2009 Grand Vacay (Last Part): Finding the Philippines in New Jersey…

After the 4-day stay in Miami Beach, we flew back to New York and spent the remaining day of my second US trip in New Jersey – to rest some more and of course, to do the mandatory last minute shopping for “pasalubongs” and more vanity stuff from the outlet shops.  Some highlights on the remaining hours before flying back to Manila and Jakarta are as follows:

Lau kept on saying that we're going to Jollibee - but then I know that the only Jollibee store in East Coast is in Queens, New York and we were in New Jersey! Unfortunately, I realized that I was wrong after seeing this shop which apparently has the same name!

Although, the shop didn't offer any Chickenjoy or Yumburgers... but Pinoy stuff including these "Balikbayan" boxes which will be instrumental to my coming home...

Obviously, this store belongs to a Pinoy - read the sore signage and figure out why!

And finally, we're doing Filipino dinner (read: lotsa rice and fat) in an intriguing resto called "Wazz Up"!!!

Viand 1: Crispy Pata!

Viand 2: Sinigang na Baboy!

The night ended with a trip in the "National Bookstore" of the country to search for the elusive book "Turning Thirty" by Mike Gayle - Lau and I realized that we have to finish reading the book before we actually get into the "big three-o"!

Second to the last day, a final trip in Whole Foods! Simply love this retail chain!

Last supper - where else but the same place where we flocked in Manila, but this time, Jersey style!

Appetizer set!

Salmon for a change...

But of course, some things would never change... wherever life leads us!

Thanks Lau for being such a gracious host... best travel buddy I would have to say! See you in Europe next year!

After 25 days and 14 plane rides, this year’s grand vacation ended with me returning back to the comforts of my apartment in Jakarta – with a better perspective in life, a renewed spirit and a mindset that is ready to face what’s ahead, no matter what.  Perhaps, this is just exactly what I needed, a time-away from what I had been so accustomed to so that I can clear my head, have a good time and realize the great things that I should be thankful for despite the odds.

I’m also glad to realize that one of my plans at the start of the year was accomplished – to go back to the US and explore what’s on the other coast.  Just for the fun of it, if I were to rank my favorite places in America, my list would be something like this: tie in # 1 spot – San Francisco and the combination of New York and New Jersey, # 2 – Las Vegas, # 3 – Miami Beach, # 4 – Los Angeles, # 5 – Arizona.

Year 2010 will be another hallmark year – it’s gonna be the start of a new age decade for me!  Hopefully, my dream of spending my 30th via a European backpacking trip will come to fruition.  If that would be the case, then this “Grand Vacay” post will have its counterpart in 2010…  Let’s see how it would pan out! 

defining “homesick” sa kontekstong pinoy

the blog entry title would speak for itself. perhaps, if you’re in the middle of work pressure, stress, boredom and feeling that everything turns out to be a routine – homesickness would eventually step in to make matters worse (i.e. if you are thriving in a foreign country). just to vent, here it is…

1.  lahat ng nakikita mo sa paligid mo, agad mo nare-relate sa mga bagay sa pinas. halimbawa, habang nasa kalye dito, kapag nakakakita ako ng mikrolet, jeepney ang naaalala ko; pag naman warung, karinderya sa kanto; mga naglalako ng soto at prutas, fish at squid balls!

2.  gusto mong tumawag, mag-text, mag-ym at mag-email sa mga tao sa pinas, but you end up not doing so dahil alam mong mas malulungkot ka pag nag-uusap na kayo ng tuloy-tuloy.

3.  lagi mong tinitingnan ang kalendaryo para alamin kung kelan ang next long holiday at binibilang mo kung ilang araw ang natitira bago ang bakasyong ito.

4.  pinupuntahan mo ang cebu pacific website para malaman kung may piso fare promo para kahit one weekend lang e makauwi ka, kahit at your own expense.

5.  tuwing sabado o linggo, nagluluto ka ng adobo o sinigang dahil miss na miss mo na ang luto ng nanay mo, katulong nyo, karinderya sa kanto o ng gerry’s grill.

6.  senti o eraserheads ang mp3 tracks na pinapakinggan mo habang nagtatrabaho ka sa opisina.

7.  dati, baduy na baduy ka sa mga pelikulang tagalog, pero ngayon tuwing may pagkakakataon, pinupuntahan mo ang free tagalog movie website para manood ng mga pelikula ng star cinema – kahit alam mo na ang kabuuan ng plot (since pinoy movies are always so predictable), pinapanood mo pa rin ito mula umpisa hanggang katapusan at napipikon ka pagnakikita mo ang “buffering” sa screen at napuputol ang panonood mo.

8.  pagnagdadasal ka sa gabi, kung dati e english mo itong bigkasin, ngayon e tagalog na. sabik na sabik kang gamitin ang wikang pambansa na dati e di mo ginagamit ng straight since kalimitan laging taglish ang ginagamit mo.

9.  kalimitan kang mag-crave for chickenjoy ng jollibee. para masagot ang craving mo, pupunta or magpapadeliver ka ng manok sa mcdo, pero pagkatapos mong kumain, madi-disappoint ka kasi hindi yun ang lasang hinahanap-hanap mo.

10.  binabalik-balikan mo ang mga photo files na naka-save sa laptop mo. kahit paulit-ulit mo na itong tinitingnan, di ka pa rin nagsasawa na panoorin ang mga litrato habang napapangiti o natatwa ka.

11.  kung pikon na pikon ka na sa opisina, napapa-mura ka ng ”putang ina” instead na ”shit”.

12.  consciously or unconsciously, naipapasok mo sa casual conversations kausap ang mga foreigners ang mga salitang: ”oo nga”, ”sige”, ”ano” at ”hay naku”.

13.  naiingit ka pag may nababalitaan kang kababayan mo kung nasaan ka na magbabakasyon sa pinas

14.  nagsusulat ka ng entry sa blog mo tungkol sa pagiging homesick katulad nito.

yun lang.

schedule for the holidays

the long wait ended last 23 december, 0525 in the morning. i finally arrived in manila for my christmas and new year holiday break. sarap ng pakiramdam, naiintindihan ko na tuloy yung mga ofws na kaka-land pa lang ng eroplano e gusto ng tumayo, kunin ang mga gamit at tumakbo palabas ng eroplano! hehehe!

since my break is only 10 days (inclusive of saturdays and sundays), gumawa na ako ng schedule (knowing me) kung anu-ano mga gagawin at pupuntahan ko in the next 10 days – basta ang objective e ma-maximize ang bakasyon, maka-spend time with family, friends and loved-ones, at me-enjoy ang mga pinoy stuff na na-miss ko, lalu na yung feeling of christmas na di ko masyado naramdaman sa jakarta.

23 december, tuesday

sinundo ako ng pamilya ko (oo, kumpleto sila – mom, dad, bro) sa naia 3 since cebupac flight ko. after that, we went straight to shell-magallanes para kumain ng breakfast, saan pa e di sa jollibee (kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?!). had my favorite super breakfast joys – longganisa, tapa, pancake, fried rice, at nag sundae din ako – yung bago nilang variant, black forest yata yun or something. while having breakfast, it was a catch up time for the four of us, kahit lagi ko silang nakakausap thru text, email or ym, iba pa rin yung tipong kaharap mo silang nakakakwentuhan. after that, we headed na to my “home” mall to do my gift shopping for my inaanaks. but since it was early pa, sarado pa ang glorietta at rustan’s, so nag-starbucks na lang muna kami sa 6750. since i’m one of those people na nauuto ng starbucks mangolekta ng stickers tuwing pasko para sa planner, i asked the barista to give me a sticker card since la pa akong nasisimulan – good thing, less ang requirement pala this year, but apparently, di rin ganun kaganda pala yung planner – its way too simple compared to that of last year’s, so mejo nawalan na rin ako ng gana to do starbucks marathon in the next 10 days just for the planner. at exactly 10am, we entered na the mall (kakatawa, parang mga katulong! hahahaha!). went straight to rustan’s kids section to find gifts for inaanaks and pamangkins sa cousins. in 2 hours time, kumpleto na ang gifts ko para sa mga bata (galing ko noh?!). while the toys were being wrapped, we headed muna for lunch at dad’s. nagsimula na ang aking lechon feast! sarap! naka-tatlong balik ako ng main course at dalawa ng desserts – masarap pala ang puto bungbong ng kamayan (i just realized)! after kumain, bili lang konting groceries, claimed na the gifts and headed home na sa laguna. wala akong ginawa sa kotse kundi matulog simula makati hanggang alaminos – bagsak talaga, considering that 2 hours lang ata ang naging tulog ko sa eroplano. pagdating sa bahay, we just had a simple dinner, then natulog na ulit ako.

24 december, wednesday

energized! first lunch with a couple of college friends – mela and cris. mela just got home din last week from shanghai, while cris naman went straight to palmera’s from makati to meet us up. saya ng kwentuhan – di mo alam kung saan mo sisimulan, not to mention na distracting ung masasarap na pagkain – crispy pata, crispy tilapia and sinigang na baka! hahaha! after that, nag-coffee rin kami sa cafe aviano and the lunch ended at 6pm!

balik sa bahay ulit and spent time with the family – attended the mass together and enjoyed the noche buena feast and gift giving. but the biggest difference that night was that from 4, we became 5 in the family – my bro’s gf spent the eve with us as i will become a full-fledged tito soon! exciting!

25 december, thursday

christmas day! it was a pretty standard family (i.e. including titos, titas, cousins, pamangkins, etc.) celebration starting from lunch to dinner. in short, puro kainan, kwentuhan at regaluhan the whole day! had fun catching up with cousins, pamamngkins and inaanaks. side story – never give a gift to your inaanak that you don’t know or will have a hard time assembling for him – i gave gino a high-tech (complete with assembly stuff) hot wheels toy – syempre kailangan may gumawa for him since it’s not so easy for a 7-year old kid to put it together, unfortunately, weakness ko ang mechanical stuff (whahahaha), so he didn’t have a choice but to force his dad to set it up for him!

26 december, friday

hectic! time to meet the complete group during lunch at kusina salud, san pablo. fun din, walang katapusang kwentuhan! good thing din that we chose the said place (though quite far) coz super masarap yung food (second time ko pa lang kumain here) – the best ang lechon, binagoongan, sisig, sinigang na baboy at crispy bangus! plus, the ambiance is perfect – it’s a blissful provincial air surrounding the endearing place.

after lunch, derecho na sa manila since meron akong dinner commitment this time sa first batch ng jollibee friends naman. so after enduring the afternoon traffic of south luzon express way (buti na lang it’s my bro in charge of the wheels – hehehe!), i made it to cyma, greenbelt to meet up wena and coleen for a fun dinner and coffee session at coffee bean. (sidebar: by the way, salamat pala sa gifts! if ever nababasa mo to coleen, i got the gift na pinahabol mo kay wens! hahaha!).

almost 2am na kami natapos – geeez, i need to remind myself that i had to be in the airport at 0930 am the following day. so we packed up and i stayed in my friend’s flat (adrian), para maki-squat for the night.

27 december, saturday

beach mode! it’s boracay vacay for me, aids, nons, mels and josh. this had been planned na even before i finalized my sked of going home, so it was an anticipated trip. i was also excited considering that the last time i was in bora was in 2003 pa, and my first time was way back 2000 pa! ang tagal na! also, since i love lounging around the beach, kahit 3 weeks ago lang e nasa bali ako, iba pa rin yung bora with your close friends.

so it all started with waking up early and dragging yourself to the bathroom! waaaah! after that, went straight to the airport na – major highlight is eating 2-pc chickenjoy and extra rice for breakfast! hahaha!

1230 pm, we reached caticlan and another 30 minutes passed before feeling the powdery white sand of bora’s station 2! wala na kaming sinayang na oras, derecho kain na sa smoke, ikot sa d’mall, lakad/tambay sa beach area at naghintay ng sunset sa harap ng jony’s (kahit umaambon) while enjoying their famous fruit shake variants (note: tried the new bananatella, but for someone na mahilig sa rich taste, nabitin ako sa lasa ng chocolate).

after mag-chill, umulan na nga ng malakas – punyeta! blessing in disguise naman that we had to find a shade at we got near gasthof… so we decided to have dinner na and enjoy the famous ribs of the said place! sarap! it’s the best meal that i had during the entire bora stay!

after the dinner feast, gimik time na. there were only 2 places na pinuntahan namin the first night – juice bar and boom bar. tama laid-back relaxation lang sa boom with reggae acoustic music sa background at mga foreginers na mukang mga tanga sumayaw na pang-aliw! hahaha! had lang my usual rounds of vodka mix. main highlight is the kwentuhan – love life aspect! go mels, punta ka na ng mexico! hahaha! the very looong day finished early morning the following day actually, around 3am na.

28 december, sunday

have to wake up early to maximize the 3 days and 2 nights. so at exactly 0900 am, we were at real coffee already to enjoy a sumptuous light breakfast (well, para sa akin light lang ang omelette at pancake). sayang lang, ubos na ang famous calamansi muffin pagdating namin…

then, tamang lakad-lakad muna sa station 1, pa-picture sa kung anu-ano (kakatawa, kahit pangatlong beses na kong nakakpunta bora, di pedeng walang picture sa grotto ng station 1!) at tamang painit sa araw. pero nung nakakita na ko ng massage station, wala ng isipan, higa na agad para pa-masahe.

para naman ma-enjoy ang privacy ng beach, we decided to go to puka and nami. very wise decision, we had fun fighting the waves of puka while enjoying the serene breeze of the isolated place, while we also had a great time looking into the perfect view that nami offered – not to mention the yummy foodies that we truly enjoyed. the next time i go back to bora, i’ll check-in sa nami, perfect place if you’re so damn tired na of the busy atmosphere of stations 1 to 3!

tapos, magsu-sunset na ulit… syempre kailangan ceremonial ang viewing ng sunset since finally hindi na umuulan! so, we went back to station 1 to do paraw sailing while seeing the sunset up close – in the middle of the ocean (teka, ocean nga ba ang tawag dun?! haha!). while into it, mas enjoy as we were having red wine and there’s the beach music in our background habang umaandar ang bangka! eto nanaman yung moment na masasabi mo sa sarili mong: “this is the life!”…

then finally, dinner and inom na ulit. since it will be the last dinner, we decided to eat at aria (pizza, pasta and fire dancers on the side), then for drinks naman, we revisited station 1 (disappointing though, sobrang jologs na nga ng cocomangas side) and went back to station 2 to settle at hey jude. the night ended pretty early (around 0130 am) since our flight the following day was in the morning, mahirap ng hindi magising!

29 december, monday

beach is over! went back to manila early morning (but before that, managed to finish a tapsilog and logsilog meals at the caticlan airport). after an hour of plane ride, we went straight to aidrian’s flat where i quickly had my bathroom routine as i need to make it to rockwell before 1400 to catch up with the second batch of jollibee friends for lunch. fortunately, i made it past 1200 in c2, powerplant and saw kay, trix and wens. feels like 2005 again – jollibee days na hagalpakan ng tawa sa mga nakakatuwang kwento at chismis! hihihihi!

latter part that day naman was with monde friends. we met up at high street for dinner at claw daddy (first time ko dun, not bad but kinda overpriced – first time ko rin malaman and matikman yung san miguel premium beer – ok naman, parang watered-down heineken at smooth na san mig light) then drinks at texas grille.

twas nice knowing and seeing na after years na nagkasama-sama kayo sa trabaho, nakakapagkwentuhan pa rin kayo na parang same level nung year 2000-2004! parang walang nagbago! considering din that some people went out of the country (like kim and wen, by the way wen, salamat sa pagbabasa ng blog ko, ayan inextra kita! hahaha!), going back to manila to meet up and make kwento with old friends is like a pleasant and exciting routine that you won’t get tired of! salamat din tony for organizing and pau for the ride!

30 december, tuesday

glorietta and sm makati day – kailangan na mamili ng pasalubong pabalik ng jakarta. but of course, for the day to be more productive, i met up with another monde friend (sheila) over lunch at tgif. tamang usual bonding and kwentuhan which lasted for three hours…

after that, i headed home na to laguna na puno ang trunk ng kotse ng used clothes, groceries, gifts at dragon fireworks.

31 december, wednesday

new year’s eve template! attended mass, lighted the fireworks, ate media noche with the family.

01 january, thursday

while writing this blog entry, i just realized that i need to plan my life for this year… let’s see what i’ll come up with, but perhaps my mantra for 2009 can be encapsulated by the picture below

by the way, for more pics – please check out my facebook and friendster accounts…

unang uwi sa pinas

27 sept to 03 oct, nasa pinas ako – 4 days to go! ito ang unang uwi ko makaraan ang dalawang buwan na mamalagi ako dito sa jakarta para mag-trabaho.

actually, naka-plano itong pag-uwi ko bago pa man ako umalis dahil ikakasal ang isa sa mga pinsan ko sa 28 sept. pero, noong una naisip ko na weekend lang ako sa pinas (sat-sun), pero sa kabutiahang palad, sumakto ang sked ng uwi sa sked ng lebaran (end of ramadhan), kung saan isang buong linggo ang bakasyon nila dito! kumbaga, ito ang pasko ng mga muslim. pero dahil jan, may catch – fully booked ang flights at mahal ang ticket. buti na lang umabot ako sa booking ng cebu pacific – kahit first priority ko ang singapore airlines at second ang philippine airlines. ok na rin dahil 12:30am ang flight at dadating ako sa manila ng 5:30am, so tutulog lang ako sa eroplano at pagdating ko, time to party na! yahoo!

e-ticket sa unang pag-uwi ko

lesson learned – kung holiday at kailangan mag-book ng flight, dapat months before confirmed na. so sa pasko, kailangan ngayon pa lang mag-book na ko, unless gusto ko mag-paskong mag-isa dito, na syempe wala akong balak gawin.

also, sakto rin sana ang uwi ko sa game 3 ng uaap! dlsu vs admu pa naman ang finals. kaso lang, if manonood ako assuming may game 3 (well, sigurado na yan since talo dlsu sa game 1, hehehe!), di ako aatend ng kasal, which is malabong mangyari!

anyway, exciting na rin – makikita ko ulit ang pamilya ko, mga kaibigan at kamag-anak. at syempre, makakakain na ulit ako ng totoong lutong pinoy – looking forward to feasting over sinigang, chicken adobo sa gata, fried boneless bangus (na luto ng mommy ko), tapa, at syempre, ang walang kamatayang chickenjoy! not to mention ang pagko-concert ko sa magic sing sa bahay! wahahaha!

haaaaay… so with that, let me sing this relevant song line – “ilang tulog nanaman, jollibee nanaman… i love you sabado pati na rin linggo!”… pucha, with this mindset, isang ganap na akong ofw na looking forward maging balikbayan! no qualms about it, actually proud of it – and no worries, wala akong balak magsusuot ng denim jacket at thick gold necklace pag-uwi ko.