I have always wondered...

...if nationalism is innate to every individual?

do you feel proud when you watch Charice Pempengco belt it out and were being hailed and praised by other international musicians? Is it the same when it's Lea Salonga? Or Arnel Pineda?

do you feel proud living in a country that amidst the poverty is being admired by foreigners for its rich natural resources and beautiful, undiscovered paradise?

did you flare-up when you first heard Claire Danes said: "Manila is a ghastly place and smells like cockroaches," when Kate Beckinsale retorted how Manila stinks, or a sudden outburst when you first read Chip Tsao's article calling the "Philippines as a nation of servants" (a satire Tsao claimed) ?

did you stop patronizing a certain author or a tv series which you previously liked just because they dissed the Philippines for having emigrant women as its leading (shameful) exports and publicly belittling the practitioners of the medical profession in the country?

I say "YES" to all of these. They say that, national identity links the individual to the world order. So I guess, saying yes is also "innate" to me.

--------

photo was taken while we were on a road trip from Pili to Naga City.

I want to see you from a different perspective, maybe then I would find a different version of the "truth"

During one of our roadtrips, we passed by this beach. Under the scorching heat of the sun, the water looks so blue and calm.

Sometimes, there is a need to look at things from a different view. Exactly like this one.

“I am not supposed to be here!”

Bearing the scorching heat, waiting the world to come to an end— I think I snorted that phrase a hundred times or more.

With the heap of things to finish in the office i.e., annual reports, newsletters, magazines, the third boss decided to transport me to Naga City on a few days notice. She said I had to cover two events, an exhibit and a business con. Learning that the second event would be attended by representatives from business conglomerates, I got excited. The first one however was a drag.

The exhibit was located in an open ground with nothing but tarpaulin to protect your top from the scorching heat. In between explaining and briefing booth visitors, I was cursing and snorting, while wiping the niggling sweat on my face.

In the afternoon, the weather suddenly switched mood. It rained cats and dogs! The flooring of our booth was soaked but I was too tired to do anything about it. A few hours after that, the sun was raging again. At that time, I felt like turning into a Hulk and destroying everything within a foot away from me. The sudden change of weather was really getting into me. Brrr!

So anyway, I did survive that ordeal. In as much as I wanted to leave I could not. You know the saying, “seeing things at different perspectives” well it suits that particular occasion. Like in everything that has happened to me, it has become my instinct to look for reasons. If I didn’t find one, I usually make one.

I was in Bicol for four days. After the first day, I think I did manage to stay in tact pretty much well. I am really thankful I brought my camera with me. It kept me sane somehow.

Sometimes, I forget when the night ends and a new day begins

I took this shot on the day of my birthday—the first day of our climb! It was supposed to be a tw0-hour drive from KK to Kinabalu HQ, but Rahim made to our destination at least 30 mins less. We passed by the Tamparuli -Kundasang Road all to way to the headquarters and the view was splendid.

--------