Masskara Dance Parade 2010

     Since it began on 1980s, the street of Araneta in Bacolod City never fails to draw a large amount of crowd watching the street dance parade-the highlight of the Masskara Festival celebration.
     I have been on this street a lot of times since I was a kid and I can say it had gone a long long way from its humble beginning to being a world class tourist attraction. Today, not only locals from the other provinces in the Philippines flock to Bacolod but as well as from the other countries to witness the colorful merrymaking celebration of the City of Smile.
     I have been off the street for quite a long time. Instead of being on the street, I settled on watching the dance parade on the television. But this year is different, if it hadnt been for Ruel, I wouldnt be out on the street of Araneta again (it was his first time to watch the dance parade). October 17, 2010  four o'clock in the afternoon, I grab my camera and joined Ruel with the rest of the crowd to experience one more time Bacolod's very own mardi gras the Masskara Dance Parade.

click here for more photos...

Masskara Village 2010: The Negrense Ingenuity

      It's October once again. The most anticipated time of the year for the Bacolenos. Once again the City of Smiles will come to life as it celebrates the Masskara festival. The Philippines very own mardi gras celebration. 

        One of the activities is the mask making competition. Ruel and I trooped to the 2nd level of Robinsons Place to check out this year's entries. Every year, it never fails to amazed me. There were 60 entries this year. The masks were even more colorful and elaborate. Different media was used; indigenous materials, plastics, fiberglass, fabric, glass and even recycled stuffs. It showcases the Negrense's artistry and ingenuity in making masks. Mask entries are then displayed at the Masskara Village. These masks are truly a world class and distinctively Ilonggo. Something that I can boast to the world. =)

I've posted some of my personal favorites. Which one is yours?

Canine Patrol

Meet the rest of the family's furball of joy.

Snow, Snowy or Nok-nok as we fondly called her is a pure breed japanese spitz. She was exchanged for Php 3,000 worth of seedlings from my mom's garden when she was a pup. That's how we got our first pure breed canine. Being playful and affectionate are her best qualities.

  

Weng-weng or Taweng is half japanese spitz and half mongrel. He is the product of Snow and Sean. He has a thick coat like his mom but mostly colored black. Scared of thunder so he hides under the bed during thunderstorms or wont leave your side for comfort. And oh! He really hates cameras. I had a hard time taking a good shot of him.

Visitors adored them because of their size, not to mention mom overfed them a few years back, but also because how we take good care of them.They are good companions and watch dogs, and would bark everytime a stranger approaches or peek on our gate.

Remembering Sean

     My family loves dogs, so much that we dont treat them as pets but as family members. Mom would always make sure that they have their stuffs when we go to the grocery. It almost came to a point that the number of dogs is equal to the number of people living in the house. Our house was small way back then.
     Of all the canine pets we had, Sean was my favorite. He came to us when he was still a pup and my brother named him after a popular PBA basketball player. This chap had grown to be so attached the rest of the family members especially me. He became accustomed to human activities like he sleeping on my bed (which I dont mind at all), sat on an empty chair with us during meal time, lingers on the living area if there are visitors and became a favorite of the small kids.
     I remember when he was three years old we have to give him away. Later in the evening, we were told that he ran away from his new home but father just couldn't bear it so we looked for him in nearby areas. Luckily, we found him after a week of searching. I cant forget the sound of his yelp telling us how happy he is that we found him.
    It's been three years now since our old fellow was gone. He died on his sleep due to old age but one thing that I'll surely miss about him is how he would lay done beside you on the couch and put his head on your lap so that you can give him a scratch. He would always be our dearly beloved Sean. Wherever he is right now, he'll always be remembered in our heart and in our mind.

Bringing back good memories

I was browsing the files on my phone when I came across some year old pictures. Suddenly, good old memories flashes to me. The crazy stuffs we do to unwind or escape from the stress that we got from work. We had a lot of wonderful times together--out of town trips, going to the movies, food trips... the list is long.

Like this particular one. These photos were taken at The Ruins, one of the tourist attractions located between Bacolod and Talisay City. The remains of a once grandeur ancestral house of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson standing magnificently in the middle of a sugarcane field. The house got burned during the World War II period but amazingly the concrete portions of the house hold on. Instead of rebuilding the house, the owners decided to keep it the way it is and open it for public viewing. The Ruins has become a favorite venue for pictorials and special events like weddings and birthdays.

 

Choco-Arroz Aftie

I have a lot of things to do today so I have to force myself to get out of the bed while my head is still in dreamland.
First things first: prepare breakfast, household chores then bake a cake.  It was almost noontime when I finished everything, took a quick shower then headed off to Talisay City to meet Ruel.
I thought there would be more than five of us who will be going to Merell's home but only four of us showed up: me, Ruel, Jona and Ryan.
She is Ruel's good friend since college and her nine month old baby is Ruel's goddaughter.  Merell is a little bit serious yet talkative so getting along with her is not a problem. No uncomfortable feeling that first timers often experience. Her baby girl is so adorable that I got a little envy and makes me want a baby too (in the near future).
The whole afternoon was spent on laughs, reminiscing their college life, eating chicken arrozcaldo and the chocolate cake I brought. Surprised to see that five of us ate almost 3/4 of the whole cake.
Then it was bye bye time.
Nothing could beat a good afternoon with real friends, good food and an endless conversation.
(Forgot to take pictures of them =c)

Rainy Day Saturday

It's all wet, wet, and wet outside. I stayed all day long in front of the television or the computer browsing for anything that could help lift my boredom.
On the other hand, still happy because my boyfriend and I got reconciled after a week of silence. He asked me to come along with his best friends, Ryan and Jona,  to meet some of their college friends. After a year of having a relationship with him it's my first time to meet them aside from his best friends. Excited and a little but scared.
Aside from that, my hands are itching already to bake. We'll be bringing chocolate cake for snack. =)
Hope everything turns out fine.