Alone
I have always claimed that the saying “No man is an island.” does not absolutely apply to me. I have lived by myself for the past decade, in the sense that I can provide for myself and can survive without companionship for a longer than usual period of time. Being together with a spectacular group of people for the past few years, I have enjoyed the company of various people, and have given my share of survival in the real world of college and yuppie-ism.
At present I am totally alone, living by myself at a small condo-unit type rent, with minimal contact with my landlady (although I do enjoy having limited contact with her hehehe…), as well as with my neighbors. The only time I have conversations is whenever I go out to eat or buy something. Other than that I talk to myself, sing, or converse with good souls who know that our landline exists.
I do enjoy the solitariness though, with the thought of having my very own space, where I can get to arrange it as I please. When I was a kid I did not have my own room, being the youngest in the family, I grew up sleeping inside a room occupied by other family members. Now is a welcome change in my lifestyle, as I get to arrange, clean, disorganize and reorganize things as I want to.
Since my circle of friends became smaller and smaller due to various reasons of distance, work and lifestyles, I further realized that there are now less people who live within Quezon City. That means less pangangapit-bahay, and more time for myself.
The Long Delayed Post
We have finally pushed through with our small excursion to the northern province of Pangasinan, my father’s home town, home to the Hundred Islands. We have planned this trip for almost a year, which did not push through due to various reasons. Because of the long weekend brought about by the holidays, we decided to push through the trip, with only a very short planning time. As always, the trips that are planned less are the ones that push through.
Paling in comparison to the trips being undertaken by most of our colleagues, we settled for a small time gimmick, with no equipment, no transport, no definite accommodations and with a very rough itinerary.
After a few text brigades, we came up with a small group of five. It felt like the good old college org days, where we do small group organizing for the trip. We all laughed when one of us pointed out that I have a sort of fatalistic way of organizing trips. It must be the sigurista in me. I kept on reminding them “charge your phones, make sure that you have enough load, bring enough money beyond the set budget…” Cool man, it’s only a small trip.
So off we went to Pangasinan, with the hopes of meeting my father at the McDonalds at Alaminos for our first stop at the Hundred Islands. The first funny incident was upon stepping out of the bus, we were swarmed by the local tricycle posse’. Asking them where the favorite fastfood joint is, they eagerly told us they will take us to there. Shrugging off sleep deprivation and adjusting our instincts, we decided to walk around first rather than give in to the mercy of the trike gang, eventually locating the outlet at the next block.
The island tour was spectacular, except that I can’t get decent pics nowadays with my slow-tech digicam. We then settled at the Children’s Island, which is composed of three islands interconnected together by a small piece of beachfront and a dock for the boats. The next funny incident was that I forgot to roll up my jeans and take off my shoes, so after realizing that my feet will get wet, I opted to just let my feet get wet, rather than soak my equipment and luggage. The whole stay at the island was spent snorkeling and wading at the low waters of the islands.
After the islands, we then proceeded to Bolinao, where my father pulled a few strings and contacted a few people for our accommodations. The next series of joking sessions (by the oldies) further lightened the mood and showed more of my father’s sense of humor. Example: “Galing ako sa libing ng biyenan ko kanina e.” “E bakit ka puro kalmot?” “E buhay pa kasi nung nililibing e”. Hmmm…
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing cards, drinking beer and joking around. We also bonded a little with our new friend, Sarah, whom Paolo brought along.
By dinner time, we made the mistake of having requested from the resort owner the preparation of 7 gantas of rice for 6 people. We were overwhelmed when we got the cooked rice, with only the topmost portion being consumed. We had flying fish for dinner. Kudos to the cooking team, for again I just watched them cook hehehe…
Come night time, we continued playing cards and drinking beer, as well as aspiring for a chance at the nearby videoke machine. Later realizing that we can’t squeeze in the singing going on, we settled to just listening and making fun of the singing of the videoke “hoarders”.
Day two was spent touring the coast of Bolinao, picture taking and riding around the coast, seeing the break away group of islands that was not included in the hundred island cluster. By lunch time, we were off to Manila.
The vcd player inside the bus was wreaking havoc to our patience, as every time the bus encounters a major bump in the road, the whole movie repeats at the very start of the film. Maybe that’s why the VHS player can never be phased out, as they should be limited to buses with long bumpy trips.
The last funny incident inside the bus concerns this bibbo kid who was seated at the opposite side of the bus, who just couldn’t help himself, because he made friends with the teener seated at the aisle of the bus throughout the entire trip. Bata pa lang dumidiskarte na.
And that ends our long awaited out of town trip. At least we got out of the metro and left our cares behind for a while. And the best part, we stuck to our budget. Maybe I can make a living out of this, as Bolinao is being set to become an alternative to the more known beaches around the PI. Who knows?
Author’s note: I realized that my writing needs more emotion, yet I stuck to the style of writing for a journal. I think I’ll settle for this writing style for now, as I would want to share a part of myself as mundane as possible. This post also got stuck in my desktop for some time.
Resign
After giving it much thought and consideration, I would like to announce that I am resigning as bassist for the group Shifting Gears. I guess people's differences can't be resolved, so in order to avoid the crossfire, I'll be leaving. I don't want to do "pilit" performances.
I'll be awaiting offers from another band, as well as the formation of a new band. Or, you can settle your disputes. Then call me.
Bye!
