May 31, 2007. After having lunch at Pier 39, my parents decided that they wanted to go shopping. My parents and my aunt decided to go to downtown San Francisco by the historic tram with us. The cable cars are apparently not being used by regular commuters and are just operational for their tourist value. (Or not. I certainly wouldn’t take the tram if I was a commuter. Lines are too long and the tram’s quite slow).

What can I say? It’s a roller coaster ride only much slower. Also, my brother, my father and I were standing instead of being fastened to our seats. Everyone who stood up during the entire ride got knocked down a number of times. It was quite hilarious especially when everyone else in the coach laugh in chorus at the quirks of the ride.

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After my only class last Thursday, I went with fellow blogger and a brod of mine, Ivan in one of his spur of the moment trips with fellow travelers Gideon and Sai to some falls in nearby Rizal province. We were supposed to go only to Daranak Falls in Tanay, Rizal but we ended up also passing by Hinulugang Taktak in Antipolo and further to Batlag Falls in Tanay, too.

Hinulugang Taktak is one of the falls that many of us know, because of the infamous folk song that went “Tara na sa Antipolo, at doon maligo tayo!” and, also because of its proximity to Manila. Unfortunately, it is perhaps because of this proximity to human settlements that the falls seem quite neglected. The waterfalls is visually picturesque but it smelled like detergent from all the residents doing their laundry upstream. Surrounding the falls is a park where families can have picnics. There’s also a swimming pool downstream. More information at PinoyMountaineer.com

After taking a few photographs with the falls, we proceeded to Tanay, Rizal which was less than an hour away from Antipolo.

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Two Thursdays ago, I went to Divisoria with ever dependable Eka. I had to buy some materials for our protest rally that day, so I took that as an opportunity to be able to go to Divisoria. The last time I had been there was half a decade ago with my parents. We even bumped into Imelda Marcos in a textile shop. And yes, she was in one of her trademark ternos while shopping in the crowded alleys of Tutuban. How odd is that?

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This is more than a week late. Last September 20, we held a cultural protest action in Palma Hall as part of our alliance’s Martial Law week commemoration. The protest was also part of our ongoing call to junk the Tuition and Other Fee Increases policy by the UP Administration, among other such repressive policies.

We were supposed to hold our program at AS Lobby but we were cut off with electricity just when we began. Fortunately, our friends from All-UP Workers’ Union had their mobile sound system at the hall’s steps, so we proceeded with the protest outside.

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We finally regained our regular internet connection at home. The only way I was able to get online the past few days (aside from hanging out in school to avail of our wifi service) was to sit out at our garage and pick up our neighbor’s wifi signal.

Yesterday, my mom and I took Tisay to Trinoma to buy her some clothes for her second birthday tomorrow. It was Tisay’s second time in a mall–the first time was months ago in nearby SM North EDSA. (It was, by the way, also my first time in Trinoma). We went to a few shops to look at things for her. While my mom picked out the clothes, I took care of running around the baby, which can be quite tiring. Tisay was obviously very amused with everything that she was seeing, running around the way curious and playful babies usually are.

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May 31, 2007. After getting off the ferry from Alcatraz, we walked a few dozen meters along the Embarcadero to Pier 39, a famous commercial area constructed on one of San Francisco’s numerous piers. That was where we had a very filling lunch. I also had a good time walking around the marketplace taking pictures.

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May 31, 2007. After another hearty breakfast at my aunt’s apartment in Campbell, California, we drove back north to San Francisco and to one of the piers along the bay to board a ferry to the infamous Alcatraz island in the middle of San Francisco Bay. We were at the island a little before noon, and we spent an jour or so going around the island.

Again, as with many other tourist attractions in the US, I honestly think there’s nothing quite significant in Alcatraz, come to think of it, it’s simply a historical prison in the middle of the sea. We are conditioned to want to see it, and spend money to do so, because of our over-consumption of American entertainment. There had been, of course, a number of blockbuster films that featured Alcatraz and its notorious prisoners.

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May 30, 2007. After strolling around the Palace of Fine Arts and the surrounding affluent and picturesque neighborhood, we drove to San Francisco’s old industrial district and walked to Ghirardelli Chocolates. It’s the first time we’ve heard about the brand and the apparently famous San Francisco landmark. My aunt told it’s quite a renowned class in that part of the world. They were serving free samples of their chocolates in the store. And sure enough, there were hoards of tourists within the premises of the store and the old factory compound.

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May 30, 2007. Just before crossing the Golden Gate, we drove up to the highest vista point from where we could get a view of the bridge from the northern side. It was terribly windy and freezing up there. It felt a little gloomy because it was quite cloudy too.

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It would have been the last time I would witness the UAAP Cheerdance Competition as a resident UP student, but I missed it. After a miserable campaign in the much celebrated men’s basketball competitions, this victory was quite a refreshing douse of pride.

Let me appropriate two things in this post. One is the picture that accompanies this entry, which was taken by Teresa Barrozo (here’s her multiply account). Such a beautiful shot. I didn’t realize how the cheer dancers did this oblation figure from the way I watched it on television.

The next is a text message I got from a friend. Sana raw hindi lang sa laban ng cheerdance tayo nagwawagi. Sana magtagumpay rin tayo sa laban kontra sa tuition increase, at iba pang suliranin ng mga estudyante at kabataan. Indeed.

May 30, 2007. On the way back south to the southern bay area, we passed by Tiburon, a small and picturesque seaside town along San Francisco Bay. We had lunch at this fancy restaurant at the town’s docks where tens of yachts where docked. It had a nice view of San Francisco from across the bay. After the late lunch, we also drove through Sausalito, another picturesque seaside town north of San Francisco before re-entering the highway back to San Francisco.

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September 13, 2007. It was a day after former President Joseph Estrada was convicted of plunder. Groups of students from different schools in Metro Manila marched from Espana to Morayta and near Mendiola under the scorching heat of the sun to demand for greater state subsidy for education.

Prior to the collective march, students from the University of the Philippines gathered at the lobby of Palma Hall in Diliman and held discussions and a program to continue calling for the junking of the Tuition and Other Fee Increases policy and to protest against the demolition of residential communities in UP, among other issues. After the program, the bulk of students held a snake rally through the halls of the building to invite students to join the march.

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