I haven’t had much of it these days. But Wednesday blessed me with the pleasant surprise of a free cut, so I was conveniently without class, without meetings, without anything school-related for the whole day. Lovely.
I went boxing in the morning with some friends, which was a great way to relax. I miss sports. I miss sweating profusely and tying my hair up so it doesn’t get in the way of my “game”. I miss feeling my lungs and my heart working on overdrive. I miss that refreshing feeling I get when I take that first sip of cold water after working up a sweat. Though I miss playing tennis, boxing was a nice change. I hope I can go back next week.
In the afternoon I went to the Lopez Memorial Museum, which was conveniently only a few minutes walk from my dorm. I’ve always been fond of museums, even as a kid, when a visit to one was mandatory during school field trips. I’m always amazed by the things displayed in museums, and the many stories they tell. My imagination runs wild at the sight of paintings and artifacts that date back to hundreds and hundreds of years, as I wonder about the stories behind each one. Often I also get that slightly eerie feeling of being haunted by the past, as if what remains of it now has the ability to invoke the spirits of those who painted them, or made use of them, or cherished them, many centuries ago.
Anyway, the Lopez Museum currently houses works by Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Juan Arellano, along with some pre-Spanish period artifacts and a section on Rizal and World War II. I particularly found interesting a model of a church that Arellano, a national artist for architecture, had planned to build – its structure was shaped like praying hands, with carvings of saints along the side. It looked more like the temples of Angkor Wat than a Catholic Church really, which made it even more interesting. There was also a painting of a dead man, aptly titled so and also by Arellano, which was rather creepy, but beautifully executed. Naturally the paintings of Luna and Hidalgo were masterfully done, and as I looked at them I wished I had listened better during Fine Art class, or at least kept my notes.
School was cancelled again Friday morning, and I found myself with yet another day without planned engagements. The media reported heavily on the chaos that was apparently taking place in Metro Manila. Either the media’s hyping everything up or I live in a bubble: the street where my dorm was located remained peaceful and ordinary, though it was very near the Edsa shrine, where an apparently tumultuous rally was taking place. It was even more unenventful in Lipa City when my mom and I arrived early afternoon. We did, however, have a rather interesting trip home. We stopped at Rose & Grace, a popular roadside eatery, to have lunch, and had a feast of slightly exotic dishes. By exotic, I don’t mean lizards and snakes, but dishes that are weird enough to be considered a bit special, not for everyday dining, and definitely not for everyone: a big bowl of bulalo, a generous serving of ox tongue, and a childhood favorite, fried bituka (pig intestines). Grossed out yet? We loved it.
I went boxing in the morning with some friends, which was a great way to relax. I miss sports. I miss sweating profusely and tying my hair up so it doesn’t get in the way of my “game”. I miss feeling my lungs and my heart working on overdrive. I miss that refreshing feeling I get when I take that first sip of cold water after working up a sweat. Though I miss playing tennis, boxing was a nice change. I hope I can go back next week.
In the afternoon I went to the Lopez Memorial Museum, which was conveniently only a few minutes walk from my dorm. I’ve always been fond of museums, even as a kid, when a visit to one was mandatory during school field trips. I’m always amazed by the things displayed in museums, and the many stories they tell. My imagination runs wild at the sight of paintings and artifacts that date back to hundreds and hundreds of years, as I wonder about the stories behind each one. Often I also get that slightly eerie feeling of being haunted by the past, as if what remains of it now has the ability to invoke the spirits of those who painted them, or made use of them, or cherished them, many centuries ago.
Anyway, the Lopez Museum currently houses works by Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo and Juan Arellano, along with some pre-Spanish period artifacts and a section on Rizal and World War II. I particularly found interesting a model of a church that Arellano, a national artist for architecture, had planned to build – its structure was shaped like praying hands, with carvings of saints along the side. It looked more like the temples of Angkor Wat than a Catholic Church really, which made it even more interesting. There was also a painting of a dead man, aptly titled so and also by Arellano, which was rather creepy, but beautifully executed. Naturally the paintings of Luna and Hidalgo were masterfully done, and as I looked at them I wished I had listened better during Fine Art class, or at least kept my notes.
School was cancelled again Friday morning, and I found myself with yet another day without planned engagements. The media reported heavily on the chaos that was apparently taking place in Metro Manila. Either the media’s hyping everything up or I live in a bubble: the street where my dorm was located remained peaceful and ordinary, though it was very near the Edsa shrine, where an apparently tumultuous rally was taking place. It was even more unenventful in Lipa City when my mom and I arrived early afternoon. We did, however, have a rather interesting trip home. We stopped at Rose & Grace, a popular roadside eatery, to have lunch, and had a feast of slightly exotic dishes. By exotic, I don’t mean lizards and snakes, but dishes that are weird enough to be considered a bit special, not for everyday dining, and definitely not for everyone: a big bowl of bulalo, a generous serving of ox tongue, and a childhood favorite, fried bituka (pig intestines). Grossed out yet? We loved it.
After lunch came the main event: I was finally able to drive along Star Tollway! Now, to most experienced drivers that wouldn’t be a big deal, but as I haven’t driven in months (and take note, my driving experience last year was limited to the confines of our subdivision), it was a pivotal moment in my yet to be existent driving career. And not only did I manage to get us across the highway intact, without scratches or injuries of any kind, but I also got to (1) change lanes, (2) overtake two trucks at separate instances, (3) and hit 100kph without freaking out. Not bad for my first time, in my opinion.
All in all, a rather interesting week, and idle time used wisely.
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1 comment:
Interesting week for you. With your audacious driving maneuvers on your first real highway driving experience, I'm sure you'd be a fearless queen of the road in no time at all. :)
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