Quotes To Show Off

I have a new wall paper on my laptop (I now prefer spelling wallpaper as "wall paper". A personal quirk). It goes like this:

Quotes I place on my wall paper to make people think I am "deep"

Eat your veggies especially if you paid for them
Be neat and clean; it's the luxury of being civilized
Respect and honor women because your mother is one
Be heroic in your aims; it's stupid and more fun
Help people so they won't bother you again
Be a durian - hard outside, soft inside, yummy all over
Love. In the end, it's all that counts.
Look for God despite His silence
Steal other people's quotes whenever possible.

Days In Palawan: The Return

Day 1
Hovered for quite some time over, I believe, Batangas. Air traffic in NAIA. Had lunch in the airport. Had a karimadon at Ministop. Brings back old memories. Second flight now bound for Palawan. Was my siblings' first time to fly, all four of them. Amused at their nonchalant reactions to the experience. Arrived at Victoria Guest House. Nice place. Homey. Had delicious dinner then went to Iwahig River for some firefly watching. 30 minutes road trip, I believe. Slept like a baby.

Day 2
Time to visit the famous Underground river. Stopped at a souvenir shop to buy some trinkets (for me, I simply bought a shirt). Had a buffet lunch at one of the restaurants dotting the beach line. Then off we went to the actual cave entrance. Met Claudine Roa and exchanged pleasantries. Entering the underground river in 3,2,1... Okay. Nice. Was the one who held the torch light. Had pictures taken as we went out. Then we were traveling back to Puerto Princesa. Dinner at Robinson's.

Day 3
Saturday. Studying for my finals. In the afternoon, the gang went out for the city tour. Stayed at the guest house, enjoying the wifi and studying still. Raining. In the evening, had dinner at Robinson's again and watched Taken.

Day 4
Island hopping at Honda Bay. First island, Snake Island. Overheard our guide trying to flirt with my younger sister as I appeared to be napping off in the adjacent cottage. Lunch. Second stop, floating cottage in the middle of the sea. Snorkeling in the water, observing the fish. Third stop, fish feeding. Wondered if fish there could be considered obese, what will all these tourists feeding them bread every day. Then back to Puerto Princesa to wash off and go to mass. Stopped by the public market to buy some cashew nuts. Then dinner at a posh restaurant for some chicken barbecue, only to find out that the barbecue in Davao tastes better.

Day 5
Last day in Palawan. Flight is in the afternoon. Called my teacher, pleading for a special exam. Had realized to my horror that our arrival is 8PM, not 5:15PM as earlier anticipated. Had late afternoon snack in Jollibee at NAIA. Flight for Davao. Treated to a sweat shop in an Airphil aircraft (aircraft crew wouldn't turn on the aircon until the plane was rolling). Davao finally. Home sweet home.

Running In People's Park

I've been jogging at People's Park for quite some time now. A weekend warrior, I've made it a point to jog either on Saturday or Sunday. I've stuck to my routine of doing twelve laps of jogging and the thirteenth lap devoted to an all-out, lung-bursting sprint.

I guess I've moved on from joining fun runs to simply running for free.

People's Park really is a good idea. And I'm amazed at how many people have taken advantage of its proximity and ambiance to work on their health. Every weekend, it's always a crowd in the park: people going through the free aerobics class every morning, athletes shadow boxing, arnis enthusiasts dueling with their sticks, teenagers playing badminton, models doing photo shoots, and, of course, runners jogging around the oval.

It's always more encouraging when you're with a group of strangers who share the same dedication to a healthy lifestyle. Plus, there are some pretty girls out there in the park too.

Life is good.

Bed And Breakfast

I have a book at home for those willing to start a bed and breakfast business. Mama is also interested in starting one when she retires.

What's the appeal, really? Well, apart from the additional income, it's a business that brings you the best opportunity to meet new people. I'm imagining lazy breakfasts with my guests, tourists from all walks of life. That's fun, isn't it?

Cuss Words

My first cuss word was "shit". When my family was still living in Bangkal, my siblings and I belted this out a lot. Shit, shit, shit. It seemed cool; it was English and it was pretty simple to pronounce too.

Then, when I grew up, I tried to become different and succeeded. Whereas my contemporaries were content with "putang ina", "fuck", "suck it", I was privately whispering "shix" and "fricative" (an actual word, mind you) every time reality frustrated me.

Nowadays, my repertoire  of bad words includes "gulay", "shatong", the common "bwisit" and "leche", and "leche flan". If I feel like it, I might venture into uttering "pusang iring cat meow meow" (something I got from Michael Palarpalar) just to make an impression on some people.

I have to admit that, despite my daily commitment not to say bad words, I still do. It's a habit that's hard to kick. On top of that, there's something in these words which make them wickedly fun to say because, to be honest, by themselves, they cannot be considered as cuss words, just ordinary terms used in an unusual context.

Now, when it comes to cuss words, I do have some rules I adhere to. I never use "putang ina" because it's insulting to mothers (I remember posting about this some time ago). I never use "fuck" because it's too mainstream (plus, most people don't know the actual origin of the word anyway. I should probably write that down in another post). I don't use "bitch" because it's sexist and demeaning to the dogs. Most especially, I try to refrain from using "shit" nowadays because some people already consider me to be above that (I'm entertaining priesthood, remember?).

To end, I do hope that people might just be a little bit more creative when it comes to cuss words. Frankly, I'm tired of hearing the same "shit" over and over again. Really, it pays to be different.