HOME

I now accept that Cambodia will be my 2nd home. Please bless me Lord. They say home is where the heart is... ;)

I remember what Ms Arlene Beguerras in WIS Siem Reap told me on 2 April 2008 when I came for the job interview. I told her of my SG story. She said 'where ur heart is, there ur treasure will be'. Wow, I'm gonna cry n jd Lord. Coz I love my experience in KH so much.

I just keep the faith!!!

June 2011

I may have to be in Bohol in June, tiwason ra ni nako ang semester sa CDU. Coz manarbaho na lagi daw si Bantil so I have to stay with the olds in Tubigon. I feel sad in the same way that I felt sad when I left PP last October.

Pero I'll think n lng this way: As long as I could find a good job there, I can pay for Palm Heights. And as long as naay internet and mall didto, malingaw ra lagi ko.

I think of my PhD applctn. Unsaon n mn lng if madawat ko? Guess it will all be up to God. Please dispose of everything, Lord. I don't wanna keep thinking and I definitely dun wanna be restless. Amen.

Trip Home Pohon

Wow, I'm excited!! Uli ko October 7-11 pohon (Pchum Benh) for my father's 9th death anniv. End of October ta to but gahol man sa oras. Hopefully magkatapok mi ana pohon. I pray for the best!

My Brother

I once told Jonathan that I love my brother coz I only have one brother in the whole world. It's true and I always get emotional about it. Yesterday I was on the YM with him. He would've wanted to call me but as I was in the Teacher's Room and had no headphone, chat n lng mi. He brought up the topic of who will accompany the olds in Tinangnan. Gusto na man gud si Bantil motrabaho kay since 2005 p natambay. I have actually been estranged from him since I did something wrong by him. Ako man gud gigamit iya money in 2003 mao la na sya pangtraining so nisakay n lng sya balik dayon. Nabad record siya bale kay dugay siya nga AB or Able-bodied seaman. Nangambisyon jud siya nga magseaman kay nakakita mn xas among kalisud especially when nagdungan ming tulo nila Ate Ica ug Bantil sa college. In spite of that, he supported me when I was having a hard time in SG in 2006. Bawos n cguro pud to niya kay I gave him allowance man when he was studying at University of Cebu Mambaling or Maritime Education Training Center (METC). Retired n mn si Papa ato so tuition n lng ni Dodong ang ilang bayaran. Then I helped him type also sa iyang reaction paper nga nagkadipo2 jud xa ato. And most of all, I bought him a pair of sneakers (Adidas mn cguro to) when nakasweldo n ko. Kay mao mn jud to iyang gusto. When I was home from Holland too, I gave him my Eastpak backpack and Nokia 3210 that I bought there in Europe. But grabe pud niya yaw2 in exchange for helping me out in SG. Why not, more or less P200,000 na gud niya ako nagasto tanan2! Sya pay nibayad sa akong HSBC credit card bill ug Palm Heights monthly amortization coz I didn't have allowance in SG man that time. Pastilan n lng jud k Doki. Mao jud toy panahon nga nagpabadlong ko Lord. Tungod ra jud sa akong hinanakit about what happened to my eldest sister. I wrote her a letter bitaw when I was in SG and okay n mi after that. I went home from Singapore on June 22, 2006 and few days after I came home, he came here in Cebu to see me. Kita xa nga nagkaniwang lagi tawn ko didtos Singapore. I saw him there gud in September 2005 with his fellow ship crew. Ako silang gihatod sa Port of Singapore where their ship was docked. He got married in August 2007. Since 2005 pa man to sya gusto magminyo. Lisud man gud pud life sa seaman. He called me up before I left for SG again in January 2008. While I was in SG he msgd me too. He said pul-an na sya Magsaysay, hinay ang promotion. Then I went to Cambodia and I only talked to him once, on Mothers' Day. He asked unsa nawong sa PP. I said mora ra gud ug Tagbilaran. When I went home in November, he alrdy left for another contract. Then I went to work in Legazpi. He msgd me on 31 Jan 2009; they were in Germany daw. He emailed that he was coming home in mid-March, I was still in Leg. I went home on 17 May 2009 and he made time to see me also two days later. Hapit sya Cebu from Manila before going home. He msgd on 14 Sept 2009 at 5am that he was in the airport waiting for his flight. La man ko load so la ko reply. I know that he loves me and that he won't hesitate to beat whoever guy that would hurt me. Napunta n mn gud niya ang role to protect us after my father died. When I went home after coming to their ship in Amsterdam in March 2001, nakihitch ko sa supplies truck ato. When I got in the truck, he pointed to the driver, "Uy, you take care of my sister". That's how fierce my brother is. Unsa kaha iyang reaction if magminyo n ko? Maguol pud cguro sija if malayo ko. Milaon mn gud n akong brother kay youngest man sa family. I remember when he had to go for training sa Merchant Marine Academy (MMA) in Cavite. Nahadlok jud siya ato kay pangmilitary mn lagi ang ilang training. Sa iyang kahadlok gud kay gihilantan siya. Hahah. Kay saun, he avoided CAT mn lagi in high school, nagvarsity gud xas volleyball. Pun-an pas comment sa akong papa nga 'di mn cguro pud k patyon ana' When I was in Hawaii in July 2019, I told Aunty Helen that tagboon jud n nimo silas barko kay di mn n sila basta2 makagawas gud. They waited for his call p man. Labina ug Amerika, kutob seaman's club ra jud n sila. One time nidock mn gud ug Honolulu sila Dodong and wa daw xay nakita kay gabii n mn daw to. I think the next day nilarga n pud sila. They stay for a very short while ra lagis port. Di n mn byaheng US akong brother ron, gipul-an n sija. I love my family and I thank the Lord so much for them. May araw din na makabawi ako sa kanila lahat...

The Lascos of Tubigon

Nang Anel told me yesterday that former Mayor Boy Lasco died last week of pancreatic cancer. I messaged his son, Jun, my high school rival for condolences. May you rest in peace po.

I remember him fondly from our high school days, when our families were still in speaking terms. He used to tell Jun daw that dili na lng ko apason kay basin mabuang kuno sya. Hahay life! Of course, things changed when my elder sister, Dete Etel, didn't become valedictorian but only 1st honorable mention. I guess we can heal old wounds now that we're all adults right? Sana nga.

HOME

There is a place that each one of us calls home. And in my case that is Tubigon, Bohol. Here I'm inserting a pic from our beloved port, and also where it is on the map, just for orientation.

I grew up in Cawayanan, my mother's hometown in Tubigon, about 11 kilometres from the town centre. We lived there till I went to high school. I had precious memories there, growing up. Then my parents decided to build a house in Tinangnan, my father's hometown and that's where we've been for almost 20 yrs now. Twenty years and I don't even feel it. Perhaps because I only stayed there for high school and during semestral breaks when I was in college. Then I worked in Cebu, at USC after graduation and I really just go home during semestral breaks and/or special occasions. It is home but it is biniyaan kanunay. Even our neighbours, we hardly know by heart but we know that almost all of them are relatives of my father.

I once told a friend in NUS that I live in a small town. But actually Tubigon is not a small town, I just feel that it is so. Because I do feel that whatever actions I do are monitored or magnified somehow. Kaila2 ra man gud mi tanan didto. Any tsismis and it sure will circulate around. Once our salutatorian in high school was said to have been pressured to graduate w/ honours b/c Hazel and I alrdy graduated w/ honours. It's all part of hometown life, if ever there's such a thing! :-)