bohol

7 days in Bohol. 5 days of which spent most in the training (as was the purpose of the trip) and 2 days were spent in tour. it was really nice since I've been wanting to go to Bohol and finally, I went.

what I loved about the trip:
1. old churches - (Baclayon and Loboc)  fascinating handiworks of locals who used corals, bamboos and egg white (yup, egg white as cementing agent) to erect such magnificent edifice that have been witness to Philippine history and Filipino people's faith. Baclayon's famous for Fr. Pio's image which by some miracle, appeared in the walls of the church as a result of rain.

2. lunch and river cruise - Loboc river cruise is a great treat. Good food + local music+ nature = one great experience. It's nice to know that the local government is doing a good deal of work to improve the tourism in the area. and the restrooms are aircon btw.

3. TARSIER - cute little creatures found only in specific locations in the island. They're amazing vulnerable creatures. I really wish I can take one home but that's quite impossible. Good thing a lot of stuffed animals ala tarsier are available as souvenir. Only, the souvenirs don't quite look as cute as the original.

4. Chocolate Hills - wonder of nature. magnificent view from the top. I've see hills, but nothing compare to the complex of 1000+ hills that looks perfect as a playground. The driver in the van told us of a myth about the hills saying that giant's tears over the wife's death were the reason fro the formation of the hill. Pretty cute story but we know they're corals... And the nearby towns are also hilly. If Bohol is under water, the hills could have been wonderful little island people can hop on.

So there .4 places I loved in Bohol. Of course there's also the blood compact area and prony the 26 feet long phyton and a lot of other things, but the four places were more memorable.  I heard Panglao island and the zipline which they call "suislide" are also nice. So next time, I'll go there for sure.:)

Till next time Bohol...

I don't know why I'm blogging right now

So. The trips are over. At least the first trips of the year. Baguio was a hit. The workshop was really fruitful, and fun, and fun... Then, just last week, Cagayan de Oro. The workshop was just as fruitful, equally-interesting and fun, and fun. The workshop seemed endless (both in Baguio and Cagayan). I only went out of the hotel/hostel to buy things needed for the training. of course it was a work trip but somehow it was too busy I wasn't able to explore as much as i wanted to. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'll come back there soon (both places).

So i am. Next week, off to Baguio again. Planning meeting and all. It could have been done here at the office (as most of my office mates said) but we'll have it in uber-cold Baguio (it registered 9 degrees today). I hope i won;t get colds when we go up there. But ok, I'll just enjoy it when I get there.

Now what...

Now is report writing time. That's why I don't know why I'm blogging right now. i should be writing. I think blogging's like a break or something. But breaks are usually totally different from the real work thing you do. Blogging's like writing, same thing. Maybe the content's what differs. I'll blog anyway.

Annual monitoring report. Pretty technical words and yah it's really technical. It fells like doing thesis all over again. The difference now is I'm paid doing it and it has greater cause other than for knowledge-seeking and academic discussion. But don't get me wrong, I still love academic discussion. I'll be back in that field pretty soon.

Going back to annual report due this Feb 15, I've finished half of it. Finished all the tables and stuff like that. Now it's getting a little too technical. I need to look at project objectives, project outputs and components, link them to the activities, follow the LFA matrix and be consistent in every sheet so that I'd be able to fulfill the tasks of result-based reporting. It's tough given that i only have 2 weeks to have it done or else.

But I'd love to have it done. It's pretty challenging. I just hope I'll have easier time doing it. So help me God

New things this new year...

So 2011 has started and a lot of things are new. We just moved in to a new office. It was a bold move especially because our office has been in NATCCO for 20 years and it is only now that we decided to move out and find our own place. There's too much identification with the organization so moving out was asserting identity in some ways. The moving out was a little hard both emotionally and physically. I've known a lot of people from the old office and leaving the physical space would also lessen the frequency of conversations and meeting up. It would mean finding new people to say hi to every time you pass by each other. And physically of course because there's a lot of things we have to transfer and I'm talking about big and heavy things. The books and publications of the organization, materials for training, souvenirs from different organizations in different countries, computer hardwares and other heavy equipments, tables and chairs and everything that the office holds.

But I think it's a positive move. I just hope things will be brighter for us this year and as the organization pushes forward.
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Then the first travel. destination: Baguio. 1st training this year in the coldest place in its coldest time. Good thing the participants have very warm personalities and they offer warm hugs (literally as a group) every now and then.

Hope the next trips (Cagayan and Bohol) will also be as fun and warm.:)

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New things are always nice. I think it's because they're different from the old things you had before and the idea of having them (or having experienced them) adds up to your concept of exploring bigger and better possibilities. Of course hesitations and un-acceptance sometimes comes at first but it will fade soon by looking at the positive things change can offer. Maybe it the idea of replacement that is feared. Since new things are always shiny and appealing and easier and faster and all that -er and more in it (such as in technology), the memory that accompanies the old things seems to be taken for granted as well. It's a reality. But I think people have a choice to keep things and change things based on whatever subjectivities there are. People just have to learn to let go most of the time and hold on sometimes.