Life, Day by Day

...at least for today, it looks like summer.  The sun shone brightly with no rain clouds in sight. It was a different story yesterday when it rained so hard in Bacolod...but only in the vicinity of the Lagoon, SM and downtown area because when I got to Robinson's and Lopue's, it was just rain showers and by the time I reached the Ayala area, it was drier than dry.   What Rain? Reaching Silay, I drove into a gas station for a refill and asked, "did it rain here?"  I got a blank stare that said..."what rain?" Oh...okay.  But this is actually a common occurrence in the occidental side of Negros Island since who knows when.  My mom tells me that when she first came here to live in the 50's after she got married, she and my dad would borrow my grandfather's jeep to go to Bacolod.  The sun would be shining in Silay and the weather balmy.  But when they enter the boundary between Talisay and Bacolod, it would be raining...and vice versa.  It ...

Boracay is totally changed since we visited in 2000. If at that time, the island already looked crowded, it has grown even bigger in terms of infrastructure and population, all in the name of progress.  The island's enchantment and purity in the 70's is all but gone. Once upon a time it was only people from Aklan who knew of its beautiful beach.  Of course, even the best kept secret does not stay a secret for long.  Eventually, the few settlers with land titles in the island decided to either develop, sell or lease their lands. Today, there are hundreds of resorts, both beach front or in-land, high end or budget type, varied restaurants, either local or franchised, coffee shops (yes, Starbucks is in Boracay), all kinds of bars, expensive boutiques ( I saw a Mango Outlet), and even food carts can be seen in Boracay.  I now call the place little Metro-Manila with a beachfront.  It is one big party place, THE PLACE to be seen not just in summer but at all times of...

The first time I went to Boracay was in the year 2000.  My cousins living in Davao (then) and Manila were all going to meet up there for the Holy Week and we (my mom, brother, son) decided to come along to celebrate my birthday there as well.  We stayed at Marzon's in station 3 while my cousins stayed at Tirol & Tirol in station 2.  It was a good thing that we did because the resort was only a few steps to the beach, it was clean with friendly and accommodating staff and above all quiet since it was far from the noise of bars playing loud music and party atmosphere in station 2.  We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days and although we enjoyed the beautiful beach, the company and the resort...fact is, Boracay is the worst place to be on Holy Week and so, I swore never to come back at this time of year.   Then come 2011...my mom wanted to spend family time with the kids before summer vacation ends, as my nephew was going to Manila for college.  The initi...