Seven Days in Mindanao

General Santos, Koronadal City, Sultan Kudarat, T’Boli, Lake Sebu, Tacurong, Maguindanao—once just dots in the Philippine map for me—have now come to life. For seven days, I lived and breathed Mindanao.
As soon as I disembarked from the plane, the first thing I noticed was the weather—warmer than Manila’s. Even while I was taking a shower, [...]

Our Makati II OJ Team

with some locals at Barangay Halilan, a few hours(and three inches of dust!) away from our homebase in Koronadal City

Having Dessert

It’s past 8 pm and all of my teammates have left for home. Only Norah Jones is keeping me company. Her relaxed voice wafting through the air as if lulling me to sleep. But no, sleepy I am not. I can never be sleepy for dessert.
Writing–this is dessert. While editing can tax my mind sometimes, [...]

Seeing through the Window of Movies

Art, music, and literature all come together in a movie, and when they all come together just right, something beautiful happens. A window opens, and you glimpse something in yourself that has been hidden from you for maybe all of your life. Or you glimpse something in someone else. Or, in a rare moment of [...]