Coño-speak

Overheard in Janylin, Glorietta, Makati while I was shopping.

Lady: Oh my God, those shoes are so ganda. But it’s so sayang kasi it’s not comfortable on my paa. Watcha think, will it be bagay kaya with my dress? And oh, look here....

Whaaat?! Even with my iPod glued to my ears, I could still hear her go yakkity-yak in that absolutely annoying coñotic tongue-speak. I discreetly looked around (and I wasn’t the only one and some weren’t so discreet about it) to look for the perpetrator and lo and behold, it was some matrona bedecked in enough jewels and accessories to make her look like a walking Christmas tree.

Gosh, it’s so kairita that I made dampot na lang my shopping bags and left Janylin ‘coz she’s like you know, so umm... kainis. LOL.

Funny. And I thought being coñotic is limited to only teens and tweens, huh.

“Rain Pull”

In high school, we had an Earth Science teacher who had a problem in producing the sounds of the letters P and F.

One day, as she was giving her lecture and we were taking down notes, her Ps and Fs (or lack of them) created quite a stir among us.

Teacher: The rain pull...

Classmate A: Rain pull?!

Classmate B: The rain pulls what? Is this a physics thing? The rain having the capacity to pull something?

Classmate C: Maybe it’s pool with two letter Os? Rain in a pool, eh?

Classmate D: May I look at your notes? I may have overheard it differently.

Then, amidst the giggling, as she was finishing her sentence, it dawned on us that she meant “The rainfall...”

If only the sounds of the letters P and F could fall from heaven and fall in the graces of our teacher then we wouldn’t have difficulty doing notes each time she did her lectures...

Photos taken outside of the Underground River in Palawan

In my previous post about my trip to Puerto Princesa, Palawan, I narrated my experience when we traversed the Underground River.

Going out, the view was really scenic. The sky was the loveliest shade of blue and the clouds were just as lovely. The water too is the calmest shade of green which complements the lush greenery nicely. Picture-perfect, don't you think?

Of YAPPasko 2008

I once blogged about a project of YAPpers (Yahoo Answers Philippines users) this Christmas and I am writing now just to make an update.

Preparations are already underway. We already visited Cottolengo a couple of weeks back.

When we were there, the children had an outing so we only met with those who are bedridden. It's a really heartbreaking sight. No matter how much I tried to hold the tears back in, they still managed to stream down my cheeks. And I wasn't the only one whose heart strings got tugged. My companions' were too.

Some pics are not that clear since I had to turn off my camera's flash lest I scare or upset the kids.

What amazed me was how these kids retained their innate happiness in spite of everything. Take Jessie, for instance. He is the child whom I fell in love with because of his smiles and robust energy. He loved to be carried as well as to drive around in the car.

Seeing all these, I was reminded of how blessed we all are and how these blessings must be shared to the less fortunate ones. These kids need more. Not just more toys. Or clothes. Or food. Yes, they do need all these but what they really need is more love, care and understanding. And these are what we hope to give.

photo credit

After the visit, we headed to the mall to check out some toys. Whoa, educational toys are expensive!

But thanks to our generous benefactors, we were able to buy some toys. We chose those that are educational and have no small parts that will endanger the kids. We also bought those that have flashing lights and sounds to hold their attention. Or are cuddly, like an adorable Teddy Bear!

One YAPper who is based in Australia also pledged some goodies and the package arrived last Friday. It had lots of candies and chocolates that I'm sure the kids will love!

Thanks, PC. :)

And since yesterday was a holiday, I spent half the day wrapping the toys which is something I absolutely love doing.

We are also working on buying some clothes and more toys if our funds permit. And of course, on the food during the Christmas party itself. Of utmost importance though is the program proper to plan on.

Now I am looking forward to having the event. I can't wait. Way to go, YAPpers!

photo credit

"Levels"

Every Wednesday and Saturday, we require courier services in the company I work for.

Our messenger who is the one in-charge of readying all packages and documents that need to be sent to our main office wasn't in one Saturday so I had to call him to inquire about the courier's number so we could make a follow-up since it's nearly 12 noon but the package had not been picked up yet.

Minutes after I hung up, I received a text message from our messenger. The message was in English and Filipino. Translated entirely in English, it read, "Miss _____, please make sure there are LEVELS on the package."

Dumbfounded, I re-read the message. LEVELS?! Do we stack these packages up depending on some variable, weight or size, perhaps?

So I turned to my colleague and read the message to him. He then burst our laughing. "LABELS," he stated simply.

Oh. Okay. Then I laughed.

The Underground River - Palawan

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean National Park, more popularly known as the Underground River is purported to be the longest underground river in the world. It is also often times called the St. Paul's Subterranean River National Park, or the St. Paul Underground River because it is located in the Saint Paul Mountain Range on the northern coast of the island of Palawan.

Recognizing the park's representation as a significant habitat for biodiversity conservation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO named the Underground River a World Heritage Site on December 2, 1999. It is also nominated for the New 7 Wonders of Nature competition.

The park is almost two hours from Puerto Princesa City. When we arrived there, there were many tourists waiting their turn to traverse the Underground River. To kill time, I snapped some photos and ate some chips. My iPod was also a great help. The waiting was terrible. I did not keep track of the time but it was maybe about an hour.

The color of the water is amazing. It's green! And it looks so clean.

Our turn finally came. We eagerly rode the kayak and while it traverses the river, I happily snapped pics. Hmm, what's to expect inside?

There's graffitti as detailed above.

And stalactites and stalagmites. There were cool formations like the Holy Family and some that looked like vegetables. Sadly, I wasn't able to take any clear pics as it was too dark.It was cold too. And boy, the place reeked of bat shit I was doing my best to not sneeze lest I disturb any bats and they would come flying at us.

While the boatman gave jokes and explained what this and that formation is, I just listened to my iPod. It's a cool tour but seeing the same thing over and over again eventually took the novelty off it. Would you believe I was even able to take a nap for a few minutes?

Then we were on our way out. I snapped out of my sleepiness and forced myself to stay awake. To do so, I just looked forward to going out. Is this what people mean when they see "the light at the end of the tunnel?"

And finally we were out. Hurray!