Who would think one day in Bohol would spawn so many posts? Well, it did fly by so fast. Let me introduce you to Prony.

Prony is a python. A big python. Very big. Too big for it’s age that even veterinarians are stumped.

I could tell you all his stats but -ahem- I left the video back home (with my boyfriend). Didn’t fit my flash drive. ‘Coz I wasn’t supposed to place it in my flash drive. Was supposed to burn to DVD but my boyfriend’s laptop was only CDRW. Durn.

Anyway, basta he’s enormous. Although I’ve never really seen another python to compare. The last time I saw a live snake was back in high school when I ran screaming from my bedroom in the middle of the night because I found a long green snake slithering underneath my bed. (You would think I’d get a phobia from that incident, but surprisingly, no.)

As interesting as Prony is, I found his keeper much more so.

Here is Marimar. She is a drag queen. Ya. If not for the awful hair and makeup though, you’d think she was a girl. Except when she opened her mouth, that is.

She’s a hoot. And yes, she is named after Marimar, the super popular Mexican telenovela starring Thalia. Can you tell from her appearance?

Nah, me neither. Heh.

Marimar doesn’t technically take care of Prony. Her older sister does that dirty job. She’s in charge of the entertaining Prony’s foreign visitors.

For example, she loves to tell her clients that she once won a (gay) beauty pageant, using this very interesting swimsuit that she made herself!

Do you know what it’s made of?

It’s made of Prony’s shedded skin. Yah.

All togeher now, Ewwwwww!!!!!!

Hahahahaha! I wish she would have worn it so I could photograph her haha.

She says it’s very uncomfortable to use. Itchy, she complains.

I wonder where it itches most.

Ok, let’s go back to Prony. Here are a few pictures of the snake with its fans.

Yes. Those are people INSIDE the cage. TOUCHING Prony.

It’s a good thing Prony already had his meal a few weeks ago or else he might think twice about letting people fondle him so carelessly.

I kept my distance and stuck to taking pictures, nevertheless.

Look! That thing’s even bigger than my Gim!

Freaky.

It’s apparently in hibernation, as Marimar tells us. That’s why she let us inside the cage for a little meet and greet.

It eats live chickens.

I wish we could have seen the feeding…

Anyways, enough of Prony.

Let’s have a look at a flying lemur and it’s baby!

Here they are!

I know, it’s kind of an awful picture. But it’s the only way I could take a clear picture of the baby.

Can you tell where the mother ends and the baby begins?

Can you even tell those are two separate animals?

Yeah, I had trouble at first too. Haha.

The mother is hanging from the branch, by all four legs. In between’s her little baby. Aww. :-)

Here are more pics of the two feeding on some leaves.

I don’t know why they’re called flying lemurs, though. Maybe they can fly when they’re in the wild. Oh, I do hate animals being caged. :-( :-( :-(

Except for Prony. I don’t think it would be a good idea to release him into the wild.

Or Marimar.

Well! That concludes my series on Bohol. Until my next visit!

Read the other Bohol posts…  
Bohol Tour Part IV: Hinagdanan Cave
Bohol Tour Part V: Panglao Island Beach Resort
Bohol Tour Part VI: Philippine Tarsiers
Bohol Tour Part VII: Statues and Churches

Just because…

…I miss them. Hehehehe. I am so senti, I know!!!

This was taken a few months ago when my barkada came over to Manila and we spent a day at Enchanted Kingdom. We’re on one of the smaller rollercoaster rides here. (The Space Shuttle was broken, alas :[ )

I was just browsing through our photo CD and found this one to be quite representative of our friendship. Hehehe.

Raquel and Donnel (front of the pic), always buddies. They’re the bad guys, they love to tease. One time I was reciting a poem in class, and I was so passionately focused on the force of my speech and the appropriateness of my gestures I totally mispronouced the word “invitation”. I know! How can you mispronouce that??? (I said it as een-VAI-tei-shun, like you know, een-VAIT)

They’ve never let me live it down.

Me and Chris (at the back), forever best friends. We’re the good ones, we always try to be nice to other people. Hehehe. But weirdly, we end up squabbling all the time. I think not a high school week went by without us screeching at each other for some trivial matter. Hehehe. It always resolved itself, though. Oh and we love giving each mementos. I’ve gotten so many mugs, figurines, letters and photos (Of himself. That I did not ask for. But that he gave anyways.) from him my closet’s overfull and I think most of what was breakable… broke.

Shhh!!!

If Kat were there, she’d be seating next to Jotie (in the middle). They’re always together, too. And if Brian were there, he’d sit anywhere he liked, but maybe he’d try to be nearer Kat.

(They had a thing. Or, well, he did. Hehehehe. Double shhh!!!)

Oh gosh we’re all so grown up now. But we’ll always be high schoolers at heart. :-)

Remember a few weeks ago I blogged about Yugatech and Tradeport giving away five iPod shuffles for the launch of the Tradeport forums?

Well, guess what?? Yugatech released the contest winners a few days ago, and I actually won an iPod shuffle!!! Yeah!!!

I’ve joined quite a few online competitions over the years but this is the best prize I’ve ever gotten hehehe. I think it’s karma. I gave the same exact iPod shuffle (except it was silver) to my sister for her high school graduation last March. Now I have one too, in blue! (It’s really more of a violet color but since my favorite color is blue and it’s close enough when the light shines on it in a certain way, why not call it blue?)

Have a look at my new iPod! Hehehe.

Isn’t it pretty? And just because lately my traffic’s been rising (due to Entrecard, thank you very much!) and I’m elated at being able to monetize this blog (due to SocialSpark, thank you thank you!) and I’m feeling pretty (due to Gimmi telling me so, thank you love)…

Hehehehehehehe!!! That’s me right after a bath! I was so excited to use my new iPod I couldn’t wait! :D

Thank you Yuga and Tradeport!!!

I’m coming home now…

Been so long now…

Gonna get there somehow…

And this where I’ll stay.

Weeks. Days. Hours. Minutes.

‘Til I’ll be home.

Hehehehehe. I still know the words after all these years! Omigod have you heard the news? Boyzone’s back!!!!!!!! Aeeeeiiiii!!!!! (screams and runs around in ecstasy)

Omigod. (giggling and reminiscing high school times)

I love(d) Boyzone. Stephen was the love of my life. I wrote him (them) a love letter. About how someday we’d meet and fall in love. Hekhekhek. I got a thank you fax in return. I lovingly kept it. A year later I opened it. The ink had faded and all I held was a blank sheet of memory. I was heartbroken.

Then Stephen came out as gay. I was hearbroken again.

Then I loved Ronan. I heard his mom died. I cried for him. I think I wrote him another letter. And then he married Yvonne. And I was heartbroken for the third time!

And then the band broke up. By that time, really, what was I to expect??? A mended heart? Haaiill no!

Heheheh. Ahhh, the memories. (I’m breaking out in a huuuuge fond smile right now hehehe)

I remember one time I didn’t sleep because Channel V was showing their concert Live in Winchester or something like that hehehe. It was the time they were known best for “Love me for a Reason” and they were just introducing “A Different Beat” and they were wearing those aluminum-foil like clothes, like they were super flashy astronauts and there was lotsa fire displays and dramatic entrances hehehehehe. And then they threw off their jackets and sang in their white sleeveless tight shirts. Hehehehehe. I was sooooo in love!!! And I sang along with them, and I cried when they sang “Let It Be”.

When I find myself in times of trouble, mother Mary comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be…

And in my hour of darkness she is standing right in front of me

Speaking words of wisdom, let it be…

Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be…

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be…

Heheheheh. And I screamed and cheered when they did “So Good”.

We’re gonna be so good

Like I knew we would

Like only we could

Come on and hear me now

Gonna be so good

Cos it’s understood

Like I knew we should

So good now, baby!

Even though the lyrics were pure nonsense hehehehe! I still loved their dance moves though, oh and yeah they were showing off their arms again hehehehe.

And then when they finally finished, I was one with the fans shrieking “Encore! Encore!!!!!” And then they come out again with “A Different Beat” and there I am cheering and screaming their names! Hehehehehe.

Omigod. Sooooo crazy!!!! Hehehehehe. And then Channel V reran it over and over and over. And I didn’t stop watching, I swear!!!!!!! And that’s why I didn’t sleep the whole night until the next day when they finally started showing their regular eps.

Hahahah, gosh, I was so crazy.

Migod. And they’re back! And they’re hottt!!! (Well, okayyy maybe not so much anymore hehehe.) Lookie at these new pics!!! They’re making a comeback and going on a tour and everything! Omigod omigod omigod! Heheheh!

They’re nekkkidddd! Omigod omigod! Hahahaha! Were were these pics when ten years ago???? Heheheh wow is this real??? I think it’s Photoshop hehehehe. Looking damn fine, though! Hehehehe! Nekkid Keith! Nekkid Stephen! Nekkid Ronan! Nekkid Mikey! and Nekkid whats-his-name. Oh Shane. Right. Like my friend Brian’s boyfriend. Hehehehe. Oh. Now I regret making that comparison. Hahahahaha!

Stephen! What is that female butt doing behind you??? Didn’t you already come out years ago??? I should’ve guessed, when you were asked what you wanted most in life and you said you wanted to sing a Disney song. Hahahahahaha. And all those high notes of yours. But, really, you did a great job in Hercules. (He sang “Shooting Star”.) Hehehe. I still love you. Now only like a sister, though. Hehehehe.

Whooo! Ronan I’ve never seen you this nekkid before. Oh right. I just saw you in a hat and nothing else two pictures ago. Heheheheh. Wow I didn’t know all this lay underneath your clothes. Hehehehehe. He was so dreamy in the vid for “A Different Beat”. You should Youtube it.

Okay this looks awkward. Hehehehe. What does Yvonne think of this??? And your babies!! Honey, you look like you need less tight pants, too. Just saying… Hehehehehehe.

Hot! Keith isn’t my fave boy but he looks way hotter than everyone else right now hahahahah.

Don’t they look cuter covered up? Hehehehehe.

Okay now let’s have a giggle and look at some old pics. Gosh I had to search and search for these. Back in high school when the Internet was still new and nobody had blogs yet and everybody had a website in either Tripod or Geocities (hehehe) there were soooo many Boyzone websites! We even had these “rings” of websites affiliated with Boyzone and we’d be emailing each other Boyzone stuff and all. And there were “zines” which was like the beginning of social networking I guess heheheh. I’d download all these scanned pics of Boyzone (‘coz nobody had digital cams then and so everyone would just scan from mags and post the pics online, complete with that plaid pattern that comes with scanning at too high a resolution hehehe).

Ahahahahahahahah!!! Awww. Haha. Hay. Don’t they look so clean and sweet here? Hehehehe, they made all the girls fall in love! Especially Stephen with those puppy dog eyes and small feminine face. Hahaha. Ayayayay. And Ronan, so cute and dreamy. Heheheh. And the backups singers. Hehehe just kidding. I’ll always remember Mikey’s birthday! Because it’s the same as mine! Hehehe!

Hmmm, I think this is in their “A Different Beat” days. They look a bit older, but just the right age. Not too preppy, not geeky, just casual and hot. Hehehehe. But why does Shane look like he wants to rape me or something? Nooooo!!!!! Hahahahaha. I never really liked that guy. Creepy. Hehehe. And I don’t think he sang ANYthing except for back-up melodies. Really. Keith had those few moments of British rapping or he would do those conversation parts in the song. Hehehe. “Weeks. Hours. Minutes.” Hahaha. And Ronan and Stephen let Mikey sing a whole song too! It wasn’t made into a single though. And I forget now what it was. Heheheh. But poor Shane, I don’t think he got a break. :-( Maybe that’s why he looks so surly. Heheheh.

Hahahahah! This is so “Love Me for a Reason” time. Have you watched that vid? It is THE most corny vid ever! Hehehe. I used to cringe whenever I saw it (though at the same time tried to shake the cringe off and sing along at the top of my lungs hehehe). I can tell from Ronan’s geeky haircut. See, that’s why I initially like Stephen. Ronan looked like a nerd!!! Hehehe. He sure grew up nice though. Hehehe.

Here, see. Ronan’s all manly man. This is from… hmmm… Could it be “Isn’t it a Wonder”??? Was that the song title? I’m not sure. I think not. But hey, Ronan’s supposed to be wearing the sleeveless top not Keith! Maybe I’m wrong… Oh but I remember this is one of the vids where I sooo fell in love with Ronan. Heehee. Perfectly dreamy.

Gosh. Memories, memories. There are geekier pics of them, too bad I can’t find them anymore. Hehehe.

I am soooo excited for their comeback! They’ll be touring and stuff! Whooh! Hope they got some new sounds! Accckkk! Still can’t believe it. Hehehehe.

For more info:

Pink is the New Blog

Daily Mail

Daily Mail 2

Official Tour

*Boyzone mania ensues*

*Runs to gorge Youtub vids!*

I know two people who have just received the 2008 Monbusho Award, and they both are now in Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), the very same gakko (school) I visited just last March.

One is my former professor from the Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Ms. Erlyn Manguilimotan. I remember she was applying for the Monbusho award last year just as I was applying for my Masters in Ateneo de Manila University. I am so happy that she finally got her dream, she was accepted at NAIST (Computational Linguistics Lab, wow!) and is now undergoing Japanese language training at Osaka before heading on to her PhD at NAIST.

The other person is Eng (I forgot her last name) from the Ateneo de Manila University. I met her very briefly a few months back when I was visiting the Engineering department because I was interested in doing a collaboration with them for my thesis project. She is also at NAIST, under Professor Minato (Biomedical Imaging and Informatics).

The Monbusho Scholarship is again open for Filipino applicants. There are 6 kinds of scholarships:

• Teacher Training Scholarship
• open to teachers (elementary / high school) or academic staff/members at a teacher training institution
• must be under 35 years of age and have at least 5 years of experience
• Japanese Studies Scholarship
• 1-year period of studying Japanese language, life and culture
• must be between 18 to 29 years of age and at least in their 3rd year of majoring in Japanese Studies
• Undergraduate Scholarship
• undergraduate-level studies in humanities, natural sciences or social sciences
• must be between 17 to 21 years of age (as of April 1, 2009)
• Research Scholarship (may lead to a Master’s degree or a Ph.D.)
• research in a field related to what was previously studied within the scope of humanities, natural sciences or social sciences
• must be under 35 years of age
• Professional Training School (Senshu-Gakko) Scholarship
• 3-year non-degree program at a Japanese vocational school in the following fields: Civil Engineering, Architecture, Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Telecommunications, Nutrition, Infant Education, Secretarial Studies, Hotel Management, Tourism, Fashion / Dressmaking, Design, Photography, etc.
• must be between 17 to 21 years of age
• College of Technology Scholarship
• 4-year non-degree program at a Japanese school in one of the following fields: Mechanical Engineering; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Information, Communication and Network Engineering; Materials Engineering; Architecture and Civil Engineering; Maritime Engineering; etc.
• must be between 17 to 21 years of age

Detox Tip #8: Unwind with friends. :-)

My barkada and I went out for dinner and drinks last night. We had an enormously good time – even if we all we did was sit, eat and talk about Brian. Hehehe. I’ll blog about that some other time, but for now I just want to display pictures of my friends. The last time I waxed sentimental about my friends, I showed horrible old pictures of us. This time, I’ll not wax anything anymore, I’ll just show their pictures. ;)

This is Donnel – famous in high school for his (overcoming) stutters; infamous for his senior year love triangle with *beep* and *beep*. Hehehe.

This is Raquel – famous in high school for her grades and good looks; infamous for dating AJ. (Hehehe!)

This is Jotie – famous in high school for his sassy humor; infamous for … his sassy humor, I guess. Hehehe.

This is Chris, my bestest friend of all – famous in high school for his friendliness and perfectly well-kept spaces; infamous for his many fastfood-nicknamed (boy) crushes.

This is me, famous for my love of boy bands (Ronan, how could you forsake me?!?); infamous for my (often tragic) journalistic attempts and apparently, (as my supposedly best friends informed me over laughter and lattes) my many (painful) connections with the floor.

We were just missing two – Brian, who’s on vacation in Pagadian, and Katrina, who’s probably never coming home (but is in HongKong, as of the moment). But it was hilariously fun, anyways. We even made a decision to meet up in Manila in two months – and got the tickets too! There’s no going back!!! :-)

For more pictures of our first get-together of the year, visit this link.

Detox Tip #7: Shrug off all your worries and learn to be thankful. ;-)

Gim got off hospital duty early on Christmas eve, yay for me! :-) His schedule is very hectic these days. He works every day, in three-day segments. On the first day, he has a 36-hour shift starting around 7am, which of course lasts onto the next day, and he’s off at around 3 or 4pm, if he’s lucky. He gets to sleep that evening, and the very next day he starts at 7am again for a 12-hour shift, which ends at 5 or 6pm, again, if he’s lucky. And the next day, the cycle starts all over again. I get to see him so sporadically. :-(

On the 24th, he had just gotten off his 36-hour shift, so we were able to attend evening mass at the Sacred Heart chapel in Ateneo. It’s our Christmas eve ritual, we always go to mass. :-) Lest you think I’m a religious girl, it’s been eons ago since I attended mass regularly. In grade school and high school, I used to attend mass every morning, with my friends. In grade school, because our Religion teacher would always give us a quiz every morning, asking us what the officiating priest’s homily was about, or what the response psalm of the day was. Hehehe. I hated those quizzes. I was almost always late to school. In high school, arriving early to attend mass became a habit. Not because I liked to go to mass; it had more to do with my closest friends’ liking to go to morning mass. Hehe. And I did so like my friends. :-) I remember enjoying sunrises at the backfield with Chris and Don, especially on one of my birthdays… I miss those days. Anyways, in my first year of college, I tried vainly to maintain that habit. But with Chris gone to WMSU and Donnel not always attending mass either, I lost the wanting. Ever since, I haven’t gone to mass regularly, if at all. When I met Gim, he was very religious. Attending mass every Sunday, and serving at the altar most mornings. I’m afraid, due to my influence, and of course MedSchool!, his appetite for religious ceremony has waned. He, however, has managed to force me to attend mass at least three or four times a year, most notably on Christmas’ eve, New Year’s eve, Easter Sunday and his birthday (not mine, because on that day, we get to do what I want, which rarely calls for a Church visit, hehe).

Hmm, I’ve gone off topic. Hehe. Anyways. Before going to mass, we exchanged gifts. I got him a silver bracelet (well actually, it was stainless steel hehe) and a cute polo shirt which he had received earlier. He got me a lot of different things, which I’ve previously mentioned: a pair of earphones, a shoulder bag and three pretty bracelets. :-)

After the mass, we went home. I was expecting noche buena, and I kind of (I am shameful to admit) threw a fit because my family had *finished* it. To be fair, there was very little of it in the first place. To console me, Gim cooked for me ham and egg. *sigh* I miss those days when my dad was still alive. We’d always have food on the table during the holidays, all day long until the very next day. We’d all eat together on the table at dinnertime, or lunchtime, every day (not just the holidays). The house would be lighted up with parols, Christmas ornaments and Christmas lights. There would be lots of picture-taking, story-telling, gift-giving… It seems, with the passing of my father, those little joys have passed on as well. These days, the members of my family eat whenever time they want. Gifts are given rarely. The only Christmas ornament is the Christmas tree, and that was put up at the late date of December 24 this year. And there is no more picture-taking or story-telling… All of it is sad, really. So I envy greatly families that are still intact, and hope fervently, that I get my own family and my own home as soon as I can. A few more years, Gim and I always say. By 2009, we’ll both have graduated. He has another year to go for his internship and licensure exams. By 2010, he’ll be a doctor. Maybe by 2011, after a year of saving up, we can get married. Or maybe earlier. I look forward to that day. :-)

I sound like everything is bad right now. That’s not the case. On the contrary, everything is becoming better. Though Gim and I are not often together these days, with me living in Manila and him in Zamboanga – we’re both happy that we are moving forward with our lives. He’s becoming a doctor, and I am studying for my Masters degree in the school that I had always wanted to go to for a long, long time. We’re calling this our state of delayed gratification – both of us allowing this meantime suffering (that of being apart) to achieve a greater good (financial stability for the realization of our lifelong dream – get rich and get married, hehehe). Financially, we’re less broke. We’ve paid off our dear old Pao. Wow I just realized I had blogged that, I haven’t realized I’ve been blogging for so long! :-) We’ve been able to buy the gadgets we’ve been lusting for, for so long – me a laptop and a digicam (and an air conditioner for my room hehe), him a camphone. We even have postpaid lines now. Also, I am on better terms with my family. Things were much, much different a year or two ago. Much worse off. (I only blog about happy things hehe.)

So I’m very thankful, for my life. And though I am not religious, I do believe in God. And am thankful, for His many blessings. :-) (And Gim makes me pray before I eat.)

Here are some pics we took on Christmas eve:

Me opening a present from Gim. “Gimgim, these aren’t the chipipay earphones I asked for, are they???” I was just joking when I asked for earphones, and I was dismayed to find that’s what he gave (not chipipay though) ! But he was just teasing me! His real present was the bag, and the bracelets, and a belt. *chagrined* :-)

Posing in front of our Christmas tree. With the bag. Heehee. Melisse, Gim and I put up the tree and the lights. It looked so forlorn, without ornaments, because our dogs ate them. No, really. Thankfully my mom and/or Trisha added the poinsettias.

Gim’s turn. Doesn’t he look sexy in that shirt? No, that’s not the one I bought, unfortunately. Mine looks much better! *sticks tongue out*

Gim thoughtfully posing with the bracelet I gave him. I feel so chipipay I only had one present to give. To my defense though, I gave him a lot of pasalubong presents like chocolates, a polo shirt, a back scratcher, a travelling pillow and a sleeping eye mask. Er… yeah.

“Stop taking pictures of me!” Oh, I am not the paparazzi, you dolt! Hee, kidding lang, Gimpooch!

Oh! Now I remember why I was so upset when I got home. Chris had texted me during the mass that Donnel was in the hospital, and that it was an emergency, we should visit him. Gim and I rushed to the hospital right after mass, fearing for Donnel’s safety. When we got there, he was comfortably lying on the bed, everything seemingly alright, and the rest of my friends sitting around him, chatting as though nothing was the matter. I asked twice what was wrong with him, and they could not say. It turns out he was simply feeling under the weather and they were having tests done to see what was the matter. And that was an emergency, Chris??? Hmmpppfff! (Serves me right for not having called to check first.) Anyway, we stayed there around 30 minutes to chitchat and take a few pics, and it was around 11.30pm or later by this time and Gim and I hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch… Well, you can see how hungry we were when we got home. But anyways, it was fun to see Donnel at least once this holiday season, even if it was in a hospital. :-)

For more of my holiday pics, click here. Happy New Year!!!

Urgh I’ve had a rash of bad luck lately.

Right before coming home from Manila I broke my eyeglasses so I’ve been abusing my contact lenses by wearing them all day resulting in eye strain and headaches.

Last week I attended a Christmas party and ended up losing my ATM along with P1000 worth of cash. Ouch.

Today I’m down with the flu. I wasn’t able to attend my high school reunion last night at Antonio’s and I probably won’t be able to make it to Sta. Cruz Island tomorrow. Huhuhu.

But I’m trying to cheer myself up by posting this pic of me on the 24th, busily unwrapping presents from Gim and putting on my new bracelets. :-) He gave me three bracelets, a shoulder bag and a pair of earphones to replace the ones that recently broke. He’s such a sweetie. :-)

I’m hoping my streak of bad luck has ended, beginning with my recent P300 win at Auction.ph. They’ve got another giveaway, this time the prizes are these:

• Creative 2.1 Subwoofer System
• Php2,000 Gift Certificate on any Nokia Stores
• Shell-Ferrari Model Cars
• Apacer USB 2.0 Drive
• 20 pcs. Auction.PH T-Shirts
• 2 accounts for 1-year Free 1GB Hosting and Domain

I definitely want that Nokia gift certificate! :-) I’ve been meaning to buy a new cellphone, since a Sun Cellular cell site has just been built right beside our house! Yay, a good signal from Sun, finally! :-)

So what are you waiting for? Go join that contest!

We were supposed to go on a fun picnic by the river, my friends and I. We hadn’t seen each other in a while. I don’t talk much about my friends, but I am really quite fond of them, and very proud of their achievements.

Chris, my bestest friend in high school, very friendly and honest, is now a civil engineer. He graduated at the top of his class and topped one of his licensure exams. I am so proud of him, and all I wish is for him to achieve all his dreams.

Katrina, bright, bubbly and always chatty, is an economist by profession, traveller by heart. She has been all over Europe and is now working nearer home, in Hong Kong. I have not seen her for years and it is she I miss the most.

Brian, my most vulnerable friend, is the experimenter. He refuses to follow rules, craves taboos, has the most number of friends, and loves attention; but to me he seems as though he is really just looking for himself. Maybe he has found what he has been searching for now.

Donnel, ever the funnyman and sidekick, has always been a friend throughout high school and college. But now he’s the star to his Leila, and though his moments with us and few and far between, he always manages to make his presence felt – especially at the most important times. Between his new job responsibilities and the love of his life – I think he’s in a very happy place.

Raquel, the friend I’ve known the longest but at times I feel as though I know the least, has the smoothest exterior that sometimes I cannot see the troubles brimming underneath – until she explodes. She is a workaholic for HP, and sometimes loves too much for her own good.

And Jotie, the friend with the sharp tongue, uses words to mask vulnerabilities. Unlike Brian, I think he is still searching for himself. But he has a set of good friends who will always be there for him, through thick and thin.

These are my best friends, the persons who know me best of all. They remind me that wherever I am, though at times I feel so alone and lonely, that they’re always there for me.

Okay enough of the nostalgia. Hehehe.

Anyways. We were supposed to have a fun picnic by the Pasonanca river, the prettier and cleanest river in Zamboanga. It should be, since it’s the source of our sweet-tasting water. Why it’s sweet-tasting I would rather not wonder. Hehehe.

Usually the Pasonanca river is very clean, perfect for bathing. A lot of people come for picnics or mountain climbing or trekking or just hanging out with friends. It had been quite rainy the past few weeks and so there was a lot of running water, which I thought was perfect for our outing.

Unfortunately, there had been a bit too much rain, because when we got there, we found out that not only was the water *not* clean, it was also running too fast to be safe for bathing, to the point of dragging big fallen logs in record speed!

We surmised that a natural dam might have been broken, maybe there was a bit of an avalanche, and so the flood of soil and logs. In any case, the picnic was a disaster. Fortunately my friends weren’t *that* mad at me for insisting we go, hehe. They were very sporty about it, and we chose to trek along still and we did manage to have a picnic somewhere along the way – just no bathing.

Still, it was a fun trip all in all. :-)