Day 3 - First Day in Calayan Island

Good morning.. It's our first morning on Calayan Island and it's already such a refreshing feeling to wake up to birds twittering in the trees.. to hear the sound of the waves on the beach.. to breathe that fresh air... Oh and not to mention, waking up to brewing coffee LOL

After breakfast, we went to the cemetery to pay our respects to our Lolo and Lola, my father's parents. For me, this is the first time I'll be visiting them since they passed away.



I relished the walk because it allowed me to explore the area.. I saw an interesting store - a hardware, grocery and bakery in one LOL that was a first.. They told me it was one of the biggest stores in Calayan and that if you need anything at all, this is where to get it :)


On the way back, we took a break for a picture near a bridge :)


The rest of the day was spent just relaxing at the house, having lunch and resting again hahahahah the idyllic life LOL



In the afternoon we all went to the beach for a swim (just so we don't get too burned from the sun) The kids were so excited and Dylan even fell asleep in the water!! hahahahaha


Then it was back to the house for our baths and dinner :) What a life! hahahha

Day 2 - Boat trip to Calayan Island

Okay, so now we're in Aparri, Cagayan and getting ready to get on the boat for Calayan Island. Now, I just have to tell you that the last time I went to Calayan was when I was about 8 years old so my idea of boats may be different from what is there now. I remember the boat that we were in before was relatively small and may accommodate about 15 passengers, including the baggage.. looks like the boat we're riding this time is a bit bigger because we're such a big group and there are a lot of baggages to boot :) 

We were only able to leave Aparri by 9:30am because of the packing and the checking and the inspection by the Coast Guard. At first, the trip was going smoothly until we reached the midway point where we encountered overcast skies and huge waves. Everyone started getting sick and we all just wanted the boat ride to be over.. Imagine opening your eyes and you still can't see any land in sight. Do you know what time we reached Calayan Island? 7pm that evening. The propeller even broke and it took a better part of an hour to fix. It was already very dark.. we were all cold (from getting wet from the sea spray), we were all stinky from throwing up and we were all tired from being cramped on the boat. I later learned that the boat that we were in really drove slow.. slowly but surely is their motto hahahahaha

The kids and I were the first to get off the boat, because we were all cold and I feared that if I didn't change the kids' clothes they might get sick. So, we were the first to reach the house and I thank my cousins who lent my kids some clothes because our bags weren't unloaded yet. We all took turns in the bathrooms (lucky for us there were 3) and after everyone was a bit refreshed, we all had dinner together. After that, we all crashed in bed LOL 

This big boat in the picture is the one we rode to get to Calayan. I wish we could've ridden this small speedboat, I'm sure we would have arrived faster ! LOL

 

Day 1 - On the Way to Calayan Island

So, it's now April 22nd and we're supposed to be at the Florida bus terminal in Sampaloc by 2:30. It is more practical this way instead of going to Park Road in Tandang Sora to meet the bus there.

Unfortunately, there were 3 Florida bus garages and we went to the wrong one hahahaha And add to that, it began to rain heavily which made it even harder to move from one terminal to another, considering that they're all within walking distance.

When the rain let up, we took a cab to get to the other terminals, while keeping an eye out for Sil and Bong who were supposed to meet the bus as well. It was good luck that the taxi driver that we got was so patient and a little familiar with the area. In no time at all, we're in the bus and on our way to Park Road to pick up the rest of the family woohoo!!

After getting all the baggages in the bus (it took a while because there were so many), we were finally on the way! A Rambo DVD was played so keep the passengers entertained, and we made 2-3 stops along the way, first for dinner and then for gas I think (and then for some, the much-needed toilet break! hahaha)During the first stop, I made my way to the rest room but to my horror there were so many lizards on the ceiling.. but desperate situations need desperate measures so I just closed my eyes and did what I had to do LOL and ran away from there as fast as I could LOL I told myself, next time, I'll use the restroom on the bus LOL

Since the trip was going to take a little more than 12 hours, another DVD, this time Van Helsing, was played. It was a very interesting movie but I couldn't concentrate because I was also getting the kids to sleep :)

Anyway, we arrived in Aparri, Cagayan by 6am the next morning.

Paypon Family Gathering

April 21, 2008, 6pm - A family dinner was scheduled for all the Paypons in Manila. It was a chance to get to know each other, catch up with the news and break the ice before the trip to Calayan the next day.

We met Tere, her husband, and their 2 kids :) Tita Ofel, Tita Lette and Tita Cora were also there, a little rested from their flight from the US. Mar, Allan and Alyssa also arrived but Alyssa was asleep :) Pete, Sil, Fr. Rey and Francis were also present.. Tito Ambil and his kids were also there as well as Tito Jimmy.. They were supposed to be the advanced party :)

Noticeably, my Dad didn't come and so with my sister Sharon and her family.

Anyway, it was like a taste of things to come :) the food was lobsters galore!! hehehe at least that's what I fixated on hahahaha

It was so much fun to be with family... I guess I needed that...

Trip to Calayan!!

Oh my gosh.. it's Friday already and it's only 3 more nights before we go on our long-awaited trip to Calayan, Cagayan!!! We're all so excited!!

If you guys don't know where Calayan, Cagayan is, it's right at the tip of the Philippines, which is practically a stone's throw away from Taiwan (that island at the northern part of the map) Hongkong is on the Northwest :) Not many people are aware of this area of the Philippines, but it's where my father and his family originated. The main island is the one in the 2nd picture..

I haven't been here since I was about 7 or 8 so it'll really be a nostalgic moment for me.. Imagine, traveling by bus for 14 hours and then taking a boat ride for another 3-4 hours hahahaha now you can understand why we have to stay for a week LOL

It will certainly be a big adventure for my kids who have never been to the beach in their lives LOL Den has already been to the island last year I think and she fondly remembers eating lots of crabs, shrimps, lobsters and fish - ALL FRESH!! woohooo the beach is a 2 minute walk from the ancestral home!! Looks like I'll be bringing tons of sunblock lotion :)

WE CAN'T WAIT!!!

We won again!

Well, aren't we lucky! We won again in the Caption-this-photo contest of Top Gear Philippines Magazine ! woohoo!!

This time, we won a laptop bag courtesy of Viking Cars (Volvo).

For more details: please visit: http://www.topgear.com.ph/contest/form.php?contest_id=17

I wish winning the lottery is as easy as this hahahaha

A New Look!

Look at this! I've changed my blog template.. Let me tell you, I got bored with the dots template that I originally had and went looking for a replacement.. I didn't know there'd be so much of very good ones out there and it was hard to choose.

I finally was able to narrow it down to a few but when I tried to incorporate them into the blog, I had a hard time with it. Either I was too stupid to follow certain instructions or there was really something wrong. I had to take a break because I was getting frustrated. This was one of those times when I thanked my lucky stars I was a graduate of Computer Science! hahaha

Well, I finally got this to work as you can see and I think it suits me perfectly! Mind you, I've never been partial to red, but I like this.. :) So I hope you guys like it too ..

Oh and I got to add the RSS feed form thingy so you can subscribe to the blog if you want.. isn't that great?? I'm really enjoying blogging hahahaha

Wait for more additions and upgrades to come!

Den is in College!

Oh man.. After many weeks of stress due to choosing and preparing Den for college. She has now submitted her credentials to the UST BS in Information Systems course.

Initially, she passed the BS in Information Technology course. Supposedly, being a graduate of the UST High School, she has to have priority over other applicants. NOT!! If you can picture this, the schedule for the submission of credentials was between March 24 - April 5. The UST High School released their papers on April 4th. She only had 1 day to submit them and by that time, they don't accept these papers in the afternoon. So, when can she submit them on April 5th.

Well, what do you know, she was waiting in line at 6:30am along with all the rest of the interested students and by 10am, they were told that there were no offices and no one will be there to accept their papers. Grr.. might they have posted a bulletin or something?? Those poor kids.. They were told to come back on the 8th because the 7th was declared a holiday.

Now, it's the 8th. same time - 6:30am. Guess what, by the time that she got to submitting her papers, the IT Course is now closed!! WHAT???!!! What do you mean closed, I have priority!!! I have a reserved slot!!! Her head was screaming...

It appears that there was no reserved slot, even for HS Students unless you pay the P5,000 reservation fee if you can't get your documents in time. So, that's it.. Unfortunately, we didn't have that kind of money on hand.. No wonder her other classmates got in...

Anyway, she was told that she's still eligible for the course on Information Systems but they'll check if her grades qualify her for the Computer Science course. I advised her to just take the Information Systems course because by the time they finish checking, the IS slots will most likely be filled...

How's that for organization?!!

I just hope that all this trouble is worth it in the end..

Hectic Weekend

Last Friday, I got an email from my brother saying that he and Bruce sent some money to tide us over and additional money for Den's tuition which he borrowed from my uncle. You'll never know how much of a relief that was to hear. I haven't been sleeping nights thinking of where to get the money for Den's college, considering it's enrollment season already. The bigger problem is sustaining her education because her educational plan is not worth much at all..

So with the money, I paid off our horrendous telephone bill which blew up because of long distance charges and our current power bill. These two are the only basic utilities that we pay for and I can't afford to have them disconnected. In fact, because we have no outstanding telephone bills, I can now proceed to upgrade to DSL which will be a big factor in getting work-from-home jobs (which I also desperately need!).

Saturday, we went to the mall to pick up my free mobile phone. It was actually a promo that ended last October 2007, between our landline provider and it's sister company, a cellular network. You get a free mobile phone because you have been a loyal subscriber to the landline network, with no requirements needed for a postpaid subscription. I actually forgot that I submitted an application before hahahaha So, now I can replace Patrick's old Nokia 7110 (Neo's phone from the Matrix movie)!! hahahaha Oh and the new phone is a Nokia 6288 :) I think Den is more excited about it than I was hahaha Teenagers!! LOL

Anyway, Today is Sunday and I don't know if Patrick plans to attend the Motor Show. It should be interesting. We'll see :)

The Dreadful Autopsy Report

I have always been a fan of murder-mystery-cop-thriller series types of books. That's why I love the Kay Scarpetta series from Patricia Cornwell and John Sandford's Prey Series.

I'm also fond of watching CSI and other foresic-related TV shows.

Never have I imagined that I would be involved in reading a very personal autopsy report for myself...

My brother just sent me a copy of our Mother's autopsy report from when she was hit by a Toyota Tacoma truck last February. He warned me not to read it, because when he did, he had anxiety attacks from it and had to take some meds.

Well, I'm hard-headed so I read it.

My mother died a horrible, tragic death. The impact with the Tacoma nearly severed her head from her neck. According to the report, her C1 and C2 vertebrates were broken and her head was practically hanging on by a strip of flesh. She was bleeding from the mouth, because she bled internally as well.

She had major abrasions on her arms and legs.

She broke her arm.

She had broken ribs and some even punctured other internal organs.

She had lacerations on her head.

Because of the severity of the blow to the head, the Medical Examiner called it a "rapid death", which doesn't mean to say she didn't feel pain at all.. It simply meant, she died fast.

Can any of you honestly say that these wounds were a result of a Toyota Tacoma truck travelling at 30 miles an hour on an expressway? I don't think so. 30 miles an hour is practically crawling!!!

With these injuries, my mother was flung from the hood and hit the pavement a good distance away.

The driver was let go. My mother is dead. I have to live with this knowledge.