prelude to the summer getaway :)

no, we're not going to thailand. although i would love to, our family's quite experiencing the GEC (global economic crisis. hehe.), THUS! no funds for such. someday ah, may tyempo ka gid nga halit ka!

7 days left. yup! and we're off to the majestic and enchanted ISLA DE GIGANTES, carles, iloilo. to people who have not an idea about this place, let me post some of the pictures that i have seen as i was googling it.

(and i'll post the ones i'll take when i come back! of course! :D)

how it came to be:

when i was in manila, i came to see my friends jamie, paolo (both ilonggos), and mark (a manileño who is a "feeling ilonggo" hahaha.) they wanted to break free from their busy city lives and wanted to come home for a summer escapade. BORACAY was off the list of destinations because it's too urban, too commercialized, you won't feel relaxed when you go there -- what with the gazillion of people going to and fro, on their skimpy suits and fake tan lines. it's just like living in the city because everyone's there to party and shop and BASTA AH.

jamie suddenly remembered that i have once invited them (tina, sj and karina) to come to my mother's hometown, in carles, way back in high school. and this never happened because everyone's busy in college and sj's now in US, tina's pregnant, and karina.. well, her dad just won't let her.

jamie: why don't we go to carles? i think that would be great!
maane: err.. jaim, the life situation there is devastating. people are poor, the facilities are not good, my grandparents' house is gabok (infested by mites).
jamie: but the beach ma. i just wanna go to the beach.
maane: well, the shore's got white sand, the beach is clear. but what would you eat there? fish? vegetables? i'm sorry, imol lang kami jaim.
jamie: that sounds fun! sige na maaaa. take us there this summer. please?
maane: (looks at nanay)
nanay: if you want, you could also go to the isla.
jamie: ooooh! sige, sige tita! we'd love to!
maane: but jaim! there's no electricity there, they make use of generators and the lights are from 6pm til 10 pm only! and the water's aplod (tastes like tawas and lime)! the people are so.. rural (?!) and jamie! don't expect anything from gigantes. you'd really need to live like a Survivor contestant if you wanna go there.
jamie: sounds like fun maaa! we could do that. sige naaa! let's go!

SO MUCH FOR THE DISCOURAGEMENTS. hahaha. so mom and i agreed.

pero wala pa tentative date.

when i came back here in iloilo, i was scanning through my contacts' posts in Multiply and saw harren's site entitled: DESTINATION: isla de gigantes, carles, iloilo.

maane: ren, when are you going and who's with you?
harren: on april 4-6 ma. with my friends. why? have you been there?
maane: yeah. i have relatives there. jamie and i are planning to come there this summer too. but we're not sure yet.
harren: ooh! so you have relatives there. coz we have this little problem. we don't have any contacts when going there. but we really wanted to go. it's our dream destination. ma! can you be our contact? like for our stay and for the pumpboat?
maane: i'll ask my mom. why don't we go together na lang? how many are you?
harren: around 7-10. maximum is 10. sige, when are you going?
(and the questions went on and on until negotiations and arrangements were made.)

on our first meeting (march 21st), i was shocked that the number of people who've confirmed that they're going was an overwhelming 20! and it could go up to 25 people! what are you guys thinking? there'll be problems with the pumpboat if that is so. aaah! i had a massive headache later that night. how would 25 people fit in my grandma's house? would they be bringing tents? sleep at the beachside? aaah! i was really having a hard time comprehending all those things.

to my relief, after a few days, the confirmed number of persons going is 18. and the maximum would be 20. good, no problem with the pumpboat because its maximum capacity is 20 passengers. i was relieved. and i felt a better "aura" with the other people who are coming (at first, i only know 2 of them! and they all looked.. well.. different from me eh. *hehe*)

then i encountered a problem with my father. he didn't want me to go because i was just supposedly the "negotiator" and he's planning to go to davao on the same dates. i was really crushed, my hopes slowly drifted away and i felt so depressed. again, WHEN THINGS BECOME TOO GOOD, IT'S BOUND TO TURN BAD SOONER OR LATER. so this is it. haaay. but i didn't tell them guys yet because i knew they were more excited and i didn't want to ruin that.

yesterday, we met this person, (nalipat ko ngalan ya) who's been there for cave explorations. he's telling us this and that stories and amazed us NA GID. and i was torn between excitement and disappointment. i really didn't know if i could go or not so i didn't know how to feel. haaay. plus! in the morning, i asked my mother to make lisensya for me and tatay's reply was: indi mo man kilala mga upod nya. mabalod pa nga daan magpa kadto didto subong. basi maano na to siya. hello tatay! i'm 23 years old, i've been to bacolod twice WITHOUT your knowledge, and i'm still alive. please don't treat me like i'm a little girl. i only look like one. hahahaha.

when i came home, i was talking to my mom about the plan.. but referred to the plan as THEIRS. plano NILA, mahalin di SILA. i didn't include myself anymore because i really felt that i couldn't go. then she asked, "pila na ang maupod?", i answered, "18? (i didn't count myself in)". "pila ang maximum passengers sa pumpboat?" "20". "te kung ma upod ka kag si pam, 20 tanan? sakto gid ba." and i was like WOAH. does this mean????? waaaah! (tuod, i was jumping and pacing and running around like crazy! hahaha!) haaay... the sweet life.. :)

and so today, i am on a sing-song mode. I AM STAYING AT HOME TODAY BECAUSE MAPA GOOD GIRL KO ANAY. hehe. i have this really mixed up feeling. i think it's adrenaline rush or something like that :)




i'm moving, i'm coming,
swimming closer to you :)