“WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES… BITCH”
That’s what Super Typhoon Igme said to us as we touched down in Manila. Signal Freakin’ Four in Cagayan, stranding us at the domestic airport… then we had to go through a night of one of my cousin’s endless stories of her girlfriends…

In BALLESTEROS, the power was out for a couple of days because of Igme… the bridge leading into the town collapsed so we had to carry 4 Balikbayan Boxes and 4 maletas over the flooded talon while walking on 2 wooden planks… then our 2nd night in Ballesteros… there was something in the air, and I think it was alcohol becuase everyone around me was drunk and tipsy and wierd… or it could’ve been just me that was drunk…

I spent a lot of time on the back of an ELF (Isuzu Elf) that is… the preferred mode of transportation in the Philippines, at least in the province… definitely an experience each time you ride it… I loved going to the Tuguegarao JOLLIBEE in the past since its really, really nice… but I think I kinda got tired of it since we went there how many times… we went to Tuguegarao and Aparri to help furnish our new balay… we went to Piat to see the Our Lady of Piat Cathedral… there were so many people there, but it was Sunday so it was double the crowd… there were at least 25 of us on the back of the ELF… we stopped to eat at a tilapia frying place… on our way to Piat we stopped to buy some binongon, but it didn’t taste very good… then on our way home, we ate tinunung corn while being rained on, despite the trapal… we were squeezed in with all those chairs and baskets of food and everything that was bought in Piat… I wish we had gone to Pulipol to see our daga

Otherwise… I basically hanged out at home… helped out the machinistas in the mill… or clean around the house… or make a couple of stands for the plants outside… peel bua… sit around… sleep… get bored by a boring story about a boring insect human… have family visit us… oh yeah… the DOMINGO family dominates Cabuluan West… with Nanang and Tatang connecting the two different Domingo families… lol…

Despite all my free time… I was so tired… but I did have the chance to watch an episode of Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas and the finale, but I mean come on… you put Jericho and Kristine together and you expect people to choose to pair them otherwise? lol… And I still love Star Circle Quest lol… I didn’t know Hero and Sandara won though… Hero and I have a lot in common… we both like Linkin Park, he says his favorite type of music is “Anything, just as long as it’s catchy,” color: blue, I am trustworthy as well, my ideal girl is simple and sensitve among other things, seeing my family makes me happy, “quarrels” not only make me sad, they make me mad, my family inspires me, and we both crush on Sandara and Heart Evangelista lol… I wish I had TFC to watch SCQ Reload…lol…

Will Hung is huge in the PI… I hate VIDEOKE, but it can be fun sometimes… but I mostly hate it… Otso Otso has to be the most annoying song ever… as well as Laklak… ugh I HATE VIDEOKE!… Star in a Million, Search for a Star, and Star for a Night winners flood Filipino entertainment… I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You, Something in the Way… their songs are played every 15 minutes… but they’re all okay… other songs I listened to in the PI, Home Westlife, The Show South Border… oh and there was this one rock band from the UK I think and a line in their song was “I messed my pants when we flew over France” or something like that… myx is such a better music channel than MTV…

SM has to be the best store in the world… they have almost everything, a mix of Safeway/Albertsons, Home Depot without lumber, Circuit City, Toys R Us, a couple of department stores… all they need is to sell books and it would be one stop shopping, but the malls are big enough already… we always go to the North Edsa one, I’ve only been to Megamall once…

I saw a couple of politicians and former presidents… GO JAY LENO!!! I am a proud Jay Leno supporter, not only was his joke funny… but I was completely surprised to hear about the troop pullout… thank you GMA for proving that the Philippines are cowards… wha… what was that? it isn’t? well that’s the impression you’ve made around the world, and thank you for negotiating with terrorists…

Well… this trip has to be the best, most fun, worst, most tiring, troublesome, happiest, saddest, adventurous, exciting, and most unpredictable trip to the PI ever… so excuse me while I re-adjust to the English language…

talaga nga guapo idiay… ag subli kami’n to… sooner rather than later, i’m sure…
i almost feel funny being back home… in the PI i thought it was so long, but towards the end of the trip and now i felt like it went by so fast…