From time to time, my family and I would go to Sta. Rosa, Laguna to visit my wife’s 84-year old mother. Due to the distance, we are not able to visit often. But as we are able, we make it a point to visit especially during special occasions like Christmas or on November 1 which happens to be the day when my father-in-law died.
We would often bring my mother-in-law to the Eternal Gardens memorial park where my father-in-law was laid to rest. And most often after that, the whole family would spend time and have something to eat at Nuvali, a beautiful place which keeps on getting better each time we visit.
In this photo at Nuvali, I was able to shoot a photo of my mother-in-law together with her great grandson as they were sitting on a wheelchair late in the afternoon. They were watching the fishes and boats passing by. But as I took the shot, there must have been something else that they were looking at haha! The place is getting to be quite a nice park where people can enjoy family time together.
One thing that I’ve noticed in my travels all over the Philippines is this: Filipinos surely love basketball. In most barangays, one can surely see a basketball court and usually it is near or next to a barangay hall. It’s typical all over the country. Some are covered courts, open courts, some are paved and maybe some are still dirt basketball courts.
Some are built using government funds and some are built using funds from private donors or some rich politician running for re-election. In this photo of a barangay basketball court, I was actually driving by—drive-by shooting haha!—and I happened to see smoke all over the place which gave the place some kind of scenic effect. I took some shots and I was glad it turned out quite dramatic. I love the effect brought about by the smoke. I was also able to freeze the boy’s motion as he shot the ball. The tree with its shadow and the tricycle gave the view a sense of a typical Filipino life in the barangay.
Last Sunday, I attended a church worship service. One of the ladies gave a testimonial about her trials and tests as she prepared to take the teacher’s board exam. Thankfully, she passed the exam and succeeded. It was another wonderful milestone in the life of this young lady and she was sharing it with us. There were two who passed the board exam. They both passed and they both gave their testimonies. It was a happy occasion for this local church.
Everybody Loves Flowers and Kids
But what was amusing to me was when the first lady gave her testimony. A little boy from the back of the hall went to the podium when he saw her aunt speaking haha! That’s when I took my camera and took shots. In this photo, the boy got amused with the fake flowers and even tried to smell it haha! What perfect timing! Flowers and kids sure are good photo subjects.
In this photo is a portion of the MacArthur national highway if you’re passing through from the City of San Fernando to Angeles City in Pampanga and vice-versa. When I first saw these big acacia trees along the highway back in 1985, I was really impressed by the beauty of these MacArthur Highway trees on both sides. It’s really looked very nice and cool — pleasant to the eyes. If I remember right, I think there is also a portion of the national highway somewhere up north in Ilocos Norte where both sides are also adorned with big acacia trees. And if I’m not mistaken, there is also one along the national highway somewhere in Tarlac or Pangasinan. Really nice.
I’m not sure if it has been resolved already but these trees have (or used to have) white markings painted on the tree trunks by concerned citizens opposed to a move by government to cut these trees for road widening purposes. Maybe it’s been resolved — I don’t know. In another part of this same highway, I did see some of the trees carefully uprooted. I’m assuming they are replanting it in another area. Hmm…
If you’ve been following my blogs here, you will notice that sometimes I post humorous photos. At least, it’s humorous to me. Here are two photos I took while I was driving—it’s a “drive-by shooting” haha!
In this first photo, I was passing by the gate of a subdivision and I happened to see the security guard fixing a tarpaulin high up on a wall without the aid of any ladder. At first glance, one would have thought that he looked like a thief trying to escape but actually, he was in uniform haha! He must be an able-bodied young man who is physically-fit to be able to climb that wall that high. I thought it was humorous.
Click to zoom
In this second photo, I noticed a fuel tanker was being used to sprinkle water on the paved concrete which was still being cured. I thought that the mark “flammable” on that truck was somewhat odd and humorous haha!
Surely there is something to smile and laugh about each day.
