More on CDO and Bukidnon trip

Snapshots from my Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon trip.

This is what you'll see on the other end of Makahambus Cave. White water rafters pass through this river

The historical marker at the cave's facade.

Bonding time with my high school friend, Shine who now resides in CDO. The adorable kid next to me is Louisse, Shine's son and my inaanak.

An ancestral house in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental. The local folks (two men in blue and the lady in white shirt) showed us around before we interviewed 'Solo' papaya farmers.

Notice the carved image of a men at the corner, as if carrying the second floor of the house. I saw two old houses with the same architecture. I wonder what's the story behind.

In our quest in finding 'Solo' papaya plantations, we faced rain and narrow and muddy road. But the sight of the farm and the smell of the grass felt like home.

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Down South

I had an official trip to the southern Philippines last week (Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon) for our supply chain mapping of 'Solo' papaya. It was my second time in Cagayan de Oro City and my first time in Bukidnon. This trip has been very tiresome yet enjoyable and my most adventurous so far. I had several "first times" during the trip!

• It was my first time to go to Bukidnon. I knew from my grade-school books that pineapple was the main commodity of this province. True enough, I saw hectares and hectares of pineapple farms. Those farms were contract-grown by Del Monte Philippines. It's also called the Baguio of the south because of it's also an upland province and it's cold climate.
• While on our way to Bukidnon, there was a place where we are to go through a quarantine "pond," i don't know what it's really called (I had something like that also in one of my undergrad subjects but whatever, I forgot). All who pass through that place have to be 'quarantined.' It's the first province I went to with that quarantine thingy.
  
• First time to eat "binaki." Out of curiousity, in one of our stop overs going to Bukidnon, I bought this local delicacy sold in the sidewalk. My guess is it's made of ground corn mixed with milk, wrapped in corn husk and then steamed. I think it's similar to "suman" only that "suman" is made from ground rice.
• My first time to see a rubber plantation. I was facinated by the row of rubber trees because they look so the same (of course!) and they were of the same height. There was a little black thing attached to each tree that catches the latex.

• I've never been to a cave before until the Makahambus Cave which is just a few minute ride from the airport (we went there before going back to Manila). The cave served as a hiding place of Filipino Soldiers during the war. The end of this cave is a cliff and down you'll see the river where white water rafters pass. White water rafting is one of the main attractions in Cagayan de Oro.

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Aroroy, Masbate

Let me take you to the land where I grew up...

Aroroy is a coastal town. We call our port "pantalan" and this is what you'll see there on a clear day. That's the famous Mayon Volcano peeping on the horizon. It has always been the favorite subject of my drawings when I was a kid.

I took this on a late afternoon of December 2007. That's the "pantalan" under construction. I heard it's already finished. This picture sends me so much melancholia...

Agriculture is the common source of livelihood of the townsfolks. This is a common scene along provincial highways.

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Masbate Snapshots

I can't think of anything to write about today so let me just post some pictures I took from my last visit in my hometown. I just used a point and shoot camera and made some minor editing using Photoshop CS3.

To get to the town, I have to ride in a motorboat, usually with a capacity of 50-80 people. This is the front part of the boat. The horizon is a sight to behold.

This little hut is called a home. This is common in the depressed areas in the Philippines like Masbate.

I took this while riding on a jeepney. I have to travel early in the morning to catch the boat trip to Sorsogon. From Sorsogon, I have to ride a bus to head back to Laguna where I currently stay.

More pictures and stories to come... Ü

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The Tear Theory

What are tears are made of? Why do when we cry or laugh, we cry just the same?
Observing snapshots of people crying and laughing, Tom Lutz, author of Crying: The Natural And Cultural History of Tears, noted that tears are shed when the face is "crunched up". I'm sure you would agree that this "crunching up" is common when we both give a generous outburst of laughter and wail in deep sorrow. Shedding tears is also a body's natural way of returning to normal state after a surge of excitation.

Emotional tears, however is different from the one that wells up when you chop an onion. It was found out that emotional tears are abundant with protein-based hormones that spike when we're stressed. Thus the theory that crying, or shedding of tears, is a bodily attempt to de-stress.

Now then, if laughter is best medicine, crying could be a close competitor. What do you think?



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Kids

Yesterday, I had a wonderful opportunity together with four other kins in faith, in celebrating Christmas with kids from one of our church's community outreaches. More and more I understand why they say that Christmas is for children.

The "little party" was in an improvised basketball court in one of the impoverished areas of the town. The court is about 30 square meters, surrounded by tiny houses inhabited by, I guess a family of five to six. It's on flat part of the hill so we needed to climb a good 100m of 30-40 degrees sloping terrain. We were also carrying the food and drinks that we prepared as we went up. It was a bit difficult and we had to catch our breaths as we trudge. When we got there, the kids were waiting and they were excited. I think there were about 60 of them, with age ranging from 2 to 14, who came.

My part of the program (I was actually forced to do it) was to tell the Christmas story. I refused to do it at first because I am terrible at telling stories. More than that, it's hard to tell stories to kids (I realized later that you just have to keep it simple. That's one thing grown-ups forget -- to keep things simple). But then, off I went. Thanks to the big book with pictures. I just have to nail down one point. That Christmas is about Jesus.

The kids had games after that then they ate. The ladies in our group prepared the food. They had spaghetti, sandwich and cake. The challenge is to have everyone fed, including some parents who were on the side watching. The food was just enough and I think the kids were most delighted with the cake.

It was such a joy watching the the big smiles from the kids when they got their little presents, which is not so much actually. The girls in our group put biscuits, curls and candies in tiny little white pouches sealed by a red ribbon. In all honesty, when I was on their age, I wouldn't really appreciate that, I mean the content of those pouches. But those kids, oh... I saw the kids beamed in joy as soon as they opened it. It was golden. Very heartwarming in my part.

The experience just reminded me to be thankful. Sometimes I have much, sometimes I have little or have nothing at all, but just the same be thankful. It's an issue for me because I'm a whiner. Those kids, they were happy. I was playing one of the kid's toy gun and another kid approached me. He's a bald little 3-year old boy wearing a red shirt and a red shorts. He wanted to play with the toy gun and I let him. He was very happy. It broke my heart when I need to get the toy and return it to the other kid who owned it. But the little kid was still all smiles. He may have been delighted to just being able to play with the it for a few minutes because he haven't got a toy gun ever. I don't know but he was still happy.

It's an afternoon well-spent...
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The Great Mekong Find

Imagine a place where you will discover two new creatures a week. Well there is such place -- the Greater Mekong.

A total of 1068 species in the period of one decade (1997 to 2007) were newly identified by science in Greater Mekong, a region composed of the six countries through which the Mekong River flows including Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern Chinese province of Yunnan.

According to World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), the new species discovered include 519 plants, 279 fish, 88 frogs, 88 spiders, 46 lizards, 22 snakes, 15 mammals, 4 birds, 4 turtles, 2 salamanders and a toad. Whew! That's a long list! Scientists say that these discoveries only attest to Great Mekong's reputation as a biological treasure trove.

Among the new finds is the world’s largest huntsman spider with a foot-long leg span. Mammal discoveries is a rarity in modern science yet several new mamals were found including an Annamite Striped Rabbit.

The surprises doesn't only come from the number of species discovered but also on how they were found. Most were discovered in unexplored jungles and wetlands but some showed up in strange places like a local food market such as the Laotian rock rat. In another instance, Siamese Peninsula pit viper was found slithering through the rafters of a restaurant in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand.

This reminds me the verses in Genesis. When God created everything. For sure there are still a lot of creatures out there that humans are still unaware, but God knows all of them. He created them.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1: 20-25

All images courtesy of World Wildlife Foundation

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Survival of the Fittest

I was stunned when I stumbled on this picture. It sent shiver to my spine. The vividness of the shot is amazing. This is one of those pictures that stir up so much emotions. A thousand words it paints. Indeed.



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Promdi*

Internet? Are you kidding me?

It was only in my second year in college (I was 18 at that time) when I learned to surf the internet. I entered college with zero knowledge on how to use a computer. I mean ZERO knowledge. Yeah, I'm Tarzan who just had his taste of the city.

I grew up in one of the poorest (they actually say it's the poorest) provinces of the Philippines. My eyes grew in wonder like an awed caveman when I first saw the bright light of an electric bulb when I was 7 years old. I watched my first television show when I was 9. Life was so simple back then. We are way behind the latest technology but we are blessed with natural riches -- fresh clean air, beaches, seafood, and there's a gold mine in our little town

I passed the entrance exam of one of the universities (the BEST they say) in the country so I got to see a more civilized world. Then I have to confront myself of the reality that computer is going to be an important part of my college life. You could imagine the frustration! I didn't even know how to turn it on and off. I used to spend hours and hours of typing just a page of an essay because I didn't know about choosing and adjusting font, doing the margins... you know, those stuff a grade-schooler can chew like a bubble gum. In many instances, I lost my files and start all over again because I didn't know that you actually save them. Yeah, you can call me Tarzan now. Thanks to my kind friends from the small fellowship I was attending that time who taught me how to use Microsoft Office.

Then the internet. I used to just watch my friends do stuff with the computer. Internet is quite a popular word but I'm a complete dumb about it. Then one night, I was quite depressed and I got nothing to talk to. I mustered my strength, gathered all my courage and went off to a computer cafe near the university. Internet here I come... It was just the "e" I thought. That's what my friends usually click! Good thing I can read and I just followed what the screen told me after the clicking the "e". The rest was history.

So yeah, it's a long journey until I learned this blog thing. It's always good to take a pause and look back and see how far you've been. Makes you continue with the journey with a fresh wide eyed anticipation of life's next treats.

By the way, there is still no internet access in our little town. But since the last time I visited, network games (through LAN) like DOTA is becoming the kids' new addiction.



*Promdi is a Filipino slang for people "from the" province.
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Happy Birthday Meg

It's my good friend's birthday today and I thought of giving her a little tribute.

That's Meg. I first met her in our church's little old red car. Our "cell" group (that's how we call our small group fellowships in the church) and theirs joined for a little pool party. She was so shy and frail that she almost shrunk when she was introduced to the people inside the car. She hardly talked but she always wear that shy smile.

It took a while before we became "really" friends. Of course it was always me who initiates a greeting every time we would see each other on the street. I would call her "Tipay" then. That's the nick she used in one game that we played during the party.

Nine years after, here we are, really good friends! And her shyness has already "shyed away". She was one of my college crush (or maybe more than that... hahaha!), which she knew. I was so embarrassed when I knew that she knew and I couldn't look at her in the eye (yaiyks! talk about being cheesy)! But we went past that and our friendship now is one that is bound by God's love and "with absolute purity" as said in 1 Timothy 5:2. It's just a blessing, looking back, how God nurtured such a beautiful friendship.

One thing that exudes in Meg, more than the pretty face, is her love for God. She faithfully serves God as a tamborinee in our church and she does it with grace and utmost worship. It was just lately that I discovered how tough a woman she is. Amazing how God changed her from a frail little girl that she was. She has a gargantuan appetite, by the way. She loves to eat and to cook. She loves the camera and the camera likes her, too. Fortunately.

Relationships, like friendship, are among the wonderful things in the world. It's God's gift. In many ways, God shows His love to us by friends who care, laugh, cry and rebukes us.

Dear readers, in case it crosses your minds, she's not my girlfriend. Just pure love for a sister in Christ.



By the way, we have a huge huge collection of pictures together as both of us likes the camera's flash and shutter. It's in here.

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Death Note

I don't wanna die at an old age. Sixty would be okay for me. I have several reasons, yeah, selfish reasons. Watching the local indie movie "100" made me think again about death and dying. Like they always say, there are only two realities in this life -- death and paying taxes.

The movie was about a woman who, in the prime of her life and career, was diagnosed of cancer and has three months left to live. Instead of being sorry, she planned how to spend the last days of her life by making a list of what she (and her loved ones) wants to do -- from resigning in her job, to settling her credits and throwing his credit cards, to breaking up a wrong relationship, to Hong Kong travel, to skinny dipping under the bright moonlight... oopps, too much spoilers. It was poignant as it was funny and you can't help but be drawn to the story. You'll laugh and then you'll cry.

The movie capitalized on good storyline and brilliant casting. The cinematography wasn't flattering but it won't bother you. The acting was superb. Mylene Dizon, the lead actress who played the role of Joyce seemed not to be acting at all. She was so natural. Other casts were as great like Joyce's bestfriend (Eugene Domigo) and her mother (Tessie Tomas).

One line in the movie that I remember was, "If everyone wants to go to heaven, why is everyone afraid to die?". This one is actually true. Many are afraid of dying in the same way that they are not sure if they are going to heaven. While many dismiss heaven and hell, there is an unexplainable longing for every human being that he wants to fill. In the Bible it says that God has put eternity in the heart of every man. That is why man longs for happiness, looks out for goodness and desires contentment. There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man that only God can fill. He can't find it in anywhere else -- science, relationships, material possessions. Only God can fill it. The sad thing is, man dismisses it because of sin and unbelief. Because believing in God entails that man should let go of his selfishness.

Everyone will soon confront death. And life after death will soon confront the soul of every man. In one part of the movie, Joyce asked her friend, "What if there is no life after death?". Her friend replied, "Well, you won't know anyway. Because if that is true, there's nothing else to know."

I believe that there is life after death and there is a God whom I will be facing when I die. This is faith -- being sure of what I hope for and being certain of what I do not see... and even if others don't believe. One thing I know is God fulfills his promises and His love is ever abundant. Click Here to Read More..

God told me to SMILE

How could I've missed it!

I was browsing my Multiply account and I bumped into one of my friends' blog about what she saw last night. She said that she saw God smiling!

What she saw was similar to the picture above. It's as if God has sent an emoticon to his creations. The bright yellow light on the left is Venus and the blue one on the right is Jupiter and the moon crescent below.

Even if I didn't see it, the picture brought me so much encouragement, especially as I deliver the message about the Second Commandment tonight. The Lord commands His people not to bow down and worship "anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below". Yet He uses His creations to amaze us and tell us that He is ever present and His love and grace is eternally abundant.

When I consider your heavens,the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,which you have set in place. -Psalm 8:3

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