okay, guilty as charged. i've been terribly busy the past few days that this is all i can do: write an apologetic post. i should be teeming with stories (i am) but i am not. why? i have no time to compose my thoughts to translate them into something readable. i haven't been able to do it for work, much more here.
in a nutshell: i've been covering a lot of stuff, travelling on the side. last last weekend's northern luzon caper was for the books. i almost got carsick, staying inside the car from manila to pangasinan so la union to baguio (one day) then from baguio to vigan to laoag (second day) and from laoag to batac to vigan to pangasinan to tarlac then to manila (third day). unbelievable. my body's still aching from all the tagtag. hah!
and it's not over yet.
i'm off to nasugbu, batangas tomorrow to cover a site visit to sm investment corporation's hamilo coast. it's a multi-billion dollar eco-tourism project that hopes to bring more and more tourists to the philippines.
i attended the launch this evening at the 1 esplanade near the mall of asia and i must say i'm quite impressed. i hope i'd be as impressed tomorrow when i get up close and personal with nasugbu's majestic views.
Monday, May 28, 2007
neglected but not forgotten
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
time to take these off
and time to clean the surroundings, too. this one's taken at fuente osmena, the famous cebu city landmark.
everything's over but the counting. it was generally a peaceful elections. honest? i'm not quite sure. foreign observers say that they saw sample ballots with money attached (stapled?). wow.
i'm not sure as to how many more weeks are needed for them to properly count all the votes. so far, it really seems like it is a referendum on gloria arroyo's presidency since her anointed ones are not making it to the winners' circle? or are losing or have already lost.
oh well. we just need to be vigilant to protect the votes of the people.
Monday, May 14, 2007
it's election day!
in the philippines, that is. to my friends here, please don't forget to vote and vote wisely. pakisingit lang po, migz zubiri! hahaha. at prspero pichay, itanim sa senado! seriously, i hope that the voters elect the right people. i've been in the campaign trail for about two weeks now and i've seen some of the candidates'"other" sides, not necessarily their evil sides but different from what they show to the people.
i just got back from cebu a couple of days ago to cover team unity's miting de avance at the fuente osmena. the last time i was in cebu was for the 2005 ad congress. i heart cebu as well. heheheh. just like my other fave cities, it's all about the food. hahaha.
grilled blue marlin @ chika-an sa cebu, a nice casual dining place near the waterfront hotel in lahug.Tuesday, May 08, 2007
food tripping in Mindanao
i heart mindanao. i really do. i love cagayan de oro city to bits. i adore camiguin. i am awed by bukidnon. i'm fascinated with siargao. i'm intrigued by dapitan. i could actually live here.
food is one of the reasons i love mindanao. the variety of fruits available - from durian to mangosteen to marang to grapefruit is nothing short of amazing. during this trip, i tried the local delicacies such as the paklay (mindanao version of papaitan), balbacua (beef skin and oxtail soup similar to the mexican menudo, only much, much tastier). oh my goodness, lami kaayo.
in a farm somewhere in manticao, misamis oriental, our host served what could very well be the best meal i had during this entire trip. and that is no exaggeration.
prawns and crabs cooked together in this lovely dish our hosts call 'alavar,' from the famous alavar seafood house in zamboanga years ago. apparently, they were business partners before and they "invented" this very, very delicious dish.
our host's server got two big banana leaves, laid it on the table and placed the food there. there's broiled tuna and some other fish, tinolang fish (very tasty, specially since they only cooked the fish heads, ulo-ulo), iligan lechon (which, i didn't realize was as yummy as cebu lechon. you can eat it without the liver sauce). grilled squid, vegetable salad. except for the lechon, everything was home-cooked. on the campaign trail
nope, i did not come all the way to mindanao to campaign for team unity's senatorial candidates. i was invited to cover their mindanao caravan, observe how the well-oiled political machinery of the administration works and mingle with thousands of mindanaoans very eager to meet and talk with the candidates.
took some pics. such as this.
by the roadside in Iligan City, on our way to Cagayan de Oro. Durian - 75 pesos per kilo. 
yum. so sinfully rich. some say smelly. i don't agree.Friday, May 04, 2007
live from cagayan de oro!
who knew i'd be back in my favorite Mindanao city after almost eight years?
well, i am. and i am quite pissed because it's 10 pm and this guy at the cybercafe just told me that they are closing.
i told him i'd finish this first.
done! more later.
