AN IDYLLIC DAY IN PINAMUNGAHAN

WE WERE IN A celebratory mood as we drove from Toledo City down to Pinamungajan town on the west coast of Cebu in the morning of October 14, 2009. Eddie Alberca drove the white Suzuki Every220 and Noel Ronquillo sat beside him. Meanwhile, I have all the spaces in the back seat. Willy Sulib, drove from behind us on board his motorcycle.  

It is a fine Thursday morning even when the clouds were wispy gray and a promise of rain tingled the senses. Soon enough, it rained, drenching Willy following us. The wind slapped hard the windshields and visibility became blurred as the water cascaded on the glass.

We were cruising slowly along the seaside road of Cabiangon in Pinamungajan when we caught sight of fishermen unloading their net from a beached small fishing vessel. By this time, the rains had already stopped. Women and children milled around the blissful activity and joined the fishermen in picking their catch.

Curious, I asked Eddie to stop the mini-van and I went down from the vehicle into the pavement and from the breakwater wall I jumped five feet below into the soft sand of the narrow strip of beach. I came nearer and, instantly, my gastronomic juices came alive when I saw the glints of the tiny scales of the freshly-caught anchovies.

Then and there, I “begged” to have a part of their catch and, after a very brief haggling, I was able to tow away a kilo-and-a-half of the fresh little fish to the direction of my waiting miniature van with two grinning faces waiting inside. This done, after I paid just a hundred pesos (almost $2) for it. Not bad for a few minute's “work”!

Up ahead, we decided to stop by at our favorite watering hole in this part of the province. Instantly, Noel and Willy de-scaled and de-boned the anchovies by washing it first with fresh water while Eddie mixed vinegar, onions, garlic and pepper. The anchovies will then be eaten raw after dipping it in the “reinforced” vinegar and, what do you know, we will taste a sample of heaven. In Japan, they call this sashimi but here we call it simply as kinilaw. Minus the wasabi, of course.

On the other hand, I found a half-gallon of bahalina – a native concoction made from the sap of a coconut tree and fermented for a few days to produce a strong drink with a very tangy taste. To make it compatible with the tongue, I mixed one part of it with another part of a locally-made soda drink – Jaz Cola. “J & B”, that's what people call this drink. Short for “Jaz Cola and bahalina”! (Laughing)

We ate, we drank and we talked; making most of our free time; enjoying the good fortune that the day have heaped upon Willy and all the efforts that Eddie, Noel and I have accomplished after more than a year of trying. It is a good day indeed and it is a good time to celebrate.

Wanna try kinilaw and “J & B”?

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THE SUN ALWAYS SHINE ON TV

I GOT SICK today. It is Saturday, January 23, 2010. I have been vacillating in my bed if I will go to work today or not. Wife Vilma is already up and went to the market minutes ago to buy something for breakfast. Youngest son, Cherokee, is feeding his pigeons while grandsons Jarod and little Gabriel are busy perfecting their Navy SEAL skills.

A knock on the door send the duo scurrying towards there for the privilege of opening it first. My neighbor, Odoy, came with another guy and introduced me to him. Oh, a TV technician. Oh, yes, I did have a TV set that is in need of servicing. It had lain idle since June 2009 when it conked out. Trust the wife, she arranged this.

Jarod and Gabe are the peskiest little homo sapiens in my house. They raise your blood pressure often and make your throat horsy hoarse. Jarod is eight and a first grader at the University of Southern Philippines Mabini campus while Gabriel is four and still learning the ropes of proper home behavior and the tricks to evade the spanking clothe hanger.

As the TV was set down and its back cover removed, the ruckus created earlier by these two denizens died down and their pair of eyes were now glued to the innards of the TV. Oh, silence, at last. My home instantly became a monastery at that early hour and it boded well for my fast recovery from the flu.

After a few minutes, the technician smilingly showed a busted part from my dead TV like a dentist would have done to an extracted bad molar. Then he went outside for a while to produce a workable spare from an electronics store and, after tinkering with a soldering iron, my Sharp 21-inch flat-screen TV buzzed to life.

Wait...there's more!

My wife shoved our defective portable DVD player to the technician and, in just a couple of minutes, it followed the fortune of my TV. I parted just 500 pesos for the TV repair and 50 pesos for the spare part plus a hundred pesos for the DVD player. It would have cost me more if I brought the TV to a service center plus taxi fare and porterage.

By now, Jarod and Gabro are sitting infront of the TV set watching Spongebob. And they were very silent...and so dead serious. My eldest son, Gringo, just woke up and came down from his room upstairs and watched a pirated Avatar movie on the DVD player and the duo's attention were now divided between Spongebob and Avatar and the latter won.

Meanwhile, my heart swelled with joy and my flu slowly dispersed from my body system. It gave me strength and I rose from my sick bed and ready myself to dress and work for a half-day. Strangely, my movements up and down my house and all around were now unobstructed which I have not had experienced in about six months. The reason: Gabro snubbed me for the Avatar movie.

Everybody were very busy with something yet my home is silent except for the wee voices from the player's little speaker and the sound of the ladle scraping the pan as my wife cooked pancit bam-e, a local pasta. How long would the TV and DVD player last? I am tired of raising my voice trying to rein in little Gabe and Jarod from outward mischief.

Perchance, I could spare a few hundred pesos for the expected increase in electrical consumption brought about by the reconnection of the TV set to the outlet provided I will achieve household peace. Ha! From the corner of my eye, I saw Gabe eyeing me from the corner of his eye, perhaps, remembering how he would badger me every morning for a peso. I believe the sun will always shine on TV.

Meanwhile, Vilma and I ate the bam-e she cooked and I love the way she cooked it without those MSGs. By habit, I rarely eat breakfast but, today, I will break this morning's fast. Left at 11:30 AM and I feel warm.

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