Familiar Baguio

We arrived at Baguio around 11 am. The first thing we did was book tickets back to Manila. We didn’t want to rush going to the terminal on our last day.

Afterward, we rode a jeepney, went to near Burnham, ate at the first carinderia we saw, and looked for a house. It didn’t take long before we found a place to stay. I thought we’d find it difficult, considering it’s still summer. It turned out that there were many empty transient houses still available around Baguio.

After a little planning on our itinerary, we went to Wright Park. I was really excited to ride a horse! I remembered when we were kids, we always choose the biggest horses. Too bad though, they always were the laziest and “run” the slowest. haha. Still, I chose the biggest horse there, named Stephen.

Lucky for me, this horse wasn’t lazy. He runs, well, walks, faster than most horses there. And with that, I’m so thrilled. I felt like Mikee Cojuangco with her horse, although mine was just walking faster than others. haha. I feel proud whenever I hear whispers from other riders saying, “that’s a big horse!”

It rained a few minutes after we got off our hourses. We had no umbrellas nor caps, so we decided to stay in one of the sari-sari stores there. I got myself a coffee, and coffee in a cold weather while raining was perfect. We chatted for a while, dreamt of a good semester,  and decided to look for a wishing well.

We asked the locals where a wishing well could be found, and most pointed us to Botanical Garden, so we walked there through drizzles of rain. Alas, we found what we were searching for, and more.

(more…)

rediscovering baguio

Yep, that’s the proper word—rediscovering. I’ve been to Baguio a few times already, but I had the most fun with the recent one (a week ago). This was probably due to several reasons:

I went there with just one friend, and it’s a good thing she’s game with everything. We had no difficulties in planning our day (which would have been different if you go with a heterogeneous group), although we never had itineraries when we hopped into the bus and went to Baguio. As for me, all I really wanted was to feel that cold weather, plus the boating and the horseback riding. I really enjoy those activities, although frequent Baguio goers might have already have enough of them.

We didn’t even have a reservation when we got there; we just looked for a transient house and rented out a room for 200 pesos a night (not bad, eh?). The place was not fancy at all, not even comfortable. There were even honda generators lying outside and other broken stuff (really an eye sore), not to mention a baby crying in the morning. But it will do for the few hours we’d be sleeping, as long as there is a blanket.

We started our tour by going to Wright park, and from there, our Baguio adventure began.  Even running in the rain was fun; well, even talking to strangers was. We’ve met interesting people, and most were helpful ones. I wonder if we were just lucky to meet good people, or if the tourist spot they live in turned them hospitable. Either way, I’m glad the people we met there were nice and friendly.

One more thing, I think it’s better to stroll Baguio walking/commuting. Enduring traffic and looking for parking take a lot of time. Because of walking and commuting (and talking to locals), we’ve learned of two fun places to go to, which we would never have known: Treetop Adventure in Camp John Hay and Winaca Village (in Benguet). I’ll posts pictures later.

Also, it was my first time to experience Baguio night life. The cold weather was conducive to drinking haha. =)

where are you going?

• To bed
• Tomorrow, to the mall, to search for backpacks for the kids.
• Probably to Baguio this coming weekend (time to get away from the city)
• To California, in 2 or 3 years 
• To freelancing, probably a bit of tech jobs and a lot of editing ones (office subtly wants law school out)
• To another semester of law school
• To lawyering (keeping fingers crossed) and helping others
• To a new home (”suicidal” as it may seem)
• To a life overwhelmed with responsibilities, still, and hopefully, a life full of hope.

thinking happy thoughts

…so I could fly, like Peter Pan do.

• going to Baguio next week (after 10 years!)
• Pirates 4 will be showing soon (and PJVP and eks will treat me to it)
• samsung lcd tvs have dropped their prices since the last time I checked
• already have two tin cans full of 10-peso coins (a step closer to getting the tv)
• passed all law subjects (super thank you, Lord!)
• finally finishing Heroes (then moving on to House)
• Lots of reese’s soon to come (hopefully, snickers too!)

hope this works!

relearning "enjoy"

Last Monday, a good friend and I met up to watch Thor. It was an entertaining movie, although I wish there were more fight scenes and display of power. And all the time, most girls in the cinema were drooling over Thor, wondering what kind of hgh supplements he had taken and how could someone be so…charming.

But our movie experience was not as entertaining as the unplanned drinking that followed it. After a pitcher (?!?) of Bad Boy from Central, both of us were exchanging secrets, things we’ve been meaning to tell each other but kept it for 2 years. haha. I am still amazed what a bottle of alcohol could do. =)

On a serious note, I realized it’s May already. I haven’t “experienced” vacation yet. I know the “rest” part of the word, but what about “leisure” and “fun”? I think I’ve already forgotten how to enjoy myself, how to enjoy life. This is kind of silly, but I think my short drinking time last Monday reminded me I need to have a little fun before vacation time is over. Vacation time is short, and so is life. =)

Life isn’t supposed to be all work, anyway.

hopeless

Warning: ranting

Some things never change. Better yet, some things are just plain hopeless.

A few days ago, the HR from my old office called me and told me to pick up my final check (after a year of resigning, by the way). But of course, I decided to get it the following day. I left house at around 1 pm, because I worked on my freelance file first. If you live here in the Philippines, you know how scorching hot that time is. Then again, I really wanted to get the check and meet up with old friends who I haven’t seen since I resigned there. So, I braved the heat and the terrible traffic going to Paranaque.

It was only when I got there when the HR told me I need the original copy of my cedula. Why didn’t they tell me that when they called?!?!?! Were they too busy visiting www.extenzesideeffects.com or twiddling their fingers out of boredom? Perhaps you’re thinking I should have called before I went there. But I did. And no one’s answering!! I asked if I could just fax that document or email it. Of course, they said I can’t do that. I really have to come back! I told the staff, do you know how hot it is outside? Do you know how far this is? Do you know that some people just leave work for this? And now, you’re telling me that I just wasted my time and effort?

She said that the accounting department is very strict now. Really now? Is that why it took them forever to compute my final pay? Is that way they often mess SSS deductions? Is that why my salary sometimes goes to another’s account? Is that why sometimes they just forget to pay their employees?

Remembering all the hassles that happened when I was getting my clearance (forgetting to tell me some of the documents needed, the only person out of a thousand employees who could compute my salary, not telling me that my papers werent moving when they said they’d update me, etc), all I could say to the poor girl in the front desk, “you guys dont change, do you?”