@Pikit Municipal Hall

It was this day of the 25th of November 2013 when I first arrived at Pikit, North Cotabato, a place that I never heard before until since then. When I first got a job as a timekeeper on the field, I was assigned to the Municipality of Pikit in the province of North Cotabato. I have no idea that there exist such place although I've been traveling on several places in that province until I finally took my first step on it. On my arrival, I felt relieved that we have people on the neighborhood unlike most of the previous places we’ve been. Things that I do like to the people at the countryside is that they are sincere, simple, and friendly. Maybe not generally but observably. 

my hard hat

The first few weeks was tough, I smell danger. There was one morning when a man along with several companion entered the compound without asking permission. His Caliber 45, shining like stars in the night sky, was tucked in on his side. He’s looking for the officer in charge and it so happened that there’s no one he can talk to but me. I was freaking out but acted as if I’m already accustomed to the place and seeing a man with his firearm that he carries around is just a normal day. Sometimes during the night I can hear from a distant an exchanging barrage of bullets, it would last for at least a couple of hours that I’d fall asleep listening to it. When I asked the neighbors what was it about they said it’s a conflict between personal interest, nothing related to government and completely normal.

Eventually, I managed to set aside my worries and blend within the community. Then on I exposed myself outside the compound even if I told many times to be more careful. Hanging around with some neighbors, chit-chatting, sometimes staying overnight to their homes. After all, I wasn’t wrong with my expectations, they’re kind people.

I’ve made new friends: elders, my age, and youngsters. I have no problem being away from home for a long time but there comes a time when I long for the comfort of the place where I grow up. However, as I’m getting acquainted to them I thought I had found an alternative, a replica perhaps that simulates the consciousness of how it’s like to be at home. By home, I mean, not what I do inside our house, but it includes the area where I live in and the activities I’d prefer to be doing. They would invite me to birthday parties, feast, weddings, and sometimes we go outings with my new found friends.

@midsayap

@copra farm

One of the opportunities being at the province are the tourist spots. There has been a few in Pikit and one of them is the historical Fort Pikit. It’s a like three hundred square meters (approx.) structure made mostly of stones without steel braces as I observed. I wonder why people didn’t preserve the place as they left it unattended, letting it gradually erase from the history and it’s open to the public. It’s also situated on top of the hill making it favorable for couples as they exchange words of love while gazing the entire town from below and with the humming wind touches their cheeks all the way to their nostrils to eventually notice that people are shitting around the place. Another place I’ve been was at the copra farm, it’s like a picnic. We grilled a fish, a fresh water milk fish, and munched on it with bear hands unwashed, I guess the heat from the fish meat will actually kill off the germs. Then we bought Emperador Brandy with matching coconut juice as chaser and coconut meat as pulotan. From Pikit, we went to the neighboring municipality, the municipality of Midsayap, North Cotabato. That outing was planned weeks before, every Saturday we fund P200.00 each until it’s enough to be used for future outings. We hired an SUV to carry us to the resort back and forth, rented a cottage, have foods that’s more than enough to full our bellies, and we drinks *KAMPAI*. We really had fun that day, unforgettable.

@fort pikit

Although I felt like home there were safety precautions to consider. Aside from being a timekeeper, I'm also the payroll officer (warehouse keeper, purchaser, checker, and first aid responder). I hold the amount for services rendered, debts to pay, in short I have the money for a week budget. People seek employment to earn money to sustain their needs and wants, and you can’t always find money on the ground. There’s the right way and there’s the shortcut and shortcuts isn’t reliable that sometimes it would end up the “wrong way.” With the consistent brownout on the place, which at times occurred during the night. No matter how I remain faithful and brave, I can’t help to think of the possibilities that dangers are just around the corner, with a higher chance on that place obviously.

Well, my residency at Pikit wasn’t that bad after all, for 7 months of my stay I truly enjoyed my job and the company of my new found friends. I know one day I’ll have to bid my farewell and I can't help to think that that day has waited for me. It’s been more than a year since I left Pikit. I do miss the place and the people I’ve came to know. I miss the fun and adventures we’ve been through. Memories are like the butterflies, colorful and beautiful as they appear, they perish to give life to another and memories do perish to give a chance for a more wonderful moments in life but I will not left them forgotten. I buried them in my mind, it’s a cemetery for memories and this blog I’ve made is a true stories of my life, epitaph that will constantly reminds me of how my life has been so excited during its timeline.

It was a post celebration of my father’s birthday when we took a side trip to Lake Sebu while heading back home. Rumor has it that it homes to an exquisite cultured fish widely known as “tilapia” which indeed yummy! I haven’t tried other cultured tilapia yet or I was unaware of consuming one but as of the moment, nothing seems to beat the taste of tilapia from Lake Sebu. It's actually our second visit . The name “7 Falls” has become so popular that it reaches our ears from a hundred kilometers away, probably the reason why we're so interested to go to Lake Sebu (it's actually a town). There’s a story that it was under the domain of NPA (New People's Army) a long time ago the reason why it was open to the public just recently. As we enter the welcoming arch of Lake Sebu it took us about an hour before we reached our destination since we have to inquire the locals of what direction should we be heading. As we’re getting closer the terrain got more difficult and at the same time suspicious that we asked ourselves “are we heading the right way?” it feels like we’d get ambushed stop on until we crossed path a vehicle which we believe to have came from the said resort and behind us were motorists that were also heading to 7 Falls resort as well.

Touchdown!

View: Falls

The name itself, 7 Falls, if I try to imagine, it would look like a seven separated falls in one panoramic view. Not being a spoiler but it isn’t. It bears a resemblance to that like of stairs and each has this orderly description such as Falls #1, #2, up to #7. I can’t prove there exist another falls aside from Falls #1 and #2 which I’ve actually seen unless the tourist guide didn’t mention, so. 

Expectation: Swimming

The previous resort we’re at (the long time ago) tourists are allowed to swim on the lake, with of course life guards on the watch. Contrary to the 7 Falls, I don’t think they impose such part of tourist “satisfaction” or it’s only me who think it is since I haven’t explored much of the place namely Falls #3 to #7. But the very spot where tourist make the entrance to the place is between Falls #1 and #2, and I haven’t seen anything relevant to like “you are allowed to swim” thing. Well, swimming isn’t that ideal if I may have to say, it isn’t like the lake which water stays stationary. 7 Falls, on the other hand, isn’t an ordinary one, like I mentioned above it resembles like of a stairs, it’d be like falling from the topmost staircase down to the ground floor.

Falls #2

Experience: Zipline

I was hopeful to experience the very first ziplining of my life that I’ll be called a zipliner because I just tried the zipline. Ok. They say if you start ziplining from Falls #1 (the only starting point DUH!) then it will end at Falls #5 and it’s either you walk your way back until you break your legs that you’d wish there’s a fairy godmother somewhere near to make a chariot out of the pumpkin or hire a motorcycle on your way up. Sadly, I wasn’t able to try the zipline because we’d run out of time. You see, it was unorganized. However, there’s this “zipline photo booth” at the bridge, if aside from ziplining experience you’d also want your friends be in subtle awe by showing a picture of you on that zipline harness, then that would be the perfect spot. It’ll cost you P50.00 per person for about 5 minutes of picture taking (anyone would love a perfect shot right?) and you can have a discount (*calculating*) of 33% or to make it simple P100.00 for 3 person.

Foods: Chicharong Tilapia

We have chicharong bulaklak, chicharong gulay (marty's), chicharong baboy, and other crunchy thing to be categorized as chicharon. But I've never tried such chicharong tilapia. One of the main reasons why we paid a visit to Lake Sebu is because of the tipalia. Unfortunately, we’re not too familiar on the resort and the staff were too far from us, we’re tired and hungry and all. So, craving for it must be considered to be out of the list, “there’s still next time” my father said. Perhaps, the foods we brought in could make our tummy to have had enough at that moment. It was late by then that I learned there is a restaurant at the other side of the river when I came passed the bridge to explore more of the place. But like my father said, “there’s still next time.”

Souvenirs

The souvenir shop sells affordable merchandises, from clothing printed, of course, that of related to the 7 Falls Resort (the “I was there” thing) and other ethnic stuff like blings and musical instruments. I bought a sando and a musical instrument that produces a sound similar to a certain bird. There’s a variety of products that you can choose from and they all come in cheap prices.

All in all, it’s a magnificent place. It’s perfect for family bonding and nature activities, I forgot to mention that they have this tree top adventure and cycling on a thin wire suspended on a hundred feet high. The atmosphere is calm and nippy. It really makes you appreciate the sublime beauty of nature that inspite of our modern civilization: concrete structures, cutting edge technologies, virtual social life—there’s still a place that we can surrender to mother nature. I’d love to go back on that place in the future with high hopes that I’d get chance to experience that zipline and the chicharong tilapia. *fingerscrossed*

souvenir shopping

When a single neuron have made contact somewhere inside my brain where my interest for writing were hidden, they fired up electrical waves which eventually relive my considerable passion for endless thought in a form of written words. However, that moment I was in a situation where I could freely get my laptop, glued myself on the chair, and spending most of time gathering for thoughts that I hopefully make sense when I put them all together. It lasted for at least a couple of months not until I moved in to a new place.

But does my moving in could be a one good reason to stand against my passion for writing?

It depends. Writing isn’t like making yourself comfortable on your couch while watching your pirated downloaded movies after a looooong tiring day at work and that’s what I’ve been doing lately to help myself fall asleep. Why can’t I spend those times for my blog? I’m probably dead tired by then. Further, my workplace isn’t that ideal for thoughts mining. I was supposed to make a blog entry for my niece’s 1st birthday, I was supposed to make a blog entry for my cousin’s debut, I was supposed to make an entry of the 3 day vacation at Surigao del Sur, and I was supposed to make a blog entry of how my “all souls day” have went this year. Those were just a few ideas in my mind pending to be itched on the history of my blog but I’m afraid I’d have to let them forgotten: the sensation had expired, the experience just leaked away, and I can’t picture out clearly how was that day happened ‘coz all I got to think is, work.

Though I have weekends day off but my new found friends—they are attention seeker, they’d make dramas when they find me hooked up on my laptop, they’d blame me if they’re outings would be postponed just because I don’t wanna come, and whenever they’re on a beer session I’d rather not to refuse, I don’t think it’s a good idea. But I do like these people and since it’s just so happened that we’re on the same place for a short period I don’t think we’d still get a chance to do the same fun when it’s over. Nevertheless, my blog will always be there wherever I go.

So how did I managed to this entry?

It’s known to me that I stayed dormant in the blogosphere for a few years and when I get back I said to myself “I’ll try to make it updated as possible” not for my audience (if there are any) but for my memory. I know someday I’ll just find myself reading the entries I had published, scrolling up and down feeling myself on that certain moment how I actually felt when I wrote it. 

Actually, on my coming back, I’ve made a research on how to become a blogger yet I already have one. Maybe I was doubtful on this kind of thing, maybe I don’t find myself effective in writing, or maybe this is not just for me, just maybe. Then somewhere on my research, it says like “follow your thoughts”, “don’t mind what other people would say”, and “if you think you want to write for something relevantly significant to your life, then you have the passion.” I proved it that I have the passion to write and I can’t deny that my grammar isn’t that well-constructed, my thoughts could sometimes be mixed up, and I don’t often proofread my work. Those were the reasons why I discouraged myself to continue my blog until I realized that I’m not doing this for everyone but just for myself.

My first question that I mentioned above was stupid! Sorry to myself.