On Turning 40

Three months ago, on July 19 to be specific, I turned 40. They say that life begins at 40. Me? I didn’t quite know how I felt about the grand 4-0. But I knew I had to do something to make it memorable. After all, we only get to be 40 once right? And so I decided that to remember it by, I had to go to a new place - which is exactly what I did! But,unfortunately it was not on my exact birthday. A week before my birthday (which coincidentally was on my sis' birthday), me, my sister and my son went to Subic and Clark and had a grand time (which is another story altogether),and so on my actual birthday, I didn’t quite know what to do anymore. It was a school day and after I drop my son off at school, I decided to spend time alone on my birthday and go driving around. And though my birthday didn’t quite turn out the way I planned it to be, I still had a great time being alone, driving on my own,listening to my 80s music and exploring new places. So to all those turning 40 out there and don’t quite know what to do, here are some tips:

1. Go spiritual..

I’ve been hearing about this place on the way north, somewhere in Carmen, where there was a shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag. After spending several hours researching on the internet on the eve of my birthday, I decided to go there alone. I didn't exactly knew where it was. All I knew was that it was in Carmen. But I figured that it wouldn't be so hard to find and so off I went with my trusty Vios... And me being me, I promptly got lost! After back-tracking quite a bit, I finally got there. Now, to begin with, the place is actually called The Benedictine Monastery as it was a monastery for the Benedictine monks. The place is absolutely gorgeous and so solemn. And with it being a Thursday, when I got there, I was the only person there and had the place all to myself. It was definitely a different experience.

I didn’t quite know what made me go to that place but a few weeks before my birthday, it seemed like there was a little voice inside me that kept telling me to go there. I'd like to think it was Mama Mary calling me and when I got there, believed it or not, I could actually feel her presence. Mind you, I am not a very spiritual person. Sure I go to mass every week and pray every night and morning, but, to say that I was spiritual would be an exaggeration but on that day, I could actually feel her. To top it off, when I was going around and looking at the picture of St. Francis, I swear I can actually hear him talking to me. I listened intently but the only thing that keep crossing my mind was the promise that I will visit this place every year on my birthday. I don’t know if that was what St. Francis wanted to tell me but my mom who knows these things, said that it was. And so I made a promise to go visit them every year.

It was quite a different feeling walking around the place in the middle of the day, without seeing or talking to anyone. I should have been scared, being in a strange place and being alone, but surprisingly, I felt safe instead. There was something about the quietness of the place that spoke to me and made me hear myself better – something which I couldn’t do amidst the noise of the city. The sereneness of the place was compelling and so peaceful at the same time.

2. Go down a different route than normal.

While I was going to Carmen, I naturally passed by the NRP which is the easiest and less traffic way to go North. Lo and behold, when I got there, it was un-passable. It was apparently being repaired. Fortunately, a helpful old man on the street said to turn left and just turn right all the time and I will soon go out into the main road near Consolacion. Now, I was just a new driver (well, not so new but not so confident too) and it was a side road with probably very narrow streets and lots of people. But I thought, I was 40 that day and what the heck! I could always go back. And so I followed the snaking small streets, stopped several times to ask for directions and I did it! I was so proud of myself for doing it and it made me realized that in driving, it really just take guts!

3. Don't give up!

As I mentioned earlier, I got lost going to Carmen. Now, I’ve traversed this road more than a hundred times going home to Medellin and I know where Carmen is. But as I got out of the traffic in Consolacion and Liloan, I sped up and with my love for speed, I didn’t realized that I was way beyond the boundaries of Carmen. I had to backtrack a long way it seemed but I finally got to the corner of the road leading to the monastery (I had to stop again several times to ask for directions). As I went up and up and up and up, I started to realize how far the place really was. There were times when it was only good enough for one vehicle, there were a lot of blind spots, there was even a motorcycle accident along the way, and the roads were not exactly that good, but I never gave up. It did crossed my mind though that if my tires got flat or if my engines conked, it would take some time for somebody to come get me and my dad would kill me if he knew where I was going. But up and up (did I forgot to mention that the monastery was on a mountain?) and up I went. And boy, was it worth it!

4. Thank the Lord and pray!

While I was in the monastery, I climbed up the hill and actually went up to the monastery. Since it was 1PM, I bet all the monks were having their siesta time but at the door there was a bell and a sign that says, just ring the bell if you want to talk to someone. I actually stood there with my hand poised on the bell for about five minutes debating with myself on whether to ring it or not. What stopped me was that I didn’t actually know what I was going to say and I was actually enjoying not talking to anyone so I moved on. On my walk down, I saw the Holy Rosary Center and decided to go inside and pray the rosary. I thanked the Lord for the wonderful blessings HE has always given me. It was a very nice place to pray and having the area all to myself, it was like having my own huge prayer room.

5. Explore somewhere new

After my spiritual adventure in the shrine, I decided to explore a nearby place which I passed while going up. They called it The Durano EcoFarm and Spring Resort and so I decided to drop by as it might be a good place to bring my son to. The place was very natural – the water for the small pools came from the spring and it was fashioned to blend in the scenery. You have to walk down what feels like a million stairs to get to the pools and the challenge was going back up. It wasn’t yet very developed and would probably cater to the more adventurous type. Me, I love the comfort of the resorts so the place wouldn’t be ideal for people like me. But nevertheless, it was a different place and I’m sure would appeal to the back-packer nature loving type.

6. Treat yourself!

Or in this case, get someone to treat you out! My sister was generous enough to invite me and my son to Bluewater to sample their buffet complete with a glass of wine. It was absolutely yummy! Cheers 40... I face you not with fear but with hope and eagerness that the next 40 years is going to be much more exciting! Looking forward to my next birthday! Cheers!

At the end of that day, I realized that 40 wasn't bad after all. I had a loving son, a job that could make me earn enough for me and my son to live comfortably, I have a family who has always been there for me, I had good friends who stayed with me through thick and thin and above all, I had Mama Mary who continually guide me everyday. As I promised St. Francis on that afternoon, Mama Mary, I will be back!

Driving Up North

A few months ago, I finally decided on the car that I wanted and went for it. After so many twists and turns, the great debate was over and voila.. got my car..

Let me tell you, with a car, you have the freedom to go anywhere you want. And so of course, on my first long trip - it was to go home to Medellin. After seeing how my son really enjoyed the place, we went back again and again on several spur of the moments trips and I discovered the joys of going home on the week-end.....

First off, the long drive is really therapeutic. Because of the deserted roads, you can really let loose on the road and drive at the maximum speed that you could dare, something that you can't do in the city. It answers my need for speed. Driving to the tunes of classical music with my siblings quarreling in the background and my kid joining in... seems like we never really leave our childhood behind.

The beauty of having your own ride is that you can stop anytime you want. Which is exactly what we did. For several years now, everytime I passed by Sogod, I saw this sign 'This way to Borrusia', and I've always wondered what is inside it and so finally on one week-end trip, I told my sister and bro that we'd leave early and stop there for breakfast. So in we went and had a look around. The food was absolutely delicious. You got to try their hungarian sausage and lasagna (even my son loved it)and a pitcher of their lemongrass tea! While waiting for your food, you can do a few number of things in their big space:

Take a stroll along the garden. Their garden is very green and at 8 in the morning, its a wondrous feeling to just stroll around, smell the fresh air and appreciate the flowers.