Diary of a Campaign

Last Saturday, we joined a "caravan" to support an uncle's bid for election as Baranggay Chairman of Ipil.  Together with his seven kagawads and their supporters, we braved the elements and took to the streets one last time before the campaign period officially came to an end.  This was the first time I accompanied a campaign because I have a distaste for politics.

Although I spent most of my childhood in Ipil, I knew so little about the place.  The caravan introduced me to places that I have never seen before--from the rocky beaches of San Roque II to the rice fields of Panali-an.  

These are the pictures we took to document the campaign trail for Election 2010.

The assembly area was Ipil Central School.  The caravan was supposed to start at 8:00 a.m, but had to be delayed for the local band whose call time was 9:00 a.m.  

Cousins

With Tiyo (Uncle) Alan and my sister

The Old

The Young

The Women

The Men 

Family and friends were on hand to offer their support to the party.

The caravan finally started when 9:00 a.m. came around.

We walked on the highway in San Roque II, 

and on dirt roads that are too narrow for some vehicles,

passed under untamed bamboo grass, 

and made our way to a beach littered with pebbles.

(The sea was beautiful during this time: glittering under the sun, but serene at the same time.)

We squeezed into narrow passages, 

until we gained room to breathe.  

(Being a city girl who loves the country life, I was only too happy to see rice fields.  These greens made me think of the good old days.)

We trudged on narrow pathways,

saw goats grazing in the pasture,
(Again, was very delighted to see animals  we don't see in the city.)

continued with the walk in the blistering heat,

 then we reached these muddy tracks next to a river.

(Meanwhile, a bulldozer was busy excavating gravel and stone in the dying river.  It's a sad sign of the times when the river you used to swim in as a child is being exploited like crazy!)

Finally, we reached the highway in Panalian and headed south. 

The caravan ended just before noon with lunch served at Buena's residence.  By then, we were exhausted, hungry, and thirsty, but it was all worth it.

Another reason to love my Ipil:  the harmony between modernization and the "old life". 

 (This could inspire another post in the future.)

  

XoXo

  

   

The Reader on Politics

5:30 P.M.

The drizzle had caused the darkness to descend early on the central school where the canvassing of the local elections was going on.  The air was filled with the sound of the birds as they made their way home to the tree branches, droopy from the heat of the October sun.  On page 70 of How to Make an American Quilt, The Reader was marveling at the eloquence of the author's description of a relationship: 

Your garden contains love-in-a-mist and honey-bear roses, which fill the air with an exceptionally sweet scent; only a few people are able to tolerate such a honey-sweetened atmosphere.  And the climbing roses making their ascent toward sun and sky, bound at the root to the earth but longing for the sky.

Reason told her to put the book down as the fading light is not suitable for reading.  Then something else caught The Reader's attention:  the voice of an election chairman as it drifted through the classroom windows bearing the names of the winning candidates.  Her heart sank.  Here, a hopeful could win a race by attaching a piece of paper which bore his name to a twenty-peso bill.  It's not the politician, but the money who does the talking.  This fact led her to raise two questions:

If someone sincerely wants to be The Leader and render service to his people, does he need to resort to drastic measures to win votes?

and 

If we can be swayed by a "small amount", what does that say about our capacity to think? (or to feel?)

The reality is that anyone who jumps into the political wagon should be prepared to face the dirty tactics employed by fellow politicians.  These tactics are nothing new, too, and they have been a part of Philippine politics for some time now.  They are the cancer cells which slowly kill the hopes of those who desire to see a change in their society.  Yet, they have been left uncured for who-knows-how-long.  

Confronted by this reality, The Reader could only shake  her head at the outcome of the local elections.  As she likes her peace and quiet, she'd rather not ruffle someone's feathers by letting her fingers run amok on the keyboard. 


Done with the rants, The Reader turned to page 71 and read:

When you are making the friendship quilt you are declaring love and faithfulness in the face of parting, perhaps forever.

Say it with your hands.

Then wave good-bye. 

   

  

Romantic Blossom Necklace from Ileana

A few weeks ago, I received this Romantic Blossom Necklace from Ileana of Enchanted Beads.  The rose pendant also doubles as a brooch.  I'm loving the necklace, and so does my Mama!  In fact, she was the first who wore the brooch to her school's September mass.

If you want to see more of Ileana's creations, check out her blog Enchanted Beads and her Etsy shop.

Some of my favorites:

I Dream of You ring

Flower Power earrings

Romantic Garden Necklace

Thank you, Ileana!

  

In Pursuit of Victoria Holt

An old book was sitting on a shelf, gathering dusts and inviting termites to chew on its pages that have started to turn yellow.  Mama had stuffed it there a few years ago and had seemingly forgotten its existence.  The book was written by a certain Victoria Holt and its title seemed strange to me then: The Pride of the Peacock.  Who would be interested to read a few hundred pages about a peacock, right?  So I passed.


A few years later, I picked up the book out of boredom and started reading the first pages.  It was love at first read.  Josh and his ladylove invited me to their lives, took me on a journey to the outbacks of Australia, and even gave me a scare with stories of the Green Flash.

Since then I have been on the hunt for Victoria Holt books.  Unfortunately, they are kinda elusive.  It has been years now since I last found one.


The best ones are always the hardest to find.  Where in the world could they be hiding?