I really appreciate how the people close to Michael celebrated his life and tried their best to let the world know who he really is as a friend, brother, father, and as a humanitarian. During the service, I couldn’t help but be touched by the words of those people who shared their memorable moments with Michael.

One of the things that struck most of us is Al Sharpton’s message to Michael’s children, Prince, Paris and Blanket:

“I want his children to know there was nothing strange about your daddy, it was strange what your daddy had to deal with.”

From the outside, I have to admit that I thought Michael was strange, but now, I understand why. As Gordy mentioned, Michael has two personalities, one being the offstage Michael who is shy, and the other who is larger than life on stage, fearless. Brooke Shields mentioned that Michael loves to laugh, and they would try to compete with each other as to who can make the other one laugh the hardest.

When Paris, his daughter, spoke about how his father is the best daddy in the world since she was born, I was choked up and I cried. This shows that Michael was a fit a father, contrary to speculations that his kids are living an abnormal life. They were truly loved by the King of Pop.

This is IT. He’s really gone.

These were the songs from the memorial:
I’ll Be There by Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz
Jesus is Love by Lionel Ritchie
Never Dreamed You’d Leave In Summer by Stevie Wonder
Will You Be There by Jennifer Hudson
Human Nature by John Mayer
Smile by Jermaine Jackson
Gone Too Soon by Usher
Who’s Lovin’ You? by Shaheen Jafargholi

• Skullcandy or Sennheiser earphones for his iPod
• Christopher Paolini’s “Brisingr
• A PS3 game
• Silver bracelet
• T-Shirt

I was thinking about making a scrapbook, but that’s just too cheesy for my taste. Well, I still have 19 days to think about it and get him the perfect gift.

If you have any suggestions, please let me know by leaving a comment. I may just try your suggestion!

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson has passed away today due to cardiac arrest.

We all grew up hearing his music and watching in awe when he dances. His signature moves, the moonwalk and his anti-gravity stunt, that’s all him. I don’t think anyone could ever replace him. He is totally unique and will always be regarded as a pioneer of pop music.

His musical legacy will live on forever.

Photo Credit: LA Times

Anyway, here’s one I can talk about in short sentences. My friend of 14 years, whom I haven’t seen in 7 years, dropped me  a call last Saturday. She wants us to meet up. She’s currently an intern at Chinese General Hospital. My friend left for Iloilo before the start of high school, so we kept our communication via snail mail. We religiously wrote each other long letters, telling stories about our life. When emailing and chatting boomed, we tried to communicate more often, but failed. We mostly send text message, but it wasn’t as often as we want to.

Sunday, June 7, we met at one of the biggest malls in Manila. We had pizza and pasta, and talked for hours. I learned a lot about her new life now. She’s married with one girl. Her internship is for 1 year, and by next year, she will take the medical board exam. Yes, she will be a doctor if she passes the board exam. How cool is that? I have a doctor for a friend!

I would say that our friendship didn’t change. Our lives did, but we managed to find a common ground. I do hope she chooses to practice medicine here in Manila so that we can catch up more often. I really miss her. If she didn’t leave before, she would’ve been my best best friend. I don’t have that.

Yesterday, our community sponsored a free anti-rabies vaccination for dogs. I bring Booboo every year, and we never had any problems with the other dogs in our neighborhood. The site is actually 6 blocks from where I live, so we had to walk that far. Yesterday was different, though…

My brother was first to open the gate to go out with Booboo. She was leashed, of course. As soon as the gate opened, the huge German Shepherd of our neighbor came pouncing towards Booboo. The dog was on top of her, trying to get a good bite on her neck, while my brother was dragging her inside with her leash. I went out of our door and I’m not sure how I did it, but I was able to snatch Booboo away from that vicious dog.

I embraced my trembling Booboo to try calming her down, but it took a long while. I looked for wet parts on her body, wet from saliva, to check for wounds. Tears just fell from my eyes when I saw blood! I carried Booboo towards our bathroom to run water on her body to clearly see if there are other wounds and to wash them.

My sister was the one who dragged that vicious dog outside our premises. She said, it was adrenaline rush, as she saw that dog going for our other pup, Kali. The guy who was handling the dog didn’t even come after it. He was still standing in front of their house and he even laughed! I didn’t get the chance to see him, I would’ve kicked his balls. I really would! My sister, who never swears, told his head off with some bad words. I mean, if you are handling a huge dog, you should know how to control it, given that it is freaking leashed!

After calming Booboo down, I applied first aid on her wounds. It’s a good thing that my brother was able to drag her inside our house, if he didn’t, that dog wouldn’t have any problems sinking her, yep it’s a female, teeth on Booboo’s neck.

Booboo’s wounds are starting to dry up. I had to cut the fur around her wound so that we can clean it better, twice a day. Those are scratches from the teeth of that dog. That dog’s handler will get his day from me. He totally will!

Here are some photos. There was more blood before I cleaned it. I didn’t even think about taking photos of her bloody wounds.

Day 1 – May 19

Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
We arrived at NAIA at 9:30AM to check-in and get our boarding passes. Ryan’s friend, Harold, who works at NAIA, accompanied us to the Cebu Pacific check-in area at Terminal 3. After getting our boarding pass, we went to the 2nd floor to get food. Our flight was at 12:05nn, so we had plenty of time to tour the terminal. By 10:45am, we headed to the departure area to wait for our boarding time at 11:35am.

Click thumbnails for a better look!

Inside ATR 72-500: Flight 5J 899
It is Ryan’s 1st time to fly. This is my 3rd, so I am not as nervous as he was. Of course, we took photos before – during – after the plane ride. It is my first time to ride an ATR, though. It is a smaller plane.

Arrival to Caticlan Airport
The airport was quite small compared to NAIA. When we arrived, we walked towards the tricycle terminal to take us to the Jetti Port. We paid the environmental fee, boat ride, and tricycle ride. It took about 5 minutes to arrive at the Jetti Port, where we paid the terminal fee, and road a 20-seater motor boat. We were all required to wear the life jacket, or else, the motor boat won’t start moving. I think, that’s just right, even though we can see the other port from there. It’s a 10-15 minute boat ride to Cagban Port.

Welcome Boracay!
Ryan and I were both excited when we arrived at Cagban Port because only minutes away, we will arrive at the famous beach of  Boracay! In our haste, only Ryan has a picture at the port.

We took another tricycle ride to Budget Mart, which is a grocery at the main road. We are to be greeted by Roland, one of the staff members at Tans Guesthouse. It was a 5-minute walk from the main road to Tans Guesthouse, which is less than 1-minute away from the beach. Yes, Tans Guesthouse is not beach front, but it is so near the beach. I will write a separate review of our stay at Tans Guesthouse. We got settled in our room at 2pm.

Lunch time at I ? BBQ
And because it is passed lunch time, and we’re both hungry… we didn’t jump in the water just yet. We decided to go to d*mall to find a place to eat. We settled for I ? BBQ, where dieting is NOT an option! We ordered pork barbecue, which is P250 for 5 sticks. If you ever go to Boracay, don’t forget to eat at this restaurant. I’m pretty sure there are more of their food that are must tries!

Pasalubong @ d*talipapa
After lunch, we headed to the famous d*talipapa to buy souvenirs from Boracay. Walking towards Station 3, you will find a sign that will guide you towards d*talipapa. It is best to get your souvenirs here because it is much cheaper than the ones near the beach. We decided to get our souvenirs early because we won’t have time come our last day. I only bought souvenirs for my family and myself, while Ryan bought souvenirs for his teammates at work.

Getting Branded
Almost everyone thinks that getting a henna tattoo is a must when going to the beach. Ryan is one of them. So he got himself one before we looked for a bar to settle in that night.

Night-Out
Since this is our first time, we decided to stroll down by the beach and look for a place to go. Ryan wanted a bar with music playing, so we were attracted to Pat’s Creek Bar, with reggae music, which is very relaxing. We settled for a table near the shore. We kept muttering, “This is the life!”, and it really feels that way when you are there. We ordered margarita for me, San Mig Light for him, and a plate of sisig for both of us.

It rained that night, for 10 minutes. Our night out was cut short. We returned to our room, but after 30 minutes, we decided that the night was still young. So, we headed out and strolled along the beach. Too bad we didn’t bring the camera anymore, we were afraid that it might rain again, but it didn’t. We decided to sit on the sand and talk. After a while, we laid down the sand and watched the stars. I’ve never seen the stars shine so brightly until that night. As if, all the stars decided to show up and twinkle one by one. Okay. That sounded cheesy, but it’s true! We talked for hours, but when I realized that mosquitoes found us, we headed for our room to get some some sleep.

Day 2 – May 20
Rise and shine by 6am. We were too sleepy to get up, so we just watched some TV for an hour, and then prepared for our buffet breakfast at Tans Coffee shop, which is included in our room rent. The food was great, well, the food was satisfying, I should say. A variety of Filipino breakfast staples and hotdogs, hehehe.

Beach Time
We headed for the beach and wandered around Stations 1, 2 and 3. I tell you, it is looooonnnnggg walk from Station 1 to 3. It’s a good thing we are staying at Station 2. Station 1 is for people who needs peace and quiet. Station 2 are for people who wants to party. Station 3 is for the budget-conscious. I think the best shore line is at Station 1. The grotto is also there. When we were headed for Station 1, I saw a friend of mine from one of my previous jobs, Phoebe. It was really nice seeing someone familiar there, besides the celebrities Ryan and I have seen. Too bad we both didn’t think to get our pictures taken together. It was a pleasant encounter, though.

We took a lot of photos by the beach and at the grotto. By 4pm, we decided to try some water activities and we chose Jetskiing. It was Ryan and I’s first time. We looked for Mang Biboy. Someone recommended him to us, as he gives really good rates for water activities. We were brought to a floating raft in the middle, well I’m exaggerating, the floating rafts are really really far away from the shore, and that is where all the water activities are being held: para sailing, jet skiing, banana boat, fly fish, etc.

2nd Night Out
On our 2nd night, we decided to have dinner at Mang Inasal because we wanted to eat Chicken; but we did eat at Andok’s for lunch. After dinner, we strolled along the beach and found a dry spot to sit on. I did bring my sarong and sat on it. We talked for hours again. We headed for Starbucks to get a quick-coffee-fix, then we looked for a bar to settle in.

There was a live performer that night and he was quite good. He sang a lot of mainstream music with a touch of reggae. We were surrounded by foreigners, mostly Asians, and they were quite noisy. We still tried to enjoy our last night at Boracay. We stayed at the bar until it closed because we wanted to make the most out of our short stay. We had to wake up early the next morning for another morning swim.

Our Last Day – May 21
I set my alarm at 6am. There was no time to get a real bath, I changed into my swimsuit right away. I woke Ryan up to ask him to do the same thing. We hit the beach bright and early and enjoyed the powdery sands of Boracay. The water is so clear, you can actually see the fishes swimming by your feet. We saw this school of white fish with black markings. We have no idea what they’re called, but they looked like janitor fishes. They were swimming so near our feet! I also saw a green anchovies-sized fish that I caught between my palms. I gave it to Ryan and he plunged his hands under water, but the fish won’t swim away. Weird, isn’t it? As if the fish was socializing with us. I saw another one and placed it on Ryan’s palms again. This time, the fish started to fight for space. Before we left the beach, we met a young boy named, Ravie. He was quite talkative and asked a lot of questions. He called over to his dad after we left, “See dad? I made more friends today.”

We went back to Tans Guesthouse to have our last day breakfast buffet before we leave. I told Ryan how blessed we were that we were given a whole day of no rain. A few minutes later, it started to rain really hard. So much for no rain! I was worried that we won’t be able to make it on time for our flight. Ryan received a text message from Harold that our flight arrives in Manila at 3:45pm. I got confused because our flight leaves at 1:25pm, we should arrive around 2:30pm in Manila. I called Cebu Pacific to confirm our flight schedule. If I hadn’t called, I would not know that our flight was delayed for another hour and 15 minutes, plus, they wouldn’t confirm that we will be joining that said flight. Hello Cebu Pacific, shame on you!

We were accompanied by Tans’ staff with 2 large umbrellas to Budget Mart. It was still raining, but sadly, we had to go. When we were already inside the tricycle, Ryan realized that he left his mobile phone. So, we had to go back. Ryan was the only one who walked back to Tans. I waited for him at the Budget Mart.

We arrived at Caticlan Airport a few minutes before they announced the last warning to confirm seats for flight 5J 900, which was our flight. It’s a great thing that it stopped raining. We sat there in 1 chair and waited for our flight. Like I said, the airport is quite small, and with the other flights delayed, it was packed. Our flight was delayed for another 35 minutes. Surprise, surprise!

Finally, it was time to go. I miss the beach already. It seemed like time flew by so fast. We plan to go back on December with our friends for a 5-day vacation. I hope it does happen because our trip, even if it was quite short, was fun and memorable.

Bye, Boracay! We’ll be back soon!

I will be posting a Boracay Guide entry soon.

I will be updating my blog as often as I can. There is free wi-fi in our hotel

I will be posting a Boracay guide when I get back. I want to help the first-timers, too, just like the Boraddicts did for me. If you want to know anything, just post your questions in the comments area. I will try my best to find them out for you.

Boracay, here I come!

It was really devastating for me because I was counting on 2 paydays so that I can finally finish paying my bills. On top of that, I have planned and paid for my flight and accommodation for a 3DAY-2NIGHT stay at Boracay, one of the most beautiful beaches in the Philippines. I was lucky enough to get a PHP5000 project for a simple logo and template. That’s actually a cheap rate, but I gladly accepted it.

Bum life is starting to wear me down. I am quite confused with my career path. I am thinking about applying for a job overseas, be a kitchen helper or a hotel receptionist, if I’m lucky, under IT, but I can’t imagine myself being away from my family. I have also considered trying call centers again, maybe become a trainer or a team leader, because I don’t think I can take making/receiving calls again. My target date is June 1, or if I get lucky, before May ends.

Life has been quite unfriendly  to me lately, but I wouldn’t say that I am very lucky. I will keep thinking and believing that something better will come soon. I am keeping the faith.

Note: Click the photo thumbnails for a better look.

Day 1:
Destination: Cebu City
I was with my sister, Juvy, and our friend Harold. Juvy and I are first time flyers. Yes, we’ve never flown before. I booked our flight at the Philippine Airlines (PAL). Our trip was nearly cancelled because my dad didn’t want us to go, but since the flights have been booked and paid for, he wasn’t able to stop us.

The anticipation for our first plane ride was building up inside me. I keep thinking that I will be air sick and vomit. We arrived at the airport 2 hours before our flight, so it was quite a long wait. When our flight was finally boarding, I can’t help but feel excited. I was seated between Harold (window seat) and Juvy. During the take-off, I couldn’t help but feel really nervous, but when we were finally in the air, I felt better. My feet felt like it was being dragged upwards and my stomach suddenly felt empty, but once the plane gained the normal altitude, it’s like riding a train.

We landed at Mactan International Airport at 10:25am. Golden Valley Hotel (GVH) sent a van to pick us up from the aiport for Php550. I was quite upset with this because when I spoke to the receptionist twice prior to our flight, the cost was only P500. When we arrived at the hotel, the receptionist informed me that I only booked 1 room, which was, of course, false. I spoke to them three times and confirmed 1 Standard Single room and 1 Standard Double room for 2 nights; they only booked the double room. Harold was then placed in a studio-type room, which is smaller. GVH offers wi-fi access for P50/hr, which I never availed. We ate in our room for lunch, and for dinner, we all went to SM City Cebu.

SM City Cebu is huge. In those three times that we’ve been there, I don’t think I was able to remember where is where. We had dinner at Gerry’s Grill. I went online for 30 minutes to find someone who can tour us around Cebu City because the price of the tour package that GVH was offering was too high. On the phone, twice, they mentioned that the tour is PHP900 for 3 hours and the succeeding hours is at PHP250. But when we got there, the tour’s rate is now PHP900 for 2 hours and the succeeding hours is P300. Is it because Harold is a foreigner?

Anyway, we found Danny Noy. He was also recommended by an Australian guy, Jim, on one of his blog entries. I called him right away and he was very accommodating. His rate is at P250/hr and he owns a taxi and a van. We opt for the van for more leg room.

Day 2: Cebu City Tour
The next day I sent an SMS to Danny to confirm our 9am appointment. He said that he couldn’t accommodate us but he will send his driver, Cris. Cris arrived on time. When I went out to meet him at the lobby he already has a ready smile. He always opened the doors for us and he acted as our tour guide. He would tell us about the important places that we see while driving to the different tourist spots. Our first stop was the Heritage of Cebu Monument. We took a lot of photos of the monument.

Our next stop was Magellan’s Cross.

At the back of Magellan’s Cross is Basilica de Sto. Niño. It’s one of the oldest churches in Cebu. I tried to get inside, but it was a Friday, and apparently, a lot of people go to church during Fridays.

Fort San Pedro looks like Intramuros. The entrance fee is PHP21/adult. You can walk inside the grounds and enter the museum. The museum consists of artifacts that were dug up under the ocean by the National Geographic. Fort San Pedro is beside the pier.

Casa Gorordo is one of the remaining Spanish colonial-era balay na tisa. It was owned by the Gorordo family, where Juan Gorordo once lived, who became the first Filipino archbishop of Cebu, in 1910-1932. The entrance fee is different for locals and foreign visitors. Locals pay PHP40, while foreigners pay PHP70. This kind of irked me. I don’t see why foreign visitors have to pay more when there is no difference in what we’ll experience inside the house? The signs are all in English and there are no tour guides to explain what we are actually seeing. I just find it discriminatory. There was also an art exhibit. The works of Martino Abellana Jr. and Marie Len Barcelo. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, so I couldn’t show you anything from the museum and exhibit.

After Casa Gorordo, we headed to SM City Cebu for lunch. The Taoist Temple was our next destination. It is located inside Beverly Hills Cebu, where the rich and powerful lives.

The Taoist Temple was built in 1972 by the Chinese community in Cebu. It is a place of worship for Taoism, a religion founded by Lao Tze. Taoists usually come to worship on Wednesday and Saturdays. There are 99 steps to climb before you reach the main temple. Taking photos are not allowed inside the temples, the security guards make sure of that. There are also signs that states the same rules. It was raining when we arrived, so it was quite a hassle climbing the steps while getting wet. Good thing that the rain didn’t last long. We also bought lucky coins from their souvenir shop.

Our last stop was the Mactan Shrine, where the Lapu-Lapu Shrine can also be found. The last time we were here, it was in the year 2000, the mangrove had dried out, but when we got there, we can smell the ocean.

That concludes our Cebu City tour.

Day 3: Last day in Cebu
Our last day in Cebu was spent preparing for our ferry ride with Ocean Jet to Bohol. We had breakfast at Jollibee first and then we set off to Pier 1 to wait for the ferry. I was impressed that their ferry arrived on time, so that means we arrived at Bohol on time, too.

To be continued…

When I get back, I will be posting photos of our trip and of course, the blow-by-blow events of our trip. A friend of my sister from Cebu will help us get around Cebu, which is great. It will be my second time to go to Cebu. The first time was for YFC’s Leader’s Conference.

Anyway, I need to pack! Our flight is 9AM tomorrow.