Maybe next year.  But for now, Happy Holidays!

I arrived at the terminal near 08:00 a.m.  I knew of the imposed P5.00 entrance fee and thought that was it.  But noooo, it gets worse.

So, I lined up and right after the person in front of me dropped a coin and got in, I did exactly the same.  BUT the guy watching the entrance said that I shouldn’t have done that and true to his word, the rotating thing didn’t budge.  Luckily, the old lady behind me dropped her P5.00 and I was able to get in.  That and the fact that she was practically pushing me out.  :D

This is the part that I didn’t know.  I generally don’t talk to hawkers.  But I saw people lining up at a counter and when this one hawker asked me where I was going, I told him and he led me to where I should line up to get my “ticket”.  When I got to the counter, the guy standing behind it asked for my “ticket” to which I replied “Dili d.ay diri mukuha?” and he said that I should have gotten a ticket when I got in which I would then present at the counter.

So, I rushed back to the entrance where the hawker that guided me asked why I wasn’t in line.  I told him that I wasn’t given a ticket.  He produces a used one and says that I use it instead of asking for another ticket.  So I return to the counter where they guy tells me that my entrance ticket was used and that the next time I should really ask for an entrance ticket but proceeds to give me a “bus ticket.”  I was expecting the worst but he gave me a ticket anyway.

Now that part is over.  I’m gonna complain about that process.  I don’t know if the new protocol was ever published to give people awareness of the necessary steps.  I only know of the P5.00 entrance fee.  Although, I must admit that I am partly at fault also for being so tanga.

The “bus ticket” clearly states at which gate number you should wait for the bus, the plate number or body number of the bus, and your seat number.

After getting my ticket, I waited at the lounge since it was still a few minutes before the 08:30 a.m. bus arrived.

Now this is the fun part.  There was a group of  around 10 people (it could be 8 but I’ll just use 10 because it was like an entire clan) seated in front of me at the lounge.  They were riding a Sunrays bus like me.  But take note that there are tow types of Sunrays buses, non-aircon and aircon.  The bus I was boarding was an aircon bus.

The Sunrays bus was prompt with its arrival and the said group immediately stood up to board the bus.  I heard the guard say that they could board but they had to make sure that the plate number of the bus matched the one given in the bus ticket.  I decided to board together with them as well.

This is where the fun begins.  The said group boarded the bus and immediately took the seats right after the driver with one lady in the group declaring that they should seat in front so they could tell the driver where to stop.  Chaos emerged when a family of around 5 arrived and immediately complained about why there were other people in their seats.  The lady of the family:  ”Abi nako naay seating arrangement” (or something to that effect).  The man of the family: “The seating arrangement is very lousy. “

Since the group of five really put up a fight (and I would agree with them on that note) because those seats were really theirs, the group of 10 transferred to the far end of the bus.  The conductor arrives and the lady and man of the family of five immediately spew out complaints about how they do not like what has happened.  It even came to a point where she kinda accused me (who was just sitting there in silence) of not being in the proper seat because I was already on the bus before boarding was even announced.  Lady of the family of five: (while looking at me) : “Nah, naa pay isa.” I just looked at her and wished I was my mom at that point and tell something to her face but I did nothing.

I don’t know what exactly happened next but the conductor he said something to the group of ten that the ticket they got was for an ordinary bus and not an aircon bus and immediately ordered the driver to leave the terminal.

When the bus is leaving the terminal, the group of ten then told the conductor that they have to pick up other friends in Pardo (or was it? I forgot) and Naga (this I’m sure).  The bus stops in the place I forgot but think is Pardo.  Instead of seeing people (friends of the group of 10) board the bus, a member of the group of 10 actually goes down to pick them up from their home.  The lady of the family of 5 is relentless: “Basin natulog pa na ha.”

True enough, it takes around 15 to 20 minutes for them to arrive.  Its a shame really.  But its Filipino culture.  We are almost always late.  Better late than never.  :D  A hilarious fiasco actually occurred between a member of the group of ten and the man of the family of five.

Man of the family of five says something about making people wait and the boy from the group of ten rebuts “Kadyot nalang kaayo jud.  Bus stop bitaw ni.” This irked the man from the family of five and he angrily told the boy: “Tubag tubag ka dara ha, itagak tika ron!” That was really funny but it was serious.  The bus driver was beyond irked as well as he kept honking his horn at the last person to board the bus.  Lesson learned: Never make your friends wait when you’re boarding public transportation OR Always be prepared when boarding public transportation because it irks passengers to have to wait for you and it draws the wrath of bus drivers who are actually following a schedule.

So after that fiasco, were off.  Then the group of ten informed the conductor that we had to make another stop at Naga.  The relentless lady of the family of five shot at the group of ten: “Basig one hour na ni ha.” Luckily, the guys that the group of ten had to pick up at Naga were really prompt people and were already at the stop when we arrived.  So, the lady and the man of the family of five were finally quiet and were quiet all the way to Dalaguete where they got off. I actually forgot where the group of ten got off but they did get off before the family of five.

And so the rest of the trip was filled with kwento about those two groups and the troublesome new process at the CSBT.  Hahay life.

Anywayz, I hope to write more in the coming days and months … ’til the year ends.  Hopefully, I’d be better by 2010.  Hehehe …

Kimmy Dora

I watched Kimmy Dora yesterday (because technically its past 12 midnight here … hehe) and I chose it over The Hangover because I thought that it would be fun to watch a Pinoy movie.  Plus the trailers have been really funny AND this is the first Pinoy movie that I’ve seen in a llllloooonnnggg time.

The movie was great and I my respect for the talent of Eugene Domingo just increased enormously.  She’s just amazing in this movie.  And I laud her for being able to do all the crazy things that was asked of her in this movie.

The movie is about this sibling rivalry between Kimmy and Dora, who are identical twins both played by Eugene Domingo.  The former is the head of their family-owned business and is a real b**ch while the latter is totally sweet but mentally challenged.

The rivalry intensifies when Kimmy finds out that their dad, played by Ariel Ureta, intends to give most of his family’s wealth to Dora after he dies.  This forces Kimmy to seek means to never make this happen, albeit erroneously misinterpreted by Baron Geisler, who serves as a high ranking employee of Kimmy (I actually don’t know the exact role).

Thus starts the core of the movie when Kimmy gets kidnapped and brought to the province and learns to live the simple life while Dora steps into her shoes as head of the company.  All of these mingled with a lot of comedy that will keep you smiling and laughing throughout the movie.

District 9

I was able to watch District 9 yesterday and I thought it was a pretty cool concept for a movie.  I might spoil the movie a bit.

I actually went into the cinema not knowing what to expect because I had no background information on the movie.  In fact, when I got to the movie house and saw the poster is where I first heard of it.  You have to forgive me because I’ve been living under a rock a lot lately.

So anywayz, I just decided to go and watch it because it was produced by Peter Jackson and because I loved what he did with Lord of the Rings and King Kong.

I loved the concept because I guess its the first film to actually portray aliens as somewhat human.  Its a movie where they aren’t seen as the enemy or those that invade us and wreak havoc but as the ones who are being treated badly by humans.  Well, not entirely bad as they were given homes but not enough to live on.

District 9 is set in Johannesburg, South Africa.  It starts twenty years back when an alien spacecraft hovers over Johannesburg.  The government investigate the craft and discover malnourished prawn-like aliens within it and decide to put them in a camp  called District 9.  In the present age, District 9 has become a slum and the relations between aliens and humans have become hostile forcing the government to evict and relocate the aliens to District 10, another camp that is much further away where aliens will be isolated from the humans.

The company assigned for the task is Multinational United (MNU) and the appointed head of the operation is Wikus van de Merwe.  And this is where the story begins.  Wikus and MNU agents go to District 9 to inform the aliens that they are being evicted.  When informing an alien named Christopher, who unlike the other aliens, questions the legality eviction, Wikus raids the house of the alien and finds a black liquid which he accidentally sprays onto his face.

The liquid somewhat alters his DNA making him into an alien little by little.  Worse things happen when it is revealed that MNU actually seeks to gain control of alien technology and holds Wikus captive.  Being able to escape, Wikus hides in District 9 and happened to chance upon Christopher who agrees to help him restore back his human form.

The movie was also filmed like a documentary where a camera crew follows Wikus and the evacuation team as well as making use of interviews, video surveillance, and news coverage.  The actor who plays Wikus, Sharlto Copley, was actually brilliant in his role as the guy who gets the most amount of bad luck in the world.

Even if the other component in this film were aliens, I guess we could relate it somewhat to our society that despite our differences, we can work together for a better future.  We just need a lot of understanding, willingness to listen, and the drive to cooperate.

So here are just the pictures of the different churches in the southestern part of Cebu.

Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, Upper Lindogon, Simala, Sibonga

Nuestra Señora del Pilar de Zaragoza, Sibonga

Sta. Catalina de Alejandria, Carcar

San Isidro Labrador

San Francisco de Assis

Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Here’s the only picture that shows the entire facade of the church:

San Francisco Rey Parish

After the church, I took a tricycle to Bagacay Point to see the lighthouse.

Lighthouse

Here are a few pictures:

Sto. Tomas de Villanueva

Sto. Tomas de Villanueva

Sto. Tomas de Villanueva

Sto. Tomas de Villanueva belltower

So, I headed off quite late because it was raining.  The rain eventually stopped but on the way to Maya, it started raining again and it never stopped.

So, here are a few pictures that I got of the church and the port in Maya.

The northernmost point of the northernmost town

Santa Rosa de Lima