Kaululan sa Uruweras (Attack of Giganta)

One day, sa Uruweras...




Si Giganta, surveying her kingdom:

"... ~~Pagka't ikaw ang tanging laman, ng aking mundo, ng aking puso, ng aking buhayYYYY… Ang halik mo... namimiss...~~... ANAK NG!?!

Giganta:

Sinoo ka!! Ano ginagawa nyo sa kaharian kooohh!!!"

Tuny, na-shock (syempre naman, kalyo pa lang kasing laki na ng mukha nya):

"(Ngiii, Giant!!) Sorrrry poooo, naghahanap lang ako ng trabaho pang-convert ng WTR kooo.... Kasi, according to the NZIS, having a Work to Residence category visa allows you to get a temporary work visa and/or permit as a step towards gaining permanent residence, kaso 6 months lang nakuha ko, so before ako i-kickout dito...."

Giganta:

"Hah, shat ap you fool! I bet tourist visa lang dala mo! Inaagaw ninyong mga Pinoy ang mga job opportunities ng mga kapatid kong Indian! Where's my shoe?? I'll kill you like a cigarette(sic)!!!"

Tuny:

"Ahh!!! Pana pala si Giant, amoy curry ang paa, Ahhhhh...."

Syet, pang URIAN. Don't worry, I wasn't harmed during this shoot, kasi nakuha ko na residence ko last September. And if you think maarte na pose ko, check this out...





Famas...

Kaululan sa Uruweras (Noho Marae in Te Kuha)

The New Zealand grasslands.

Ang sabi nila eh eto raw ang isa sa pinaka-maganda sa buong mundo. Malambot, mabango, walang langgam or kung anong anik-anik na nangangagat.

Ika nga sa 300: "We will put its name to the test."

If the video below doesn't work, click here

Armi calls it the Human Zorb. Putris, mga 10 minutes umiikot-ikot ulo ko after.

This was taken at a AUT-sponsored Noho Marae (a Maori immersion program) I attended last November in Te Kuha Urewera, located in south eastern side of Lake Waikaremoana. For 5-days we lovingly talked, slept, ate, sang and played with our new whanau (Family).

Speaking of singing, part of the evening program was asking guests to entertain the hosts as a sign of gratitude to their hospitality. Naku po, expected pa naman nila na dahil Pinoy tayo, kasing galing natin kumanta si Lea Salonga, Mig Ayesa or si Charice Pempengco

Lenny: Uy, ano gagawin natin?
Tuny: Magperform tayo ng traditional Filipino dance... Tinikling...
Maglalatik.. Ah! Sayaw na lang kyo ng Pearly Shells.
Lenny: Anoh??

We ended up doing a Bahay Kubo song and dance number.

Byebye Sir Edmund

I asked my boss today if I could spend a longer than usual teabreak so I could go to a wake at St. Mary's, about 50 metres where I work. She said "Go ahead, it's very important." It was the wake of Edmund Hillary.

She said there has never been a state funeral for a long time, and that she wanted me, as a new Kiwi, to feel how it was. I was tempted to say we had something like that when FPJ died.

I was expecting a long cue that took forever when I got there. But instead there was just a crowd of about a hundred, and a steady cue not longer than 100 metres. People patiently waited for their turn to see the good man. Volunteers walked around passing water bottles and smiles, and seniors huddled with their partners to keep warm(it was drizzling). Mothers and fathers came with children and kept them behaved with stories about Hillary's adventures. His apos would have had the most amazing time listening to his exploits.

Inside were four state guards around the casket, but had their backs turned and heads bowed. It was as if they reflected how the country mourned the loss of a father. No man stood higher than Hillary in his time, yet in the middle of the church was a plain-looking casket under the NZ flag. Maybe it reflected how Hillary was-- A simple bee keeper that knocked-off that bastard.

It was a long casket (he was about 6'5"), and I imagined where his head was, and if he was wearing his hiking boots and crampoons. He captured the imagination of mountaineers and non-mountaineers around the world. To people like me, who could only dream of things he has done, he was a demigod. I wonder when he met St. Peter, he asked: "Hmmm... This place looks familiar, have I climbed this before?"

Before leaving, I wrote on the guest book:

"Thank you sir for making simple people believe
we can conquer mountains...
From Tuny, my family, and from ALL Filipino Mountaineers around the world."