11.07.2008

WEAPON OF CHOICE: Nokia N70-1

We had this thing for INTROSO (or INTSOCI if you’re 106 or above), a field trip to visit the fisher folks of Mabitac, Laguna. The road trip was long. 3 and a half hours long for the road to Mabitac. We got there at around 11 am. A short program was presented for us and then lunch time. The visitation to the fisher folks was at around 1:30-3:30. We visited this family and it really hit me how lucky I am. I mean who would want a house that is powered by two motorcycle batteries only? Plus their TV is still the tv from the 1970s (the de-pihit without the remote). We left at around 3:30. The trip was tiring but it’s very enjoying (very cliche-ish lol.).

Several gays or homosexuals (what’s the politically correct term?) were following our contingent from their research center to our lunch venue. Quite freaky but in fairness they gave a good intermission number dancing to the tune of the overused Low Low Low. They were graceful dancers. And also great stalkers. LOL! We got to our assigned house at around 1:50 to 2 pm. It wasn’t worse as we expected but still the house was a complete mess. We only talked to the housewife since the household head was out on the field (as the housewife told).

We [me and the partner] asked the housewife some questions and shit, and when we were about to shoot pictures of her and her family, she remarked to stop shooting for a while because they were three in the picture. Well it was her, one of the family’s children and my partner which I was just about to shoot. She asked me to stop shooting because she had this custom belief that shooting a picture in three people with it will cause the person in the middle a lot of bad luck. I don’t know what’s the logic in it but we just followed her request since there’s really nothing to lose by doing so.

We had some buko juice and puto and kutsinta for merienda before we left off for Manila at around 3:30.

It didn’t help that the Laguna part of SLEX was undergoing major renovations. The road looked messy and wasted as it could get. We got stuck on the way to Laguna, which was valuable time shaved from our stay in Mabitac. The traffic got worse on the way home as we stayed on the road for a good four hours. Some of the people who went off at La Salle had been on the road for four and a half hours. As a result of the boredom caused by the traffic, you could see a bunch of camwhore pictures at the end of this album. LOL. That’s what you do when you’re bored being stuck in the traffic and you have a camera in your hand. LOL.

Pardon for the wound in the left chin part. I don’t know how I got that but it surely hurts like hell.

Also, I was amazed to see a hydro-electric plant somewhere in Pagsanjan, Laguna. It was the best scenery in the road trip that’s not named Metro Manila. We met these two boy kids who were sorta retarded because they try to slash himself with bits of glass. We were amazed with their love advice (or a pick-up line if you consider it as such):

“Di bale nang masaktan [ako], wag lang ang puso.”

He’s going to be a good lover when he grows up.

Now, to the pictures…