breakfast at noon

it is 2am. now i don't know if what i am about to do is illegal or not but i'll do it anyway. i'll share to you an opinion article written by pablo john garcia, one of my favorite writers, from sun.star, a local newspaper i frequently read back in cebu [and thanks to the internet, i still can].

Thursday, March 31, 2005
Travel writing
By Pablo John Garcia
Breakfast at Noon

You could be scampering on the beach, being chased by a mad dog whose urine-marked territory you had the bad fortune of crossing, but in the eyes of a travel writer you are one happy tourist. You are “sashaying in the powdery-white sand, communing with the forces of nature.”
That’s travel writing. It is among the most optimistic professions on earth.

Food is not simply delicious, it is “delectable,” and when it is not, it is “exotic.” Mountains (“verdant”) and waters (“azure”) are not simply there; they “beckon.” Which is somewhat of a sore point because all my life I’ve been watching them but they have never beckoned. Perhaps they are partial to travel writers because of the PR possibilities.

And every other God-forsaken place that everyone else is avoiding is never deserted; it is simply “unexplored.” Virgin. In this country alone, I must have read of a hundred or so different “paradises on earth,” and I am distressed at the thought of so many original sins.

The scenes are always “breathtaking.” I’ve seen “breathtaking” on every other piece of travel writing that I’m beginning to wonder if people should be traveling at all when they’re suffering from perpetual shortness of breath. Maybe you should rest awhile.

Imagine if we all thought like travel writers. I tried. I “sojourned” to our old house (excuse me, “hideaway”) in the south for a Holy Week “getaway” and I looked at everything from the eyes of a travel writer.

“Are we there yet?” my wife, who had never been there, asked.
“No. The place is nestled…well, tucked away in a charming, powdery-white sand beach with a captivating view of Tañon Strait.”

“Is there a place where we can stop to find a clean restroom?”
“You’ll have to be patient.”
“There are no clean restrooms?”
“Let’s just say,” I said, remembering to look at everything from the eyes of a travel writer, “a clean restroom is the south national road’s best-kept secret.”

It was not easy being a travel writer, even for a trip. I had to strain it a bit when I explained that the trisikad drivers causing the slow traffic were actually “hospitable locals with a ready smile” inviting us to “take in the lush greenery” you get a sideways glance of when you shake your head to complain. Or that those aging smoke-belching buses really evoked a sort of “old-world charm” that’s impossible to shake off, even if one desperately wanted to.

We finally found a restroom. I checked it out first, and found that the lavatory had a busted pipe, and the bathroom floor was flooded. As my wife entered, I told her: “By the way, as you go in, you will catch a fantastic view of cascading waters, and the rising waters will cool your weary feet.”

haha. his go figure article is hilarious too. that early birds, ha article on your right [do check column] is really good too. both you can learn something from. do check. just realized his 'breakfast at noon' line is very me. i think today will be one fine example of eating breakfast at noon, i need to sleep. i need sleep

lisnin to 4play, channel V.
sortof readin la visa loca articles. a new movie from meilly who directed the crying ladies which i love love. la visa loca opens may 25 next week, i hope it grants my wish of a good filipino movie to add to all the good foreign movies this year.
feelin kinda geeky after watching star wars episode three. i suddenly found myself surfing through the net for star wars-related articles and crap. one was about historical allegories in the six films [like Naboo as Tibet]. Rise darth vader