New Hobby

Fishing as a sport is fun. The moment when a fish swallows the hook, a moment of happiness is attained. It then takes all the stress and worries away. I have never tried fishing not until this year when out of sheer randomness, I decided to learn the art of catching fish. At first, I thought that it was easy, but it turned out that it was not. Fishing is all about patience, hard work, and luck.

My first fishing set was worth Php1,200 which I bought from a fishing store in Cebu City. This store sells a lot of items for subsistence and sport fishing. Bait fishing bores me to death so I bought fishing lures. To me, casting using artificial lures is a mix of exercise and fun. I bought my lures from my friend Cary who just opened a tackle store below his apartment unit.

On May 1 this year, I caught my first fish. A barracuda. I caught it under Marcelo Fernan Bridge at around 7PM. See the photo below.

Unlike subsistence fishing, sport fishing or angling does not require the angler to bring home the catch. It is really up to you. But when one catches a juvenile fish, it is a common practice that anglers release the it back to the wild.

I Just Dodged A Bullet

Finally, I took an HIV test last Tuesday at our local health department. My mind seemed undistracted on my way to the testing center. All I thought was about how I should deal with the disease in case I'd be tested positive with the virus. I should have taken the test years ago but fear threatened my sanity. One important question had floated my mind that time: who should I tell in case I turned out to be HIV positive?

I talked to a counselor prior to my blood extraction. The counselor asked me questions and explained to me everything I needed to know about HIV and how the government fights against the spread of HIV. I learned that once a person is found to be REACTIVE or HIV positive after an HIV test, that person is endorsed to a nongoverment organization (NGO) so he/she could receive lifetime anti-retroviral medicines FOR FREE. That is something not availed of by HIV positive individuals ages ago. The counselor assigned me a code number but couldn't give me a paper copy of the result. I told him that it was fine and what should matter to me is the result.

The next day, I went back to the testing center to get my result. It took me some time before the person who released the result informed me that I'm HIV free. When I signed the log sheet, I quickly scanned the entire paper. I found out that there were more than five persons who were tested positive with the virus. Two codes below mine, a capital "R" was written in red ink at the end of the row which means that person is HIV positive. I was delighted about my result but at the same time my elation was pulled back down by sadness. I felt very sad to those individuals infected with HIV recorded on that log sheet. I just can't imagine how they would react once they learned about their status. I feel terribly sad for them.

After I learned about my HIV status, I realized that this is my second life. After this point, I should know more on how to deal with my sexual needs. It's either I continue to practice safe sex or abstain.

(Photo from www.naacp.org.)

Kalanggaman Island On My Mind

Seeing my friends frolic in the sun on Facebook gives me a surge of envy. Staying at home and complaining about the sweltering heat outside do not seem to help, so I've decided to spend the summer outdoors and travel to places I've never been to. There's nothing much to showcase as I only visited a couple of islands in the region. I've been to Malapascua Island in March this year and most recently I was at Kalanggaman Island located between Cebu and Leyte.

Photo from Sheila's Facebook.

The group of Sheila and Gian, owners of the travel blogsite adrenalineromance.com, invited me for another travel experience (I traveled with them in the past). When I learned that we were going to Kalanggaman Island, it was a mental picture of isolation and long long travel that floated in my mind. Getting to the island is not easy as you need to charter a boat going there.

There are boatmen in Malapascua Island who offer day trips to Kalanggaman Island and I highly recommend them. A day trip could cost at least Php800 per head inclusive of lunch and drinks. Contact Leo at 09057497232 or Entoy Malinao at 09069270401; they are from the local tourism organization of Malapascua Island.

More than 20 of us took a bus at North Bus Terminal in Mandaue City, Cebu at 3AM. Our destination: Bogo City. The 4-hour trip is a literal pain in the ass. I've seen the towns in Northern Cebu and seeing them again and again bores me to smithereens.

We sailed past 9AM. It was calm. It was a beautiful sunny Sunday. But a few minutes after we sailed, waves began to slap our boat. It scared the hell out of me. It reminded me of my night trip to Olanggo Island some 5 years ago. It took us more than 2 hours before we reached Kalanggaman Island because the chief boatman had to maneuver against the rough seas to prevent the boat from capsizing.

Everyone was excited as we got closer to the Kalanggaman shores. As soon as I made my first step on the sun-drenched sands, it was a bliss.

There are no private resorts as this place is fully managed by the local government of Palompon. It is a very small island which makes slippers the only means of transportation. A 15-minute walk is what it takes to wander the whole island. Cottages are available but guests are expected to bring tents if they decide to stay overnight as protection for the ever-changing world—it might rain (read: climate change). Also, the strong blow of the winds of dawn felt so cold, I had to get inside my friend's tent. I should have brought a darn sweater. The only store in the island sells beverages at twice the regular price and that's understandable. The barbecue area is the only place where grilling is allowed but it is fine to cook using mobile stoves near your tents or cottages. Be aware that there is no freshwater available in the island.

Kalanggaman Island is famous for its sandbar. But for those who are fussy about fine white sands just like me, this may not be a perfect place for us: the sands are not as fine as those in the beaches in Panglao, Bohol. But that does not make Kalanggaman Island less worthy of attention.

One of the things I suggest for the local government of Palompon to do is that they need to have more people to clean up the shores. I found glass shards on the island's sandbar that could surely hurt wanderers. I also found empty wine bottles on the other side of the island and the sight of them depressed me.

A responsible guest does not leave his garbage everywhere he goes. The island is so small that the idea of a garbage pit is preposterous.

Photo from Sheila's Facebook.

I'd like to thank Sheila and Gian of adrenalineromance.com for the invitation and to Mark of facecebu.net for taking a few of my solo shots.

More photos to come. Internet connection is acting up.

The Purple Veil

Here's a priest's lengthy explanation about the veiling of sacred images inside Catholic churches during Lent which I find spooky.

As Monsignor Elliott remarks, "The custom of veiling crosses and images ... has much to commend it in terms of religious psychology, because it helps us to concentrate on the great essentials of Christ's work of Redemption." 

Although this is true, the historical origin of this practice lies elsewhere. It probably derives from a custom, noted in Germany from the ninth century, of extending a large cloth before the altar from the beginning of Lent. 

This cloth, called the "Hungertuch" (hunger cloth), hid the altar entirely from the faithful during Lent and was not removed until during the reading of the Passion on Holy Wednesday at the words "the veil of the temple was rent in two." 

Some authors say there was a practical reason for this practice insofar as the often-illiterate faithful needed a way to know it was Lent. 
Others, however, maintain that it was a remnant of the ancient practice of public penance in which the penitents were ritually expelled from the church at the beginning of Lent. 

More on EWTN.com.

My Malapascua Solo Backpacking Trip (Abridged Version)

Note: For some reason, I decided to write an abridged version of the supposed two-part topic. See below.

My Malapascua Solo Backpacking - Part 1

The summer temperature in the Philippines is tropical high, and when we talk about summer, it is the mental vision of a beach that always comes to mind. The sun is cruel, however, its cruelty illuminates the captivating beauty of our shores.

House Of Underwood

Next week, we are binging on the latest season of House of Cards.

Diagnosis: Glomerulonephritis

Photo from www.vetnext.com.

In 2008, I was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis, a disease described as the inflammation of the tiny filters in the kidneys called glomeruli. I feel nothing at all. I look healthy as a matter of fact; my urine tells me I'm not. Under the naked eye, my pee looks fine. Under a microscope, however, red blood cells are present, not to mention traces of albumin. I may be wrong, but to my understanding, albumin is a type of protein that shouldn't be excreted by the kidneys. When albumin is present in the urine, it is an indication of a kidney disease, which should be taken seriously. Let me tell you this: glomerulonephritis has no known cure as of the moment. Like cancer and diabetes, it is manageable, though. 

My initial reaction when I learned about this disease was paranoia. I likened myself to a person with terminal cancer who has weeks or months to live. I had many sleepless nights and I thought of my condition the whole time. Then I decided to approach a doctor, a specialist in kidney diseases—a nephrologist. I met two nephrologists. The first one who made the initial diagnosis did not make a good impression. She is the kind who makes anyone regret the day he was born. She wasn't rude or something but she made me feel desperate. She sermons a lot like my mother. She didn't give me prescription drugs or something, but she advised me to avoid meat and protein-rich foods. And that made me not like her even more. I didn't waste more time on her so I decided to look for another nephrologist. This time, I could tell that I was right with my decision to get another renal doctor. I can tell that this second doctor is smart—she knows what she's taking about. During my first visit in her huge office, she allowed me to eat meat and almost everything but in moderation. In moderation. She actually said low salt diet and matchbox sized meat plus plenty of fruits and veggies. No sodas and ramen. Ugh! Okay, so on my second visit, she prescribed me the following medicines I should take everyday: fish oil (Omacor), Micardis (anti-hypertensive drug), and Acalka (anti-stone formation drug).

Fish oil is said to have anti-inflammatory properties according to a few medical studies I found on the internet. It does not cure the disease. It only slows down the rate of progression. And fish oil is known to have many health benefits. Micardis is an anti-hypertensive drug. Hypertension is one of the symptoms of someone with an advance stage of renal disease. I don't have hypertension, but the doctor explained that this drug could make the inflamed glomeruli relaxed. Then the third drug, Acalka. In 2010, I had kidney stone in my right kidney. I'm a stone former. This very tiny stone eventually passed out of the body without drug or surgical intervention. The stone was extremely small but it was painful as hell. Acalka helps to make the urine less acidic. Kidney stones, however, are not just formed out of uric acid. FYI.

Last month, the doctor told me to continue taking the meds and have an ultrasound and urine albumin/creatinine ratio test prior to my next visit. I have no idea why she wanted me to have an ultrasound, but the albumin/creatinine ratio test is a must. It's an alternative to the 24-hour urine collection test. These tests measure the kidney's function rate.