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2004 was a great year. In October that year, the gang of four, namely, Leo, John, Jeff and I, journeyed northward not only to bask in the bliss of Manila’s cosmopolitan atmosphere but also to luxuriate in the sun, sand and surf of the understated paradise called “Puerto Galera.”

Without any hesitation, I elect the latter as the highlight of that two-week sojourn. But more than the fun and the merriment that, for that brief period permeated through our little clique, the whole thing also earmarked the last days of Leo’s Single life.

In November of 2004, Leo wedded pulchritudinous Joy, a very good friend of ours, and a Lady most deserving of Leo’s love and fidelity. This post is humbly dedicated to Leo’s “Single Days.” LOL.

 Tamaraw Falls is located in the mountains above Puerto Galera, Mindoro Oriental, Philippines.

This jewel-encrusted metal fish is one of the standard souvenir items given by the couple, Benjamin Young III and Arden Lim on their wedding at Malipano Island, Pearl Farm.  My family and I went on May 25, 2008 to Pearl Farm to witness the beautiful wedding on the resort’s luxury island.

Read about the wedding on the May 28, 2008 entry in my blog, Daba-daba Da Blog, entitled “Beach Wedding perfect Malipano Island.”

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This is the Manila Cathedral, located inside Manila’s old walled city called Intramuros.  This picture was shot with my Nokia N70 Phone in mid-2006 while I was reviewing for the Bar Exams.

Though not a Catholic, I am fond of religious structures, of old structures in general.  Centuries-old buildings like the Manila Cathedral or of the beautifully ancient Intramuros complex are nowhere to be found in my hometown, Davao City.  Hence, my fascination for these historical and antiquated structures.

Below is a Wikipedia note on Manila Cathedral:

The Manila Cathedral, also known as the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, was the seat of the Archbishop of Manila during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines, and still remains the ecclesiastical seat of the Archdiocese of Manila.

The See of Manila, with jurisdiction over all the Philippine Islands and suffragan to the See of Mexico, was erected in 1578. The first bishop, Domingo de Salazar (born 1512), arrived in September 1581.

The first cathedral, made of nipa and bamboos, was built in 1571 by Fray Juan de Vivero and on December 21, 1521, it became a cathedral. It was damaged by a typhoon in 1582 and razed by fire in 1583.

The new cathedral, which was made of stone, was made in 1592. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1600.

The third cathedral, with three naves and seven chapels, was started in 1584 and blessed in 1614. It was toppled by another earthquake which shook Manila in 1645.

The magnificent fourth cathedral was constructed in 1654 to 1671 under Archbishop Miguel Poblete. It was severely damaged in 1863 by a very strong earthquake that even toppled the Palace of the Governor General of the Philippines. In 1880, another earthquake toppled its bell tower and since then until in 1959, the cathedral remained towerless.

The fifth cathedral was constructed in 1870–1879. It was solemnly blessed in December of 1879. The center cross of the dome is a reference point of astronomical longitudes of the archipelago. The magnificent cathedral was toppled into ruins by bombing in 1945.

The present cathedral was constructed in 1954 to 1958 under Archbishop Rufino Jiao Santos of Manila and under the supervision of National Artist for Architecture Awardee, Architect Fernando Ocampo. It was consecrated on December 7, 1958 in honor of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. It was elevated into the rank of minor basilica on April 27,1981 by Pope John Paul II’s papal bull.

The cathedral is also the resting place for former prelates who served the Archdiocese of Manila. Among those interred in the cathedral crypts (similar in style to that of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City) are Michael J. O’Doherty, the last American and foreigner Archbishop of Manila, Rufino Jiao Santos, the first Filipino cardinal, Gabriel Reyes, the first Filipino archbishop of Manila and Cardinal Jaime Sin, the prelate who is considered to be one of the leaders of the EDSA Revolution in the Philippines that ended the 20-year regime of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

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I took my Nokia N95 Phone to the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, October 13, 2007, to make sure that I take videos and pictures of my favorite musical artist of all time:  Kenneth / Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.  I was almost in tears when I heard him sing my favorite song of all time, “Everytime I Close My Eyes,” definitely one of the most beautiful songs ever.  Here’s the lyrics off my memory.  I guess I’ll have to sing this while writing down the lyrics.

Everytime I Close My Eyes
Babyface

Girl, It’s been a long, long time coming
But I, I know that it’s been worth the wait
It feels like springtime in winter
It feels like Christmas in June
It feels like heaven has opened up its gates for me and you

And everytime I close my eyes I thank the Lord that I’ve got you
And you’ve got me too, babe
And everytime I think of it I pinch myself ‘coz I don’t believe it’s true
That someone like you loves me too

Ooh Girl, I know that you’re truly something
And you’re, you’re every bit of a dream come true
With you, babe, it never rains and it’s no wonder
The sun always shines when I’m near you
It’s such a blessing that I have found somebody like you girl
Ooh, girl

Coz everytime I close my eyes I thank the Lord that I’ve got you
And you’ve got me too, Babe
And everytime I think of it I pinch myself coz I don’t believe its true
That someone like you loves me too…

To think of all the nights I’ve cried myself to sleep (Yeah)
You really ought to know how much you mean to me
(Ad lib)
That you be in my life right here with me, ooh baby, baby (Yeah hee-yeh-heh)
Ooh.

Do-hoo do-hoo hoo
I tell you Girl that everytime I close my eyes I thank the Lord
I’ve got you, baby, and you’ve got me too, babe
And everytime I think of it I pinch myself coz I don’t believe it’s true
That someone like you (hooo) loves me too.

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This is Thu Le, one of Hanoi’s many lakes.  This picture was taken with my Nokia N70 three years ago in May 2005 from our hotel window.  The hotel is called Ha Noi Daewoo Hotel, known for its crescent pool, and located a fair distance from the city center. 

Boating is a favorite activity of tourists and locals on Lake Thu Le.  Locals and foreigners go walking or biking about the park gardens embracing the Lake.

I remember that during my week-long stay in Hanoi, I developed a fever.  I was quick to suggest that I be hospitalized to determine whether I have been stricken by the sure-death affliction called “Bird Flu,” which at the time has made news headlines for infecting avians and killing people in the Asian mainland.  Thankfully, however, the Israeli Doctor who checked me up dispelled my suspicion.  (Hanoi in May 2005 was extremely hot and dense, maybe that caused the fever.)

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This is a picture of the sunset in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte taken with my Nokia N95.  Pagudpud Beach is one of the Philippines’ more famous beaches, but unlike other great beaches elsewhere, it remains untrodden by many tourists.  What’s good about that is that the beach can escape the exploitative tendencies of commercial tourism.

Pagudpud was our last stop in our Ilocos escapade in September 2007, before heading back to Laoag City and flying back to Manila.  We had gone to and stayed in historical Vigan two days earlier.  Staying in Saud Resort, Pagudpud was a perfect place to celebrate my Birthday (September 27) with two of my closest friends, Atty. Darry and Atty. Cez.

Welcome!

Thanks to WordPress’ brilliant Monotone theme, I am constrained to create a Photo Blog of my own.  Monotone is generally a great theme for a photo blog. The theme’s plus point consists in it’s clever ability to match the appearance of the post with the picture that is attached to it.  By sheer magic and WordPress genius, each post is displayed on a blog page that perfectly matches the  photo exhibited.  Designed for one-photo-per-post blogs, the Monotone Theme is well suited to photo blogging (but I already said that). 

Okay, I said it’s a great theme, but it’s way short of perfect.  Let me tell you why, IMHO:

1.  Zero-widgetry.  Wouldn’t it be much nicer if such a cleverly engineered theme were able to allow widgets on a sidebar, say, a Blogroll, Recent Posts or a Text widget and the like?  Not so much to destroy the design integrity of the post, but to complement the blog as a whole and provide more interactiveness.  I mean, if you end up cluttering your sidebar with tracking buttons, ads, or other elements, that’s entirely your fault, but sidebar widgets can actually help viewers/readers/visitors and fellow rascals (as Matt of Worpress would put it) make the most out of their photoblogging experience by providing links to other sites of interest, or maybe a referral to a main blog of which the photo blog is a conduit. 

2.  Mind-boggling Simplicity.  There’s nothing wrong with simplicity, really.  But too much of it can become boring, even unnerving.  This is perhaps the result of No. 1 above, and I would say that a few additional features here and there couldn’t hurt if used wisely. 

3.  Archival glitch.  Perhaps to give reason for the uber-simplicity of the theme, Monotone has an Archive feature that displays posts in thumbnail fashion.  The problem:  clicking on the thumbnail pictures themselves does absolutley nothing, and you have to mouse-over on the “borders” of the displayed picture before the link becomes active; clicking outside of the actual thumbnail pics (i.e., on the borders) takes you to the corresponding posts.  I wonder if this is some simple glitch that will be fixed soon.  The archive is actually a good feature because it affords readers selective viewing of posts of particular interest.

4.  Option-challenged-ness.  Okay, maybe all of the above can be cured by crafty bloggers —rascals—who have mastered the art of WordPress codes, HTML or CSS.  But what about bloggers who rely solely on visual editors in creating their blog posts, who have little-to-no knowledge of codes, HTML or CSS, and who, like everyone else, want to make their Monotone-themed blogsites more effective?  Theme options, such as widgets, would likely solve this predicament.

~o0o~

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