falling in love with baguio all over again

just came from a weekend of taking a few friends to some of my favorite places in baguio (and nearby areas). i'm always happy to "convert" more people to absolutely loving the lifestyle, the foliage, the cool fresh air.
to be sure, the 2 days (less than 48 hrs) that shine, francis, bubbles, a, and mems spent here was in no way enough to appreciate all that baguio has to offer beyond the mines view-good shepeher-burnham park route (and no, i didn't take them there), i'm pretty sure i converted them to my side. LOL!
saturday, we spent a wonderful, animated lunch withe bangaoets at tomay farms. got rained in at arko ni apo, but were entertained by bumbo and his kids baguio, ash, and fang. of course, went ukay shopping. appreciated the art at vocas--though there were more than a few moans saying "gulay na naman?!" or, to be more appropriate to the setting: "oh my gulay!" come one, people, this is the best place to eat and eat veggies because they're so fresh! (*sigh of exasperation here*) of course, despite my initial objections, i was prevailed upon to go to SM, "for the view". it was a pleasant surprise though, because bayo was on sale and i got a great pair of shorts! fabulous! we were supposed to have some inantigong adobo and veggie pizza ("yes, but you can't tell there's no meat!" i said) at ayuyang, bubbles convinced only to come because piolo was there once upon a time...but there was a gig, too many people, and a hefty cover charge. it turned out ok because we headed to the newly renovated cafe by the ruins. we took photos of each and every (seriously!) dish, then ate heartily. glad t know that there's more on the ruins menu, but i still had my fave fried chicken and fries (kamote, according to a). then it was nighty-night. exhausted, we were ready for deep sleep.
sunday is always lazy, and of course, we had a late start. a and bubbles went off....somewhere--ahem! but the rest of us took photos at the igorot stairs, where i met these cute kids who, btw, approached me first! then, we went to sky and they enjoyed hearing shiila's stories about mountaineering. and they forgot the bitching and moaning about the "minor trek". we wanted to stay longer in the huts--who doesn't?--but decided to go to lunch, as our rumbling stomachs directed us to mile hi to have fondue at little john's. sadly, they had no strawberries nor bananas, so we ended up just having lunch. i did a bit of PX goods-shopping. then, palengke--the eternal last stop of every tired traveler, to buy pasalubongs.
nabitin si shine kasi walang fondue, and i know each one of them never wants to leave baguio, or at least to come back for a longer time. my work here is done. LOL!
i'm blessed to be living here. the place i love, that i call home, where i have also made friends and "foster families". so my love affair with baguio continues.

my small contribution to the literary/literate world

i was checking out amazon.com for books (yes, even with my new purchases: beijing doll and dilbert future!) and decided to search for "my" book. Aha! It's available internationally, online, here! now can i say that i'm a published author?!:O
so if, by any chance, you can get someone--anyone!--to buy this book, for any reason, please do! it is, after all, about people who have made huge contributions to the world. special mention, my essay is in there somewhere. plus, gissy's mom edited it!:)
last ditch effort: sige na, bili na po kayo...;)

life...

life is indeed short. and so, every moment that we breath, every smell, every sensation, every drop of rain, every little smile is important.
i found out a batchmate recently died. i know life is short and should be relished and devoured, but this is the first time mortality has really gotten in my face. she was about my age. we were never close in high school, but i remember passing her in the halls, i remember her face, though i never knew her. now i wonder: did she make the most of her life? i hope she did. i hope she lived her life with sparkling fireworks, so that it doesn't really matter that it was short.