Subic-ing on a Holy Week

Holy Week went peaceful and I guess I am back to tell you the story on how I spent mine.

First Story (Temptation Island):

I was supposed to go fasting, not on food but on internet usage. CBCP said on a news report before the Holy Week that withdrawing or not doing the usual things you've been doing is one way of fasting sort of what you do on a retreat or a recollection.Texting perse is one and of course the internet as well, because it is no necessity for us but then again if you're used to it it is not so as easy as we think. And so this Holy Week I tried not to go online as a form of sacrifice maybe, I even posted on my status on Facebook that I won't surf the net this Holy Week. I decided to do so since I would be out of town and maybe this is one of the littlest thing I could do in line with the Lenten Season. But then again, Holy Tuesday, I failed to. And its not that I do not have one word but I just have to download and check something before I leave the City. I then thought that the latter surfing on the net would be the last for the week only to find out that the place we stayed in on Subic is a wifi zone. Temptation island right? haha.=)) I left my laptop at home so I thought I was spared from going online, but then my brother and cousins had their gadgets with them and they're all wi-fi capable. Oh snap, the "must-have-been fasting" went opposite. Instead, we went online for like 3 whole days. But the mac isn't mine so I'm kind of regulated with the internet usage but then, I still check my accounts frequently and played some online games and so fasting wasn't successful afterall.It may have been a fault or a failure but I guess, I still spent my Holy Week in a holy manner. Moment of silence, prayers, visited a church and leaving the city behind. I stayed 4 days instead of 3 days since they don't want me to go home even when I really want to. We did have our vacation but we made sure that it would still be a peaceful one.

Second Story (Roadtrip hassles):

When you watch news on, before and after Holy Week, news reports are mostly about traffic advisories. Warning, guiding and telling the motorists on where to go, where traffic is, accidents, and the expressways. This year, there was a new road on where motorists were advised to pass to avoid the traffic on the North-Luzon Express Way, it is called SCTEX or Subic Clark Tarlac Express way. We left Manila at around 9 or 9:30 Maundy Thursday since we are not in a hurry to be in Subic early morning, Mom and the rest woul just follow us by afternoon.Traffic wasn't much a of a hassle by then until we got into toll gates of NLEX. But boy, it can't be compared to the traffic we encountered on SCTEX. Gah, The road was surrounded by mountains, it was a long winding road. Traffic is very vivid even 2 kilometers away from the toll gate, the volume of cars are getting larger. Around a thousand or less I think. We were there for almost six hours. It was quarter to 3 and We didn't take lunch thinking we'll get there by 12 noon but we did not and there were no stop-overs so we just ate sandwiches inside the car. It's funny that people entertain their selves on a traffic jam. There was a foreigner who walked along the long road and smoked maybe he was enjoying the scenery, there was one who jog, some reads inside their cars, some call from their cell phones (I doubt if the reception was good, I do not have a signal then since it was a mountain), some put up their feet so they could relax, others soundtripped,took pictures, some already had car troubles gettin overheat, some drink and eat while I am just trying to text whenever signal's back and observe all of them. The one who caught our attention was a van. The children at the back of the van posted a paper on a window a message: "We are bored!!!" haha. It was nice they even thought of that on a traffic, I should have took a picture of that but I wasn't able to.The road trip was a full of hassles, but it was fun.

Third story (Itchy beach-y):

It was 2004 since I last visited and spent my Holy Week in Subic. There were lots of beaches in Subic and we never missed swimming on it. We went swimming at All Hands Beach, as we also did in 2004. By then, the problem was the rocky sands, you could hurt your feet by walking but the water's fine. Clean. 2009, we had our swimming again, we swam for just like 10 minutes. Very short, because we were feeling something itchy. There was an unknown creature which bites our skin, we later on found that it was a little shrimp. haha. It is transparent so we can't see it. Yeah, it's a hassle as well, but we did not continue swimming since there was a girl from our neighbor cottage who drowned and was on hysteria after. I just took photos of the beautiful beach, it was blue and the water's clear and the sand's not so rocky anymore.

Fourth Story (Spotted):

What's a trip without seeing someone you know or is connected to you? Impossible I say. haha. As I said on my previous blog entries people are connected and it's no destiny that they see each other on a far place. I spotted a model when we were shopping at Nike Outlet and my cousins spotted Senator Pia Cayetano biking. I also spotted some Jamers whom I do not know the names but I recognize the faces. My brother told me that there were Jamers on the village we stayed in, I could not recognize who he was describing until we saw them. Meanwhile, entering the beach I saw someone wearing the AB shirt, by then I already knew he was a Thomasian and an Artlet. I just find it amazing that even in far places there's always someone I knew or I recognize.

I knew this blog entry was long, but I just would like to share that the trip went well, no more traffic when going back and the family or the clan did enjoy and bonded well happily in Subic.Holy Week isn't about vacationing, it's about peace, serenity and holiness.