Sadyah

Please click this site guys. Enjoy and thank you. Hard copy will be out, hopefully, early next year.

http://www.philjol.info/index.php/IDEYA/article/view/952/880

Mid-year accomplishments. Salamat,salamat Lord at sa mga mababait na tao sa buhay ko, kahit na ‘yong mga hindi palagi:)

1) UPV awarded me the Centennial Model ng Iskolar ng Bayan Award last July 25. It felt good to be back sa UPV.Nilibre ako ni Ma’am Rose Asong ng breakfast sa canteen, while I was waiting for my goodah batchmate Lyra Nordista na bosing na ngayon. We had lunch with the Humanities Division and went to Villa for talaba and body spa somewhere:) Liwaton ta ‘ni, Lyr: ) Jennie and Badet, upod kamo. Hehe.

2) Attended the 1st ASEAN Storytelling Festival and Conference at Jakarta, Indonesia. Met wonderful, brilliant people from Japan, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei. Visited Borobodur and all those other temples (hirap ng mga pangalan) and museums. Babalik ako, babalik ako:)

3) Submitted application to Asean Public Intellectual Fellowships for 2009-2010. Got IRC’s recommendation. For the first time at sana, sana, matanggap ako. Raring to formalize my Balay Sugidanon: A Storytelling House and School of Living Traditions. Daming ideas.

4) Got my tenure, my permanency, after 8 years of working full-time at DLSU! Up for another promotion this 2nd Term.

5) Re-united with high school friends: a wedding (Mel) and Pong’s passing the medical board exam (yehey, another doctor sa batch). Now, thinking of money, money, money so we can help more sa community:) Join kayo. Micro-finance in the coming years.

And Madam Grace Salita from Melbourne came sa dept., one fine day, with Mel and Josh. Cute, sweet family:)

6) Attended the ceremonies of the 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Award ar CCP and watched the evening’s performance from Taiwan. fastforward: Sunday, Sept.7, poet-friend Becky Anonuevo texted me that she’s somewhere Vito Cruz. Ok, JP, her hubby, is taking the bar exam. Met her for tsika and that day’s newspaper carried F.Sionil Jose’s critical questions/assessment/suggestion re RM. Wow! Saludo ako.  

7) Talo ako in this year’s Palanca. Ok lang. Edited my first novel through the CRF grant ng CLA and submited it for publication. Next year, next year.

Proposed to URCO re my 2nd novel. Yehey, it was approved at tinaasan pa ang budget. Napaka-modest ko pala:)

9) Clinic-hopping re medical exam: from Medocare sa Quezon Avenue to Healthway sa Robinson  to Manila Doctors. salamat sa Diyos, wala akong UTI. Ang meron ako, is polycystic ovaries. Whhhaaaa, slim ang chance magka-baby. Di naman nayanig ang mundo ko. Okey lang kung meron o wala. Wala namang groom, e. Dumating ka na, pls. Hehe. Simple lang naman ang gusto ko: a good man. Haha. Consulted a dietitician for weight management. Goal: gain weight. Bottom line: quality, quantity, frequency.

10) Received the invite from Ma’am Merlie ng UPV-Tacloban for the All-Visayan Centennial Cretive Writing Workshop this coming Dec. Yes, yes, sulat uli nang sulat ang beauty.

Most of all, after sev acerbic exchanges with H. (naku, siya pa rin), after contemplating on the nature of evil, of time, and the permanency of change, I’ve realized that, actually, Buddhist ako. Hehe. Lesson learned: patience pa rin, and silence kung wala namang ikakabuti ang sasabihin:) At naku, heto, blog pa rin ako. Sana po may kabuluhan ito sa inyo:)

Lalalalala (”Mama Mia” ang soundtrack in my mind):)

Watched "Namets" by Jay Abello and Vince Groyon with PJ. Love the script: the wit and humor; the short dialogues, and its subtle discourse on the good, old Negros (nostalgic dito kaya hesitant to embrace ‘progress’ as seen sa character played by Christian Vasquez, a self-proclaimed chef. Ang irony, quite ignorant siya sa local culture dahil sa ‘hang-over’ sa "glorious past" fueled by the boom ng sugar industry) vs. the present-day Negros that is open sa global influences (seen sa character played by Christine Jacob na nakapag-aral sa Switzerland. Embodiment siya ng "think globally, act locally") revealed via local cuisine (lots of sweets and oh yeah, chicken) and landscape (the mountains and the seas, the wet market, the historical landmarks plus the golf course - I’m glad not much of the usual ‘hacienda’ this time). My fave scenes: ‘yung with the bata and Ronnie Lazaro as tatay (dahil sa poverty - contrast sa mundo ng 2 chefs - a father attempted na katayin ang mga alagang hayop ng kanyang anak. Pero dahil sobrang love nga ng anak - binigyan niya ng mga pangalan - na ganun nga sa Panay at Negros - walang magawa ang tatay kundi magparaya. Kumain na lang siya ng gulay:). Saka ‘yung scene sa chicken restaurant where a father tries to educate his children sa proper way ng pagkain/pag-enjoy ng Bacolod inasal. Witty. Brilliant. Gusto ko rin ang opening at last scene, na pinagbidahan pala ni Joel Torre: ang pag-discover ng mga sinaunang tao ng fire at pagkain and how yummy it is. Panalo s’yempre ang acting ni Peque Gallaga as the boss. Perfect talaga for the role. Wala nang iba pa. Pati ang ‘middleman’ na I find satirical - present-day version - ng hacendero-kabo-sacada system. Gusto ko rin ang acting ni Christian Vasquez. On the other hand, I and PJ kept thinking sino kaya ang puwede pa sa role ni Christine (na may Negrense blood (?) at may certain celebrity status) kasi we were distracted sa kanyang Ilonggo accent. Hindi natural. Parang hindi rin masyadong ramdam ang onscreen chemistry nila ni Christian. I was imagining someone na simple - a natural beauty - with a degree of sensuality:) All in all, I’m happy with the film, lalo na dahil it promotes Negros:) Love the shots. Sana manalo:)

Nag-rowing ako last Sat. with the DLSU Dragon Boat Team. Sa Manila Bay, CCP area. Wish ko lang blue at malinis ang tubig.

Watched "Mama Mia" with Pearl sa MOA. We had a good time singing with the cast. Childhood reminiscience tuloy. At buti na lang, buti na lang, did not bring credit card kasi naku, naku, sale ang ever dream na skirts sa British India. Sowee, need to achieve something uli before another "me" treat. Bili sana kami ng Hiligaynon Bible. Wala sa St. Pauls. Baka may alam kayo sa’n ako makabili:)

Watched "Hubad" ni Denisa Reyes sa Cinemalaya sa CCP. Last Fri, watched the opening show na "Adela." Maganda, kaya lang dark. Parang mga posters nila na maganda pero ayaw kong bumili for a hundred kasi nakaka-depress if ‘yon ang ilagay ko sa room ko, di ba:)

Napanood ko ang play version ng "Hubad" last year. Sina Irma Adlawan at Noni Beuncamino. Magaling. Ang film version na ‘to, brilliant din. Syempre, sina Peque Gallaga, at ang real-life couples na sina Irma at Dennis at Noni at Shamaine. I love the music. Pinakagusto kong scene ‘yung dance version ng kanilang love-making. Maraming layers itong pelikula. Pero di ko feel ngayon magpaka-prof. Kaya ito lang muna. For the record. Hehe.

Sa Wed. pa ako manonood ng "Namets" nina Vince Groyon at Jay Abello. Naubusan na kasi ng tiket last Sun. Nanood na lang kami ni PJ ng UAAP: DLSU vs. FEU. Salamat naman, talagang magaling ang Green Archers! Yehey!

Finished the The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean, her first novel. It’s about Marina, an elderly Russian woman now living in America, confronting the distant past with the German army when she was a tour guide at the Heritage Museum.

A good read. The language is fluid and luminous.

Enjoyed the following books:

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Man Booker Prize for 2006. I love her language.

Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett. Affirmed my plan for the 2nd novel.

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster. Reminded me of careful attention to details and the fact that people read novels for emotions.

I have these words for Saigon: She is like a sophisticated farm girl. Her charm will surely captivate you, her wit will both surprise and challenge you; you can’t help but to yearn for more. You will return. Because you know there’s more to discover. And you’ll love it, even if it will unsettle you: like the many possibilities it can offer. I was in Rosy Cafe when it occured to me to do a sort of ‘cast away’: forget everything in Manila (declare temporary amnesia) and ride a bus to Cambodia and Laos and Thailand and Singapore then back to ohPhilippines, my beloved country. 

I have no special reason to be there, except that I felt it must be Saigon this time. I knew no one and I was in for surprsies. Good thing, a Singaporean friend (it’s you,Merson), told me to find a place in Ben Thanh area, where their famous market is.

Arrived early in the morning - yes, after surviving air turbulence courtesy of Cebu Pacific - by counting 100 down to zero and pysching myself the plane will not crash coz I still have to write my 2nd novel (bwahahaha) and the taxi driver brought me to Thien Ha Hotel. Paid 20 USD/day. The room is big, clean, with cable TV and hot shower, and there’s free internet.

Walked down the streets for my first cup of Vietnamese coffee. Did people watching and waited for that infamous street scene: hordes of motorcycles in their masks coming from all directions.

And I discovered their shops and got crazy over embroidered clothes. Oh those fabrics, those cuts, those designs - they were all for me. No wonder I have to be there. First, it was MaBelle at Ly Tu Trong. Michelle Ngo, the top designer who studied in Houston, Texas, personally attended me. Yes, I had those clothes altered to my fit for free. The shop is so chic and the staff all courteous: really, my idea of what a shop is, should be. They further assisted me by giving me the name/address of the bookstore and restaurants for authentic Vietnamese cuisine. And there was Li of Thuy Khue. She was amazed of my enthusiasm for her designs that she took me off on her motorcycle for free. Off I went to the bookstore (forgot the name, sorry, my notebook is not with me now) and was amazed: from classics to bestsellers to books on Taliban - they are all translated into Vietnamese. Books in English are only about Vietnam! Or perhaps I should have stayed long. But then, I was stunned. So envious. No wonder, only few Koreans there. Hehe. And I was mistaken as one. Grrr. Their sidewalks are really for walking and I went gaga - again - for this shop: Puri Chori. More expensive so I just posed, to which the attendant happily obliged. Night came and I continued walking till I saw a concert hall and I went in, of course. Here’s what I got - in Vietnamese. Their music was haunting that I can’t help but remember "Miss Saigon."

This is a resto where it took several waiters to understand I needed a fork. On the last day, I figured out that because it must be chopsticks for them, for everything. Coz they just gave me spoon.

Not much billboards there like in Manila. But kept seeing this one.

I will return coz I still have to see those tunnels, those palaces, and yes, the cruise of the Mekong River.

Again, as always (hehe) I felt so proud of myself I did the trip. There’s so much to learn, especially about out neighboring countries. I am now making this as a goal: to tour Southeast Asia by 2010.

The flight back home was calmer. There was no rain and traffic that welcomed me that I fell in love with Manila again. Now, back to reality: ohmy, those bills, those bills:)

Set in Cuyo, Palawan, in Cuyonon (?) - baby language of Kinaray-a (99% naintindihan ko). I’m not familiar with the writer-director pero magaling siya: compelling narrative with enough attention on details/images, subtlety, and philosophical waxing; interesting and round characters (interesting ang stranger/native discourse); effective POV (omniscient kaya na-backstage tuloy ni Mylene Dizon si Juday; which is not a bad thing din naman. Pareho silang magaling. Hmm, sana, mas cute o sexy si Digo:); convincing ending (politically correct: positive ang representation dito ng Taiwanese, which in effect, blurred the issue of race. As in sinasabi ng pelikula na lahat tayo TAO: marunong magmahal:) Saka natuhog lahat ng detalye), at syempre, mananalo ito ng BEST PICTURE at BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY.

Basta maganda, watch n’yo! Think a bold move for Juday to produce at dafat lang - as reinvention of herself - kasi, di vah, nagdadagsaan na ang mga batang artista. 

Hmm, i-pitch ko kaya sa kanya ang nobela ko. Hahahaha. 

From IYAS Writers Workshop at St. Lasalle-Bacolod (April 20-26), go ang beauty ko - via ferry - to UPV-Miag-ao, Iloilo, last April 22 to attend PJ’s graduation, our  youngest sis. So here’s my beauty in my summer dress and reliable bag - with my two adorable sisters - amidst white monoblock chairs and Miag-ao hills.  In Bacolod, we discovered their No.1 coffee shop named Kuppa. One afternoon, with Sir Danny Reyes, John Teodoro, and May Ann Pernia, we tasted their coffee and cake and vowed to return once we are back down there.Btw, I find it amusing these days that I’ve been mistaken for a Koreana: sa taxi ("Sobra, Manong, napaka-brown ko." Sagot n’ya: "Singkit ka kasi.") at pati mga friends ko. Ano ba ‘yan:) Sa tutuo lang, di ko alam if I’ll be flaterred or be sad. One thing for sure, talagang Asian Malay beauty ako and proud of it. Hehehe.   

Back in Antique, I found myself in the company of old friends, in a sort of lunch-meeting about what we can do for our beloved province(Kasi mga think tank kami. Hahaha. We missed Glenn Mas)at John’s farm in Maybato, San Jose: Nonong Egida, the Tourism Director; Acai Flores, Paranubliun-Antique’s head; Dani Misajon, ever the cultural worker, John (of course), and Dr. Alice Magos, retired UPV anthropologist. Secret na lang ang mga pinag-usapan namin:)

Here’s a handful of kamunsil,for 20 pesos. Going home means munching that. Of course, of course, April is not only about writers workshops and meetings, it’s also about beauty pageant. Here’s one, from our baranggay. S’yempre, mga pinsan ko ang nanalo d’yan:)