Come out and play

Goodbye to this boredom

Stuck in my room goodbye Melancholy and the rainy day gloom

Come out and feel the sun Shine down on everyone

Come out see the colors play If you love the summer day

Summer Day — Barbie Almalbis

Please answer the following questions with a “yes” or a “no”: Have you had at least two DVD marathons? Do you know the latest update in the Gabby Concepcion Philippine comeback? Have you taken a picture of yourself more than 10 times with the same pose? Have you made more than one anonymous Internet e-mail or user account? Have you updated any of the following Internet social networking accounts everyday: Friendster, Facebook, Myspace or Multiply? Are you constantly playing any of the current role-playing games (RPG) such as DotA or the hit party games guitar hero and rock band? Are you always playing with X box, Nintendo Wii, or PS3? Have you seen and forwarded the following videos: Madonna Desena singing on Britain’s Got Talent and Ken Lee from Bulgarian Idol?

If you answered “yes” to at least two of the above questions, YOU ARE BORED. Honestly, I wanted to be preachy and point out to people how bored they are but in the process of writing this article, I discovered how bored I am myself. I have watched the Gossip Girl series twice over, three seasons of Friends and one season of Ugly Betty on YouTube. I have also taken several photos of myself with the photobooth on my Mac. Alas, I AM BORED! It’s summertime, time for me to get out of my pambahay, leave the comforts of my bedroom to get some sun!  So, I exchanged my raggedy and comfortable butas shorts to dressier ones and I went out. I came across my dad’s patient, an elder beautiful Dutch lady.  She asked me, “Hija, don’t you feel cold?”  Slightly embarrassed for having been asked the same question twice in one week, I replied briefly: “Tita, it’s summer po.” And indeed it is. To be true to this article, I’ve tried my own little experiment. I have stopped myself from visiting my Multiply site on-line I know that this might sound like a small feat to most people but I have been visiting and updating that site for about a year now. The experiment has allowed me to live outside of my laptop to join the land of the living. For the bored at heart, here’s a SUMMER TO DO LIST I’ve made for myself to give you some ideas in case you are in the same predicament. I’ve even listed the cheaper alternatives for those of you who are on a budget.

1. Go to a beach in WOW Philippines. My top picks are Boracay, Palawan and Camsur. I’m lucky to have yearly bonding trips with my mom and my sisters. We’ve seen Philippine paradise in Amanpulo, El Nido and Cebu. This summer, I’ll be going with my mom to El Nido, Palawan again. The heightened awareness to keep the province clean is commendable. When we were there, we were oriented to pick up trash and place them in bags that were given to us. The place is so exaggeratedly clean and gorgeous that you will really go out of your way to pick up any litter that you come across. Camsur is also a great destination. I shot the Camsur music video in Caramoan with direk Boom Dayupay of Kulay before the resorts were constructed. We were toured by Gov. El Ray Villafuerte in the picture perfect beaches and the ranches with the grazing deer as I sang the Camsur song written by his La Salle classmate Ogie Alcasid. Camsur is soon to become world famous because they will be shooting the reality TV show Survivor there. If the places I mentioned are too far, there are lots of other places to go for an excursion like the Batangas beaches and the hot springs in Los Baños, Laguna. The other month I was taping at Daranak Falls, Tanay for Kamandag which is my favorite location from our Encantadia days because I love swimming there. They have crystal clear water by the falls. Rates there are as low as P10 per kid, P20 per adult. But if you feel like summer won’t be complete without a Boracay adventure, you can get there via the road less traveled which is via land on board a bus or van and a roro. You will get to Caticlan from Manila in just 11 to 12 hours. You can take a Philtranco bus at the Cubao terminal for P1,180 (P650 bus fare and P530 roro fee) or you can take a Rodastco 15-seater van for only P910 (P600 van fee and P330 roro fee). If you’re in the Manila area, you can call Gope 0921- 5245394 and the van will show up outside your house.

2. Swim! My workout regimen is a once a month pilates class. People who have seen me eat and know the amount of rice I consume hate me for this. But since it’s bikini season, I have added jogging and swimming to my routine. The newest thing that I tried is aqua aerobics. I got the idea to write this article as I was doing the basic moves like skiing and reverse jumping jacks. Although these are easily done on land, in the water, the resistance makes it a tough and effective workout. One problem with this kind of workout under the heat of the sun is that one gets so hungry. When I got out of the pool, I had some ice cream and french fries. If you don’t have access to a pool, you can try ULTRA where the rate is P43 to use the pool. I usually do laps on the pool. Today I did 30 laps.

3. Relive your favorite childhood summer experience. The easiest way for me to travel back to my childhood is by eating my favorite candy or my favorite dessert. For me popping candy, dirty ice cream and ice candy works as well as Doc Emmett Brown’s Delorean time machine from Back to the Future. The ice candy is my favorite because it brings me back to a time where my lola was alive and I would ask for ice candy in her convenient store in Laguna. I remember I would ride my neon green bike in the neighborhood and I felt so empowered because I felt like the best biker ever. I raced with my tita the first day I learned how to bike and I fell but I still felt great.

4. Go on a picnic. I usually spend vacations in Baguio and it’s been our tradition to have a big picnic at John Hay with family and friends. I love eating out but nothing beats eating outdoors, on the grass with pine trees all around. The best thing about a picnic is that you don’t have to go far to take a nap when you get sleepy from all the food you’ve eaten. After the nap, comes the fun and games. We try to be creative with the games that we play so that they can include everyone. On their own, the kids will always play padausdos with big brown box cartons that they ride to slide on the hills covered with pine needles. But the most popular game of course is the Manila versus Baguio tug-of-war challenge. Baguio is the undefeated champion. They attribute their strength to the amount of kamote they eat. If you’re having a big picnic for lots of family and friends, it’s a great idea to try the binalot style which is wrapping the rice and adobo in banana leaves. It’s more environmentally friendly than styrofoam and it is in keeping with the whole nature. If you’re not much of a cook and the task of preparing a picnic seems too daunting, simple sandwiches and chips will do. Pack a cooler with your favorite drinks and lots of ice. Make sure to bring sarong or banig to sit on. The cost for picnics in John Hay is either P5 per person or P100 per table. Tagaytay and Quezon City Parks and Wildlife also have lots of picnic grounds.

5. Rediscover the famous Sunset at Manila Bay. Let’s admit it, some of our images of Manila Bay are not so beautiful and it’s time to update our memory bank. I recently had my birthday celebration at Manila Bay. I thought I was going to have a picnic party but instead I was surprised with a beautiful dinner with my family and my closest friends. However, I was more surprised to be surrounded by an incredible view of the lights from the buildings all around. The view from the water is gorgeous, mostly because it’s an unexpected beauty, it’s as if Roxas Boulevard suddenly bloomed after years of neglect. There’s a Manila Bay Cruise by Metrostar ferry with the dock in the SM Mall of Asia compound for only P120 and P250 with food. Another alternative is Prestige Cruise at CCP Harbor Square. This one-hour-and-15-minute cruise has a live band and it costs P250 and P495 with dinner. For the month of May, it is best to take the cruise during the weekends around 7:30 or 9 p.m. when fireworks are on display at the SM Mall of Asia for the complete experience.

6. Plant something. I’ve always admired my dad and my lola Kating Padilla for having a green thumb. Back in grade school, I had Agriculture class in O.B. Montessori where we used to plant seeds and water plants but I never really took an interest in it. Now, two new unlikely farmers have made me want to give planting a second look. Bill Gates has breathed new life to the plant world by donating $306-M for farming. This is the new path of philanthropy that Microsoft’s main man and his wife Melinda are taking after announcing his July retirement with a famous hilarious video with the likes of Steven Spielberg, Bono, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, George Clooney and Barack Obama doing cameo roles. In an effort to end extreme hunger and poverty around the world, Gates is paving the way to transform agriculture through what he calls creative capitalism. He is not only providing research for more advanced systems and technology to increase the crop yields of farmers but he’s also building bridges to various markets to increase profits. Another new face for farming is beauty queen-host-actress Charlene Gonzalez-Muhlach giving this field an extra one million cool points. She not only plants crops in her farm in Batangas but she is also taking further studies on this field. Wow, imagine farming with Aga. I really have to find a trowel and a pot and maybe some monggo seeds. One can never go wrong with monggo seeds. Whether it be the flowers in bloom, the kids all noisy and rowdy at the poolside, or the general feeling of being laid back and relaxed, summertime always puts a huge smile on my face. Sure we feel stickier but at the heart of it all, the heat of the sun makes us feel more alive. When I was in high school, I went to a beach in Southern France and I couldn’t get over the fact that the beach was packed with people in bikinis while I stood there looking stupid in my jacket. Even though this happened a long time ago, I still remember the image vividly because it made me see how lucky I am to live in a country where I do not have to swim in the cold. The rain has been threatening to end this summer too soon but there’s still time to make the most out of this season. I hope my little list has taken you away from the TV and the computer. In the words of Phoebe Buffet from hit TV show Friends, Go out and be with the three-dimensional people.”