Everything Under The Tropical Sun

Nikon D80, f/1.8 1/180, ISO 200, 50mm

Anakin. A part of a twin. A funny little man.

One of Ann’s sons and in my opinion, the most active of the bunch. I just love this little guy. He’s so funny. We had an opportunity to “make conversation” while waiting for his Mom at Amara’s birthday venue. It went something like this:

ME: “So Anakin, if you were a superhero, which superhero would you be?”

Anakin: “I wanna to be Superutot (Superfart).”

ME: “That’s so gross! Are you sure you want to be Superutot?! Wouldn’t you want the power to fly? Or maybe like the human torch or flash?”

Anakin: “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll change it then.”

ME: Thinking that I got through to him and he found a much cooler superhero. I then said, “Good. So which superhero would you like to be?”

Anakin: “I want to be Boogerman!”

We both laughed hysterically.

Anakin is such a guy. The fascination with boogers and fart noises is such a classic guy thing. He displays a great sense of humor at such a young age. And despite his classic guy things, he’s such a sweet little kid. He would sometimes just give hugs and kisses out of the blue. That I can say is NOT a classic guy thing.

He may be part of a twin but he’s so unique on his own. I can’t wait to see how he’d turn up (as opposed to his mom… she’d like all of them to stop growing older) because right now, not only do I see a young man who’ll grow up with a great sense of humor… I also see a man who’ll grow up sweet and wonderful.

Nikon D80, f/2, 1/45, ISO 640, 50mm

This is another long overdue post since we got back from Manila over a month ago. As I’ve mentioned in my previous post about how excited I was to visit Ann, I failed to mention that the anticipation was bitter-sweet.

I was born in Manila and spent the first half of my life there. In 1990, my mom and my other siblings moved to Cebu. I stayed with my brother in Manila because I simply didn’t want to leave my friends and the life I knew behind. It took 2 years’ worth of resistance before I finally followed and moved in with them.

Here we are, 15 years later… and I can’t imagine myself living anywhere else in the world. It would take a very very VERY attractive package before I would even consider moving back to Manila.

Manila has its perks… compared to Cebu, the shopping is simply incredible (though we are catching up faster now than we ever did). The nightlife is in full gear too. But it’s the food that I love the most. Whatever I was craving for, it was so easy to find… and then some.

But during this last trip to Manila, I was horrified how much smog developed during the past few years. A tall building as close as a 100 meters was as hazy as trees on a foggy day. I can’t believe how much concrete surrounded me.

The traffic was also horrendous. A usual 30 minute drive for us here at home would take about an hour and a half there. Which was why we missed our flight. A sudden downpour caused a web of traffic. Ann’s usual 1 hour travel time from picking the kids up from school and going home turned into a six (yes, SIX!) hour wait.

It was such a relief to be back home. Though Manila offers a very glamorous lifestyle: the shopping, the dining, the nightlife… and Cebu could be very backward in that sense… I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone glamorous in Manila.

Yes, I will miss the food. But I won’t miss the smog… the traffic… the high stress levels… the floods… the acid rain… the expense. Cebu is home. Cebu is laid back, hot and sunny, cheap… PROVINCIAL. Just the way it should be. I love Cebu for its flaws… for it is why Cebu is Cebu.

Nikon D80, f/5.6, 1/45, ISO 640, 31mm

It was my Papa’s birthday last September 7. I know… it’s been over 2 weeks ago and it’s kinda late to be writing about his birthday now.

It’s just that there’s so much I want to say and they’re all jumbled up in my head just waiting to be phrased perfectly.

My relationship with my Papa isn’t as ideal as I would have wanted it. You see, my parents broke up when I was about 8 years old. And as old school parenting goes… we weren’t part of the decision, nor was it made clear to us that they broke up. I don’t remember openly talking about their break up to either of them ’til I was about 13 years old.

For a while, I was waiting for my Papa to come back from the States. He told me that he was just there to visit his sisters. When I finally realized that he wasn’t going to come back, I’d ask him to pick me up or get me. And when I realized that that won’t happen either, I contented myself with his regular snail mail letters.

I knew he loved me. He wrote me to assure me of his love every time in his letters. But for the life of me, I couldn’t fathom why he never wanted to get me instead of my younger brother.

Although it was such a treat for me to get letters and the occasional phone call from him, embedded somewhere in my subconscious, I felt abandoned. Eventually, when puberty has set in, at a time when my friends and my own troubled youth has engulfed me, I took him for granted… and he may have felt that I started to love him less. I think there was a time when he believed that he doesn’t matter in my life.

That cannot happen. It did not and never will.

There may have been a time when my angry teenager self thought I hated him. Then again, I was angry at all the authority figures in my life at the time. Which includes my mother and my older brother.

I’ve always known in my heart that he loves me. Though in time the snail mail weren’t exchanged as often anymore, it was his love that taught me I deserved a man who will always stand by me no matter what. Because that’s what he did. No matter how much hurt I may have caused him, he has always been there for the selfish little me whenever I needed him.

He means so much to me more than he’ll ever realize. I’m not too sure just how to express my love for him to know that he does matter… that even though I grew up far away from him, he remains close to my heart.

He will always be the example of what a man is to me: caring, gentle, faithful, and loving.

Nikon D80, f/5.6, 1/180, ISO 400, 125mm

Nikon D80, f/1.8 1/350, ISO 200, 50mm

Two weeks before we left our old home last month, we asked PLDT (Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.) to transfer our phone line to our new home and apply for a DSL connection (we used to share an internet connection with Jung and Corinne -our neighbors- in our old house). For some odd reason, they couldn’t file the service request simultaneously. So we had to ask them to transfer our old telephone line first and when that’s done, request for internet connection.

They showed up at our old home the first Sunday after I made the transfer request. I was so amazed how fast they responded only to be disappointed later on. There was a mix up in the job order. The instructions were reversed. Instead of transferring FROM our old house towards the new one, the job order said to install a telephone line in our old house.

*sigh*

So I had to call and request for a line transfer all over again. It took them 2 weeks to install the phone line in our new home. As soon as they did, I called in to request for internet connection but they said that the last service request hasn’t showed up in their screens as “done”. So I had to wait another week. When I called back, I finally got to request for internet connection.

Here we are, a month and a half later and we still don’t have internet connection in the house. Which is really messing up with my blogging mojo. It’s so difficult to write during work hours. It’s just too exciting around here most of the time. And it’s usually at night when inspiration strikes.

Oh well. I called them yesterday. They said that the service request has already been forwarded to the contractor and that they’ll just help me follow them up. At this point, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it will be another month before we get internet connection at home.

*sigh*

Well actually, I’ve had it for over 2 weeks now. Hehehe. And I have to say that I’m very very happy with it. Why a D80 you say? And why didn’t I wait for the D90 to come out? Well… sad to say that I don’t have all the money in the world. But even if I did, the D80 is the most practical way to go.

Besides, after countless hours of research, I have discovered that the body of a camera doesn’t really matter (unless you’re a sports photographer or a photojournalist) all that much. The key for taking crisp and sharp images relies heavily on the lenses. Getting a D80 makes that a good thing because a D80 can use lenses produced in 1986 and up. I think that’s why my Dad’s been thinking of getting a D80 as an upgrade from his film SLR. So that he can use most of his lenses if not all.

I love the ergonomics of the D80. It makes it so easy to shift aperture and shutter speeds (compared to a D40). I don’t really plan on using the Auto feature too much. The kit lens it came with is okay (18-135mm) but I’m debating on what lens to get next… I’m thinking of getting a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 or a Nikkor 105mm f/1.8 Micro. But the 85mm fits my budget more. I need a fixed lens. What do you think?

I didn’t know what I was getting myself into… I didn’t realize that I’ll also need a tripod and other accessories for this camera. But right now, I’m more focused on getting a tripod and ballhead, a new lens, and grip. So that is my priority list of accessories to buy.

So now, we’re devicing a way to justify all this spending. We’re going to open another department which will help ease the guilt of investing in a DSLR. Fortunately for me, many in our office have their own DSLRs… The support is thereby tremendous. Wish us luck!

I’m so happy with my new camera and would highly recommend the D80 to anyone who is contemplating on getting a DSLR. But if you need very high quality images, the Nikon D700 has had phenomenal reviews so far.