no, no, to sarah geronimo and john lloyd cruz (or how i yet live)

I utterly loathe long bus rides. The sheer tedium, the cramped leg space, the same recycled air going around, the faulty airconditioning, the fact that I can't stop for a smoke whenever I please, my vertiginous reactions to attempts to read while in motion - I avoid it if I can. And today, irksome films make my list.

I actually like Sarah Geronimo as a singer. But this film, the "inflight" entertainment of the bus, wore away all my goodwill. Gah. So I dozed, going in and out of consciousness, hoping it would be done only to see more and more of the film.

My iPhone saved my brain from total disintegration due to ennui. I used Safari to Twitter and check out some sites (being careful not to engage the 3G capability, which previously cost me an arm and a leg when my bill came), listened to shuffled music (rediscovering a lot of stuff I forgot I had), tinkered with settings, and played the games I've been buying (I still love Virtual Villagers 2, Bookworm, Fieldrunners, Dr. Awesome and Orions), somehow responsibly maximizing my battery life.

When we finally got to Camp John Hay, we quickly checked-in, dumped our stuff and rushed off to Ben Cabrera's lunch feast (BenCab is one of the most accomplished Filipino artists). Dizzy with hunger (it was well past lunchtime), we were greeted by a canao feast when we got to his namesake museum. We missed the ritual but got to eat (hands only, no utensils please) and watch the dances with gongs. Afterward, I wandered through the various floors of the museum and took photos of the pieces that most intrigued me (sadly, still stuck in my camera since I forgot to buy a card reader before I left - hmm, but SM Baguio is not too far).

I got to know some more of my fellow fellows a bit more and we all shared our anxieties about our respective poetics presentations, scheduled throughout the week. I'm not certain I approached the thing correctly and may cobble together a powerpoint or something; we'll see.

I have some office work that I need to complete for a client's website so I need to make time for that or Nina will kill me. So I tried to connect via WiFi only to be thwarted repeatedly. Until Vic came to the rescue and walked me through the process of checking and unchecking my settings and such. And so, I am connected - and Luis and Janet were correct! It's a strong signal and I should have no issues posting stuff, sending work back to the office via email and getting my news.

Tomorrow, the work portion of the workshop begins formally and I can't wait to see just what is what, poetics-wise ;)