Maxi Peel para Kutis Artista!
-- Kristine Hermosa, TV commercial
Bwahahaha!
-- Me
Cream Silk Conditioners: Pollution control for super beautiful hair!
-- Lea Salonga, Billboard along Gorordo Avenue
Charing!
-- Me
Rebond? Hinde ah, shinampoo ko lang yan
-- Friend quoting the Rejoice ad
Baloney!
-- Me
Beauty Secret: "None, just moisturize. Use sunblock. Laugh. Younger Men!"
--Mylene Dizon, Cosmo May 2004
AMEN!!!
-- Me
Friday, October 29, 2004
Chasing Cagayan
Your reach should be beyond your grasp
For what is heaven for?
-- M quoting Mr. Cabrera quoting some forgotten writer
For me, Cagayan de Oro is far yet from being the best city in the Philippines. It reminds me a lot of Cebu when the downtown area was still the hot spot. My visits there are often by chance and don’t last for more than an hour. At best, it’s a stopover on the way to Davao or wherever.
Early this year though, on our way home from Camiguin, a friend and I decided to stay overnight and a day to explore the place. First thing it did to me was greet me with catcalls at the pier. My gutsy friend Ann was ready to go into a fistfight just to defend my honor and my very skimpy orange shorts (well, I just came from a very hot beach, didn’t I?). Next thing it did was swallow my money as I tried to withdraw from the monstrous Equitable PCI atm about 2 blocks away from VIP hotel. Up to now, I don’t think I’ve completely forgiven Cagayan yet for the harassment and inconvenience.
But then, a recent text message from one very interesting guy I know now based in Cagayan reminded me that like a stained mouse pad that’s always there but which we tolerate and seldom notice, it too may have its interesting point at a different angle. After all, where else can you find Internet rental which goes as low as P10 with a connection that's even better than Cannon Creek’s?
My sexy cousin Maya babes though sees Cagayan beyond such trivialities. For her, it stands for something else -- freedom, independence, and a new lease on life.
Her decision to leave her husband and a thriving business in Digos, Davao del Sur – her home for more than 30 years, to follow a dream was not an easy one. After chasing answers to a life-altering question as far as northern Luzon for months, she’s finally found the light and settled in Cagayan.
Why Cagayan of all places? Well, she says, at least it’s not too far from home yet far enough to disappear to for awhile. To grow, she wants time out from the familiar, the ready clutches and constricting buzz of a comfort zone.
Brave, M said.
Foolish, a lot would say.
Go on, the heart says.
So she went, searched for and rented her own house, and enrolled at the top university in the area. Getting into the college course she wanted was not as simple as she thought. But her years in U.P. Diliman way back have taught her that nothing good is ever really simple. So, in her natural way, she just eased out a sexy shrug, straightened her spine and started plotting how she’s going to create a door when there isn’t one for the moment. Come what may, she’s gonna reach for that star. And, for better or worse, she’s chosen Cagayan to bring her there.
I have my own stars and heaven to reach for. But somehow, even after all those places, I’ve yet to find and chase my own Cagayan, elusive as it is.
Perhaps, heeding Maya’s call for a visit might just point me in the right direction.
For what is heaven for?
-- M quoting Mr. Cabrera quoting some forgotten writer
For me, Cagayan de Oro is far yet from being the best city in the Philippines. It reminds me a lot of Cebu when the downtown area was still the hot spot. My visits there are often by chance and don’t last for more than an hour. At best, it’s a stopover on the way to Davao or wherever.
Early this year though, on our way home from Camiguin, a friend and I decided to stay overnight and a day to explore the place. First thing it did to me was greet me with catcalls at the pier. My gutsy friend Ann was ready to go into a fistfight just to defend my honor and my very skimpy orange shorts (well, I just came from a very hot beach, didn’t I?). Next thing it did was swallow my money as I tried to withdraw from the monstrous Equitable PCI atm about 2 blocks away from VIP hotel. Up to now, I don’t think I’ve completely forgiven Cagayan yet for the harassment and inconvenience.
But then, a recent text message from one very interesting guy I know now based in Cagayan reminded me that like a stained mouse pad that’s always there but which we tolerate and seldom notice, it too may have its interesting point at a different angle. After all, where else can you find Internet rental which goes as low as P10 with a connection that's even better than Cannon Creek’s?
My sexy cousin Maya babes though sees Cagayan beyond such trivialities. For her, it stands for something else -- freedom, independence, and a new lease on life.
Her decision to leave her husband and a thriving business in Digos, Davao del Sur – her home for more than 30 years, to follow a dream was not an easy one. After chasing answers to a life-altering question as far as northern Luzon for months, she’s finally found the light and settled in Cagayan.
Why Cagayan of all places? Well, she says, at least it’s not too far from home yet far enough to disappear to for awhile. To grow, she wants time out from the familiar, the ready clutches and constricting buzz of a comfort zone.
Brave, M said.
Foolish, a lot would say.
Go on, the heart says.
So she went, searched for and rented her own house, and enrolled at the top university in the area. Getting into the college course she wanted was not as simple as she thought. But her years in U.P. Diliman way back have taught her that nothing good is ever really simple. So, in her natural way, she just eased out a sexy shrug, straightened her spine and started plotting how she’s going to create a door when there isn’t one for the moment. Come what may, she’s gonna reach for that star. And, for better or worse, she’s chosen Cagayan to bring her there.
I have my own stars and heaven to reach for. But somehow, even after all those places, I’ve yet to find and chase my own Cagayan, elusive as it is.
Perhaps, heeding Maya’s call for a visit might just point me in the right direction.
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