At the Gate

For the past three weeks, we've been attending church all the way in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, because Mom's been wanting to see her sisters and mom more often. I like it there. The church is small, and I met one of my online friends there, which was awesome.

Today, my old kindergarten teacher, T. Mona, came with us, which was really nice. We went to church, then ate in Mang Inasal with two of my cousins. We all love Mang Inasal a lot, and took advantage of the unlimited rice, hehe. Oh, and turon split is 123761827364912730089 times better than banana split.

We visited my lola in Biñan and had merienda there. Even though I was still full from lunch, I couldn't resist having some crackers with a Mexican dip, tikoy hopia, a chocolate popsicle, and a mug of hot tea. I sat outside in what used to be my lolo's garden with my siblings and cousins, and we talked and laughed about different things.  The breeze was lovely, the sun wasn't hot, and I loved the way the trees danced in the wind. I saw a pile of ashes near some trees, and I suddenly remembered my lolo. If he were still alive, he would've swept away the ashes and dumped them in that brick platform in the corner of the garden. He wouldn't have wanted them to be sitting there beside the trees. The ashes gave me an idea for a poem, so I'm glad they were there.

We stopped by the cemetery to visit Lolo's grave, and we all shared something that we remembered about him. My brother talked about how he used to watch him play, and my sister talked about how Lolo would always let Luis win at chess and teach him how to play properly. I shared about Lolo having a seesaw built for me and my cousin and asking what color I wanted the horse's head to be. 

I liked Mom's memory the best. She reminded us of how when we would visit Lolo and Lola when Lolo was still alive, he would always be sitting on the old, wooden bench outside the house, waiting patiently until we got there. He was always the first one we'd see when we'd arrive, just waiting.

Wouldn't it be nice if someday, when it's my turn to be with Jesus, Lolo will be at the gates of heaven, waiting for me?

I'd like that.

Sunday Morning

Drew this drawing of Meg & Dia in Tagaytay awhile ago. Planning to paint it with watercolors, then post it on deviantart. My mom, sister, brother, and I stayed overnight in my lola's house in Biñan, Laguna. Then, we took her to Tagaytay where we spent the morning and afternoon in a friend's house.

And yes, I was listening to Sunday Morning by Maroon 5.

The house is a really nice country-style house. I have no pictures, because Fumi didn't bring her camera. Sucks. The house is really cute.

I ate three slices of butter cake with tarragon tea. No regrets, it was delicious. The cake was from Mom & Tina's. Actually, the house we stayed in in Tagaytay belongs to the owners of Mom & Tina's. Awesome, right? 

The cake was so good and looked so good, I just had to take pictures of it with my phone and make it my wallpaper.

Sunburn is so painful

We spent Holy Week in Coron, Palawan. It was really fun and awesome! We stayed there for five days and four nights. The place we stayed at is called Princess of Coron.

I find the owner freaking awesome 'cause he's an Austrian, but a Pinoy at heart. He can't speak English! Only Tagalog and his mother language. Also, his wife's Filipina, and he's been living in Coron for 25 years! Well, gotta love our country. : P

When we saw him, we were like, "Good afternoon, you have a nice place" blah blah blah then he suddenly smiled and said, "Hindi ako marunong mag-Ingles." 

So you won't get bored, I'll just spare you the details and summarize it.

Day 1

I. Mt. Tapias- we climbed about 750 steps to get there

                    - there's a cross on the top which lights up at night

                    - it got its name after being bombed by the Japanese during WWII

II. Hot springs- pools of natural hot water coming from the mountain

                      - freaking relaxing

Day 2

I. Island hopping

   A. Banol beach- a nice beach with white, powdery sand

   B. Twin Lagoon- two pretty lagoons connected by an underwater tunnel

                            - Dad and I were the only ones who dived under to get to the other lagoon

   C. Barracuda Lake- a lake home to only ONE barracuda :))

                                 - the SHALLOW parts are 40-50 ft. deep

   

    D. Siete Picados- aka Seven Sins (don't ask me about the legend behind its name--the tour guide said the story wasn't good for kids)

                                

                              - lots of nice corals and fishes

                              - we fed the fish

                              - there used to be starfishes there, but tourists kept getting them and leaving them on                          

                                the boat, so they dried up and died

Day 3

I. Calauit Island- the island Marcos filled with animals

                        - we fed giraffes and little deers

                        - saw zebras, civet cats, wild hogs, and porcupines

Day 4

I. Snorkeling

  A. Calumbayan- so much pretty corals in the shallow area

                          - the corals were purple, blue, violet blue, orange, lime green, and other colors!!

                          - the current and waves were SO STRONG

  B. Coral Garden- MORE PRETTY CORALS

                            - lots of fish! I also saw swordfish

                            - SO MUCH PLANKTON I DIED

II. Shipwrecks

   A. Japanese gunboat- was bombed by the Americans

                                     - I almost touched it, but couldn't breathe anymore. The boat's 10-15 ft. from the water's surface, so yeah

                               

   B. Another Japanese gunboat- was also bombed by the Americans

                                                  - WAYYY bigger than the first one

                                                  - covered in corals and had lots of fishes swimming around

                                                  - I was able to touch it!!! ('cause it was low tide)

Day 5

Off to Manila

Hope this interested you at least a bit. 

Bye!