The Forgotten

We call each other by name.
By song, by touch.
By any peculiarity we disguise ourselves with.
Yet in this crafted hour
I call you by that which you don't recognize.
And so when you hear my voice
You will hear it a stranger does, detached,
Ephemeral as a distant echo that glides unto valleys
And at once is gone.

There will be days when even my face,
Familiar as a well-loved toy,
Will cease to exist.
And in its place, only a vague countenance
Of colors and brush strokes,
Only bits and pieces of letters
That must have once resembled notes
Written haphazardly
On walls, tabletops.
It will be like waking up from a dream
and realizing that even the waking up
Was unreal.

I glide in front of you
Like a feather.

Free Reading To the Public

Sometimes when I am in the toilet in early morning while still half asleep, I have the most splendid visions. Here's one of them: Put up my own library. My library will be huge and it's going to have 6-tiered bookshelves, one shelf for each genre. And when I say genre, it has to be very specific as in, "Historical fiction taking place between 1810-1850" or "Novels that have been adapted into movies starring Brad Pitt". Or not.

Or maybe I could just collect used books from the neighbors and display them on the sidewalk for anybody who's interested in a free read. I'll set up 2 tables and a few plastic chairs beside the makeshift  shelves and put up a sign that says "free reading to the public". The only problem with this idea, though, is that it won't be an original. Somebody in our neighborhood (in Manila) already beat me to it, and I don't have the space anyway. And so now, this person is reaping all the fame and glory as I see local TV crew set up cameras in front of his house while he is being rehearsed for an interview (will write about this in a separate entry). Why haven't I thought of this sooner?

Anyhow, the point here is that books are always a good thing. They must be made public, and shared. So it came as a pleasant surprise today when Sir Joseff of La Belle Aurore lent me his personal copy of the Duino Elegies (from one of my favorite poets, Rilke!). It didn't matter that we only met for the first time today, and I probably looked creepy with my smeared eyeliner after rubbing at my eyes and forgetting that I had eyeliner on (I only confirmed this an hour later at a mall's comfort room which could only mean that I unknowingly freaked out more people at the mall and during the jeepney ride to the mall). But anyway, the kind gesture was lovely, I can't wait to devour the elegies, and I can hardly wait either for the other book that somebody else has promised me. :-p

A merry, nerdy, bookish Christmas to us all. :)

The New Donut In Town

Donuts remind me of....

Button eyes!

:) :) :)

Martyr's Lament

Real. Damn. Tired. I am not here typing these words, I am the words and the motion of typing and yes I will make sure to look into it tomorrow so kindly please just dissolve into the wall and let me type and imagine all types of things I would say if I only could say what was in my head for the longest time without feeling ashamed or guilty about saying something that I should should not say, at least out loud, and without having that remorse that everything I say today will probably not mean a thing tomorrow. And when I think about these things, I remember something that someone told me a long time ago which is never put off doing tomorrow what you can do today, or did someone really tell me that or was it just a dream or was it just the collective creed of a hundred plagiarist writers who call themselves anonymous, but either way it leads me to thinking further on that if we never put off doing everything if we can do them today, then sooner or later we will run out of time and the universe sure as heaven and earth will not give us another hour on top of the twenty-four hours given us to do everything we need to do and everything does not even include the time spent on necessary non-essentials like sleeping and crapping, and when we do run out time we can only wish that we can go out and pawn our stuff to buy a day like Justin Timberlake did, but then the truth hits us and we realize that it's a quarter past a half past twelve and oh the words are spilling out of my fingertips like there's absolutely no tomorrow.

Tatay Manuel

I don't know how to react to this. Just this evening, as my officemate Dan and I were walking along Ayala Avenue to catch a bus ride home, we saw this old man who was just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, clutching his knees with his head bowed down. I thought nothing of it and we just passed him by. But Dan kept looking back at him and when I turned to look as well, I saw that the old man has not moved at all. He seemed to be in pain so we retraced our steps and ask him if he was okay. The old man told us that his leg was hurting him. He pulled up his left pant leg, and we saw a bandage wound around his left ankle. A result of diabetes, he said. When I asked him why he was walking alone at that time of the night, he said that he came to see his former work mates (he once worked as a construction worker) who were currently in Makati Avenue to ask them if they could lend him two thousand pesos. The money was supposed to be a down payment to a funeral parlor, so he could redeem the body of his 12-year old son and give him a proper burial. His son died from food poisoning after having eaten food he picked up randomly from the trash.

His work mates were not able to lend him money and so he decided to just go back home to Cavite. Since he did not have any fare money with him, he was planning to walk all the way to Walter Mart (which was two rides away from Ayala) where the FX shuttles are, and somehow beg one of the drivers there to let him ride for free. How did you get here in Makati in the first place? I asked him. Turned out he was able to hitch a ride on a truck that was transporting vegetables from Cavite to Guadalupe. From Guadalupe, he walked all the way to Makati Ave. 

He really was a pitiful sight, an old man in his 60's or 70's walking alone in the streets of Makati at that late hour. And since leaving him there seemed like a criminal thing to do, we offered to accompany him to Walter Mart and pay for his fare. During the bus ride, we learned that his name was Manual Ibanez Sr. and that he was a widower with two children aged 14 and 10, apart from his 12-year old son who just died. They were children from his second marriage, which accounted for their young age. His son was already 8 days at the funeral home and he was told that he should pay the bill and get the body already, else it will start to rot and smell. Being poor and unemployed, he went to seek the help of various local government officials but was turned down. He even went to the ABS-CBN and GMA Kapuso Foundations, but learned that help would be granted only after his story was aired in TV and donations came in. By the time the funds would be available, his son's body would already have started to rapidly decompose. His last resort was to seek the help of his former work mates which, likewise, did not turn out to be successful. On top of this dilemma, Tatay Manuel was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer and all he wanted was to take his children with him to his hometown in Tacloban, Leyte, so he could die there in peace, and have his relatives take care of his children. He seemed like an educated man because he was able to utter phrases in fluent English while he was narrating his life story. He never asked us for money or pleaded that we help him out with anything.

Dan took his cellphone number and details of where he lived and the name of the funeral parlor where his son was laid. We gave him a little extra cash so he can pay for the FX ride to Cavite and maybe buy some food for himself and his kids when he gets home. I don't know, call me naive but there's just something about old people that moves me. Surely old men won't resort to lying. They're wise souls, aren't they? His story seemed genuine to me.

After we got off at the Pasong Tamo-Buendia crossing, we flagged down a jeepney going to Walter Mart for Tatay Manuel and bid goodbye to him. Dan and I can only look at each other and shake our heads in dismay at that sad encounter.

But then something came up. After arriving home, Dan texted me that Tatay Manuel's story was on the internet. He forwarded me a link to a Facebook page and I saw this:

Renz DadivasREUNIONS QTV-11

October 26, 2011 at 3:51am · 

• GoodDay. Gusto ko lang po humingi ng help. Last week po kasi i saw an old man about 60-70y/o, Name MANUEL G. IBANEZ, SR. passing Makati Ave. & i notice na pahinto-hinto po siya tpos naka yuko while holding his stomach, ayaw nman po tumanggap ng help. Tapos kinausap ko po, he told me na hihingi daw siya ng help sa mga kasamahan niya sa Construction financially, matagal daw kasi process sa Malacanang. Kasi he's dying na po Liver Cancer Stage 4. Ayw niya daw po umasa sa help kahit kaninong matataas kasi wala din naman daw. Ang gusto niya lng po eh mai-uwi ung 8y/o son and wife niya sa Province, nakalimutan ko po Province pero by Barko po ung biyahe. Gusto niya daw po PAMASAHE lng. gusto niya po daw "mamatay" sa province nila. Bibigay ko po present address niya if nag repond po kayo sakin sa Cavite lng po siya. Help naman po please.

  Like · 

  • 

    Renz Dadivas Di ko po kasi alam kung san ako lalapit. sa iba kasi di naman nila papansinin. Thanks po

    October 26, 2011 at 3:52am · Like
  • 

    Trix Tolentino sa Leyte yung province nya..

    October 26, 2011 at 11:01am · Like
  • 

    Madlyn Jazz Merjudio nkita din nmin tong matanda n to.. lalaki mejo matangkad, same story, pero sbi nya gusto nya iuwi yung dalawa nyang anak, ang kwento nya ay namatay n yung wife nya sa cancer... tutulong din dapat kami, buti naisipan namin i-google xa

    November 8, 2011 at 11:57am · Like
  • 

    Madlyn Jazz Merjudio last saturday namin xa nakita, sa may ortigas center sbi nya may liver cancer stage 4, at may taning na buhay nya, 8 days..

    November 8, 2011 at 11:59am · Like

Note that this Facebook post was made last October 2011. I googled some more and even found one dating back to 2010.

S-Kaye TorresDefinitely Filipino

February 9, 2010 at 10:36am · 

• May nakasalubong akong cancer patient kagabi. And my heart has been heavy eversince. Kagigising ko lang. Ambigat sa loob kasi pamasahe lang nya yung naitulong ko kagabi. Kinuha ko yung number, address, at full name nya. Sabi ko kung kaya ko hihingi ako ng tulong. Isa yung DF sa mga naisip ko. Mga ka-DF, eto yung personal info nya. :(
  
  Full name: Manuel G. Ibanez Sr.
  Address: Block 2, Lot 20, Barangay Lumbreras, Alvarez, Cavite
  Number: 0939-228-0433
  
  Lumapit na daw sha sa kung kani-kaninong politicians, sa ABS-CBN, sa GMA. Ang tanging naitulong sa kanya ng gobyerno ay parang certificate na free na yung transportation nya. Eh hindi rin nman cncredit ng mga bus. So please, anyone who could, pakitulungan naman. :(
  
  P.S.
  Illike ko 'tong stat ko para may e-mail notifications ako sa mga magccomment. Please let's do help. Tapos kung may mga ippost kayo regarding this, kindly tag me. Thank you. :(

  Like · 

  • 2 people like this.
  • 

    Madlyn Jazz Merjudio same story. nakasalubong namin xa n mabagal n ng lalakad pahinto hinto while holding his stomach. nakilala ko rin tong manuel Ibanez na to, sbi nya may cancer xa sa liver at stage 4 na, may taning n buhay nya at 8days nlng bngay sa kanya, nakasalubong ko xa last saturday, masama rin loob ko kasi pamasahe pauwing cavite lng ang naibagay ko at konting pocket money at food, sbi ko i'll send him money para makauwi xa sa leyte with his son and daughter kasi wala akong dalang madaming pera that time... super sad ng story nakwento ko sa frend ko to and he told me n nakilala nya rin to 3 months ago, kaya nagduda ako at naisip kong i google ang namenya, nalaman ko madami n xa nabiktima

    November 8, 2011 at 10:15pm · Like

Like what I said earlier in this post, I don't know how to react to this. Should I be enraged because I was scammed and "victimized" by this old man? I cannot bring myself to say "Beware This Man" because in the first place, he never asked us for help, and if we gave him some money, we did it out of our own free will. He never should have made up those stories, yes, he was at fault with that, but can we really blame him for what he did? What with the neglect our government is showing to the poor in this country? Tatay Manuel probably deserved that money more than I did. I would have probably just spent it on greasy, unhealthy food or on a fancy item at the mall that I don't need. I do not regret being scammed.

The 2nd Law: Isolated System

Another track from Muse's newest album, The 2nd Law. The album title is inspired by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that if no energy enters or exits the system during an exchange, the potential energy of state will always be less than that of its original state. 

"In an isolated system entropy can only increase"

My new addiction. :)

Madness

Come to me

Just in a dream

Come on and rescue me

Yes I know, I can be wrong

Maybe I'm too headstrong

Our love is madness

Three Ways To Die

1

New Year’s Eve.  The food is laid out on the table, everyone is in festive mode. Beth is sitting out on the balcony, watching her brothers set up giant sparklers on the sidewalk. She strokes her swelling belly. Being pregnant at sixteen is not easy, but she’s determined to keep her child. She thinks of New Year’s resolutions to write in her journal later on—go to college, make up for lost time with my parents, be a good mom—while  several meters away, a stray bullet fired from a drunk policeman’s gun is hurtling its way to her head.

2

“This is a hold-up,” the man hissed in Tamara’s ear while he presses a gun to her neck. “Give me your wallet and your cellphone.” Tamara wildly looks around for help. There is nobody else in sight.

“Please don’t kill me,” Tamara pleads. With shaking hands, she reaches inside her bag and hands over her valuables. The man releases his grip on her and manages a smirk. “By the way, this is a toy gun,” he mocks before running away. In her rage, Tamara runs across the street to chase him. A speeding truck hits her before she can scream.

3

The plot in the cemetery is ready. It’s a lovely patch with wildflowers and Jun has already made an advance payment to the caretaker who will be doing the grave maintenance. He has already bought the pine-wood coffin, made reservations at the funeral parlour, estimated the number of guests who will be coming. What he needs to do now is complete the list of songs to be played at the wake. Jun has lung cancer. His doctors have given him only three more months to live. 

He ponders for a while then downloads Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven from iTunes.

If I Could Buy More Time To Be A Poet

If I could buy more time to be a poet, I would

Take you somewhere we can be alone

In an abandoned castle perhaps where our stories once lived.

I'll read my verses and you will listen

And not understand a thing but we'll hear the walls shake

And the ground will feel like water under our feet.

You will lean over for a kiss when it is over

And I will give up my lips like giving up my pride

Knowing that words are currents that must flow through skin 

Before they can enter the mind.

And one day you will realize how the words

That did not make any sense to you

Were actually the prayers that you have left

Unuttered, folded away in a secret place

That even I cannot reach.

Paul Auster's Oracle Night

This is not a book review. If it is, I would have to dissect, analyze and piece together the three stories within this novel which is a torturous thing for me to do at this moment. Oracle night is a story within a story within a story. It is the story of Lemuel Flagg, a British Lieutenant of World War I, of Nick Bowen, an editor at a New York publishing house who made The Great Escape of his life, and of Sidney Orr, the writer who created Nick Bowen from the pages of a mysterious Portuguese notebook and whose life takes on a bewildering turn after doing so.

I loved the Nick Bowen episode. Mostly because of his larger-than-life decisions, and also because his story didn't have an ending and nobody knows what happened to him. He might as well have died, but nobody knows for sure, not even Sidney, who created him. His story is a prime example of starting over a new chapter of one's life, but not in a warm, fuzzy, feel-good way. After having had a near brush with death, Bowen decides that a new life has been given to him and immediately leaves for a new city without going home to pack his things or even telling his wife about it. He checks in at a hotel, phones a woman he has met once and declares his love for her, and goes out to shop for clothes only to find out that his ATM  and credit cards have been cancelled. With only a small amount of cash in his pockets, he skips out on the hotel bill and goes looking for the only person he knows in Kansas City--Ed Victory, the taxi driver who drove him to the hotel.

His bad luck doesn't there. Ed Victory hires him as a telephone book sorter in the dubiously named Bureau of Historical Preservation, and through a bizarre twist of events, Bowen ends up being locked up alone in full darkness in an underground bomb shelter. Sidney Orr has no idea how to get him out of that desperate situation, and so he leaves the story unfinished. Pretty frustrating, if you ask me.

Nick Bowen and Sidney Orr are interchangeable characters. They both make a living in the writing/publishing industry, they almost have identical wives, identical dilemmas. As I was reading through the novel, I get the weird feeling that their stories are beginning to merge. Sidney Orr's friend pops up in the Nick Bowen story and I have to go back several pages to make sure that he really is Orr's friend, and not a new character in the Bowen story.

Oracle Night is not the story of Nick Bowen, though. It is mostly Sidney Orr's story and of how the written can mysteriously foretell the events in the life of the writer. Although, technically, Oracle Night is the story of Lemuel Flagg. I know I'm not making any sense here, so might be better if you just find out for yourself. :)

Garden Apathy

It's a crisp Monday morning and we see
Desmond tending to his garden.
And what a beautiful garden it is--
Rows and rows of fairy cabbages,
Ballerina lettuce that dance
In glittering tutus all day, sweet uni-corns.
There are the weeds, of course,
Weeds that get angry when Desmond pulls
Them out by the hair.
But they're blind and cannot see the fate
That await them.
Desmond chucks them into the fire.

Hey! The pumpkins shouted from not far away.
Over here, young master! Our throats are parched
And we need our sparkling cider.
Hey! The sexy orchids cooed from their vines.
We're bored, come and tell us a story.
Hey! The pretty sunflowers called out.
We need our sun, get us away from this shade.
Hey! The sergeant tomatoes growled.
You think you the boss here? We the boss here!
Hey! The sweet peas.
Hey! The potatoes.
Hey! The carrots.
Hey! The purple yams.

There's so much work that needs to be done.
Desmond does not complain.

Down by the south fence, a lone apple tree stands.
Desmond goes over and picks up the rotten apples
Fallen to the ground.
They're bruised all over and they look at him
Without a word.
And because they're useless and good as dead,
Desmond decides to love them the most.

He throws them to the fire together with the weeds.

Response

You say I am lazy but the truth is I am

Afraid of the flare of the lamp that gropes

For my eyes, terrified of the endless

Catastrophic pillows that smother my dreams

While wide awake at two A.M

Staring at curious shadows

That clamor to be vulgarized

Unsure of who or when or where

And why.

The world is governed by chance

Is not a cute adlib.

It is a war cry.

A Necessary Evil

People take one look at my newly cropped hair and ask--did I just break up with somebody? Isn't it just the most natural thing for a girl to do? Like what Bea Alonzo did in One More Chance?

Well, I'm not spilling any beans here, but my cutting my hair short is as simple as it is complicated. For a girl, it is always a major event. As if the hair has a soul of its own, and snipping it off is equivalent to cold-blooded murder.

I miss my long hair. I miss the absolute freedom of being able to flip it, twirl it, let it hang loose on my shoulders, gather it in a nice ponytail, bubble it up in the shower, or just pull at it when I'm feeling stressed out. But I've been wanting to don short hair (again) for quite some time already, so I chopped it all off. But I miss it now.

Knowing these things, if I could turn back the hands of time, will I still choose to cut my hair? I would say it is inevitable. There would have been no other feasible option. Even if I will regret it later on, I will still choose to do it because I know I would be forever restless if I didn't.

I find it cool and sad and amusing that you have to lose something first before you can begin to love it.

Oh well.

Lost in Sagada (Part 2)

to continue...

5. Chill. Most people go to Sagada seeking for a little bit of outdoor fun. Usually, it's caving and trekking that tops the list of must-do activities. For those on drama mode (like me at that time, I shamefully admit), Sagada can also be the perfect spot to do a little retreat. The town is quiet, charming, the air is cool and the views are just splendid. I think I spent more than half of my time there just reclining in a chair, reading and writing. Here are my favorite chill-out spots:

Bana's Cafe

Not your typical cafe of the Starbucks variety. It doesn't look very appealing from the outside and one would be hard pressed to find it when passing by the road. But the place, once you get inside, is very cozy--especially at the dining area by the terrace where I usually sit for my cup of coffee. And since September is an off-peak season for tourist influx, I virtually have the whole place to myself. I always have my breakfast here. Meals are not exactly exceptional, but the coffee is. At P30/cup, their freshly brewed Cordillera coffee is a far cry from their overpriced counterparts at the more posh cafes in the metro. One can also sample here a more exotic blend of coffee, the Kape Alamid, which is made from the droppings of the alamid or the civet cat ( if you're curious to know what sh*t tastes like, then try this one). :-p

early morning at Bana's Cafe

Another view of the dining area

Kape Alamid

Kanip-Aw Pines View Lodge

People do not travel just to get holed up in a lodge or hotel, but you might want to rethink about this place. This is hands down the best lodging I have ever had while travelling. They have a spacious common room which I totally adore, with glass windows allowing guests a majestic view of Mt. Kanip-Aw. The best part is being out on the terrace. On early mornings, the place is so beautifully quiet and all you can hear is the chirping of the birds and the rushing sounds of a nearby river (really. this is not an exaggeration).

the common area

best place to write

early morning view from the terrace

6. Strolling around town. The air gets thin high up in the mountains but strolling around town is never an arduous task. With views getting more splendid the farther away you are from the town center, doing a bit of hiking can be quite rewarding. On my last morning in Sagada, I did some solo trekking, trying to locate the entrance to Sumaguing Cave. Not really hard to find, though, as the locals are very friendly and will gladly help out with directions.

Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin

students on an outdoor art class

on the way to Sumaguing Cave

still on the road

Kapay-Aw rice terraces

stairway leading down to the cave entrance

entrance to Sumaguing Cave

The thing I don't like about Sagada? Nights. Freezing cold and awfully quiet. It can get very lonely being all by yourself. What made it even worse is that there is no signal for Sun Cellular, the Smart tower is undergoing repair, no wifi even, and all the mini-groceries and sari-sari stores are out of stock of Globe sim. I was virtually cut off from all sort of outside communication. It makes the feeling of isolation even more pronounced. Nights forced me to be alone with the thoughts I would rather not recall, which is a very maddening thing. I eagerly waited for the morning to rescue me from that lonely pit.

Minus the nights, though, I would say that my Sagada experince has been generally pleasant and charming. The best thing I realized about being alone is that, well, it sucks. But solitude does have its perks. It is both beauty and madness. And sometimes, we just need to escape every once in a while  to appreciate the things we oftentimes take for granted (e.g. cellphone signals).

I will be coming back to this place definitely. I haven't done the Sumaguing-Lumiang cave connection yet and I am aching to go on that trek to Kiltepan and the Bomod-ok falls. But I don't think I would want to do it alone next time. If any of you want to come along and if you're willing to endure a 24-hour land travel, just contact me. :)

'Til the next road trip.

Lost in Sagada (Part 1)

Finally! I fulfilled one of my birthday wishes this year: To travel in some far-flung town high up in the mountains. Alone.

After having filed my three-day leave from work, I packed my bags, trooped to the bus terminal in Sampaloc and chose a window seat. My destination: Sagada, Mountain Province. I took the Banaue-Bontoc route going to Sagada, and the Baguio route returning back to Manila to sort of do a circle around northern Luzon and make the most of the road trip. And what a trip that was! 9 hours from Manila to Banaue, 2 hours from Banaue to Bontoc and an additional hour, finally, from Bontoc to Sagada. Going back, on the other had, entailed 6 hours each from Sagada to Baguio, and Baguio to Manila. That's a total of 24 solid hours of butt and back aching road travel. I pity the driver who would have to endure this kind of ordeal behind the wheel. 

Actually, I was about to write a very detailed account of this trip, but I got bored two pages into the narrative and just scrapped the whole thing. So I guess I'll just be writing down the things that impressed me the most about this solo travel experience.

So here goes, in no particular order:

1. Little pleasant surprises. I saw this glued into the window next to my seat on the bus going to Banaue:

I thought at first that it was some quaint little project by the bus company, much like the Berso sa Metro where one could see verses of poetry scattered inside the MRT, but when I scanned the other windows, all were clear except for mine. Somebody must have pasted that quote some time ago while going to Banaue. He/she must have also been a lone traveler like me. I found the verse comforting. It's almost as if I was meant to be seated at that exact same spot , as if those lines were meant for me. Shocks, drama mode!

2. Beautiful, beautiful mountains. Some of the most amazing and breathtaking mountains that I have ever seen in my life can be found along the Halsema Highway on the Bontoc-Sagada and Sagada-Baguio routes. Mountains ranges as far as the eye can see. Valleys. Terraces. Clouds settling on mountaintops. The sights were really something.  Too bad I was not able to take pictures since I was always on the wrong side of the vehicle (must make mental note to seat myself at the driver's side of the bus next time). I am including here instead some photos I took of the rice terraces in Banaue, since I was able to do some roaming around while waiting for the van that will take me to Bontoc.

3. The kindness of strangers. I met this young couple, Stanley and Catherine, while on the van going to Bontoc from Banaue. They were both locals: Stanley, a miner from Baguio and Catherine, a wag-wag / ukay-ukay vendor from Sagada. They were such a friendly bunch. The two of them, along with another local entertained me along the way with stories about Banaue and Sagada. When we finally got off at Bontoc, we found out that we still have an hour before the jeepney to Sagada leaves. Seeing perhaps that I was on my own, Stanley and Catherine offered to take me with them to stroll a bit around town. They even took me to lunch and paid for my meal. Since they will also be going to Sagada the next day (Catherine will be touring Stanley around town since it will be his first time to visit the place), they told me that if I wanted, I can go with them so I can save on tour guide costs. I was touched by the kind offer. And to think that they were complete strangers. You will not see anything like this in Manila.

4. The kindness of dogs. Really. Even dogs are friendly in this part of the country. It all began when I decided to explore Echo Valley. Since I didn't want to pay for a tour guide, I went to the tourist information center and asked the kind man behind the counter if I could go there on my own, and he said yes. He even drew this map for me to make sure that I do not get myself lost:

 The trail may look simple, but it's actually made up of frighteningly narrow paths on the side of a cliff. The crosses on the upper portion of the map indicate a local cemetery, and from there, the "leisurely" walk begins. 

the path to Echo Valley

wedged my cam between 2 rocks so I can take this "candid" picture of me looking over a cliff

resting my feet and enjoying the view

The trail ends with a view point where across the valley one could see the famous hanging coffins of Sagada. I lingered there for a while admiring the view and taking some terribly blurry photos of the coffins. I can actually take another path that would lead me down the valley and to the mountain across where I could see the coffins up close. But the downward trail looked scary and I got even more apprehensive upon seeing this stone marker:

What if I fall off a cliff while making my way down the valley? I didn't want to die there alone with no one to witness my death. So instead of going down the valley, I climbed my way up to "Calvary", the top of a hill where a tall wooden cross is erected. Going up seemed easier than going down since since I can be more sure of my footing. I can also be on all fours, holding on to weeds or tree trunks or rocks (Reckless decision on my part. Do not try this on your own, unless you're confident in your climbing skills). 

And so, LUCKILY, I was able to reach Calvary. Hooray. The imminent problem then was: How do I get back down? It was then that I realized that I did a very stupid thing. As I was pondering on my dilemma, a dog appears out of nowhere. He began circling around me, sniffing at my feet. As I was about to pat his head, he moved away, going into a certain direction. He stopped and turned to look at me. When I was about to approach him again, he began moving further along. It was as if he was telling me to follow him. And so that was what I did. I followed him and to my surprise, I discovered that he was leading me back to the cemetery where my walk began earlier. 

What a blessing. I patted his head and whispered thank you. He followed me all the way down to the edge of the cemetery. When I turned back to look for him so I could take another photo, he was gone.

It was my little miracle in Sagada.

(Part 2 to follow)

  

Give Me The Energy

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho featured a story tonight on residents in Butuan City getting free LPG straight from their water wells. People noticed at first a gust of air coming out while they're pumping water. This "air" turns out to be methane, a valuable energy/fuel source,which some residents have tapped for use in their homes. Instead of buying LPG tanks, they only need to channel the methane into their homes through improvised tubing systems, and voila, they now have gas whenever they need it.

While this is incredible news, what I found really more incredible is how the local government, upon being asked, told the reporters that they cannot do anything to further harness this potential energy source. Funds are not sufficient. Imagine how much the city can benefit if they could extract their own fuel for domestic use instead of having to rely on commercial fuel which can be very expensive. They have this enormous opportunity staring at them in the face, and yet, they are unable (or unwilling) to do something about it.

I am writing this because I have recently been reading up on alternative energy sources and found out that we have actually lots of options when it comes to extracting energy for domestic and industrial use. Our very own Philippines, in fact, is sitting on the "Ring of Fire", that portion beneath the surface of the earth where tectonic plates come together and temperatures are hottest, which makes us a very potent source for geothermal energy. And I am writing this not because I am claiming to be an energy / scientific expert (although while I was reading the book, my secret yearnings of being a scientist has surfaced and I wished I had taken up chemistry or physics instead in college--which of course, I have not given any thought while I was in college), but because I am both amazed at all this newly-discovered potential, and saddened that no one--to put it simply--cares. The government has more issues to prioritize (next to amassing exorbitant wealth) than the energy/climate issue. And the Filipino citizens are too busy updating their Facebook status.

Oh if only I were a scientist. Or a senator.