The Morning After

Happy New Year! It's the first day of 2013. Just like the previous 1st of January, I took time to take some pictures in the commercial area of Calbayog. The area is deserted and quiet only two days of the year - on Good Friday and today.

The primera calle aka Senate President Jose Avelino. The portion from Umbria Street to the Rosales Bridge.

Portion of Nijaga Park along Gomez street

The public market as seen from Navarro street. 

And over there at the area where the Island Town Terminal is, this is how the firecracker vendors left their stalls after raking it in on New Year's eve.

Images from my old hometown

Images from my old hometown

kun sa facebook pa, super like ak sini nga signage.

Our San Rufino experience

We were in Barangay San Rufino yesterday to cover the Mass Wedding where 37 pairs exchanged "I Do" before Mayor Ronaldo Aquino. Here are some pictures we took during the visit.

That's me with Aimee Catalan, Irene Pastrana and Juvan Ramonida.

They have electricity, cellular phone signal (thanks to globe) and satellite dishes for their TV signals.

images from my old hometown

Images from my old hometown

Saw this sign somewhere along the national highway. Need I say more? Oops, just wanna make you smile today.

Images from my old hometown

Seen in one of the food joints in Calbayog. Don't take it seriously, just wanna give you something to smile about today.

Images from my old hometown

Let me give you something to smile about tonight. I saw this in one the establishments in the city. Apparently the owner or the boss has had enough of "utang collectors" pestering his employees during work hours.

Images from my old hometown

This is one the pictures I took at the cemetery during the last All Souls' Day celebration. Nothing special about this grave. "Sugad san nababatasan", a good number of our local folks make their dear departed part of the cemetery "picnic" by offering them food, and in some instances, 1 "tagay" of whatever alcoholic drink there is. And in the case of this tomb, it's rice with pork, tsokolate, spaghetti, bread, juice and water.

Starting 'em young

There are kids, and there are kids. Whew! What am I saying? 'Neway, there are kids who go to school and there are kids who settle with being at home "para san mga sugo nira nanay ug tatay". And  I hope those kids who go around begging are not doing it upon the instruction of nanay or tatay. And that brings me to that bunch of kids whose pix I took last November 2, yes when we took time to visit our dear departed. They were among those who took time to sell candles. When we asked them what they intend to do with their earning, "balun pag iskwela" was the answer. And there was one kid who sold something different. It's something which looked like flowers arranged in a way that one can use it to decorate well, the tomb of one's dear departed. What made it unique is that it was made of straw, yes straw which one uses to sip soft drink or any drink for that matter. Now, that's what I'll call being resourceful and entrepreneurial. And that's one thing I won't mind seeing our kids do or display, young as they may be.

 

Images from my old hometown

It's All Saints' Day, and tomorrow is All Souls' Day. Sugad san nababatasan, buwas an mga taga-Calbayog mabisita san ira mga hinigugma nga nagkamatay na. We decided to visit the cemeteries today and take pix while the place is still less crowded.

Here are some pix which I managed to take earlier today.

Yup, traffic was re-routed so as to decongest the hi-way especially along the two cemeteries

And this was how the road along the Catholic cemetery looked like today, it got the usual motorcylces, PD cabs, the traffic aides, and . . . 

. . . and yes, a pink coffin by the sidewalk.

And where the crowds are, expect the entrepreneurs to the there. As to this one, I'm wondering where one will get to pee, well, at the breakwater at the back of the store?

. . . yup the Barangay Officials also had their assistance center. There was a phone load center too (pix below)

. . . and fruit vendors too

Did you say you needed an area to park your bike?

It's that other day of the year again

Move over cupid! It's still months to Valentine's Day, but some portions of Calbayog got colorful today with the flower vendors on hand with theirs stuff for well, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. More than making the city colorful, it's nice to note how a good number of Calbayognon manifest their entrepreneurial spirit on occasions like this.

Images from my old hometown

It's the second Saturday of the month. I understand this is the they when personnel from a local bank process that cards or what have you for the 4Ps benficiaries. And as with the previous weeks, the ATM machines of Calbayog are crowded (yup, it seems like dire uso sa ira an pag-linya). 

And that leads to a recent dinner conversation with a Conseulo Foundation officer who asked if I support this 4Ps program. It almost caught me off-guard. Some say it's dole-out, others defend it as something modeled after a very successful program of a certain South American country. Anyway, my reply to the question was that among the guidelines that 4Ps beneficiaries had to follow is that they should send their kids to school, and for that I support the program.

images from my old hometown

Hmm, it makes sense. Need I say more?

images from my old hometown

well, it still happens . . .

images from my old hometown

Let me give you something to smile about this weekend. It's a picture I took more than a year ago. It's that of a group of ladies on the sidewalk near a local drugstore and doing something which looks like panhinguto. Smile! It's a weekend.

hair in my burger

This happened in April. A friend treated me to a burger store in the city. It's one of those joints which sell cheap burger. I've tried other burger stores and found their burger good. It's not bad, I mean the price and the taste (minus the AC and the mascot, of course).

Last April 29, we tried Yolly's burger. It did taste good, that is until I felt a different texture and that lo and behold - hair. I called the attention of the guy at the cash register who I suppose was also the manager and owner. There were no apologies, only "uy, balyu-i daw adi!".

Ah the price you have to pay for going cheap. I did get apologies, from my friend who treated mo to that burger store.