#3. success with chopsticks

ate at Mashitta yesterday for dinner

Headed to Mashitta at the UP Shopping Center for an early post-class dinner. Had the chicken curry udon. Filling, though not as hot as I would have thought. I wonder if Japanese curry is as hot as Indian curry. This pic is #3 in my attempt at Project 365 because I've never been successful in using chopsticks before. I would attempt to use them at the beginning of a meal, but not yet halfway through, it'll cause me more trouble than I would care to have so I'd revert to the spoon and fork I'm more at ease with. Well this time, look at the utensils on the left side. Clean and never been used. So yay for me and for my first success with chopsticks. Granted that udon is quite thick but still, one small step at a time :)

#2. Dagupan City river cruise

I decided to try the River Cruise offered free by the city government of Dagupan before finally going back to my hectic life of work and school and a  lot of what-nots. The jumpoff point for the cruise was just a few minutes' walk from our home. So after staying overnight in front of the computer, sleeping for some three hours and then doing needed chores whilst dealing with the resulting headache, Mom accompanied me to try it out around 4 pm. It didn't start as scheduled but still, there were plenty of people then. I learned that usually, the barges were for 25 people. Since we were many that time, they had to deploy the 75-seater barge. I grew up in this city, but I've never really spent a lot of time near the rivers nor the beaches. Well, I've more frequently gone to the beach. So this river cruise was something for me. 

It was a peaceful ride, but I think it would've been more interesting if there were some interesting things which a guide could tell us about. They were just playing early 90s ballads. The first time my mom tried out the river cruise, they had a tour guide. So she was able to point out to me today part of the old Philippine National Railways (PNR) tracks going to La Union, a province north of Pangasinan. My foray into the Mangrove Forest in Sabang, Palawan also came to mind. Since Palawan is dubbed the Philippines' "Last Frontier," there were some sights to anticipate whilst learning about mangroves and their different species, such as cobras and kingfishers. No such thing here in Dagupan. Well, the cruise is free. Hopefully, the ones in charge may come up with something that'll make the cruise more worthwhile. Even though it's a  pretty simple concept, it's still a leap forward. We haven't made many strides even though our city is the oldest in the province. After the Bangus Festival, I think this is the next good thing in tourism that the government has done, all under the auspices of Mayor Benjamin Lim (he was reelected so hopefully, he'll be able to do more good). 

The afternoon sun was pretty strong so that on camera, the greens of the mangrove trees and the blues from the sky which were also reflected on the water seemed so vivid. However, I didn't have much to go by in terms of composing a good shot. 

I asked my Dad what the name of the river was and he says, though he's not sure, that it's the Paronking river, which eventually connects with the Agno river. Anyhow, it's pretty wide. And here's what I captured as we made our way back to the dock in Dawel. On one side sits Silverio's restaurant, and on the other is San Marino Place, a subdivision which has some upper class American style house designs. Some are just adjacent to the river so they can have their own jetty port. How cool is that?

where we came from 

Below, the top part is the bridge connecting Arellano street to Bonuan. The barges don't venture across to the other side of the bridge where I believe fishponds abound. So that's what these two are probably on, earning their livelihood through the river. I don't know if those structures on the right have been there a long time or what they were for. These two seem to be living a very simple life. I wonder how it'd feel to do the same. It was close to 5 pm already when the barge made it's way back and yet the sun was still pretty strong, but it's not too obvious here.

banca by the bridge

Life's too short. We ought to appreciate the simple but beautiful things in life. Minna, have a beautiful 2012!

For ye 2012

Let go and focus on the more important things.

Start what you have planned. Finish what you started.

Work yourself more. Up the intensity. And don't forget to sweat it out.

Heed:

source:  http://www.jaymug.com/post/14474243536/success-by-r-collier   

And be consistent.
(edit 01.02.2012: an essential thing I forgot )

2012 is here. There's no time to waste.

#1

my parents posing for me as they come home from church

After an 8 1/2 hour shift where I greeted 2012 with Claire and TL Marv and a call immediately after, a surreal experience of walking through the hazy streets of Cubao and EDSA, a 1 1/2 hour wait in the Victory Liner terminal in Cubao reading A Short Guide to Writing about Film and a 4 1/2 hour bus ride, I'm back to Dagupan, where I've lived and breathed the air for most of my earliest 17 years. 

And they ^^ are the ones who made this all possible. 

So as a tribute to the new year (which I just found out is the year of the dragon - hmmm), my first photo of the year will be that of these two people who've made many things possible for me. Thank you so much. I wish you all the best throughout the rest of your years. Though I've never said this a lot of times before, nor in person, I love you so much and I am very grateful for all that you've been. 

Have a splendid 2012 everyone!

Cheers!

films, stories and languages

I just came from my Film 100 class, the introductory class taken by Film majors in UP. We were supposed to cover film form and basic writing about film. What was great about the class is that with the variety of viewpoints presented by my classmates who are from the College of Mass Communication, taking either Film, Broadcast Communication or Communication Research, they are steeped in communication theories and other social interactions that I, with a background in food technology, had no access to. It was entirely new, giving me a different perspective on how classes could be held

Towards the end of the discussion, our professor asked the film majors why they were taking up this course. Since the film majors in the class were freshies, they were still a bit unsure of why they're taking the course. The question ignited something in me that I shared my reason if ever I was taking up BA Film.

I mentioned that filmmaking is a different kind of storytelling. I am involved in film seeing it as an art form, as another means of self-expression. I am amazed at how a concept, given a certain kind of treatment, applied a certain kind of technique in terms of lighting, the kind of shots used and sequencing employed, scoring and using ambient sound, manipulating the colors, putting certain design elements, the emotions conveyed by the actors, the interplay of all these elements with the narrative - these all just make me go wow. I've been reading movie reviews and it always amazes me how such writers are able to have these kinds of readings into the films they're viewing and moreso, being able to write about them. Notwithstanding the need to express yourself, but since film is mainly made for others to see, you have a means of possibly making a mark even if only in a few people - making them think a certain way about a certain thing, providing them a fresh awareness of something others have tackled before letting them see it in a new light.

I was in a sort of high after I briefly spoke about it. It's like I was at that point where I knew now what I wanted to do. And then while walking, I gleaned that I have always been interested in stories. As a child, I read a lot of books from the school library, delving into the classics when there was nothing else available, reading the novels my mom kept in the top tier of our single shelf at home, delighting in watching movies, being intrigued by the design elements in film (I think the first one I saw which showed me film's wondrous possibilities was Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas - watching it with my siblings after Noche Buena when I was probably 8 or 9 years old). Then I started reading fanfiction on the internet and tried to come up with my own. I was mostly unsuccessful in putting them into writing but it hasn't stopped me from making up stories in my head. I've become a fan of Neil Gaiman's Sandman mainly because of the intricate world he makes up and the incredible developments in his characters - introducing a very varied bunch of characters wholly unconnected with each other in the beginning and then tying up all the loose ends so that you get a coherent ending by the end of the nine volumes, and still telling a GRAND story. Significantly, his novels also take place in modern day with elements of the fantastic and I believe it would take an ingenious mind such as him, or Tolkien (the latter of a level different to Gaiman's), to come up with stories like those. I also admire Haruki Murakami because of his different way of telling his stories. He introduces unconventional characters into his stories, possibly attributable to his Japanese/Asian origin, putting them into unconventional situations but still he makes you understand the conflicts, to sympathize with the characters even if the plot itself is a little bit out of this world. I may say that it is due to the psychic nature of Asian culture which is not so unheard of in these lands compared to the West, that I am accepting of the realities he shows in his stories. The stories could be taking place in real time or in the heads of the characters. And when you realize what's up, it just blows my mind away. Sandman was mindblowing as well. Neverwhere is my favorite among Gaiman's novels and it is incredibly amazing.

So going back to my previous train of thought. I have seriously thought about writing that I've even set aside a writing month after I resigned from my first job. Then I tried to keep up with Nanowrimo for 2 years before I decided it's not for me. But failing those, I still do feel that I have to tell stories. Film has been a companion for many years now, even compelling me to join a film-oriented organization in college, joining mainly because I wanted to know how to create my own film. I guess it's the concept that I have to come up with now since the technology is there to make own film if you're really motivated to, and of course friends who I can ask help from. So letting that out in class today, I feel like I've stumbled upon what I want to do.

And then I remember that yesterday in my German class, our teacher Ms. Petersen shared that her background is linguistics and that grammar is her favorite part, as is mine with studying English or any other languages (except Filipino/Tagalog). Also aside from German, she knows Spanish, Bahasa Indonesia, there was probably one or two more European languages in there and Latin. And that's because she has been studying languages for 15 years already. I was talking with my usual seatmate Alex afterwards and I was like I also want to learn the things she has learned that I was thinking linguistics might be a better field of study (for a second degree) compared to European languages (which has been one of my thrusts for some years now).

So now, my enthusiasm for filmmaking has been dampened by this realization that I equally want to do the languages thing for the rest of my forseeable life. It is a question that will have to be answered years down the road. For now, I am thankful that I have taken all these subjects I am taking now - Film 100, German 12-13 and Hapon 10-11. Even I have no definite plan yet about my career or my academic studies, I am continuously opening myself up to possibilities. Years down the road, I will be able to look back and connect the dots leading me to that point in my life. Hopefully.

an epic Saturday

It's been a long long day.

My last shift for the week started  Friday night spilling over into Saturday early morning. I replaced someone in a call so I had to look for another station not yet halfway into the shift. Before I could go back to my self-designated station (no station ownership in our account), somebody had taken over so I had to look for a new station to use. So I was in a relatively new environment; therefore, was not so calm in processing calls, but made it through. I also found out the results of my 2nd monitoring by the QA staff. Two perfect scores in a row now. Lately, I think I've really gotten the hang of relay. Most of the time, my speaking pace is just right and I don't panic too often when facing unusual situations during calls. So far, no instances of tardiness yet for this month so my stats are all good. And I did manage to find a redeeming sight for the night, however brief or late it was.

Then Maan, having been denied a birthday leave, was present  and treated us teammates to some yummy chicken, pasta and pizza breakfast after our shift. Not everyone in the team was present due to prior commitments, so there was plenty of food still left after first servings. I was really full of delicious food afterwards. Pepperoni pizza craving, check!

Picture taken by TL Rogie, edited by me. Maan, bday girl, is at rightmost

So my initial plan to zoom straight to the bus station was thwarted but it's okay, since there was a lot of story-sharing over the food we shared. When we were ready to go home, we were confronted by lines of people crossing streets and intersections. Apparently, they were already in line for Willie Revillame's show which will be taking place at the Araneta Coliseum, so we had to take longer paths than normal to get to our destinations. The lines snaked all the way to one side of Farmers Plaza going to EDSA and the other snaked all the way through McDo and then the other along Puregold going to Aurora Blvd.

When I got to the station, an air-conditioned bus was getting ready to leave. I promptly boarded it, but there were no more seats. Since I needed to get home already, I took the offer to sit in the middle aisle on small plastic chairs. This particular bus had its first drop off at Marquee Mall in Angeles, Pampanga where I was finally able to transfer to a regular seat. And the whole time, I was fast asleep. I also missed the next stop in Tarlac. But I was awake long enough to appreciate the sight of agricultural life in Tarlac, before transitioning into the semi-urban landscape of Rosales and Villasis in Pangasinan. I didn't see much of the way after that. We haven't even arrived at Urdaneta before I fell asleep again. And next thing I knew, the bus was already parked in the terminal, there were no other people inside the bus except me and the music still playing. So the trip was shorter than usual, taking only 5 hours given that this was a day trip.

We had pancit and goto for lunch. Then I started washing some laundry I brought home to ready them for the coming week. I also had a good conversation going with my mom with Karen interjecting in between. We talked about kids and how she mentioned that she and Dad would like to have a kid in the house, meaning grandkids and not adopted ones or another one of their own, how the Mislang females seem to be destined to be spinsters and about finding the right person to be with for a long long while. I also asked her about possible assets they could pass on and preparations for those if ever the need arose.

When I was almost done, they cooked fishballs. We ate them in the "garden area" where I also had orange black tea while Dad had coffee and Karen had hot chocolate with bananas. Then RJ said he needed to fill the gas on his motorcycle. I asked him if we could go to the beach and he agreed. The sun was still pretty high up so I was confident I could still catch the sunset and the pretty colors that go along with it.

We went straight to the so-called Japanese garden in Tondaligan beach. It was still lacking many elements to be called an authentic Japanese garden. There was a Japanese style alcove and a marker about the Japanese people who contributed to build the area. Also on the left part of the horizon, the sun was already starting to set. Playing with different exposures and light and aperture settings on the digicam, I had plenty of shots of the faraway sun  interspersed with silhouettes of the coconut trees whose leaves were swaying strongly with the strong wind. Then RJ and I went down to the beach. There were a number of people swimming, many of whom were kids. The wind was making waves crash every so often on the shore. Oh how I miss swimming in the beach. Hopefully, I get to do that next weekend. I was able to see the sun so quickly change colors to red and disappear behind the mountains and then finally leave the horizon.

Eventually, it became darker but there was an amazing reverse pyramid strip of blue sky down the orange and reddish glow cast by the setting sun.

When there were no more opportunities to take pictures and some serious talking was done with, RJ and I decided to go home. This is only my second time to ride a motorbike and as a passenger too. I was a bit nervous when we started the ride to the beach but I eventually got comfy. On the way back, I could see the stars in the sky. The speed RJ was driving on allowed me to savor a relatively cool and unpolluted air. I felt really close to nature after spending some time at the beach and now, this ride back under the open sky. In the distance, we could also see streaks of lightning appearing in different spots. There was one particularly humongous cloud whose back was being lit by lightning, but because of its size, we only saw the flickerings of light on the back of the cloud. It was refreshing for me to be riding through the streets from Bonuan to Arellano in the open air and being able to gaze at the wonders of the sky.

Then I mentioned the De Venecia highway and RJ suggested we go there. When we got to the point where we were supposed to turn back, he suggested we go to the City Mall which is at the end of this highway. So I agreed. We just walked for awhile, reaching the atrium. Then I decided to go into NBS to take a look at what type of postcards were on sale there. And I would say it was pretty serendipitous that we went in there because the branch doesn't only sell the new line of the Philippine Postcards brand which I see in bookstores here in Metro Manila. They also have stocks of pretty old postcards printed by the same company. But they were a bit more varied. Not everything had gorgeous pictures though, but at least, they had a feeling of authenticity to me. So off I went picking up some 11 old pieces. I was getting ready to pay for P150 or more for all of them when the cashier started ringing them in, and most of them were at P1.50 each. Some were at P3.24 or P4.25. The two P12 postcards I bought were the newly printed ones. So now, I have enough cards for the UNESCO Swap over at World in Postcards. I ought to go back there tomorrow and buy more stocks of the same cards for future uses and also for my own copies.

postcards and the Philippines

I was searching postcards on google a week ago to find out if there are any other businesses that sell or produce postcards in the Philippines, aside from the ones sold in bookstores which seem sort of unreal to me. I mean I know some or even been to some of the places featured there but I don't get a homey feeling from them. Not unlike how I imagine postcards from overseas are. They sort of bear the essence of the places or scenes featured (but don't take my word for it - I haven't been anywhere overseas). And the white backgrounds and borders and the perfect images seem to me to just focus on the commercial aspect of postcards. So that's what got me searching for one. And in the second page of search results, I find this guy, Bobby Wong Jr and his site Postcards from Manila.

He goes to different places all over the country - not just the usual tourist destinations - and captures scenes and landscapes that I rarely see in photos of our country. I never even imagined I could see scenes like those here. Just goes to show the naivete I still have regarding photography and that you only need to frame the scene right and capitalize on the effect of light and nature AND have to have good timing too to create photos that astound. It's a visual feast.

Salmon skies in Coron

The right timing of fishermen coming to shore and the late hour rendering this vivid blue scene

Even though I've never been to Batanes or the Mountain Province or South Cotabato, I still feel an affinity towards the scenes he has captured. The Filipino identity in his photos surges in my blood and the shots are not just some distant place detached from myself. I don't know if I'm making sense here. I just want to say that his photos feel familiar and even sort of remind me of home (in the country/Motherland sense) even though I have never been to these places.

Mr. Wong also sometimes tells how he was able to capture the scenes he does and even gives out tips that I only ever found out now. His pictures compelled me to read every writeup. I went through all of his posts during the latest hours of Sunday going into the wee hours of Monday. After that, I just wanted to go off to various points of the Philippines and chase my own sunrise and sunsets too. If you are going, take me along with you. Right now, I feel that all these planning beforehand wastes time when I could be living the moment already. Time is so freaking short and we spend a lot of time doing things we would probably forget, so he says. That's the bug brought about by his images biting me.

Just go anywhere. Look up, look down. And be prepared to marvel at the wonders of nature.

Oh yeah, I wanted to have the prints but the contact person hasn't replied yet. I wanted to give them to friends and engage in a bit of postcrossing myself and his pictures would just be wonderful to showcase the beauty of the Philippines.

All photos are by Mr. Bobby Wong Jr. Just head to postcardsfrommanila.com and you can have a copy of his images for free.

Sikad Cup 2011 fires up the last days of summer with brand new champions

Futbol Club Sikad members manning the registration

Proving they’re up to the summer heat, a total of 38 teams played their way through the elimination round of Sikad Cup 2011 dubbed “Gear Up and Match the Summer Heat.” Football enthusiasts and fans flocked to the UP Track Oval for the fourth edition of Futbol Club Sikad's yearly tournament last May 22.

FC Sikad's annual 7-a-side football festival, in cooperation  with Total Fitness Magazine and Orange Magazine TV,  featured 10 teams in the women's division and 28 teams in the men's division, coming from across the metro and comprising different ages and races. 7-a-side football is a variation on the normal 11-a-side football, slowly gaining mainstream popularity in the Philippines with the success of the Azkals in international competitions. Instead of the usual 11 players, however, there are only 7 players and a smaller field is utilized. Rain or shine, nothing’s stopping these football enthusiasts as the games started at 9:30 with the summer sun high up in the sky while dark clouds and light rain set the mood for many of the games held in the late afternoon.

Women's Division champs Pata Team

Women's Div 2nd placers Tams United

The teams were divided into brackets and went through a single round robin during the eliminations. In the women's division first-time joiner Pata Team, composed of UP Varsity alumni and named after the “pata” (referring to the shape of the thigh) they developed after playing football for years, routed the four other teams in their bracket with a clean sweep, emerging top of their group. Tams United, with players from past Philippine Team lineups, came in second with their 3-1-0 win-loss-draw record. From the other bracket, Barubal FC, composed of alumni and current players from different colleges of UST and who played in last year’s edition of the tournament, and Futboleras completed the top four. Tams United defeated Barubal FC 3-0 in the semis to face Pata Team who won 2-0 over Futboleras. Barubal FC took the 3rd place a position while Pata Team emerged the Sikad Cup 2011 women's division champions after a draw was decided via a penalty shoot out. Jeanne Cruz of Pata Team was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. Meanwhile, Marnelli Dimzon of Tams United and Monique Resurreccion of Pata Team shared the Golden Boot Award, given to the player with the most number of goals scored, after earning four goals apiece, while another UP alumnus Jennifer Barandoc was named Best Goalkeeper.

With the number of teams, it was inevitable that the games would continue on into the night. In the Men's Division, the eventual champions United South, based in Las Piñas and composed of players from DLSU, CSB, Perpetual Help System Dalta and their foreign friends, made it look easy as they routed all their opponents, winning all six games and conceding no goals in the eliminations, earning their keeper Jan Cedric Hodreal the Best Goalkeeper Award while captain Jon Michael Navarro was named MVP.

With four brackets of seven teams each, the top two from each proceeded to the quarterfinals. Team Basic, this year’s UAAP champions UP Fighting Maroons fielding three teams – Team Papy Lord Swing, Diliman FC and Maroons –  the Sikad SNL Team along with veteran Sikad Cup Participants Sunken Garden United (SGU) B and the Ilonggo United Football Club (IUFC) A completed the top 8 for the quarterfinals. IUFC A, composed of players based in NCR with Ilonggo orientation or heritage, United South, Maroons and SGU B proceeded to the semis after penalty shoot-outs. Last year’s champions Ilonggo United faced SGU B clinching the 3^rd place position while a consistently strong and organized showing placed United South on top defeating Maroons 3-1. Jinggoy Valmayor of the UP Fighting Maroons was awarded the Golden Boot after scoring eight goals in the eliminations around alone.

Winners were awarded custom-made trophies, reminiscent of the Jules Rimet trophy given out during the FIFA World Cup, medals for the champions and issues of Total Fitness and Speed Magazine. FC Sikad, based in UP Diliman and founded in 2000, stages football tournaments every year in line with its mission of promoting football in the country. These one-day tournaments called festivals are Sikad Cup, held during the club’s anniversary month of May, and Goal Rush, a futsal (indoor football) tournament held during the latter part of the year.

Men's Division Champs United South

2nd Placers Ilonggo United FC

Complete list of participants:

Women’s Division: Tams United, Shembooters, FC Sikad, Pata Team, Fatbuleras FC, Barubal FC, Futboleras, Atelier Women’s, Laya FC, Iskoboleras

Men’s Division: Cuyo FC, United South, SGU A & B, Marcelo Homies FC, Corinthians A & B, UST Commerce A &B, Laya FC, Maoy FC, Diliman FC, Fun FC, Allan De Castro Experience, Sikad Veterans, Team Papy Lord Swing, Atelier Alumni, Garuda FC, Layabilities FC, Ilonggo United A & B, Maroons, Ball Busters, Pamutiks, Team Basic, Caspian FC, UST Arki, Sikad SNL

More photos can be found at www.facebook.com/sikad.

Words by Romina Mislang / Photos by Regine Matusalem, Haj Francisco and Alessa Lopez / Post Processing by Haj Francisco


*Excerpts featured in Total Fitness mag's July 2011 issue

living the surfing lifestyle

Surfing Magazine April 2011 cover

From Surfing Magazine's April 2011 issue where these guys and Vans scoured Hawaii's North Shore for the best underground talent to be named North Shore Underground Surfer of the Year plus 25k travel bonus from Vans. The eventual winner was 35-year old Sion Milosky, a family guy who went through various occupations just to support traveling and indulging his surfing lifestyle. In order, they are "... Dishwasher, cook, pizza delivery, busboy, window screen repair, carpenter, commercial fisherman, boat repair, auto repair, waiter, bartender, welding and fabrication, gate builder." Besides regularly surfing, he owns and operates a welding company while raising a family at the same time. In fact, one of his pictures in the feature showed an amazing shot (a dream shot of mine, really) of him working the waves.

Sion Miloski, a few minutes after dropping his kids off at school

The caption for this photo reads: "A few minutes after dropping the kids off at school, Sion Miloski emerges from the pipeline mist." How's that for living the life? In fact, "he keeps his schedule flexible to match hours with the North Shore swell pattern - fast, fleeting and unpredictable." Here's the thing that killed me.

"My program is to get up in the morning, look at the waves, and decide: am I going to work today, or am I going to surf?" says Sion. "If it looks like a good day to skip work, I skip work, and I surf. Life's pretty good right now." You got that right Mr. Miloski, my man.

Now, while trying to get a copy of that picture I was talking about on the magazine's site, I stumble across this on the associate editor's column (my bubble burst, literally):

I was shocked. I mean I was just reading about him two nights ago (since I picked up my copy from Booksale, hence I get these a few months late, but nevertheless, I couldn't believe I'd find a gem among Booksale's stacks and at only Php 35.00), and then I read about this. Really sad. The sport is exciting, exhilarating, a dream as hell, but I guess many loved ones are lost as well. But as long as they've lived a full life, I'd bet they'd never been happier than where they were at that time. Rest in peace to all these surfers who I get to read about only to find out they've passed on.

Looking forward to my next foray in Booksale. Who knows, I might be able to snag the July 2011 issue next: 

... Surf's up. And I'm not in on it yet.

Credits: All photos by different amazing photographers are taken from the Surfing Magazine website. Quotes from the article North Shore Underground by Stuart Cornuelle

someplace familiar

ever felt like you don't know what you're doing? things are happening, in fact things that you caused to happen, and then you

get a taste of reality, or what you take for reality, and suddenly, you feel like you're unequipped to deal with it, you might as well

give up. for really, what's the point right?