force majeure in transitu

spent the weekend on a pilgrimage to our lady of piat in cagayan valley with friends, 3 of whom are first-time visitors, while it's my fourth. turned out one of my friends' friend from long ago was on the same bus with us, and she was headed to her hometown to partake of the "pre-fiesta" week festivities. she later invited all of us to her house, which was conveniently located near the piat basilica itself.

after hearing mass, we had lunch at her ancestral house. kare-kare (with the shrimp paste already mixed in the sauce), crabs, sweet & sour pork meatballs and roast pork were the food. afterwards, we were able to take a bath at the newly constructed pilgrims' inn, in one of its rooms. they only take donations from guests, but in our case, they refused to take our donations, and so we got to use their bathroom for free.

sexy star alec bovick was there, but she looked so ordinary i didn't know it was her after she passed right in front of me. our bus ride back home was unduly delayed because at around 3am, the sound of glass shattering woke us up. two stones hit our windows, one was right beside where a friend and i were sitting. i always sleep with something to cover my face so i only felt the tiny shards of glass on my sweater. luckily, none of my friends got hurt, but another passenger from behind was wounded on her eyebrow. the bus driver had to find a police station in the vicinity to report the incident. so instead of arriving in manila by 5am, we arrived at 7am. it happened in baliuag, bulacan. turned out two other buses went through the same thing.

damn it's hard to write when i'm hungry. hehe. i got to watch brocka film shorts this afternoon at the UP Film Center. there were 4 short films in all, the first was by the legendary lino brocka, and the rest were by his fil-am nephew q. allan brocka. the first film feautred the late jay ilagan as a drug addict in a drug rehabilitation facility. it showed how the rehabilitation process goes, pretty much like being locked up as prisoners, but also pretty much like a jerry springer show with psychological approach from all participants. this film was shot in the 70's.

then there's a lego animation short ("rick & steve") featuring a gay couple and lesbian couple who cooperate in a hasty effort to procreate without having to copulate. the humor lies mostly in the dialogue. "roberta loves" is a sad story about an obese woman who is about to die from cancer and hence hires a male gigolo to fulfill her last carnal desires. what's sad about it is that just when she thought she found a sincere friend in her one-night lover, the morning after made her a theft victim. and so, true love can't be bought. "seventy" is a funny film about a birthday prank made by an old man to his best friend of 55 years. the septuagenarian closet gay was reluctant to reveal his hidden desire for his straight friend, but his birthday wish for who knows how long was finally fulfilled. and then the best friend opens the door where their wives and other friends were waiting...stupefied by their state of undress..and finally a cautious "happy birthday."

there's another film by allan brocka called "eating out", but the movie ticket for it costs P100. i wonder if it's available in quiapo in DVD though? hehe.