something about birds, dog and net

four birds and a dog. i realized in the house, they could never co-exist. let me explain.

my brother gifted me with 4 birds he bought in a sidewalk while he was on his way to tacloban. that was a payment for his one night stay in my house. i used to have this kind when i was growing up. they were not rare nor endangered. these were easily caught.

but this time around, i could no longer afford to see these birds being tied in a makeshift branch, hang in your door, and watch them wanting to fly only to be pulled back by the short string tied in their legs. so i decided to buy this net eventhough the budget was not enough. for the whole night, the kids and i were planning, designing, arranging this would-be house for these birds. we wanted it wrap around the guava tree, and formed a bigger cage where they could fly around. the problem was, the net was too small to form a bigger space. after many attempts to put up the net unsuccessfully, we decided to sleep.

first thing in the morning, we went back to our yard thinking hard how to design the house. we were pressured by the fact that one bird already flew away, tie was cut off, and another one was about to die. we were also pressured upon watching those birds now jampacked in one small laundry box, as i had untied them a night before.

while we were imagining how it would look like, one kid saw this dog house which was no longer a house to my dog since he is now sleeping inside the house. we made use of this and cover it with the net. wow, we had just built a cleverly designed house for our birds. before the inauguration, one bird died. only two were left to stay in this house. so we set them in, they flew, moved here and there, albeit the space was still very small for them. at least there were real guava branches inside their house, just in case they wanted to make some kind of branches hopping.

and so they were now inside. we gleefully watched them as they moved, flew and hopped.

here came my dog, looking bewildered, asking perhaps what happened to his house. i tried to explain to him (hehehe) that temporarily that would be occupied by the birds. he seemed to understand. he really seemed to.

one second we turned our back, went inside our house, my dog, without a sound, scratched the net open, and lo and behold, set the birds free. finally. for good.

would i be angry? for a moment yes, that's why the dog ended being caged. would i be disappointed? after all the efforts, that was what we got. but it was freedom for the birds. maybe what happened was for the good of it all. one bird came back, landed on our window, and flew away never to see him again.

it was really for the good of it all. we did our part, the dog did his, and the birds awaited moment came.

after all, we can still enjoy the net. it ended well.

ronald

mcdo tacloban anniversary, april 2006

i was told that when one is in characterization, he should believe who he should be and convince others to believe him so. therefore, he could not answer personal questions, much less show his real personality.

hmmm. let me rethink. i got his name, address, and cellphone number. ronald mcdonald's. he became an instant friend after the 4th time i was meeting him. i asked questions like how heavy his pair of shoes is, who did his make up (was curious enough to touch it if it easily fades), where was he trained, if ronald is into a lovey-dovey. trivia: all ronalds in the world have the same signature which was learned and practiced in a week.

it was fun going back to mcdo everyday for a week. got a nice time. maybe i was the only adult who still believes in make-believes in that particular mcdo outlet. ronald sat with us, chatted, and we had coffee together.

maybe he was amused looking at me being amused looking at him.

cebu escapade

cebu in perspective.

it was heated to the max. cebu was. the sun was fully up. the time was 12 noon. the street was ours. we made turns and u-turns. this characterized the vacation i had in the queen city of the south.

from davao, i flew to cebu. the holidays made up my decision to stay longer in this city. this time, i was not on official business. it was pure holiday. and it was better that way.

the accommodation was free, courtesy of my friend from tacloban who just recently got a job in cebu. (thanks pach.) i met my old friends. old friends they are, but our laughters yet never faded. such life. wonderful. appealing.

i like it.

spotted in cebu

buddy

fire tree

ayala center, cebu, april 14, 2006

it has been there for so long but i wonder why the philippines is not picking up this idea of planting this tree all over and create a view such as this one. this blooms every summer. it kinda resembles the sakura tree in japan in spring.

i saw this fire tree in cebu ayala center. i requested my friend to drive me back for this pictorial. it was cool. and felt like in a foreign land.

summer islands

samal island

this is the very reason why i am not trading off my archipelago with anything else. i love my country...

summer paradise

paradise island resort, samal, davao

i could have gone somewhere else, but this summer has brought me to where really my heart belongs: the sea. and where else but in the island garden city of samal. no, no, it is not a tourist name, it really is the official name. never really an appropriate name because it is more than a garden city, more than an island, it is a paradise. oh yeah i made some exaggerations in my description. what really makes the paradise a paradise to me is the fact that i went there all expense paid. hehehe.

the place took me 2 plane rides to reach. 3 hours all, minus the taxi and the boat ride. for first timers like me, i didn't mind the distance and the hours. when i had arrived, i forgot my purpose of going there. i immediately knew what else to do. and my 3-day davao visit ended doing all the "elses".

be back. surely.

fun time outside

airport beach


when not at home, u could find me here. when bored, i know what to do. but the choices are endless. if not swimming, it's watching movies, or playing, or chatting, or travelling, or eating. if not in the beach, it is in mcdo, or jollibee, or living room, or park, or in another beach. i like it inside, i like it outside too.

with all the pressures in life, i refuse to be boxed in. i refuse to make my day routinary. when i am at home, or outside of it, i refuse to let my official work interfere with the way i live my life. at the end of the day, with this attitude, i get the day's worth.

life is fun.

fun times at home

parties anytime, birthdays or no birthdays at all

it now becomes a legend - this bachelor's pad. it now becomes a haven for those who are tired, weary, hungry, and bored. and a place too to share the joys and smiles of life.

the pad has no father. it has no mother either. there are no children. yet it is a home of a family who simply seeks to live a happy life inspite of how sad the world has been. there is fun in this house. there is food too. the food is brought by whoever who wishes to bring one. a person who only knows how to cry has no place in this pad. he must know how to laugh as well. this is a place of extremes. cry. laugh. shy. aggressive. leader. follower. strong. weak. busy. no work. hungry. full. abundance. emptiness. this is an assembly of those who believe that in this world, to be complete means to experience both sides of two extremes.

this is where i live. this is my world. you are welcome to come in.

relived

artpix by gemma, taken at our yard; background pix is actually a pineapple fruit

when old things become, uhmmm, yeah, old, we tend to put them in a box and forget all about them. nostalgia is not my cup of tea, so do these old things are never really remembered. until one day heaven opens up and lo and behold the old things just simply resurrect. just like these things.

they are toys. or i called them so. souvenirs from the good old days in japan. when i arrived home, they become just accessories to the crimes i had committed in japan. boxed. or rather placed in one corner. dusted. untouched. one day, my niece, who has an eye of a budding artist, took them all, arranged them, and shot them. the once dusted toys now become pieces of artwork. and nice they are.

and so my memories of the good old days resurrected. i thought of how it had all been. and i remember to blog once more.

comes with this are two emails from my very good friends while i was a stranger in a foreign land. binh san remembered. sethy remembered. the resurrection of my toys becomes also the "resurrection" of memories with my two good friends. they wrote. and my memories relived.

how wonderful it really had been.

(if one friend of mine happens to see this, and recognizes the picture, my hope is for that person to remember to write me. i have been waiting.)