Thank you God for our Tita Cory

For the past few days, I've been thinking of how to best describe our former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino. I am sure many are putting up their own blogs about her. Fr Catalino Arevalo SJ in his homily for tita Cory sums it all up: "Blessed are the pure for they shall see God".

I was shedding tears as I listen to the mass. Purity in heart and spirit! Somehow you know a person of integrity when you see one. Thank you God for showing your power through a humble and ordinary person like her. Thank you God for the gift of tita Cory.

one stormy CLP friday

July 17, Friday:

5:00 am - classes in NCR suspended due to storm Isang
7:30 am - miss Friday mass with my wife due to strong rains, I decided to leave early for work
8:20 am - arrived in office. Flooded street in Dimasalang, Andalucia and Tomas Mapua streets
8:30 am- sent mass text msg to my CLP service team, exhorting them to pray for better weather later in the day
9:15 am - my wife texted me that government offices in NCR are suspended. Rains drizzling. Will we still go ahead with our CLP?
9:30 am - busy preparing for our deliveries. worried about board orders for ATC as the streets going to the warehouse where we purchased the boards are flooded and the item is critical to our customer's need that day
11:20 am - our delivery pickup stalled in Quiapo. called our friend mechanic, sent my van to replace the pickup for the delivery schedules to proceed. Rains just started to pour again
11:45 am - delivery van that picked up items for ATC just left the warehouse

12:30 pm - photocopied our CLP participants handouts
3:00 pm - under time from office. surveyed Dimasalang - flooded but passable, Laonglaan - no flood. Traffic generally light. Rains still pouring non-stop
3:30 pm - arrived home, somebody parked from across our the front of our gate. had a hard time parking.
3:40 pm - a participant called to ask if the CLP will push through. I told him I will call him back
3:45 pm - ATC called, citing problems with assembly of our items delivered. I arranged with the office to work back on it tomorrow. ATC agreed
3:50 pm - participant called back again. I told him to wait for my return call.
4:00 pm - consulted bro Eric about the situation and the CLP. he gave inputs but I will be the one to decide.
4:15 pm - called the participant to inform them that we will push through with the CLP. I leave it to them to decide whether or not they will attend as they are from Payatas, Fairview.
4:25 pm - Suzette arrived and said traffic in Quezon ave is light. Car still parked in front of our gate. Grrrrr!
4:45 pm - borrowed water jug from my mom and went to buy purified water for our CLP
5:00 pm - got back from the water station but our jug's spout is dripping. Went again to my mom's place to borrow another jug. I asked my aunt, who's knees are hurting and have a hard time to walk if she know the telephone number of the water station. I remembered I left my umbrella there. After I learned it was secure, I plan to get it back immediately. My tita requested if I can buy her bread along the way.
5:10 pm - went back to the water station to get the umbrella, then bought bread for my aunt. Rains are pouring as I was buying bread.
5:35 pm - arrived back home. went to look for the owner of car in front of our gate. introduced myself and explained the situation nicely. he moved the car, i then proceeded to my tita, gave the bread, went up the second floor to get some thing at my sister's room. I saw the floor wet and the roof leaking. I proceeded to get a pail and ask for rags from my aunt.
5:45 pm - opened the computer to print some attendance form for the CLP. my family is preparing for early dinner.
6:00 pm - drove my daughter Isay to the Cruzadas for their YFC gathering.
6:20 pm - got back home and started dinner. my family already finished eating when I arrive.
As I sat and eat alone, I notice the quietness of my surroundings. The rains has stopped!
6:30 pm - final food and materials check preparation. So far, so good - drizzles only. But deep down, I'm very worried we will have only very few participants

7:00 pm - proceeded to NSOLL. in my mind, am praying, it's up to you Lord. I tried to be faithful in the little things you asked of me.
7:10 pm - arrived at the Seraphic hall. bro Marvin, the Delos Reyes and Ricafrentes (from CFC Central) are there. a new HOLD participant is there to register ahead of us.
7:40 pm - my service team is not yet complete. bro Arnel (speaker) just arrived. First couple participant also arrived - the one who texted me earlier.

Then the Lord gave us a lot of surprises that evening.

• bro Let and sis Talavera came to help in our music ministry.

• bro Nards and sis Ellen Reyes (originial household of Joe Yam) was there to sing with us too.

• we are glad bro Ogie and sis Candee were there too after a long while

• YFC was there to assist in child care

• a total of 16 couple and 6 HOLD participants came that day. The room was filled from all ends.

I'm still awed that I have to record the events of this day. We are but his instruments and we praise and thank Him for this wonderful opportunity. To God be the glory!

Doubting Thomas

Yesterday, was the feast of St. Thomas. He's known as the apostle who wants to see first, to believe. And when Jesus came to visit their group, he saw and touched the wounds at the side and hands of our Lord and proclaimed, "My Lord, and my God!". (Jn 20:24-29)

July 3 is a blessed day for me and my wife. We started the day going to mass after the kids were sent to school. The homily was given by one of our favorite Capuchin priest, Fr. Tonet. He said that while we see Thomas as the one who doubted, perhaps there's another side of him why he wanted to see the Lord first before believing. Deep inside of him, he has this 'expectant faith'. He is claiming that he wants to see the Lord who is risen and so he was given that extraordinary chance of even touching His wounds.

This day also marks the start of our annual Christian Life Program at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish. Our group, Couples for Christ, has been ironing it out for the past three months and just a week before, I was appointed as the new team leader (talk about surprises!). We are scheduled to do two CLPs this year and I was supposed to handle the second. Though I have reservations doing a second one because of our limited manpower, I can only agree to the work that God has given us.

I went home early from the office to be able to prepare for our event. Around 3:30 pm I went to the church to check first on the venue. Mang Jerry, the caretaker, cannot be found. Two guards assisted me to look for him but still no mang Jerry, and our venue is closed (padlocked is more like it). Oh well, the guard promised to remind him of our schedule when they see him and I went on my way home.

A terrible traffic jam occured at the stretch of Quezon ave and Araneta after a truck had an accident. My wife, who is now on her way to pick up our children texted me for help. She's already stuck for more than an hour and was worried she can only pick up our son over at Tomas Morato but not our daughters at Examiner street, which is just a short distance across Quezon ave. So off I went to pick the girls via Delmonte which is now also at a crawling pace but I had to pass by the church first to see if mang Jerry got my message. The guard welcomed me and said that everything is already set. Whew!

I was lucky to get through to the girls but going back is something else. Traffic is now a big mess and covered even the secondary roads. I panicked as I saw the time on my watch reads 6:30pm. My wife, who by this time already got Jiego, is still stuck on now E. Rodriguez avenue after ditching the route where she came from. I even had to detour to Baler instead of my route earlier when traffic then was tolerable. We texted our brothers and sisters about our situation in hopes of getting them to come early and be aware of the traffic jam. I was home 7:25 just a few minutes later than my wife.

Moving on to our CLP, Suzette and I arrived 10 minutes before the schedule but the place is already being filled with participants! I was overwhelmed! God never ceases to amaze me. The hall hasn't seen this number of participants in ages! In the past, the ratio of service team to participants is around 4:1, now it's the other way around. We even ran out of info sheets!

As I started the opening remarks, I remembered the day's gospel. I remembered how I doubted but at the same time, had this expectant faith that God will bless us with participants. I am humbled and overwhelmed as he called on all these people from all over to attend this gathering. Truly, "My Lord and My God!".

Indeed, it was a Spirit-filled affair. Fr. Monching Atanacio, our parish priest, welcomed our guests much to their delight and our speaker and member of the CFC board of elders, bro. Mon De Leon gave everybody a wonderful orientation night. Bro Larry and sis Rory also willingly gave their personal testimony on why the CLP can be a tool to enhance love and relationships. God truly gives and it pours!

This morning I read the gospel with God's message: "pour new wine into new wineskins" (Mt.9:14-17). Now the work begins. All praise be to God!

Blessings and Bohol

A lot of people we know have already been to Bohol. We have always dreamed of going but a trip for 7 people in a family calls for serious financial planning. So for me and my family, it was something we looked forward to since March when we finally had our plane tickets booked. Since it would be the first time for our youngest Pio to take the plane, he would unceasingly ask us when we will be riding the airplane - my mistake for exciting him early.

Blessing no. 1 - enter low air fare promo again from Cebu Pacific. Thanks to sis Roan for alerting us one evening last March about this. Suzette and the kids kept on calling me in the office to confirm on the dates when we can book our flight. They were all excited to book online and got a bargain fare for 7 pax for 10K. That's a really sweet deal!

Blessing no. 2 - thanks to my sister Weng for some reward money that she sent to my kids for performing well in school. Now we have more funds for whatever expenses we will incur for the trip. Salamat ninang Weng, mwah! Wish you and your kids could have joined us.

Blessing no. 3 - as usual, my wife and I try to book an adventure and not a trip so off we go to the internet to see how we can go about it. Thank you Angelbert tours especially owners Bert and Lilette Gacera for being such a big help to us. We just told them of all the places we would like to see within 2 days and soon enough, we got a packed itinerary that we all were so excited to take! They even helped us book a good place to stay at Dumaluan II Resort for a fraction of the price you may incur at Bohol Beach Club which shares the same beach front (Blessing no.4!) here in Panglao. Oh that picturesque scenery, calm waters and powdery fine white sand were simply majestic.

Blessing no. 5 - my camera (which broke down from our Bataan trip) came out of the repair shop three days before we left. Right in time! I've uploaded all the good pictures for our friends to see and for my family to remember this wonderful trip. I feel naked going on a trip without my camera.

Blessing no. 6 - we would have enjoyed this trip alone as a family but having friends to join us - the Bayot and Embuscado families means triple the fun! There were 21 of us renting 3 vans for this short two days escapade just before school starts (literally! - school officially start two days after we arrived back home). Everybody is always on time for our scheduled itineraries even if it meant waking up at 430am for the next 2 days. We had the best exchange of pleasant conversation and just loads of laughter, making this extra memorable.

Blessing no. 7 - the day before our trip, my family went to my in-laws in Paranaque so that we can sleep there and come from there for our very early morning trip. It took us four hours to travel via Roxas boulevard because of the heavy rains and some flooding along the way. Suzette was worried that we will not enjoy Bohol because of the weather but God gave us a warm and super sunny weather at the heart of Visayas to enjoy every bit of time that we were in Bohol. To think people back in Manila were texting us to ask how the weather is because apparently there were heavy rains and floods in Manila that caused schools to be suspended. Whew!

Blessing no. 8 - Even while the weather is good in Bohol, we were worried that we won't get to see the dolphins near Balicasag island because of the roughing waves. Some of those who went dolphin watching the day before were not so lucky as WE ARE!!! Yes, we were lucky to spot them, jumping in and out of the water in this so called dolphin pedestrian lane en route to Balicasag island. We also enjoyed snorkeling at the fish and coral sanctuary of Balicasag. Kids and adults alike, with their first-time encounter with schools of fishes surrounding them, really had a wonderful experience here. Yey!

Blessing no. 9 - We were happy to be able to visit the famous coral stone churches of Baclayon, Loboc and Albur built during the Spanish times. Another church, the Daouis church, is known for the spring that flows from the ground near the center of the altar. The water from here is said to be miraculous. Many people bring empty bottles and have it filled with the water. Because of the unorderly manner the way the tourists that day were asking for the water, my wife asked the crowd if they can all line up properly and to wait for their turn. But no one seemed to want to do so. Suddenly, the caretaker declared that the well has dried up. Almost in a sobbing tone, he said that this has never happened before and he can only shake his head in disbelief saying that we all need to pray because Mama Mary may have been disappointed with the unruly crowd. Did the Our Lady of the Assumption (the patroness of the church) closed down the well because the people no longer showed respect in requesting for her miraculous water? We felt really bad especially Suzette who could not believe that Mama Mary would deny her of getting some for her family. She was hoping to have a share of that miracle. Maybe next time...

The next day when we took our Ocean adventure tour another sad incident occurred Oh wow! Suzette just lost an earring! It just feels terrible not knowing where to look for it since we have done so much that morning already. We rode a boat, gone from one island to the next, took a banca to the fish sanctuary where we snorkeled, had a long walk to the back of Balicasag island where we ate our lunch, and done a little shopping from islanders who were selling trinkets of bracelets, necklaces and shell decors. Plus the earring is a treasured possession as it was given to her by her mom. The last time she knew she had it on was before our snorkeling trip. This is not how vacations are suppose to end. Our dearest friend Rose would comfort her kumare saying that maybe it can still be found, and insisted that we leave our contact numbers with the boatmen in the event that they find it. Suzette felt hopeless and helpless but left our numbers without really believeing that it can be found again. Oh well...

Blessing no. 10 - as we were getting our bags from the Terminal 3 carousel upon landing in Manila, we were surprised by a text message from one of the boatmen that the earring has been found! It was found somewhere on the beach in the island of Balicasag under a tree. One of the boat guides saw something glittering on the sand and lo and behold, it was the missing earring! Suzette said it was most probably Mama Mary's answer to her wanting a share in her miracle. Thank you Mama Mary!

Surely there are more than ten miracles and blessings that happened to us in this trip. From the magical place that is Bohol and from the people that were more than a blessing to us, I've only recorded a few.

We all experience many blessings and miracles everyday. Do you see your blessings around you?

(See our Bohol photo album)

Make out of town trips a learning adventure - Bataan, Pampanga 2009

This summer, we were invited by our school co-parent Vic and Dina Reyes, not Sotto, to join them for an outing at the beach. Their eldest daughter Sea and our daughter Dang are best friends in school. Our destination: Montemar Beach Resort in Bagac, Bataan.

The road going there is smooth and paved. Most noticeable is the cleanliness of the towns in Bataan that we passed by. Almost every after barangay or so, we see groups of people cleaning the road for any trash or heaps of dry leaves that scatters on the ground. It is indeed a very pleasant sight and journey.

Along the road, we see markers of the Death March that happened after the the fall of Bataan. Remember General Douglas Mac Arthur's "I Shall Return" story? Well, he did not say it here but this is where it all started. And you can all see it at the Mt. Samat war memorial erected by then President Ferdinand Marcos. It happened to be along the way to Montemar and so I thought to bring my family there to see this piece of history. So up we go Mt. Samat amidst the rainfall that met us as we were on our drive up to the site. Atop the mountain, a gigantic cross welcomes you with the wide spread of its arms. We were taking pictures infront of the cross when we accidentally discovered that can actually go up the top of it. A small elevator awaits anybody who would like to climb up as a guide operates it for us. A few seconds later, we were hundreds of feet higher than Mt. Samat and walking inside the cross' arms as we enjoy the cool breeze and the magnificent view. The sight is amazing. It was raining hard that day, and we got so excited to have had the oppotunity to experience fog on an April summer day. This explains why some of our pics are a little cloudy. Too bad I can't get a picture of the cross atop Mt. Samat from the highway when we went down as clouds and fog hamper the view from below. The story of how the gallant Filipinos and American soldiers tried to defend this place from the invading Japanese forces can also be recalled in the museum as the entire story has been written so eloquently on the walls of the memorial center.



The abnormally stormy weather left us with not much to do at Montemar. We could not swim in the beach as the lifeguards advised against it due to the strong undercurrent that comes with the unruly weather. We can only enjoy the waters from the shore line. Good thing that the resort has a lovely pool so the kids did have a blast swimming with their friends.


The morning we left for Bataan, we had our breakfast at McDonald's and got a free newspaper. It was as if the lifestyle section was written on the perfect time that we will be travelling thru Pampanga en route to Bataan. In it was a review of Kapampangan restaurants ( http://archive.inquirer.net/view.php?db=1&story_id=200851 ). Since we will be passing thru Pampanga on our way back home, Suzette suggested that we can include in our itinerary trying some of these restos for a food trip. This will be another educational trip for us plus have our bellies filled. We left Montemar about 11 am the next day so that we can be in Pampanga by lunch time. After saying our thanking and bidding our farewell to the Reyeses, we proceeded towards Clark in Pampanga. We used the newly built SCTEX and I told my kids how the engineers carved the sides (or center) of some hills and mountains to build this new expressway.

We did see a lot of the restos that were in the newspaper and after several rounds, we decided to try out Everybody's Cafe. Inside, I was bribing the kids with a hundred peso bill to whoever will try out the Kapampangan's specialty fried frog's legs and kamaru (crickets) but they all respectfully declined their now annoying dad. Jiego opted to get the tocino instead next to the kamaru but my conscience dictates that I should reveal to him that it was actually tapang kalabaw "carabao meat". Anyway after seeing their now disappointed faces, we instead ordered the resto's specialty morcon, shrimp with kamias, adobong pusit, and Pampanga's version of the palabok. It was a very tasty and filling feast for all indeed and the trip was well worth it.



For dessert, Suzette bought halo-halo from Corazon's which is also near Coolspot, and the now famous in Manila, Razon's - all popular for their own versions of the halo-halo. We also tried Susie's which sells a wide array of delicious native delicacies. You should see the queue of people waiting for their turn to buy something. Being first-timers there, Suzette and I were overwhelmed on the different delights that you can buy that we forgot to buy the tibuk-tibok (made with Carabao's milk) which is what makes Susie's famous as well.

kids' summer biz!

(FROM LAST YEAR...)
aside from the usual beach outings or visit to the provinces, perhaps you are one of those parents who want their kids busy during summer. some of our parent-friends would opt to leave summer as really a time for doing nothing, just relaxing, catching up on deprived sleep and have their brains and muscles rest. i think it's a good idea to save the extra money you have to shell out for summer activities. Besides, you can always tell everybody "hey don't bother me I'm on vacation!". i can vividly remember my childhood days playing, eating, resting, and just bumming around because that was vacation time. nowadays you can choose from so many activities that you think your kids have interest in (or at least you do). is it our economy or some business minded people's idea to entice you into spending more during summer? anyway, aside from the usual art classes or sports clinics, here are some of the things that our children have tried and maybe you can also choose from:
- advanced swimming lessons (hmmm, why do they always dog paddle during resort outings?)
- learn soccer! (we'll never excel in basketball)
- join a reading club (like Bookhive! - check my other blog on this)
- enter advance art classes like Acryllic and Oil painting. ( I prefer watercolor)
- train at McDonald's kiddie crew - (kids find it fun and filling!)
- enroll at voice lessons - (my eldest tried classical years ago, too bad she stopped, I think she'd be good at it)
- enroll at modern dance lessons (hiphop / street dancing - this is what ate Isay like instead)
- earn 50 pesos a day working at a medical diagnostics center (my other kids envy Ayi on this!)
- cooking and baking lessons (if mommy knows how then she can teach the kids instead)
- install a wifi or lan connection in your home and have a grand multiplayer PC games instead! (my son and I definitely enjoy this!)

FAST FORWARD THIS SUMMER>>
the blog above was posted last summer. this time around, our kids are going to try to be entrepreneurs.
together with their mom, they bought some fruit juices, Milo, sugar, extenders and ice candy plastics.
they will be selling ice candies this hot summer and they plan to spend their earnings at our Bohol trip sometime this June.

they made ice milo, grape and strawberry ice candy flavors, and yeah, ice! they were very excited indeed!
I was still in the office (Holy Tuesday) when I called home to ask how their first day was. My daughter Ayi told me that they sold about seven pieces already. one from nanay's househelp, one from our ironing lady, and the rest from my children. uh-oh!

later in the afternoon, i found out that they sold more - from the garbage haulers, from our neighbors and yes, we almost made 'luge' one piece that day. our youngest son Pio was giving away one ice candy to our neighbor's kids because he said 'friend kita eh". it was really funny but i guess the most important experience for them here is their exposure to the business world. glad we still don't have any competition along our street.

a rainy camping experience

My son Jiego and I went to our annual Northfield's father and son camping last Feb 6 & 7 at the La Mesa Eco Park. We have not broken our participation in this event for five years already. During the first year, I was very excited and pumped up for it. I was raring to do the obstacle courses or whatever the organizers and facilitators would throw us into. It does not matter whether Jiego would leave me with our backpacks and other bags to run off with his fellow classmates while I haul our stuffs to the tent pitching grounds.

Today, I'm still excited though I'm already imagining what to expect on the way to the place. "It's raining Jiego", I told my son while pointing at the windshield of our van. "Do you think many of your classmates will come?" This, I asked several times prior during the week. Poor boy, he probably can sense my rather low support this time around. I tried to cheer him up though and said that if it continues to rain, we can always sleep in the van. The idea seems to perk him up but now his face is also showing some trace of worry.

When we reached the place, I observed that it was quite cool and damp but not wet. Hmmm, so far so good, I mutter to myself. We registered and proceeded to the pavilion where all the campers are gathered. After a short while, Dr. Erik Santos announced the rules and our itinerary. The kidder that he is then proceeded to warn us that he knows that most men would want to escape later in the day to be with their wives at night. So he is giving as a password, "open sesame", so that the security guards will let us through or otherwise, we'll be shot on sight. Hehehe, that seems fair enough. So, if we choose to go home for the comfort of our beds, we should leave before six at least when darkness has not yet set in. I am giving myself up to 5pm to pack up and leave.

Our itinerary shows tent pitching at 5pm. It's only 9:30am and the games has started. Anchor vs Vinta teams doing dodge ball at the tent grounds. By now, the pavilion where we are all gathered are full of campers and their belongings. My bayaw Kiko who is also with his son I went on to discuss of how these people will fit in the grounds. We agreed to look for a suitable spot and to reserve it for our use. When we arrived and found a place shaded with trees, we noticed some were already pitching their tents! So off we hurried to gather our things and went on setting up ours too. Not long after, the place is teeming with different colors of tents, while the professors by this time has postponed the games due to lack of participants.

Soon after, many have started cooking their lunch meals also. We followed suit and by the time Kiko and I were feeding our hungry little boys, it started to rain! Oh boy, that's the wisdom of following the itinerary. By this time, I was thinking that should we have refrained from pitching tents with the others, we could have saved ourselves the effort and go home at night without any hassle if the rains will not stop. Only thing is, if the rains stopped, we may have no more spot for ourselves. By the look of it though, it seems that the rains will be there to stay. We have to hold umbrellas while Jiego and Hans eat their lunch unaffected by the drizzle that seems to be getting stronger.

Suzette has started sending SMS to us about the rains where they were and was asking us if the activities will continue as scheduled. I don't want her to worry so much so I said it's drizzling but we are okay. Well at least I see the boys happy playing frisbees in the rain, while some opt for some dry Magic card games at the pavilion. Most dads too are not so much worried with their boys as some have grouped themselves doing barbeques, bragging about their seafood meals, and some are busy doing reflection with San Miguel. I can't tell my wife how Jiego is since the amazing race game has also started where he was so excited to join. With the wide open grounds, it's quite tiring and useless to look for your son at this point.

Anyway, the afternoon passed with some of us dads chatting or joining the games and soon after it was getting dark. Some opted to pack and leave while I see some still coming and pitching tents. "We should cook before it gets dark" commented Kiko. I agreed and around 5:30 we were already preparing our meals. The scenario was pretty much the same like during lunchtime. A little rain here then it gets stronger then it mellows again. By now, I'm resolved of just staying overnight. Even though I see another handful dismantling their tents. I'm already here, we're already wet, the tent is also wet so stay anyway. That's how I reinforced myself. Besides, it will be a good experience for both me and my son.

After dinner, I told Jiego that we will take a bath around 7:30. He excused himself to join his friends again and promised to come back in a while. I decided to gather our clothes and towels for our bath which is about more than a hundred meters away from camp. When I entered our tent, I checked to see if it will hold the wet weather. I observed the middle part is dry but water has accumulated at both sides! My son's backpack too was wet since it has absorved water from being positioned closed at the edges. Our unpacked sleeping bags and my knapsack were however spared. Poor Jiego, his briefs and pants were all wet. Luckily his pajamas and some shirts were spared.

I went to look for my son to tell him of the news about his clothes then went on to take our baths earlier than planned. When we got back to the camp site, the gloomy mood that we had, turned around when we heard noises and merrymaking. Soon, we were also watching and cheering with the crowd over the speed stack competitions. Dr Santos facilitated this event and majority of the campers are gathered around two competitors from Anchor and Vinta trying to outdo opponents with their fastest times. The dads joining the game made it more fun and exciting with the applause, jeering, and even throwing of paper cups and banana peels to some comic participants. Yeah, this night was something else. The jeering and laughter somehow bonded us all together despite of our uncomfortably wet beings. Everybody now does not care about the rain anymore and soon after, we were retreating in our little wet shelters still sharing a laugh from what has just happened. I went on to rest first and was joined by my son later who still begged to play with his friends. When he returned, we talked and chatted for awhile and then I assured him that we can have a good sleep despite the our wet tent.

God was good to us however as the rains stopped falling that night. I awaken only around five in the morning when it started to drizzle again. It does not bother us anymore as we casually prepare our breakfast despite of the weather. Yay! We survived a rainy camping experience and did not back down and just went through it. I just hope my legs are still strong when my three year old Pio is ready for his own father and son camping adventure.

Quiapo 101

To those of you who want to attend the mass at Quiapo during the feast of the Black Nazarene, here are some of my tips and advice. I go to mass here every 9th of January.

1. Masses are held every hour from eve and so if you plan to attend at a specified time, be there an hour before (before 5am) or more (after 6am) if you want to get inside the church.
This year, I was already at Carriedo at around 6:30 am but was able to get inside only by 7:40 enough time before the 8am mass. It's tough squeezing your way in especially when mass is ongoing. The time allowance will give you hopefully ample time to catch the wave of people going in to replace the wave going out. Going out of the church is faster - you don't even have to walk. Just catch the exit current.

2. Don't be fooled by an opening you see in the crowd. Chances are there are steel railings or candle vendors in the open area. Same is true inside the church. There are steel railings there to manage crowd control. But me, I opt to go towards it because there'll be more breathing space for me.

3. Commute going there because parking will be impossible. You may get lucky though to park a few blocks away if you go at around 1am to 3am, which I did about three years ago.

4. Be prepared to get soaked if its raining as it's not advisable to bring umbrellas if you don't want to irk the crowd. I'm lucky the drizzles stopped but the road became so muddy. So,

5. Don't use new shoes. Be prepared to get stepped on or ruin your shoes especially if it's raining.

6. Don't bring big bags or knapsacks, wallets or expensive cell phones.

7. Bring a towel. A hankie is not enough.

8. Do not bring children especially small ones. I plan to bring mine when they turn sixteen at least.

9. During communion, crowds are directed to the exit area. So if you still want to finish the mass (like I do) and wait for the final blessing, time your way to the communion area so that you are still inside the church even when you are already caught in the wave of people exiting the church.

10. Enjoy the pilgrimage. It is after all why you are there. Don't mind those who curses the pushing and the shoving even after just attending the mass. Focus on God, pray and be thankful for all your blessings.

This year the image for procession was staged in Luneta. This is different from the one inside the church. They use a different replica for purposes of the procession. I can classify devotees into two: Those who attend and join the procession barefoot and all, and those who attend the mass during feast day. Neither is a lesser devotion but a show of faith to Nuestro Senor Padre Nazareno.

God bless everyone!

12 New Things To Do This Christmas '08

Although this year's Christmas holidays have the longest non working days ever, our family hardly had the time to schedule a long vacation. Some friends even invited us to go to Ilocos but we had to respectfully decline due to conflict in schedules.

We had an opening on the 29th so we decided to leave for Baguio for an overnight stay. This time around however, we tried to do things that we haven't done in this summer capital. So I'm listing some new things that we did this holiday season.

1. First on the list would be visit Baguio this Christmas season. Yep, we don't usually go out during the holidays, but this time we did -- even for just two days.

2. Eat breakfast at Star Cafe. I haven't had the chance to bring my family here where my father would bring us when we were young. We left home early at around 4am and went straight there to have breakfast. We are lucky to visit it first because the next day it was close while we were hoping to bring home some of those yummy cinnamon bread as pasalubongs.


3. Hmmm... Burnham park, Wright Park, been there, done that, so why not check out Crosby Park? It's one of the lesser known and least visited parks because of it's proximity from the city. But for me the lesser the crowd, the better. The surrounding's also still pretty much green and clean and the air also cooler. It's more of a campsite though with it's obstacle course and we did find some campers up on that mountain.

4. Do the Balatoc Mines tour - Benguet Mining Corporation opened this first and only actual mining site tour in the Philippines. We learned about it only now considering it was opened in 1997. The tour guide said that foreigners claim it rivals if not top most the the mining tours in the few other countries that offer it because you can try and really experience some actual things you do inside the mines. I've put a little teaser here...

5. Ride a train inside an actual gold mining tunnel - imagine Indiana Jones!

6. Hold an actual dynamite then hear and feel it's blast within the tunnel. The blast demo used just half a stick. Imagine all 30+ full size dynamites blasting a hole all at one time. ABAAH! BOH!!! (sound effect ala Combat TV series during the 70s)

7. Visit the Baguio Cathedral at night time. Nice shot huh!

8. Buy sweet Camote from a lola along Session road at night. She panicked over the flash when I took her pic.


9. Visit Tam-Awan village. See artworks from local artists where Ben Cabrera now retires. The artworks are great and you can also have your own portrait or caricature made by the artists here. Ifugao huts are also available for rent so you may try to experience living the highlanders way.

10. First time ever great lunch/dinner combo at Isdaan resto along Gerona, Tarlac. We just pass this place everytime we go north but this time we decided to stop over and had lunch (at 4pm?) Suzette treated everybody and we had a great time with the great food here notably the Tinupig na Manok and marinated inihaw na liempo. The all-veggie kare kare and Hototay soup were also superb! From the national road the frontage is inviting but somehow you just pass thru it because you want to get home soon. But once inside, you would want to stay longer. We did stay for nearly two hours here but it's not a waste of time.

11. Had fun things at the Isdaan resto - Marvel at the sculptures all around and the floating dinner tables. The kids tried the Tacsiyapo wall. This is where you shout Tacsiyapo and hurl procelain (or buy an old TV set) against the wall. Guaranteed to release tension. Kids can also feed large Kois that looks like hungry Piranhas coming at you.
There's even the San Kilo bridge challenge where you can bring home a kilo of fish for free if you cross the narrow footstep without falling on the pond of Piranhas, er Kois.

12. Use the SCTEX highway going home. This new highway is a breeze !!! Glad we took it because we saw the traffic jam on the old highway and it took us only about 30 minutes to link to the NLEX again.