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Closer

Published mid-afternoon of February 27, 2008

For the past two entries I’ve been hinting on a life–changing experience concerning our recent trip to Batanes. I wanted a creative narrative of the events; unfortunately there might be no way to completely re–tell our story. K-THOS (Karl, The Hero of Sabtang) though has a real and heartfelt account of what transpired. And who else is better suited to tell the story but the man who saved our lives?

Now I’ll stop kidding around.

It was past one in the afternoon and we were leaving for Batan after our half–day tour of the island of Sabtang. The strong waves we experienced in the morning upon our arrival gave us enough warning on what might be another rough trip on the way back; we somehow knew what to expect. Little did we know it could be far worse.

As everyone in our approximately 30–man group boarded the boat, the waves pounded relentlessly. This made turning the boat water–bound very difficult. The boatmen struggled to maneuver our vessel into position, taking almost 45 minutes with most of it sideways and dangerously parallel to the waves.

We were relieved the moment we were finally pointed towards the deep sea, knowing the threat of the crashing waves will soon be gone — but we have a few more ones left to bear.

When I saw the wave start to break, I knew it was going to be big. Surely it was at least six feet high. Scared as I was, the boat rose and rode the wave, followed by a huge dip as we fell into the wave’s trough. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, I saw in the corner of my eyes the next wave starting to break as it crashed into the end of the dike, just to the right of our boat. We were not positioned to ride this second wave, I had a bad feeling we will be taking in water.

I’m sure it was at least as high as the first wave, perhaps more. I told Hana to hold on and brace herself as I watched the wave rise right in front us. It crashed directly inside the boat, a deafening sound followed by the feel of cold seawater touching our skin. I closed my eyes as water engulfed us, without an idea what I would see the moment I’d open them.

I almost thought we’d be in the sea after such a wave.

I felt for Hana before I could even see. Holding her hand, I realized we were still safely inside the boat, all of us. But we were all drenched. As we checked ourselves what were amiss because of the wave, frantic shouting ensued. Water and steam was spraying from the engine, with a stream rising straight up, much like what we see in children’s cartoons when a boat is punctured and water rushes in. Only this time it wasn’t funny at all.

The boat’s skipper was shouting as the engine was almost submerged in water. It was probably just a matter of seconds before the engine would die. Us in the back of the boat could barely see the engine as it was now almost completely deep in the water. We had to do something.

Mimi was still composed enough to know what to do; she quickly grabbed a pail and handed it to Karl (now known as K–THOS). Bewildered at the predicament suddenly in his midst, K–THOS rushed to scoop water and dumped it into the ocean. It could have been just a glassful (isang baso, hehe), maybe even less, but it was the first glassful. Stuff of heroes and legends. Quickly, the boat’s crew took over, dumping a pailful of water every few seconds. As they did this, the engine sputtered hinting that the drama night be not over, yet.

Midway through the trip, the boatmen had to briefly idle the engine to remove a good length of nylon cord caught in the engine’s driveshaft, all this while freely floating between Pacific waves that could fit a chapel in its trough. The ocean is mighty indeed.

Several silent minutes later, we docked in Batan to no drama. It was raging as we left, it was now as calm as a sleeping child, oblivious to everything. Joey remarked, “Tignan mo ang dagat, parang walang kasalanan.”

13 Replies· 2008.02.27

Five on Friday: Batanes Photos

Published terribly early in the morning of February 22, 2008

Before I talk about the drama I’ve been selling in my previous entry, here’s five photos I submitted as my photo essay for our photo contest in Batanes. I didn’t win, but fortunately, my pangga Hana did! She got one of three special prizes, the other two going to Mimi and Ferdz. AJ got runner–up honors, while Joey bagged the top prize. Familiar faces, good company. They all get to take home great photo printers from Epson so they can print even more photos from our trip.

Special thanks to Epson for taking us to Batanes, the place is more beautiful than I could’ve dreamed or imagined. Every Filipino should get to visit it at least once in their lifetime.

24 Replies· 2008.02.22

Thankful

Published in the early morning of February 20, 2008

I was somehow doubtful if I would be able to write this, and the fact that you’re reading this only means I’m alive.

This week’s lesson: what God has given, God can take away. Anytime He wishes. Embrace life to the fullest.

12 Replies· 2008.02.20

Renaissance of Philippine Cinema

Published in the early evening of February 13, 2008

Auraeus left a comment on my post about his movie Pisay, I think is worth sharing with everyone:

“Pisay is a beautiful film, simple and sophisticated, direct and campy, one that gets better and better as it goes along. From the evidence gathered, the praise is valid for Filipino cinema as a whole, which is undergoing something of a renaissance.”

by Emmanuel Burdeau Cahiers Du Cinema

Cahiers du Cinema is the most prestigious critic’s group in the world. They have declared that Filipino cinema is on the verge of a renaissance. But a renaissance needs hard work and in order to reach this renaissance, Philippine Independent Cinema needs an audience.

I am happy to say that “Pisay” recently won two awards in the 14th Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France: The Grand Prix du Jury (Grand Prize of the International Jury) and the Prix du Public (Audience Prize).

Pisay will be shown February 20 — 27 exclusively at the following SM theaters:
SM North Edsa Cinema 8, SM Megamall Cinema 9, SM Manila Cinema 4, SM Southmall, SM Fairview Cinema 6 and SM San Lazaro Cinema 6

Help us reach the renaissance of Philippine Cinema. Please watch Pisay the Movie. Go to the Theatres on the first 3 days.

Salamat po!

If you failed to see Pisay last year, now is your chance.

4 Replies· 2008.02.13

Why an Asus Eee PC?

Published mid-afternoon of February 12, 2008

Though I’ve always wanted to buy a MacBook, it was hard to resist getting an Asus Eee PC considering its relatively low price. Since I have another laptop, the Eee’s supposed to fit well into my system: a primary laptop for photo editing and heavy work, with the Eee for mobile computing and simple show–and–tell stuff.

I’ve been loving the Eee, but I’m not sure if life’s any better juggling two computers. Interestingly, I’ve been doing most of my recent coding tasks on the Eee instead of the more ergonomic, bigger laptop. Go figure.

As an aside, there is an ongoing Asus Eee PC design contest called “dress mEee up” which aims to find a winning design for a custom Philippine edition model. The winner gets to have the design used in the market, and gets one Eee PC with the winning design. Even if you don’t have an Eee, you can join the contest. This is your chance to get yourself your own Eee PC!

Another aside, Asus Eee PC Hacks is a new blog I’m running, to help you get the most out of your Eee PC. And then there’s mobile! which is another (older) blog on laptops and mobile devices, but also getting hits related to the Asus Eee PC.

So is the Eee PC a good buy? Get one if you can find one. It’s on the small side, but it lets you do things you couldn’t do with a desktop or a laptop. It wouldn’t be easy using it as your primary computer though. For 20 thousand pesos (or less) though, it’s a good mobile device.

14 Replies· 2008.02.12