Memories worth recalling

For those who are curious of my look now that I've got full bangs (particularly Ashleiy), here's a picture:

Yes, I know I'm pretty. Haha. Kidding.Ü

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Okay, before I forget (again), I want all of you to know that we have a pet bird, which we got about two weeks ago. It's a black, talking, endangered bird we named Buckbeak! Yay! (And I'm supposed to be happy knowing that it's endangered? I'm a sicko person. PETA'll be after me.)

I actually feel sorry for Buckbeak. He's only four months old, and he'll be staying inside his cage, trapped and lonely, until the day he dies. If only I could set the bird free, I honestly would, but I'm sure that my dad's going to kill me with his words. It was his P2200.00 that was spent, after all.

But I picture it: I someday would want to buy lots of birds, and after buying them, set them free in the forest. I'm not concerned with how my money is spent here; seeing the freedom of these winged creatures is worth all the money I'll spend on them. I'm not acting all goody-goody here.

Anyway, I've finally uploaded the pictures and I can now tell you the great adventure I had in Cardona, Rizal. Eleven of us block mates went there along with two other sections. So...

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4:

MORNING:

I woke up at around 6 AM. I was still very sleepy, and having no interest in activities which consume my weekends, I was on the verge of quitting the activity. But I thought, You've got to wake up, Kring. Who knows, this experience may be worth it. So I woke up, took a bath, ate breakfast, and headed to Miriam College. I arrived there at 7:30 AM.

There were eleven of us in Section 5, and we grouped by two's, so I partnered with Roxy (I'm telling you, her name suggests otherwise). We were supposed to leave by van, but since the it was crowded by the other sections, we took the jeep which carried the bags.

It was a long trip coupled with endless chatting and Jollibee take-outs. By 10:00, we were at UGMMARIZ (which is by the edge of the Laguna Bay), our destination.

After introductions, we were introduced to our foster families, with whom we will be living with until Sunday. Roxy and I were with Ms. Lerma's family; we were taken to her home by her daughter, Airah. Airah was a real talkative kid, but that's good since it suggests that she's comfortable with us.

They had a humble dwelling: small, with one bedroom, a sala and a kitchen. Their loo was near the kitchen, with only a curtain to ensure privacy. The walls were of concrete and had no paint whatsoever. At first I was horrified that I may find myself uncomfortable, especially at night, but the more I spent my time in their home, the more I felt comfortable.

Ms. Lerma, a good-natured woman, is kind and very hospitable. So were her husband (forgot his name) and her three kids, Airah, 11; Loize, 2; and Austin, 2 months old. Loize is just the cutest thing, and though he shies away from me and Roxy, I find him very lovable.

Loize is just cute.Ü And there's Airah. They're both adorable. Ü

So what was the first thing Roxy and I did? We fetched water!

Me: Whew... this is fun! But it's real hard... I think I'm getting muscles out of this.

Roxy: You're such a wimp. Hehe!

Me: Arrogance! Just because you're good at sports (thinks, what does this have in connection with sports?) ...There. I'm finished with my bucket. Why don't you try if you're so good?

Roxy: Sure.

(Say hi to the cam, Airah!)

Me: ...So?

Roxy: It's so easy! See? So... *pant* darn... *pant* easy.

Me: And I see you're getting muscles out of this, too.

So we were awarded with lunch, tocino omelette (never thought here was such) and tuna.

AFTERNOON:

After lunch, Roxy and I were bored, and after playing few rounds of chess (in which I lost again and again), we decided to buy slippers, since Roxy forgot to bring hers. We brought Airah with us, and on the way to the market, we spotted Kana (Kate Navarro), Cha (who prefers to be called "Alphonso" Sheesh!), and Jillian.

Where am I, BTW?

Oh, there. Ü (clockwise from left, Kana, Roxy, Alphonso, Jillian, Me)

I wanted the three of them to be with us on the market, and since Kana also had to buy slippers, they happily agreed.

The walk to the market was CRAZY. Everyone we passed by looked at Kana so eagerly, shouting out comments like 'Ganda ng buhok mo ah!' , 'Cool!', and 'Nice here! (It's actually nice hair, but what the heck, that tricycle driver drived us mad with laughter)'

I looked at Kana with curiosity; well, I always look at her with curiosity. She sports the weirdest and hottest (read: all black in the middle of the day) outfits, plus her hair is anime-inspired. See, it looks as though her hair is short, but when you look at her back, there is a part of her hair that she kept long, putting it in a braid or a ponytail. That day, on the way to the market, under the burning sun (I tell you, it was really, really hot. Heck, it was the middle of the day) she had the usual all-black get-up, the usual thick eyeliner, and the usual look of indifference.

"For goodness sake," I told her, "It's 1 in the afternoon, the sun is at its peak, your wearing nothing but black, and you aren't even sweating?!" It was crazy; I had a white tee and I had enough sweat to put in a barrel. Whereas she, well, I touched her back and I didn't even feel a single wet patch. Alphonso said that Kana's used to the combination of the weather and of her clothes; good, because I seriously considered that she may have a problem with her sweat glands.

We walked and walked. It was real hot, and whenever I find shade, I hurry up and go under it. It seemed to take ages. I thought it couldn't get worse, but then...

There was a long bridge we had to cross, with absolutely no shade at all. (Cue: Desert-cum-cowboy background music) We started whining. But knowing that it was the only way to reach the market, we crossed.

I thought it took forever. From the beginning of the trip I was thirsty; and the deadly walk made my thirst enough to drink the entire Laguna Bay. I just cooled myself by placing my body around Alphonso to hug her; in that way, her shadow would shield me from the sun. And by the way, by this time, Kana was already sweating, but only a bit, though.

And atlast, we were there. Roxy and Kana bought slippers; Jillian and Alphonso looked around; I asked Airah to buy me a bottle of water. After that, we got back by tricycle, and parted ways.

At around 4 PM, all of the sections, including ours, went to a resort just near the village. The resort had a splendid view, so I took pictures.

My cellphone doesn't capture quality pictures, but oh well.

We admired the view, then went to the bar to drink soft drinks. I really wanted to drink water, but the bar had none, so I opted for Sprite.

After a while, some students from another section started singing at the karaoke. They seemed to be having fun, so I told my block mates, 'Hey, let's sing!' They just smiled, some agreeing, but they didn't actually sing. Wanting to raise the flag of my section, Section 5, I went to the karaoke-singing group and asked them for the list of songs. I knew just what to sing.

Me: (Gets the mic) Para to sa Section 5! (*Block mates cheer*)

Me: (*Sings*) Baby, look at me, and tell me what you see... Remember my name!

Block mates: FAME!

Me: I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly!

Block mates: HIGH!

Me: I feel it coming together, people will see me and cry!

Block mates: CRY!

Me: I'm gonna make it to heaven, light up the sky like a flame!

Block mates: FAME!

Me: I'm gonna live forever, baby remember my name! Remember, remember, remember, remember...

I had so much fun; I was singing and dancing and was really confident. I just had to laugh at my block mates' transition from "FAME!" to "...fame." What the hell, atleast we put up a fight, didn't we?XD

EVENING:

We ate dinner (leftover tuna, chicken and ampalaya sotanghon). Roxy and I were to sleep at the living room, while the family at the bedroom. When the latter fell asleep, Roxy and I were still up watching TV, when all of a sudden (I'll have to use tagalog for the dialogues; the humor will be lost when I translate it to English)...

Roxy: Kring... natatae na ako.

Me: Edi tumae ka.

Roxy: ...

Then after a while she got up, went to the loo (which doesn't have any light, BTW), and did her thing. I was lying down, watching TV, minding my own business. A lot of commercials have been shown, then the show, then the commercials, then the show, then the commercials. It was only then that I realized...

Me: What's taking her so long?

I was already covering my mouth to prevent from laughing out loud.

Me: ...Roxy?

Roxy: O?

Me: Okey ka lang diyan?

Roxy: Ayaw lumabas eh.

By this time I was really laughing, but not so loud as to wake up Ms. Lerma. Then, out of the want to share this hilarious event, I texted a group message to my block mates, including those who aren't included in the exposure trip. It went like this:

Bwahahaha. Si Roxy, tumatae. Jusko. Ilang siglo na ba siyang nasa CR? Kala ko
nahimatay na eh. Antagal tagal na niyang nasa CR. Hehe, nashare lang. :)

After sending the message, I recieved a text from Roxy (weird, eh? She could just tell it to me), saying:

Kring nabubulok na ko dito!

I stifled a laugh; my tummy was aching from preventing to laugh real hard. It was unbelievable. I recieved messages from my block mates, and after a while (after a long while), Roxy came out of the bathroom. I didn't even make an effort to pull up a straight face.

Me: Ano, success?

Roxy: Di eh, ayaw lumabas.

Me: All that for nothing?

Funny. Tsk. Pity Roxy. Anyway, I told her about my group message; at first she was in disbelief, but then she became nonchalant about it.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 5:

I woke up at about 6:30 in the morning. Roxy followed, and before eating, we went to the house occupied by two of our friends', Ange and Pia. Besides them, there were Kelli and Frances, and all six of us chatted at the balcony.

Ange and Pia's place has a nice view of the morning.

Our first ever picture as partners. Sweet. Makes me vomit. XD

After a while, Roxy and I decided to go back to our house, since Ms. Lerma may be looking for us. So, when we got back, we were asked to eat. We had Tokwa't Baboy for breakfast. I never wanted to eat that food since I last tasted it, but since I had no choice, so I gobbled it down anyway. And I found it delicious!

Before eating, though, someone went to the house and showed us Laguna Bay's rampant fish - the Janitor Fish.

Extremely hard covering. And large, too. Their heads are half as big as my
hands, man!

I wasn't really fond of touching the Janitor Fish - I feared that if I did, one of them would jump at go straight to my face, sucking what it can. Ugh! Roxy kept touching it, though, so I feeled the fish once. It was hard.

Then eight of us - Me, Roxy, Ange, Pia, Kelli, Frances, Lei, Rai - chilled out at Kelli and Frances' house until the time that we were asked to play games with the kids. When it was time, we went to the place that some mute kid pointed to us, where the activity was supposed to be held.

We were pointed to the wrong place. We ended up having a rocky adventure, to some lonely, dangerous place full of rocks and mud at the edge of the lake. We went back, asked directions, and finally found the place where the kids gathered up, and other sections were playing games with them.

While at this, I was already scowling from the heat. We've just been lost, so we're all sweaty, dirty, and thirsty. I just found comfort through my block mates, particularly Alphonso.

She's cute, isn't she?

I know Alphonso is meant for somthing great. She has stunning beauty, you know? I always imagined that she would grow up to be in the ranks of Ruffa Gutierrez or Gretchen Barretto. I was watching the kids when I suddenly heard Ange and Alphonso talking about sexuality, and that Alphonso - of all people - wants to be a guy.

Me: (*turns head to Alphonso that I crack the bones of my neck*) YOUWANNABEAWHAT?!

I was cracking with laughter: Alphonso, a lesbian? No way. Bisexual, maybe, but lesbian? Hello? She's such a cutie pie (okay, according to a symposium we attended, calling someone a cutie pie can be charged of sexual harrassment). I was teasing her and just chuckling from the insanity. I kept telling her, Cha, you're beautiful, you're meant to be a woman. She goes, I'm not beautiful, I'm handsome. Right. Hello, Cha!!!

Your anything doesn't even come close to Roxy's! XD

Sigh, Cha, don't waste your beauty! :P You're too beautiful to be a man.Ü

Anyway, when it was our turn, we played three games with the kids. I found one of them real handsome, but I didn't want to get started on pedophilia so I ignored him.

These kids are adorable. Ü Oh, and there's Kelly, Frances, and Lei.

After the games, we were supposed to go back to the house, when suddenly Roxy, Rai, Lei and I saw some students going boating. We wanted to go boating, too - while we're at UGMMARIZ, we better make the most out of it, right? So we went to the edge of the lake and waited for the boat.

I couldn't take the smell; there was garbage near the lake (read: even the bodies of LARGE Janitor Fishes. And we had to go near it! WAAAAHHH!!!)

After some time came our turn to ride the bangka. It was hard getting in, as the only way to pass the dirty and muddy ground was through a slippery trunk of a slim tree. It was all the more hard getting past the water lilies.

It's a water lily land. But we managed, thanks to Joseph!

Joseph, my idol. He looks like Makisig Morales, doesn't he?

I just had to take a picture with him.

Hey, there's Rai, Roxy, and Lei! Too bad you can't see the skipper (behind Roxy), he's hot, with the abs, the tan, and all.

And then there's me. I know, I look so fugly, with the headband, the ponytail,
and the glasses. I didn't bring my contacts, mind you.

By the time we steered clear of the water lilies, we got to see the beautiful view around the lake...

That's actually an island there.

Well, I don't know if they actually are houses.

I don't know what these are called.

There are actually dogs there! And no one's even on those houses!

I can tell that Lei's having a great time scooping water out of the
boat.

Happy boys. Ü

It was time to go home after boating, so Roxy and I went back to our house and killed time by listening to music and talking to Airah. I didn't bother playing chess anymore, as I knew that, like many time before, Roxy would win.

AFTERNOON:

Roxy and I went to the Daycare center at around 1:30 PM and said goodbye to Ms. Lerma's family. Just before going there, we saw a stand in the gym selling street food, and a little while later, Rai, Roxy, and I went to the gym to buy Sago and Gulaman since we were so thirsty.

Look at how small the container is. It's just as small as the containers for
ice candy.

Quenched of thirst, Roxy is in the mood to reenact The Ring, while Rai finishes
her drink in one sip.

At about 4 PM, my block mates and I split in two since we couldn't fit into one van. Rai, Kelli, Roxy, Frances, and I were with the group which karaoked the day before. It was crazy. One of them, I surmise, had a crush on Roxy, it had been quite obvious since Alphonso saw her stealing glances of Roxy at the Daycare (poor Alphonso... she has a crush on this girl who keeps checking on Roxy). At the car, these block mates kept singing, I was a bit pissed since they voices weren't really that good. I made with my MP3 player, placing the volume to the highest level just so I couldn't hear the girls. Irritating though it may be, I found them quite nice.

I arrived at home. The driver was kind enough to drop me off at Brookside, since we were going to pass the subdivision, anyway. I was looking forward to sleeping; it had been a long day. But then...

"Kring! O sige, maligo ka na, aalis tayo. Pupunta tayong Filinvest."

Darn it.