There are those that you’d rather admire from a distance…

… mainly because it’s good for them, to remain unconscious and untouched. You want them to stay as they are, unknown of your existence.

About the Photo:

The sunflowers in UP Diliman are in bloom now. I was able to take photos during Miks' graduation. Flower power. Sunflower is one of my favorite subjects...there are just so many angles to explore. :-)

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{Random notes}

* After months of neglect and dilly-dally, I was able to finish Ha Jin’s Waiting. I am starting with a new book, Tim Lott’s White City Blue and so far, it’s quite interesting. I hope it won’t take me months before I finished it. Anyhow, I was amused after reading these lines:

“I know now that life is a habit, more or less. You do something, then you do it again, then again, and before you know it, that’s what you are, and that’s who you are, and you can’t imagine being anything or anyone else.”

* I have tasted the best cheesecake yesterday. It’s from Gumbo’s. The best part of course is that, I was sharing it with my favorite people.

* I gave K a bag of books yesterday and I was happy. It really feels good finding someone who has a huge appetite for reading books. And she’s just what, 11 or 12 years old? She said, her mom is also a voracious reader. I knew for a fact that her mom and I have exactly the same taste for music. And that she likes horses.

* It’s nice that I could talk to K with a little ease now. Even though she’s a little girl, I always feel like I am talking to someone my age (or perhaps more mature than me).

* K knows quite a bit about me. And I was quite a bit surprise. She knows I am a coffee addict. She knows I love books. She knows I love eating chicken. She knows I am awful when it comes to direction and she teases me about it. The other day, I told her that I love the smell of new books and that I smell them first before buying them. She finds it weird but she let me smell her new book.

* My mind tells me, I badly need some diversion. Sleeping (very) late is slowly taking over my body. I usually feel (really) weak and sleepy during the day. One time, he asked the condition of my sleeping problem and I told him, it's the same. I couldn't tell him that, partly...he was the reason I couldn't put myself to sleep. What a bummer!

* It's Holy Week...and I plan on working. There's just so much to do. =(

just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed

Do you think you can find it?

Better than you had it...

~ One Republic

Please hear what i am not saying

You are your own exhibit. People measure you depending on how you project yourself to them. But those who knew better can dig beyond what the eyes could see. And those who knew how to “read” know that sometimes, what you say isn’t really what's inside your head. But then again, who would bother knowing the hullabaloos in your head if you yourself would not allow to be opened.

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Sunflower season

Sunflowers are not native to the Philippines but it can thrive in its soil and agro-climatic condition. These giant sun-loving flowers can grow up to 12 feet with head up to 3 inches wide. The common and recommended variety of sunflower in the Philippines is the hybrid type, which grows up to 105 days after planting. That was according to an expert who I have interviewed for an article that was assigned to me.

Anyway, I took interest in sunflowers when I first saw a line of them upon entering the UP Diliman campus one time. They have the University Avenue beautified in time for the commencement exercises which usually happens in April. There are no sunflowers yet today, but we have some in front of our office. I let my eyes feast on them whenever I have the chance. I find it therapeutic looking at them. Really.

I am not really a fan of flowers. But I like sunflowers. I am addicted to their smell, which is as bad as not liking flowers all together. I like looking at their big heads. When you think about it, they are not really that awesome of a flower, well compared to roses or tulips but well, their size amazes me.

I admire them for being yellow and eye-catching. Also, sunflower is a classic example of heliotropism, an involuntary response of plant to the sun. It turns its head directly to face the sun and reorients overnight to wait for the rising of the sunrise. So, early dawn, looking at them in a vast area of a sunflower field, they look all drooped and weak. Now, that is really something to admire for.

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Luxuriant, bright, jovial…

…to put it simply, you color my day without you being aware of it.

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Two-in-One

While I wait for the others, I looked around and spotted this particular flower. Two flowers sharing a stem. How weird is that? Could be some genetic mutation or something. Afterall, the flower was located near one of the experimental stations that we've visited while we were in Baguio City.

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Better not ask the obvious :-)

It was nice to be noticed in a crowd even once in awhile (even though that was never part of the plan). But it got me curious. Why approach the obvious standoffish? Why not the "friendly ones"? Must I continue to lower my head every time you are around?

We are both stones in the wilderness. The only difference is that, you are a gem. Always the eye of the crowd (without even being aware of it).

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An obscuring haze

I stand still in the middle
the road, an obscuring haze
lingering and peaceful
enveloping a forlorn soul
not one part of me got numbed.

Road to nothingness

It was a cold morning

I spotted a lone flower behind the pine tree

Like photo cache, I love fog (or at least the idea of it). I like the idea of walking on a long, narrow road with the fog coming to me. Being partly hidden, partly lost from your surroundings—it’s the most surreal feeling. The end of the road was zero visibility, but I walked anyway. And then I was happy not knowing what’s ahead.

It was just a fleeting moment of course. Slowly, the fog was gone and the road was all clear again.

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The Colors of Baguio City

STRAWBERRIES being sold at the Strawberry Farm. A box costs 200 pesos.

COLORFUL TAMBO (soft broom). How about dyeing my hair like that? Hmmm.

FLOWERS IN BLOOM. I spotted them in front of the new Lopez Hall of Leaders at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).

I was in Baguio City last week. I was directed by my boss to cover a story in Pangasinan so we had to rush to this farm in Manaoag on a Tuesday morning. I had to finish the script the night before so we had something to work on for the video shoot. We finished the job early so we decided to pass by Baguio City first before heading back to Manila. We stayed there for two days. We went to the Strawberry Farm. There's not much strawberries this time of the year because they are not in season. A box costs 200 pesos and they are not even the best ones. We also made some sidetrips at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), and Botanical Garden and Mine's View Park among others.

This week I will be coming back again to Baguio City for another assignment. :-(

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[postscript]

a moment ago, i was attending a meeting. i got bored. so bored i wanted to walkout in middle of a discussion. but i changed my mind. i need to be there. it's my lost if i walked out. so anyway, while ms. A and ms. E were discussing on the "issues of life" which i got bored listening to, i found myself writing a poem (which i haven't done in ages).

Blinded by colors

I came into this world
remembering nothing
– but a darkly lit room.

The night was solemn
but I didn’t know that.

Black was the first color I recognized
White was my last.

Then a yellow flick of light
cut into the night
creating shadows and funny shapes.

The glow quickly swayed
Playing and dancing
Slowly vanishing
as if someone deliberately blowed onto it.

Then there was darkness.

I felt home again.

-rtdc/011042008/darkcornerdenyingmyexistence

Mount Kinabalu 04: More Flora!

Excuse such indulgence but I really enjoyed posting this particular series on the flora which I found mostly at the foot of Mount Kinabalu. I specifically prepared two sets of entries just for the various species I found. It’s not a lot but it will do for now. The various zones in the mountain offered some of the richest vegetation and types ranging from the rich lowland dipterocarp zone through the montane oak, and conifer forests to the alpine meadow plants and stunted bushes of the summit zone.

I basically grew up in a forest. Well, it’s basically a garden that almost looks like a forest. My father has been a gardener all his life and my family has been well involved in growing fruit trees, ornamentals and a few flowering plants since as far as I could remember. And somehow, somewhere while traversing in the middle of the vast forest of Mount Kinabalu Park, I felt at home.

I found this particular plant at the start of the summit trail. They come in abundance all through out the route. What is interesting is that the edges of the leaves are specifically aligned with droplets of water. Looks really stunning. The plant has violet flowers too but I guest I was more enamored with the leaves.

This is another variety of the Nepenthes species but this one this smaller. It’s just the size of my thumb and almost inconspicuous among the bushes. But due to its vibrant color, it stood out somehow.

This species, which could belong to the family of the ferns, particularly got my interest because of the texture of the foliage. It looks and feels like plastic. It comes in various shades too. This one is the most common and the most vibrant for me.

This is another wild orchid which our guide specifically found for me. They call this the “Necklace Orchid” which looks like what I have posted yesterday but this one is yellow and a bit finer than yesterday’s white wild orchid.

I don’t know what this is called but like most species I found I try naming them for easy recall. I call this, “White Puffs” for obvious reason. I found them while descending from the summit and after experiencing some heavy rainfall.

I believe this belongs to the Theaceae family. These are buds (or fruits?) that would eventually bloom. They look like berries but I doubt if one can eat them.

This is one of the very few species I found at the granite massif. It grows in various spots of the rocky mountain and can easily be noticed with its colorful foliage.

Little yellow daises or the “Kinabalu Buttercup” which grow abundantly at the Laban Rata Resthouse. They look fresh and vibrant just after the rain.

I found this just below the Gunting Lagadan Hut which was all foggy and cold. They grow from a tree and looks really stunning from afar with all those bounty fruit-like blooms on top.

More Kinabalu Buttercup which I found growing in lush on my way to the Waras Hut. ^_^

Mount Kinabalu 03: The Rich Flora and Fauna

Climbing Mount Kinabalu is never a walk in the park. But definitely, you can make an effort to make it feel like one. Given the taxing effort of reaching the summit, one should never fail to look around and indulge in the beauty of the surrounding. It is amazing what you can see just by looking around.

The forests of Kinabalu Park are rich in flowers and plants, around 5,000 flowering plants had been catalogue to present day and many more new species are waiting to be discovered. I tried to be as observant and as keen as possibly I could and here are some of the species I found along the way. I never saw the layang-layang bird or the ever-famous Rafflesia but I've already seen them in my dreams. That would be enough for now.

From the Layang-layang Station, we could see a peak of the Mount Kinabalu framed in rich vegetations from the moss-covered trees to the wild flowers cosseted in lush green.

Our trek started way passed eight in the morning and early on, I already spotted little flowers growing at the side of the trail. Most of them were easy to miss either because they were too small to notice or they were covered with moss and leaves. Or could be that climbers are just too damn tired to even notice a tiny yellow daisy amongst the bushes.

The pitcher plants of the Nepenthes are perhaps the most popular plants at Kinabalu Park. There are about nine species of pitcher plants and most of them can be found at the altitude of 2,702 m to 3,200 m. A few species of the pitchers plants have the ability to eat small insects alive with its pitcher. These two were particularly found for us by our guide.

On our way to find the helipad, we found an abundance of white wild orchids growing along the muddy rocks. They were small and too simple to immediately notice but seeing them in abundance made a difference. They look better in person, trust me.

These are the theaceaes. They present almost all through out the trek. But the flowers are more abundant at 3,200 m altitude. Their foliages look like flowers too with all the colorful leaves.

Still from the Theaceae family, I found this at 2,702 m altitude hanging solidly along the trail.

This, I found while we were resting at the 5.0 KM mark. It belongs to a stunted tree.

The forest is also rich with wildberries.

I call this the “pinkblush”. I could not exactly remember where and how I chanced upon these but they really look pretty that even though I was exhausted, I had to stop and take photos.

Of course, climbing Mount Kinabalu will not be as fun and as memorable without encountering these squirrels. They hang around in places where there are food to squander. Advise: don’t feed them with your bare hands! They could nibble them too. ^_^

After the rain

The sky was dark and gloomy, the air was damp and raw, the streets were wet and sloppy. The smoke hung sluggishly above the chimney-tops as if it lacked the courage to rise, and the rain came slowly and doggedly down, as if it had not even the spirit to pour.

~Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers~

... it rained heavily the other night. I even thought there was a storm coming. But it only lasted for an hour or two--heavy rains, strong winds, and brownout. After that, everything seemed normal again. The next morning, I decided to walk and wind away my time by taking photos of dews on the leaves. DEWS...just one of my favorite subjects. They look so refreshing.

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[fragments of thoughts]

... two days ago, my boss asked me to accompany an 'eminent' to attend a two-day workshop somewhere in the North. He told me this on the day that we are about to leave. How conducive. Night trip is such a happy moment for me. No, I am not being sarcastic. I think I like anything that has to do with the word 'dark'.

... ho and behold! He called me this morning. It surprised me, that's all. And he seemed disappointed to know that I wasn't coming. Or maybe it was just me being presumptous again.

... the thought of climbing Mount Kinabalu is slowly bitting me in the ass. I am starting to chicken out. But thinking the pain and the trouble I got just to have our one night stay at Laban Rata booked, I am slowing changing my freakin' mind again!

Lake Bulusan: Vastness in its various angles

I’ve talked about the local people I’ve seen and observed while we were in Lake Bulusan but I haven’t posted anything that would give you an idea of how “vast” this lake is.

Nature lovers dubbed this lake as the “Switzerland of the Orient" due to its rich vegetation and idyllic mixture of the wildlife. The area retains much of its pristine environment since 1962 wherein it was first developed as a tourist center. Geologically, the lake is estimated to be 374 years old. Swimming in the lake is discouraged due to schistosomiasis (parasitic disease), but many of the locals there didn’t seem to mind at all.

View of the lake from the main dock. Tourists can actually rent these colorful kayak boats and row around the lake. Oki and I tried it and it was exhausting. But it was fun. A closer encouter with the lake, I get to see and feel its 'vastness' on the dot.

View of the lake from the otherside, 1003 meters from the dock. In this part, I notice a lot of yellow leaves floating on the water.

View of the lake from the side, the same spot where I sat and observed the boy on his raft and the shrimper.

View from the left side of the lake, a few mire walks to the center of the perimeter.

This is my favorite spot, somewhere at the right side of the perimeter where the vegetation is so rich and thick that I could hardly find a nice spot to see a portion of the lake. But the vegetation sure did provide a nice frame for this shot.

To appreciate the lake more, we decided to walk around the lake. This lake has a circumference of 2,006 meters and it took us a 45-minute walk to finish the whole perimeter. The walk was enjoyable because of the cold weather and the lush forest containing orchids, ferns, and flowers which we saw along the way. I felt some drips of water coming from the trees which was so refreshing.

I was often being left behind the pack simply because I need to stop and take pictures in moments where I find some astounding view of the lake. The rich vegetations just provided the nice framing for my shots.

Euphorbia parade

Surprisingly, almost every farm goat we’ve visited has two or three varieties of Euphorbia milli planted in their little garden. Euphorbia is one of the most collected houseplants in the Philippines, also the best selling. Enthusiasts are enamored by the variety of its colors that it has become a great item for collection. My mother is also an enthusiast. Not a hardcore but an ethusiast nonetheless. They are easy to grow and are propagated through tip cuttings. Most hobbyists preferred them potted for the patio or as part of their garden collection.

The Thais considered Euphorbia as lucky plants that they are the leader in the development of new cultivars. Over the last 30 years or so, over 2000 known cultivars of Euphorbias have been developed in Thailand.

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[postscript]:

There is the kind of pain—
imaginable but can’t be touched.
A pain so familiar
yet inexplicable.
It comes once in awhile.
Inside, it devours and burns
but still unfathomable.

- from me to you

Born to be wild...

...wild as in the wildflowers, which I've spotted between and along the trail gaps in my father's garden. This puffy-looking plant is really small and very easy to miss. In some places, I believe this is ubiquitous. I've seen them before but my camera then was not apt to get shots as close as this so they always ended up blurred and dull.

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I attended a staff meeting a moment ago, and I swear to god I feel like getting a catnap right then and then. Ahh, I just feel so sluggish today! Coffee isn't working anymore. zzzzzz

Summer Dew

All i wanted was to be invinsible.
But being invinsible isn't worth it in the end, because when you're invinsible, othere people may not see you, but you can't help seeing other people.

- (The Quiet, 2005)

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Admiring from afar

Either fallen or grown
The leaves cover secrets
And the pedals are shown
We're like a flower
(-free faller)

Engaging, conspicuous, a real head-turner. These perhaps abridge a complete flower. But most certainly, its sweet scent, almost a faint -- completes its true essence. Exactly like this one.

Don’t pick it if you meant to ruin its beauty. We can always admire from afar. That is what we are, "admirers from afar". As they say, for every beauty there is an eye somewhere to see it whether the beauty itself is hidden elsewhere.

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Been raining a lot the past few days. Today, I woke up following the sun streaks.

Fire trees are not the only trees but...

... they do give life to such a dull moment.

If there's one thing about the month of May that I really look forward to, it's the blooming of the fire trees. It's like the blooming of the sakura (cherry blossoms) in Japan during the month of April. Fire trees, because of their bright orange flowers, really look great when they are planted in clusters, along with the golden showers (bright yellow). It looks autumn in Manila. No kidding.

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The past few days have been really bad for me. It's difficult if people steal "things" from you. Things that have become a huge part of your life (no, i am not being sentimental here). Things that you've own and (really) work hard for. People will always advise you not to worry because these "things" will be replaced, given the right time. I say, it will...i know that. But some "things" are irreplaceable especially if you've been demoralized over its loss.

It's like a tree. The tree knows that eventually, all her leaves will fall and will return to earth. The tree knows that it's a stage and eventually, new leaves will sprout again from her branches. But deep inside, she knows that every leaf that grows from her is unique. And she will continue to mourn over its loss even though a new one comes along.