Leaving on an airplane

I'll be going by plane instead of by boat. The longer route would've been more fun. Imagine, only an hour and I'll be in Davao already!? It takes the adventure out of travel.

Anyway, at least I'll get there sooner to see my baby.

You know when's the last time I rode on an airplane? More than a decade ago. Actually, I've only been on an airplane twice. The first was when I was only two years old, and the second, tomorrow! Haha.

I'll be gone for only a week.

The sculptures at night

They're still on display.



They look even more beautiful at night, with the yellow lighting. Click on the image for a bigger view.

I'm going to Davao!

I'll be leaving tomorrow night. I'm so excited to see my pangga again. (It just hit me... today's exactly 1 month since she left for Davao. Hmm....)

I'm also excited because this will be my first time to travel all by myself. Or as my pangga said, this will be my first time to set my feet on Mindanao alone. It's kind of a scary thought because Mindanao is a pretty vast land...

So it's actually excitement with a mixture of fear, and I'm sure the latter will intensify when the boat docks in Cagayan de Oro on Sunday.

Hmm... Cagayan... I'm getting all nostalgic once again. Pangga and I got stranded there last year for a night. It was a Sunday. Nagtuo mi nga naay barko pa-Cebu that night. We were shocked when we found out there's only one schedule for Cagayan-Cebu, and it left that morning. We got there 6 hours too late. So we had to contact a friend of her father's, his college classmate, and I later found out that the last time they saw each other was when they were still in college! My pupils dilated. But we didn't have anywhere else to go. We were tired and desperate for a place to stay. Cagayan is like Cebu, you know (at least it looks like Colon in downtown Cebu), you feel like you could get mugged or robbed there and no one will be able to help you...

But Tito (we called him 'tito') Vic and his family was very accomodating. He's a dentist and he also runs a restaurant. His wife is a retired banker and their son is studying nursing. We really felt so at home there.

Anyway, that was last year. I can't believe I'm going back.

I miss Davao, too. There's a lot of things I like about Davao: the place itself (relatively cleaner and more neat than Cebu), the food (I miss the place where we ate kebab), the people... basta daghan nindut didto...

I'm also looking forward to... the six and a half bus ride from Cagayan to Davao! Ugh... It's going to be a long, long ride. Hehehe... Pero makalingaw ra man gihapon because of the landscape, especially when you get to Bukidnon...

I'll relish, too, the boat ride tomorrow night. I just love travelling by boat, especially at night. I don't know, there's something magical about travelling by the sea... I love seeing the pier, smelling the salty air, feeling the cold sea breeze, looking at the distant horizon... It sets your spirit free.

This will be a good break from school... :)

See you soon, Ga... :)

Broom broom

This car is on display over at the Ayala Activity Center, part of an autoshow:



What a car. It's a Porshe. I wonder tag-pila na... Wala ko mangutana kay basin matuk-an ko.

Disappointing

We could've gotten a perfect score for our case conference this morning, if not for me. We only got 93. I still don't know how to make a correct Nursing Care Plan. Our CI had so much to correct in it. Mine was too general and vague. She wanted goals and interventions that are specific, measurable, realistic, and achievable. I relied too much on NANDA and that big NCP book by Doenges. Sigh.

Oh well, there's plenty of time to practice next sem... hehehe.

Beautiful sculpture

A beautiful set of sculptures over at the Ayala Lagoon area. It's part of the three-day Philbex exhibit (It ends today).

Unwinding

I don't drink, but this afternoon after our final exam I broke that vow when I went along with Alvin and Dennis to Cup N' Saucer to "unwind". We downed a few bottles of Red Horse. I felt so tipsy afterwards. When I stood up to go to the bathroom I felt like dropping to the floor. My eyes and forehead felt heavy. I looked at my surroundings and I felt like the world is spinning around me. Ingun ana diay ang feeling kung mahubog? Lol....





After that I still managed to go to the gym. I sweated the alcohol out of my system.

Gonuts!

I almost went nuts when I saw this in our fridge:

Question from a reader

Woohoo, I have a reader! Lol....

I'm posting my reply for Tine here because the TagBoard doesn't have enough space.

She asks:

What does it feel when ur stil 1st yr. colege and taking up Nursing?? Is it easy taking up this course or an interesting one...and why you say so?

My reply:

hi tine :) i can't say because when i started nursing 2nd year nako. second-courser man gud ko, so daghan na-credit sa ako nga minor subjects. it's not an easy course, pero wala man pud siguro course nga sayun. are you a fresh HS grad? if you love caring for people and serving the sick, then nursing is for you. though daghan nagkuha nursing for the opportunities abroad, i suggest that you base your decision on what your interests are. :)

One down, two to go.

We had our moving exam on Physical Assessment this afternoon (We also had our final moving exam in Microbiology and Parasitology this morning). I'm glad it's over. Last night I had to stay up until two because I had to watch a video on physical assessment. The video runs for only an hour, but it took me 3 hours to finish it because I had to pause it often to take some notes.

Man, there's too much information in there. There's too much you need to know and remember in physically assessing a patient from head to foot. It will take you probably a few months to master it. Me, or rather all of us who are taking Foundations of Nursing, on the other hand had a few days to memorize all the stuff in it. Our CIs can be harsh on us sometimes. (Gossip: Not all our CIs are in agreement with the moving exam thing. There's actually some conflict going on among them, brought about by this CI, who is relatively new, who apparently wields a lot of power and influence over what goes on in our year level. Oh well.)

But it was okay, nonetheless. It was informative stuff.

Now, all we have to worry about is the looming final exam on our NCM lecture this Friday... Yikes. Then, our case conference on Monday. But we already have classmates who will take care of all the paperworks and the reporting in behalf of the class. Mga naning man to ila group, so we'll let them be... hehehe.

Time flies when you're having fun

... so they say. But I'm not having fun. Not at all.

The semester's about to end, and I can't attribute the swiftness by which it has come and about to go to fun... lol...

Next week's going to be our Finals week. Magtuon na pud ko... sigh... (tapulan jud!)

This past few weeks I've had clinical experiences in Talisay Health Center, the wards at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (Male Surgical Ward and OB Ward [The condition of the patients there was very sad, because mothers had to share one bed with two or three others! The place is congested.]), and the district hispital in Minglanilla (where I live). Last friday was our last duty for the sem. I was, thankfully, able to adjust and blend in with my duty mates. They're not hard to get along with. Although at first it was a bit hard because all of them already know each other and are already friends since the first semester last year. I felt like a stranger at the start. But they were very friendly. They're an intelligent bunch, too, so I had to catch up with them often... :)

The week after finals will be our case conference, and then finally, if I make it (hopefully), practice for the badging ceremony, which will be in June.

Missing Filemon

I'm listening to Missing Filemon. What can I say? They're a band so in love with Cebuano culture (present and past)! They're lyrics for one is in Bisaya and they sing about experiences one can recognize as Cebuano. Their music is also beautiful: modern and of top quality.

Great band.

They've been around for quite some time now, I think. I remember seeing them live once years ago, when the grounds outside Mango Square (where now stood the various restaurants and food stalls) was still vacant and when concerts used to be held there. They played together with bands like Smooth Friction, Urbandub, Who's Next?, Shiela And The Insects, The Ambassadors, and others. Karon lang jud ko nakapaminaw nila og tarong. Two thumbs up! Go Bisaya music!

Duh Vinci Code

I watched the Da Vinci Code yesterday with my friend Alvin. Dan Brown is now 240 pesos (120=1 ticket) richer because of the two of us... hehehe. Anyway, the movie was... boring.

My friend said he literally dosed off in the middle of the movie. It was not convincing at all, not even compelling. It was like an ordinary thriller film. Tom Hanks' acting was mediocre, compared to his other films.

The lines outside the Ayala cinemas were amazing: long queues that extended several meters away from the theaters' entrance. Amazing how this movie has become such a hit. The controversy undoubtedly helped make this happen.

Alvin was disappointed because he thought the movie's gonna focus on Da Vinci's paintings themselves, on the supposed "codes", and how they relate or lead to who killed the museum curator, and the whole conspiracy thing of Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion. Painter man gud siya, so he's interested in that.

I find nothing "theatening" in the movie at all. Perhaps many things from the book was left out. I really wish to read the book someday, for the sake of curiosity, then read Carl Olson and Sandra Miesel's "Da Vinci Hoax". (Also visit the blog.)

A very helpful website you might want to visit (by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, by the way): Jesus Decoded.

Also important: the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines' pastoral statement.

On a slightly unrelated note: I was reading about incorruptibles this morning and I thought to myself, "This is the thing one should point out to agnostics and atheists -- solid proof for God's existence!"


(Photo above: Saint Bernadette Soubirous)

To watch or not to watch?

Showing na ang Da Vinci Code. It opened last night. I was in Ayala last night and I saw the long line of people outside the cinema.

Hmmm... should I join in and watch the movie? Probably I will. I am just curious. I know many people want to boycott it because they just don't want to put money into Dan Brown's pockets. But I'm just curious. I look at it as a work of fiction, or a mere piece of entertainment. Ah, some people would say, it's a dangerous work of fiction, because there are just too many lies and historical and theological distortions in the novel and movie. Hmmm, that's a good point. But there's really nothing to be afraid of if you're in the side of the truth, right?

I agree with the Archdiocese of Cebu's position, letting people decide for themselves if they should watch the movie or not. As one newspaper columnist said recently, the Da Vinci Code (some people call it the "Duh! Vinci Code") phenomenon, is sort of like a "blessing in disguise", because only now are more and more people talking about the Gospels; only now are more and more people opening their Bibles. There's a renewed interest in Christianity and Jesus.

So yes, there are many historical and theological dictortions in the DVC, and our response as Christians should be to research further the truth behind the wild claims of the novel. The Church's role, too, is to answer its faithful's questions about theology or Church history.

The sea and the highway at night

The sea and the highway at night

Driving down the highway
at night,
tiny rain drops falling against
the wind shield,
at 60 kilometers per hour,
the wind cold,
the sea shimmering under the moon light.

I see a light house in the distance.
The light twinkles.

North Country

I watched North Country last Sunday. What a powerful movie. I cried a few times, especially on that scene wherein Josey's father finally stood up for her daughter in front of their company's union meeting. That was very moving, heartbreaking, and triumphant. It's a story about what courage and dignity really means.

I love the song at the end of the movie, when the credits were rolling. It's called "Sweetheart Like You" by Bob Dylan. I downloaded it just now using LimeWire.

Going home to Davao

It still hasn't settled in. My baby's going home to Davao tomorrow. I will be driving her tomorrow to the airport.

It still hasn't settled in. But already I could feel a deep sadness creeping into me. My heart is starting to ache. I am starting to feel afraid.

This will be the longest time we will be away from each other. She needs to go home to her mother, and she needs to start a business for them. She is finished with being an employee.

She will be back on August, hopefully, if things go as planned. Then, we will start our business here together.

But at the end of summer classes I will be visiting her in Davao.

I am afriad... my nights and days won't be the same without her. It will be difficult to bear.

But we will strengthen each other, Ga.

Holiday in San Remegio

My family and I, together with my Pangga, went to Victoria Hard Rock beach resort in San Remegio yesterday. That's in the Northwest part of Cebu. We spent the night there. We all had a wonderful time. My father did a lot of fishing (the resort had a fishing farm), a hobby he loves so dearly and which he hasn't done for decades already. The place is so beautiful. The beach, too, was nice, although it wasn't well-maintained. The pools were great!



We rented a room in this cottage.



Another cottage will possibly rise on this site.



A superb photo of the sunset my brother took. That's the sea West of Northern Cebu.



Another view of the sunset. My brother surely has an eye for beauty.



Fishermen. Early in the morning.



The fishing farm.

(To be continued)

2nd year

Me and Pangga in Bahia Resort in Lapu-Lapu, during our 2nd year anniversary last March. =)

Back with SFC, finally

I finally am back to Singles For Christ. I attended our service meeting last night. When I entered Sis Fe's residence my brods and sis were surprised. Although Jaypee and Carlo texted me to come they probably didn't expect I'd actually attend the meeting (Having gotten used perhaps to my habit of saying "Yes, Ill be there" and not actually showing up, hehe). They all looked at me at first in silence and seriousness, then they clapped their hands, and one of my brod said, "Welcome back!" I felt like the prodigal son, or brother. Haha.

I really feel happy. At first it was truly, truly awkward for me to be there. I missed a lot of things during my absence: countless meetings, activities, fellowships... I felt not a bit out of place. But I had to be there. I have to be with SFC again. It's okay for my brods and sis to think that I'm irresponsible and unreliable, that I turned my back on the commitment I made to Singles when I became a member more than two years ago by abandoning my household members for several months. They have every right to think that way about me, because it's true. I don't mind. I just want to be with Singles again, to serve the community again, and this time with more seriousness and dedication, commitment and perseverance, and hopefully with the Lord's help, with all my heart and mind, resources, time, and talent.

At the end of the meeting some of my brods, including ManMan who just got back from Manila, shook my hand and chatted with me and asked me how I was. I'm good, I'm fine, I said. I didn't add that I'm happy to be back among them.