Lately...

Here are some things I'd been up to, or has encountered lately:
1. I recently learned that UniOil Gasoline Station doesn't accept any credit card specifically from BPI. I had a full tank fill at their Evangelista station in Bangkal, Makati when the attendant returned my BPI Express Card saying their machine doesn't accept BPI (Bank of Philippine Islands) credit cards. Unbelieving, I got out of my car and verified with their cashier to which she insistently replied that their boss instructed them not to accept it because BPI is not a good payer- "matagal magbayad sila". It was hell of an inconvenience that I was not informed before hand. They should have posted a placard at their pumping stations "BPI Credit Cards Not Accepted Here!"
2. My girlfriend was diagnosed yesterday with Adenomyosis. It's horribly painful for us both as we still want to have babies. Her last operation for myoma removal was last February and a small pain still lingers on her lower left abdomen. Despite the odds, I still hope we can make it. Yes, why not, the good Lord hears me every time.
3. We are up with something that keeps us moving, working and busy. Our little franchise with a dimsun company will start operating end of November this year. My girlfriend will be on top of this, being her pet project after her resignation as Art Director. We are also trying to put up a similar business which will be our own, this time in Iloilo, my home town. I'm trying to put things together and God-willing, we will be up first quarter by next year.
4. I'm selling my LPG-fueled car. It's a very good sedan, smooth and super frugal. I bought a second hand Honda City, not for its economy but for its power steering and suspension. The old makes me more muscular, sans the pumping irons...

I just want to update this.
There you go!

Yeah, still alive.
Just too busy to write.
Too busy to think.
But I'll always be here.

Checking.

Waiting.

So feel free to tag!

Typhoon Frank Ravages Iloilo Province

Before noon time of June 21 radio stations were already broadcasting of floods and stranded passengers in my home province Iloilo. I called up home to check how are things but my sister was already rushing things up our attic, just built a month ago. Waters started to flow inside our house and just like many years back, it takes only a few minutes and it would be knee high, waist deep and in an hour 5 feet high anywhere the house and much deeper outside of it.

At 3:00pm all my sisters, mother, nephews and a few neighbors are already at our attic while most of our neighbors have evacuated already at the first gush of waters that came from Suage River just a few meters back of our house. I had our attic built this year for that purpose and it came out like Noah's Ark, standing deserted but resistant.

Meanwhile, waters continue to rise, alarming my sisters that it would swell higher than expected. The radio news of people climbing on their rooftops, trees and towers from every town of the province added to the dread. My cousins and aunts from other parts of Iloilo are also texting me, some already up at their ceiling and asking me for help, just in case. I thought of choppers, rubber boats and rafts, but even the national government from Manila has canceled deployment of rescue teams due to the treacherous weather. Frank is signal No.3, and I could just text them to brace up for a longer battle because dams were destroyed and it would take a little longer for water to subside. I'd ask my sisters to gather water from the rain as their potable water is running out. I told them not to let go of our chickens as it can be butchered when the foods runs out, suggesting out of this world menu of salt on white meat which they never replied back, maybe thinking I was too daunted than them. I asked my other siblings from Manila not to call or text them to preserve their cellphone battery as it was total black out in the province since early morning, but they must update me every 30 minutes if the water continues to rise, if the rain continues to pour and if their foods are still enough. Their second phone must be turned off, to be opened only when the worst call becomes necessary.

Every 30 minutes the text messages came, water going half inch lower, two inch lower, then some staircase steps appearing, forwarding same messages to all my siblings, including one who is in the U.S. so she doesn't worry anymore when news breaks out the next day. The last message says all kids are asleep with their lola. I thought my family's safe now, up at the attic I rushed to build to keep them safe from recurring natural calamities such as Frank.

Home at Holy Week

Holy Week, among Philippine holidays, is one of my best weeks. I get to go home to my hometown in Iloilo for a long deserved recharging of body, mind and spirit.
At 4pm today I will be boarding Cebu Pacific with my girlfriend, and she is ecstatic about the Ilonggo foods and beaches more than my longing to re-experience the local Sinakulo and Easter Sunday at the old Church I grew up with.
I look forward to touring her around our town and city, the churches and beach before the rest of the year preoccupy us again with work loads of presentations and negotiations.