j a n s e n. i. s. m.

03.30.08. Spending a weeklong of night shift
work with only 4 hours of sleep made in the past 24 hours wasn’t exactly the
kind of preparation I wanted before going to a summer outing. However, this was
a company-sponsored overnight stay at Caylabne Bay Resort in Ternate, Cavite. It was expense-free,
I’ll get to dip in a beach, a little tan maybe, and the digital camera I bought
last month has been begging to be put to test on the outdoors.

The
bus trip wasn’t fun at all unlike the ones we had during high school and
college field trips. I wasn’t really able to take advantage of the travel time
for power nap because the sound of the DVD movie being played was quite distracting.
After about two hours travel time (equivalent to a full DVD movie about a dog
and some 30 minutes airtime for ‘Pirates of Caribbean’), we reached the
entrance of the resort where we were offered a welcome drink, strand of small
white shells as a neckpiece and a spectacular top view of what to expect down
there in the resort proper. The place was a living nature-themed screensaver.

On
summer vacations like this, when you paid for it your own, you can do the
things you want at your own time and your own discretion. But the difference
when someone else paid it for you is that you follow whatever the committee has
planned for you. Our lunch was served buffet-style and what they serve is not
necessarily the kind and amount of food your appetite wish for. The room (although
nice and cozy) was pre-assigned as if a pre-drawn raffle. Our roommates
sometimes are not the ones you really get along with and sometimes it’s too
late to realize that they are also the ones who snore when asleep. The
activities lined up for the whole afternoon was an Amazing Race-inspired team-building
activity wherein we were grouped randomly into 15-16 people per ‘tribe’ and
asked to accomplish a series of tasks and reach the final pit stop first. The
team members did not have time to even exchange names that when we return to
work on Monday some would pretend that they haven’t seen you at all in Caylabne
or that you once shared the grueling tasks of rolling on the sand because you
wanted to win the prize. One would have wanted to spend the rest of the
afternoon riding the banana boat or the ‘aquatrike’ instead of racing for a
clue, but then those activities were not free of charge and not covered by the
budget so maybe the Amazing Race thing wasn’t really bad after all.

After
that tiring activity that afternoon, lasagna with French bread was served for
snacks and finally it was time to hit the water. The beach’s shore line wasn’t
that wide, the sand was off-white and coarse, and the water was not crystal
blue but definitely better than the one we have in our town. If one is
expecting a Boracay quality of sand and sea, you went to the wrong summer
place.

My
colleagues and I decided to just take our crave for swimming in the pool
instead where we enjoyed the slightly warm water which some doubted to be due
to the volume of piss that has been left by the swimmers throughout the day. We
bonded much while at the pool laughing at Tyrone’s funny banters on almost
every one of us. I was not spared.

Dinner
was served past 7, still on our wet clothing, we had to walk some serious
distance to reach the Marina restaurant where food was served buffet-style like in lunch. We were almost
fully dried by the time we reached the place. Thankfully, the long walk was
worth it because the food especially the dessert was good. An in-house cultural
presentation kept us entertained afterwards.

Just
when I thought the night was over, my colleagues decided to stay for some
videoke session, midnight snack and some bottles of beer. Finally when a batch
of people decided to make a graceful exit, I joined and soon found myself in
the comforts of our room. After a nice shower and changing to dry clean
clothes, I decided to call it a night. I laid there in the soft cushioned bed
not a care on my colleagues, thinking that I deserved this rest more than any
of them.

When
morning came and I heard Tyrone and Ritzie having a conversation about the time
breakfast will be served, I got up as if I heard an alarm clock snoozing.
Unfortunately, breakfast wasn’t ready yet so I hanged around the beach for
awhile making the most out my camera. Most of the pictures I took didn’t
include me, it was either I was behind the camera or I was looking ‘harassed’
in front of it so I rather delete the picture permanently. I didn’t have time to shave and spend quality
time at the mirror that time, not until after breakfast and I returned to our
room to charge my digicam battery.

When
it was finally time to leave the place, there was a sense of fulfillment in me.
Somehow I missed home but there’s always that longing to visit other places
I’ve never been to. I got off the tourist bus in Naic and transferred to a
public bus en route to Salinas.
Sitting there alone feeling ala turista finally going home, I realized that if
I want to go back to Caylabne, I can always return by paying the price, then I
can bring along the people I want, do things at my own time and discretion.
Although I can save a lot by reviewing those pictures I’ve taken, and the
memories captured in it will always remind me that it doesn’t really hurt to
give one’s self some well-deserved break.

I
went to three different branches of a popular bookstore to take advantage of
their sale and ended up having three new books to add in my own little shelf.

First of them is James Patterson’s “Sam’s Letters to Jennifer”, a paperback
version of the novel but not pocket book size, which I found still in great
condition (no dog ears) for the ridiculously low price of 65 pesos (from its
original 675 tag). I’ve read the author’s earlier novel “Suzanne’s Diary for
Nicholas” which shared the same style of writing as this follow-up and lists it
as one of my favorite books read.

I thought about staying away from this kind of romance-themed
novels after reading “Little Children“ by Tom Perrotta ( a book which was
bought for me all the way from New York– thanks to Sarita for the favor and for that
advanced birthday gift). Perrotta’s book dealt about life in suburbia and adultery
but I just couldn’t pass on this Patterson’s romantic novel – for its cheap
price, the author’s wonderful writing style, and the quite relevant title,
maybe. I’ve read the first part of the book already, a little confusing at the
beginning. Interestingly though, as I progressed through its pages, I found out
that Sam was Jennifer’s grandmother. Before picking up the book I thought Sam
was Jennifer’s lover, like her husband maybe. I guess, this is just one of the
many surprises this book has to offer but I am not going to spoil them just
yet.

The
second book I bought was “Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim” by David
Sedaris. Cool title. In a nutshell, the book is about the author’s experiences
with his family growing up, sort of like anecdotes written in a witty way. I
stumbled upon the book on one branch of the bookstore but didn’t purchase it that
instant because the only copy left looked as if it has been handed down to
three generation of book readers already then returned at the bookstore for
resale at a great discount. So when I found the same book when I visited
another branch of the store, there were still three copies left, I grabbed the
best looking one and now we officially have a book and owner relationship.

Lastly,
I’ve been wanting to buy a self-help book for the longest time and already lost
the hope of getting one as a gift, so I picked up one of the titles of Andrew
Matthews myself (at 20% off). Not that I need some serious help at this point
of my life (a little maybe) and not that my current disposition in life is the
irony of the title, but “Happiness Now” offers great advices on life, career,
relationships presented alongside humorous caricatures. This will be one
interesting read, I thought plus the fact that is something new. I’ve never
read a full book found in the self-help section of a bookstore before this.

Now
you probably are still not convinced why I bought these many books, as if I can
finish all of them in one sitting. Partly it’s retail therapy and partly
because it’s a missed hobby. My social life seems a little boring these days so
maybe a good book can offer me the company I just need when I need it and not
when ‘it’ just need me. Probably this is a reason why books are better than some
of its readers.