The Early Santa

After having our dinner at a local restaurant together with my mother, we took a breather to an open space filled with manicured plants, adorably lighted as the Christmas holidays is fast approaching. The food satisfied our appetite and I can hardly move to continue our strolling inside the mall. I have to loosen my belt a bit to breath normally.

The night was cool. The lights hanged on the trees were jubilant. The leaves never swayed. They too are excited to see the international balladeer performing live at the outdoor stage. The sits arranged in front were fully occupied with avid followers of the artist. From one end, I saw a couple of elders holding hands through time.  I saw children running around the bushes, grown artistically around the garden area. A good number of people patiently waited for the music to play that will formally kick- off the show.

We position ourselves in an elevated spot enough for us to get a good view of the stage. The audience started to shout and scream. I cannot isolate myself from joining the excitement. The deafening roar echoed around the outdoor amphitheater. The lights turned on and the tremble of the music slowly filled the air. The excitement even grew fonder, as David Pomeranz came out and crawled at the middle of the stage. He trips back memory lane and serenaded us with his all time favorite songs.

At the height of David’s second rendition, a middle-aged woman from nowhere approached us. She asked us if we wanted to get closer to the stage for a better view and immediately handed tickets. In a split of a second, she vanished into thin air before I could thank her. I rolled my eyes around but no to avail.

She could be an early Santa.

The rest of the night was memorable and historic. Who could forget the Undying Admiration of the King and Queen of Hearts. Without a doubt, If you Walked Away you still Got to Believe in Magic. And many more…timeless hits.

Fried ice cream, anyone?

I've heard this out of the box idea  for a couple of times. It has been  featured in a local television program for food and travels. Normally, we lick our favorite ice creams filled in cups and cones. Not this time. It has stirred my eagerness to taste it myself. 

A tasty fried ice cream.

Few days ago when we were at the city of gentle people, we promised ourselves to experience the extraordinary food that the city has been known for. It was a fine sunny afternoon. We galloped down the streets to check the home of the fried ice cream. With the help of the city residents who were kind enough to give us directions, we found the food haven easily.

We did not wait for some time to get our orders and be served. The  ice cream was wrapped in a dough. I would assume it was deep fried because of its brownish outer crust.  At first glance,you can hardly differentiate it with a diced hopia available in our grocery stores unless you take a bite and the frozen ice cream soothes in your mouth.

I believe this marketing and product strategy was awkward at the onset.However, it had captured the ice-cream loving individuals.

And it will never be a surprise anymore if another weird idea comes out in the market soon.

A Crying Shoulder

I cannot really figure out why every time I handle clients, they broke into tears. This has been an ordinary scenario when I get face to face with them. I was puzzled. I try to excavate the bottom of things and my inner self just to find out what is the reason behind the mystery, but I had yet to find the exact answers to such simple queries hovering over me, in the disposition of my job.

I don’t have a golden wand to wrap around them and make them cry. Not even having a sociable personality which can attract people. I am timid and silent type kind of individual. I don’t talk much and always love to listen from others.  Definitely, I don’t have that glow in my eyes that can influence them to shed tears.  Is there magic in my personality?

A woman on her mid-fifties came and expressed her dismay about her employer who she claimed hasn’t been good to her. She has been jobless for quite sometime and is busying herself with her small store to augment her income. In less than ten minutes, she broke into tears with me only uttering a few lines.

Another client on his thirties verbalized the disappointment with his employer because he alleged that the item he received costs less than the value he deserves. At first, he had a strong and firm voice with authority but in the course of our conversation, he mellowed down and eventually broke down. This came to me as a surprise.

In one instance, I came across with this guy who was well-dressed and fashionable. He looks so happy at first glance but it was an irony when he begun to share his story. He believed that he was unfairly axed out by his employer, who was into the hospitality industry. When our conversation was about to end, his voice was cracking. He sobbed like a child losing a favorite toy.

Then came this girl who wanted to seek refuge after she was told by her employer not to return to work again.  She had to rush back to her hometown to check her family at the height of the devastating typhoon Yolanda. Unfortunately, she received inappropriate words which degraded her integrity as a woman. She did cry intensely.

Such stories and several others put me into an awkward position. I was never prepared for it. My human instinct has been put to test in this kind of challenging encounters.  This made me ponder what triggers all of them to feel so. Definitely, I was their crying shoulder.

What did these people see in me that make them comfortable to express themselves? Is it that I look pitiful to make them cry? Or they remembered something unforgettable seeing my face?

All  remains to be seen.

A bit of senior moments

I was tasked to secure a document in one of our government offices and I found myself sitting comfortably on a mono bloc chair while waiting for my priority number to be called. The air conditioning unit inside the edifice, to my mind, can manage to cool down the day of the other clients inside who were also patiently waiting for their turn. From one corner, I can see an old woman busying herself filling up the forms assisted by her companion. On one end, I see college students very busy crawling their fingers over their phones - playing mobile games . Everyone inside try to entertain themselves to lessen the boredom of waiting.

A man on his fifties sitting beside me was complaining about the current system in the office. With a simple document to submit, he has to get a priority number just like the rest of us.  He pointed several reminders posted around which I myself was caught in confusion too. I tried to calm him down and deviate to a topic to lighten his day. And it worked.

In the course of our conversation, I felt a tap on my shoulder and immediately turned my head from where it came from. I saw this man who I estimated within the range of my age introducing himself. The face was familiar but I cannot figure out when I meet him. Not to disappoint the person, I excused from my previous conversation and started talking to him.

He was Jojo. He works as a freelancer and travels around Visayas and Mindanao to promote his product. He retains several clients to do all their financial reports. Guess, he sells accounting software's too. While he was busy talking, I  squeezed every corner of my head to remember the person but no to avail. To my mind, he could be a participant in one of the seminars that our office conducts. He could also be one of my classmates in my post-graduate class because he mentioned about the university where I earned my master's degree.

Is it part of my senior moments-the tendency to forget things? Yet, I believe I still have a sharp mind and a keen disposition of my memory. And hopefully, when a bunch of "Jojo" comes, I could remember them swiftly.

Endurance pays off

For the past two decades, I was battling for my skin allergies which causes discomfort. I have sought medical treatments to end the vicious cycle but it keeps visiting over and over again like a regular guest.

One time, when I had my consultation with an allergologist, I was told to strip naked so that the doctor can check everything all over my body. I was hesitant to do what he said but I don't have the option to decline. I felt awkward to be nude outside the privacy of my room. I did got over it.

At one point, I felt hopeless when I heard from another doctor which I consulted that there is no cure for allergy since it is already in my system. She advised me to abstain from eating foods which could trigger the imbalance.

I was desperate enough to discover the right treatment to my condition and fortunately a ray of hope shone before me. I found myself listening to a brief product presentation that promotes a healthy lifestyle. Without second thoughts, I invested on the product- a fruit juicer.

From then on, I religiously took in a mix of fruit and vegetable juices twice a week which I personally prepare. I have persisted going to the night market situated a few kilometers away from the house to buy the needed fruits and vegetables.

My health condition gradually improved. I never experienced the unbearable itchiness every time I eat the forbidden edibles. It was hard for me now to get stuck on diseases like colds, cough and fever. 

I have found the right formula to address my frail condition. All I really needed was a healthy lifestyle and a bit of weird experiments.

A traveller's diary

Great things starts with a dream. We dream of having an equally presentable abode for our family. We dream of a fat savings in the bank. We dream of managing a business of our own. We dream of a luxurious living. We dream because we believe that something positive will reverberate within us, which pushes us to strive to reach the dream of ours.

I have always been a traveller by heart. I love to travel and explore the wide opportunities at hand. Back then, I travel with the aid of books and periodicals. I was hooked on reading interesting places and sights to satisfy my itch for travel. It was costless. All I have to do is to extend my patience to read and enjoy the company of non-living things-reading materials.

My interest grew fonder every time I flipped each page of the dream travel which I always believed will come into realization.

Dreams do happen. With work, I've got to travel to different places within the archipelago for free. Let me name few of my exhilarating journey for the past years.

Our first stop is Baguio City. It is considered the summer capital of the Philippines. You will enjoy the cool weather. The winding roads, the flowers, the pine trees and got to try wearing the traditional clothes. I have conquered the strawberry fields and feasted my eyes on the works of artists' from the locality.

The Burnham Park, a must-see point of interest in Baguio.

Tagaytay City. An equally rustic place which you cannot get hold of your camera because of its picturesque nature. Cool winds, clean air and laid back community without much noise and pollution is a good vacation haven too.

The mist and the smell of Swiss chalets in Tagaytay.

Puerto Princesa City. Another tourism hub worth visiting. A different flavor of experience awaits you on this place. More remarkably, it's known to be the home of the Underground River which recently was included as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. What surprised me is the use of sun energy-solar panels of the households in one of the areas of the island.

The mouth of the Puerto Princesa Subterranean Underground River.

Boracay Island. Every traveller would leave in awe with its powdery sand stretching some kilometers shoreline. The sunset amid sailboats is stunning. This is a place where sun, sea and fun meets.

My lens sighted these lads playing off the Boracay shoreline.

Davao City. It is the home of the Philippine eagle. The city is popular for the varied species of flora and fauna. I tasted the local fruit- durian. It smells bad but its tastes like heaven.

You'll gonna love me not because of my smell but of my taste.

When strangers meet

In our childhood, we were always told to stay away from strangers and never talk to them because a danger waits ahead once your broke the house rule.  You probably had one or several unforgettable experiences that puts you into risk, as well as good happenings when interacting with strangers. We understand its for protection and safety.

Nowadays, the traditional perception has drastically changed, especially that we live in the computer age where everything is possible in a simple click of the mouse. We meet a lot of strangers in the information superhighway. We interact with them. We share common ideas and interests. We make good relationships with the faceless people.

We have joined groups or invited by our friends to join them. We meet a lot of people whose beliefs are contrary to ours but we respect what they believe in. These people that we interact somehow influence us in one way or another. Not until, we meet these intangible individuals they still remain as our strangers.

What happens when two strangers meet?

Let me share you amazing experiences which I had with people I initially meet online.

My blogging past time brought me to this individual who is also a blogging addict. He had lots of interesting works that could tickle the reader's. We did had discussion on several issues from business, social, moral and even psychological in nature. It turned out that he was a retired medical doctor and is into online counseling to keep himself busy and sane. I meet the Filipino doctor together with his wife in their hometown. They cook the local specialty which I tasted for the first time. They were very hospitable. I had the chance to tour their ancestral house with them both telling stories about their siblings who are all successful in their chosen fields.

She was very straightforward on her comments. She shares intelligent suggestions and posts to the group. She suddenly vanished for no apparent reason. Everyone was surprised because she was very active in group interaction. We had a lot of interesting discussions. One day, she informed me that she and her American boyfriend with be coming for a vacation. Fast forward. I meet them both in a local fast food chain. I guided them to several spots and points of interest in the city. We dined and shared amazing stories.

I bumped his book online on Philippine cuisine and novels on travel. He is a Filipino author and food enthusiast based in the US. But he seldom talks about it during our interaction which focuses on life in a foreign country and development in the Philippines- social, economic etc.. Just recently, he flew in for a vacation and dropped by to meet me personally. I became an instant tour guide and treated him the hospitality that every tourist should experience.

The actual face to face encounter with all of them was memorable and amazing. They were strangers back then but now, they are real people that I have built good relationships.

I am looking forward to meet some online friends in the coming years. A Japanese fish monger. A Malaysian editor. An Australian novelist. A Filipino entrepreneur. An American facility director.

In God's time.

Events throwback

For more than a year of absence, I'm now back in circulation. To start with, let me rekindle the important events that took place in my idleness. More than a dozen of them to mention. So I will just name those which really left an indelible mark to everyone.

We had success stories. Heartbreaking events. Dreaded calamities.All of them have greatly tested our capacity as an individual and a country as a whole. 

The major quake which toppled down our historical landmarks to ashes makes everybody insane. The strongest typhoon ever to hit the face of the earth left ghost towns and homeless populace. Both tragic events stormed heavens of prayers to spare everyone from ravage and destruction.

We stunned the world by storm when three of our representatives captured prestigious crowns in the battle for beauty and brain supremacy. Indeed, the Filipinas were crowd drawers and early favorites. This somehow eased the pain that our nation felt with the unbearable calamities.

The very controversial pork barrel scam. We were disappointed of how our hard earned tax  being squandered by greedy and heartless individuals. Street rallies and mass actions has been rampant for an immediate prosecution of the orchestrators. Senate investigation has been like our favorite telenovelas on television. Yet, the heart and soul of the scam is still free.

Our country performed well in terms of economy. Investors are pouring in. The economic activities are vibrant. However, such development has yet to be felt by the ordinary individual.

Despite all the odds, we survived and is still standing tall.

Our political landscape has been interesting as it was. Technological advances and breakthoughs has been rampant.  Hopefully, we can use them for the better good and not otherwise.