Back from the City of Smiles

I used to associate Bacolod City with rest and recreation. My first two trips to this City of Smiles were sponsored by a wonderful family whose last name, to me, became synonymous with good food. Every meal that I spent with them was worth celebrating. I saw the wonderful sights within the city and drove to the nearby towns to taste what they had to offer. I always came home to Manila with loads of napoleones and half-moon from Roli's, mango tartlets and butterscotch from Virgie's, souvenirs from The Negros Showroom, and angel cookies from El Ideal.

During those vacation trips, I enjoyed my visit to the ancestral homes, played a piano that belonged to native Jose Mari Chan, posed at the Mambukal Resort, ate authentic chicken inasal at Manukan, and feasted my eyes on the colorful costumes on parade during the Masskara Festival.

My last two trips, however, were for work. Last year, I only stayed for a night as a stopover for my meetings in three cities. This year, I went to Bacolod for IBP's 12th National Convention of Lawyers. It was a busy first quarter for me as I prepared our marketing materials for our sales booth during the convention. I looked forward to the actual trip because I thought that I could work hard and play harder by going out each night.

As it turned out, my plans to unwind were thwarted. Nobody expected what would happen. Instead of the 1,200 confirmed participants to the convention, 2,300 actually came. There were not enough rooms and kits; the food ran out; and the space was cramped. Lawyers lined up under the heat of the sun to get their snacks and lunch, and everyone was cranky. My heart went out to the organizers of the event, who had no idea that so many lawyers would walk in, never mind that a disputed memorandum was issued weeks before requiring lawyers to attend at least one national convention.



I checked my camera today, and found only three pictures worth posting here: the ones I took before the convention actually started. There was a mini-masskara festival, with Masskara dancers performing around the venue and during the Opening Program, and stalls offering the best of Negros products dotting the open space between the buildings at the Bacolod Pavilion Resort and Hotel. Believe it or not, I only spent five minutes checking out the stalls, for I was too busy to shop even for a shirt to bring home as souvenir.



Each night, I preferred to go home early and rest. I could not lift my right arm on the second day after all the stuff that I mindlessly carried, mostly marketing materials. Our company's booth was swamped with inquiries and sales during the short breaks between sessions, and I was on my toes for three whole days. I hardly had time to go out, and when I did, I only ate to get it over and done with. I went to the famous Calea for the first time, but despite the tempting desserts on display, I was able to resist buying anything.




People kept saying I was lucky my work allowed me to travel, so I focused on that as a blessing, instead of complaining that it was an exhausting trip.

What I need right now is sleep, a good massage, and some time of rest and prayer. I am grateful that it is almost Holy Week. It will be a joyous Easter after all the ordeals I went through during Lent. :)

The Blogger is Out

I will be at the IBP 12th National Convention of Lawyers until Saturday, so no posts til then. If Globelines does not fix our Internet connection, no blog posts until I don't know when.

I will be in Bacolod City, which to my law school blockmates is the Land of Napoleones, but the trip will be all work for me. At least I had seen the sights in the City of Smiles already from several visits in the past, so it's not so bad.

I'm hoping to make new friends and bring home the bacon. ;)

Now Playing: Time and Tide

I've been told that I can't go problogging if I keep posting non-original content to my blog. I guess I have to create another blog for that dream to become a reality, for in this blog, I will indulge in sharing the songs I sing, the movies I watch, the poetry I read, and the beauty I appreciate.

This morning, I traveled back in time and played this in the car over and over again. I think I'm going to form a band with some friends and sing old songs in harmony!



For now, this is my personal karaoke. :)

Time and Tide
Basia

It's hard for me to stop my heart
love never knows
when the time is right
I don't want to hurt
anybody but
can't help loving you

I never felt like this before
I know this is passion
worth waiting for
let love take take its course
that's the only thing
for us to do

We got time, oh baby,
there's no rush
gonna be a better
day for us
hang on
and I will
wait for you
our love will always stay as good as new

Time and tide
nothing and no one
can stop us now
for better for worse
this time I'm sure
it's gonna last

How can I stop my heart?
Love never knows
when the time is right
don't want to hurt
anybody
don't want to make them cry
don't want to make them cry

We've got time, oh baby
there's no rush
gonna be a better
day for us
hang on
and I will wait for you

Our love will always stay as good as...
new

It's a matter of time
only a matter of...

Time and tide
nothing and no one
can stop us now
for better for worse
this time I'm sure
it's gonna last
gonna last forever

We got time, oh baby
there's no rush
gonna be a better
day for us
hang on
and I will wait for you.

I think Mrs. RJAQ and TSP will sound good when they do a cover of this song. I can do keyboards and backup vocals. :)

NEO-FILIPINO at CCP Little Theater

My friend KGB took me to the ballet again, this time to watch Ballet Philippines' season-ender, NEO-FILIPINO.  Her cousin, the gorgeous Georgette Sanchez, was the main dancer in two of the three parts of the show that we watched.  I had a short meet-and-greet with Georgette backstage after the show and I resisted the urge to ask that my picture be taken with her.  Upon learning that she was leaving for Germany soon, I regretted this decision, for last night, I became her fan.

I am no ballet expert so I would not dare review the performance, except to express my opinions.

The first dance was Ulaging, with vocals by Grace Nono.  A BP patron's comments, overheard in the ladies' room, summed it up for me - it was largely experimental, but there was strong dancing.  Georgette stood out in this number simply because her movements were the most fluid, her expression was the most engaging, and her overall bearing was the most captivating.  I stopped trying to figure out what the dance was about (I only read my program during the break), and immersed myself in the dance.  

I studied Nick Joaquin's famous short story, "Summer Solstice" when I was a college freshman, and was drawn to the pagan-Christian flavor of the piece.  It was a treat, therefore, that I got to watch Amada, Ballet Philippines' dance inspired by said story.  Georgette was luminous as Amada, who started out doing flamenco-like moves, then tempted to dance "like a loose woman" after she watched the Tadtarin and her followers doing pagan rituals.  Her transformation came from within and showed in her dancing.  Her eyes held the audience spellbound, showing her blind obedience to her husband at first, then revealing her wild desire to become the Tadtarin and rebel from her husband.  The audience showed their appreciation with wild applause after the show.

For the third dance, the music of Kalayo (formerly Pinikpikan) enthralled me.  As I was more exposed to classical piano, I could not imagine how that kind of music was written and performed in perfect rhythm with the choreography by Max Luna III.  KatiTaog's set design, music, and moves was like a visit to my favorite spa - soothing and relaxing.  It was a stunning world premiere of the best of Filipino talent.  Here the dancers leapt and twirled and looked like they were enjoying it.  KGB and I thought that their costumes were a winner too.  

What I love about watching ballet is that it combines music, theater, and dancing.  I think dancers are so blessed to have both athleticism and artistic talent.  Their bodies show just how beautifully God designed them, and for me glorified the Creator.  NEO-FILIPINO was exceptionally entertaining because the dancers did not have to exert too much effort to portray roles and convey stories that were alien to them.  They had more room for fun, as they danced to themes inspired by their homeland, as compared to the effort required to interpret "Swan Lake" or "Nutcracker Suite", for example.  Last night, I felt like the country's premiere ballet company did the country proud and made me want to shout, "Mabuhay kayo, Ballet Philippines!"

To you Georgette, I will pray for continued success as you bring Filipino talent to Europe once more.  May you inspire more dancers to perfect their craft, dance with passion, and share their gift to the world.

Catch NEO-FILIPINO's last two shows tomorrow, March 15, at the CCP Little Theater.  For ticket inquiries and show schedule, please jump here.

They're Playing My Song

Sanity break. I'm going through work overload stress and I need to breathe, so I did some Facebook therapy.

I found that one of my friends tagged me in the note "No. 1 Song". I did not just read her Note; I went one step further and blogged about it because it was interesting. The Note led me to a website where the No. 1 Song on Any Date in History may be found. I looked up my birthday and found that that the No. 1 Song in the US Billboard on the day I was born was:

Annie's Song
John Denver

You fill up my senses
like a night in the forest
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain
like a storm in the desert,
like a sleepy blue ocean
you fill up my senses,
come fill me again.

Come let me love you,
let me give my life to you
let me drown in your laughter,
let me die in your arms
let me lay down beside you,
let me always be with you
come let me love you,
come love me again.

(instrumental)

You fill up my senses
like a night in the forest
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain
like a storm in the desert,
like a sleepy blue ocean
you fill up my senses,
come fill me again.



My favorite version of this song is from "My Best Friend's Wedding" (what, this film? I don't remember it; I don't remember ANY line from the movie, only that it made me curious enough to try a creme brulee for the first time in my life), where Dermot Mulroney's brother and his friends took in helium from the balloons they were preparing for the wedding, and then sang this song in perfect harmony, with helium- thin voices. Too bad this song was not included in the original motion picture soundtrack (what soundtrack? I don't own a copy of this soundtrack, I DON'T listen to it, I just can't stop Sayin' a Little Prayer, Wishin' and Hopin' that someone will sing The Way You Look Tonight because What the World Needs Now is Love, but I'll Be Okay).



Okay, enough silliness. Back to work.

My Week With the Dolphins and the Durian

I am happily back in QC and have just spent an uncomfortable afternoon under the sweltering heat that no AC could conquer.  

I wrote about one aspect of this business trip in my other blog.  This one will be about the short R and R that we had during our 9-day, 6-destination trip.  I traveled from Manila to Mactan/Cebu, Tagbilaran, Panglao, Tagbilaran, Cebu, Davao, Tagum, and Davao.  I got sick for a couple of days and worked for the most part, but some aspects of the trip are worth mentioning here.

Last Thursday, I was able to indulge in one of my favorite fruits: the exotic durian.  I am a recent convert to the magic of durian, having only tasted the fresh fruit a couple of years ago, straight from a fruit stall along a dark Davao city street.  It was love at first bite for me, as I discovered the milky consistency that the durian meat actually had.  Since then, I had only tasted durian from a fruit vendor's bench.

Until my new friend Anna introduced me to a restaurant that served the fruit for groups to enjoy.  I already had a filling dinner of oysters, tuna belly over rice, and mango shake, so I did not have much space for that most notorious of fruits.  I happily shared one durian with Anna over durian anecdotes.

Last weekend also, I was able to visit one of my favorite islands, Panglao.  I stayed at Alona Tropical Beach Resort for one night only.  My friend and I were able to walk the length of Alona Beach before sunset as it was not as long as Boracay, but it was enough to give us our summer fix.  Not too many people were lounging around the beach chairs and getting their coconut massage on the sand, and that was exactly how I wanted my vacation - away from the crowds.

I was so caught up with work the week before that I forgot many things as I was packing for our trip from Cebu to Bohol.  My digital camera was first on my list of regrets.  I had to make do with my cellphone's tiny camera.

A boatman convinced us to go dolphin-watching on Sunday morning.  It turned out to be the highlight of our trip.  We woke up early to catch them swimming in the wild, in the middle of the sea.  We were rewarded after nearly two hours with the sight of a school of dolphins swimming in perfect harmony with the waves.  We let out squeals of delight.  Alas, the lovely creatures were camera-shy, and were also playing hide-and-seek with the motorboats that were chasing them, loaded with tourists like us who were disturbing their morning exercise. 

 

The above was my futile attempt at capturing the beautiful dolphins.  It was so hard to catch them as they had the same color and shape as the waves created by the movement of the boats on the water.  It was quite exciting, actually, as everything became silent, waiting for a glimpse of the shimmering fins, and then when there was a sighting from any boat, the motors of all the other boats roared to life and everyone started chasing after the dolphins.  I felt guilty for disturbing the peace of the sea creatures, so after about 30 minutes of dolphin-chasing, I asked the boatman to take us back to the shore.

And then, for the second time, and on my fourth trip to Bohol, I took the Countryside Tour and rode the Floating Restaurant along the famous Loboc River.  It was exactly as I remembered it - relaxing, calming, and inspiring.  The view of the river and the trees all around was breathtaking.  Music accompanied every floating restaurant, showcasing the Boholanos' gift of music.  It was the local version of Venice, although there were about sixty people inside our Floating Restaurant, a number not exactly ideal for a romantic getaway.  

I am grateful for these little moments and memories that made my work life bearable the past couple of weeks.  God indeed knows the desires of my heart, and He allowed me to receive these blessings through the help of CD Asia, Lingkod sisters Leslie (of Bohol's Travel Village) and Anna, and my wonderful travel partner, officemate and friend, Edith.

My next business trip will be in Bacolod by the end of this month.  It's Lent, and I associate Bacolod with good food, so it's going to be a challenge not to turn that into a Food Trip.  Stay tuned.