THE GOD OF VOLCANOES

The moment you first step into my town,
The volcano exploded.

It suddenly spewed out
hot, flaming lava -
your hands had crashed it.

The thick smoke came out
of its mouth
when you spoke soft soothing sentences.

The giant embers that flashes out
of the crater sparkling like fireworks
celebrate your coming to my land.

The explosion caused too much trembling
Like you were shaking the volcano;
But I can’t let you stop.

Let’s wait for them to die down
Like we’ve waited for a lifetime
to find each other.

Back to School with 5% Agony

I'm officially enrolled! Yes, I am! After more than two weeks managing my impatience I'm finally relieved to know that I could go back to school, but not as a teacher but as a student.

I am taking up a Master's degree at "some" university here in Iloilo. I enrolled in a major I thought I would enjoy but because of some reasons that I could not openly tell it here, to avoid such embarrassment (chos!). So, last AY 2008-09, I decided to shift to another major. I wrote a letter to the dean, talked to my adviser and asked permission from classmates. Everything was fine, the dean approved the request and I changed major successfully. However, I was absent without a leave (AWOL) for that whole year! Well, it served me not that quite difficult but annoying results a year later.

AY 2009-2010. Even without enough money and happily jobless, I decided to go back study. But since my status is AWOL, they gave a few but patience-testing (that's on my own opinion, I don't know you with you) things to do. First, I have to write a letter requesting for readmission. It might not be that difficult to write a letter but what's difficult is that you can't give any strong reasons except that I got lazy for the enrolment last year plus I was too afraid of frequent absences in my former school. Isn't it difficult. Anyways, I found good reasons and my request was approved - after waiting for one week when the enrolment would be on that week too.

Knowing that my request was approved, I went to school and started my enrolment. They gave me a Physical Exam request slip, had the P.E., (which after this enrolment would be a lot easier), returned to the office and filled up a contact information slip. I was hopeful I could finish the enrolment that day. But, @#$%^!, they forgot to tell me I have to pass another form. A request to credit my advanced subjects in triplicate. But there's nothing I can do but follow or else I'll be left AWOL forever. But the agony was just about to start.

After filling up, I let all the people sign who needs to sign in the request and then they would bring it to the campus far from the city. "Call after two days." They said. Well, I really called two days after then another two days and yet another two days, only to find out they forgot to bring it to the Dean's office. Another *&%$#@! The agony of waiting pumped my impatience to a level where I got nervous every time I think about it. I don't want to wait another year. But luckily before the deadline, the request was back and I continued my enrolment. Whew! After less than 2 hours, my printed RF was stamped with REGISTERED. Yahoo! I mean Google! No, really, Yahoo! Ok! Yehey!

Must Be Trapped in the Net or Else...

I had been lazy for a few days opening this blog and thinking what to write. I got bored. Plus, I get tired always because I keep on going back to the city. And the shitty plus is that the broadband was broken and I can't open both the Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Grrrr! I felt like I'm not connected to the rest of the world those times.

I tried to find out what's wrong with both the programs. Every time I open the Firefox, it keeps telling me that "during the operation, Mozilla has crashed and needs to restart". So I kept on restarting it. Sending the error to the net (for Explorer) but to no avail. Waaaaah! What did I do next? I deleted/removed the Firefox hoping I could reinstall it. Then I checked the installer in the Program Files, and, tada! It was nowhere to be found. I panicked for awhile and felt cold. But whew! I remembered Explorer is still there.

Next step, I called the the Internet provider's office. I called the Manila Hotline and they gave me the Visayas number. OK! This could be it. In a day or two, if I get connected to the customer service, the Net would be reconnected ASAP. But darn! I called the whole day but the answers I got are Cebuano-speaking people who are also trying to call the customer service! What's happening? "Hilo? ***** ni? Gatawag man ako sa ****. Operator ini dong? "There even was one who told me she is calling from US. That time I had made a lot of "phone pals" but never reached the real customer service officer. I ended up hot headed.

I kept on checking the Net from time to time but the same thing and information keeps popping out. I did all changes in my Internet and Connection Settings, with all the fear that I will end up destroying the computer. But I'm becoming impatient. I have to check my mail! My blog! My facebook and friendster! (Wahaha!) I felt like my world stopped for five days. But on the other hand, without the Net we'll open the desktop for a few hours only and then we could save energy and our electric bill would at least moderate.

However, I began to wonder when the Yahoo Messenger began to operate and I can download from Limewire. So, I thought maybe, there was really something with both the programs. I kept online in YM and waited for somebody who knew about such things. I kept on asking these people to send me via YM an installer of both FireFox and Explorer. But still the programs they sent won't work.

After all those travails, I gave up and waited for a miracle.

After exactly a week, I tried to open again the Explorer. And wham! It opened with no sweat! Ugh! After that, I forgot all the madness and anger. I was so relieved that now, I'm back and won't be away from the world most people are enjoying. (Serious ba!)
And here am I. Alive and kicking!

be adelic: mal-instructions

be adelic: mal-instructions

Succumbing To Irony: I Don't Know What Title Will I Put Here But It's All About My Trip To Manapla and What I Realized There....

Succumbing To Irony: I Don't Know What Title Will I Put Here But It's All About My Trip To Manapla and What I Realized There....

I Don't Know What Title Will I Put Here But It's All About My Trip To Manapla and What I Realized There....

Two days ago, I was in Negros. Specifically, in the famous place of those cheesy and ube-wey, yum yum, putos - Manapla. Yes! The real town of Manapla in Negros Occidental. Not the puto store in Javellan St., Jaro.


It was my second time to go back to this land of delicious kakanin and on two very opposite occasions. The first time I went there was four years ago when I was still teaching in Bacolod City and was Manapla's fiesta. One thing that reminds me of that event when I went there last Saturday (June 6, 2009) was the plaza. It was where we spent the last few hours of the fiesta. While dancing and oblivious of things happening around, we never realized, and if we did it was too late, that there was already a rumble just 2 meters away at our back. We were so close to danger but since it never was our business we danced and continued the oblivion.

Back to last Saturday's event.

I would have not been there also if not because of my bestfriend Gil (who is like a brother to me also). My trip there, together with Merrily, was an all-expense paid trip. Guess who paid for my travel? Of course, Gil Salanio Montinola.

The purpose of the trip was to sympathize with our former co-teacher and housemate whose mother - who was also our housemate - died. Actually, there was no total sorrow since Tita Alma's death was expected - many years ago. Promise. Ms. Grace, our co-teacher, admitted that many years ago she would have hoped that her mother would rest already since she could see the difficulties her mother experiences. So, last Wednesday, Tita Alma went back to her Creator.

The trip had also produced better side effects though basically we were there for mourning. First, though I may sound like a typical Pinoy but I must admit, I spent the longest time staying in their young SM city. (SMILE! May SM na kami!) And yes, becoming again a nonsense opinion maker, I, with my companions, started to compare SM Bacolod and SM Iloilo. Sorry, I can't help but say, it was just like entering SM Delgado twice. And sorry again, I even said it there out loud: "Hala! Masulod naman ta sa SM Delgado?". Senseless.

Second, I started to reminisce thoe days when I spent my one whole year minus five days almost four years ago in the city of Bacolod. Everytime I step in Bacolod, year 2005 begins to pop and play on my mind. The Saturday, Sunday and week night trips we did to the city. The strange tricycle rides in the city (Bacolod, being a Metropolitan, it is really strange to have tricycles moving around like taxicabs). And of course the marvelling at some new things we saw in Bacolod. And yes, the local yet sleek Bob's Cafe.

Third, the entertainment a bus ride would provide. Passing by the cities of Talisay, Silay (Paris of Negros and famous of Balay Negrense), the mini-town of E.B. Magalona and the sugar city of Victorias (where the Angry Christ Church is located), the bus ride has offered more than what you wanted to see. Admittedly, Negros Occidental, especially the North side is a nice place to behold. Negrenses are so much involved in taking care of their history and culture even in the middle of the drive to economically push their province forward. I can contrast Iloilo - which is progress-driven that the people seems to forget to preserve much of their culture - from Negros when I talk about history and culture.

Obsessed about making Iloilo prouder than its sister, I noticed that Negros is far much better than Iloilo when it comes to this matter. Honestly. Even the town of Manapla, which is far from its neighboring cities economically, they are working hard to make Manapla a tourist destination. Two churches, the Manapla town church and the Hacienda Gaston's Church of Cartwheels, both too young to compare to other much older churches, are worth the visit. And, yes, they are promoting their puto that Manapla became a household word for Negrenses and to food lovers and enthusiasts. Almost all towns also have festivals that the province promotes and that they're totally proud of it. They even have the Panaad sa Negros in order to collectively showcase each town for a week.

I hope Iloilo would be much more daring to preserve, promote and improve their culture and history like Negros. Iloilo, if I'm correct, is not that too ahead to Bacolod in terms of progress but of course, much better. But if Iloilo would also focus to attract people because of their culture, Iloilo would be far, far ahead of Negros.


Note: The picture you see is the Church of Manapla. Nice, right? (Though it seems like an imitaton of that famous building down under.)

And I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing... (Regine Velasquez belting out the song)

As I said before, I would enjoy the freedom I'm having right now. And yes, I am still.

However, in spite of this, I also realized that I would also miss a lot of things back in the city. (See, I'm a having a semi-bucolic life nowadays.) Really lots of things.

1. The tricycles in Ledesco. I would miss this because this is the transportation that would bring me to my job. Strange in a city which has a law that prohibits tricycles. But, you see, I'm not working in the city proper. But, strangely also, the subdivision where the school I'm teaching is, is in a semi-exclusive subdivision where upper middle class people are working. Of course, you should expect that most people own cars here.


What I would miss about this, actually, is the feeling of embarrassment ,sometimes, because while us, teachers are riding a tricycle, our students are enjoying their air-conditioned cars (which are changed every few months) but at the same time feeling proud that after all these, they would still envy my freedom while them, locked in their wealthy but sometimes suspicious world.

2. The barbecue. Yes, we have barbecues here at our town but it tastes different from the tocino barbecue sold at the barbecue stands in front of the WVSU hospital. FYI, my sister, Mahal, my cousin Makmak and I eat these 3-peso/stick BBQ's almost every night as a partner to our rice. And we never get tired though, actually, there are a lot of karinderyas around. We would never miss a week that we will not buy these. I don't know what these BBQ vendors put in the BBQ they sell that we crave for it all the time.


3. The West McDo. Every time we feel bored in our room and my roommates (my sister and my cousin) don't have money to go for a night-out (no, I don't go with them!), our last option? Of course, the McDonald's near WVSU. If we're P50 richer! He he! Food options we buy: Sundae, P25; The 50-peso Value McSavers and McFloat. Other than those, we're broke. But if we can't afford McDo, we opted #4 which is..



4. Julie's. This is a 24-hour bakery. And we're very thankful that they decided to do so because sometimes we would feel so hungry at the middle of the night and Julie's would be there for us. Huh! Julie's should be thankful for customers like us.


5. Internet Cafes. If books are not available and Merrily (my other best friend in and out of job) and I got money for SM and Robinson's, the best way to spend our boring nights is the Internet Cafes. Thanks to A&S and Digitizers. They never fail to entertain us and sometimes, for letting us spend our money for unproductive surfing. Sometimes, however, if these places are full, we would do cafe hunting.

These are just few of the things I would surely miss in the city. There are a lot more to enumerate. Find out more in the next few days...

(To be continued...)