Times of Your Life and Lorenzo's Time - A Sentimental Combination

Times of your Life. I have always loved this Paul Anka-original song even though to most people, especially my hard rock fanatic friends, this would sound very old fashion. But in my own ears, the lyrics and melody of this song play together like a rock ballad that can pull on the heart strings.  And now that it has become the theme song of a soap opera, Lorenzo’s Time, the song appeals even more to my sentimentality. The musical scorer couldn’t have picked a better fitting theme song.

I have not followed a soap opera for a long time, and never thought that I would again watch another one especially a Filipino-made series. For years now, like many Filipinos, I just got tired of watching the usual plot in our soaps such as the story of two kids being separated at birth or during their young lives and later on would become hostile rivals. If not this plot, the other hateful formula is about lovers being forbidden to be together because the other one is rich and the other poor. In my opinion, these plots should become the new taboo—should not be allowed to be shown on TV, since they don’t give anything thought-provoking.

Amidst the pervasion of formula soaps in our prime time, Lorenzo’s Time offers a brand new story—well at least to most Filipino soap opera enthusiasts. The story is about a ten-year old boy Enzo (played by Zaijian Jaranilla, star of the defunct ABS-CBN teledrama May Bukas Pa) whose body was kept in a cryogenics facility in order to preserve his life and body because he had a rare genetic sickness called progenia causing his body to age very rapidly and would make him die at a young age. This kind of life-preservation has also been tackled fictionally by an American movie Forever Young, which starred Mel Gibson. But Lorenzo’s Time is not at all a copy cat of the Gibson movie. Lorenzo’s Time actually dishes out a more clever script progression never before witnessed in Philippine TV.

So far, so good or you can say, so far, superb! The first six episodes of Lorenzo’s Time has triumphantly showcased both tear-jerking moments as well as cute and funny scenes that may just linger or live in its viewer’s hearts for a long time. The time when Enzo woke up after 30 years and found out everything in the world has changed except him, and the moment he found out his parents had already died as told by his Yaya Melba are my favorite dramatic scenes. The musical score which is predominantly done through playing the track Times of Your life sung by Martin Nievera absolutely sets up and heightens the melodrama. The times when Enzo would court Carmina Villaroel (Cathy in the story) despite their obvious gap in physique are both funny and romantic. Carmina led a normal life and is now 37 years old, looking every inch a fair lady. The song Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko, another brilliant song choice, is being used as a background whenever Carmina and Enzo have significant scenes together. 

The lyrics of Times of Your Life “Good morning yesterday, you wake up and time has slipped away, and suddenly it’s hard to find, the memories you left behind” effectively translate what Lorenzo’s Time is about; and Lorenzo’s Time as a story, on the other hand, makes you think that the song must have been written to tell a tale like this. To the writers, directors, actors, and musical scorers of Lorenzo’s time, I just have these words to say to you “Well-played! Congratulations."

Legendary Moments of Robert Jaworski and Ginebra - 1986 onwards

Robert Jaworski was already a basketball legend when I started falling in love with the game. I have only known The Living Legend in 1986 when his Ginebra San Miguel was battling the Manila Beer in the PBA’s Reinforced Conference, an import-laden tournament. The imports then were Ginebra’s Billy Ray Bates and Michael Hackett vs. Manila Beer’s Michael Young and Harold Keeling. My sisters then who were high school and college students were basketball crazy although they were straight and feminine.  But my father was the “promotor” numero uno when it comes to watching basketball, although he always sided with the team going against Ginebra.

Our black and white TV which had a rotating switch not a remote control for changing channels became like a zapping Bermuda Triangle for it magnetized our full attention to it whenever “Jaworski and Ginebra” was in the match, whether it was a championship or just an elimination game. Thursdays and Sundays were just top-rating prime-time moments for IBC 13 who televised the PBA back then. In the ’80s and some seasons in the ‘90s, PBA mattered over NBA for most of the millions of Filipino basketball fans. How much more in the late ‘70s, when Crispa and Toyota were at the helm? But let’s go back to The Big J and Ginebra for it is fitting to discuss about this since Jaworski’s jersey No. 7 will be retired by the PBA, come July 8, 2012.

This is an account by a true blue fan of Ginebra and the Big J. I have been and always will be part of the legions of masses that followed and supported the saga of the Big J and the Ginebra PBA franchise.

Legendary Moment # 1: 1988 All-Filipino Conference Championship, Game 4 of the best of five. Ginebra (Anejo that time) Vs. Purefoods. Jawo was 42 years old, playing alongside and against players who were on their early 20s like Purefood’s Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, and Jerry Codinera and Ginebra’s Dondon Amplayo. For the first three quarters, the undersized and underdog Ginebra was battered by the sweet-shooting young guns of Purefoods who led for as much as 19 points, a lead seemingly insurmountable. Of course, in the long run, that lead was vanished by the Never-say-die Ginebra. In the dying seconds of the fourth quarter, Purefoods leading by two, 119 -117, Jawo took a jump shot at the wing side but was bothered by a defender so he had to do a little bit of a pump shot to dodge the block. He missed but got his own miss inside the shaded lane and made another jump shot that finally went in. The jampacked arena erupting with the roar of Ginebra fans. But the loudest roar I heard were from my folks and my friends with whom I watched the game with from our television. During those days, public viewing was already in style only that there were no big screens yet like the ones used for Manny Pacquiao’s fight. And public viewing could be held by a neighbor not by some politician. LOL.  

Purefoods failed to convert on the next possession. Overtime, Ginebra won, clinching the series and championship via 3-1. Jaworski scored over 20 points. I don’t remember anymore how many assists and rebounds. If there was a Finals MVP back then, Jawo could have won, unanimously.

Legendary Moment # 2: 1989 PBA All-Star Game – PBA Rookies, Sophomores, Juniors (RSJ) Team Vs. a Robert Jaworski- and-Ramon Fernandez-led Veterans Team. Jaworski and Fernandez back then was known to have a cold war which is why their reunion in the Veterans team was much anticipated. Fernandez, was a legendary player in his own right and arguably the most versatile center of all time as he could play multiple positions and could even bring down the basketball from court to court unlike many big men at that time.  As if a legendary moment required legendary figures, Jaworski and Fernandez would connive in the last four seconds of the game with the score tied. Jaworski inbounded the ball to Fernandez who escaped a couple of defenders and made his famed baby shot of a lay up to steal the victory over the RSJ.   

Legendary Moment # 3: Toyota Vs. Crispa Reunion Game. It was Fernandez’ time to return the favor to Jaworski.  At a crucial point of the ballgame, under a minute left, Crispa was able to close in with Toyota via a three-point shot by Bogs Adornado to make the score 62 -61. In the next play, Jaworski put himself strategically at the Rainbow Territory aka three-point area. Fernandez, who was dribbling and posting up a Crispa defender, found the Big J waiting for the pass. Wasting no time, the Big J sank the big three, his lone 3-pointer and only shot taken during that game. And just like the old-Toyota and Ginebra days, the fans exploded a wild cheer of “Jaworski, Jaworski, Jaworski.” Toyota eventually brought home the bacon via a 65-61 final score.

What Jaworski and Ginebra Meant to me and all of their Fans

The late ‘80s Jaworski-led Ginebra days were glorious times for the PBA. The Purefoods – Ginebra rivalry was a major recurring (sometimes hostile) topic in my grade school class, my sisters’ own class in their respective universities and colleges, and in my father’s workplaces in Quiapo and Binondo. In many, many Filipino families or groups, Ginebra was a source of inspiration and entertainment…of a big celebration when they win, but also of deep sadness and frustration when they lose. I still remember frowning all day when they would lose. It’s like a cut to the heart, though in those tender years of mine, I did not know yet what real heartache was. The team was, and still is or will always, be the team of the masses.

Ginebra and Jaworski demonstrated in glaring fashion the real meaning of teamwork, courage, tenacity, hardwork, and believing in yourself despite being an underdog. Ginebra and Jaworski were more than meets the eye. They looked like misfits that were more likely to lose, but they ended up winners.

In the late ‘90s, the glamour boys of Ginebra continued the never-say-die spirit with Robert or Sonny Jaworski mostly doing coaching chores. This time they were a talented team on paper as they now had a number of the so-called “strong” (malakas) players such as Marlou Aquino eventually known as “The Skyscraper”, the sought-after amateur who became their top-pick of the 1996 PBA draft; Noli Locsin monacred “The Tank” because he was fat and burly yet so agile, a monster rebounder and scorer; Bal “The Flash” David, a University of Sto. Tomas standout point-guard; Vince Hizon, who was a spitfire of a slasher and fastbreak finisher and was also called “The Prince” because of his prince-like good looks; EJ Feihl, the 6’11 twin tower of Marlou Aquino; Wilmer Ong, a fierce rebounder, defender, and fouler; Jayvee Gayoso, the other prince-like good-looking guy with a knack for the unexpected and dramatic three point shots; Pido Jarencio, the reliable shooter, point guard, and fast break finisher; Benny Cheng, the best man-to-man defender much like Freddie Abuda of San Miguel and Rey Evangelista of Purefoods (now BMEG).    

Although the Ginebra of this era was a formidable line up, they didn’t immediately gain a championship ring. At the start of the 1996 All Filipino Cup, it was frustrating to watch their rookies falter against veteran players of other teams. Gordon’s Gin, as they were now called, even lost an elimination game to Pepsi, who was then known to be a push-over, bottom-dweller kind of a team. Imagine the boos Ginebra players got during and after that game. Lebron James might just be the best man to empathize with them as he also experienced this for a long time before clinching a first NBA championship trophy last June 2012. Eventually, Ginebra played Alaska in a one do-or-die game to have the right to meet Purefoods in the finals of that conference. Ginebra lost. Alaska, which was coached by Tim Cone and led by Jojo Lastimosa, Bong Hawkins, and Johnny Abarrientos, came to be known as Ginebra’s major nemesis—the Villains in the eyes of the Gin Kings’ fans. Ginebra and Alaska’s rivalry in the late ‘90s was comparable in popularity and intensity with the Purefoods and Ginebra of the late ‘80s.

   

Despite the losses, Ginebra’s never-say-die spirit and heart never waned. I remember one time after Ginebra lost a crucial game, Jawo said in an interview “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” I was in college and also had some personal problems. What he said created an impact right down to my gut and soul. It became one of my lifetime mantras.

Must Dine-in Places at Puerto Princesa, Palawan

Aside from pristine beaches and wonderful sights, Puerto Princesa is also a haven for the foodie as it is home to the best dining places and unforgettable dishes.   

KaLui

KaLui is a top choice because it serves great food at an affordable price, cheaper than most fine-dining restaurants in Palawan or any Philippine City. Experience the taste of their fresh-catch seafood menu and you will know how mouth watering it would be whenever Ka Lui crosses your mind. Just like most of their dishes, cooked and plated in a simple way, their Tuna Steak is a dish to remember. Every bite of that tuna oozed and burst of flavorful seasoning and juicy meat of fresh fish. Other must-try dishes here are the Blue Marlin, Fish Cordon Bleu, Sinigang ni Kaka, and Sinigang na Hipon.

This tourist-favorite restaurant may not have the grand ambiance and facade of the Badjao Restaurant also in Puerto Princesa, but it certainly is a unique dining place. It is built on native wood and has dust-free and shiny floors so every visitor must leave his/her footwear at the entrance. Its interior design is preened with native crafts and sculptures and the walls are adorned with artsy-craftsy masks.  

The Steak Tuna is pegged at P160 for a single order while the more expensive but big-serve dishes could range from P180- P200, while family platters could be up to P400. Ka Lui’s fresh fruit shakes are in the range of P40- P55 while alcoholic drinks are sold at popular bar prices.

To end your dining at Ka Lui at a high point, you can order a surprising dessert or version of banana split.

Badjao

Badjao is an elegant dining place with a dramatic and romantic setting. This native-designed restaurant stands in stilts at a mangrove swamp and one has to cross a short hanging bridge to get to its entrance. The food is also sumptuous but pricey, and some of its seafood dishes taste flat. They offer a wide variety of dishes though, so perhaps one just needs to try more to get the best out of their menu. With its grandeur and picturesque ambiance, Badjao restaurant is an ideal date destination or wedding reception venue for the well-to-do.

Bilao at Palayok

This restaurant presents an atmosphere of the old-style Filipino way of life with its use of Nipa Huts or Bahay Kubo as attraction and also as dining areas, and of Bilao and Palayok (woven tray and clay pot respectively) for aesthetics and cooking and serving food. Its menu includes a wide-array of Filipino dishes such as adobo and sinigang na baboy (pork stew and pork on tamarind soup), grilled tuna, and salted egg with tomatoes. Although these are common-Filipino recipes, the taste is way better than ordinary, perhaps due to a special seasoning or the use of high-grade meat and fresh fish.    

Dos Palmas

Aside from snorkeling, scuba diving, kayaking, wind surfing, and sun-bathing on this upscale resort, one can also enjoy eating at its fine-dining area such as the Kara-e-nan, an open-air food hall at the sea front. It can seat up to 200 guests and has a live band entertainment. It offers a grand buffet of seafood sourced from the bountiful Palawan waters and a lineup of sweet desserts like buko pandan and leche flan. I have never eaten a tray of leche flan, but here I had a few, because it was so good.     

   

Spider Gigil, 2 others, Die by Overspeeding

Driving through speeds of 88 to 100 kilometers per hour, Spider Gigil died twice, maybe more. Yes he died gruesomely, multiple times! On one of those deaths, he banged at the back of an orange truck, then somersaulted as high as his motorcycle before landing head first on a bridge’s cement road. At another time, he drove a blinding speed, escaped a narrow sandwich space he found between two racing cars, but not for long, as he tried to swerve, he sideswiped onto the right rear side of that “Epal Truck.” This time he landed back first, as his fire-combusting motorcycle crashed and slid near the metal ridge of the bridge of death.

But good thing is…this is not a real, highway mishap but a game called Speed Moto, an addictive motorcycle driving game downloadable for free through Google Playstore. An Android phone can play this game.

Spider Gigil is not a name that the game creators gave one of the featured drivers in the said game. I bestowed that name since the driver wears a white body-hugging suit with a body-wide Spider drawing at its back. My 9-nine year old nephew laughs out loud at the mention of the name. Perhaps he can relate very well because he is a huge fan of Spider-Man and he agrees that “Gigil”, a Pinoy Word for eager beaver is the right word to describe that screeching, break-neck driving by Spider Gigil. The Game’s other choice drivers we also named were Blue Hornet, because he wears blue, and the other “Mang Kulas,” because he looks like an ordinary Pinoy motorist. He wears a boring golden brown suit and drives an unaesthetic brown bike. Just like Spider Gigil, Blue Hornet and Mang Kulas also crashed to their own death due to our reckless maneuvering. Blue Hornet met his death as he scored a lowly 2152 game points when he crashed onto a car, thrown from his bike, then got run over by a blue car. Mang Kulas once died at an early stage when he crashed on the railings under the shade of a queue of trees.

Epal Truck is a monacre my nephew gave it because it usually manages to interfere at the path the driver would take. The truck is absolutely fatal thus he can be called “Epal”, which means in Pinoy lingua as someone who is irritating.

Driving the motor is done through a slight tilting of the phone to dodge other vehicles. Going turbo for maximum speed is done through a press-and-hold of the touch-screen phone.

A lot of cool games and applications for Android phones, iphones, and Ipads are available for free at Google Playstore such as Temple Run, Text Twist, and Kindle Ebook Reader.

Spelunking Sumaguing

What is Spelunking?

Oh, that means pain…but also, so much FUN! Totally!!!

Spelunking is distinguished from caving as the act of exploring caves by untrained cave explorers, which is why spelunkers often need a trained person, a caver, or a tourist guide in doing this.

When in Sagada, Spelunking is one of the most fun activities to do. Caveat, it is a physically-demanding adventure, so you better do some stretching and go get ample sleep before you do this. Had I known that this was going to be a whole lot harder than jogging on the asphalted or cemented roads of U.P. Diliman or Quezon City Circle, I would have gotten enough rest the night before we went Spelunking.

The cave we spelunked on was the Sumaguing Cave, which I didn’t know would take 4-6 hours to explore. The risky business of spelunking this Japanese-era soldier-refuge cave starts with passing by an aisle where there are hanging coffins on a wall of rock and some scattered bones at the ground path. Then we climbed down very steep and slippery staircases made of layered rocks, sand, and soil either piled up by men and nature itself. You will also get lucky which means you’ll definitely step on or touch bat poop on your way down and up the cave! But all that shit and mess won’t be so much of a hassle but rather add up to the WOW experience with all that’s there to see.




The stalactites, stalagmites, and rock formations are awesome and absolutely picture-worthy—some are even sexually contoured. Our amazing tour guide ensured we didn’t miss seeing the Queen and Princess’ unmentionable (sexual organ). I wasted no time touching the Queen’s cl…ris—an act my fiancée despised. The Queen’s rock formation is in limestone, which was rough and colored bronze. This limestone part of the cave is the easiest stone path inside the cave to walk on because it has small, pimple-looking spikes all over it that build friction on the feet or footwear. There are marble paths you should take on barefooted, otherwise you’re sure to slide by and be one with the stones, perhaps become a fossil someday! LOL.


As we went deeper into the cave, we found some small, ice-cold water ponds, one of which was waist-deep (I’m just a few inches over five feet)…and so I was able to pee in it. Hey, I don’t pee in pools but it might have been already two hours of trekking so it was perhaps forgivable to let my own waterfall flow. Our friendly tour-guide who hand-carried a gas-powered lamp, obliged to take several Blog-and-Facebook-destined pictures of us in these scenic spots.


When it’s your turn to spelunk, remember these few tips. Don’t wear light-colored clothes, they will be pooped and soiled. Bring a bottle of water but not so big, because it will just be a heavy burden while you’re walking, bending, crawling, and rappelling. Most importantly, before you engage in this injury-prone undertaking, get some rest and warm-up exercise especially if you have kept yourself away from athletic activities for a long time.

A Rapturous SAGADA EXPERIENCE

BAGUIO TO SAGADA and back – is that one road trip no one can afford to sleep over. There’s just too much to see. It is an absolutely gorgeous visual experience. “Communing with nature” is a weak way to describe the road to Sagada. There’s too much thrill in the experience.
It is a long, 6-hour drive but totally not boring rather an ecstatic ride full of high points, literally and figuratively. It is like watching a very long movie, say Forrest Gump or Three Idiots, and yet there’s not a dragging moment. Every scene is so captivating and worth playing back. When you reach the highest highway points of the Mountain Provinces leading to Sagada, it would just feel like heaven. Your sight will be filled with a stunning view of clouds touching the mountains, the famed rice terraces, and the beautiful mix of verdant lush forests and vast brown land. The great heights you will pass by might shake your guts but you will love the view from up there. I felt like a kid again having my first ride at the Ferris Wheel or Roller Coaster. I got scared of the thought that I could easily fall from such incredible height if the driver makes a slight wrong maneuver. I thought of how crushing a fall would be from such a peak many, many stories higher than the Empire State Building. Looking down from up there was hair-raising but at the same time so enthralling.
 “It’s like a gigantic cooking pot, a beautiful cooking pot,” my fiancée said when she looked down and saw bodies of clouds looking like big smokes spreading and whirling amidst the mountains, the forests, and the paved roads—all of which looking like they are contained and being cooked together in a deep, large pot. I told myself, “What a brilliant cook God is!” Seeing such a brilliant natural landscape stirred in me a feeling of gratefulness to Him for serving such a visual “relief” in an unexpected way. 
Travelling the long and breath-taking route to Sagada would remind you of great places you have previously met. I remembered the picture-perfect view of the Taal Lake in Tagaytay (a personal favorite), the phantasmagoric Hundred Islands, the colossal, perfect stance of the Mayon Volcano, and Puerto Princesa’s fascinating Underground River. Sagada brings to mind all sorts of beautiful places and makes you stop and think…it is one of the best, if not the best, places you have and might ever see. I have seen great sights from an airplane, but that experience pales in comparison to this. I don’t think the Sagada route can be enjoyed so much when you view it from an airplane. Driving to its circling, zigzagging route rather than flying over it, makes you relish the sights better and longer.
 The fare for the Baguio – Sagada route as far as I can remember is around P230-250. I would have still paid if it was a few pesos more. This is such a super special road show one can ever see!