(With the writer’s permission. ๐ )
We might not be “close” personally, but I kinda feel we are, because of your cuz Ophel who’s my real close-friend (I guess your clan knows that ..)
Well, I just can’t help reacting to how articulately you put out the “Cataingan Electric Power Black-Out Experiences” before! In that case, hindi ka po nag-iisa! As a matter of fact, as the Cataingan native (like us!)leaves her/his little hometown for whatever reason , the “brown-outs” (as it is more commonly called there) will always be one of the memories tucked-in under her/his armpit!
Hmnn.. We might be laughing about that now –as we might have our own share of a funny brown-out anecdote or two — but it takes one to go to, reach and live in other places to realize, and although not really wanting it, compare just what we were missing way back in our hometown in terms of electrical comfort as a progressive edge…
It brings me to the next question: Are the power outrages still experienced by the Cataingan folks? or the entire Masbate provincial folks, for that matter? (sorry but I’m not updated..) Or to rephrase: “How outrageous are the electric power outrage now, as compared to a decade or two way back then?” Kidding aside, how often (or is it rare now?)do they experience “brown-outs” there these days?
Don’t get me wrong! But I’m not living outside the Philippines (just like Au at a comfy2 Singaporean city!); but I can say people living in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna where I am based for 4 years now, do rarely experience power black-outs except during typhoons or on regular linemen checks (however it is called!).. And oh, to think that Masbate became a city years before Sta. Rosa did become one! Is there an IRONY somewhere? Should I be asking that? Obvious naman, di ba?!
In fairness to our beloved hometown, it will always be home to me despite it’s shortcomings on us townfolks. But I’m just glad now that my kids are not experiencing how difficult it is to study on a “hasag”(forgot the english term!), gaslamp or a candlelight at night (when the battery-operated fluorescents had to be turn-off!); to wait for water to be delivered because the faucets only poured-out water for an hour in the morning (we were kinda “lucky”, my father had that water connection to our house before!); to manually fan ourselves to sleep because it was just too hot under a mosquito net..
Actually, I’m just adding my experiences to Au’s list.. And why, as a parent now, do I have to say these? DAHIL PO WALANG MATINONG MAGULANG NA AYAW NG KOMPORTABLENG BUHAY PARA SA KANYANG MGA ANAK, di ba? Come to think of it, if the basic needs are met; our children will become more productive, creative, skillful and competitive individuals. Their talents and creativity will be explored to the fullest! They will not be contented with mediocrity, as they will be aiming for more than the basics.
Need I say more? For once Cataingan,THINK GLOBAL!
(thanx again au for the “eye-opener” , keep up the good work in singapore! )
“manay arlyn”
(ms.arlyn v. manuel)
Hi, Manay Arlyn. Haha. I honestly feel awkward calling you manay kay bagan ka bata mo pa man tag bagan hapit2x pareho nala siguro kita edad. Haha. Syempre kilala ta ikaw tag aram ko close kamo ni pinsan ko. ๐
Thanks anyway for your reaction to my blog. I enjoyed reading it. I’m glad it stirred you into remembering our hometown, too, and of course ask questions. Di ko pud aram kung nano na yana ang sitwasyon sa aton parte san aton kakulang sa power supply, but I hope and wish it has improved a lot kay bagan kalolooy la gad san aton lungsod. Maayo lang ang mga mayaman sa aton kay may sadiri na generator.
Nadumduman ko sa amon intawon halos magkadasma dasma tawon kami sin hanap sin ilaw kay bali kadulom. Haha.
Of course, like you, I will always call Cataingan as my home. Pero syempre manghandum man kita na sana mag improve man tawon an aton lungsod for the good of ALL lalo na sa mga ordinaryo lang na mga tawo kapareho namon. ๐
Thanks again for writing. ๐
yeah, that’s also one of the reasons why we left cataingan.really don’t feel comfortable withtout the electic power, bcause wtout electrcity means no cold water, no fan and no lights! bisan may ilaw kami through battery (thru d effort of papa just to make us cmfrtble), still not enough to accomodate all areas of the house. later we used a generator,still very hassle to operate especially when papa’s not around. hay…what shall we do fellow cataingenos ?!
one more thing during brown outs, i always get mosquito bites! don’t want my children to experience it also. ‘just thankful for all God’s blessings that we’re able to transfer here in cebu.
well, i just hope that someday cataingan will be able to solve it..
yay amo gayud. hehe. sige la kay kung nano mapatukod nala kita sadiri na electric company biyo man. haha!
Hahaha. i love reading masbateรฑo, it’s like learning a new language, this dialect is unique. hehehe.
hi, noodles! malingaw gyud ko to think how fond you are with my dialect masbateรฑo. you should visit my hometown one day.mag andam lang ko ang candles ha kay basi wa na sad suga. haha! ๐
ha ha, hello mga nagtirios sa tubig n brown-out (correct si bea ever black-outs watever) what a misery talaga.. and am ashamed not only for my mga anak but to the visitors coming to our small town , the reason why i never dare tried to invite my university friends before pag fiesta or school breaks sa cataingan , basi salaon pa ako kon puno inda face sa kagat sa lamok pag uli ninda sa inda ta wat f dengehon pa kag mag pororot,i remeber one time ,one of my fathers long time friend from abroad ask him about the ad campaign sa medical clinic namon sa inodu odo oresol katapat and its all over the kanto of cataingan (my father used to be the medical doctor in cataingan) kaya the whole campain ad damo stocks sa balay he he …The visitor never came back coz hadlok na mag inom san tubig anywhere in cataingan ,couz au, kag my dear friend lyn, do we have to go back home kag mag parade sa cataingan for this? he he nano kaya ano.. for a change baga our white hairs are so obvious na but still amo la gihapon an problema sa aton di ba ? some will say blah blah kamo pero wara man kamo sin ginahimo.. but come to think of it may mahimo kuntani even d generation b4 us but sad to say something is very wrong along the way i just cant figure out kamo u know? i just want to sing a long na lang…
halo, beautiful cousin ophel! hehe. thanks for the comment. amo gayud uy. naman maparada nala kita sa cataingan? hehe. sige lang. kung wa gayud sin ayo sa aton tag wa gayud sin mahiwag sana, matukod nala ngani kita sin aton sadiri na power company. haha! ๐
hayy gang (ophel)! kay an dapat may ginpanghimo, kulang pa an nagkahirimoan, RIGHT?! kita na mga ordinaryo la na mga Cataingeรฑos, istorya la gayod an nagdamo sa aton! (he he..) hawid ba naton an kwarta san lungsod? dili, diba? kaya, tama ka, wara labot san mag ribok (sozy na kita yana kay didi na sa internet!) kita, ma-parade pa kita pag-uruli ta sa cataingan.. and with matching placards kag murusdut na mga bayhon ha?! wara gayod sin magtawa kay paano man kita tuudan na grabe gayod an malasakit pa naton sa cataingan, maski wara na kita didto! (HA HA HA HA HA!!!!)
pahabol au:
por dios, por santo! diin man kita makalap sin capital para sa aton sadiri na electric company?! remember, kita2 sina didi na mga maribok sa internet an mga stockholders!! (lol uli) hunos in the cabinet?! ay udi, kalaw! (naman may nagamit pa sini na expression sa cataingan?)
haha! basta lang. haha. biyo man mag niribok kita. hehe. sige ma parade kita ha. sabayan ta pa kanta. haha! ๐
magparade mo nya mo kanta… pero unsa manang “biyo man mag niribok kita”? ๐ฆ ๐
yes, yes, yes, I’m so fond of it because I’ve never heard of it before man gud. I never thought people in Masbate spoke a different dialect. Abi nako puros ra ta bisaya. hehe.
Sige, adto ta. Magdala kog one year supply of petromax. hahahhaha. :-p
haha! ๐
biyo man nag niribok kita = tibway man nga nagsaba ta
๐ ๐
haha. one year gyud nga supply. d na ni matabang. haha!
Ha!Ha! true gayod…nadumduman ko la sadto na an kalipay san mga tawo pag nagsiga na, ta abot gayod sa kisame an lukso! but as for my experienced, it wasn’t really a big deal for me kun naga brown out kay naanad naman ako kag it was like fun for me pod kay an mga sigulanon mga kaharadlok na mga stories na it makes you more afraid of the dark hehe, amo la ngani ina very inconvenient gayod, diri ka ngani makagat san mga lamok, ubo ubo ka liwat sa asu san katol lol, kun mag musketiro ka naman annoying pud an tingog san mga lamok. Hay gayod an kaagi-agi but other than those i still love my hometown syempre, amu la gani ina bagan kun amu man la ina sige la gihapon brown out hasta yana kag wara gihapon tubig bagan pwera patron di mo na siguro ako mapaistar dugay sa Cataingan sp. pareho sa aton mga nakatilaw na sin buhay sa city. Amo pa Au matukod nala kita sadiri na power plant pero mga next ten years pa siguro mangyayari sa akon hihi.
hi, Maureen! thanks for droppin’ by tag sa pag intra sa amon subay2x didi parte sa aton kakuri sa ilaw sa cataingan. hehe. amo gayud. nadumduman ko ang mga kaharadlukan na sugilanon, pingpingay, dakpanay, bulan bulanay, etc. hahaha! ๐
unta mabasa ini san tanan ta na “friendships” sa cataingan! ambot la! atak2 gayod siguro an kasaradya na comments hayy, ginapasadya na la gad! that’s one trait of pinoys eh.. laughing it out through adversity.. our way of surviving crisis sometimes.. it has its positive & negative sides, anyway.. the positive is showing our patience & maximum tolerance and the negative is showing our being passive (sorry, is it passiveness ba au? nawala na kc parallelism usage ko eh!) & nonchalance..! wat ja think folks?! ๐
pahabol: it’s my comment nga pala above.. ๐
HELLO!
Pasensya,pero pwede ba ako makaentra didi? hahaha..kay bali nakon an katawa sa iyo mga comments di ako makatios diri makasangraw! Kay may nadumduman man ako na joke naton sa Cataingan about kan Tio Abun(ambot kun buhay pa ba?).ahaha…”Pagkaraon,brown out,pero ‘pagk@^@#'”,ilaw!!! Siguro aram nyo ina na Joke? ahaha…Kay nano man pud kay sa kadamo san oras gab-i na mga turog na mga tawo kag an mga mag-asawa may mga hinimo na na’milagro’ amo pa mapailaw an mga pahung! Pero bisan kamingaw na san kalibutan kay maaga na,an siriyak san mga tawo kun nasiga diri gayud mapugngan! An sa tinuod la man ngani baya nanagku gayud kita sin ‘no electricity’…kaya lang kay ginpatilaw-tilaw kita sin ilaw,pero ‘balbahutog’man pud..(siguro pareho pud sa mga nagdara)ssshh puyo la..ahahaha! Peace po sa mga natamaan*V*’. Kay di man balitaw kami maribok kun diri tinuod…’biyo nagrinibok na la man kita’,ay idton aton kalisud sa una kay para may makamangno. Kay maski na irog sina palangga ta pa gihapon an aton lungsod kay tama man gayud an sabi na “There’s no place,like HOME”,kay kalipay ta la baga na balik-balikan an aton kaagi-agi bisan pa an kalisod kag gusto pa gihapon naton mag-uli. Pero amo ngani ina bagan di na gayud kita madugay kay an tubig ngani,ui. Kun kaupod ta mga aki,ay ambot grabe reklamo lalo kun mag-‘uds’ sinda,nagkalisod gayud..habo na mamalik,haay! An kuryente? Ok ina si noodles kay madonate sin one year supply of petromax..ahaha,kaayo la! Sus,nadumduman ko pa an lamparilla na pagkaaga an itom san aton irong san anuos ,grabeh,hahaha! Sige,Au, thanks for allowing me here! Nag-enjoy ako basa! More power to you! God bless!
hi, alyn and bennet. thanks for your comments. d nala ako ma manay kay bagan ka mga bata nyo pa man. hehe.
syempre pwede ka ka intra didi. kasadya man la pud basahon sa iyo mga comments. na ka relate man gayud kita kay pareho kita sin mga experiences sa cataingan. hehe. it’s so fun to remember those days. kuntani lang mag improve man an aton lungsod.
pero amo ini ang sabi gayud na bahala na nano kay makalolooy san aton lugar, di ta gayud malimutan. ๐
salamat sa iyo paghapit didi sa blog ko. keep in touch! ๐
An problema san aton nga probinsya, diri mapondohan san aton nga gubierno kay wara sin pera. An mga mayaman la an maka-afford san iya generator. Kalooy man and mga ordinary town people na wara sin pambakal para sadiri.
amo gayud. kuntani mag abot na ang adlaw na ma solbad na ini na problema. sa yana, maningkamot nala anay kita pangabuhay. ๐