First published E-book: Escolta

Hi Friends!

     I just released my first e-book titled "Escolta", just to tell you guys the background of Escolta.

     I was inspired to write this when I went to an art fair in Escolta, I thought what a beautiful setting Escolta would be for a story. It was the summer of 2014 when I started working on it, it was originally supposed to be a novel but I thought it would be hard stretching a one-day story. So I decided that it would be my first short story as I already have a novel project that I was developing for 4 years during that time (Make that 6 years now)

     After just a few months I lost my spark of insanity in writing and I stopped writing. In 2015 I was encouraged to write it for a contest and so I did and wrote it, but with a deadline, I was pressured to finish it, that's why I hate deadlines. I knew it wouldn't win, and it did not, I think probably it was one of the first entries to be eliminated.

     Just a few months ago, around May to be exact, I had quit my job and I was a couch potato at home and watched movies all day and getting drunk all night, that was the routine. Until I watched the movie "Stranger Than Fiction", The narration in that movie was superb and so I thought I should revisit my writing - and yes, my writing sucked big time, it was way off, I embarrassed myself for sending that to the contest.

     So I scratched the plot and retained only the setting. I rewrote it for 1 week, locked up in my room, writing from the moment I wake up at 9am and ending at around 8pm. I even hunted quiet coffee shops to write.

     And now I present to you, Escolta.

     Escolta is the first part of my planned 3 or 5-part short story series. Yes, when I finished writing this, I wanted to write more so I wrote the 2nd part last June, it took my around 3 days to write the second one. Watch out for the second part because I may release it this week.

     Escolta is available for FREE through Smashwords.com and Barnes & Noble. So download and read now because I'm about to drop the second part! Cheers!

A Short Piece

Hello,

I just want to be quick about this one, I was cleaning my laptop files and I saw this piece I wrote as an exam for a past job. I think this one was actually why I got in. The challenge of the creative director was simple - I have to choose an object inside my bag and create a fictional story about it. But first he asked me to write in Filipino, which I speak fluently but I can't write well at (It's actually a frustration for me to be not good in writing Filipino)

So all I had in my bag that interview was a bottle of perfume and velcro wallet. I chose the perfume.
And I would just like to share with you this very very short story I wrote about that perfume. It's only 800 words long, so, happy reading!

This photo illustrates how I conceptualized the story, out of nowhere.

"C.K. Juan"

     Dalawang Gwardiya - Ang bagitong si Calvin, payat ang pangangatawan, matangkad, mistulang kalansay at liliparin sa isang bugso ng malakas na hangin. At si Klein, ang senior officer ng kanilang hanay, maliit na nilalang, at ubod ng laki ang tiyan na animo’y puputok ang butones ng kanyang uniporme. Sila ang tagapag bantay ng Busilak Perfume Factory sa may Novaliches.

Hatinggabi, sa harap ng gate, malamig ang hangin, gawa ng palapit na ang panahon ng pasko, lumapit ang bagitong si Calvin kay Klein. “Sir, tayo lang ‘ho dalawa magbabantay sa factory?” ang tanong niya. “Hindi ah, dapat nga ikaw lang eh, dahil baguhan ka dito, sasamahan kita sa unang gabi mo rito, marami kang kailangang matutunan nang mabilisan dahil ayoko na sa puyatan, nananakit na ang likod ko sa ganitong oras.” Tinitigan ni Calvin ang maka-mundong hugis ng tiyan ni Klein at napaisip na lamang na malamang iyon ang dahilan ng pananakit ng kanyang likod. “Ang bigat ho kasi ng bagahe niyo,” ang sabi ni Calvin, nakita ni Klein na ang tinutukoy ni Calvin ay ang kanyang tiyan. “Hoy Calvin! Bunganga mo naman, kaya kitang punitin sa nipis ng pangangatawan mo, tara na nga’t malaki ang factory, marami tayong iikutan.”

     Nilibot ni Klein si Calvin sa Busilak Perfume Factory, magmula sa pinakaharapan na gate ay nilibot nila ang buong looban ng pabrika. “Magmula alas-nuebe ng gabi, hanggang alas-kwatro ng madaling araw, iyo ang pabrikang ito, sa iyo ipinagkakatiwala ng kompanya ang lahat ng nasa loob ng nasasakupan dito. Ikaw ang Mayor ng Busilak kapag hatinggabi. Ituring mong sariling iyo ang lahat ng naririto, bantayan mo ito na parang sarili mong bahay, at higit sa lahat, talasan mo ang iyong pandinig, at balatan mo ang iyong mga mata, maraming nagmamasid, naghihintay ng pagkakataon na magnakaw.” “Sir, yes, sir! Ang laki pala ng loob nito, mahirap umikot dito ng walang wheels, wala ba tayong pa-wheels diyan sir?” ang tanong ni Calvin. “Wheels? Halika rito,” ang sagot ni Klein, “Eto, mamili ka ng wheels mo, etong bisikleta na iisa nalang ang gulong sa pagkaluma, o etong skateboard na nakuha namin sa trespasser? May wheels, wheels ka pang nalalaman diyan, may pa-radyo at thermos naman kami eh, kaya competitive ang benefits mo dito.”

     Pinasok nila ang main building ng pabrika, at sa loob nito ay ipinakita ni Klein kung pano gumawa ng ng pabango ang pabrika. “Alam mo, sa tatlong dekada ko nang serbisyo dito ay walang nabago sa proseso ng kanilang paggawa ng pabango, tatlong dekada ko nang sinisinghot ang halimuyak ng kanilang pabango, at pag naaamoy ko ito’y sumasabay sa aking ala-ala ang nakalipas na tatlong dekada kong pagbabantay dito,” ang pagkuwento ni Klein. “Ang tanda niyo na pala noh? Kaya pala hinahanap ko kung san yung amoy lupa,” ang pabirong pag sabi ni Calvin. “Hoy, Calvin, iyang bunganga mo susungalngalan ko ng pabango yan hanggang sa bumango, bwiset ka!”

Inakyat nila ang lumang torre na yari sa laryo sa gitna ng pabrika. “Alam mo, Calvin, panahon pa ng kastila itong torre na ito, ayaw tanggalin ng may-ari dahil swerte daw sa kanya ito, napapansin ang kanyang pabrika.” “Ang ganda ng tanawin dito, at mahangin, kitang-kita ko rin ang buong paligid ng pabrika,” ang sabi ni Calvin.

     Napansin ni Calvin na tahimik lamang na nagmamasid si Klein sa kawalan at tila may mabigat na iniisip. “Ser, ganda ng drama angle niyo diyan ah, pwedeng pang kalye-serye, Alden Nitso, ikaw ba yan?”

     “May pangarap ka ba, Calvin?” ang tanong ni Klein, “Dito, sa loob ng pitong oras nagiging sa iyo ang pabrika, babantayan mo ito, ngunit pag putok ng umaga’y sa kanila na ulit, pangarap ko noon na magtayo ng kagaya nito, isang pagawaan ng pabango, sa pabrika na ito ko rin nakita lahat ng pagkakamali sa paggawa ng isang pabango.” “Anong pagkakamali?” ang tanong ni Calvin.

     “Ang bote dito, kulay berde’t madilim sa mata, ang korte nito ay bilog parin, ang aking gusto ay papayatin ang bote, parang ikaw, at nakagawa na ako ng mas mabangong halimuyak na siguradong papatok. Sa tagal ko rito ay natutunan ko narin kung paano gumawa. Natatakot lang ako magsimulang muli, wala akong kasama, at kulang ako sa pera.” Ang sabi ni Klein.

     “Sir, may alam ako sa pagpapatakbo ng negosyo, may tindahan kami, at may kilala din akong gumagawa ng bote, pwede natin doon ipayari yun, may ipon din ako, pagsamahin natin ang pera natin at bumuo ng negosyo,” ang paanyaya ni Calvin.

     “Ano itatawag natin sa negosyo natin? Pagtatanong ni Klein. “Dapat kakaiba, dapat astig, pang-first class ang dating, parang pangalan natin. Calvin at Klein… Edi Calvin Klein! Pang-international ang pangalan natin diba.”

     “Ano naman itatawag natin sa pabango natin?” “Sir, sa tingin ko “One” dahil una natin eh, ‘Calvin Klein One’ ang itawag natin.” “Nako Calvin, mahaba – “CK One” ang itatawag natin diyan.”

     At diyan nagsimula ang alamat ng Calvin Klein.

Intramuros: The Past & The Curious

     As the great Confucius said "Study the past if you would define the future." And yes, I do agree with him. I've always been fascinated with the past ever since I was young, history was my favorite subject growing up and Philippine history was my favorite of them all. I'm not an expert in all parts of our country's history, but if I can be boastful, I do know more than the average Juan. 

     My love for history was further fueled when I began studying inside the walled city of Intramuros. Every time I entered its walls, it warped me 400 years back, and every time I walked the halls of my college, I often wondered if I've walked the same path as the revolutionary heroes of the Philippines.

     My passion for history couldn't be contained by wondering, so I started wandering. I'd frequently go on solo walks inside the walled city, yes, on my own, usually every Saturday when I only had morning classes and I knew I saved enough money for the week to enter museums inside the walls. There are at least 8 museums inside the walls alone so I'd go to one every week. But there was one main museum that was the star attraction of the walled city, and it was Fort Santiago.

A replica of the Tranvia

     Now I have a lot of relatives in the U.S. of A. And it was so wonderful that they all came home to spend their vacation with us! Oh the wonderful chaos it created at home - The hectic schedule everyone had to commit to, the noise that started during breakfast up until the wee hours of the night with wine, whisky, and beer on our hands. My uncles and aunts and some of my cousins grew up here before moving to the states (except for some of my cousins who were born there)

   And luckily there was one Saturday that everybody was free. So then they wanted to go somewhere, and of course, me being a staunch lover of Manila city, I said "Let's go to Intramuros!" to which everyone agreed to. I hastily prepared an itinerary for them, I started with listing all the attractions and asked if they wanted to see something in particular. My cousins wanted to see San Agustin church because that's where their parents got married (San Agustin Church is a UNESCO world heritage site) and so I eliminated the minor attractions and drew out a final plan.

     So at 7AM (Yes, I scheduled our departure that early because we live 12 kilometers away from Manila [Yes, I count distance, too] and with Manila's dreadful traffic, it can mean at least 90 minutes of travel) we left the house and drove toward my beloved city. It was quite fun that my uncles and aunts still recognized parts of the street, they were all "oh, there used to be..." "hey, that was ______ before!" 

     We arrived an hour later (Thanks to a miraculous smooth traffic) and since it was still a bit early to go to the museum, we stopped by the walls in front of Lyceum University because it was where a few of the walls' Spanish cannons were still on display, though it is exposed to the elements. And after a few minutes of walking around, the sun's heat began claiming the land and it was time to go indoors. And so I took them to Fort Santiago, where they can have a crash course lesson on the life and works of our National Hero Jose P. Rizal.

They say that to capture someone's soul, take a stolen photo, and so I did. Look at their genuine, priceless smiles

     There were a lot of people visiting the fort on that day, good thing the weather became cloudy by the time we got in. So just like what a tourist would do, I told a bit of trivia I knew based from my own research (No, I didn't source Wikipedia, don't worry) but of course a professional tourist guide would be much better than me, but hey, this is my family, so I got you, fam.

At the Tranvia

My cousin Lee enjoying Banana Cue

 


  I would tell them things I know, but most of the time I just let them read on to the material available there, I didn't speak if I wasn't sure of my history, it's hard to misinform people, it would be a disaster.

     Fort Santiago has improved a lot compared to the first time I went there alone in 2008, I was a college freshman armed with a camera $2 and my I.D. to have a 50% discount. Back then there wasn't much that was going on in the Fort, it was just an old, dying place where it was treated as "some place where history took place...and where Rizal was imprisoned." - That was that, cameras weren't even allowed inside the main museum then. It was hot, dimly lighted, and HOT.

     Since 2008 I made annual visits to Fort Santiago (Even this year! I was just there a few months ago with other relatives from the states, greetings Militante Family!) so make that 8 years straight of visiting one place. And comparing it 8 years before? It's so much beautiful now, the landscaping was improved, there are coffee shops, photography studios and souvenir shops around. The grounds were kept clean and the most important change was the air conditioning. Yes, it's now cold and the reading materials were also improved to my delight!

One of the improvements inside: The Trial of Jose Rizal

Vast improvements for the display cases and reading materials

          I can say that Fort Santiago is really worth the visit now, especially for the young ones because some Pinoy kids today know Naruto and One Punch Man but has no idea who Juan Luna is. I always believe that our grasp in our identities as Filipino rely in our knowledge and understanding of our past. And if my uncles and aunts who are away from home grabs the only chance they get to visit the roots of the blood in their veins, why can't we? Us who are living here, the museums are open. I think it's time that schools stop field trips to malls and head to museums instead.

I got them to follow Rizal's final journey!

     And after 90 minutes inside of the Fort, we then went to San Agustin Church, luckily the church was open at that time because of a wedding. We didn't go inside the church's museum anymore because you'll need about 2 hours to really appreciate the artifacts there.

     After reminiscing the church and wedding bells, I took them to, well you know, of course, a Filipino restaurant, and yes, it's Max's (To Max's Management: That is not free advertisement, please send GCs.) We had the whole crew munching on chicken, beef, pork, noodles, I think we got all from the menu, even the desserts! And sorry if you didn't see pictures of the food, well we were so hungry.

     With tummies filled and energies replenished, we went to one final stop before we head home. Of course, it's a visit to Rizal Park to see the greatest Filipino (Until Today)

Here's the family, and that's the only angle where you won't see DMCI's Torre de Manila

     I'm glad I had a chance to take them there, it is different when it's family, but it is always a different experience when I tour someone around Manila. One thing is for sure, I won't ever get tired showing people my beloved city of Manila.

I found an old post World War 2 Photo of Fort Santiago and combined it with mine. Amazing how I took it at the same angle as the photographer who took it 70 years ago.