet an internet connection at home, my phone (Globelines aerial) is not compatible with the internet, just one of the disadvantages of living in an archipelago, the communications infrastructure is not yet in place. I’m sure my peace corps friends find this an inconvenience but I believe they don’t mind at all and this is one of the few things that made them thankful and appreciative of what they have back home ;-). So, I will just try very hard to publish whatever I have written as often as I can……..
July 1, 2004
Last Thursday, the first day of July is a holiday, it’s the charter day celebration for Tagbilaran City and I get to stay in bed longer and watch the morning shows. Unfortunately, there’s nothing good showing so I just settled on a morning show hosted by the infamous Kris Aquino (the most tactless and brutally frank TV host this side of the planet). Her guests are five young and beautiful actresses cum models whose only claim to fame is being daughters of actresses (active and inactive). The segment I saw was a sleep-over scene and they are all wearing their nighties, sitting on a bed, and talking about boys of course. It’s a scene I don’t recommend teenagers to watch lest they get the wrong ideas on the realities of life and get traumatized for life. When Kris asked them on the advantages of being beautiful they all have the same answers: 1) You can get away with almost anything and; 2) You always get a second, third look from guys. The implication I get is that we, the average looking ones, should work hard to get the things we want and we don’t merit a second look from guys unless we trip or do something stupid like dyeing our hair green or walking around naked. Unfortunately, it’s human nature to seek approval and admiration from people other than our parents whom we can always count on loving us unconditionally. Being vain as the next woman, I devised a method of assuring that people will call me beautiful. How? By, 1) claiming that Jose Mari Chan’s song, Beautiful Girl was written for me and 2) I brain-washed my officemates’ kids in proclaiming that I am the most beautiful woman at the office by telling them from their cradle that I am so. Now, when you ask any of my officemates’ kids who am I, they will tell you, Tita Nimfa, the most beautiful girl in DTI, brilliant isn’t it ;-)
Finally I got bored watching tv and decided to do the malls. I decided to got to ICM (Island City Mall) and do my favorite past time, people-watching. So while waiting for my goto (congee), I settled on a seat near the corridors where I can watch people passing by. Not more than five minutes in my seat when I realized that almost all the gays (my daughter and I call them “felicities” synonym for gay as oppose to “happy” which one of my daughter’s gay friends call himself) in town are in the mall. You can pick them from the crowd since they all have what we call “kilay 2000”, (perfectly shaved/plucked and outlined eyebrows) they punctuated all sentences with a flick of their well-manicured hands and they all laugh boisterously as if they don’t have a care in the world. I don ‘t have anything against the felicities, they are fun to be around and if the rumors are true, it’s not their fault. It’s the fault of the countless chickens their mothers fed them when they are growing up. These chickens, according to rumors, are fed and injected with growth hormones that affected the male hormone, testosterone and turn them into the female hormone, estrogen (or whatever). Anyway, my friends and I are quiet peeved that almost all these felicities are good looking, we contend that there are only very few good looking men in this world and they are either 1) gay; 2) married; or 3) dead. I’m rumbling again, I always do that when I ran out of words so to borrow a line from my daughter’s favorite band, Parokya ni Edgar, “Hindi ko na alam kung paano ko ito tatapusin kaya bigla na lang akong mawawala” ( I don’t know how to end this so I’ll just slowly fade away)…….”
July 3, 2004
The President visited Tagbilaran today to fulfill a promise and of course to thank the Boholanos for giving her a very big margin against her opponents (the fourth in the whole country) during the last May 10 elections. A “Te Deum” (I’m told that its literal meaning is “ToGod” and it’s a ceremony afforded only to heads of states) was held at the St. Joseph Cathedral. I was supposed to be there but then my boss from the regional office came for the occasion and I was forced to play the role of “yaya” (nanny) to her. You see, this boss of mine is a diminutive lady but she’s fond of toting along a huge bag which I suspect contains the contents of her kitchen cupboard and a hand bag 3 fourths her size. Fortunately our trusty driver, Roy, was there to act as our chauffer and porter at the same time. This time the bag contains a big canister of a chocolate flavored slimming drink which turns into the consistency of melted ice cream when mixed with water. She claims she lost 5 lbs. in two weeks, I just smiled remembering the countless diets she’d gone through. I was thinking that if only some genius doctor can invent a sort of a fat transfusion, then it can solve both our problems (I’m 5 ft. 3 in. tall and weighs 92 lbs. and have been for years trying unsuccessfully to gain weight :-( ). Anyway, she decided to skip the church and go directly to the cultural center where the mass oath taking of all elected officials will be held. We managed to sneaked in the reserved area for elected officials and found a seat very near the stage. The area was packed full of officials wearing barongs (the Phils.’ preferred formal attire for men and women). It was a sea of cream-colored humanities interspersed with bright colors here and there. To my surprised, the program started on time and the speeches were not long but very brief but to the point and meaty. The luncheon was not also bad, I specially like the beef steak, the only thing I don’t like is that the cola they served is not my favorite brand. Well, I learned early in life that you can’t have everything and wasting food is close to committing a mortal sin since some people don’t even have anything to eat. The songs of the world famous Loboc Childrens’s Choir is also an appetite booster. I’ve heard them sing countless times but to this day, they never fail to bring tears to my eyes everytime they perform. They are indeed one of Bohol’s pride and I learned another lesson, you can’t clap enthusiastically holding a chicken leg on one hand and a fork on the other hand J. Thankfully, the president is in a hurry to catch another appointment, so when she left I joined the sea of humanity heading for the door and head for home.
July 1, 2004
Last Thursday, the first day of July is a holiday, it’s the charter day celebration for Tagbilaran City and I get to stay in bed longer and watch the morning shows. Unfortunately, there’s nothing good showing so I just settled on a morning show hosted by the infamous Kris Aquino (the most tactless and brutally frank TV host this side of the planet). Her guests are five young and beautiful actresses cum models whose only claim to fame is being daughters of actresses (active and inactive). The segment I saw was a sleep-over scene and they are all wearing their nighties, sitting on a bed, and talking about boys of course. It’s a scene I don’t recommend teenagers to watch lest they get the wrong ideas on the realities of life and get traumatized for life. When Kris asked them on the advantages of being beautiful they all have the same answers: 1) You can get away with almost anything and; 2) You always get a second, third look from guys. The implication I get is that we, the average looking ones, should work hard to get the things we want and we don’t merit a second look from guys unless we trip or do something stupid like dyeing our hair green or walking around naked. Unfortunately, it’s human nature to seek approval and admiration from people other than our parents whom we can always count on loving us unconditionally. Being vain as the next woman, I devised a method of assuring that people will call me beautiful. How? By, 1) claiming that Jose Mari Chan’s song, Beautiful Girl was written for me and 2) I brain-washed my officemates’ kids in proclaiming that I am the most beautiful woman at the office by telling them from their cradle that I am so. Now, when you ask any of my officemates’ kids who am I, they will tell you, Tita Nimfa, the most beautiful girl in DTI, brilliant isn’t it ;-)
Finally I got bored watching tv and decided to do the malls. I decided to got to ICM (Island City Mall) and do my favorite past time, people-watching. So while waiting for my goto (congee), I settled on a seat near the corridors where I can watch people passing by. Not more than five minutes in my seat when I realized that almost all the gays (my daughter and I call them “felicities” synonym for gay as oppose to “happy” which one of my daughter’s gay friends call himself) in town are in the mall. You can pick them from the crowd since they all have what we call “kilay 2000”, (perfectly shaved/plucked and outlined eyebrows) they punctuated all sentences with a flick of their well-manicured hands and they all laugh boisterously as if they don’t have a care in the world. I don ‘t have anything against the felicities, they are fun to be around and if the rumors are true, it’s not their fault. It’s the fault of the countless chickens their mothers fed them when they are growing up. These chickens, according to rumors, are fed and injected with growth hormones that affected the male hormone, testosterone and turn them into the female hormone, estrogen (or whatever). Anyway, my friends and I are quiet peeved that almost all these felicities are good looking, we contend that there are only very few good looking men in this world and they are either 1) gay; 2) married; or 3) dead. I’m rumbling again, I always do that when I ran out of words so to borrow a line from my daughter’s favorite band, Parokya ni Edgar, “Hindi ko na alam kung paano ko ito tatapusin kaya bigla na lang akong mawawala” ( I don’t know how to end this so I’ll just slowly fade away)…….”
July 3, 2004
The President visited Tagbilaran today to fulfill a promise and of course to thank the Boholanos for giving her a very big margin against her opponents (the fourth in the whole country) during the last May 10 elections. A “Te Deum” (I’m told that its literal meaning is “ToGod” and it’s a ceremony afforded only to heads of states) was held at the St. Joseph Cathedral. I was supposed to be there but then my boss from the regional office came for the occasion and I was forced to play the role of “yaya” (nanny) to her. You see, this boss of mine is a diminutive lady but she’s fond of toting along a huge bag which I suspect contains the contents of her kitchen cupboard and a hand bag 3 fourths her size. Fortunately our trusty driver, Roy, was there to act as our chauffer and porter at the same time. This time the bag contains a big canister of a chocolate flavored slimming drink which turns into the consistency of melted ice cream when mixed with water. She claims she lost 5 lbs. in two weeks, I just smiled remembering the countless diets she’d gone through. I was thinking that if only some genius doctor can invent a sort of a fat transfusion, then it can solve both our problems (I’m 5 ft. 3 in. tall and weighs 92 lbs. and have been for years trying unsuccessfully to gain weight :-( ). Anyway, she decided to skip the church and go directly to the cultural center where the mass oath taking of all elected officials will be held. We managed to sneaked in the reserved area for elected officials and found a seat very near the stage. The area was packed full of officials wearing barongs (the Phils.’ preferred formal attire for men and women). It was a sea of cream-colored humanities interspersed with bright colors here and there. To my surprised, the program started on time and the speeches were not long but very brief but to the point and meaty. The luncheon was not also bad, I specially like the beef steak, the only thing I don’t like is that the cola they served is not my favorite brand. Well, I learned early in life that you can’t have everything and wasting food is close to committing a mortal sin since some people don’t even have anything to eat. The songs of the world famous Loboc Childrens’s Choir is also an appetite booster. I’ve heard them sing countless times but to this day, they never fail to bring tears to my eyes everytime they perform. They are indeed one of Bohol’s pride and I learned another lesson, you can’t clap enthusiastically holding a chicken leg on one hand and a fork on the other hand J. Thankfully, the president is in a hurry to catch another appointment, so when she left I joined the sea of humanity heading for the door and head for home.
Oath Taking Pinoy Style
June 29, 2004
This morning I attended the oath taking of the newly elected provincial officials of Bohol - governor, vice governor, three congressmen and nine board members (they are supposed to be ten but one was killed by an unknown assailant). It was held at the St. Joseph Cathedral after a mass officiated by no less than the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Msgr. Leopoldo S. Tumulak. The setting added solemnity to the occasion, it is also a symbolic act of the church and state unity (there’s this so-called separation of church and state in this country) for the pursuit of Bohol’s progress. It is also a sort of a warning to the officials that the church will be holding them to their promises, since they did their oath figuratively in front of the people and God. All of them have a Bible in their hands but unfortunately, save from one (whose husband had the presence of mind to hold the Bible for her), used their Bibles to prop their copies and not to place their left hand on while swearing to discharge their duties faithfully. They should have been told to memories their oath or just repeat the words of the swearing officers instead of reading from a copy, this way they could have trained their eyes on the people they swear to serve rather than the copy they are holding, that would have been very reassuring!
This morning I attended the oath taking of the newly elected provincial officials of Bohol - governor, vice governor, three congressmen and nine board members (they are supposed to be ten but one was killed by an unknown assailant). It was held at the St. Joseph Cathedral after a mass officiated by no less than the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Msgr. Leopoldo S. Tumulak. The setting added solemnity to the occasion, it is also a symbolic act of the church and state unity (there’s this so-called separation of church and state in this country) for the pursuit of Bohol’s progress. It is also a sort of a warning to the officials that the church will be holding them to their promises, since they did their oath figuratively in front of the people and God. All of them have a Bible in their hands but unfortunately, save from one (whose husband had the presence of mind to hold the Bible for her), used their Bibles to prop their copies and not to place their left hand on while swearing to discharge their duties faithfully. They should have been told to memories their oath or just repeat the words of the swearing officers instead of reading from a copy, this way they could have trained their eyes on the people they swear to serve rather than the copy they are holding, that would have been very reassuring!
Monday, June 28, 2004
June 27, 2004
Another hectic day! Our former Secretary and now the number one Senator of the land, Manuel A. Roxas II is coming for a visit. His itinerary includes a market visit at the Dao Central Market, then a grand tour of the Island City Mall. I was up at the crack of dawn having to go to the market at 7:00 am (a record for me, I’m used to waking up at 7:30) to make sure that the streamers are put up, the officers of the vendors association and the market administrator are there to welcome him. No need to worry though everybody at the market were all ready and excited to greet him and to show their appreciation of him for returning to say his thanks for voting for him during the last elections. I’ts amazing how he maintained his poise while touching a bangus (milk fish) and fielding questions from the crowd about him and Korina (his rumored GF, a TV personality). He just smiled and said “kayo ha, showbiz na showbiz.” A tour of the mall’s highlight for me was the breakfast at The Buzzz, owned by a friend, Vicky Wallace who serves organic food and coffee. The coffee shop has a nice, friendly and warm ambience, my friend Daniel Simon(whom I fondly calls my son, my son), a peace corps volunteer, will undoubtedly love this place, him being a vegetarian and a staunch environmentalist J and I heard that she will also sell organically grown fruits and vegetables aside from her honey bee, bee pollen, honey spread and the mouth-watering salad dressing. This is a welcome news for all health conscious people out there and of course the organic growers who are now assured of a place to sell their produce.
Another hectic day! Our former Secretary and now the number one Senator of the land, Manuel A. Roxas II is coming for a visit. His itinerary includes a market visit at the Dao Central Market, then a grand tour of the Island City Mall. I was up at the crack of dawn having to go to the market at 7:00 am (a record for me, I’m used to waking up at 7:30) to make sure that the streamers are put up, the officers of the vendors association and the market administrator are there to welcome him. No need to worry though everybody at the market were all ready and excited to greet him and to show their appreciation of him for returning to say his thanks for voting for him during the last elections. I’ts amazing how he maintained his poise while touching a bangus (milk fish) and fielding questions from the crowd about him and Korina (his rumored GF, a TV personality). He just smiled and said “kayo ha, showbiz na showbiz.” A tour of the mall’s highlight for me was the breakfast at The Buzzz, owned by a friend, Vicky Wallace who serves organic food and coffee. The coffee shop has a nice, friendly and warm ambience, my friend Daniel Simon(whom I fondly calls my son, my son), a peace corps volunteer, will undoubtedly love this place, him being a vegetarian and a staunch environmentalist J and I heard that she will also sell organically grown fruits and vegetables aside from her honey bee, bee pollen, honey spread and the mouth-watering salad dressing. This is a welcome news for all health conscious people out there and of course the organic growers who are now assured of a place to sell their produce.
Signs of Progress
June 25, 2004
If the sprouting of malls is an economic indicator, then Tagbilaran City is really on its way to being progressive. First, there was BQ shopping mall, which opened late last year and gave the local shoppers a taste of what really is a shopping pleasure. Then today, the Island City Mall (ICM) opened, a sister (or should I say brother or relative) of another two department stores, Alturas Supermarket and Plaza Marcela. It sits on a ten-hectare lot and boasted of a parking area that can accommodate more than 300 cars. Its blessing and inauguration held this afternoon is a hodgepodge of local celebrities, all the who’s who in the business and political world of Bohol converged with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by 15 priests. The food was realy good but personally, what I enjoyed most was people-watching. It never ceases to amaze me how some people have mastered the art of table hopping and appearing to know all the important people personally, they even shared anecdotes! I also get to make “saway” and “pamantay” of some guests’ attires, the invitation said “attire:formal” but I haven’t seen anyone wearing a gown, unless the definition of the word formal attire have been changed while I’m out there somewhere. In fairness, I really did enjoy myself but beat a hasty retreat when I felt a painful crink in my neck from too much swiveling around trying to catch the goings-on around me.
Then there’s the traffic! If this is another indication of growth and prosperity then I’d rather be backward and unprogressive. Personally, I think driving through the streets of Tagbilaran is a test of patience, your driving abilities and your hand-feet-eyes coordination. Tricycles (motorcycles attached with a small cab that can accommodate 3 passengers) and multicabs have the habit of suddenly stopping in front of you without using signals to pick or unload passengers. They are also fond of showing off their maneuvering skills by cutting you off or overtaking at the wrong lane. These invariably cause traffic jams not to mention the toll on your patience and temper. Even the soothing voice of Josh Groban on the CD player have no effect that I am thinking instead of recording a mantra to play during traffic jams that keeps repeating “Keep your cool….” or “Murder is a sin and the penalty is death….” ;-)
If the sprouting of malls is an economic indicator, then Tagbilaran City is really on its way to being progressive. First, there was BQ shopping mall, which opened late last year and gave the local shoppers a taste of what really is a shopping pleasure. Then today, the Island City Mall (ICM) opened, a sister (or should I say brother or relative) of another two department stores, Alturas Supermarket and Plaza Marcela. It sits on a ten-hectare lot and boasted of a parking area that can accommodate more than 300 cars. Its blessing and inauguration held this afternoon is a hodgepodge of local celebrities, all the who’s who in the business and political world of Bohol converged with a thanksgiving mass celebrated by 15 priests. The food was realy good but personally, what I enjoyed most was people-watching. It never ceases to amaze me how some people have mastered the art of table hopping and appearing to know all the important people personally, they even shared anecdotes! I also get to make “saway” and “pamantay” of some guests’ attires, the invitation said “attire:formal” but I haven’t seen anyone wearing a gown, unless the definition of the word formal attire have been changed while I’m out there somewhere. In fairness, I really did enjoy myself but beat a hasty retreat when I felt a painful crink in my neck from too much swiveling around trying to catch the goings-on around me.
Then there’s the traffic! If this is another indication of growth and prosperity then I’d rather be backward and unprogressive. Personally, I think driving through the streets of Tagbilaran is a test of patience, your driving abilities and your hand-feet-eyes coordination. Tricycles (motorcycles attached with a small cab that can accommodate 3 passengers) and multicabs have the habit of suddenly stopping in front of you without using signals to pick or unload passengers. They are also fond of showing off their maneuvering skills by cutting you off or overtaking at the wrong lane. These invariably cause traffic jams not to mention the toll on your patience and temper. Even the soothing voice of Josh Groban on the CD player have no effect that I am thinking instead of recording a mantra to play during traffic jams that keeps repeating “Keep your cool….” or “Murder is a sin and the penalty is death….” ;-)
Surviving A Meeting
June 24, 2004
There are countless books written and published on how to conduct meetings but I never heard of one which talks about “Enjoying/Amusing Yourself on A Meeting” or even “How to Look Interested When You’re Not” or “How to Doze with Your Mouth Close and Your Eyes Open.”
This month, a month before which we Bol-anons call the Sandugo (one blood/blood compact) month, July, is a hectic and busy month for us people who are taking part in the festivities. Myself, being the Committee Chairman of the Product Showcase which the Department of Trade and Industry-Bohol Provincial Office, which I represent, holds annually since 1988, is required to attend countless meetings of all sorts. During these meetings all committees ( 26 of them) will present their plans and budget to the Executive Director who will in turn present them to the chairman. It’s not that the reports are not interesting or the reporters dull, it’s just that I can only take so much and after a few minutes, my mind starts wandering around thinking of almost anything, from the breakfast which I should have taken, to the papers in the office which I have to sign. But looking disinterested and clueless is not only rude but also no-no in this society. So I dug into my bag of tricks (which I’m going to share with you) and VOILA!, I survived another meeting!
Tips in surviving a meeting:
1. Sit next to a person you personally know. – This way you can share jokes, family pictures or the latest showbiz gossip (the latest on Marina or the American Idol or who the new man in Kris Aquino’s life is).
2. Bring your cell phone, but make sure it’s in the silent mode – Save all those jokes and send them to all your friends, Filipino hospitality demands that they will answer and forward more jokes. Don’t laugh out loud however, or the presiding officer might think you’re nuts and call the guard to kick you out.
3. Master the art of nodding during discussions – This will make you look interested, don’t overdo it however, you might look like a puppet gone awry and don’t do it with your eyes close or you will appear dozing.
4. Learn the art of dozing with your eyes open – Impossible, I’ve tried it and some people commented on how big my eyes are.
5. Lastly, just listen and try to learn from other people. It’s amazing how this trick really, really works. Try it, so that on the next meeting you will know whom to avoid crossing swords (or words?) with, unless you are goliath.
There are countless books written and published on how to conduct meetings but I never heard of one which talks about “Enjoying/Amusing Yourself on A Meeting” or even “How to Look Interested When You’re Not” or “How to Doze with Your Mouth Close and Your Eyes Open.”
This month, a month before which we Bol-anons call the Sandugo (one blood/blood compact) month, July, is a hectic and busy month for us people who are taking part in the festivities. Myself, being the Committee Chairman of the Product Showcase which the Department of Trade and Industry-Bohol Provincial Office, which I represent, holds annually since 1988, is required to attend countless meetings of all sorts. During these meetings all committees ( 26 of them) will present their plans and budget to the Executive Director who will in turn present them to the chairman. It’s not that the reports are not interesting or the reporters dull, it’s just that I can only take so much and after a few minutes, my mind starts wandering around thinking of almost anything, from the breakfast which I should have taken, to the papers in the office which I have to sign. But looking disinterested and clueless is not only rude but also no-no in this society. So I dug into my bag of tricks (which I’m going to share with you) and VOILA!, I survived another meeting!
Tips in surviving a meeting:
1. Sit next to a person you personally know. – This way you can share jokes, family pictures or the latest showbiz gossip (the latest on Marina or the American Idol or who the new man in Kris Aquino’s life is).
2. Bring your cell phone, but make sure it’s in the silent mode – Save all those jokes and send them to all your friends, Filipino hospitality demands that they will answer and forward more jokes. Don’t laugh out loud however, or the presiding officer might think you’re nuts and call the guard to kick you out.
3. Master the art of nodding during discussions – This will make you look interested, don’t overdo it however, you might look like a puppet gone awry and don’t do it with your eyes close or you will appear dozing.
4. Learn the art of dozing with your eyes open – Impossible, I’ve tried it and some people commented on how big my eyes are.
5. Lastly, just listen and try to learn from other people. It’s amazing how this trick really, really works. Try it, so that on the next meeting you will know whom to avoid crossing swords (or words?) with, unless you are goliath.
