blast from the past

Staff: Manong pasuyo naman po ako ng almusal sa seven eleven.

Manong: Sige anu po ba yun?

Staff: Eto po. (isusulat sa papel ang 'stuffed pandesal')


after 1 hour nakabalik na sa wakas si manong.


Staff: Oh, manong, ang tagal niyo naman po. asan na ung pinabibili ko?

Manong: naku, mam, kung san san na ko nakarating. wala pong nagtitinda ng stufid pandesal.

mga anek anek

just had a massage after several months of not having one. the last, i think , was in may pa. kaya eto, sakit ng buto buto ko. panu naman kase si ateng masahista, feeling ata eh dambuhala ang nagpapamasahe sa kanya at kuntodo effort talaga ang pagpiga ng mga buto buto ko. eto tuloy, imbes na makaginhawa eh parang lalo pang sumakit ang likod ko. nakakatawa nga na habang pinipiga ni ate ang batok ko eh bulong siya ng bulong ng 'strong' na ang ibig sabihin sa tunay na buhay eh 'hard'. tigas daw kase ng batok ko at pinagalitan pa ko na ang tagal ko kaseng hindi nagpamasahe. so, kasalanan ko pa pala kung baket nasaktan ako. naging extra busy kase these past months lalo na nang mag-umpisa ang class at nagmatapang pa ko na mag-aral online. kaya hayun, hindi ako gaano nakakadalaw sa aking official massuese. actually, the massage was 2 weeks overdue na. i should have visited the spa right after my trip to hongkong. nanakit kase katawan ko sa paglalakad sa buong tsim sha tsui sa kahahanap ng ever elusive na holga na yan. sa awa ng diyos, wala pa rin ako nahanap so i ended up ordering the model from my student's friend who happens to be a trader of such chuvaneses. sa awa uli ng diyos, hindi pa raw dumarating ang shipment. so ung promise na 1 week eh mukang aabutin na ng 3 weeks.

so, our faculty had planned to take the senior students to hongkong as part of their cross cultural culminating activity, which in other words means shopping, gala, no class, pagod. everything was all set. we were all ready to go last august 24. kumusta naman yun na august 23 eh may isang adiktus na ex-cop na nanghostage ng busload of tourists from HK sa may grandstand. at kumusta rin naman na hindi naging maganda ang kinalabasan ng negotiation na ikinagalit ng buong mundo - pilipino at banyaga. it's not that i am setting aside an issue as significant as this for my personal good. pero naman, men! first time ko pumunta sa hongkong at may ganitong factor pa na mangyayari. sabay sulputan ng mga status sa facebook na kesyo galit na galit ang mga taga hongkong and china, kesyo dahil sa galit na yun eh banned ang mga pinoy sa pagpasok sa lugar nila, na kesyo maraming OFW sa nasabing lugar ang natatakot na kung hindi man sila sibakin sa trabaho eh maltratuhin naman sila ng mga amo nila. so mejo kinabahan naman ako na baka nga ganun eh maiwan ako neto sa airport habang ang buong grupo eh masayang mamamasyal nang wala ako. parang yung text joke na bihis na bihis ka na tapos di ka pala kasama sa outing. sakit diba? unfair! buti na lang at may isang kaibigan (non-pinoy) who talked sense to me. at tama siya. wala namang official statement ang mga nasabing bansa. so join pa rin ako sa lakwatsa.

sa immigration, mejo kinakabahan pa rin ako kung anu ang magiging trato sakin duon. pero generally peaceful and smooth naman ang naging proseso sa HK airport.



I was really surprised to see HK as a mountainous area. i mean, i thought it was a mega city full of buildings and that's all. but what i saw was a symphonic combination of natural and artificial creations - of modernity and nature. there were buildings everywhere, at the foot, on top, behind the hills. and i wondered if HK ever experience earthquakes or landslides. basta, ang galeng! para akong nasa antipolo na pinalibutan ng mga skyscrapers.






it's weird din that when we reached the upscale part of tsim sha tsui, i felt like being in makati - walang katapusang makati. somehow, it made me miss home.




i was greeted by this in the morning...


mejo na-hassle kame on the second day. dapat after lunch eh pupunta na kame ng shenzhen, as indicated in our itinerary. kaso nagkaproblema daw sa visa dahil nga sa naganap sa manila - at ito'y iniexplain na andun ako na parang ewan ko kung paranoid ako kase feeling ko eh ini-emphasize pa ng tour guide na dahil DAW sa pilipinas kaya madedelay kame. we arrived in shenzhen at about 7pm. at eto, immigration na naman.

this was where i almost cried. as in muntik na kung hindi lang ako nahihiya sa mgs students ko. at first, the officer smiled at me, acknowledging that i was part of the big group from thailand. but his face changed the moment he checked my passport. he didn't even glance at me when he's supposed to check that i was the person on the photo. then he tossed my passport - as in tossed it - and gave me the look. well, i just smiled and walked away as far as i could. teary eyed na ko but i told myself -- paranoid lang ako. i was being guilty of something i did not commit.

pero generally, naging maayos at masaya ang lahat kahit na nakakapagod. lalo na yung shopping part! :)