Clouds, Landscapes And The Rising Sun

The Philippine landscape I grew up with are coconut covered mountains, rice fields, open meadows and a river running through it.  Up above are cloud formations that changes every second.  Early mornings is when they are at its best and with the most bright colors.  Sometimes when you’re lucky, in the afternoon you see low lying clouds pierced by the sun’s rays, a spray of light coming out from thick cloud cover.  There are also those that lit the horizon especially at dusk.  They are usually spread out horizontally in thin skeins of bright red, orange and blue.  And just when the sun disappears, there is a brief moment of increased illumination before the sun finally sinks in the horizon. 

It is quite different further north of the equator.  On summer days, the sun stays until 9 o’clock in the evening.  It starts to drop at 6 o’clock, but somehow lingers in the same spot for a couple of hours.  So you have a lingering twilight that seems to have no end.  I noticed this while driving along the arid Arizona desert.  The glowing illumination and the strange cloud formations highlighted the canyons and turned the desert into a surreal lunar landscape.  In the arctic, the sun rises but never sets.  You will miss darkness. I wonder how it is in other parts of the globe….

Demak River

 
A community lived by the banks of Demak.  The locals use the river’s water for cleaning their dog, for washing clothes and dishes, and for washing themselves.  And also for brushing their teeth and for cooking food.  And take this: It is also the place to go when nature calls!  And you can see all these activities openly because Demak is just beside the highway, and for most parts, the water is brown.  I saw an old woman trying to clear the river with impurities by warding off floatsams before scooping water and pouring into a kettle.  For tea?  Yeah, maybe!  There were plastic cups, a coke bottle, shampoo sachets and old newspapers.  I see dragonflies, and flies, and a snake crawling past thick grass and duckweeds near the shallow ends.  And today we are supposed to clean this river, about thirty international volunteers and a company of the Indonesian Army among us.

I do not think words can give justice to the filthiness of this river.  While the others carefully pulled weeds by the banks, I slipped and fell over, and only my head bobbed about.  Surrounded by water lilies, flies buzzed around my head.  I swallowed ten right away and one was stuck in my throat.  I tried coughing it out, but it lingered at the tip of my tongue before I was able to spit it out.  Then something crawled inside my shorts, and I sensed movements underneath my feet.  I thrash about and tiptoed toward the shallows wary of any fanged creature lurking at the bottom. Moments later, another volunteer fell over, and another, and yet another, until half of us scoured weeds and trash in the shoulder high filthy waters.  Shouts and splashes and laughter echoed.  It turned out to be fun.  Yeah, dirty fun, literally….

Star Apples

There were round and violet star apples perched on big branches of a huge Caimito tree, reason enough to stay one late afternoon in elementary school.

As if taunting, the best ones came perching at the end of the branches, and you need to slowly move inch by inch towards where they were.  I knew the branches were weak and can not hold much weight.  So I coaxed my friend who was smaller than I was to be the one to move towards the end of the branch. We will shake the branches together and pick up the fallen fruits on the ground.

He did as told ever so carefully, and then we both shook the tree while holding on to smaller branches for balance.  As we shook, leaves swayed and fruits fell, then the branch cracked. I held on to the tree trunk while my friend plummeted to the soft earth below!  I thought I saw blood, and I became as light as feather as I climbed down that tree.  I feared he died, and that it was my fault, so I shouted for help.  Then things started to move in slow motion as people gathered around the boy with blood oozing out of his head.  They brought him to the hospital.

I was still dazed and sweating as I walked briskly towards my mom’s store in the market.  She asked what’s wrong?  I said I’m fine, and she let me be.  But I was still shaking because I thought I killed a human being that day.  Did I?

A few days after that fateful afternoon I saw a boy with a mammoth bandage on his head, and he was climbing that same Caimito tree. He beckoned that I come pick some.  I shook my head and said, No thanks, not today my friend.

A Tale Of Two Barangays

Just when the rain let up, we checked out a subdivision project at the back of an old churh.  This project covers three sites spanning two barangays traversing a mountain crest which is its natural boundary and we have to hike up the ridge to see the entire area, and a peek of the city. At the time, I was in my office barong and shiny black shoes. I hesitated for a moment, but I reckon I will be putting my mountaineering skills to shame if I get intimidated by the mud sticking to my shoes.  So we hiked up the crest, enjoyed the view of the city, and answered the call of nature in the bushes.  I felt funny and privileged as I watched it slowly trickle down both slopes toward the two barangays below….

Homeward Bound II

 
Sometimes there is such an urgency to go home, the place which offers unquestionable comfort. That was what I seek, and this is one of such times. 

I packed my backpack and headed for the pier. I was catching a boat to Ozamis City. It was almost 8 o’clock, and the boat usually leaves at 7. When I arrived, the boat has left. I hurriedly checked the ones for Cagayan de Oro City but the boat has just left too as it was past 8 o’clock. But there was one more boat docked, and the crew started to raise the gangplank. I ran for it and hopped in. I knew it was going somewhere near my destination. 

The ship leaves for Nasipit, a municipality a few hours away from Cagayan de Oro. That means, I will arrive in my hometown the following day, in the middle of the night, and I will be on the road the whole time.

I scanned the Cebu City skyline as the ship moved away. The city looked quiet, and lonesome and innocent from a distance. For a few days I will leave her, but I know I will be back soon. This was a big ship, and I was at the topmost deck gazing on the dark horizon ahead. I long for home….

We arrived early morning in the port of Nasipit and I was taken by its strategic location. The ship entered a cove with an opening just big enough to allow the passage of a passenger boat. It was absolutely beautiful, just a few square kilometers of seawater, encircled by land and hills. It even felt like a private docking facility. But the clean and fresh water I initially thought abruptly disappeared in the form of a factory built smack in the middle!

I followed the other passengers going out of the pier and a tricycle brought us to the bus station. This was going to be a three-hour ride to Cagayan de Oro City. There was nothing unusual in this trip except that I noticed several papaya plantations along the way. I never imagined such plantations existed. Papayas are usually grown in the backyard. And it grows fast and easy, and gives you several years of good fruit before the fruits get smaller, and the tree itself grows thin which eventually dries up and dies.

The trip lasted for a day and I spent the night in Pagadian City. The following morning, I took the 40 minute bus ride to all that is familiar: The vast open space, blue skies and green fields, the smell of mud and drying rice stalks, carabaos, tractors, the old houses and streets, and familiar faces. Ah, this was heaven on earth. I was home! 

Happy New Year 2008!

The New Year is coming.  

It is time to start life anew. 

The old self dies, 

and a new one is budding. 

So hail to a new hope, 

bravo to a renewed sense of purpose 

and cheers to new adventures, 

Happy New Year!

Search For The Perfect Christmas Tree

This happened many years ago but it is as fresh in my memory as if it were just yesterday.  We were tasked to search for a suitable branch that will be used as a Christmas tree in school.  No other place could be better than Mabuhay, a mountainous barrio in town.  So with provisions and a bottle of rum, we started walking into the woods.  Within the cluster of trees, a nice branch beckoned, and we scrambled to get to the top of a tree.  I had the bolo to chop it off.  As I positioned for a secure hold, I noticed buzzing and sudden hotness in my left ear.  Before I figured out what stung me, a swarm of hornets flew over.  I dropped the bolo and followed it down butt first.  Everybody scrambled towards the river including the hornets, forcing us to test our lung power as we hid underwater to ward off the flying stings.  A minute passed by and my ear ballooned like an elephant’s.  On the opposite bank, we spotted another suitable candidate.  We chopped it off immediately.  And in order to admire it fully, I tried planting it on the ground, breaking the branch in the process, and everybody howled in dismay!  So back we go again in search of that elusive Christmas Tree.  Then a perfect branch appeared in the distance, we got it and held on as if our lives depended upon it. We crossed the river again with the Christmas Tree in tow.  I thought the river was shallow until the water lapped way over my nose and I began swimming, and the tree slipped off my fingers. We watched helplessly as it was carried by the current downstream. For a time it was submerged in the water and we thought we lost it again. But a few meters ahead by the bend, the tree bobbed and we swam towards it. Ah, behold, the perfect Christmas Tree!

Season’s Greetings!

Hello my friends all over the world! It is Christmas season, the most wonderful time of the year. It is time for dreaming and realizing dreams. So I wish that all your dreams come true and may the new year bring happiness, joy and prosperity beyond your expectations! It is also the time for love and generosity. So give it all you got. And like the star above, let yourself shine for everyone to see.

Bright Lights

I slept in the plane from Salt Lake City in Utah on the way to Burbank in Los Angeles. Halfway through, I awoke to a magnificent sight: a colony of super bright lights emanating from the center and stretching outward to the dark arid emptiness of Nevada. I was looking directly down on Las Vegas! Like a priceless tiara, it is the beckoning, bedazzling, enchanting, jewel of the desert.  

Stretched Limo

Pardon me, but I think the stretched limo is a ridiculous car. The most concentration of these cars no doubt is Las Vegas. They clog the streets especially at the corners. The limo should be placed in the same category as 16-wheelers called rigs with restricted access at the freeways. Now that’s a thought. I even saw a hummer limousine! And who’s riding, Arnold Schwarzenegger? I heard he has a collection of these gas-guzzler-monsters. Hmmm, Maybe.

Bellagio

Bellagio for me is the definitive Las Vegas image. It is grand. It is stunning. It is awesome! As the music starts, the fountains start to rise, and sway, then shoot up a hundred feet into the air. Your eyes, ears and skin are filled with the sight, sound, splash and spray of exploding huge fountains highlighted by neon lights and Josh Groban’s singing. People smile, and sigh, and shout, and clap their hands long after the end of every performance. Remarkable! Bravo Bellagio!!!

Carabao

Growing up in Zamboanga is filled with fun, wacky and wild outdoor adventures.  One memorable experience I had as a kid was riding a carabao down a steep hill.  The carabao has a short tail which is mainly used to ward off flies on its behind.  But it is also to be gripped as you negotiate a downward slope towards the river.  So while your one hand holds the leash, the other grips the tail.  And you have to brace your feet against the beast’s wide horns while your upper body leans backward.  You can feel the carabao’s strong back muscles, and your whole body sways with its huge butt.  And as we hold our breaths, the carabao’s long tongue alternately laps its runny nostrils.

Monterey Fishing

 
Monterey has Fisherman’s Wharf and Old Cannery Row and a museum dedicated to its famous resident John Steinbeck, who wrote Of Mice And Men.  I haven’t read the book but watched the movie starred by John Malkovich and Gary Sinise.  Watch it.

Monterey also has a three story high aquarium, and among its famous residents are sharks and tunas and three-story high kelp - a giant seagrass that is in itself an ecosystem.  And for the first time I saw sunfish here.  It looks like a huge fish-head swimming about.

At night we went fishing in the wharf close to where the yachts are.  Anglers use granite fish poles and modern equipment.  And they fish quietly.  They would draw the pole back then cast forward causing the line to swish.  Ripples formed where the bait falls.  A neon bar attached to the float glows in the dark which distinguishes yours from the rest of the anglers’.  Fish fillet or squid strips were used as bait. 

When I was young, we use live worms as bait. So we go looking for fat soil and dig the soft earth to reach the worms, which fatten the soil.  To look for fat soil, we actually look for worm tracks.  These are mounds of earth lines on the soil.  As they move, worms pass earth through their gut cavity and the earth lines you see are the worms’ excretions. Apart from bamboo pole, and a hook and line, a can-full of worms completes our fishing gear.  And we hit the river, or the rice fields’ irrigation system which was always full of catfish.  We insert the barb into the worm’s gut.  So the hook is completely covered by it.  The hook disguised as worm works well as bait because it wiggles, which attracts the fish.  But hooking it and landing the fish is another story.  This requires practice and skill, and some say inborn talent, which I have.  Ehem…. (Let me brag a bit).  

And we practice catch and release (to the frying pan!).  For me, the highlight of fishing is eating….

Transformers II

TIN CANS AND GLASS BOTTLES

INTO DEPENDABLE GAS LAMPS

Tin cans and glass bottles fill most garbage bins if not litter nooks and crannies of towns.  So it is easy to find, and the whole town will thank you if you pick them up.  For this transformer project they are not trash, but rather raw materials for gas lamps.  Look for a metal container that either has a big twister cap or a cap that can be pushed in place.  The former is better.  You will need a thin cylindrical tube, an absorbent cloth for wick, and a wedge to secure it in place.  And let your imagination soar in finding a way to prevent the wind from putting off the flame.

You will need scissors that can cut through tin sheets, a glass cutter and sealant.  The tin can serves as the base of the lamp and also as a container for holding gas.  A glass base can also be used, but a tin-bottomed gas lamp is preferable for practical reasons.  You can use whatever sealant you can find.  Silicone is fine, but in the past, metal sealant is used.  This is done by melting a bar of lead, and quickly spreading the molten metal to the parts to be sealed. 

Melting a lead bar is rather tricky.  You will need a red-hot piece of metal heated to glowing orange and immersed in sulfuric acid.  This produces a distinct sound, first, imploding then hissing.  The pungent odor released is unmistakably sulfuric just like inhaling fumes directly from a volcanic vent.  I had this sulfuric inhalation experience before while visiting Jogjakata in Central Java, and then again at the fumaroles and mudpots in Wyoming. 

Now this is the most important part, the heart of the matter.  You will need to make a thin cylindrical tin tube to be inserted inside the gas container.  This thin cylindrical tube will be used to hold, and to allow a strip of absorbent cloth passing through it, and to be used in bringing gas from the bottom of the container to the top of the cylinder.  You position the cylinder vertically and secure with a wedge by using a circular thin piece of tin which is attached perpendicularly to the base, supported by the mouth of the glass or tin can gas container.  The exposed part coming out of the cylinder is the wick which can be adjusted by fashioning a metal stick that is attached in such a way as to have access to the absorbent cloth.  Increasing or decreasing the length of the exposed wick varies the amount of light produced by the lamp. 

Finally, you cut the glass which will be slipped over the top of the can to cover the flame from wind.  Be sure to smoothen the edges of the cut glass by a file or coarse stone.  There are many ways of securing this glass covering.  But a good way is to cut a piece of broad malleable tin strip attached to the circumferential edge of the top of the gas container.  This broad tin strip is further cut vertically halfway and curved inward to grip the glass container in place.  Now all you need is a matchstick and moonless night.

Of Cars & Shooting Stars

There were nights when we would gather outside to the open space near the basketball half court.  We would talk a little and count shooting stars.  Especially on nights when there is no moon, the skies will be lit only by the twinkling stars.  The most I counted was 17.  Can you imagine, seeing 17 shooting stars in one night?  That was a record at the time.  But this is true.  I saw 17 shooting stars that night, and I asked 17 different wishes too.  But not one of them came true, however.  

Our boarding house was near the highway, so another pastime we had was counting cars.  Each one of us selects a particular make and model, and after a while (when we are tired counting) we compare the stats.  At the time, the most number of cars in any given day, and at any given hour is - the beetle!  Volkswagen was tops, king of the road!  Now, I think it would be the ubiquitous Multicab which fill the streets to overflowing.

Lightning Bugs

Olango island is a wildlife sanctuary made famous for being a bird migration stopover.  Birds from China, Japan, Korea and other countries north of the Philippines come to this place during winter months in the northern hemisphere.  A few months after they leave, another bird migration takes over, led by birds coming Indonesia and even those coming from Australia, New Zealand and the neighboring parts of the Southern hemisphere in a space superhighway called the Austral-Asia Flyway.

In December 2006, we hosted camp in Olango involving Korean volunteers.  The base camp was near a lagoon.  It has no electricity and isolated from the rest of the houses of local residents.  Illuminated only by faint lights of gas lamps, one can not see clearly the surroundings.  One camper suddenly gasped and pointed up a tree.  The others followed her gaze and also gasped at what they saw.  Moments later, they were pointing in many different directions and gasping the whole time.  What did they see?  Blinking lights flying above the tree branches.  Fireflies!  Lighting bugs as Mark Twain used to call them.  It was mating season and they came out in numbers like lights to a Christmas tree. 

These people are ignorant, I thought to myself.  But it is little things like these that give you simple joy.  I begin to look around and rediscover the wealth I have in my own backyard.  From that day onward, I regained my fascination with fireflies.  I remember those nights in Grandpa’s house in the mountains when we would gather lightning bugs in a clear glass container and use it as a lamp.  And it brought us endless fascination seeing blinking bugs in competition.  And Grandpa would start telling his stories of ghosts, goblins and little people.  We would huddle together close to Grandpa and savor every word he says.  To my recollection, Grandpa was larger than life, and even in death, I can see his face, always smiling, beckoning, and eager to tell his enchanting stories again…. 

SOLFEST At Hopland, Ukiah

With all the solar equipment and merchandise spread all over the place, I was lost in the crowd, which makes it the more exciting.  The music and laughter drew me close to a stage surrounded by booths.  And surrounded by strangers, it was the first time I ever enjoyed dancing and swaying to the upbeat music of this live African band.  Ganja smoke was rising and the girls were hopping around with their arms up, showing unshaven armpits.  But it didn’t spoil the fun, it just added spice in the air!

Suspended

The surge only means that this was going to be a drift dive.  The water was gin-clear with bluish haze and we were suspended vertically facing the reef front.  Bubbles murmured and rose from our scuba gear.  With arms folded around the chest, we were sentinels guarding the sea as we bobbed up and down in cadence with our breathing.  I looked up to a school of fusiliers circling above then dove towards a slope.  I veered a few feet away from the reef front to prevent brushing against delicate soft corals and anemones.  I was flying sideways as we drifted with the undercurrent, until it brought us to the shallows.  We lingered for a while and indulge in small wonders around a huge table coral abuzz with colorful Anthias and Christmas tree worms, Longfin Banners and Surgeons. There we had safety stop before finally going up the boat to rest for our second dive.  Ah, what a day!

The Real Transformers

I remember these stories stored in my brain after watching a documentary about Cuban life.  Due to poverty and want, the people learned to make use of things they can salvage in their own backyard.  And make useless useful.  They are a happy lot despite their minimalist subsistence.  This reminded me of my own people.  How they live, how they innovate, how they survive and how, despite their gloomy situation see a glimmer of light in the horizon.

Transformers I

From a useless old tire to a container that will last a lifetime.  This is how to make a container for gathering rainwater using your car’s old tire, and the older the better so it is easy to scrape off the tread. 

De-treading takes time and labor intensive using a strong and razor-sharp knife which is constantly sharpened because friction with rubber easily dulls any sharp object.  After smoothing, you cut the tube and turn it inside out.  This requires 1-3 people depending on the size of the tire.  Then you reattach by fastening with iron wires.  This is done by boring holes on the sides of the cut portion by heating an ice pick to glowing orange and poked on the desired spots.  After the wires are wound and the ends securely fastened, you pour hot asphalt and let it dry.  That should seal any opening.  The asphalt is melted using a big tin can, and rubber cut from heavily worn out tires are used for the bottom as well as flip top cover.  You fasten these by hammering in a generous amount of nail and again sealed with molten asphalt.  With a little imagination and brush strokes you can further transform it into a work of art.

There you go - a versatile and sturdy container that can withstand the test of time, the elements, and any kind of beating.

Huntington Beach

I was at Huntington Beach, still fresh from LAX airport.  In one of the bars across the street from the beach, we had margaritas, and we were seated at the sidewalk lounge.  I looked around and all these babes were carelessly walking, scantily clad in their sexy two-piece bikinis.  Surfers also gathered garbed only in surf shorts.  I gamely removed my shirt to have a feel of the place.  At the time, we were the only Asians in the area.  Moments later, a Mexican waitress approached and asked me to put my shirt back on, which I did.  It was a polite request.  But then it hit me: I was discriminated against for being Asian!  How insensitive!  But yeah, people can be stupid sometimes.  So we just let them be, finished our drinks, and walked away, and yeah, followed the girls to the beach!