2013 Good Vibes

We all started the year 2012 with the end in mind. End of the World, that is. Turned out this had fueled us to make the most out what seemed to be the remaining days of our lives. 2012 was such a great year and thanks to yet another failed prediction, we're poised to make yet another year greater than the previous one.

And here's a manifesto: 2013 is all about good vibes.

And here's a little thank you note to all those people who became part of the wonderful journey in 2012. So to every single person who has been a part of my 2012, with all that I am, I thank you. Thank you for every memory made, for every moment spent, for every lesson learned, for every teardrop, for every smile, for every laughter, for every promise made, for every promise broken, for every secret kept, for every secret told, for every plan finished, for every action taken, for every dream dreamt, for every future planned, and for all other things.

 I look forward to creating another wonderful year with you guys. We'll travel the world, we'll make a difference, shoot many pictures and videos, eat healthy (naks), exercise (sana), write great stories, spread the love, defy the limit, elect change, paint, sing and dance! We would also make new friends and cherish the old ones and become ambassadors of world peace and while this may sound awkward, ambassadors of a balanced diet.

This 2013, I only wish one thing for all of you and that is ABUNDANCE. Yes, abundance..in all aspects of the word. May you find abundance in finances, in success, in your career, in blessings, and in love. And I hope that on the last day of 2013, you will have three hundred and sixty five new stories to tell.

Tomorrow, as we wake up, starts the first blank page of a 365-page book. Let's write a good one! Cheers for the new year! 2013 will be all about GOOD VIBES!

With all the love in the world,

Louie.

A FOND FAREWELL FOR 2012:

Sonny Boy, Pablo and Climate Change

While most of us remember tropical storm Pablo through the powerful winds it brought on that fateful Tuesday morning, a brave 15 year-old boy from New Bataan in Compostela Valley remembers it as the phenomenon that wrecked havoc to the place he called home and left thousands killed, missing or homeless.

Sonny Boy Jumaling bravely shared how he survived in the raging torrent of water and mud when Pablo showed its wrath in his town, several kilometers away from the central part of New Bataan. It was about thirty minutes past five in the morning when the ferocious storm hit their town, with winds powerful enough to send roofs off the houses and coconut trees swinging.

And there was a distressing uproar from afar they mistook as a mere sound of wind. But they were wrong. In an instant, a furious surge of mud came down from the hills which prompted them to run. They ran to a much safer ground but time fell short as they were swept by such a powerful force.

Sonny Boy Jumaling let photographer Leo Timogan capture a photo of his face which he also bravely reviewed through Leo's DSLR screen. Sonny Boy is among the 42 wounded victims - and counting - who are housed in Tagum City's Rotary Park gymasium.

And so began Sonny Boy’s daylong ordeal. According to him, the angry floodwater flowing at a velocity of 80 kilometers per hour brought him to places he didn't recognize. What he can recall is that the force of nature at its fiercest. He managed to climb a coconut tree but it also bowed down to Pablo. When it fell down, Sonny Boy hold on to it for a bit but the wounds he sustained from all over his body forced him to let go.

Darkness was about to crack when he was rescued alone in the boundary of New Bataan and Maragusan, way too far from his home and from his loved ones. With fresh wounds all over his body, Sonny Boy was reunited with his 13 year-old brother in the town's gymnasium where thousands of evacuees sought refuge and where hundreds lay dead.

His mother did not make it but thanks to God, his father is alive whom he was reunited with in Tagum City's Rotary Park Gymnasium that was temporarily made a secondary hospital treating wounded victims from the towns of Compostela and New Bataan.

Sonny Boy's story is one of the many stories of survival that emerge during the storm. Personally, his story became the multi-faceted face of the phenomenon that caught us by surprise.

Freedom from typhoons is one of nature's gift to Mindanao. True. But not anymore. Our generation have never seen a single storm batter this part of the country but due to the dramatic change in climate and a warming planet, we all suffer the wrath of Mother Nature.

Quite ironically, when Pablo proved its mettle as the deadliest storm to hit the Philippines this year, environment ministers and envoys from the different parts of the world meet at an international climate conference in Doha, Qatar convened by the United Nations.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon highlighted the "abnormal as the new normal." The danger signs are all around, Ban noted, emphasizing that ice caps are melting, permafrost thawing and sea levels rising. In a report by the Associated Press, the climate meet in Doha seeks to craft a new global climate treaty that would take effect in the year 2020. They are also discussing how to rein in greenhouse gas emissions before then, partly by extending the Kyoto Protocol, a treaty limiting the emissions of most industrialized countries.

The Kyoto Protocol expires as 2012 bids goodbye. In Doha, ministers and envoys are having a hard time deciding whether to extend the treaty to five years while developing countries are pressuring developed countries like the United States and China to show how they intend keeping a promise to raise climate funding for poor countries to $100 billion per year by 2020 -- up from a total of $30 billion in 2010-2012.

But the European Union and the United States have refused to put concrete figures on the table in Doha for new 2013-2020 climate funding. AFP reports that individual country pledges did start to trickle in, but the European bloc said Wednesday that tight finances prevented it taking on binding near-term commitments, while Washington insisted it was already "doing what we agreed to do."

Philippine climate envoy Naderev Sano's emotional appeal to the UN body in Doha reflects the collective voice of the Filipino people who, among many citizens of the world, suffer the wrath of global warming. His very short but very powerful remarks came with tears:

As we sit here in these negotiations, even as we vacillate and procrastinate here, the death toll is rising. There is massive and widespread devastation. Hundreds of thousands of people have been rendered without homes. And the ordeal is far from over, as typhoon Bopha has regained some strength as it approaches another populated area in the western part of the Philippines.

We have never had a typhoon like Bopha, which has wreaked havoc in a part of the country that has never seen a storm like this in half a century. And heartbreaking tragedies like this are not unique to the Philippines, because the whole world, especially developing countries struggling to address poverty and achieve social and human development, confront these same realities. 

I speak on behalf of 100 million Filipinos, a quarter of a million of whom are seeking out a living working here in Qatar. And I am making an urgent appeal, not as a negotiator, not as a leader of my delegation, but as a Filipino. I appeal to the whole world, I appeal to leaders from all over the world, to open our eyes to the stark reality that we face. I appeal to ministers. The outcome of our work is not about what our political masters want. It is about what is demanded of us by 7 billion people. 

 The warming of our planet and the sudden change in climate is ultimately the result of selfish human activities that destroy our environment. If our world leaders fail to agree on a treaty that would help lessen the threat of global warming, then probably more disasters and catastrophes are set to wreck havoc.

While this bickering in Doha continues and as the Kyoto Protocol is on the brink of expiration without single strand of hope that it gets its much-needed extension, we can expect that stories like that of Sonny Boy and the many victims of climate change in the Philippines will continue in the years to come.

Sonny Boy told me he never lost hope in the long course of his daylong ordeal. Each time he bobbed his head out from the muddy water, facing the gloomy sky, he would invoke God's help. 

Like him, we must never lost hope in our battle against global warming. But there's something that we can do. The challenge is succinctly summed up by Mr. Sano as he wrapped up his appeal in Doha:

I appeal to all, please, no more delays, no more excuses. Please, let 2012 be remembered as the year the world found the courage to find the will to take responsibility for the future we want. I ask of all of us here, if not us, then who? If not now, then when? If not here, then where?

Caught by Surprise

Whether you’re at the comfort of your own homes or in the field, Pablo caught us by surprise. Wherever you’re from Mindanao, especially in Davao Region, the presence of Pablo felt through strong winds either shocked or frightened all of us.

In Tagum, Davao del Norte’s capital city, residents including me woke up to the sounds of rustles and whistles made by strong winds accompanied by light rains. It was a pre-dawn phenomenon, when, instead of the sun to wake us up on that fateful Tuesday morning, the wrath of Pablo scared us to death.

That morning was truly strange and horrifying due to the fact that this part of the country is never battered by storms. Freedom from typhoons is one of nature's promises to Mindanao. That statement no longer remains true as a changing climate forced a paradigm shift in paths of storm. Time has really changed. First there was Sendong last year and now here's Typhoon Pablo—described by the government as the strongest storm to hit the Philippines this year—which joined the ranks as one of the worst pre-Christmas disasters in recent memory.

During the storm, I left home at around eight in the morning to join my officemates in documenting the path of destruction in my beloved city. In the succeeding hours, with all of us soaked in wet, we saw for ourselves the fierce weather phenomenon that fell down huge trees along the highways, shattered hectares of banana plantations, rose water levels of the Hijo River to critical point, left several properties damaged and collapsed electrical supply. As the night came, my hometown was wrapped in total darkness transforming itself from a boom town to a ghost town for a night.

Palm trees brave Pablo's winds at the height of the storm. Taken about 8:30-9:00 AM by Leo Timogan.

You could only watch in despair as your hometown seemed like a disaster zone for a while. In the city’s aviary zone inside the well-known Energy Park, winds knocked down trees that provide shade for both nature-loving citizens and the caged birds. The sight of people fleeing their homes, carrying their hard-earned properties while braving knee-deep floods and intermittent rains would forever be etched in our memories. We are not used to this. How dare you, Pablo.

We learned, as the floods of information came in the following day, what we experienced at home was just a microcosm of the bigger path of destruction Pablo left in our neighboring towns and provinces. In Compostela Valley and in Davao Oriental, many families are left homeless. Casualties rose to record numbers. Millions of properties are destroyed. Agriculture sector totally wrecked.

Last night, thousands of residents of New Bataan sought temporary shelter in Tagum's Rotary Park. Seeing them on a sunny day 48 hours after that fateful Tuesday storm is sad.

Our hearts go out to those who lost their loved ones, their homes and that strand of hope. Our boundaries, I realized, are just geographical lines.. This storm made us a one sharing and caring community.

Pablo really caught us by surprise. Home is where the heart is. But for many of us here, home is where hearts break.

Helping to clear the road from a fallen tree at Bincungan, Tagum City. Photo by Leo Timogan

Along Mankilam, Tagum City

The gate-keeper of DPWH briefed us about the alarming level of Hijo River in Barangay Apokon shortly before 12 noon. During that time, water level was at 6.21 meters. When we went back at around 4 PM, it was 8 meters which mean it's already in its critical level. Photo by Kelvin Palermo

Residents on their way to the evacuation centers, escaping the rising water levels of the Hijo River. These waters came from the uplands of the Province of Compostela Valley, one of the hardest-hit province during Typhoon Pablo. Photo by Leo Timogan

Constellation of Stars

Complete darkness wrapped the whole place on that moon-lit Friday night when, as the hours leading to the first day of December looms, the Queen of Apostles College and Seminary opened its door to us to witness the tradition that has spanned years of delicate and meticulous art of making parols, perhaps the well-revered Christmas icon of the Filipinos second to the belen.

Quite ironically, the bright sky on that night brought by the romantic moon didn’t offer a vista of little, twinkling, and sometimes falling, astronomical dots. What I saw instead are big ones that are very well-decorated with indigenous and recyclable materials that are brought to life by lights of different colors in the spectrum. Had I been so crazy, I would have thought some of the stars up above camped in this part of the world! 

Past a dark and eerie driveway bordered on the sidelines by old, towering trees is the great seminarians’ abode, home to the future gatekeepers of the Catholic church. These people are also the young men who carried on the tradition of putting up giant lanterns not just for the sake of having it, but to remind themselves and the faithful community in general, of the great celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Through their artistic collaboration to produce such amazing lanterns, they were able to bring such magnitude of joy eminent during the holidays. 

This tradition traces its roots way back in the year 1996, according to the dean of the seminary and our host for that night, Rev. Fr. Emerson delos Reyes. In the past years, he said, belens (or nativity diorama) add up to the hype of the seminary’s Christmas tradition other than the giant lanterns. In recent years, they shifted their focus on the latter, with seminarians organized in several groups thinking of different sets of designs every year in a competition that has meted their calibre for arts and design.

In the seminary’s gymnasium, about ten giant Christmas icons were on display, each having distinct and intricate designs that are rich with meanings and symbolisms. 

One particular design that caught my attention was the smiling snow man, the famed symbol of a White Christmas everybody in the Philippines is dreaming--that kind of moment when you wake up on a bright Christmas morning with falling snow outside your window and freckles across your nose. This particular fixture stands smiling beside an old ship adorned with a cross and a handful of stars, made more vibrant by the tiny dots of yellow lights.

Rise of the Guardians: Simply Magical

IN SEARCH OF an unknown past and questions surrounding Jack Frost’s special ability offers an impressive background to this yet another spell-binding animated film. Playful yet troubled about the existence of his special powers, Jack Frost is blessed with the ability to freeze anything he wishes to turn into ice through his staff. But he is also an interpretation of disconnect.

In the opening scene complete with graphical magic, viewers would, first, be amazed with how Jack Frost marveled at his newly-found powers, albeit his problem of being invisible. Your heart would surely go out for him each time passes through his spectral frame, signifying children didn't notice his existence.

As action progresses, the back story of how Jack Frost gained his special abilities take shape. Adding spice to the greatly-woven story is that he is about to join the elite league of the Guardians, an honest-to-goodness group with members delicately chosen by a certain Man in the Moon. This alliance is best described through the words of North when he explained their mission to Jack Frost: “We go by many names and take many forms. We bring wonder and hope. We bring joy and dreams. We are the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy. We are the Easter Bunny and Santa. And our powers are greater than you ever imagine. It is our job to protect the children of the world. For as long as they believe in us, we will guard them with our lives.”

Image Courtesy of Dreamworks

Faith in Baclaran

The Baclaran Phenomenon is, first and foremost, the incredible number of people who come to the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran every Wednesday to make the Perpetual Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. It is estimated that at least 100,000 devotees come on regular Wednesdays, reaching about 120,000 on the First Wednesday of each month.

When I was there on Wednesday last week, I felt the intensity of the energy caused by the prayers of the pilgrims. After saying a prayer in the shrine (my third time since 2006), I saw the magnitude of faithfuls who had come to the shrine to pray and to give thanks to the Lord through the Blessed Virgin Mary. It all would be summed up with one word: FAITH.

So what’s important with faith?

I’d been taught that He who has faith has an inward reservoir of courage, hope, confidence, calmness, and assuring trust that all will come out well - even though to the world it may appear to come out most badly. As what Mahatma Ghandi once said, Faith must be enforced by reason. When faith becomes blind, it dies.

After all, it’s not the prayer alone that stands out. It’s Faith.

As I gaze at the faithful in one corner while taking pictures in between, I remembered one thing: to keep our faith and surely, our faith will keep us.

Weekend Getaway in Islas de Gigantes

PROVINCE OF ILOILO—From afar, the majestic silhouette of Northern Iloilo’s little-known jewel radiates a feeling that somewhat a giant is waiting to be either conquered or explored. Braving the rough sea and the wild clash of the big waves, I managed to set foot at last in this province’s last frontier—Isla de Gigantes—which is brimming with natural wonders ripe for the world to see.

Lodged in the northeastern part of Panay Island, Isla de Gigantes boasts of pristine and raw beaches that are exuding charm and mystery. Legends and folklore immediately speak as I arrived in the island at night. Legends have it that the Gigante Islands are reigned with “giants” way back then, and this is supported with artifacts found in one of its many caves. I didn’t see real giants when I stayed there; what I saw instead are warm people standing tall and proud like a giant with their prized possession: the islands itself.

And this is where I experienced my first solo backpacking trip—in this little-known place and undoubtedly a hidden gem that’s poised to carve its name in tourism circles for its enchanting charm. 

One would surely fall in love with its group of amazing islands like the Cabugao Gamay which is my favorite. Here, you can climb in a rocky hill where you’ll have a fantastic vista of the whole island itself. Up there, the sight of fisherfolks resting on midday is a worthwhile experience while witnessing viewing the frantic union of the white sand and the blue-green water. This explodes into white foam as it reaches the shore. 

Traveling Louie on top of the Cabugao Gamay Island in Isla de Gigantes, Carles, Northern Iloilo.

Snorkeling is a fun thing to do in Antonia Island where you’ll be able to swim with a school of colorful fishes above the coral reefs. This is also where I braved the scorching heat of the sun to have a swim. Except for my tour guides and the island’s caretaker, it was only me swimming in the island in midday, savoring the sea after a sumptuous lunch. 

Not far from Antonia is the Bantigue Sandbar which is also a magnet for tourists. It offers a good view of a fiery sunset during low tide which is the only time you’ll be able to see for yourself its snake-like formation.

The biggest star in this island escapade is the Tangke Saltwater Lagoon which is formed by a surrounding wall of monolithic cliffs. The place looks like an oasis of comfort. During the habagat season, it would be very difficult to reach this place due to the big waves that clash with the stones in its entrance. Notwithstanding the huge waves, we managed to cross the threshold and under the flares of the sun, we basked in its glory. 

The Tangke Saltwater Lagoon

Big waves hinder us from exploring the rest of the islands in the area like the Uaydahon, Sicogon, Gaket-gaket, Pulupandan and Balbagon—places that would surely bring me back to this place. Summer would surely be the best time to go back, when the sea is calm and the sun rises up to the mightiest. 

The travel to these islands which are located mostly in Gigantes Sur is a treat in itself where you’ll witness fishes putting up a show: flying up a bit and get some air. 

Thing is, Gigante Islands is a world within a world. It has its own way of slowing down things and nature spoils you for a choice. This is a place for those who want to relax or finish an almost forgotten song or to enjoy the mouth-watering seafoods! Oh-la-la! There’s no signal in the island so forget about the harsh world and let yourself relax through music or by reading a book. 

Gigantes Sur

Appreciate silence in Antonia Island

A world within a world

The New Lighthouse in Asluman, Gigantes Norte

The Old Structure of the Gigantes Lighthouse in Barangay Asluman, Gigantes Norte

A coffin measuring measuring 8 feet in length found in one of the caves of Gigantes Norte. It could be true that the islands are once inhabited by giants! 

Sunset in Barangay Granada, Gigantes Norte

Sunrise in Asluman

Gigantes Norte is known to be the Scallop Capital of Carles. Here, children pose with scallop shells which are forming hills in many places in the island.

Seaweeds

Lunch will truly be nice here, right?

Tourism development barely started a year and a half ago, according to Carles Tourism Officer Joel Decano who also owns and operates the island’s lone inn that accommodates tourists: The Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn. There’s really a big room for improvement but given more time, Isla de Gigantes would surely be a giant name in Philippine tourism. By the way, Gigantes Norte also hosts within its soil numerous caves which make it very cool. Water is not a problem in the Gigantes Hideaway Inn as it has developed a system that gets spring water directly from its mountains and it’s for free. Electricity turns on by 5 in the evening and shuts down by 11 but the inn has a generator. 

The amenities of the Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn... sort of like a home-stay. It's great.

Isla de Gigantes, without a doubt, is a giant waiting to be explored. I already did and it’s high time that you, too, should see for yourself its majestic islands colored by fiery sunrises and sunsets and bask in full glory in its pristine and raw beaches.

Louie.

GETTING THERE

From Manila or Davao, take the earliest flight to the City of Iloilo. From Iloilo International Airport, hire a taxi that will take you to Tagbak Northbound Terminal in Jaro District in Iloilo City (fare: 380 pesos). You can either take a bus or a van to get you to the coastal town of Estancia. The van is the most preferred mode of transportation because of its fast mobility. By van, it would take two hours to reach Estancia compared to bus’ five hours. Tagbak to Estancia would cost you 150 pesos.

Upon arrival, take a motorcycle (fare: 10 pesos) to the Port of Estancia. Here, a motorized pumpboat leaves for Asluman, Gigantes Norte every 2:00 PM everyday. NO other trips will take you there so it’s better that you should be early in the port. The same boat leaves Asluman at about 9:00 AM in the morning everyday. Islas de Gigantes is 18 kilometers off the coast of mainland Panay Island or two hours away via the pumpboat.

Upon arrival at Asluman, ride a habal-habal (fare:10 pesos) to Gigantes Hideaway Inn in Sitio Hayahay.

CONTACT PERSON: Mr. JOEL DECANO, Municipal Tourism Officer of Carles, Iloilo
                                    Owner, Gigantes Hideaway Tourist Inn
                                    09184685006

Once there, request for MR. JOFER DECANO to be your tour guide. He was my tour guide when I was there and he’s really nice and he is also a good photographer who can take you a decent picture if you are traveling solo. His contact number is 09199739477.

Special thank you’s to the DECANO FAMILY who are very warm and accommodating as well as to the boat owner (I forgot to ask his name) who let me hitch a ride in his cargo pumpboat because I was 30 minutes late going to Gigantes. I almost did not see the wonder of Isla de Gigantes. I’ll be forever grateful.

Finding Angles

We're filling up our "big" assignment with new photographs to incorporate on a Monday morning, and under the scorching heat of the sun. This is September 17, 2012 otherwise known as Finding Angles.

Sharing is Caring

It’s Sunday and it feels great to be sitting writing this piece. After a week of a date with the desktop computer (read: staring contest) in the office designing the official calendar of the City Government for year 2013, I am taking respite. Lay-outing the calendar usually takes months to prepare; two days of actual designing and selecting photographs that make it and the rest would be dedicated to revising the whole thing to fit the taste of the big bosses. This is actually my second opportunity to layout Tagum City’s Calendar, the first one was during last year for the 2012 Calendar.

Designing the city government’s calendar is actually great. The long hours of making the design would be worth it when you see your product hanging in every home across Tagum, in schools, in business establishment, in offices and the like. The city government will be printing 50,000 pieces for this particular calendar, some of which will be sent abroad.

What actually makes it more exciting this time is that our office is tasked to produce not just one but two designs for the official 2013 calendar of the city. I am not in authority to divulge the details of the concepts yet, but once it’s out in the public to see, I will be giving an update through this blog. Since we are producing not just one but two designs this time, expect that I’ll be seeing the world in the next few weeks through bulging eye bags.

But all is not dedicated for work this month. By the end of September, I’ll try for the very first time solo backpacking all the way to Carles town in the picturesque province of Iloilo. Carles is home to the mystical Islas de Gigantes—a group of islands located in the northern part of the Panay Island. I found this spell-binding place weeks ago and its turquoise-blue seawaters and the seafoods (yes, seafoods!) make me excited to the bones.

Last Friday, officemate and fellow blogger Leo Timogan of tagumexposure.blogspot.com did what we want best: sharing our little knowledge in AVP production and Photography, respectively. Videographer Kelvin Palermo also tagged along, helping us deliver the basics to our participants. It was actually great to share with interested teenagers our humble know-how of these two subjects. Passing on some knowledge to them and pushing them to tell stories through photographs and audio visual presentations is humbling and inspiring. We would like to extend our thanks to Ate Shiela Onlos for inviting us.

This week taught me this thing: Sharing is Caring. As long as opportunity will knock on my door to share your God-given talent, I would be very glad to take part in it. Making yourself available for the development of other person’s talent and potential is a sort of giving back, or for being thankful for what talent you’ve got.

So whether it’s about giving your best in an assignment, say designing some awesome things, or by sharing your knowledge to those who need it, it’s actually bringing back the glory to God who gave you all these things.

When you’ve got a job to do, an assignment to accomplish, give all your very best. When someone needs help, be humble enough to share.

Remember, sharing is caring.  Happy Sunday!

Louie.

SHARING IS FUN! 09.14.12 Photo by Kelvin Z. Palermo

TEAM ALAMAT. Just a way of remembering that all work and no play makes John a dull boy. Photo by Leo Timogan of CIO Tagum at the Rotary Park.

The Distinct Joy of Being Invisible

Bloggers Note: This blog post below is the very first post that gives spotlight on the things that are usually not given importance. The blog also comes with photographs that break the rules of photography, in the blogger's pursuit to take his penchant for documentary photography into a more serious level. This blog post (and the upcoming posts of this sort) also comes with a supplementary mini-magazine posted online which will serve as an online portfolio of the blogger.  This, above all, is the product of a dream finally coming into fruition. As what the tagline of this blog masquerading as an edict: Leave no Story Untold.

*  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * *  *  * 

Dark clouds enveloped the sky one night in Tagum, promising a cold night in this part of the planet. Soon after, droplets of rain started to startle everybody in this place called the Night Market where the heavy downpour of rain poses a grave threat to the merchants and an equal dismay to their patrons.

And this is where I found myself one night--amazed with how a busy street in broad daylight transform into a bustling night market at the fall of dusk. From the moment the sun kisses the western sky, stalls sprout in the busy streets like mushrooms and leave in the wee hours of the morning, just before the mighty sun rises up and brings in a new day full of hope. The usual sight of people from all walks of life happily dining or haggling over pre-owned clothes or designer bags or branded shoes would surely leave an impression that night life is more fun in this part of the world.

The strong wind or this excessive energy present in the area probably blew the dark clouds on that Sunday night. This is also when I felt I was invisible. My romance with my camera, I then realized, was a travesty of invisibility.

I am adamant that it is this invisibility enabled me to see things on a large scale and differently. My amazement of the place was only short-lived as my attention was grabbed by persons selling customized balloons. This scene exudes a patina of happiness in a place where people seems to brush it off. Except for children, of course. As usual, and as each of us could have experienced then, the radiant glow of excitement and happiness is evidenced the moment a child lets hold of the tiny string of the balloon and making sure it doesn't let go up in the air. To put it succinctly in our own tongue, hawak mo na happiness mo, bakit ka pa bibitaw? 

It is in this premise that my concept of happiness comes in: to claim the things and to hold dear in our hearts the persons or things that make us happy. It is a state of one's mind; a choice rather than fate. But we must also acknowledge the fact that the world that we live in is not perfect. Jose Mari Ugarte complained that we are born into it through the pain of our mothers and raised in it suffering failures, disappointments, sadness, prejudice and hate.

But since the world is not perfect, it cannot be perfectly bad. We also have triumphs, joys, tolerance and above all, love. And it is love that makes this journey through this vale of tears a wonder. As what they say, without pain, the heart is hollow.

By choice, or perhaps by default, my frames were dominated by pictures of balloons on that Sunday night and enjoyed the feeling of invisibility like I never experienced it before. Past sweet couples holding hands while walking, past family members and circle of friends grinning, past people bordering on the obnoxious was me and my camera– savoring that distinct happiness of snapping photographs in this happy place.

The moment you find yourself gallivanting in this place or in any other public place, take a moment to observe things and realize the richness of stories that can be found in each person or things that thrive here. Bring a camera if you please, preserve memories and be charmed with the same spell of invisibility that I enjoyed. If you do, do it with a light heart and without a doubt, you can never go wrong.

L.

Here's the rest of the photographs, bounded together in this special maiden issue of the Sprinkles:

Open publication - Free publishing - More happiness

Shot First, Eat Later: A Taste of LA Cafe

The usual traffic woes when you're in Metro Manila would surely bore you to death. Imagine this: it's 8:30 in the evening, and you still haven't eaten your dinner and you find yourself in the middle of a worst Friday Night rush hour. From the City of Manila, we traveled north, specifically in Quezon City, where it took us one hour and 15 minutes to drive--too far from the usual 30 minutes without the annoying traffic.

But never mind because I found out later that we were in for a real treat.

Our group chose to dine in probably one of the best restaurants I've been to: A Taste of LA Cafe. Located specifically in Roces Avenue. cor. Tomas Morato, Quezon City, this restaurant boasts of mouth-watering menu that had left me in eternal craving.

My colleagues were right. This restaurant shares a resemblance with my hometown's Kamalig Restaurant but the only difference is that the latter is more classy. One would surely be amazed with its romantic ambiance but more than that, it's their food that would surely make one crave for more.

Operating since 1995, the A Taste of LA Cafe gained its stature as a world-class restaurant when it was declared the World's Best Restaurant in an international food conference held in Barcelona, Spain two years ago. This place has also became a favorite place for hangout among the country's brightest stars. The restaurant's manager who is a Tagumeño and an alumnus of the University of Mindanao told us their regular costumers include Kim Chui, Kris Aquino, Korina Sanchez, Chiz Escudero, Coco Martin and the late Rico Yan. After the Inaugural Concert held in the Quezon City Circle during his swearing-in as the President of the Philippines, President Aquino went to this restaurant to eat, especially his favorite in the restaurant: the barbecued US baby back ribs.

When we were there, some of the stars we spotted were Gerald Anderson and Dingdong Dantes. Senator TG Guingona was also there when we dined.

In a scale of 10 as the highest, I should give their barbecued US baby back ribs, the asian salad, the oxtail karekare and the old-fashioned bibingka a rate of 11. The dining experience was really great but their best-tasting food is truly the restaurant's jewel.

If there's one lesson I had re-learned from this experience, it's that patience, indeed, is a real virtue. The moment I disembarked from the car after that traffic-infested trip to Quezon City, I knew then I was in for a real treat. And it was, it really was.

Louie.