WEE 0821110845: the day after

pc was gushing over his new gadget when he arrived. i love the way his eyes light up as he shows me the features of the phone, the screen resolution, the nifty way it zooms through tilting, etc. he really is such a tech at heart. he even subscribes to those tech fora for updates on the latest. and he gets so oc over the gadgets, over a scratch, a speck of dust!

after the wonderful lunch of steak (for him) and steamed lapu-lapu (for me), we settled in the room to watch a movie. i downloaded 'the never ending story', a film he remembers crying over in childhood, and something i never actually watched. but after 30mins, we were dozing off. hehe. i guess the charms of childhood fail to carry over to adulthood!

we heard the 5pm mass at the quaint church nearby. it was probably a protestant church during the american tenure here. it had a nice yard, with huge acacia trees with moss-covered branches. i just love trees.

then we went to a new landmark in this area, the Kalaklan lighthouse, which we could view from the hotel. it was so near, actually, right after exiting the base through kalaklan gate. it had nice views of the bay. and our timing, sunset, was my favorite. there was a guard stationed at the operational lighthouse - ang lalaki sa parola, but not half as exciting. hehe. the shots were wonderful. soon to be posted here.

then it was an early dinner at aresi at the courtyard meridien. the resto, that had its origins in imperial hotel along morato, was something i missed. i havent visited the resto when they transferred to il terrazzo. but the one thing i remember about them, the chocnut ice cream, disappeared from the menu.

we had pasta (creamy pesto), and pizza (five cheeses!) i love all-cheese pizza, though i dont generally crave for pizza. the only other pizza variant i like is margherita, strictly thin crust. we also had their herbed chicken, and it took 40 mins to prepare. we capped that off with tiramisu and cheesecake. lovely anniversary dinner.

we had watched another movie after dinner in the room: woody allen's midnight in paris. it was nice. a review of art and literature of the 20's. the message was simple enough. it had characteristic woody allen lines, deadpan and biting, delivered by owen wilson (i have taken a fancy to his voice since i watched 'cars'. i like the way his lips seem pursed as he speaks.)

then it was time for goodbyes. pc couldnt stay overnight so i arranged the driver to bring him home. i was suddenly worried for the travel back. i realized that sctex is not lit for stretches. and they would be traveling midnight. i texted them regularly for updates and reassurances. and thankfully, they made it back to manila uneventfully.

i kept awake by continuing the book 'god loves bakla' by raymond alikpala. it is such an honest recount of his life in the closet. and since we are of the same age (we are actually born 7 days apart), i loved the way he writes interspersed with history as i knew it, too. ninoy's assassination, edsa people power, even 9-11. his recall so accurate i couldnt help but do my own reminiscing.

when migs introduced me to him, he mentioned how 'similar' our lives were. and we had a chance to talk at that love yourself photoshoot. reading the book showed me all the similarity. and heightened some differences which i wont mention here yet.

suffice it to say that raymond alikpala turned out to be my companion during this trip, a companion to a trip in the past, and to a trip to his soul, tortuous at times and ultimately, inspiring.

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