The Road Without An Asphalt: My Journey to July 2011 PNLE 2

My everyday routine isn't boring after all.


Reviewing for the Nursing Licensure Examination this coming July is indeed a tiring one. I may not have played the most strenuous sport but waking up early in the morning as well as going home late in the afternoon really drain my brain. Less oxygen goes in it. My neurons are exhausted. That is, I proceed to my room right away and yes, sleep immediately, without eating my dinner and worst, without taking a bath, everything!

It's my plan to post a lot of flowers for the month of May but due to my busy schedule, I failed to do so. It's the last day of May yet I'm posting the first and sadly, the last flower for the month. The photo was taken within the university in a cloudy day. It is actually a blossom of a yellow-flowering tree. I just love how these flowers look like in an arranged collective view. And seeing these, like them, refreshes the eye, the feelings, making the day not boring after all.
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Biboy Ramirez Is In The Town!

Walking the shoreline of Pagudpud after Chedeng...


May 28, 2011 - Biboy Ramirez' body was found dead soul graced up a nearly lifeless sunset at Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte in a still gloomy Saturday, just after typhoon Chedeng hit the country.

The group came across a man in red jacket and camouflage short, sitting alone in a bench at the beach front, when one friend told us it was him, Biboy Ramirez.

Is he a star? Is he famous? As a loyal Kapamilya, I'd never seen him acting or doing something much, not until he joined ABS-CBN's Pinoy Mano-Mano, a celebrity boxing challenge along with Jordan Herrara who was later emerged as the winner.

We approached him and asked some questions. He replied enthusiastically - well, because he smiled at least. He was open for a conversation. We learned after that he was invited to escort in a Santa Cruzan in nearby town Burgos the next day. He just arrived earlier to relax and visit Pagudpud again.

At present, he can be seen in TV5's TV remake of Bagets, a known teen-oriented movie in the 80's. He plays the role of a parent with senior co-stars Candy Pangilinan, Bernadette Alison, Jao Mapa, Joy Viado, Raymond Lauchengco, etc. 

Anyway, there are three things I observed:

1. I hate the smoke of a cigarette, it's smell and how it is emitted by smokers. They are just booming with self-confidence when they smoke. They just don't know, that aside to its associated danger to their health, they are also a one big threat to everyone thru second hand smoking. But when I tried to smell what Biboy was hitting, no stimuli reached my brain to interpret it. In other words, it's of no stress to my airway. I'm such an innocent with these things, these classier cigarettes.

2. I'm a fashion enthusiast. I can tell wether an apparel is worn the second time around in a show, in Glee for example and even in the local scene. And that bright red jacket before your eyes is also seen with him in one of their press launch I think, in Bagets. Also, his get-up (in the photo) is a flop to me but that's him, his own style and I will just leave it here. I don't judge not like other people do with their fellow.

3. I do want to have a fairer skin. I am a consumer of whitening products, I admit. This is just a negative side of many Filpinos, many Asians - we hate our tan colors as much as how foreigners love them. If only and if we had our skins the other way around, you will know the feeling. And Biboy had a fair white complexion except in his legs. Well, I have a fairer one - just this thing, just this time. LOL!

THIS AIN'T A SHOWBIZ NEWS, JUST A BLOG ENTRY!!!
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The Road Without An Asphalt: My Journey to July 2011 PNLE 1

Just after the rain in May...


I don't know if I will GET MAD with the sharp sun passing through my "transparent" room or at least  BE HAPPY because it again smashed my "weak" alarm - but seeing myself late to an intensive review, to Sir Ruel, is a BIG no-no for me who is aspiring to top the July 2011 Philippine Nursing Licensure Examination (cross fingers + sign of the cross)... so I really need to rise with all the muta, saliva and everything hope to learn something at the end of the day.

My day usually starts with either NPO (nothing per orem) or a full liquid diet and seldom for a high calorie diet for my breakfast. Hygiene as a very important entity for an OC like me comes next. Yes, I admit I have the behaviour, the trait but not the disorder nor the disease. I am like Felisa who washes her hands with soap and water then uses an alcohol after but that's only when I eat with my bare hands, in Ilocano, agkam-met (that known Pinoy way of eating). Then HELLO FUNCTION HALL - the venue of OLOPH-MMSU review, the hottest place on Earth! In Batac, I.N., I should say! LOL :D

But sometimes, I have this hard time waiting for tricycles (means of transportation in Batac) early in the morning. And instead of wasting these 5 to 10 minutes, I enthusiastically spend a walk along the road (refer to this blog's header image) to refresh with the morning breeze and search for photography subjects.

The above photo shows then a growing seed kissed by the sun after a rain in May. Aside from flowers, seeds also sprout in May. The rain drenches the seeds and after a slight movement of the soil, they are covered and now set to spring up. The photo also exhibits the morning dews, moisture from air, in the tip of the green grasses.
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Adams | Bugnay Wine


A toast for success!



The small town of Adams has gone this far without much "reconstruction of the road," shunning from any misuses, flaunting its natural beauty. The Mt. Palemlem, rainforests, waterfalls, rivers, even the weeds and rocks, all served for Adams’ walk to fame. Indeed, it is an effortless move of Mother Nature. It didn’t require a lot of publicities but a support from the folks, which is very evident as they weren’t tempted to burn the mountains for farming, cut the trees for plumbing and use dynamites for fishing. Being a crimeless community therefore thrives in not only the tourism industry but also other businesses – winemaking industry tops these.

Winemaking industry in Adams includes the production of wine made from local products such as glutinous rice (tapuey) and wildberry fruit (bugnay). It was started a few years ago thru the initiative of Dr. Bielmaju Waly-Bawingan aiming to help the community people increase their income as well as promote local culture and tourism.

The bugnay wine has this quirky but pleasant taste and aroma which is likened to a grape wine hence preferred by consumers. It is reddish to purplish in color, resembling like any other red wines. Truly, elegance can now be as simple as having a supply of bugnay wine in the house.

Bugnay contains naturally occurring colored pigments called flavonoids, specifically anthocyanins. These anthocyanins are considered to play a beneficial role in visual acuity, heart diseases, cancer, age-related neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes and bacterial infections.

Winemaking is a laborious process. It includes extracting of juice, dilution, fermentation, aging process, separating residues, bottling, corking, labeling and packaging. During the course of fermentation, fruit sugars are converted to alcohol known as ethanol, a colorless liquid with pleasant smell.

The wine is sold all over Ilocos Norte. A 750 ml. or 25.4 fl. oz. bottle costs about 100 to 115 pesos in retail stores. The product is 12 percent in alcohol content and with its potential health effects, it is safe to drink. The production of Adams’ Bugnay Wine is assisted by the Department of Science and Technology.
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Bangui | Town Fiesta 2011

Happy Fiesta Bangui, Ilocos Norte!!!

  

Time never stopped its race with the powerful wind breezing in Norte, never surrendered its clash with the harsh waves splashing in Bangui Bay. The pebbles of Bantoc were exploited, the Windmills were constructed. Then and now, we are beholding the shining inheritance, the flourishing culture and the strengthening spirit, of Bangui, of every Banguinian!

The remaining days of April were counted but the Banguinians, people of Bangui, are still counting all the blessings they received. And so, we need to wrap this up in a major major event, the Bangui Town Fiesta 2011!

For them, fiesta is a mass fashion of celebrating goodness as well as honoring their patron saint, St. Lawrence. Indeed, it’s a Christian happening; it’s a festivity of oneness, splendor, abundance and the like. Many embrace this occasion next to Christmas as generosity unfurls everywhere you turn. It’s a long Easter week, hence the perfect time to rejoice after the Lenten season. It’s the last sunny days of the month before the rain arrives for May Flower, therefore it's a gift to keep and to treasure in the whole year round.

The celebration started with a show called Talentadong Banguinian in an Easter Tuesday. As the title implies, the affair showcased the talents of every proud fellow Banguinian. The next day marked Tinuno Festival. It’s a boodle fight with a twist as participants competed for the best tasting grilled food in town. Then the stars came to witness the fifteen candidates for Ms. Kannawidan Festival (Ms. SK Bangui) in the night of Easter Wednesday. The grand parade and street dance graced an Easter Thursday while the Night of the Senior Citizens was held in the evening. Easter Friday welcomed Banguinians all around the globe with the program, Balikbayan Night. And the long week was ended with the Barangay Night which highlighted the crowning of the majesty queen in the last Easter day, Saturday.

As if it was only yesterday when I was also joining the parade as part of the drum and lyre corporation. The days were gone and now I am only documenting this gathering - taking photos and having some commentaries, which I admit I got to enjoy it too.

Fiestas during my childhood look more of a festival than what it has nowadays. Before, there are cottage-forming booths of every barangay made up of bamboos and decorated with indigenous materials (sort of a nipa house). These are filled with the products of the barangay such as banig (mat), tambo or ting-ting (cleaning materials), longganisa, bawang (garlic), lasona (onion),  mais (corn) and a lot more which are sold to the public to help town farmers and entrepreneurs. Floats are also more attractive then. They almost look like those of Panagbenga Festival floats in Baguio. There are a lot of fresh flowers on it. Others prefer orchids, palm trees or shrubs and more of ranib and anahaw to display. I call them, mobile gardens - house landscapes transferred to a vehicle. Some also uses indigenous materials to flaunt creativity and style. For instance, crampled papers, piled and painted to form like a bird, duck, etc.; cloths, shaped and colored to exhibit a butterfly in 3D; and hays, cut and braced to create miniature building designs such as a bahay kubo. Sad to say, I'd been longing all of these since high school.

But what I appreciate during these occasions was the support of the people - boundless and timeless. Everyone participates - from the longest part of the parade, the delegates of the senior citizens to the youth who involved themselves in the different activities such as basketball game, pageant and talent show. The spectators, the crowd, cheering for the contestants and their friends are just exciting and the coordinators, participants, audiences, sacrificing effort and time are just heart-warming.

What can I say? Bangui Town Fiesta 2011 really refreshed my exhausted world! 'Til next time!
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