Discovering Colors With History: The Quiapo Adventure!!

- March 31, 2011, Thursday.

- In order to have another adventure this summer, and to help my friend Abi with her thesis regarding Manila's architectural heritage, Charmaine, Abi, and I planned to visit Quiapo today.

- I have gone to Quiapo numerous times, whether to tour or shop, but I had yet to discover some parts of Quiapo, until today. Abi insisted on visiting the San Sebastian Church, which from the maps online or my mapbook looked extremely far from the "mainland" Quiapo. The part of Hidalgo street that led to the big historical steel church was a bit "quiet," and my mom told us to see if it was safe to walk to the church. Still, I read through the net that Hidalgo was also peppered with old buildings, which could be a nice treat for Abigail, the future architect.

- This morning, we rode a jeep to Sta. Cruz, passed by the Sta. Cruz church, and walked towards Hidalgo, so we could visit the San Sebastian Church first. The seemingly far church was just a ten-to-fifteen-minute leisurely walk along Hidalgo Street, starting from the Hidalgo underpass opening. The street was indeed quiet, but not scary, because many small stores are everywhere, even a few schools. We all had a nice time looking at the old houses, that are now residential areas, small stores, or small offices.

- Upon arriving at the San Sebastian Church, we took pictures of the blue exterior. What marvelled all of us though, was the Gothic interior of the steel church. The heavily detailed carvings, chandeliers, and stained glass windows painted details to the rather "old and creepy-looking" church.

- Before proceeding to Muslim Town, we had a (long) side trip to the Ocampo Pagoda in Bilibid Viejo Street (the street in front of the San Sebastian Church.) The Ocampo Pagoda is an interesting architectural piece because of its East-meets-West look. It is a Japanese pagoda with a European-style castle tower at the side. According to my research, it was owned by Don Jose Mariano Ocampo, and was used to beautify his garden. Currently, it is used as a dormitory by seamen.

- After some quick shots of the exterior (we can't go in,) we had another procession back to "mainland" Quiapo, taking a short sidetrip to the Bahay Nakpil-Bautista, in A. Bautista Street. This old house is protected by the government, though someone lives in it, and is a must-see when going to Quiapo. The A. Bautista Street is perpendicular to Hidalgo Street, near the Plaza Miranda side.

- The three of us proceeded to Muslim Town, where we had lunch at Mofara's. We had authentic, spicy, hot, coconut-y, Maranao (halal) food. I was glad that Charmaine and Abi liked the food. The beef rendang might have been a bit too hot, but we still liked it.

- After lunch, we stopped by at the "Ilalim ng Tulay," where Charmaine bought some Filipino souvenirs for her Sinaporean friends; she'll be visiting Singapore soon. Afterwards, we visited Ate Yoly's Islamic clothing store, where I bought my black kurta pajama last January (refer to my earlier album, "Quiapo Journey And Dimsum Heaven :) :) :) :).") Although I was not able to find something to buy, I was glad that Ate Yoly still recognized me, and entertained the three of us warmly. She advised us to go to the Golden Mosque (which we would really visit afterwards,) but warned us that my girl companions needed to cover their head. I told Ate Yoly that I bought cloths that may serve as an "alternative" jilbab/hijab. She told me to keep my cloths, and offered to let Charmaine and Abi borrow hijabs. She even found hijabs that matched their clothing. Of course, we promised to return them after our short mosque visit.

- I was glad to see that the mosque was being repainted, although the former details of the main dome could not be restored; it just was repainted plain gold. The three of us had a fun time taking pictures in front of the mosque, jump shots, and all, and hurried back to Ate Yoly's store.

- Ate Yoly thanked us for returning the hijabs (75 pesos each, both from China,) and chatted with us regarding her sentiments about the current situation of the mosuqe. She told us that she was sad that the minaret (a tall tower located outside mosques) was sold by someone before (and therefore, a minaret can't be seen beside the golden mosque.) A small squatter area can also be seen beside the mosque, disrupting people praying inside. "Where can you find a mosque like this? People are not cleaning up after themselves!!" She said. She was party upset about the painters not being able to restore the former details of the dome of the mosque. Still, she was really happy that the government had taken action, such as driving away the illegal residents beside the mosque, beautifying the mosque, and if I remember correctly, a new minaret will soon stand beside the mosque. (By the way, we also found out that Ate Yoly was a former Catholic, but she converted to Islam because of her husband. Haha. interesting.)

- We left Ate Yoly's store after a short heart-to-heart talk, and walked to the Catholic side of Quiapo. We visited the Quiapo church, looked at the anting-antings outiside the church, and the other religious items being sold. A really annoying vendor kept on "invading my privacy" by constantly moving near me, asking me to hold the Black Nazarene necklace "to bless me." I told him numerous times that I was not interested, but I gave in anyway. It was only twenty pesos, and I liked the necklace anyway. Hope it blesses me, like what the vendor told me.

- The three of us visited Villalobos Street, the bead heaven where I spent my shopaholic January. (Yay for not being a shopaholic anymore!!) We bought a few things, before buying ham from Excelente in Carlos Palanca Street (the Street behind Villalobos.) Charmaine's mom asked her to buy ham before we left this morning. Haha.

- Instead of going to Golden Fortune to have dimsum, we had a big detour to UST. Abi needed to pick up her thesis proposal asap, and was told short notice. We took a jeep to UST from Quiapo. Charmaine and I took some pictures, and rested, while Abi disappeared for several minutes to pick up her thesis proposal from the dean's office.

- Soon, we took a trike back home, where Charmaine left her kilo-heavy ham slices, and the three of us marched towards Golden Fortune to end the day with a hearty dimsum meal. :D:D:D:D

- I am very glad that I was able to visit many different places in Quiapo today. Abigail was also able to add some historical and architectural input. I really think Manila has a lot to give to her own countrymen, as well as tourists. The three of us acted as tourists today, and were able to discover a lot. It's interesting how weird it felt to be both a local and a tourist in our OWN city. Still, we were happy that we took the extra mile to get to know our city, while we still have strong knees!! :D:D:D:D



PS: This is the first time that I officially used my new Canon 220 camera. I bought it a few days ago, since I needed to replace my old Sony Cybershot (I still love it though!!) My old camera is acting up, and my dad told me to buy a new one. I knew I had to give up my Sony Cybershot, it was with me during a lot of firsts (first adventure, first debut that I hosted, first out-of-town trip with friends only, first Pasig ferry ride, etc.,) but it will forever be in my heart. My Canon 220 will continue to make discoveries for my Sony Cybershot, while the Sony Cybershot will be used by my dad. The Cybershot is still usable, but it can't be frequently used. The camera's system "gets tired," and acts up, by having a violently-shaking LCD, and a noisy machine-like sound inside. Tsk tsk tsk tsk.

It's Official!!!!: Graduation 2011 (SOSS-SOH)

- March 26, 2011, Friday (Friday, Friday, we're graduating on Friday....Partying partying yeah!! Partying partying yeah!! Fun fun fun fun fun fun fun fun....)

- I arrived school around 1-something in the afternoon, and started taking pictures. My sister is currently in Beijing for their company outing, and obviously couldn't attend my graduation. Instead, mom made caricature of my sister's head on an illustration board with a matching greeting. My mom's crazy. Maybe I got my weirdness from her?? I wouldn't know. :|:|:|:| (I did make the infamous Charmaine mask and Danica mask when they had their JTA. Earlier during high school and elementary, I sometimes made small paper drawing of seatmates who were absent for that day, and placed those drawings on the vacant seat beside me. :|:|:|:| )

- Before lining up and taking more pictures of classmates, I was fortunate enough to have pictures taken with some professors, like my Spanish prof Sra. Rosales, dept. chair Sir Sev, my thesis adviser Ms. Borsoto, and Sir Bobby Guev, my theo prof who graduated with us, with his PhD degree.

- The graduation itself was not as boring (nor scorching hot) as the graduation practice we had last Monday. The event had some draggy parts, but it was OK. Of course profs who graduated with their MAs or PhDs got loud cheers from students - especially Bobby Guev. Hahahaha.

- After the graduation ceremony ended around 6-ish, I continued to pester my friends by taking pictures with them, and saying out temporary goodbyes. My parents and I ate at Omakase Tomas Morato afterwards, and bought a whole banoffee pie home. :D:D:D:D Happy day. :D:D:D:D

BTW: Just an observation. Girls who normally have straight hair, curled their hair for graduation, and a lot of girls who usually have curly/wavy fair, straightened their hair flat for today. Haha.

Chinatown Morning With Tifa And Tifa's Friend. :D:D:D:D

- March 24, 2010, Thursday.

- Last night, Tifa asked me if I was available this morning, so we could check out Escolta's hidden and tiny museum. She told me that she was going to go with a copsplayer friend, Karlo.

- Though still a bit tired and sleepy from Blue Roast, I still decided to go this morning after Tifa gave me a call. Upon exiting our building, Tifa informed me that the museum was still closed, and would open at 1 in the afternoon; Tifa needed to go home around noon.

- I walked briskly to Escolta, not knowing why I got semi-lost along the way, and met Tifa and Karlo in Escolta's Tropical Hut. We decided to kill time by going around the usual tourist spots in Chinatown, and introduced Karlo to the traditional Chinese culture.

- We soon had lunch in President Tea House (the small one in Salazar,) and listened to Karlo's stories. We shared some dimsum while finishing our noodles and rice toppings.

- I am really happy that I was able to have a short short cultural trip with Tifa again. It's also always interesting and fun to meet some of Tifa's cosplayer friends. I hope I'd be able to bring Tifa to Little India soon. Heehee. :D:D:D:D

A Preparation to the Final Farewell: Ateneo's Blue Roast 2011!!

- March 23, 2011, Wednesday

- Today, we had yet another one of Ateneo's yearly traditions to its seniors: the Ateneo Blue Roast. It's a big party held at the Bellarmine Field, where seniors are gathered together as a big family to celebrate. Bands play on stage, some students/orgs perform too, and the highlight of the night was supposed to be the giving of the Blue Rose. The blue rose was supposed to be given to the student's ORSEM (orientation seminar) crush. Due to circumstances, students also give away their blue roses to their significant others, friends, random people, or simply leave them elsewhere (like Fr. dela Costa's statue.)

- I met Bless around 1pm, so we could go to Ateneo earlier to get my really heavy yearbook. Afterwards, Bless and I headed to Gateway to shop for Bless' friend's gift, and to eat something before going back again to school for the Blue Roast.

- A supposed "merienda" turned out to be a pig-out session in Burgoo. We couldn't even finish our food that we had to have the leftovers wrapped up to go. We soon returned to Ateneo, and went to find our friends. The person at the entrance told me that I couldn't bring food inside the event; I was carrying a plastic with a big styro container containing the leftovers from Burgoo. I dragged Bless to one far side, had her help me transfer the leftovers directly to the plastic, and disposed the styro container properly. Thank God I was able to sneak in the food. I didn't want to throw away the leftovers.

- Soon, Sang, Samuel, and etc. sat with me. I soon kept on going around the BIG field to look for friends to take pictures with, exchange grad photos, or chat a little. I wasn't even able to pay attention to the program while doing this. Also, I did not even eat the whole night because I was still full from our pig-out session.

- When the hosts informed us that we were already allowed to give away our roses, I had a hard time thinking of whom to give the rose to. I soon gave my rose to a blockmate friend that I saw. Hahahaha. A friend of mine gave me a rose, but instead of keeping it, I gave it away to my friend, the president of SHINeeWorld Philippines. Haha. (I really really appreciate my friend giving me the rose, but I did not want to bring the rose home. Thank you so much!!)

- The whole event ended with big big fireworks, and waiting for each other to meet up and hitch a ride with Danica home. Weird thing is that Danica was going to be brought home by someone else, and the rest of us ending up riding Danica's car without Danica herself. (This is still a mystery until today.)

- I am glad that I decided to go to the Blue Roast this evening. I was having doubts about going to the event because I am not really used to these "loud" events, surrounded by people drinking. Again, I don't drink. Weird thing I noticed though was that a number of philosophy professors were in the event as well; I was able to see two of my philosophy professors. Hahahaha. Yikes. :)) :)) :)) :))

Tummies Happy, Brains Confused: Yedang and Shang With Danicar Friends. :D:D:D:D

- March 17, 2011, Thursday

- In order to celebrate our almost-graduation day, Danica and the other carpool people decided to meet up. For today, we decided to have an Ortigas adventure.

- Samuel went to our house this morning, so the three of us - including my neighbor Charmaine - could walk to Soler together. On our way there, we saw a dead cat, and saw its (bloody) ribcage. Yuck.

- Upon arriving at Soler, we waited for a few minutes for Danica (and Mich) to arrive, and waited for a LONG TIME for Justin to come. The car was soon packed, and we headed towards Yedang.

- Yedang was surprisingly not-as-packed as it usually is. Maybe because it was a weekday. We were immediately seated, and we ordered japchae, bibim naengmyeon, and raw beef, pork, and chicken to be grilled. The appetizers were a bit unique, as some of them aren't usually served in other Korean restaurants. Their water was also scented with pandan, which I think is a good way to make water special.

- We soon rushed out of the restaurant to grab some Korean ice cream at the Korean grocery beside Yedang. I couldn't decide which ice cream to take, so I bought two. Yay for Korean calories. Hahahaha.

- Mang Fernando, Danica's driver, came to pick us up, and zoomed to Shangri-La so we could hopefully catch the 2:10 showing of Rango. Justin insisted that Rango was a rat, when he was really a chameleon. We kept on telling him that Rango was a chameleon, but he still kept on going with the rat thing. We don't really understand Justin, so it's OK. Haha.

- We hurried towards the Cineplex. bought a small small bucket of popcorn, and proceeded inside the theater. Justin wanted to sit beside me, so he could eat some of my popcorn. Hahahaha.

- Rango is not a typical movie. Its seemingly simple plot will soon confuse people like hell. We didn't know if Rango wanted to seem philosophical (when it's not,) or if it just wanted to sound bizarre. In the end, we semi-enjoyed Rango, and walked around Shangri-La, tired, confused, and lost. Justin bought himself a necktie while we were trying to figure out stuff from the movie - to no avail.

- Mang Fernando arrived soon, and we rode home, seeing a skater dude with earphones skating in the car-filled streets. (Good luck, hope you won't get hit by a car.)

- Today's semi-rushed adventure was brought to you by Charmaine's unfinished Japanese paper. Hahahaha. :)) :)) :)) :)) Still, I'm expecting more Danicarventures soon. :D:D:D:D

A Lunch Fit For A Wolf And The After-Lunch Movie Hunt: Nicollette's 21st And Red Riding Hood

- March 13, 2011, Sunday

- Today, we celebrated Nicollette's birthday in Chinatown Banawe, together with her family and relatives. Eric, Marnie, and I went to Nicollette's house earlier today so we could hitch a ride with Nicollette's family.

- After arriving in Chinatown, we grabbed seats, and immediately proceeded to the buffet tables. Ellaine and Thea soon came, and we soon became a noisy group of people, known at the VIP room as "Nicollette's high school friends." Hahahaha.

- Initially, we were supposed to come home after lunch, but we decided to have a little detour to Trinoma to watch Red Riding Hood. We were warned by many people that the movie was not so nice, but we still decided to watch it anyway.

- We arrived at Trinoma at around 3:30pm, and witnessed the long Sunday line at the ticket place. The earlier showing of Red Riding Hood didn't have good seats available too, so we hurriedly proceeded to SM North to catch an earlier showing of Red Riding Hood.

- We were lucky to have bought tickets immediately, and to have lined up early for the 4pm show. We were still able to get good seats, and happily munched on popcorn while watching Amanda Seyfried and her long, chic, red cloak.

- The movie wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It did have many cheesy portions, and the plot was above average, and yes, the movie did look a bit like Twilight (as expected.) The movie wasn't bad, but I thought that the movie people could have done more with the script, and bit on the plot.

- After watching the movie, we were all set to go home. As easy as it may sound, our plans regarding which public transportation to take, or which route to use changed every five steps. Finally, we ended up with hitching a ride with Ellaine's car, dropping us off in Gateway, and riding a train home.

- My summer vacation keeps getting better and better - and it's only the start of my post college summer vacation. I am a bit stressed about grad school requirements and other matters, but I really hope that this summer will be a blast, and more importantly, I hope that UP grad school will accept me in my grad program of choice.

Sign, Sealed, Delivered: The Post Office Miniventure

- March 4, 2011, Friday

- Charmaine asked me earlier to accompany her to the post office, because she needed to pick up a mysterious package. Charmaine luckily didn't have classes today, and I was a bum. We left home around 3pm, and took a long jeep ride to the post office. (Grr, heavy traffic.)

- After arriving at the post office, we went inside and looked around the "ancient" building. I can feel too much history through the walls, while people walked busily everywhere.

- We went to the package-pick-up place, and got the Charmaine's package. The package was from Charmaine's Thai friend Pam; they met during Charmaine's stay in Hong Kong as an exchange student. Charmaine received cookies!! Yay!!

- We left the post office minutes later, and walked towards Chinatown. We crossed the Jones Bridge, right above the Pasig River, where I had the chance to ride the Pasig River ferry several times before the government decided to close it down weeks/days ago.

- We had a small meal in Cafe Mezzanine, and bought some Korean ice cream at the Korean grocery store in Chinatown. While walking home, we realized that we've been gone for only two hours of so - not so much of an adventure - but surely it was a well-spent miniventure!!

Pabaon 2011: A Farewell to Ateneo's Batch 2011

- March 3, 2011, Thursday

- I met Cham this morning at around half past seven in SEC Walk, and waited for the offices to open to finish our clearances, and other concerns. While being half asleep, we took pictures of the SEC cat, before slowly walking towards the SocSci building.

- Surprisingly, we were done with our agenda in ten minutes, even less. Since Cham had much time to spare before his morning Pabaon session, I ate in the caf, while he stared at my food, and messed around with me. (You just want my Gibby breakfast and you know it. Haha.) I ate my typical Gibby breakfast for the last time - rice, two sausages (usually Hungarian,) fried egg, and a bottle of pineapple juice (sometimes calamansi, as long as it's citrus.)

- After Cham left, I hung out in the library, and soon attended my Jap class. It was my only non-senior class, so classes still went on without me. The class, including Carlos sensei, was surprised to see me again, and warmly welcomed me to join the class. (After all, I am part of the class.) Today's lesson was a continuation of Genki's fifth chapter. Carlos sensei also taught us how to input Japanese characters using the language bar.

- After Jap class, I had lunch at the caf with a bunch of the silliest Comm people, before walking towards the Henry Lee Irwin for our afternoon Pabaon. While marching under the heat, I saw a guy wearing the SAME POLO walking towards me. Instead of letting the sleeves down like I did, he folded his. It was a really awkward moment. I wonder if he noticed it too. Oh well.

- It was a good idea to wear a long-sleeved polo today because the Henry Lee Irwin Theater was as cold as a freezer. Typical Henry Lee Irwin Theater.

- As people settled down, the funny Filipino professor Ariel Diccion, the emcee, opened the Pabaon with his antics. He sometimes interviewed people about their favorite spots in school, or favorite food in the caf, and all the usual let's-have-a-flashback questions.

- This afternoon's speakers and guests were VP Vergara, SOSE Dean Dayrit, SOSS Dean Cruz, Sir Bobby Guev (ehem, DR. Bobby Guev....he just received his PhD a few weeks ago,) Sir Sev (YAY COMM DEPT,) Risa Hontiveros, and of course, Fr. Ben Nebres. Aside from letting these people give important pieces of advice that would surely guide us through our lives, we were also given the chance to write letters to a professor, a batchmate friend, a non-teaching personnel, and of course, personal messages to Fr. Ben; he would be "graduating" with us this year.

- The three-hour event ended with much joy and sadness. People coped up by taking lots and lots and lots of photos outside the theater.

- As of now, only my theo prof hasn't submitted our grades, and I'm dying to know if I passed. :|:|:|:| Still, this afternoon gave me hope for a better future, including marching on the 25th with my fellow batchmates. :D:D:D:D