HELLO SAGADA

...in pictures, share your shots!

Most of my TF classmates are into photography and we made up this so-called "share-your-shots" session to admire each one's photos. I never asked permission personally if I could post their pictures here but I know they love me (hehe) and promise, they'd be given due credit. They have a lot more wonderful pictures in their portfolio, I chose one each from them.

                                BANAWE RICE TERRACES by Guile Roi Agapito

                                TREK TO BOMOD-OK by Alan David

                                KILTEPAN by Ray Andallon

                                                  WHEEL AT ST. MARY'S by James Yu

                                BY THE POTTER HOUSE by Di Licop

Di tweaked some happy group shots by Guile Roi and came up with these really nice versions:

Another long weekend coming up, what to do?=p

SAGADA

The road to nowhere. A wonderful nowhere.

I say “wonderful”, “beautiful”, “nice” and “wow” almost always. That is so because of two things: One, I am generally easy to please and I get touched over the simplest gestures. Two, I think I need to brush up on my English vocabulary. Business memos, the kind of writing people in the corporate usually do, are allergic to adjectives. I love adjectives, so I am allergic to business memos.

Thus, my current state of unemployment.
Thus, the urgent need to get out of the city which has set too high a standard for university graduates.
Thus, my gratitude to that youthful stubbornness two months ago when two of my friends and former colleagues said “Amen” to my invitation, “Tara! Sagada tayo?”

Thus, amidst news reports about a typhoon in the Northern Luzon in the last (and long) weekend of August, we hopped on the bus together with six other willing and adventurous souls and braced ourselves for an experience of a lifetime which I hope to share not through the sites I have feasted my eyes with, not through the food I ate, not through the places I have set my foot in, but through the people and lives I have been given the privilege to become a part of. Kahit ilang araw lang.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEET AICA.
(Tour coordinator, Travel Factor represent!)
I asked her how I can identify if she’s the one I’m texting. Her reply, “I’m wearing black freedom shirt with eyeglasses near Ilocos waiting area”. Texted with a smiley at the end of the SMS of course. I turned around and I saw the luckiest girl in the world who has the most exciting job and who, without any hint of force and pretense can actually say, “I love my job and the people I work with”. She’s 23 and does not have to waste her time and resources in soul searching. She’s our young and bubbly tour coordinator from TRAVEL FACTOR. Our trip from Manila to Banawe was scheduled at 10:45 PM but I came in around three hours earlier. She was there already. The three-hour wait did not matter as we shared stories about work, vision boards, “The Secret” and about travelling. Didn’t I tell you that she is just 23? Oh boy.
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEET KUYA ERWIN or AGO.  
(Tour guide extraordinaire, Sagada represent!)
If this were a movie script, he’d be the main actor. He’s our all around go-to-person in Sagada. Tour guide, driver, chef, potter, product demonstrator, coordinator, historian, interpreter, alarm clock and stop watch. He answers our Sagada questions, poker- faced (I think I rarely saw him smile, weird) and with a sexy mix of Ilocano-Kankana-ey and Texan accent. Pa’no yun?

Me : Kuya Erwin, taga- Sagada po ba kayo through and through?
Kuya Erwin : Yezz Meym, bowrn and rreysd(duh) hewr in Segadah.
Translation : Yes Ma’am, born and raised here in Sagada.
Gets? Mahirap kasing i-describe. Hehe.
He speaks really good English, I think everyone in Sagada does.

Maybe it’s his way of marketing himself or maybe he seeks to impress city kids of his ways but nonetheless, every time he does things for us, sometimes, I feel that it is beyond his call of duty. He has that typical Pinoy trait of making visitors feel that they are important and that guests should right away feel at home. Kuya Erwin’s only flaw however is that he does not know how tell ghost stories. On our second night, he brought us to Lake Danum for our bonfire session and he made us sit comfortably and warm while he and his assistant prepare our pinikpikan boodle fight. After dinner and two rounds of vodka, everyone but me was into ghost stories. The others coaxed him to share Sagada’s version of scare-fest and being the eager-beaver that he is, he told us of stories about head hunters, tribal wars and spirits, history 101-professor style complete with facts and explanations. Wahahaha!! Kumbaga sa joke, walang punch line. Though you could sense his enthusiasm through his wordiness, maybe he sensed our goose bumps have retracted, and ended the story, poker –faced.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEET THE OTHER JAMES.
(By the bonfire and the marshmallows)
He made us sticks to roast our marshmallows with through the branches of plants around us. Instead of the usual banana leaves used for boodle fight, he got ferns and wove them together to improvise a table. He told corny jokes and was as excited as us that instead of our beds, we had the grass to carry our bodies, instead of lamp shades we had the bonfire and instead of warm milk, oh yes, we are drinking vodka. We call him the other James because the original James is part of our traveling group. The other James does not mind.
   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEET HANSEL, KEVIN, LESTER AND THE OTHER CAVE GUIDE WHOSE NAME I FORGOT.  
(Sila ang mga tunay na ROCK stars!)
They jump, slide, climb up a rope in one-hand, lamp in the other hand. They take nice pictures also and were patient enough with my makulit reminder, “Kuya, di po waterproof camera ko ha.” They made us step on their legs, carry our weight on their shoulders and made sure we were all safe and were enjoying our 5-hour cave connection adventure in Lumiang and Sumaguing Caves. They’re effortless in the jumping and in the sliding part and in keeping their balance, because they told us, they have been doing these things since they were kids. The caves are their natural Gold’s Gym and Fitness First.
 

MEET ATE DOROTHY OR TUTTI.
She has the warmest the gentlest smile. Her only role is to cook our food and she does it in style. The picture above is Alibama Inn which she supervised and looked after in the duration of our stay in Sagada. I regret not having taken her picture because on our last day she has gone home and we never got the chance to say thank you.

MEET THE SAGADA KIDS.
Sagada has branded its children with adorable rosy cheeks and eyes that always seem to ask. Sabi ni Di, there’s something which make them stand out and different from the city kids. They remind me of Lilo in Disney’s Lilo and Stitch.

MEET FOODIE. 

(the Saga-dog)

Kuya Erwin has the weirdest adjective for the Alaba Inn’s tambay dog (guard dog dapat pero feeling ko mas tambay siya dun =p): delicious. Sorry PETA friends, but we were told that in Kuya Erwin’s tribe, dogs are bred not as pets but as food. They prefer ‘”Aspins” over the imported breed though. Tuloy, everytime our photographer friends take pictures of dogs, one of us will quip: “O, bakit niyo pini-picture-an yung mga ulam?”. RJ, one of our TF classmates (from here on, I will call the TF participants, classmates), after hearing Kuya Erwin’s story named that dog which sleeps innocently in Alibama’s second floor landing as “foodie”. Btw, that is not foodie in the picture, I just downloaded it from the net as I failed to take his. Sad. 

MEET THE SAGADA POGI BOYS.

(not their real photos though, will wait for my TF classmates to upload then I will update =p)

Piolo the Potter.

Muscled man with rosy cheeks, how’s that for a combination? You’ll know at first glance that he is cute but he got even cuter when Di pointed out that he looks like Piolo Pascual. And he sure does. We met him at the pottery house busy monitoring the oven’s temperature, they were cooking the raw materials needed for their artworks or whatever. Kuya Erwin told us that he is a good potter and we believe him. His brown eyes are enough proof. (Ng alin? Haha!). Move over Harry, meron na kaming bagong Potter.

Then, there’s Ronan Keating.

My blond and blue-eyed love. In my dreams. (maarte lang!)
We were with him on the same bus in our trip from Manila to Banawe. He is the usual foreigner backpacker who in full trust of the Lonely Planet’s guide book to the Philippines hopped on some plane from halfway round the world and found himself in the exact same place where a beautiful Filipina (that’s me okay), in the exact same time, decided to spend her long weekend in. The Filipina (which I insist is me - again) did not fail how his upswept do revealed a beautiful and friendly face, and his adventurous spirit made him even more beautiful. The Filipina (me again!) told her classmates that it will complete her vacation if she sees her blond and blue eyed love again on their bus ride home – and she did! Though no words were exchanged, the thought that the Filipina and her blond and blue eyed love were on the same place at the same time is enough to make this Filipina feel like she’s the 9th wonder of the world. Ngeh. Haha!=D

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
MEET MY TRAVEL FACTOR CONQUER SAGADA CLASSMATES.

I will always remember their names: RJ (Mr. Nice Guy), Ray (Mr. Professor), James (The Other Sagada Pogi Boy), Gilroy (Elaine’s Loverboy), Elaine (Gilroy’s Girl), Di (roomie!) and Allan (Mr. Sony!). Except for Allan and Di which I have known since my FLI days, the rest are complete strangers to me until our Sagada adventure. We were all there for different reasons: some to indulge in a much needed R&R, to see a different place and experience a different culture, to check off an item in their bucket list, to have a good use of a newly-bought DSLR, to bond with friends, to bond with more-than-friends friend, to meet new friends, to do soul searching, maghanap ng sakit ng katawan, to eat non-city food, to have a good excuse to wear our water-proof jackets, to buy souvenirs, to have a new crowd which one can share his knock-knock jokes with, to have something to write about in our blog, para lang masabing may ginawa kang makabuluhan nung long weekend, to satisfy our curiosity about this group called Travel Factor, to heal a broken heart, to find someone to break our heart, para makakita ng kuweba, umakyat ng bundok, bumaba ng bundok, mag-topload sa jeep, matulog ng nakakumot kahit walang electric fan o aircon, and just be somewhere far from the usual place we find ourselves in everyday. Whatever our reasons are, I am just ever thankful that our reasons brought us together in this wonderful place called Sagada where in three days, being strangers meant sharing stories as if each of us has known one another for the longest time, being strangers meant waiting for one another before we start on a meal, where being strangers has completely taken over the concept of friendship.

It was just three days.

It was not a completely different culture.
It was not a trip to India or Tibet where I can claim I did an intense soul searching.
Maybe my being a first-timer to an experience such as this made even the tiniest detail profound.

But it was beautiful. Wonderful. Nice. Wow talaga.

In our last day in Sagada before leaving Echo Valley, our last stop for the day, I told Kuya Erwin, “Ang ganda ng Sagada noh?”. With his poker face dramatically tracing the site where the hanging caves are and in his sexy Ilocano-Kankana-ey-Texan drawl he replied “We awr juzt blezzd meym”.
Translation: We are just blessed Ma’am.

They sure are.



POST NOTES
*I will share the link of the photos taken by my photographer classmates soon.
*Check out http://www.travelfactor.org/ for more trips.                                                                                              *You may get in touch with Kuya Erwin at 0928 690 0062 or putaad26@yahoo.com.ph. He is part of SAGGAS or Sagada Genuine Guides Association.

MAJOR UNIVERSE

My blog's title "Miss Universe" is not in anyway influenced by Donald Trump's annual beauty pageant. A former colleague used to call me "Miss U" because she likes seeing me wear high heels in the office and that perhaps I always say "miss you". Also, I use the word "universe" in most of my entries so I thought it is just appropriate to adopt the title Miss Universe.

Wala lang.

Anyway, Venus Raj, the controversial beauty queen from our archipelago won 4th runner up from the recently concluded Miss Universe 2010 pageant and many claims that she has gotten the crown in the bag until the question and answer portion. Masyado lang siya siguro na-overwhelm sa "this is the moment" moment niya. Whatever.

I just want to play around so here are three versions of how three different Filipinas may have answered William Baldwin's question.

Question: What is one big mistake that you did in your life? And what did you do to make it right?

original version 

Venus Raj, Bb. Pilipinas Universe, Miss Universe 2010 Beauty Pageant:

answer: In my 22 years of existence, there is nothing major, major problem that I have done in my life. Because I am very confident with my family and the love they are giving to me. So thank you so much.

 movie version

I remember watching this before just because we only had Channel 2 in the province before.

Jolina Magdangal, actress, Labs Kita Okay Ka Lang? (1998)

answer: “Oh yes, kaibigan mo ako. Kaibigan mo lang ako…. And I’m so stupid to make the biggest mistake of falling in love with my best friend.”




syempre pa, I should have my own version

Kristina Bacud, feeling beauty queen, Little Miss Sampaguita 1990 Beauty Pageant

answer: My biggest mistake is being too lazy to brush my teeth because see now, I can not even smile in the picture because if I did you will see rainbow-colored teeth. I think I will wear braces in the future and I will use my prize to pay my dentist.










The best unpretentious, most sincere answer goes to (drum roll): Me! syempre naman!
I won the crown that night - my first and last and only.
Bata pa lang ako, hot na.=p

Venus Raj, take it from a 5-year old.

I thank you.
Bow.

GET DOWN

...and move it all around - Backstreet Boys

My rollercoaster ride has paused at the bottom, my hair touching the ground and my head swirling from being upside down. I know I should close my eyes to keep myself from feeling dizzy but I stubbornly refuse to. I need to feel the discomfort, see it, experience it. I need to drill in my consciousness that no, I do not want to be here ever again. While the rollercoaster's parts conk and bust, I surrender to this momentary glitch and lift all my hopes to Mr. Mechanic. He knows better.If all else fails, I would shake myself off from all the absurdity and pointless drama and say these kanto-boy style, "okay ka lang? eh kung tanggalin mo na kaya seatbelt mo at bumaba ka. ayan na ang lupa oh. geeezzz."

I'm scraping the last cents in my piggy bank and will try the bump cars next time.

QUARTER MATTER

Quarter pounder, not quarter life!

I am in full acceptance mode of my quarter life crisis and I am praying so hard for it to pass quickly (without fastforwarding to midlife, of course!), buti na lang, my friends make me feel like I am a superstar. We create threads for our birthdays and I am sharing some of mine.. :D

From Bes:
Kahit Friday na bukas (or ngayon if Friday na kayo nagbukas ng mail), pero August 5/6 na kasi at hindi na August 4. :D  Always the life of the party and witty queen of hirits! You never fail to make me laugh when I least expect it :D kasi pag nagdedeliver ka ng lines mo deadpan talaga, I love it! :) :) :)

From Nard:

Time ko na gumanti!
Si Tina ang feeling inosente na hindi.
Si Tina ay maarte mag English.
Si Tina ay barat kasi hindi manlilibre sa diamond hotel!
Si Tina ay KJ kasi hindi sumali ECOSOC!
Si Tina ay mahilig manlait.
Si Tina ay madami bulate sa tiyan kasi kahit matakaw ay hindi tumataba.
Pero kahit ano pa siya, love na love ko yan! Haha! Happy Birthday Tina! Nakaganti rin ako!

From Sielyn:

Happy birthday to the English Speaking Hour Society first president, Tina!!!

Love kita...
...kasi complet e spelling ka magtext
...kahit inindian mo kami ni Brian sa Sagada trip natin
...dahil ang ganda ng camera mo
...MTM
MWAH!!! :)

From Belle:
Kristina Bacud of Azukarera de Bacud Happy happy birthday!!!!!
Most memorable ko sayo is nung first year enrollment. Nung sabay tayo enroll and magkasunod tayo sa pila. Ikaw ang unang unang nakilala ko in my college life.
Thanks sa mga comforting words mo kapag depressed and stressed ako. Your words and cheerfulness make me smile.
And agree ako sa lahat ng sinabi ni nard hehe!
Looking forward to our surfing trip probably last week of August or first week of September.

From Ian:
si tina ay hindi magrereply o sasagot ng phone kapag may planong mag injan sa mga lakad.hehe pero pag sasama yan, todo din sa mga reply. ;D
miss you Tina! tama sila, life of the party ka nga, next to me.hehe

My reply:
Mapayat man ako pero pinataba niyo ang puso ko, come on! (naks!)

Don't you just love birthdays?=p

24!

Unedited write-up, written spontaneously.

I was planning for a Justin Bieber birthday party but my last two weeks have been crazy and the weather kept me from going outside and the whole universe conspired to un-cougar me (ang daming excuses!) so I celebrated it at home (double birthday bash with my cousin because it's cheaper to split the expenses - so Ilocana!). It was a simple lunch and we were in our pambahay outfits. Dishes were courtesy of our favorite Lung Center Sunday Market, it was raining that morning when we went to buy the food, but I just had to make the people at home happy with having a lunch not prepared by Ate Letty (hehe). She cooks food for us but she seems to have been running out of inspiration its affecting her cooked meals. Lesson number one: Happy people are productive people.

                                                        The V.Luna Brigade

Crispy Kangkong. We remember eating this 2 Holy week vacations ago courtesy of Mommy Egie. We had to download in the net still how it is cooked and it turned out the best seller of the day! Rewind 2 hours ago in the Lung Center Sunday market, I asked ate Ay: "Anong hitsura ng kangkong? Saan dito yun?" My ever reliable cousin didn't know how a kangkong should look either. Lesson number 2:Include kangkong in Bahay-kubo song.=p Also, not all promdi's know their vegetables.

 Isabel and Lean were sweet enough (for the day only =p) to research and cook Crispy kangkong for us.

 Ineng's Barbeque.

This catfish (hito, grilled to  perfection) died for us.

                                                                           Sinuglaw.

California Maki.

Ensalada. I am so proud of myself for having the patience to chop the tomatoes and green magoes and red egg. Lesson number three: Being domestic can be be fun sometimes.

 

Tikoy Roll.

I just had to take pictures of the food because this is one of the few occassions when I actually feel like I am capable of doing housework.=p I did not cook any of them, of course, but I actually shopped for them, cut and sliced, unpacked and supervised the presentation. This is the farthest I can go to being domestic. But I hope to learn how to cook one of these days. Independence, I can smell you.=p

Back to birthday business, the last weekend of July should have been my joint birthday celebration (again!) with Myrella but it was a bad timing for most of our friends since they either have exams (yes, I have friends who are still in school, I am going to be one of them soon!) or they are super busy with work. So we just had our usual dinner at Pino Bar and restaurant in Teacher's village (try visiting the place, ang daming pogi) and stayed in Jenny's condo for her wine and crepe (courtesy of her 6-month stint as an exchange student in France) and Abby's Vietnamese Chips (courtesy of her 1-week Splash marketing event). My friends are all jetsetters! I am sharing some photos:

                                                                   

We did not get in the restaurant right away as it was fully packed on a Saturday night. Lesson number four: Call for a reservation first! But it was definitely worth the wait. I did not get to take pictures of the food, I was so hungry to even think of taking photos. We had Kare-Kareng Bagnet , Beef Tadyang in Red Wine, Cheese Sticks and Breaded Veggies.    

Kids born in 1986!

Happy 24 1986-born children! We'll forever be kids, whether the world likes it or not! =p

HELLO MONDAY!

I am looking forward to that day when I will look forward on Mondays!