Thursday, June 10, 2010
Good soup
Monday, September 14, 2009 at 12:12am
I’ve been quite unwell these past few weeks. The weather was really stifling hot, so it took a toll upon my overall well-being. I started having fits of cough, and my energies got easily sapped. And then the weather took for a sudden turn. It’s gotten all wet. With everything pretty damp, and the skies drearily dark and depressing my coughing just got worse.
Two weeks ago I had to go to Baguio where the weather always expresses its most extreme take of things. The place has its endless gust of mists and fog. I was there because I had to take my English Exams. I was coughing all the time, firstly because the air was so thin it made my throat dry, and secondly the air has been so thickly polluted of late that it was sheer effort to breathe for someone coming from the lowlands. I stayed in a neighborhood where there isn’t much transportation, but still, you can smell the soot that’s coming from the busier roads uphill. In the evenings and in the very early hours of the morning, visibility was almost nil.
It was the dragon’s breath, the fog. I couldn’t see the scattered residential houses that are readily viewed from my side of the mountain. All I could see was the tree tops of the pines. Perhaps, it was bad timing. Storm has settled itself in Baguio quite comfortably, and it bestowed violent winds and frequent rain showers. The fog circled and playfully billowed like the disturbed sea amidst a squall.
From my previous experience there in Baguio, which was 3 years ago, I had an enjoyable time that it made me really want to go back. 3 weeks ago was a disappointing expedition of sorts. It was painfully sad and rainy. The feeling was only partly alleviated by one of my friends, who happened to be a roommate.
I would have opted to just stay inside the room had it not for the necessity of eating and buying some stuff I’ll need to use for my three days there. I was in fetal position draped in thick blankets (which I eventually gave up using because it made me sweat pretty bad thrice in one night, I used thinner sheets and it worked like miracle), while talking with Marlo, and just swapping sms with a friend in Tarlac for the most part of the day.
My second evening there, the storm was still raging outside. The rain stopped though. Marlo invited me to go out and have dinner. I was not in the mood, and I told him that. Besides, food in Baguio isn’t really something I’d recommend to everyone I know (Apologies, just a matter of opinion). I was convinced finally, and with much gusto, when he said that there was a Kapampangan Eatery where they make a good pinapaitan.
It only took me a few minutes to stand up and get all prepared. It was no longer raining, but we still borrowed two umbrellas just in case. Marlo said that the Eatery was nearby. It turned out that we each had a very different version of what nearby is. Halfway, the skies poured down all its rage as it rained heavily, and we had to scour for a shelter, which we fortunately found in a closed sari-sari store. We stood there for the next 20 minutes. We were hungry and very cold. We were also wet from the knee down.
The rain wasn’t showing any signs of stopping so we just decided to risk getting wet all over. I was worried my umbrella might not withstand the strong winds, but it surprisingly held. When we reached the Eatery, I was out of breath. The path was uneven, that as we reached the main road, it went all steeply uphill.
It was all worth it. The papaitan was so deliciously good. It didn’t smell funny, and it was served hot. I savored every bite and I chewed with renewed energy. Outside, the storm relentlessly blew, but I didn’t care.
I was in a good mood after that, and had a small chat with the Owner. She’s your typical Kapampangan who loves to entertain everybody. She talked about her son who’s taking a medical course in Pampanga, and that she has regulars coming from the review center.
It was quite a while when we noticed that outside, it was blissfully quiet, and the wind has died down. I invited Marlo to head back home as I thanked the owner, Atching Perla, for treating us as guests and entertaining us.
Settled in my bed that night, I prayed that the next day the storm should be out of Baguio. I think God took pity upon me. The next day was sunny, albeit freezing cold.
Marlo was already up and preparing to head for the CG reviews when he just opted to not go and help Kris (Our common friend’s-Benjo [though my bestfriend]- sister)look for a place to stay for a month or so. I went for a stroll in session. The storm had its own purpose, other than making Baguio’s roads wet and dirtily chaotic. For the first time since I arrived, I smelled fresh air. The storm chased the noxious fumes away. I was breathing easier.
Pity that in the afternoon, it was time for me to go back in Tarlac. Still coughing a bit though.
I’ve been quite unwell these past few weeks. The weather was really stifling hot, so it took a toll upon my overall well-being. I started having fits of cough, and my energies got easily sapped. And then the weather took for a sudden turn. It’s gotten all wet. With everything pretty damp, and the skies drearily dark and depressing my coughing just got worse.
Two weeks ago I had to go to Baguio where the weather always expresses its most extreme take of things. The place has its endless gust of mists and fog. I was there because I had to take my English Exams. I was coughing all the time, firstly because the air was so thin it made my throat dry, and secondly the air has been so thickly polluted of late that it was sheer effort to breathe for someone coming from the lowlands. I stayed in a neighborhood where there isn’t much transportation, but still, you can smell the soot that’s coming from the busier roads uphill. In the evenings and in the very early hours of the morning, visibility was almost nil.
It was the dragon’s breath, the fog. I couldn’t see the scattered residential houses that are readily viewed from my side of the mountain. All I could see was the tree tops of the pines. Perhaps, it was bad timing. Storm has settled itself in Baguio quite comfortably, and it bestowed violent winds and frequent rain showers. The fog circled and playfully billowed like the disturbed sea amidst a squall.
From my previous experience there in Baguio, which was 3 years ago, I had an enjoyable time that it made me really want to go back. 3 weeks ago was a disappointing expedition of sorts. It was painfully sad and rainy. The feeling was only partly alleviated by one of my friends, who happened to be a roommate.
I would have opted to just stay inside the room had it not for the necessity of eating and buying some stuff I’ll need to use for my three days there. I was in fetal position draped in thick blankets (which I eventually gave up using because it made me sweat pretty bad thrice in one night, I used thinner sheets and it worked like miracle), while talking with Marlo, and just swapping sms with a friend in Tarlac for the most part of the day.
My second evening there, the storm was still raging outside. The rain stopped though. Marlo invited me to go out and have dinner. I was not in the mood, and I told him that. Besides, food in Baguio isn’t really something I’d recommend to everyone I know (Apologies, just a matter of opinion). I was convinced finally, and with much gusto, when he said that there was a Kapampangan Eatery where they make a good pinapaitan.
It only took me a few minutes to stand up and get all prepared. It was no longer raining, but we still borrowed two umbrellas just in case. Marlo said that the Eatery was nearby. It turned out that we each had a very different version of what nearby is. Halfway, the skies poured down all its rage as it rained heavily, and we had to scour for a shelter, which we fortunately found in a closed sari-sari store. We stood there for the next 20 minutes. We were hungry and very cold. We were also wet from the knee down.
The rain wasn’t showing any signs of stopping so we just decided to risk getting wet all over. I was worried my umbrella might not withstand the strong winds, but it surprisingly held. When we reached the Eatery, I was out of breath. The path was uneven, that as we reached the main road, it went all steeply uphill.
It was all worth it. The papaitan was so deliciously good. It didn’t smell funny, and it was served hot. I savored every bite and I chewed with renewed energy. Outside, the storm relentlessly blew, but I didn’t care.
I was in a good mood after that, and had a small chat with the Owner. She’s your typical Kapampangan who loves to entertain everybody. She talked about her son who’s taking a medical course in Pampanga, and that she has regulars coming from the review center.
It was quite a while when we noticed that outside, it was blissfully quiet, and the wind has died down. I invited Marlo to head back home as I thanked the owner, Atching Perla, for treating us as guests and entertaining us.
Settled in my bed that night, I prayed that the next day the storm should be out of Baguio. I think God took pity upon me. The next day was sunny, albeit freezing cold.
Marlo was already up and preparing to head for the CG reviews when he just opted to not go and help Kris (Our common friend’s-Benjo [though my bestfriend]- sister)look for a place to stay for a month or so. I went for a stroll in session. The storm had its own purpose, other than making Baguio’s roads wet and dirtily chaotic. For the first time since I arrived, I smelled fresh air. The storm chased the noxious fumes away. I was breathing easier.
Pity that in the afternoon, it was time for me to go back in Tarlac. Still coughing a bit though.
# posted by regie @ 1:12 AM 
