120

ack! i had my first deep dive...120 feet! oh my god! i really can't believe it! sorry...

it's just that i remember when anne and i first learned how to dive last april she was already talking about getting our advance accreditation and i was like "hello? let's get used to being open water divers." and here i am now planning the dives i need to be accredited as advance open water diver.

i know anne would be proud of me. i've been the one with more reserve with everything in life. in every aspect of it, compared to her. but here i am learning something that really scares me...

actually i had already warned ana (my new dive buddy) and tony, our dive master, that i have a problematic right ear when it comes to eqalizing while going down. but this time it was a first for my left ear. so going down i was surprised. i almost didn't notice the trigger fish, the corals and the jellyfish going down.

but after this one moment when i could actually feel my left and right ear pop, i was ok. i was able to follow the wall of coral going down to the marigondon cave. woooohoooo! i was so happy...

even if the first thing you see at the mouth of the cave are tombstones. of those that have died at the cave and those who decided to rest there for the rest of eternity. it was so exciting. after looking over the tombstones, tony pointed to his computer and showed me how far we were - 120 feet below the surface.

wow...i couldn't believe it...

the second dive wasn't as deep but we saw barracudas, jack fish, blow fish and a whole lot of coral. oh! and during the first dive we saw a huge nudibranch...swear it was almost a foot long! the most i saw was a 2 inch thick.

so i'm getting the dives to become an advance open water diver. it's basically about doing a number a dives. so i'm done with the deep dive! and next week there'll be a clean up dive in the afternoon and a night dive saturday evening.

hmm even more scary for me. just the thought of going down in the water and i won't be able to see anything! but just the thought, it makes me feel excited at the same time.

but after next weekend and 2 more dives, i'll be accredited! i can't believe how fast everything is going. i just have to pay a little bit more per dive and i'll be accredited. it makes me feel better about diving in general. coz i love being able to dive with a purpose, it makes me feel that it's super worth my money! haha kahit paano kuripot pa rin ako!

:-)

caving

Because of Darwin I’ll be able to go DIVING tomorrow! Hmm how was he able to orchestrate that all the way from Manila?

Before leaving Manila, he told me that he had a fellow from the Dumaguete workshop that he attended that lives in Cebu, Ana who also dives.

One day, another boring day at the office, I checked his blog and remembered that he has a link to her site. So I looked through the pictures she had posted and about her dive trips. So I emailed Darwin and asked us to "intoduce" us and he did via email.

We’ve been texting and planning a dive for tomorrow. It will be at the marigondon cave site. Ack! Scary but exciting! I’ll be able to credit this dive towards my advance certification. That’s so cool!

Thanks Darwin!

music

So before leaving for work last Friday I remembered to update my ipod so that I’d have new music to listen to. Jackie didn’t have her CD of mp3s so I bugged Joey. Thank God he was nice enough to send mp3s through skype.

Uploaded Michael Buble, Duran Duran MTV Unplugged, the OST of The Beach, Fatboy Slim and a couple of songs from U2. Sitting around and listening to music is enjoyable to me.

I remember the way I would listen to CDs before. I would sit down and just listen to the whole album and then I’d listen to it with a copy of the lyrics before me. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. I guess coz I don’t buy CDs anymore, just download the mp3s.

Last night I listened to a lot of the songs I got. But I have yet to sit down and really listen to the music, to understand the lyrics set to the music.

Hmm I discovered something I can do! Haha masubukan nga

moving

Moving moving MOVING! I've moved twice in the past two weeks. I can definitely says YES I FEEL STRESSED!

The first major move from my home and friends in Manila to a totally new and foreign place that is Cebu.

I had a despedida the Friday before I left. I was glad my friends came and spent that night with me. It was so funny! Because I had to go to Paragon around 6pm coz Pao had to leave for a meeting. Well I had just come from getting my hair cut (yes it’s short again!) and I was only able to bring stuff that I grabbed before leaving the house, a bottle of vodka and plastic cups. And I was alone, couldn’t leave coz what if people arrived early etc.

So I started texting, asking people to do me a favor and buy drinks, food, ice. Anything they wanted to bring. People started arriving and my gay and guy friends arrived with just their smiles and hugs for me. Except for Nathan and Mike who brought Andok’s coz I begged them for food! While my girlfriends came with everything else! Chips, Baileys, Rum, Vodka, ice, beer, cigarettes, cake, plates, forks. Oh and Rax brought her magic sing so we all had fun singing J so in other words, the guys didn’t bring anything but the girls did!

I really appreciated that they were able to stay or even drop by to say good bye. I have to admit I felt special! But this was just the calm before the storm (of moving).

I still had to shoot and write for Bantay Bata until Wednesday, the day before I had to leave. And I crammed two scripts in that afternoon to be able to leave by 6pm. I treated the Bantay Bata girls the previous day, quality time kung baga. I was kinda happy I was in such a rush to leave coz I know I would have gotten teary eyed and everything. I wouldn’t leave Bantay Bata if this opportunity hadn’t presented itself. Anyway, I had to get to Makati by 7pm. Coz I was gonna have one last dinner with Anne at M CafÈ, who consequently is moving to Vietnam later this month to work as a Producer for TV commercials there! Then my friends from UP followed there at 9pm so we could all catch up. Coz Motts was also getting ready to go back to the States to finish her Master’s.

Of course it was hard to say good bye when the talk is good and the company is great. But I had to say good bye around 11pm. Coz I still had to pack…it was so hard! Choosing what you needed, then deciding that you didn’t really need that. It could wait for another trip. Needless to say I was still choosing what to bring or leave behind til right before I had to leave for the airport! Haha

But I think the most stressful thing of that Thursday was having to go to UP Manila to get my transcript and certification of graduation. I couldn’t get my diploma coz I’m gonna have to pay almost $1000 to get it! HUH? WHAT?! Yup. Coz until my junior year 1st semester I was a US Citizen, but I was able to get dual citizenship. But anyway since I was an American Citizen I had to pay $150 a semester. Ok not bad considering how much tuition is at other schools. But they didn’t run after me while I was studying. So now I have to pay roughly $1000 to get my diploma. Since it was their fault they agreed to give me the transcript and certification of graduation.

When I told my mom she said that I don’t really need a diploma…but if I really wanted one to get the details of the diploma from a blockmate and she’ll go to Recto and have a diploma made especially for me! Hahahahaha oo nga noh? You can have a diploma made in Recto…but no need!

So on the morning that I had to fly to Cebu I confirmed that I can pick up the papers from UP and I get my butt over there. Then I go to the Cebu Pacific office for my ticket. Then I go home and get ready and briefly say good bye to my Mom. She was gonna bring me to the airport but I changed her mind. Saying she would just get tired from bringing me there. But in truth I would have found that so awkward, saying good bye at the airport. I always cry when that happens! But I made her promise to call me later that day.

My flight was delayed around thirty minutes and I realized I had no idea what was gonna happen when I got to Cebu. No number to call or text or any instructions. So I texted and waited for word from Bigfoot. During the flight I was tense and jittery. Then I couldn’t turn on my phone! I don’t know if my phone was breaking down on me (it probably was) but it wouldn’t turn on. After several tries and getting my huge suitcase (I was 20 kilos over) from the carousel it finally turned on! Hhhaayyy salamat! I received a couple of texts and a quick call later I was picked up by the service.

Then check in and I was at the Casablanca, with its huge room, bathroom, AC and cable television. It’s within the compound of Bigfoot. And Bigfoot is at Mactan, about an hour away form the City. I Stayed there for two weeks. And I had to MOVE AGAIN last Thursday!
Looking for a place was no picnic. Coz I don’t want to pay a lot and I don’t want to buy furniture/appliances. So scratch apartments fully furnished or otherwise. Then the rates for the rooms where at opposite ends of the spectrum form 3,000 up and 1,800 down. Nothing in between or a safe choice.

I settled for a really cheap room, but it’s tiny. Just enough space for a single bed to the right and right next to it a cabinet and a "table". In fairness to my new pad (hmm could I even call it that?!) it’s the cheapest, cleanest, modern (in terms that everything is concrete and the bathroom is decent), it’s in a subdivision with strict guards, it’s near the hi-way (it’s a 2 minute walk) and one jeep ride to Bigfoot. Mind you it’s a 10 minute ride but that 10 minutes is FAR! Coz there’s no traffic.

I just had to buy a foam to sleep on an electric fan to make my stay more comfortable. I actually made my own sheets! Haha well it’s not the hardest thing to do when I think about it. Now I’m thinking of ways to make it more home-y. Also thinking of things that I can do! Since there’s no TV, no cable I pretty much have myself for company.

Gosh I felt scared/apprehensive last Thursday. One of the reasons why I didn’t feel that I had to adjust much was coz I was staying at the Casablanca and it’s creature comforts. The only thing missing was my mom and friends, it kinda felt like I was still in Manila. Well let’s face it, I’m still in the Philippines after all!

I know I just have to get used to it. Thank god for books, crafts and my ipod…I’ll just have to ease into living alone.

charmed

Let’s backtrack a bit…to more than a month ago…

Got to Boracay in one piece. It was my first time to get there alone. And since I got a Cebu Pacific ticket (2,800 lang! woohoo!) I would be landing in Kalibo. Good thing I decided to talk to my "seatmate"! Turns out she works for Fil-Estate and when she found out that I was staying at Fairways (courtesy of Paolo) she took me under her wing!

Too bad she didn’t know that there was a coaster that was picking up clients in Kalibo so we joined other travelers and got a van (200 bucks each). It seemed like a looong drive, around 2 hours. And we didn’t go to the Caticlan Jetty Port, forgot the name of this port. Basta. It was because of the habagat, so along the white beach of boracay were huge waves. So all boats were redirected to the other side of the island at Tambisaan.

Since Shiela works for Fil-Estate we were able to ride the Fairways boat straight to the resort! And I was able to check in and go to the room. Super excited to see Pao and Ivan in a different setting! Got a call from Anne, she couldn’t make the trip! Boo! Coz of work…the usual! Oh well! It was time to join the rest of civilization and hit the beach.

Pao was there for work…shooting a movie. I was so happy for him! Finally getting back to practicing the craft. So I met him at Pearl and we had lunch or at least ordered lunch together. While I ate and he had to work, I stood watch over his food. Haha

It must have been a while coz Ivan decided to go to Pearl to meet me, he had been waiting at d’mall. After saying hi and being intro’d to everyone I pulled him toward the beach to take a walk.

WHAT A SHOCK!!! Boracay looked totally different, at least the beach did. Because of the habagat there were huge waves instead of the placid shore of summer. And because of the wind and waves, the resorts had to put up wind guards. In Station 1 there is no beachfront, Cocomangas, Pier 1, or Club Paraw. And there was this weird bunch of trees on the sand near the grotto…

Eventful walk that was…because while walking between station 1 and 2 on our way to the English Tea Room, there was a gust of wind and a wind guard that came flying towards us. Imagine this: a sheet of thick clear plastic board edged with bamboo. Yup that was moving towards us. One though on my mind – it’s coming straight to my face! Ack!
Luckily both Ivan and I had the presence of mind to put up our hands and block it. Got a tiny wound on my thumb because of that. But nothing more thank goodness!

Hmm what else? Of course both Friday and Saturday night was out to enjoy the nightlife. During the summer, Boracay nightlife can be described as Greenbelt with less clothes on. This time not so much…but just as fun. Even more so I think! Got a lot of free drinks from people and from the bartenders of Summerplace! Fun, fun, fun.

But I didn’t get plastered coz Ivan intro’d me to Jenny, a dive master. So I made plans with her to go diving on Saturday morning. That didn’t push through, but I was able to go on Sunday morning! I really made it a point to get back to the room by 3am and get some sleep.

Oh it was so much fun! As usual I felt jittery about diving. It would be the first time since I learned last April. But I got over it and was able to enjoy the two dives. I really liked the second dive! We did the usual entry and swam on our backs to the marker. And then after some last minute instructions there was the go ahead signal. So when I turned around and looked down I already saw fish! A let out shriek! In the past I only saw fish after going down a couple of meters. The whole time going down to the ocean floor I could see fish. And the coral was great too.

I know I said I wouldn’t go to Boracay again this year. Luckily this trip to Boracay was different because I was able to go diving. And Ivan was there. He had been there for more than a week by the time I got there and had made friends with a lot of the locals. Even though it was stormy and all…the sand was still as beautiful.

And the food - yum! On Saturday Ivan and I met up with Dode, RJ and Kit at the new talipapa (now called d’talipapa). They had bought liempo, prawns, and CRABS! And had it cooked at one of the restos around the wet market. Sinigang na hipon, prawns sautÈed in garlic and butter, grilled liempo and spicy-sweet-garlicky crabs. Wow. It was so good! And I love eating crabs, I don’t mind picking the sweet meat from the shell at all. That was another first for me to do in Boracay.

I’m glad I went! I didn’t spend too much during this trip, I was able to go diving, relax before going to Cebu, strengthen my friendship with Pao and Ivan, plus I was able to make new friends.

For me Boracay is a place that is so easy to go back to and visit, unlike other places where you go to and once is enough. I guess that’s the charm of the island…