Wilnora

I passed out on the couch when I came home.  I woke up when my sister, Socorro came home at 2:30 am from hanging out with her batchmates.  I never went back to sleep and decided to unpack the rest of my stuff.  I went in Lance's room to help him look for his spiderman figures at 4 am.  We played the rest of the morning, & showed me his booty dance before going downstairs for breakfast.  I got ready at about 10 am to go with Socorro to the school to register.  I stayed w/ her for a little while so I can take pictures of their dance practice and visit w/ my old teachers that are still teaching in Sagrado.  I took these pictures of the school ( 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) before going back to the house to get Socorro's camera & video cam since she forgot to bring them along. Adelfa called to check up on mewhen I got home.  She wanted to meet up again that night to watch a movie.  I told her to pick me up at the school coz I had to drop off Socorro's cameras.  Adelfa & her brother, Joe Franz picked me up at the school & headed out to SM City to watch "You are The One."  On our way I got a chance to snap some more pictures of the route I used to take when I was still studying in Sagrado.  I used to go a lot to my friend, Kathryn's house in Sagasa in Sto. Rosario St. to hang out with her.  We only had an hour of lunchtime in school before, & I hated having to take 2 jeepney rides each way to go home so instead I'd go w/ her to eat at their house if I didn't blow off all of that day's allowance on Coke & what not.  We would then go to another classmate's house on Sto. Rosario at times to watch the alligators they breed at their compound.  I loved going to San Jose Church on Sundays w/ mom coz at times the street vendors would sell yummy goodies like bibingka across the street in Plaza Libertad and admire the historic buildings along the way (1, 2, 3, 4).  I used to get off the Jaro jeep in front of Kong Kee Restaurant to cross the street to take the Lapuz jeep in front of Washington Supermart at the Hoskyns Co. Building.  But sometimes I like getting off on Iznart St and once again cross the street to catch the jeep in front of Amigo Terrace since I have a chance of getting on a not so filled Lapuz jeep. And I have a chance of taking the backend of the jeepney, or even ride shotgun style.  Plus I don't mind seeing the historic buildings again before it takes me home to my barrio.  Mahilig gid ko mag joyride.  I was so engrossed w/ listening to Delai's story that I missed to take a picture of San Agustin where my Mom was a Music Teacher.  I managed to take a picture of the gate entrance though.  I used to always take this entrance when I went to see her acompany her students on their piano recitals at their Music Hall.  My sister, Chiarina took commerce courses here, & also performed w/ the Music Dept. every now & again as one of her electives.  Juvy & Richard were having lunch at Max's Restaurant in SM City when we met up w/ them.  I haven't eaten lunch yet so I decided to get their combo meal, while Delai & Toto Joe Franz had buko pandan special.  It was your typical filipino love story movie so I thought it was a little corny, but an ok movie.  I went & bought blouses to give as pasalubong in kamiseta & prints & plains stores.  I bought myself a couple of Hang Ten polo shirts since I love their logo.  We went to Robinson's right after to recharge at one of their coffehouses, bought cheap vcd movies, & waited for John to call us back for the night's itinerary.  We even saw Dodgie Tan at Iloilo Supermart buying groceries.  Dodgie & his family used to rent my cousin's house right next door to mine, & he was Mr. Faggin when Sagrado did the production of Oliver in 1986, under Mr. Batacandolo's direction, Sir Batacandolo was one of the newscasters on channel 13 ( I forgot the name of the station) before teaching English classes in Sagrado for a few years.  He made it possible for non-Sagradistos to join any of the school's production at the time.  Dodgie never went to my school, but he has this amazing stage presence & great voice.  No wonder all my friends had a crush on him.  Nag pa picture gid kami para pa hisa-on kay Czybel.  Crush-crush ya gid na daan!  I never had Sir Batacandolo, but I would've loved to be in his class & hear him teach.  He really drew you in whenever he talks.  Aside from Oliver he also directed 1988's school production of The Great White Way. The show was derived from the Broadway shows on 42nd Street in New York.  I loved that school year coz we had so much cool things happening.  I was able to perform in a couple of plays, was a class officer, my grades went average especially in math my worst subject, sang solo at a couple of masses in school( I'm the only Cordova sister who never performed on stage),  & I was able to hang out more w/ my friends.  Nag duging gani kay last time ko na sa Sagrado mag eskwela antes ako kadto diri sa Vegas.  Memorable gid tuod. 

We went to this chicken inasalan place, w/c sad to say I don't remember the name of the establishment, but you can eat w/ your hands(kamutan style).  We saw Edrey June, another batchmate in Sagrado, coming in & asked him to eat w/ us.  We were asking him where to go to listen to a good band when he mentioned another schoolmate in Sagrado fronting the band, Divest (the spelling might be wrong).  I instantly remember my sister, Socorro saying they had a band the night before at their reunion party & it's called "Diversity" or something like that.  She was really impressed w/ the frontman's rendition of AHK's songs.  So all night we club hopped hoping to catch Justin Oquendo & his band.  We went back to Smallville to meet John & his friends at MO2.  While waiting we went to ask the guard at Shipwreck Bar if Justin's band plays there.  He then went to get his supervisor so we can find out.  He tells us Justin & his band does perform at Shipwreck Bar, but was off that night since the band, Sugarfree had a concert.  We wanted to checkout Flow, but they have a 100 peso entrance fee, sans free drink as compared to MO2 where there's no cover charge at all.  We went back to MO2 to listen to the band playing while waiting for a karaoke room in the Annex.  We saw Jerry Codinera for two consecutive nights going to the same places we go to.  Wow!  Ano magka MU kami sa iya?  Ay ka gwapo gali sa iya kag taas pa!  I had a great time just lounging around & catching up w/ friends.  It helped that the band was playing some jazz & r&b songs while we were out there.  I ordered a round of shots to thank everyone for the night's festiivities( pic above).  A shot & six San Mig beers later we finally got a karaoke room inside MO2 Annex.  By then I was only drinking water coz I didn't want to get so drunk since I had to wake up early to attend mass in Sagrado.  Plus I have low tolerance of alcohol for a year now.  The girls & I just enjoyed listening & watching the boys get their groove on.       

posted Mon, 09/25/06

Day 5

Sun., 9/17

 

I ended up not going to Sagrado to hear mass in the morning.  Instead, I took my time the whole morning to get ready, & visit with my cousins.  I left the house at 1 pm pm to make it in time for the Velada at 2 pm.  It turned out that the show wasn't until 3 pm.  I crossed the street to Villa Sagrado to wait for the rest of my friends to arrive.  Adelfa pointed out that there's a fishball stand a few yards from the school.  She remembered me mentioning about it the other day.  I always missed having authentic fishballs on those three times that I've gone back to visit the country. 

I wanted to set up Socorro's camcorder on her tripod, but the top part screw was missing.  So you can just imagine how annoyed I got since I had to hold the damn thing for the whole program.  My right hand stiffened a couple of times from manually taking videos.  It doesn't help that I'm holding it in my bad hand(I fractured my right elbow 7 yrs ago).  Good thing the program wasn't as lame as I thought it would be.  I actually had a great time watching it.  We watched the fireworks after the program ended.  We all didn't get a chance to go to church that day so we went up to the chapel to pray.  And headed out for dinner right after.  I had a hard time keeping my eyes open halfway through dinner.  I should've ordered red bull instead of 7-up.  I got a little bit energized after dinner when we all decided to check a couple more bars for Justin's band, but to no avail.  Everyone just called it a night since some had to work the next day and I have to wake up in a few hours to catch the first bus to Caticlan w/ my sisters, Lance, & relatives.  It's a shame though coz I wanted to talk some more w/ Kathy, my look-alike (lady in red, pic above).  Last time we have really sat down & talked was three years ago at John and Adelfa's wedding.  I have to send her an e-mail soon to apologize.

Day 5

Mon., 9/18

 

I fell asleep in Lance's room when I came home the night before.  It was about 3:25 am when I woke up.  I instantly woke up Fatima coz we were to leave the house before 4 am to catch the bus in Tanza.  I swear that was the fastest time we all got ready even w/ a kid in tow.  The bus was getting to leave when our taxis pulled up to the station.  It's a good thing we didn't have to go to a kiosk at the station because the payment is made inside the bus.  I don't know how much the fare is for each person coz my sister Socorro paid for me.  I slept in & out all throughout the five hour drive, but managed to snap some pictures of the scenery going to Caticlan.  We were able to buy a bag of rambutan before we took a tricycle ride to the dock to take a roro boat going to Boracay Island.  I was a bit confused at first why this lady who I saw at the terminal suddenly became so friendly & helpful with our baggages (I always keep my guard when I travel & hardly hire a porter to avoid getting fooled.  After all I'm strong enough to carry them myself).  I assumed my cousin Tess personally knows her & they just happened to bump into each other in the island.  My cousin Tess is well traveled herself, & such a hardcore about keeping her guard as well; nami siya updon kay ka balo siya sang mga patakaran sang mga sitwasyon.  I learned later on when we got to our hotel, La Carmela de Boracay on Station 2 that the lady is one of the PR's of the island.  Marilou turned down the tip money we tried to give her and wished us a pleasant time in Boracay.  I liked how the staff instantly welcomed us w/ refreshments & at one point was really cool & even apologized for not carefully placing the glass of juice on the table instead of the chair when Lance accidentally knock over the glass.  After we got settled in our room I took a body shower & headed out to the beach to swim by myself for two hours.  I tiptoed my way back to the room to shower since everyone was sound asleep.  I went out again to walk off the yummy prawns, & rice I ate for lunch, and take some more pictures (hotel pool, hotel's resto, lazy afternoon, sailboats, empty lounge chairs, regency1, regency2) and headed to D'Mall to withdraw some money to buy pasalubongs.  The prices at D'Mall are way out of my budget so I decided to buy stuff in Talipapa near my hotel, but not before having crêpes du nutella.  I walked a little bit further down the beach to take in some more scenery of the local boys playing soccer, volleyball players, -pic above-, a nipa house on a rigger in the middle of the ocean that is so reminiscent of the advertisement of the island I saw exactly in '88, Mama Mary, cool-looking bungalows, & this lone banka.  I turned back & went through Friday's Resort to go through the beachfront pathway only to find myself hitting the back side where the locals live.  I found this alleyway and I was on the right path again.  Good thing I did that walk coz my Auntie & cousin who came in from the later trip would've had a hard time locating us; they just left Iloilo when we called the house to let them know where we were staying.  Both of them don't have their cellphones w/ them.  I found them near D'Mall.  I dropped them off at the hotel & went back out to buy some stuff in Talipapa.  I bought native coin purses to give out & a banig to use in the beach when I lay out or to watch the sunset for that matter.  The staff at La Carmela set out a wedding banquet on the beach for these foreigners only to get rained in.  I saw the almost newly wed storming in to the hotel while I was at the bar drinking my beer.  I heard their coordinator was a bit unorganized & obviously unfazed w/ time because they had wanted a sunset wedding; the ceremony was resumed early in the morning.  We had a buffet dinner later on at Le Soleil.  We just hung out at the beach later that night since none of us really wanted to check out the night life in Bora.  The two kids were actually our entertainment coz they were dancing to the music blasting from one of the establishments.        

posted Tue, 09/26/06

Day 6

Tues., 9/19

 

I woke up really early, made coffee & cheese sandwich for breakfast and headed out to the beach to start an early swim.  Everyone joined me an hour and a half later (pic above).  A massage therapist approach me the day before if I wanted to get one, but told her I have other sisters who would want to get massages so I told her to get back w/ me the next day.  Sure enough when we started to lay out on our banig a couple of masahistas approached us.  Socorro insisted to pay for whoever wants the massage.  Even little Lance jumped on the chance of getting rubbed on.  I pretty much just stayed on the beach the whole day, until it was time for lunch.  I don't remember the name of the place we ate at, but I was feasting on grilled seafood.  I didn't even touch the chicken adobo we ordered; I swear all I ever ate on this trip was chicken!  Damn!  I didn't even get to eat Kong Kee's siopao or Roberto's hamburger or checked out Afrique's as I originally planned of doing.  I totally passed out in bed when we got back to our hotel.  I woke up a couple of times that night to try to use the bathroom, but couldn't get up for shit!  I was dead-tired, & sunburnt! 

Day 7

Wed., 9/20

I woke up about 5 am & started to make coffee while I packed up my stuff for our trip back to Iloilo.  Everyone was still asleep so I drank my coffee by the beach & checked out the scenery.  I saw mostly locals(pic above) out on the beach doing about their business, & gearing up for the days activities.  I was hoping to catch the sunrise, but there was an overcast early that morning.  I went back in & took a shower.  I took Lance out to the beach to breathe fresh air, & so his mom can get ready w/o any interruption.  We were ready by 6:45 am, & waited for Marilou w/ the jeepney service that would take us to the boat station.  She was a little bit late coz she got caught in traffic coming in to Station 2.  There was a couple of local guys playing basketball right where our jeep service parked.  At one point the ball came bouncing up to me, & I obligingly gave it back to them.  I had the urge to shoot some hoops so I asked them if I could try.  "Kulang pa na sa pamahaw!" one of the guys said when I couldn't get the ball in on the second try.  By the fifth one I tried my best & finally shot it in.  Lance took the end area of the jeep as soon as we got in.  And so we bid goodbye to the island and to its local inhabitants.  Until next balik bayan naman!  We almost missed the bus again, but good thing the driver was kind enough to let us in.  I think he deliberately stalled the departure time to get more passengers since there was hardly anybody on the bus.  Marilou once again turned down the tip money we gave her.  She wished us a safe trip & asked us to come back again while we wished her good fortune & goodluck on her pregnancy.  She's about one of the nicest people I've met so far.  Truly a treasure to keep.  I got a chance to sleep a bit better on the bus this time.  I only got up when I had to tinkle in Kalibo. 

We stopped by Jollibee in Jaro Town Square to get our lunch, & headed home to Lapuz.  I was so engrossed w/ my Auntie Sonny's story that I missed to take pictures of the Cathedral.  I wanted to go about town & take some really fascinating pictures especially of the many beautiful churches a few days before, but was just pressed for time.  I got to take a pix of the belfry though.  We avoided the city traffic by doing a shortcut through Lapaz.  I got to snap a picture of the first house my mom & dad lived in when they first got married on Burgos St., Lapaz.  I hurriedly ate my spaghetti & chickenjoy, & went out again to drop off my gift bags for my friend in her sister's workplace since she was out of town.  And to buy more goodies to bring w/ me on my flight back to Vegas the next day.  I almost knocked over a lady at Iloilo Supermart in The Atrium coz I was hurrying to get my shopping finished to make it in time for the despedida dinner other cousins were throwing that night.  I had to take a quick shower when I got home since everyone else was waiting for me to get back.  We went to Barrio Inasal (chicken, again!) for dinner, & headed to Marina right after to drink up, & dance the night away.  I was so exhausted that night at one point I almost laid my head on the table to sleep.  I remember waking up when I heard my second cousin hissing & calling out to street girls & boys for fun down Iznart St., & Muelle Loney.  I asked Fatima to make a pot of coffee to wake me up so I can watch the oldies play mahjjong & catch up w/ them & a couple of neighbor friends, but passed out as soon as I went in my bedroom. 

Day 8

Thurs., 9/21

 

The first thing I did when I got up was pack my suitcases.  I hoped to have ibos & sumanlatik again for breakfast, but the hawker never came back to the neighborhood.  Oh well.  I ate bihon & bread w/ my coffe instead.  We left the house by 9:15 am to avoid the traffic.  We went the backside of the Jaro Cathedral for shortcut not realizing that it was Thursday & it's a market day.  But we still made it in time for the 10:45 am boarding time.  It's heartwrenching to see (pic above) the island afar again.  If only I have millions of moolah so I can frequent my stay in Iloilo.  I definitely would like to stay longer than 8-9 days next time I come back.  The rest of my family are now convinced of making the trip soon.  We all miss our beloved Panay Island.      

posted Wed, 09/27/06

taken from my blog entries at http://ravissant.blog-city.com, entitled Panay Isle 2006

here are some more pictures from my sister's camera: http://wilnora.multiply.com/photos/album/3