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11/19/2020 2308H, Brgy. Bibincahan
One thing that I am doing differently nowadays when I update my old articles is, I started getting additional anecdotes from my friends. For example, an article about baraylihan was expanded due to the contribution of my friends. And aside from improving the article, I am also recalling some of my experiences and learn their own experiences as well. It’s quite exciting.
From such conversation with my friends, we also talked about Rompeolas. One of my friends didn’t know the development in the area, especially on the Pinaculan Island. So the following day, I went walking towards Rompeolas and took some pictures. I am now improving my planned article with my recent update on Rompeolas. The article will be published on February 2021.
The iconic hanging bridge connecting Rompeolas and Pinaculan Island.
There was also a suggestion to create an article how we attend the Good Friday. I have a lot of pictures from several years back, but I cannot find it or simply not on my priority list. But with this request, I might do just that before end of the year.
I also created a Facebook extension – Sorsogon City Blog. I didn’t invite all my friends, but just the Sorsoganon. I don’t know where this is heading, but it seems a few are still visiting it. The difference between the 2 media is that you can be anonymous when you comment directly in the WordPress blog. This is just an experiment to reach out more readers.
And because I wasn’t going out for a bike ride (which I sorely miss), I was able to create more articles. I am just glad I found an old pix of the cathedral with those pointy spires. I have a scheduled article about the former Sorsogon Rural Bank. And there are 19 scheduled articles to be published. And for old articles, I plan to start sharing it on the FB extension.
And last October, we finished with 4,100+ hits which is the highest since September, 2019. The daily hits do go down every time there’s a power outage right after a typhoon. It’s still way off compared to September 2018 when the no. of hits was 6k+. But we are going there.
Hopefully, I can develop more interesting articles in the next couple of months before I start going to the office.
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10/18/2020 2018H, Brgy. Cabid-an
Interesting improvement on the stats last month – this blog generated 3,404 views from 1,935 visitors. That’s almost double from the August stats. Upon checking, it seems the visitors were looking for sorsogon’s history and anecdotes. I also suspect that some or even most of these visitors are students – September is start of the official school year for public schools.
In any case, I have 17 more scheduled articles in the pipeline, mostly pictures from our family album. From the gas stations in the 80s, cathedral in the 80s, the open field of SNHS, and the likes. And last week, I found a picture in which the cathedral was in the background – this time, it must be in the early 70s or late 60s. I also scheduled a few articles about Sorsogon tourism, but scheduled late Q1’21. Hopefully, pandemic is manageable and tourism starts to grow again.
In my draft, I have some pictures of saday na busay in Brgy. Guinlajon, Kaypee shoes, some pictures of Brgy. San Isidro in the 70s, and more. I have around 17 draft articles, and about half will be published in the next 6 months.
I am trying to control the articles, at most once a week.
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10/2/2020 1928H, Brgy. Bibincahan
The author’s MTB. On September, he only logged 114km compared to 194km on August. This was due to rainy days and also office load.
Last week, my wife rearrange the living room. She moved some shelves here and there, and was able to fit all of the books we shipped from Manila to our current place. And I found our old family albums. I was looking forward to it because I knew there were some old interesting photos that I could share.
Currently, I am trying to write about my scouting experience both in SPES and SNHS. I found some pictures for both schools. It’s just sad that on one of the pictures, 2 of my friends passed away – one when I was in high school, and 1 just this year. I updated the first and second parts of the SPES scouting series.
Young SPES scouts checking the food if it’s already cooked. One of the highlights of scouting in SPES is cooking your patrol’s meals. Circa 1980s.
One of the pictures that I found in my cloud storage, before the rotonda was built at the middle of the krosing. Late August or early September 2020, they removed it but the Agoho trees are not coming back.
I am also trying to recall my hiking experience in the nearby Pucdol mountain and Hydro in Brgy. Guinlajon, and also found old pictures.
But what really made me excited was the old picture of Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral and its altar in the 80s! I just missed the spires, and the open field at the back!
I still have some family albums in our place in Manila, and some are pictures when I was in SNHS. I am also looking for Luzon Tip magazine, the school paper during our time. Apparently, they call the SNHS school paper differently nowadays.
Looking at those old pictures make me sad, but also realize that just like a person, our environment also change for better or for worse.
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9/15/2020 Brgy. Bibincahan
Wow! Almost 3 months now since my last update on my blog journal! Honestly, the WFH setup is busier than going to the office. The separation between home and work is blurred. Though I would compose some articles from time to time, but just didn’t have time to reflect and put my thoughts on the journal.
Here’s the current monthly stats as of tonight.
The no. of visitors dropped by July, but slowly picking up on August and most likely September stat will be higher than Jun’20.
September is experiencing a spike, but I suspect it’s because of start of the school. Most of the articles getting hits are historical in nature. I am surprised.
I have tons of pictures to be uploaded, but my work is just taking a lot of time. I slowed down on my MTB activities; but lately I am doing walking in the morning and started taking pictures. I took pictures of the progress of the renovation of the Capitol building, the provincial jail, etc.
Children’s Playground. They just removed the slides, seesaws and swings. Do they plan to put it back?
And for the longest time, I didn’t have a chance to take a picture of China Bank but now I was able to do so during my walking.
China Bank Sorsogon City, September 2020
Hopefully, I could post more old pictures from my collection. My disk space allocation is being used up quickly (I only have 3GB allocation).
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6/22/2020 2035H Brgy. Bibincahan
Wow! It’s been a month since I last updated my journal.
The good news – I was able to clean up a few of my backlogs, I now have 23 more articles to be published in the coming months. At least once a week there’s a scheduled article to be published. And so far, I think it encourages more attention starting last month:
The site stats have been down considerable since December 2019. This may be due to slow rate of contributed articles, or simply uninteresting ones. And the pandemic may have shifted everyone’s attention to the news. It starts to pick up on May with more articles being uploaded on April.
One thing that I also suspected that helped the attention is coming from a FB page, Sorsogon 101. It used a couple of pictures (he credited this blog of course). It featured a picture of Dino-Mark Bowling Alley, the great sorsogon fire and Roberston’s. Thus, in the past couple of weeks or so, Facebook is one of the top referrers (normally no. 2).
Originally, I never planned to put my blog in Facebook. It’s more of a cultural bias thingie than anything else. Lately, I am looking at having a separate FB extension page to cover more readers.
The author’s 5-year MTB, a 26″ Trinx DVR600 along the trail to Brgy. San Lorenzo from Sito Ilawod, Brgy. Bibincahan.
I started cycling again when the ECQ was lifted. I have written a couple of articles on biking in Sorsogon, including the dirt trails I visited so far. Unfortunately, my MTB simply broke down in Brgy. San Juan when my daughter borrowed it; my older cousin is trying to fix it.
And the planned MTB trail in the backyard? It just didn’t pan out – I have now converted the extra space for gardening.
I will still be in Sorsogon in the next several weeks, hopefully I can cover more articles.
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5/12/2020 2036H, Brgy. Bibincahan
Adjusted na kami sa dili nagpaparuluwas sa balay. May mga naghahatud na sin pagkaun sa amun (sira nan baboy), dili na kami nagpapalasa. Kun mabakal man kami sin gulayun, didi na kami sa may seminaryo.
Vendors along the street start popping out during the quarantine. This gives the residents an option instead of going to the public market.
Nawaraan man didi sin kuryente sin sarong adlaw. Mayad ngani nagibo ko na an dapat ko gibuhun sa opisina. Pero dili na ako nakatrabaho pagkatapos madeds an laptop ko. Mayad ngani kay an manga dapat atendiran ko na manga meeting, nagmayad man baya an signal san telepono ko.
The plumber dismantling the jetmatic before checking the deep well. Eventually, I have to get a contractor to dig another well which costs a fortune.
Nawaraan man kami sin tubig na mga duwang semana! Nagbatug lang sa warang nagsasakat na tubig sa tangke, tapos hinali an water pump namun. Tapos ginibuhan sin paagi san tubero; pagkatapos san duwang adlaw, kaipuhan na magbugsok sin panibagong tubo! Kamahal palan magpagibo sin deep well! Mayad ngani may extra na tubo didi an ina ko – maski pan-o nakatipid sin sarong tubo. An bayad sa kuntraktor, nasa bilang sin tubo na gigamit.
Pero maski warang tubig sa irarum san duta, mayadunun an kaiping namun ginpakuha kami sin tubig ninda. Duwang semana na dili nagpabayad an kaiping namun. Amo ini an pambuhos, panghugas.
Mauranon san gingigibu an deep well. May manga galunan man kami, kaya lang ginsasalod lang sa sagurong kaya grabe an sobra tapos siyempre maati an tubig nan gin iinuman san manga ayam. Kaya naisip ko an masunod ko na proyekto, rain collector. This way, I can leverage the non-stop rainy season and also save some water coming from the deep well. Gin iisturyahan pa namun kun diin ibubutang ang mga galunan.
Our yard is not big enough for a dirt trail, but found some ways and tried it already. I already fell off twice from the MTB. Hopefully, I can complete my trail before I leave for Manila.
Ini na pagkawara san tubig apektado man an plano ko na mag gibu sin dirt trail para sa bisikleta ko. Maski puwede na magluwas, gusto ko pa man gihapun na ipadagus an dirt trail para mahasa ako sa tight turns.
Nan dahil wara man sin trapik, damo an oras ko mag gibu sin blog articles. Igwa na ako sin disisyete na artikulo na naka pila na. Pero damo pa man gihapun an backlog ko. Hopefully I can do more before I go back to Manila
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4/16/2020 1325H, Brgy. Cabid-an
One of the beds in hospital in Metro Health hospital.
Nasa ospital kami niyan. Dinara ko si misis kay dili nakaingkod. Awat na niya ini gintitius pero kangina, inatake siya sin grabeng kulog. Naghulat lang kami sin pangalasdose, tapos nagkadi na kami sa hospital. Nakakuha man tulos sin kwarto. Tapos niyAn nasa X-ray siya.
Medyo nangarag ako san naaraman ko na dadarhun siya sa ospital. Maski wara (pa) sin veerus sa Sorsogon, napapaisip ako lalo na wara ma man didi sin mass testing. Tapos may trabaho man ako nan may mga batit sa balay nan senior citizen.
The beautiful view from the hospital room, facing northeast.
An asawa ko very casual lang. Siguro mga sarung oras Sa kompyuter bago ako nagkalma. Niyan giniisip ko an dida na gabi. Kun matinir ako sa ospital o mabalik na lang ako buwas.
Hurulatan..
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3/30/2020 1038H, Brgy. Bibincahan
A few minutes past midnight of the 30th, my wife left for the hospital to take care of a pregy PUM. My wife warned me already yesterday about the said patient, who was allegedly turned away from another hospital. I can’t help but worried, but I know she has to do what she has to do. As of this writing, she’s still doing a labor duty…
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3/29/2020 0333H, Brgy. Bibincahan
As of two days ago or so, Bicol have had its first Covid-19 patients and counting. It was a smart move for the governor to block traffic entering the province other than basic goods. Though it was evident that this has unintended consequence for residents from Donsol, and Pilar or even Castilla. The residents from these towns have closer affinity to Daraga or Legazpi than Sorsogon City. And two days ago when buying meds for my mom, a resident from Pilar forgot the authorization letter from a senior citizen relative. The pharmacist didn’t allow her to buy any meds. Her reason was nobody would ask her for it when buying meds in Daraga (I also know of a big pharmacy chain that doesn’t collect authorization letter for my dad’s meds). I was in a hurry, so I didn’t know what happened after.
The virus is hitting closer to heart. A father of a colleague died due to confirmed infection; an acquaintance of my wife is also infected; another colleague may be infected soon her aunt is a PUI (took care of an infected neighbor). And recently Bicol ended its winning streak…. It’s just a matter of time, we will have infection here in the province. As my wife said, in the lack of mass testing, you don’t know who is really infected.
This is going to get worse before it gets better. My prayers to the front liners who are taking the brunt of the outbreak. I also pray that we have fewer idiots in the country who are still galavanting despite the fact that they are infected!
Tiyaga tiyagaan lang tabi natun ini na kwarantina, malipas nan tabi ini. Ingat tabi pirmi!
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3/22/2020 1240H, Brgy. Bibincahan
The author’s barangay ID. It’s free and laminated.
Kahapon nakuha ko na an barangay ID ko. I forgot that I left right after breakfast just wearing a sando and didn’t anticipate that a picture would be taken. What I am imagining was the cedula – just pay and that’s it.
The service was fast.
The barangay captain was also simple, she just talked to us (there’s another constituent in the office) as if she’s one of the employees. Or perhaps she assumed I knew her. She was concerned on the confusion of the details of the barangay pass that will be released by the city government.
Visiting the barangay hall gave me a glimpse what the frontliners (they, too are) facing. I wanted to volunteer to do some legwork, but one of the folks told me they have enough manpower. So I never said anything,
Right now, I am also updating this blog. Uploading some pictures and videos (just learned how to edit on my mobile phone!). Originally, I scheduled some summer-related articles until June – but now, I just felt it’s not timely. I might move it to next year.
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3/17/2020 2132H, Brgy. Bibincahan
I never realized that I will be stuck in Sorsogon because of COVID-19. Originally, we planned to travel back to Manila last Sunday, March 15. But due to the announcement, it was safer for us to stay here. Unfortunately, my dad wasn’t able to join us.
We went to the supermarket a couple of times since we came here and it seems the residents are after those personal hygiene stuff, easy-to-cook items, and basic ingredients. Otherwise, nobody is noticing the chicken and meat section. I guess everyone is feeling safe that such food items are easily accessible still.
One of the emphasis of the president when he did announced the quarantine, he emphasized the value of the barangay system and its leaders. Well, a barangay health worker sent SMS to my mom verifying if guests from Manila recently arrived. My mom just shared the information back, no big deal. But I am impressed – the system seems to be working.
Tiyagaan an nguna natun ini tabi na quarantine. Amo lang talaga an paraan na masugpo ini na sakit. Malipas nan tabi ini, sana madali lang. Ingat tabi kamo!
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3/13/2020 0903H, Brgy. Sulucan
Nagpa SM Savemore kami niyan san asawa ko pagkatapos magsaud sa Gubat. Kahalaba san manga pila! Last time I saw long queues like this is during holiday season.
Norm or Panic buying? SM Savemore (Brgy. Sulucan) during the 1st hour of opening.
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So far, so good… Screen capture is from https://ncovtracker.doh.gov.ph/
3/11/2020 1921H, Brgy. Bibincahan
Yadi na naman ako sa Sorsogon. May mga aasikasuhun sa balay. Tapos nagiisip kun lalo pa maraut an sitwasyun sa COVID-19. Mayad ngani kay wara pa an Bicol.
3/8/2020 1759H, Brgy. San Andres, Cainta
I think I am picking up the pace in creating blog articles. I plan to have more published articles this summer than any years since it was founded. I have more than 10 scheduled articles this year, and majority starts this month until end of 2020 summer season.
The articles are about hitting the road going to Sorsogon, possible summer activities and the likes. I still have a pending article – 67 hours in Sorsogon. Basically, it’s a 2-day roadt trip in Sorsogon. I hope to complete it before end of the month, this way potential visitors will have some ideas where to start. Though, it would be interesting how the summer season will turn out considering there’s already reported infections from Sorsogon.
I also updated some articles, and even added some pictures. Those articles I composed several years back, a few are not applicable anymore.
Let’s see how it goes…
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2/25/2020 0858H, Brgy. San Andres, Cainta
Hopefully this is a start of a more interesting articles resulting to more visitors. Two years from now, perhaps I can even focus on this blog.
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2/15/20201832H, Sweet Amore, Brgy. Talisay
The logo of Ur Silogan along Burgos St., Brgy. Burabod
Except for The 2hr nap in the afternoon, it was a busy Saturday for me. Biglaan ini na uli kay kikitaun ko an patrabaho sa balay bago maguruli sinda.
That’s my mom’s back on the camera. The place is simple, and they focus on silog meals only.
And aside from the chores, I also wanted to spend time with my mom. Nagpamahaw kami kangina sa Burgos St., Ur Silogan. It’s not a small place and not air-conditioned. They offer, as expected, Silog meals. I ordered longsilog, spamsilog nan kape barako; si nanay, fishsilog. Nagduwa ako sin order kay kasiram san kanon, bagan ginluto sa Star margarine! Pero I didn’t eat it all, takaw tingin lang.
Between the breakfast and lunch, I had to work (a report had to be submitted before lunch) and purchased some last minute items for our bathroom. After several years, we have now normal water flow in our home!
Then we had late launch in Guevarra. But only after we changed our mind when we found out that Jane’s would take aost an hour to serve our order. That place is packes during lunch time! Apparently it’s also the same with Guevarra (can’t wrap my head on the current name of the hotel), but we were the only customers. We were able to talk. And I was surprised for the bill. We ordered Yangchow and Garlic rice – the lady said it’s good for one, but in reality each order is worth 2 cupa of rice. The steamed Malasigue was fresh, and my mom loved it! I just ordered Bicol Express, lasang lutong bahay!
It’s really difficult to get some sleep when your seat is at the end of the bus! So I took a nap until almost 4pm. I still had to have my MTB repaired and had to replace the 5yo tires with wider ones. It was timely, the mechanic tolde that the vulcanized part on the front tire is about to peel off, so I had to buy a new interior. Then when I asked the mechanic to tune it up because nobody could fix the issue on changing of gears (in the last 3 years!), he recommended to replace the hub! Well, I didn’t really maintain my MTB and just pull itbout from its garage and hit the road or trail, so the recommendation wasn’t a surprise. Though I had to go to another bike shop to buy the hub with seales bearing – it was 50% cheaper. Unfortunately it was late and the mechanic suggested to do it the following day, which I agreed. I left the hubs with the mechanic and went on with my cycling around the city, and meet my mom for dinner.
Afterwards, I still need to work. Then another busy day.
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2/2/2020 2355H, Brgy. Bibincahan
I started to edit some pictures that I could upload to my blog in preparation for more articles. But after seeing the remaining list, I realized it’s time to hit the sack.
The remaining folders with pictures that the author have yet to edit.
Good night!
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2/1/2020 1922H, Brgy. Burabod
Kaabut lang namun hali sa Manila, may kaupod kami na bisita from NY. His last visit was when he was still a toddler. Naugma siya san biyahe, nan amo kuno ini an pinakadamo niya na nakita na niyog! Otherwise he slept most of the 13hr drive.
Mayad baga na mailawun an Burabod Elementary School.
Tonight, we start our activities…
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1/29/2020 1317H, Brgy. Ugong, Pasig City
Simply pathetic!
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1/4/2019 1933H, Brgy. Binincahan
Just posted my first blog this year, at the same time was able to reflect on what had happened on 2019. Yes, it was bad, but it wasn’t a lost year. There was a silver lining to such experiences.
I guess my 2019 experience also reflected on no. of visitors of the blog. I just felt I didn’t make quality articles last year, instead, I just ensured that articles are uploaded. I call such act as mere compliance. But I am still thankful that there were few comments.
Our trip to Sorsogon before the new year wasn’t really for holidays, but for a different reason. So we never really went to places, but did met our close relatives. But even the latter, we still didn’t have much time. Perhaps next time…
Sorsogon City 