celebraTINg exisTENce

Kerch is a (conyo-ish) variation of the gay lingo, "keri" meaning kaya/can. I don't even know if keri is still considered only a gay lingo when I've heard people of all gender and/or sexuality use it in their everyday conversations.

Anyway, Kerch na kerch ka March!! Kayang-kaya!! Ako pa ba?!

February 2015 was a tough month for me but I survived.

I always try to be grateful for everything that happens but when times get rough, it's hard to continuously show gratitude when you're looking for the reasons why not-so-good things happen, isn't it? It's easy to love a lovable person. It's easy to be thankful for the good times. It's easy to say we're blessed when things go our way. But what if your current situation is the other way around? Let's say that you're only experiencing hardships plus the tiring people you have no choice but to face everyday make the whole thing even harder. Laslas na ba?! Syempre, hindi. Nakakapagod lang talaga. Pahinga. Hanap inspirasyon. Laban ulit. Bakit? Kasi mas masarap pa rin mabuhay. :))

Hayyyyyyyy. I felt tired and uninspired these past few days that even if I was able to laugh for countless of times, at the end of the day, it was unhappiness that kept me company.

Then we went to Regina Rosarii in Tanay, Rizal to celebrate the first Sunday Mass and to have my much-awaited escape.

"Pag napagod na kayo sa ingay sa baba, akyat lang kayo dito." which made me miss mountain climbing a lot. I know the priest wasn't referring to trekking when he said akyat but akyat to Regina Rica/ Mama Mary on top of the hill but I am somehow having a separation anxiety with the mountains.

I miss the hardship and the tiredness I experience whenever I climbed mountains. I miss the feeling of relief and accomplishment the moment I set foot on the mountain's summit. I miss the body ache because physical pain is better than emotional pain. A tired body is better than a tired heart and soul.

"If you're tired and weary, seek the Lord and He will give you rest and will recharge your faith and spirit."

Buti na lang na sa bawat paglubog ng araw e may sisikat ulit. Huhuhuhuhu. Buti na lang talaga, hindi nauubos 'yung hope. I was reminded that God can continuously supply me with strength if I would just reach out to Him. Mas okay na sa feeling ngayon. Hindi na 'ko binabalik-balikan ni loneliness. Tignan mo nga. Nakaka-blog na ulit ako. :))))

Soon. Aakyat.
Soon. Aalis.
Soon. Soon.

Let's count our blessings not our problems.

Surprise us, March!!!!!
God bless us. :)

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Hindi ko alam. Gusto ko lang magsulat ng magsulat kahit walang saysay para maubos 'yung luha at para mabawasan 'yung sakit. Bakit biglaan naman?

6 years.

May langit din ba para sa mga aso? Kung, oo. Sana, oo. Magpapakabait ako makapunta lang dun.

Nagiging anghel ba sila pag namatay? Kung, oo. Sana, oo. Abangan mo pa rin ako. Bantayan mo pa rin ako. Maging masaya ka pa rin pag dadating ako. Grabe. Ang sakit sakit. Karma ko ba 'to? Sorry. Sorry na buhay mo 'yung naging kapalit.

Tuwing umaalis ako ng bahay namin, lalabas na 'yan, hindi papasok hangga't hindi ako nakakadating.

Tuwing hindi naman ako nakakauwi ng ilang araw, malungkot din siya, hindi kakain hangga't di ko tatawagan na kumain na.
Tuwing dadating ako, hindi kumpleto pag walang asong galaw ng galaw 'yung buntot na sasalubong sa'kin sa pinto.

Hindi naman 'yan tumatabi sa'kin pag natutulog pero dun sa mga araw na malungkot ako at ayokong makipag-usap sa kahit kanino, tatabi 'yan sa'kin sa kama. Hindi aalis kahit anong gawin ko. Para siguro hindi ko maramdaman na mag-isa ako. Para siguro sa comfort. Sana ganun pa rin kahit physically wala ka na. Pwede ba 'yon? Pwede kaya 'yon? Sana maramdaman ko na meron pa rin akong kuchi na nagbabantay.

Sabi nila, para sa'tin bahagi lamang sila ng buhay natin pero para sakanila, tayo ang buhay nila. Maraming salamat para sa anim na taon na pinagtyagaan mo kong hintayin. Hindi man ako perfect. Marami man akong pagkukulang. Sana para sa'yo, hindi mo napansin 'yon.

Mas okay na ba 'to? Hindi ka na maghihintay? Sana totoo na lang na may kaluluwa sila para hindi na nga niya ko hintayin para kahit saan, at kahit kailan meron pala kong kuchi na kasama. Para kahit ayoko dahil matigas ulo niya, susunod pa rin siya sa'kin.

Sana para sakanya naging mabuti akong amo. Sana kung may dog heaven man, kung sakaling tanungin siya ng ibang aso kung pano siya tinrato ng amo niya, sana maging proud siyang sabihin na ako 'yon, na para sakanya hindi niya na gugustuhin na sa iba siya napunta. Grabe. Ang sakit sakit pero mas okay na rin siguro.

God. Salamat sa anim na taon pero ino-offer ko na Sa'yo 'yung buhay niya, 'yung lahat ng sakit na naramdaman niya bago siya mawala, pati 'yung sakit na nararamdaman ko ngayon, lahat lahat po. Sana wala na 'to bukas pagkagising ko... kasi kung malungkot pa rin ako bukas at kung masasaktan pa rin ako, wala na siyang mgagawa para tumabi sa'kin. Ayoko nun.

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After having our lunch, we went to Sandiego-Yap Ancestral House in Parian District of Cebu.

There are English-speaking tour guides in the house. They explain well and are willing to take your pictures when you're there. With matching, "Dito po so you'll look like you're inside a picture frame."

I don't have a lot of pictures because this house is already more than 300 years old. It was said that this house was built in the 17th century and being the paranoid that I am, I was scared that someone would show up in one of the pictures I'll be taking so I didn't take that risk. hahahahahaha.

I enjoy walking around places like this even if I get scared sometimes by what's inside because these places give you a glimpse of the past.

It's also worth noting that a lot of infrastructures in Cebu, even those newly-built, show damage from the destructive earthquake that struck the city last 2013 yet this house has no great damage - it was said that it's still 95% original and the oldest existing Chinese house outside China.

There are a lot of religious artifacts, plates, glasswares, paintings etc.

For residents of Luzon who can't go to Cebu yet, there's also a museum with vast collection in Villa Escudero Plantation and Resort, Tiaong, Quezon.

Also unlike Crisologo Museum in Ilocos, the descendants of Sandiego-Yap still sleep there over the weekends.

Roof of the house is made from clay.

So this ends the series of pictures I took from "Balay nga Bato ug Kahoy" which translates to "House of Wood and Stones".

Near Sandiego-Yap Acestral House, you can find Cebu Heritage Monument.

It depicts the most important events that had happened in Cebu and is a work of Eduardo Castrillo, a national artist.

P.S. When we were in Cebu, Parian District is defined as the home of the residences of the most prominent families there during the Spanish period. Then, as I was watching a documentary of Binondo the other night, I found out that there's also a parian in Manila. Turns out that there are a lot of Parians in the Philippines. During the Spanish colonial period, the authorities believed that ethnic groups should be segregated and for Chinese Merchants the Parian was where they lived. (or maybe the story wasn't really like this pero halos 'yan 'yung idea.)

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From Alegre Guitars in Mactan Island, we drove through this bridge to the main island of Cebu.

This bridge is named Mactan-Mandaue bridge, one of the two bridges that spans across the Mactan channel.

Hello, Mandaue!

Beverly Hills, Lahug, Cebu.

Rich kidzzz.

Inside Beverly Hills or should I say, in the highest point of Beverly Hills is the Taoist Temple.

This place was one of my concerns actually since the non-negotiables of this tour is that it should be "senior citizen - friendly" but in order to go to the main temple, you'd have to climb 81 steps.

By the way, the 81 steps in the Taoist temple represent the 81 chapters of Taoism scriptures.

Kaya pero mabagal. Mabagal pero kaya. Mace lang. hehehe.

We haven't had a decent breakfast when we went here that's why it was really draining. It wasn't that hard for me though but it was difficult for my companions.

Travel while you're young talaga. :))) Huhuhu. Budget. Huhuhu. Travel fund. Huhuhu. Pero keri 'yan!! We can make it work. :D

But thankfully, they continued and made it to the temple.

Taoism is a religion founded by Lao Zi, a poet and philosopher of the Ancient China. If you've read the quote, "A journey of a thousand miles starts beneath one's feet." then you've read one of his famous quotes.

To have an idea about Taoism I found this definition:
The path of understanding Taoism is simply accepting yourself. Live life and discover who you are. Your nature is ever changing and is always the same. Don’t try to resolve the various contradictions in life, instead learn acceptance of your nature.

I never paid much attention before but reading the definition now, Taoism has become more interesting for me. Click on the link above to know more about it too.

"Taoism is about embracing the life in the now."
"No wrong paths in the end since it's all about experiencing life."

I did this on our first time in Cebu but skipped doing it during this trip.

This temple is 300 meters above sea level so you get to see a panoramic view of the city.

After Taoist temple, we headed to Joven's Grill and Seafoods for our eat-all-you-can lunch.

P 230.00/person with this much (wasn't able to take pictures of all the choices) options, I think it's a good deal.

As for the taste, I found most food good.
I specially liked the grilled food options (fish, chicken, pork) and this lechon kawali.

The choices were diverse mainly consisting of Filipino, Chinese and Japanese cuisines. The staffs were polite and attentive too.

This is the only eat-all-you-can restaurant that we tried in Cebu and it did not disappoint.

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This is my first fly-out for 2015. First kasi may second and hopefully may third at iba pa... :D #bakitbalibrelangnamanmangarapsakagustokoulitmakasakayngairplaneatmatuto eh. HAHAHAHAHAHA. Hashtag pa more.

This is the first time that I've ridden a plane with this kind of view. The formation of the clouds that morning was more than breathtaking that I was really close to disobeying the rules because the most beautiful clouds I saw was when cameras and other digital devices were already asked to be turned off. I couldn't take the possible risk of not following so I stopped myself and just let my eyes feast on the view I was lucky to have seen.

The view at first was like flying on top of Mt. Pulag's sea of clouds and after sometime it was like flying on top of cotton-like clouds

Mas magandang version nito: I got this picture from the internet. Credit to whoever owns this.

We were picked up from Mactan airport and immediately proceeded to the Twin City Tour composed of Lapu-Lapu City and Cebu City.

First off, was Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Punta Engano, Lapu-Lapu City.

Built in honor of Lapu-Lapu who is known as the warrior king who killed Magellan during the battle of Mactan in 1521.

In this place was where Magellan was killed as in, dito na dito raw sabi nila. It was said that Lapu-Lapu was the first Filipino who resisted foreign invasion and colonization but the fact that we believed in since elementary is untrue.

Sino pumatay kay Magellan? Edi si... Lapu-lapu.

Hindi daw. The one who killed Magellan was not Lapu-lapu but one of his men.

Low tide with lots of small crabs, this place is called Magellan Bay where annual re-enactment of the Battle of Mactan (locally called Kadaugan sa Mactan) is held. It was said that during that day, lots of Cebu delicacies are served for free-tasting. Huhu. I want.

It's not that obvious in the picture but the color of Lapu-lapu's sword is different from the rest of the statue because the original was stolen. Ayan ah, pag sila pinatay ng tauhan ni Lapu-Lapu.

Tignan mo kung gaano kalakas 'yung hangin habang andyan kami. hehe. Sobrang okay din 'yung weather.

Across the shrine are souvenir stalls. Bili na agad agad. Hahaha

Want to go to a Lapu-Lapu Monument but (still) can't go to Cebu? There's one in Rizal Park, Manila.

A lot of establishments are currently being built in the area.

The place (Lapu-Lapu City) became more interesting since they've included the words "historic" and "resort" in one slogan. Considering that this place is rich history and heritage but is also currently going with the flow by developing new establishments such as five star resorts and hotels, I think the branding they thought of is perfect.

Next stop was Alegre Guitars which is also in Lapu-Lapu City.

I learned that the sound produced by guitars vary depending on the design of the woods. Ayun, 'yung mga kahoy.

Cebu is also known for guitars and one of the prominent makers in the area is this Alegre Factory.

The only guitar chords I know are A, B, C, D, E, F, G and the only song I know how to play is "Crazy for You" so I just bought these guitar key chains for remembrance. Aside from the show areas on how they make their guitars, there's also a souvenir area for us who aren't really interested in (buying) guitars but are interested in buying souvenirs just because we're burgis tourists. Hahahaha. Jk. May 3 for 100 sila.

Ayan ah, kung sila nakikipag-date andito lang ako sa internet at naga-update. E may date din naman, pwede na rin. Hehehehe.

Happy Valentine's!!

Kahit mukha akong bitter, hindi po.

Enjoy being single. Wala naman masama dun. Use this time to go places, meet a lot of people ganyan. Aarte pa ba na single kung wala naman forever at maghihiwalay din ang may mga jowa? Hahahaha!! Joooke. Darating din 'yon sa buhay natin. Traffic lang talaga kaya enjoy muna. :))

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