Food. I miss my mother’s dishes, the lunch at the office canteen, adobo, dinuguan, linat-an, ginamay, lechon, budbud, the list goes on.

Family. Our Friday’s together, my parents fetching me from work, childish arguments with my sister, watching the TV together. Everything.

Friends. Snacks in the afternoon, waiting for plane seat sales, birthdays, babies.

Places. Northwing, Terraces, Bantayan, IT Park, Coffeecat.

I miss how affordable and accessible everything is. Massage, yogurt, books, clothes, moisturizers, even bondpapers!

Lastly, totally unrelated, I miss the feeling of being wanted. It’s a great feeling when someone badly wants to see you or talk to you or share ideas and day-to-day experiences with you. I miss the good old times.

There are lots of things and feelings that I miss. I may get used to them soon but I hope I won’t learn to outgrow them.

The present is here and I guess the only way to be happy is to honor and enjoy it. Good night kiddos.

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Even before I transferred here, there were already less and less updates coming from this blog. There’s no urge to write, to share. Not that I’m uninspired. In fact, maybe I’m too inspired to write anything. The reason this blog is still here is because of my office mate who is also here in Japan. Another personal blogger, he made me rethink of how useful a blog can be in not just keeping information, but in also keeping memories. How will I be able to recall my struggles in college, my first step to Dumaguete or the post which won me a ticket to Sumilon beach without this blog? I just realize, this blog holds most of my not-so-distant memories, mostly on the time when my hands were still at their full eagerness to write.

Now that I’m in Japan, it’s probably best to write the experiences I get here. I won’t be here forever that’s why. But still, laziness will always be the biggest enemy (and sometimes the sure victor). Still, I already paid for another year in my hosting. Anytime my hands would feel itchy to write, then there’s always the medium to do so.

End note: There are many reasons why people choose to blog. Some share their personal experiences (like me), some choose a specific niche (food, photography like digital-photography-school.com, gaming like http://www.poker.de) and some share their expertise (online business strategies, programming). But one thing is common, blogging has become a mainstream and thanks to technology, blogging tools have been accessible. To the newbies, go grab the chance of becoming a blogger. It will be all worth it in end. And you’ll also experience some blog rut along the way. *wink

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I am here for training, and maybe, eventually for work as a bridge engineer. Japan is cold, just on the end part of winter. Thankfully, I didn’t get sick or had body adjustment problems. I did lose some weight. The weather (sunny yet cold), the trains, the lights, the orderliness and cleanliness, amazes me. This is a first-world country after all.

I am here to fulfill heavy duties, not just to have fun. Which makes it a bit hard. The language barrier is a strong one. Though I have scratched a small portion of it, it still won’t be easy.

What I miss way back home aside from my loved ones is the food. Food here is expensive. At first it was amazing, but then curry got boring. I miss my mother’s dishes. Unexpectedly, I also miss the food in the canteen. Whereas my lunch spending in Cebu can go as much as 70pesos, in here it’s on average 500yen (250pesos). See the difference. 250pesos can already be a resto in the Terraces.

Anyways, I will enjoy my stay here as much as I can. This is a career opportunity. Though it hurts me to leave my family and friends, and to have someone wait for my return, I’ll just make the most out of it.

Japan is a beautiful country. I even haven’t seen the cherry blossoms yet. But still, nothing would beat home.

And also,

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We went to the main store in San Jose St. The exterior looks simple, cozy and very inviting.

We skipped the cakes/pastries section and headed directly to their meal displays. Delectable food, really. Here’s their menu for that day and some displays (which you can also buy without getting the meal set).

And here’s Set 1 on the right and Set 2 on the left.

Mine’s the Set 1 on the right. Here’s some closeup shots of the food!

The Salad Nicoise is good. The breaded pork chop though is a bit hard to slice and chew but still okay. All in all, the food experience is good. What really mattered to me that time is that I was eating in a very comfortable place and it made my eating feel really good.

I got some dessert after my meal. I got a black-bottom [cup]cake and a jelly roll. Jelly roll made me regret I bought it but the black-bottom was good enough for my taste buds though.

Before we left the place, I took some random shots of the interiors.

I think though that Sans Rival is most famous of its Silvanas. I didn’t buy Silvanas anymore when I went there because I had one box the week before. Silvanas are yummy but very, very sweet. The next time I visit Dumaguete, I’ll get me a box again!

Definitely, I’ll be back in Sans Rival many times until sawa. Sans Rival is love. A piece of advice, do drop by the place if you visit Dumaguete. They also have a branch in Robinson’s Place Dumaguete.

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I was only there for 2 days and 3 nights (January 21-23am). I was supposed to be with Jellie & Ryan but they did not push through with the trip so I had to do it alone. As expected, Dumaguete is a laid back city, with no traffic lights, motorists not wearing helmets, no taxis and very few PUJs and private vehicles — things which I like and things which primarily make Cebu City crowded.

Dumaguete City’s way of life is comparable to that of Bantayan and Iloilo’s. It’s really relaxed and the city is still holding on to its heritages. For those who are fed up with traffic and the busy, polluted streets of the metros (Cebu or Manila), Dumaguete is the perfect place to rewind to the old, peaceful times. If you have also spent much time relaxing on the beach already, then it’s time to visit the quaint place of Dumaguete.

Basically, what I did there was just explore the place. I didn’t push myself to discover everything in one weekend (because I’ll know I’ll be back often). I was brought though to one of Dumaguete’s pride, Silliman University. Another post will be for this one.

Also, from now on, when I think of Dumaguete, I think about food. I started to love eating very much and Dumaguete is a great place to practice this eating-much habit. We ate at Cafe Antonio, City Burger, Sans Rival, and at the sidewalk of Rizal Boulevard (separate posts for the aforementioned places). Added to the simple yet great food is the perfect ambiance.

At night, we stopped by Aquino Freedom Park (or just Freedom Park). The last stop was Rizal Boulevard (or just Boulevard). Again, there will be separate posts for these places.

I didn’t take lots of pictures; I only took enough. I will show the photos in the coming posts to this Dumaguete City series. I will save everything that I have to say in the last post in the series. For the meantime, here are some basic info in getting to/staying in Dumaguete.

How I got there

From Cebu South Bus Terminal, I rode an air-conditioned Ceres bus going to Lilo-an Port (signage says Bato Oslob via Lilo-an Port). Fare is Php169 and I don’t know why but there are no bus stops along the way. From Lilo-an Port, I rode a ferry for Php62 which took me to Sibulan, a town next to Dumaguete City. From there, one can take a pedicab to take you to Dumaguete proper. As for me, somebody fetched me from the port so I didn’t have any problems commuting.

Where I stayed

I stayed in Hotel Camila which is just about near everything else so there’s no problem getting to places. Room is clean, rates are affordable, generally relaxed and safe.

Watch out for the next posts in the Dumaguete City series!

This post is continued in Dumaguete City: Sans Rival [Part 2]

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A dog doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. (Marley & Me)

Meet our dog Champ! Poor, poor face.

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Just a short info, this book is the sequel to the famous I Am Number Four which became #1 New York Times Bestseller and made into a motion picture. I Am Number Four became an instant favorite of mine and I expected for its sequel to be the same, or even much greater.

The book picks up from where I Am Number Four left off and begins with John (Four), Sam, Six and Bernie Kosar (BK) traveling to both adventure and escape from the police and from the Mogadorians. But there’s a new story that came to play in the book and that is Marina’s (Seven). While John and the others try to go far from Paradise, OH, Marina is struggling to convince her Cepan, Adelina, to have faith back to Lorien. The twists in the story, the bumps in between, the exciting play of emotions, the new secrets unveiled in each flick of the page, lead to a hanging ending which composed of a big battle, deaths, discoveries and the urge to move forward and unite all the remaining members of the Garde.

The Power of Six is undeniably exciting. There’s more action and drama to it compared to I Am Number Four. The way how John’s and Marina’s story is mashed and lined in one book made it great. You understand more about Lorien, the Garde, the mysterious, new characters (like Crayton and Ella), the Legacies and almost about everything. I know this book won’t be the last in the series judging from the fact that it isn’t too thick — there’s still so much information to know and the characters have so many things to accomplish. A new character, the super villain, was just introduced in the last chapter. Things will get bloodier in the sequel, I expect.

Pittacus Lore (a pseudonym for James Frey and Jobie Hughes) writes the book in a simple yet attention-simulating manner — not too much word play, direct to the point, and naturally artistic. Some parts of the book though get boring, if not a bit confusing, but the answers are given light soon enough. All in all, I’d give the book a 9/10. I can’t wait, just like a lot of the other fans, for the sequel which is set to come out August 2012. I hope it falls on my birthday.

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Have you ever wanted to say something out loud but you can’t because you are afraid of what others might say? Have you ever wanted to defend someone but you can’t because you are afraid others might bully you too? Have you ever wanted to resist something bad and unjust but you can’t because you feel you are nothing against those forces? If yes, then you are not alone.

Mostly it is the adults speaking for us, the youth, for our future. They reshape the world. So as media. Media, though generally a good thing (entertainment, arts, information), it has reshaped our world far more than what we have thought. I’d like to share this song by a local artist, Neverending Weekend, entitled Say it all now. The song is about love, but I’ll use some bits of the lyrics differently.

I’m singing this though I may not hear a sound

Apathy. Apathy is one thing very common to everyone of us. We are used to bahala nalang na oi, sige nalang, bahala na, okay na yan that we forget what we really want and just go with the flow. We are afraid to go against the current and speak for our beliefs. I’m also guilty of this. For example, the RH Bill. Apathy is when you say, whatever the church says, I will follow. In 2012, let’s learn to speak for ourselves and not use others to say what we want.

This I would not forget and I won’t let this pass

With Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and other SNS, information can spread like wildfire. And sometimes they’re oh so wrong. Do you +1, retweet, or share without verifying if any news is true or not? I sometimes do, I sometimes don’t. It was controversial when hearsay about Oprah saying that Shamcey Supsup should have won Miss U broke out. It was just plain hearsay but it got spread like crazy. This 2012, let’s learn to be careful on what information we share to everyone on the Internet.

But still my heart’s awake not be quiet and regret it

Empathy this time. Do you feel empathy for those oppressed or bullied, even just for fun? Sometimes, I join those who are having fun at someone not thinking what the other person is feeling. We all did this to Charice, Rebecca Black, even to PNoy. On the web, people love to make a lot of fun. It’s fun but it might be painful to the object of ridicule. In 2012, let’s all have kind hearts even to the celebrities we don’t like. If you won’t defend, at the very least, don’t join the bandwagon of cyber bullying. Personally, I don’t like Charice. But in 2012, I will try.

But all I want is for you to be aware

In relation to the one above, bullying not only happens in the web. All the more it happens in real life. My friends and I were inspired by the song It gets better from the It Gets Better Project, which was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. Listen to the song and support this cause.

I’ll say it all now I’ve already gone this far

There are many issues we face everyday. May it be in the Internet, in our lives, school, work, relationships, most likely or not, we remain mum about them. In 2012, let’s learn to speak up our minds and souls. Let’s use our capacities to defend those who are ridiculed or bullied. Or simply, let’s say what we really want. From as simple as ‘I want my hamburger with no tomatoes‘ to as daring as ‘I want to save Charice from cyber-bullying‘, there’s much one can do. But this is NOT an easy thing to do, speaking up. We’ll take it one step at a time and learn to slowly express our selves.

We can save the world by speaking up.

This time I’ll make it right.
This time I found light.

Do you have anything to speak up about? Or are you part of the silent majority? Let’s not be. Share something below!

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