Its been so long now since I last visited the place where I grew up. From my relatives’ stories it seems that a lot of infrastructure projects has changed the town.
I love the morning breeze and the fog that envelopes the town and its barrios. Bucolic. Sounds old and a bit corny but for me — that (!) is the right term. (How long it will last, that, I am not sure).
A cousin gave me copies of some photos that I’ve been asking from her. I was awed when I saw in some of the pictures that fog still envelopes the town in the early morning. The air at such hour is so cold, very fresh, your exposed extremities get numb and you may even get the chills. It is at this hour that a short dip in one of its rivers or streams is best. The water may be cold but it totally refreshes you and gives just the right shot of adrenaline to power you up for the day! The water that nourishes the town flows from mountain streams. In some places you can still dig holes beside riverbanks, let the water settle and get clearer, then you may drink the water from your small well right there. The water tastes sweet and refreshing, yes, it is still clean.
The people in my town are very hardy, more so the barrio folks. They farm well and they know how to make use of their environment efficiently. They gather freshwater shells from the rivers and stream. They cook these into unusual but yummy dishes when fish is hard to catch and the harvest is low. They may use kaingin in their farms but they plant trees not only for subsistence but also for shelter. I believe that an increasing number in migration and global influence are somehow causing a difference in my townmate’s ideals. A lot of them are in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the world. Some are not aware of the grave consequences that their efforts to improve their lives has produced.
I feel sad when I last visited my town. The town may have progressed into one of the most progressive towns in the whole
I get emotional whenever I am in the open field. I love open spaces. I love breathing in the fresh air, more so of my town. I love to look at the green fields, the meadows, paths criss-crossing streams into the woods, wide rivers whose waters turn from crystal clear to green and to deep blue. Brooks sing in my hometown, the sound of the water sound like melodies to my ears. I get so happy just by gazing at streams slicing farmlands, even in irrigation ditches and canals (built by the local government and a Japanese construction company). If you are an outdoorsy person you will understand what I am trying to say here.
I love how nature is in my town, I just hope that the quarrying, illegal logging, and other practices that are accelerating its environmental destruction will abate. I hope that the local officials or NGOs will see to it that the town’s natural environment be saved. I am hoping too that reforestation and saving the water sources, as well as saving the river shorelines from too much dredging and quarrying be given immediate consideration, before it’s too late...
When I passed by the Pacific Avenue on to Macapagal boulevard near Mall of Asia – one of
Buildings and businesses are popping out like mushrooms.
But there is one area that sticks out like a splinter – the Muslim area—I call it that way because of the mosque erected as a last ditch effort (some people think) of former squatters to keep their stake on the land (prime property at that and may cost millions. Something that none of them would even think of buying at the current market price.)
oops! sorry I was riding on a bus on my way home when this was taken
Baclaran is just across the (
The government is spending lots of tax money in improving the reclaimed area (the bay once hurls its waves at the sea wall now canal wall that skirts the Asia World City.
My son just turned a year older last August. He requested for pizza, but my schedule did not permit us to go to his favorite pizza place. So I decided to buy some pizza crust and some toppings on the weekend after his birth day. I bought two kinds of cheese, some pineapple tidbits, a can of sliced mushrooms, a pouch of tomato sauce, and sliced ham. My son is not that hard to please, and he likes lots of mushrooms and cheese on his pizza.
He woke up early that Saturday and he kept on asking if we can start preparing the pizza “now.” I have to tell him to wait until after lunch so he and his sister can eat their lunch. I don’t want them eating too much snack food. To some pizza is a nice and fast meal, well I do too, sometimes. But I just have to let my kids know what a good meal is, no matter how humble it may be. After countless queries as to when “the pizza preparation and cooking” should start, I finally relented two hours after lunch. I feel so happy watching my kids specially my son happily helping me prepare his pizza. I even let him prepare one whole pizza, with some coaching.
sorry bout this photo, it's too dark. that's my son preparing the first pizza that he (his hands actually, hehee) baked
2 slices left!
The pizza was a bit hard at the outer edges (a bit toasty!?) but all in all the pizza was ok. It was a special pizza ‘coz my son prepared it on his own. His smile made the activity worthwhile. Their father ate two slices and asked for another but when he saw that my son wants more he backed off! Hehehee. Our son finished four slices of it!
After such a long time (can’t recall when was the last) I was able to make another bead jewelry. Well, actually to be more accurate, the pearl and wire strap bracelet of my watch. I like the pearls I used.
sorry but the resolution is not that good, but the pearls REALLY are lustrous! :)
So lustrous (at least tome! hehee), so shiny! Most of the pearls have a pinkish tint, but the pearls look more white than pink. The photos does not give the pearls justice.
i really like those pearls...
Maybe it’s the light or the camera’s resolution. Whichever, I still feel happy whenever I gaze at the pearls. I really like them I may make a necklace with pearls like those…
We always try to maintain proper hygiene whenever and wherever we go. The same is true with me. Whenever I go to work I always take early morning baths, do the usual brushing of teeth, some mouth wash, then off to work I go.
This is why I am so incensed when some people aren’t bothered with their personal hygiene. They can afford to ride on air conditioned buses and seem to be regularly employed so I just can’t understand sometimes why they aren’t wearing well laundered, sun dried or (machine dried) pleasantly smelling clothes. Why they stink is beyond me.
Ok! I’m sorry, If some of you are offended.
I just can’t help it! I don’t know why but these past few days I’ve been having that fate—an olfactory challenged passenger chooses to seat beside me! Sometimes their smell sticks to your clothes or on you (cigarette smoke! Yipes!). I am piqued whenever a stinking yawn is let out. That is when I feel as if
A Saudi prince from the House of Saud in partnership with
the hole is surrounded by green fence (at the center of the photo)
It has been months now since workers started digging/preparing the site and from the looks of it they are not yet through with the digging. The depth of the hole somehow can give onlookers the idea of how tall will the buildings there be. I am quite excited about it, ‘coz I was still in high school when my attention was caught by magazine tidbits about this business force ( a real prince too!). I read that he rose and got to where he is through hardwork and persistence.
the prince, surrounded by bodyguards, in a photo taken when he participated in a traditional festival in Saudi Arabia
Prince Al-Walid bin Talal is a big influence not only in the Gulf but to businesses around the Globe. I am hoping that his decision to invest here in the country will help boost our economy and encourage other investors to set up here.
my joy with her classmates
My youngest child is somehow a bit more sensitive than my eldest. So her preferences are always considered. She’s very assertive at home, to us, and even around the neighborhood but she is quite the opposite at her school. Meldy told me that she still talks a lot with her classmates but is shy when asked to answer in front of the class or during school presentations. Like when her class was tasked to present something about nutritious vegetables and fruits during their Nutrition Month program. She was on the second line, sniff* She’s kind of tall for her age. She’s taller than most of her classmates in nursery so maybe that’s how she got to be in second line (sniff* sniff* –– stage mother here!).
with Alexa her close friend in school, during their Nutrition Month program
Anyho! I get mushy everytime I come home these days ‘coz she’s been telling me that she misses me whenever she wakes up and can’t find me beside her. That she sometimes cries ‘coz she wants me beside her and misses me a lot when I’m at work. Then she proudly tells me that she doesn’t cry at class anymore! She says these everytime I get home from work. And her lines makes me feel guilty each time I hear them. But times are hard, some moms just have to work.
friends
Whenever I am running late I always take the shuttle that passes through Daang-Hari. The shuttles winds along middle-income to upper middle income Cavite subdivisions,
one of the upper middle class subs, that the shuttle passes by
these upper middle income subs have high voltage electric wires on top of their fences
posh Alabang subdivisions, the ritzy Ayala-Alabang village itself, Ayala-Alabang Commerce Avenue, past the Fil-Invest Mall, then on to the South Super Highway, then the Skyway, and the shuttle may then enter Makati at various entry points.
some of the mansions at AA can be seen from the fence fronting Commerce Avenue
the high fence is the outer fence of the ritziest ville in AA, the high rises are of the Ayala Alabang business center
Here are some of the potshots I took while riding the shuttle this morning. Bikers ride along Daang-Hari ‘coz the wide open road is not yet traffic clogged.
one of the bikers at Daang-Hari, a lot of fenced wide tracts of land are being readied for real state projects
I noticed though that vehicular density is increasing each month, more so when the Pasong Buaya portion of the Daang-Hari road was finished. I was not able to take a shot of the Bureau of Corrections gate. It would have amused some to know that it is only a couple of kilometers away from the big subs! And not that far from the ritziest ville of Alabang! Lolz!
sushi anyone?
