Memory gaps

The young journalists waited expectantly as mother station’s Papa Bear reflected on his response. They just finished reciting the questions they have prepared for him. In that pause, I snapped a few candid shots of our unexpected visitors.

Ten minutes ago, I was summoned by Papa Bear to observe while he’s being interviewed.

“Bring a recorder,” he said.

It was an unusual request, one that I normally get when we’re up to something more serious.

“They’re from (name of organization).”

Darn it! I’m bringing my camera, too.

I was poised take down notes the moment I sat down the round table, directly facing the two journalists, ready to jot down whatever these guests were up to.

But the first set of questions was pretty standard, and Papa Bear coolly and efficiently answered them.

As the interview proceeded, however, I noticed something was amiss. The questions were coming more and more from Papa Bear, and the skin under his collar was slowly changing color.

The unchanging pleasant expressions on the journalists’ faces, and the kind of questions they were asking, confirmed my suspicion: they have no idea at all – zero, zilch, nada – what their organization did, or haven’t done, to mother station.

I let go of my pen, leaned back, and watched the young journalists with wonder. Has it been that long? Was it neglect on the part of these younglings’ superiors to send them here to mother station without any idea of what happened in the past?

Or is it because they simply don’t care anymore about history, much more bother rectifying the deeds of their own organization?

And so the next half hour was spent Papa Bear educating them of what transpired ten years ago.

I hope those young journalists see the whole point of what happened during their visit. If they really embody their organization’s claim of being fair and transparent, it would do their organization good to rectify their own history.

Only then can both organizations finally close that particular chapter of democracy with smiling faces.

And I don’t have to bring a voice recorder and camera next time they send someone over.

***

Yesterday, Maundy Thursday, Joan and I chanced upon a local romantic movie that was partly about how neither party can move forward without the other clearing up the past.

I was only previously aware of the movie One More Chance, starred by Bea Alonzo and John Lloyd Cruz, because a fellow techie knows its famous lines – about breaking up and moving on – by heart.

Can anyone fully move on when something’s amiss in your shared history?

Perhaps, like in the movie, a simple question or a confession could have made everything okay.

And that it’s never too late to do so.

***

My mother has been doing a good job documenting the lives of her children and grandchildren. Neatly archived in her home in Aklan are bits and pieces of our lives – photos, old school uniforms, medals, diplomas, trophies, sketches, and even my recycled toys.

This is the place I’d go to if I ever lose myself.

But there are gaps, of course.

The most obvious would be the absence of baby photos in my albums. The yearbook for both my highschool and college never saw the light of day. And, maybe the most painful of all, my earliest creations of recycled toys were lost.

It can’t be helped, I guess. Some memories are bound to be lost, through nobody’s fault.

***

In my evening jogging sessions, warming up is usually spent on stretching and brisk walking.

However, when the back entrance to the UP Theater is empty, it’s a chance for me to practice some TMD kata.

As the body isn’t as supple and strong as it used to be, kata numbers 2 to 4 could really warm me up, if not tire me out entirely. The memory of the movements is vivid, alive, and wonderful.

Amid the motions, a totally different move would occasionally slip in – awkward, wide, arching, and dance-like.

Definitely not any of the TMD moves. But the memory of that beautiful, graceful move is broken, lost.

This one is my fault, and one of the saddest moments of my life.

***

Rafiki, Smores, blue, Naruto, Chuck Bass…

It’s nice to be reminded of, and again take a closer look at, your favorites. Funny how some changed, and others stayed the same.

A blessed weekend to all.

New light

The coming May 2010 elections will be my fifth national election since I joined mother station. And just as in the past four, I will not be casting my vote this year.

It’s not that I’ve lost faith in democracy. On the contrary, with all its flaws, I marvel at the whole process that I rather step back and watch it unfold from an emotionally sanitized distance.

The elections of 1998, 2001, and 2004 will always be my best experiences of national elections. From getting down and dirty setting up regional command centers (I love you, Region VI!), training field staff, doing the interviews, to spending long, sleepless, nerve-wracking hours getting the data ready for broadcast.

In 2007, I was not given any field assignment, and it seems I won’t be getting any outdoor adventure this coming election either. Being the station’s “communication guy” requires me to stay put in the office.

Oh well… I just miss going on field at the crossroads of Philippine history – personally asking the questions and listening to the answers.

Anyway, the excitement generated there at the frontlines is not so different compared to the indescribable moment as you watch the numbers reveal how the sample has spoken, and telling the latest story to everyone else.

This year’s automated election – a first in Philippine history – amid the colorful political show the major players are putting up, is putting a whole new light to an old exercise.

It’s scary, but exciting.

******

I’ve been swimming the beaches of Napti since my family moved to Batan, Aklan in 1983. Last January we paid a visit to one where, once upon a time, I nearly drowned.

It’s not the same beach I used to know. There are fewer coconut trees now, and there is nothing but a long stretch of sand in places where houses used to be.

This beach, like the others lining the coast of Batan, is slowly disappearing. The coastline is eroding at an alarming rate of at least 10 centimeters a year.

But in the face of its slow destruction, the beach has become more beautiful.

I hope the locals find a way to preserve the beaches, soon.

******

Oh no… here comes yet another fezbook moment.

I’ve already expressed my initial reaction when my brother and sister connected with me in FB.

It felt creepy. The idea of any family member getting to know my virtual lifestyle was something I did not approve of at first.

But with FB, I guess it’s just a matter of time.

True enough, I now have nephews, nieces, cousins, and my cousin’s children in my friends list. Uh-oh haha!

But that’s just a minor moment of resistance. For the most part, fezbook did good in keeping me in touch with old friends, finding new ones, and reconnecting me with those that were lost from my sights for some time.

Hey Jov! Our fezbook kwentuhan is giving me a new way of looking at ancient highschool history. Thanks haha! Keep in touch.

To Ria and Sanctius folks, I see you now under a whole new light. Cheers!

Gamble

As the saying goes, be careful with what you wish for.

For the longest time I’ve been wishing for a little extra body weight. It was granted last December, when I effortlessly gained 5 pounds in less than a month – thanks to the steady supply of delicious brownies we get every Christmas time, and fresh seafoods at home.

It’s been two months since the brownies stopped. But despite the regular jog and workout, the weight gain continues, and I am 10 pounds (edit 3-1-2010: not kilos!) heavier now than I was before the Christmas season.

It may look small, but that figure is big enough to concern an ectomorph in his mid-thirties like myself.

The worst part is, all that added weight went to just one spot (groan!).

It’s good that my “chi” reserve (as Euge and I would call it) could probably sustain me for a few days without food. While El Nino poses a real threat to our food supply here, it’s my wardrobe that’s really beginning to suffer.

I have to get rid of the blubber surrounding my “chi” before the next office R-and-R, scheduled after the May 2010 national elections.

***

I was faced with a similar challenge over three years ago, when I have to look presentable in my wedding barong.

In the months leading to that big day, I assembled a program of punishment that will guarantee a reasonably fit Leo walking down the aisle.

But I wasn’t contented just sticking to my methods of madness. I had to have something more to motivate myself: a wager.

And so one was made: if I develop a six-pack abs, one of my officemates will have to do something (sorry, can’t reveal this one yet… still under embargo) in front of everyone. If I lose, I will have to kiss my wife a certain number of times on wedding day (don’t we just love statistics?).

Fair enough.

I lost. I managed to sprout maybe two and a half packs, but at least there was no unwanted bulge in my barong on that big day. That nasty pimple, however, completely caught me off-guard.

Oh well.

I think the kisses that went on that day were more than what the bet asked more.

***

In our last dinner date with Joan’s friends, one of her officemates shared how she dealt with her three-year old son’s “utosero” moment.

Scenario: Kid wakes up craving for french fries at 9:00 p.m, wakes up mother, mother leaves bed, goes to kitchen and cooks while kid waits comfortably in bed, mother serves french fries, kid changes mind and asked for fried chicken instead, mother cooks and serves it, kid changes mind again… and boom! Mother, in a performance that could put Judy Ann Santos to shame, cries and delivers a heart-wrenching speech, “Buti pa doon sa office, nakakaupo ako. Dito, hindi na ako nakakapagpahinga dahil utos kayo ng utos…!” Kid cries and hugs mother, “Mommy, tama na. Sorry na, mommy. Sige na, mommy, matulog na tayo…”

Wow.

At the end of the story, all I can think of was, “What if it didn’t work?”

The husband, who was seated next to us and was smiling the entire time Joan’s officemate was telling the story, provided the closing.

Closing scenario: As mother goes back to bed, father says, “The winner is… Mommy!”

***

Anthony Bourdain has the best description of how it is like to cross a street in Manila: “It’s all about timing and commitment.”

I could not agree more.

Pedestrians crossing an average street in Manila must time their move and stick to it to very end, leaving the rest to faith that oncoming motorists will respect that commitment and life itself, and let the pedestrians through.

Of course, things can go wrong and the little gamble could end up in injury or death. This incident is minimized by a simple pact between pedestrian and motorist – declaration of commitment. A raised hand or a flash of the headlight, coupled with mutual respect for each others’ welfare, and life goes on amid the chaos.

***

The concepts of declaration and the respect for it first made sense to me in high school. As far as I can remember, I tried to live them as well.

In that age of volatile emotions and developing characters, those concepts were crucial to order and camaraderie – especially as one goes through high school while attending to matters of the heart.

“Ang kay Juan ay kay Juan” was a simple way of putting it, assuming that Juan made the proper declaration, and that such declaration does not violate any prior declaration. It’s quite restrictive of freedom, but served well in minimizing both physical and emotional injuries haha!

***

Our high school batch has been slowly gathering up in fezbook.

Just the other day, I got reconnected with one who’s been out of hailing frequency (at least in mine) since our HS graduation. Hi Jov! ^^

Yet another FB wonder.

Good times

It’s almost closing time for year 2009. I’d love to review my year that was, but I don’t think I have the mental and emotional fortitude for that.

Offhand, let me say that is it’s been an extremely tough year for most of us.

Life, however, has ways of balancing things to tolerable levels, especially during the past two months.

***

I’ve always associated November with birthdays. There seem to be a lot of cool people celebrating their birthdays this month – including my wife haha.

Joan and I celebrated her birthday at Enchanted Kingdom. It was her first time to visit EK, and it was something we’ve been trying to do since our friends Cez and Euge gave us EK tickets as wedding gifts.

That visit was far from ideal, though. At the entrance, we were advised by staffs that there were already an estimated three thousand guests inside the park.

Weeew! (Note to self: when planning an EK outing, check ahead if there are scheduled, massive group tours like the one by the DepEd that day.)

Anyway, good thing Joan’s more of a Grand Carousel, Rialto, Log Jam, Science Fair, and Magic Show type – she’s more than happy to forego the mind-blowing rides like Anchors Away and Flying Fiesta (the Space Shuttle was still out of commission at that time).

Such a fun place. It deserves another visit.

***

It's been almost a decade since we last saw couple Cez and Euge. These are old friends that go waaaay back.

Their visit was unplanned, and their time to meet up with friends so limited. Thanks to the impeccable planning and gimmick ideas from our former sempai James, we went boating and shot at each other in a paintball showdown at La Mesa Ecopark, played badminton somewhere in Kalayaan Ave., danced to Jill’s 80’s music at The Fort, got together with more old friends over scrumptious seafood feast at Dampa Metrowalk, and bumped cars at Fun Ranch, Libis.

It’s amazing how the fun never changed with old friends, even after all these years.

Scratch that. It did change.

I believe it got better.

I wish I can say the same to my driving and navigation skills. Har har!

***

Avatar wasn’t in my list of to-watch movies. It had minimal fanfare with promotions and shared only the barest of details in its trailers.

This is going to be just like Surrogates, I thought.

It was, but the idea was taken to a level that captured one of my deepest fascinations – role-playing in a different world.

I was not expecting it, but I enjoyed the entire 166 minutes of it.

***

Speaking of avatars, it was over a year ago when I first mentioned in this blog the clan in Perfect World where my most active and longest-surviving avatar belongs to -- Sanctius.

Since then, like any other, Sanctius went through changes typical of a group: new officers get drafted, relationships change, and members come and go.

Life goes on.

There were times, however, when the changes were a tad too big – big enough to make a perennial in-game lurker like myself wonder, “What the heck is happening?”

Lots of goodbyes and letters of resignation were posted in the forum. Members that I’ve come to know as the clan’s brain, heart, muscle, and teeth (oh the last one I love and fear at the same time. *shudder* You know who you are haha!) became more scarce from the clan chat, if not entirely gone from the list of members.

But change is good. It’s what gives us butterflies, sabi nga nila.

And what splendid butterflies the next-gen Sanctius officers turned out to be. While it crushed my heart to see Master Raz, Mama Gem, Maharet, Alamar, and others before them relinquish their posts, the clan is, without a doubt, in good hands.

By October 2009, demands of work prompted me to formally inform the clan of my intention to take my in-game lurker status to the next level – hibernation.

Sometime end of November, however, something wonderful happened.

More than the Territorial Wars and the new Elemental Faeries, something in PW slowly pulled me out of hibernation.

It started when an all-star cast of Sanctius officers and high-level members dragged my sorry ass through the Mahayana and Treasure Grotto quests, and eventually pushing me to level 80 (finally).

That moment reminded me of my old aspiration for playing the game in the first place: I want to be just like them *starry-eyed*. So strong, so cool, and so helpful.

Then suddenly the clan chat had that familiar "sound" again. People who've either left the clan or were inactive for so long are coming back! And along this slew of homecomings, our Marshall and his beloved decided to stay.

Things are looking good -- the familiar voices are back, with new ones that are making the Sanctius clan chat livelier than ever.

Like what Maharet said, "It's just like the old times."

Yup. Good times.


Happy New Year to all!

Release

Our neighbors had their occasional street party again last night. They set up a tent that occupied over half of the street in front of our house, and settled down to play cards, eat, and drink.

It's their "advance" party. The real celebration would be sometime today.

Anyway, last night's party was relatively quiet.

At 4am this morning, however, I was awaken by loud voices.

They're at it again, locked in heated discussion over some moral issue that has something to do with freedom to express one's opinion. I heard passionate screams like "Tang#@*! Opinyon ko ito, kaya huwag ninyong masabi-sabing mali ako, mga g@%$!", and "Mga ul*^! Magsama-sama na kayong makikitid ang mga utak!"

Wow. Such passion.

It must have felt wonderful for them to scream their minds out in the middle of the street for all their neighbors to hear.

A very satisfying release.

***

My officemate, Mike, had his envy-worthy, shiny long hair cut after five years.

No wonder he went home early yesterday: he wasn't kidding when he said he was getting a haircut.

And now he's traded his old looks that vary from sleek pony-tail or twisted bun, to a neat semi-kalbo.

After five long years.

What a change. And I can only imagine how light his head must feel right now.

***

Right now I'm blogging and doing a paper here at Burger King, Glorietta 4 in Makati, while waiting for Joan to finish her meeting with a friend.

It's a nice change of scenery for me. Plus I love their new mini-burgers, and the free wi-fi.

Found

Aside from my own (oops haha), there are a few names that I regularly search over the internet for news and updates.

And even fewer names that I search every now and then, for over five years now, with hopes of somehow getting an idea how these people are doing.

Tonight there's one name off that list, thanks to FB.

The nickname used is different, but the face in the gray photo belongs to a person I used to know so well.

***

Back in high school, every batch's natural enemy/rival would either be the immediate upper batch, or the immediate lower batch, or both.

This rivalry, of course, is just there as it is every batch's struggle to gain prestige. Matters of the heart, however, usually ignore this.

Thanks to a tip at fezbook, I had a glimpse of what went on at the lovefront in the batch below us.

Haha! Memories.

Disconnected

I opened Facebook this afternoon and found today's "God wants you to know" message as follows:

"You're chasing in the wrong field. What you are looking for is inside of you, not 'out there'. Take a few days off to become quiet and look within, and you will find it."

Usually I am the one giving this sort of advice. Funny how it sounded so right for me at this very moment.

Good heavens... It wasn't like this a year ago.

No questions here, though. I should know that I am exactly where I am by my choice and mine alone -- however bungled up they may be.

Still... sadness.

Sigh. I feel so tired all of a sudden.

I need that quiet time.

***

Our prayers and sincerest condolences to our friend Euge and the rest of the Abitang family on the passing of his father last November 9.

I only have good (and most of the time, funny) memories of Sir Eugenio on the few times I've spent time with them (including the time I spent an extra day at their home in Banga during a flashflood).

God bless, Sir.

For the soul

Feel-good moments are extremely hard to come by these days, and oftentimes it takes too much effort to snatch measly bits and pieces of it.

So much effort that, at times, you end up wondering if it’s worth it at all.

Anyway, the last I remember – the one that didn’t require effort at all – would be the time I turned 34.

Yes, I love it when I get another year older. It means another year overdue of the age I believe my original lifespan would have been. (That would be 30, thanks to a recurring dream I used to have.)

This year wasn’t so different from the last one, and maybe from the three others before that: I was again in the office at the first hour of my birthday.

However, the people surrounding me in those first few hours had always been the ones that define the moment – always different, always wonderful.

The Techies and all who brought the videoke to its breaking point (tsk tsk haha!) never failed to cheer things up. And thanks Anne and Sergey for bringing me to the KMS party –

I had fun, guys. Thank you.

And for the past three years, the best part of the day would always be coming home to Joan. ^^

***

We’re used to calamities. During the early parts of my childhood spent in Metro Manila, I had my share of riding rubber tubes and wading through deep floods in Pandacan. When my family moved to Aklan, I had my taste of mind-blowing super-typhoons and freaky flashfloods.

But I only have good memories in all those experiences – playing with classmates in the floods after classes were suspended, gathering fruits from fallen trees around the town, standing in the beach wearing a crash helmet while waiting for the gust of wind to lift me off the ground (it never happened, though, maybe my body was too streamlined to achieve liftoff), breathing lungfulls of cool, crisp, leaf-scented air after the storm, and spending another day or two at a friend’s house while waiting for the roads to be clear of floods.

Back then, there were no fears of leptospirosis, no mudslides, no murderous floods or mudfloods, and barely are there scenes of people crying on their rooftops, or running or swimming for their lives, or people begging for help and mercy on national TV.

Either I was brain-dead back then, or something is really wrong today.

***

Every morning since typhoons Ondong and Pepeng, I listen to the radio on my way to work, and get snatches of feel-good moments from news of people helping others, sometimes in the most unique way – boxes of condoms and contraceptive pills donated to evacuation centers were the least I expected to hear.

But hey, just keep the help coming.

And everywhere in Facebook, blogs, and online news, there are people reaching out a helping hand.

Cheers to you all!

Of course, one has to endure all the bad in majority of the news to get these bits of feel-good ones. It’s all about being selective.

***

Natural selection.

Here’s a term stuck in my head recently. Life is all about making choices, and from those choices or decisions arise the fate of not just your own but those of others.

If a team of multi-tasking individuals was given one project too many, each one of these individuals will autonomously exercise a selection process determining which among their many tasks they will prioritize.

And which to sacrifice.

Ultimately, the collective choices of these individuals will determine the fate of a project.

I know now how it feels like to lose every spare tire, every lifeboat, and all reserve fuel needed to finish a project within the deadline.

Sigh. First time for everything. But hopefully never again.

***

This is it.

What can I say?

When it comes to what he does, Michael is perfection.

***

I’m finding it so hard to resist these cute and satisfyingly lethal little characters.

Luna Online by Run Up Interactive Corp. is slowly becoming my worst nightmare – an addiction. It’s been feeding my love for “hybrid” characters.

Gaah! Please let this not be the Ragnarok-type of addiction, or it will ruin my life. Haha!

My first duel -- what a rush (especially if you've won haha)!

Paalam, Pres. Cory

Joan and I stood under the rain for hours at the South Superhighway yesterday to see President Corazon Aquino's final journey.

Neither of us were personally present at the People Power revolution in 1986 -- we were both in fifth grade in the provinces when it happened.

The sheer crowd of masses yesterday, however, gave me a certain sensation: if this isn't People Power, nothing else could come close.

But there were no angry shouts of protests. There was no trace of violence in the people's faces.

There were only love, gratitude, and admiration.

Farewell, Pres. Cory.

Some more photos of this brief moment here.

Happiness and well-being

Salamat, President Cory Aquino.

July 16-23, Florence, Italy. My presentation at the 9th Conference of the International Society of Quality of Life Studies was about satisfaction with democracy and quality of life in the Philippines.

It was scheduled at 8:30 am, and apparently it’s a time that most of the conference participants find difficult to attend. It was hard for me to wake up early too. The Italian summer nights are so short – it’s there where I first wore sunglasses at 8pm, and the sun still rises at 6am.

Few participants made it to my talk. Thanks to four of my colleagues in SWS (the five of us were the only Filipinos out of over 300 participants) and those of my co-presenters’ from mainland China, Singapore, and London, the beautiful, ancient dungeon that was converted into a classroom didn’t look so empty and lonely.

It was a 20-minute talk, which I find too short if one is to discuss over 50 years of Philippine history as a nation. So I breezed through the highlights of the country’s experience with democracy.

I placed special emphasis on 1986 – President Cory, People Power, and restoration of democracy. The regular study of democracy, subjective well-being, and public opinion in the Philippines became possible as certain liberties such as elections and freedom of speech were re-established after 13 years of dictatorship.

So how’s democracy doing so far? Unfortunately, the democracy that President Cory re-established eventually gave birth to a new breed of corruption. But while we are sick of it, the idea of democracy is something we, as a people, are not ready to abandon.

There’s always hope. We’ll see how democracy plays come Elections 2010.

****

July 16-27, Florence, Pisa, Rome, and the Vatican, Italy. There’s extra happiness everywhere.

It’s in every local beer I occasionally had during lunch and dinner. Nothing compared to my all-time favorite San Mig Pale Pilsen, but their delightfully potent 4.5% to 5% alcohol buzz took away all my pre-presentation jitters.

It’s in the lovely scooters that dominate the narrow, cobbled streets of Florence. Here, these pocket rockets look so pristine and classy, far from the ones we see in the treacherous streets of Manila.

It’s in all those delish pasta, pizza, Mediterranean foods, and gelato! Yum!

It’s in all the beautiful sights, artwork, pieces of history, and symbols of faith that used to be just pictures. To see them, touch them, walk through them, breathe them, climb them, do all sorts of poses next to them, and pray before them was a wonderful experience.

It’s in that very rare chance to run into someone whom you haven’t seen for more than ten years, in a place that you least expect it. In case you’re reading this, Van, it’s good to see you again. Mukhang pinakyaw n’yo yung nasa souvenir shop ng St. Peter’s basilica haha!

It’s in every little chance to see something good. The ice-cold water that comes from every fountain scattered around Rome, the amazed looks from locals and tourists alike every time I deploy my handy-dandy extendable camera monopod, and that nice feeling of not hearing a single car horn during the entire visit.

I had some share of unpleasantries, but not enough to deserve mention in this blog.

****

Well-being. Happiness. All subjective concepts that can be gauged by equally subjective measures.

President Cory ushered in a way of life that has been giving legitimacy to the kind of democracy we know now. This democracy has evolved – it’s crazy, and we’re not afraid to let the democratic institutions know how much we’re dissatisfied with them. But like an old car that has served us through the years, we don't see this particular democracy as something that needs to be replaced.

It just needs fixing.

When I went to Italy, I refused to be a tourist, but instead be a guest. With Joan’s help, I tried to learn some of the basic etiquette in this locality: I kept my voice down when speaking in Filipino or English, I greet shop and restaurant owners and staffs in Italian, never starting a conversation directly in English, and I try to be mindful where I point and shoot my camera.

The returns are subtle but measurable, and worth every bit of the effort --

A lovely smile, or an extra scoop of my favorite nocciola gelato.

You'll find more photos of my visit to Italy here. Ciao!

Space and time

… two unforgiving elements that seemed to have overwhelmingly ruled my life over the past two months.

As of blog time, it’s my eleventh and last day in Italy -- the longest and farthest I’ve spent away from home since I got married. Had my heart been a tad weaker, the separation anxiety pains I had before I left would have killed me.

But the good thing is that my travel home will begin two hours from now. Very soon those eleven days won’t mean much except for their wonderful memories.

I’ll be home soon.

Goodness. What have I been doing this July?

So many things to tell, but so little time. Will get back to that later. Right now it’s time to pack up for the long trip home.

Ciao!

***

Another piece of my generation's history became yet another memory.

Rest in peace, MJ.

The recent days have been so full of him – news, tributes, documentary specials – that it seems he is more alive now than he has ever been before he made his announcement of a comeback concert.

He is defying boundaries, again: neither black nor white, neither man nor woman, neither dead nor alive.

***

Some weeks ago, Joan and I went out with her Dubai-based relatives to inspect some model condominium units and houses in Makati and in Carmona, Cavite.

These "show units" were supposed to feature the best that the company has to offer when it comes to themes and space usage. If they were meant to dazzle, it worked -- on me, at least.

Looking back, however, there was something different about those model units. Most of them have glass walls.

Thus the illusion of space.

I wonder if these model units would still be as appealing once the glass walls were replaced by “real” walls.

***

Finding a little piece of nature in Metro Manila is always a treat.

The La Mesa Ecopark has picnic grounds, swimming pools, fitness trails, butterfly farm, boating and biking areas, a mini-jungle, and even facilities for wall-climbing, rappelling, and zip-lining. We tried the last one for a few seconds of thrill.

The place is huge. It’s hard to imagine something like that could be in Quezon City. With the right eye, the La Mesa Ecopark provides endless possibilities for nature photo shoots.

What a nice way to use space.