Pahiyas Festival 2005 (Part 1)
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Club Music (don't know the title)
Topic: special
I had the time of my life last Saturday. Met Malor and Cathy in front of the town's church. After that, I pigged out with Cathy with Lucban's Hardinera and some Buko Pandan.

Then we headed so Cafe. San Luis to drink chilled lambanog. We met up with some of Malor's high school mates, Roy, Gary, Stars, CJ and the others. Drank our hearts out 'til midnight. It seemed like Some backed out early while Cathy and I remained as the survivors. It was also on that cafe that Malor and I proved that Cathy is a certified bangus (matinik) when it comes to guys. I actually witnessed a guy hit on her. How's that?

At the middle of our merrymaking, I was badly wishing that my best bud was there to be with us. (Though, I can't say he'll enjoy the company of alcohol. Told myself we could have walked and talked our way the entire night there.) Got a call from him and said his hellos so Malor and Cathy. We also made a plan of going to Galera this coming weekend with his brother.

After our drinking spree (how I wished I was drunk),we went for a walk around the town. We took pictures of almost every house that catches our attention. It felt different when you are with a whole new set of people when you are there in Lucban. They were not the usual relatives that I have. Not that I didn't want to be with my relatives, what I know is that being with a whole new company felt different.

We headed to a lugawan afterwards. It was the best lugaw ever. Probably it was because of the company... I was having the best time of my life.

It was too late to go back to our barrio, so I had to sleep in Malor's place. I had breakfast and helped Malor decorate their place with rambutan/lychee-like fruits called lagwan (hope I got it correctly). Too bad I had to head to Manila that afternoon.

I was looking forward to sharing this happy experience to my best bud. Didn't expect him to just ignore it like that... *sigh*

Images of the Real World
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: Matt Redman's Facedown CD
Topic: special

Still recovering from last night’s late slumber, I managed to wake up on time for today’s task: to help facilitate the awarding of Klik sa Kalikasan--my org, UP Haring Ibon’s photography contest. There were only four of us there, other orgmates were not able to come because of exams and other university coursework. Everything turned out just fine for me; except for the lack of attendance (it looked silly to have just eleven people in one large auditorium). The eleven individuals who were there consisted mostly of the participants and the members of the organization. There was only one outsider (whom we are thankful for) and it was Budz.

This year’s contest focused on the theme “Plant Life.” Taking note of the trailing period at the end, it is a sentence, not a noun. Apparently, the participants have mistaken the theme for ‘plant life’—so most of the entries were pictures of plants depicted in various interesting ways. Nevertheless, it was all good. It always amazes me how normal images from real life can turn out to be such beautiful things when taken at a certain angle. Makes me wonder, does that apply to everything? Can reality (I’m not only talking of the tangible things that we see around us) be seen in an angle (or should I say perspective) where it seems the most beautiful? If that’s the case, why can’t all we try to see our realities with that angle? Or like a photographer, does finding the right angle require a special skill or talent?

I had a Vegetarian Shawarma (I thought it was TVP but it was a wheat meat substitute) and some soy milk for lunch. *Yum* Then headed to the main lib to try to finish our survey instrument with John for our communication research paper.

The sun was extremely cruel today. It seems to me that—in my twenty years of living here—I am still not used to our very own summer heat. I met up with my group mates in sociology for our institution study. We headed to QC jail to get today’s data gathering—actually more of ocular inspection—done and over with. It was quite an adventure—especially Elen. *wink*

Being there wasn’t exactly as sunny—but I it was hot and humid there. Everything there is cramped and crowded. We were given a tour; we walked where the inmates actually walked. It felt weird having all eyes on us. What felt more unusual is that they we were among them. We were actually inside the prison grounds. It was like a small community with bodies analogous to a ‘market place’ a china town and others. There were even ‘leaders’ there. We were told that style is unique to Philippine prisons because of its unique character. Overcrowding has forced the jail guards to let them loiter around prison grounds—very unlike most prison systems around. This loitering allowed interaction which made the QC jail a community of its own.

The thing is the condition of the people there—innocent or guilty—is not very good. In fact, it is not good at all. I realized that it is not the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Prisons) that is responsible for that but also other political institutions that exist here. Media hypes that it is the incompetence of the people in BJMP that is responsible for everything wrong in the Philippine correctional system. The truth is the situation is more than that. Everything emanates from misallocation of funds by the legislature. Being biased myself, this misallocation of funds comes from our government wanting to suck up to supranational institutions like the Word Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Huge allocations on debt servicing so that our government can loan more money in this institutions is causing other institutions to be under-funded. And with the continuation of degradation of our prisons, our safety may be jeopardized. From the words of the warden Supt. Panti of QC jail: “Prisons and Correctionals contribute to the peace and order and progress can’t be possible without peace and order.” These things are real. And again, I have to say that it bites… and it does big time.

Reality can come to us in many ways—that is what I have proven (again) today.

- communicate with the arcangel, tag on!!! -

Three objects worth remembering...
Mood:  happy
Topic: special

- communicate with the arcangel, tag on!!! -