dual*ities

The first week of March is about to end. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be one of my most favorite weeks since the year started. Here are some of the reasons why:

1) Power Shot – At the start of the week, I was pleasantly surprised to find a box bearing the Canon label in my bedroom. What do you know…it’s a digicam, courtesy of my balikbayan aunt from New York! Since I’m on penny-pinching mode these days, I sort of brushed aside any thoughts of getting myself a digicam any time soon. Lucky me, my aunt-cum-fairy-godmother came to town! I got my wish without me having to ask for it.=)

2) Lost and Found – Monday morning, I went to the JVP Office and was greeted with the glad news that my Harry Potter 5 book has been returned to the JVP House…just when I thought it’s lost to me forever! Whew. Now, all I have to do is claim it. (Crossing my fingers that it’s still where it’s supposed to be when I retrieve it.)

3) The Road to Obando and Navotas – This week, I spent almost 7 hours on the road, and had a change of public transportation modes 21 times, just to be able to conduct two one-and-a-half-hour-long focus group discussions (FGD) with the staff and beneficiaries of Philippines Agency for Community and Family (PACAF). Initially, I even thought the FGDs would not push through. That’s ‘coz the first time I went to the PACAF Office on Monday afternoon, half of the staff who were supposed to participate in my study went home early! Hence, I ended up spending most of Monday afternoon on the road, and only about 20 minutes in the PACAF Office. Oh well.

I, of course, agreed to go back the next day for two separate sessions with the PACAF beneficiaries in Obando, and with the staff in Navotas. However, come Tuesday morning, I received a call from the executive director who was asking to postpone the scheduled FGDs to Wednesday (she could not make the rounds and accompany me that day due to a bad stomach. Well, how could I say no to her when I was the one asking her a favor in the first place? So yeah, I said, Wednesday it is.

And so, Wednesday came, with me half-expecting a call from PACAF telling me that the FGDs will be delayed once more due to some fortuitous circumstance. But no such call came. Breathing a sigh of relief, I met with the director (at 7-11 Monumento, no less), and then finally went to Panghulo, Obando, Bulacan for a session with the PACAF beneficiaries. The settlement—which is located by the river, and is just recovering from a massive fire that destroyed most of the residents’ houses and belongings—is vaguely reminiscent of Baseco, Tondo. The stories of the residents about the harsh realities of their everyday existence were heartbreaking, and reminded me once more of why I want to work with communities in the grassroots level. So yes, more than just providing answers to my FGD questions, the locals of Panghulo, Obando gave me something of essence to ponder and think about.

After our amazing P20.00 lunch (can you believe that?!) in one of the carinderias in Panghulo, we proceeded to the PACAF office in Navotas, which is actually the old house of the Pardo de Tavera clan, built more than 130 years ago. It is in one of the antique tables and under the intricately-carved wooden roof of the receiving room, that I conducted the FGD with the staff.

By mid-afternoon, I left Navotas, bringing with me new learnings that go beyond my thesis topic. Thus, I could truly say that at the end of the day, the long roads leading to Obando and Navotas were well worth the travel.

4) Winner Wednesday - After Navotas and Obando, the next stops for me were two “dinner dates.” The first one was with the Pathways Education Development Unit volunteers at Yellow Cab-Katipunan. Good pizza + good company = one heck of a good time! And of course, moments like those are the perfect excuse to bring out a never-before-used camera. Haha. Anyway, this was how the captured “moment” looks like:

Dinner with Pathways volunteers at Yellow Cab

At around 8pm, I was off to another dinner get-together, this time with the Batch 18 gang, at Recipes in Eastwood. The mini-reunion was in honor of batchmate Fr. Jun who left his beloved Dumagete for a couple of few weeks to take his comprehensive exams (which he, as expected, passed with flying colors!) in ADMU. As in any Batch 18 gathering, laughter (loud, loud laughter) and endless banter were part of the equation. Things got stirred up even more as the group moved to a bar (called Gweilos something) where VJ and Joey (my drinking mentors!) worked on getting all of us overly-acquainted with Jack Daniel's. The result? More loud laughter, more pitiless banter, and a little bit of jigging to the beat of some really cool 80’s music, ensued.=) Here’s proof of the fun:


The more sober part of the evening (Dinner at Recipes)


TSP ...JVP 18 Style: "Toma, Sigarilyo, Pulutan"


Fr. Jun's girls

Looks like the winning Wednesday streak is back!

5) Friday High – As part of its silver anniversary celebration, JVPFI held a fund raising concert entitled "Pinoy Tayo!" featuring Bamboo last Friday, March 4, at the ADMU High School Covered Courts. The show itself was rockin’, although I wish the (somewhat youngish) crowd was a bit larger. In any case, Bamboo Mañalac, the band’s lead vocalist, was his usual energetic self and rendered another livewire performance.


Bamboo and Ira doing their thing

Bamboo was really a gracious guest too, staying behind for photo opps (and “pahabol” autograph-signing) with the JVP peeps. Hence, he did not break any hearts, like some of the other band members did. Just ask May8.

For me, however, what made the evening special was the company of good friends, some of whom I haven’t seen for the longest time. That made having to stand all night, and with an empty stomach at that, worth my while.

Anyway, the show started late but ended up early (by rock concert standards). But of course, for some of us, the night was just beginning. At around 11:00 pm, Trina, Kangirl, Eiza, TQ, Maits, Gil, May8, Lester, Wing, Anj (with her Jan), and I headed over to a Libis joint for some soul-satisfying pasta. Then, still on a rockin’ mood, some of us spent the next 3 to 4 hours singing our hearts out at the next-door KTV. The perfect night cap, for a perfect week.

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As I write this, another week is about to begin. I’m crossing my fingers that it will be as fruitful and colorful as the week that was. But then again, might be that’s asking for too much.=)