Home in Minglanilla

I've never travelled this often in my life before. Yes, I'm back in Cebu. Got here this afternoon. I've gotten so used to the trip from Liloan, the town adjacent to Sibulan in Negros, to Minglanilla, the town where I live, or vice versa, that it doesn't tire me up much anymore.

I had an interview this morning with a guy from SPI in the Coco Grande Hotel. My chance of getting the job, I think, is 50-50. I think the job is okay. I'd be happy if they'll offer it to me, but if they would, I don't think I'll grab it. Pangga is planning to resign from her company this Monday. She had grown so unhappy with the job. I would love to work in Dumaguete, but my first priority is my Pangga.

SPI will start its operations next year, probably at the end of the three-month training which will start this January.

I remember telling Pangga last night while we were having our dinner that Dumaguete depresses me. The place is so lonely, so quiet. But I now know that I'd be saddened to leave it. The place is beautiful. Life is simple there. You are more attuned to Nature since the city is lined with many old trees, especially near Silliman. I love the idea of a "university town" and an "intellectual center". Dumaguete is a very ideal place for writers and poets. I love the boulevard. I love the parks. The city is so clean, so unlike Cebu. I love the food, too. We've tried Atong Kamalig several times, Jo's a few times, Qyosko many times. I love their Cookies and Cream shake. When we're short of money, we go to the Silliman Coop eatery, or more frequently to Sisters' Eatery, the carenderia in front of the AM-PM Convenience Store in Piapi. We also love eating in Binalot. We go to Scooby's not so much to eat but to use a computer or access the internet. I was addicted to congee in Chowking (Come to think of it, I still am).

I also love Libro Bookstore.

I've tried some of the inns, lodge and pension houses in Dumaguete. OK Pension is okay, and also Negros Lodge, but we had the sense of being suffocated there by the stale air that filled the building. Their ventillation was poor. The pension house owned by a Catacutan near Jo's is true to its name -- "nakakatakot". One night while we were there the table in our room made an intermittent "knocking" sound that lasted very late in the night -- until we fell asleep with the lights on! We tried hard to give the phenomenon a rational explanation but in truth we were denying the fact that we were experiencing, or witnessing, a supernatural event. The thing about the place in Catacutan is that their beds are actually the kinds used in hospitals! Who knows, maybe they were actually used in hospitals before! And the table which made that weird sound in our room, I would guess it was antique (it looked so). I've always thought it funny why very few people rent a room there.