Written: Friday. February 10, 2023.
Right now I'm in the province. I've written a journal entry here back in the first season of my journaling (The Modern Hidalgo). It was back when I was still using the old HP Laptop that Uncle Michael gave me. This time, I'm using the brand new Lenovo Chromebook that I bought a few days ago. I came here in the province with my dad. There's a 75th Birthday celebration happening from one of my Uncles-in-Law, and I volunteered to come along because they needed a guy to video on the day of the celebration. And I just so happen to be that guy.
Going back to the province for a few days means that I'll be away from home again, which is what I strive for in this year. Each weekend/week has been filled with travels, so far so good. And I've kept the ball rolling on this one. These few days away from the workspace (which is apparently my own house) will allow me the opportunity to get some writing done. I need to write a new script for a Great Mazinger episode that I've already watched a few weeks ago. Work, among many other things, has gotten in the way of making that happen.
Not much to say for now. It's only the first day, and I slept a few hours after we had arrived. A lot has changed since the last time we were here. The house we're staying in right now used to look very old and in progress of being renovated. Now the renovations are done, and it looks to be like a regular house in the city now. We've got air-conditioning now, which is nice. The walls look smooth and painted. The house itself seems to be sturdy and would probably last 50 years if kept in good condition, maybe more.
Is this where I'll be retiring? I'm only 24 years old, going 25 by June. I shouldn't be thinking about these things just yet. It's too early for that kind of thinking. But it would be nice to know that it's an option.
Written: Saturday. February 11, 2023.
(Morning)
I took the longest sleep I've had in quite a while last night here in the province. I can't sleep like that in the city cause of the noise and all the other things that I could potentially do with my time. Here, I could just practically do nothing, and it wouldn't be considered time wasted, because there's literally lesser things that you could be doing here in the province. You just stare at blank space or daydream as you wait for the next meal to arrive. Or, you could spend your time sleeping the hours away, much like what I did when I arrived here, but that's really jsut because I haven't had enough sleep in my body when we arrived from Paranaque.
Breakfast consisted of egg, rice, and Pinapaitan, which is goat meat and soup. Very tasty flavor, though I wouldn't count on people liking it right off the bat because it's more of an Ilocano pallet than most Filipino foods. I honestly don't have 100% of the Ilocano pallet, but since my dad's an Ilocano, we've grown up to adapt to the taste and preference of their viands and meals. They mostly have vegetarian & pescatarian cuisines, but occasionally, they'll still eat pork, chicken, and beef because they're not really strictly in any kind of food "religion", so to speak. But yeah, they mostly eat greens, and that's what causes their lifespans the go on longer than the average living person. It's a gimmick to achieve some semblance of "immortality", but the sacrifice is that you're punishing your taste buds to just experiencing stale food all the time in order to 'live' longer. The debate would go, "but is that really considered living?". Food for thought, know what I mean?
After breakfast, we quickly headed off to Ate Queenie's newly built rest house. It's a fairly small house compared to the main houses we're staying at right now, but who am I to judge that? To me, if I were to live in a house like that (alone, probably), it would be a big enough house. And the free space they have surrounding the house is quite spacious indeed. They have plantation going on. There's a wooden hut at the side of the house, and they even have the old water pumping system that people used to have in the olden days. Now you just get to see those rarely in some provincial houses because, you know, water isn't as accesible as it used to be, I'm assuming.
While we were at the newly built house, I spent my time taking Hart under my wing, but that only really meant that I had to be the babysitter who held him by an invisible leech, because his sister wasn't awake yet. He's a special kid, but spending time with him awhile ago made me see that he's got some smartness to him. I couldn't really understand him that much, but I'd like to imagine that it's because he's in a higher level of thinking than I am at this point, which is why I can't fully understand his genius. In a way, it is I who needs to keep up with him.
Now, I'm just typing away on my laptop. I'm supposed to write the script for the Great Mazinger episode I re-watched last night, but I'm writing what occured this morning. Is that procrastination? Probably not. But continuing this journal right now probably is. See you in a bit.
Written: Sunday. February 12, 2023.
Drank hard liquor last night, and spent the morning 'til the after noon having a headache. It went away eventually. The 75th Birthday party happened awhile ago as well. I don't think I did a very good job with the pictures. I'm also not sure how I'll be editing the birthday video. I'm only used to editing videos in vlog form. Not sure how to go about the flow of it, but I'll deal with that in a couple of days.
I wasn't able to video every important moment of the party, because the scheduling of it all was chaotic. There was no schedule to begin with, and so I'll have to copy videos from other people's phones to add to the birthday video.
Right now, that's very much the sum of the events of the day. The party ended quickly because the guests were old people, and probably got sleepy once they finished eating the food that was prepped for the party. Most of the viands for the party weren't actually consumed, and that's why my dad's gonna take some of it home.
Written: Monday. February 13, 2023.
We should be heading off to Manila in an hour or so. Just waiting for the relatives to wake up, is all. My dad and I can go ahead and commute our way back to Manila, but we're not gonna do that because there's the option of carpooling with Ate Queenie and her family.
Time spent here in the province was definitely needed. Sad to say that I don't feel like I truly satisfied myself on this trip, though I can't really write it down here for posterity reasons. I will say that I didn't actually vlog anything on this short trip. I don't vlog anymore lately. I'll probably still vlog in the future, but right now I just don't feel like doing it at all. Maybe it's the equipment, or the laziness, or just the overall disappearance of my passion towards capturing the slice of life in video format. Also, vlogs don't matter anymore to people on the internet. Entertainment has taken many different forms. Mostly shorter and quicker videos to consume rather than have yourself sit down and consume a 30 minute or 15 minute long vlog of someone's day. That's why we no longer watch movies as much as we watch episodes of a TV Show. Our mind's are preoccupied by many things, and those things are overwhelming to think about, especially when there's also the looming realization that your time in this life is fleeting as days go by.
But enough of that radical shit. I'm just waiting to leave here so that I could spend my time looking back at it now, rather than look towards what's ahead (meaning, back to doing work).
On top of all that, my right hand still fucking hurts like a bitch. I thought for sure that this vacation will take away that nagging pain. But unfortunately, it's still there. And it's there to stay.
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