(t)oinks

sorry dear, but I got distracted by this tasteful symmetry, roasting just about right. you were saying?

jordan
041113

*double headed lechong baboy being roasted along the pluto avenue sidewalk.

Burning bright

A rising tiger, they say? Sounds like hot air to me. I wonder how that translates for the ordinary man on the street like this vendor who survives by selling cheap balloons -- fishes, horses, cartoon characters, and tigers, as well. Dare one frame the "fearful symmetry" here, I wonder.

Jo
040513

by the by

Speaking of growth, I've read somewhere that our country is Asia's new rising tiger.

I remember the days when he was just your regular tiger, floating around, trying to get by, still using a payphone in this day and age of mobile phones.

Have you heard from him? He hasn't been returning calls ever since the news came out. He might now be hobnobbing with the rich and famous for all I know.

Jordan
031513

*Tiger balloon at a pay phone along Session Road, Baguio

Growth

 

Growing, learning, adapting, and embracing.

Here's a bit of the "romantic-realist" (as you call it) view while walking around UP campus.

Jo
031113

let love grow

Yes, let us leave the romanticism to the youth.



And may they grow to be romantic-realists like us.



And on a side note, you also have yet to give me flowers during Valentine's.

jordan
022513

*young and old couples amongst the crowd at Angeles City during last year's Holy Week.

More than words

So what if you didn't give me flowers or a gift on Valentine's Day? It's just a day, like any other, except for the ubiquitous commercialism and social pressure that surrounds it. You and I have learned, as we get older, that the real practice of love is not limited to some holiday or mere display. In any case, you joined me at the One Billion Rising event, part of a worldwide campaign to end violence against women and children. That was more than enough for me.

Indeed, as I walked the nearby streets that night, I could see that much in our culture and society reflects various levels of inequality and violence. The more necessary it is then for events like this to inspire and engage many women, men, and children to stand up against brutality, against subjugation, and struggle for a better future.

Jo
022213

for words

So how did our Valentine's day go, considering our state of communication? Have we arrived at that stage where we look at Valentine's with zen-like wisdom that Buddha would approve?

Did we handle it well, acknowledging its existence, but not being overwhelmed by the commercialism surrounding it?

Or are you gonna come out clean that you wish I had given you flowers?

Jordan
021613

*Buddha over a couple cutout at Tomas Morato last Valentine's Day/Thursday.

Scrabble

Whatever the future brings, surely the love for words, languages, and face-to-face interactions will continue.

Just like the other day, when we stumbled upon a Scrabble competition at an ordinary Cubao mall and watched Filipinos compete in something other than boxing, pageants, music shows, and the like. How gratifying it was to witness the young and old face each other, displaying their knowledge of words, skill at strategy, and ability to think quickly. Here were players sitting across tables, not just engaging the other through a screen. So despite the growth of digital media, there's still hope that games and gatherings like these will not become obsolete.

Jo
020713

near/far (wherever you are)

All talk about communication in our age would always come to the part of reminiscing what it was years ago. Phone lines that took years to acquire, long distance calls that cost an arm and a leg, letters that are handwritten, stamps that need to be licked at the back, electric signals of various progressions, men in horses riding like the wind. Smoke with varying colors and shapes.

What will the future bring? What new means of "getting in touch" will there be that would make texting, skyping and twitter nostalgia fodder? Telepathy perhaps? Teleportation? Clones meant to fill in for you whenever you are away, their memories downloadable afterwards for you to be there after the fact?

How will it compare to two trees trying to keep in touch above through their branches even though they are far apart?

Jordan
012113

*Tree branch silhouettes at UP Diliman.

Faraway, so close*

Even though you took a long time to post a reply, I still thought about showing you some of the scenes from my travels -- disparate images that might (or might not) make sense to you when strung together. A quiet peek at what I saw and my impressions.

Now that I'm back, moving forward with our life together isn't contingent on this online dialogue. It never has been. Offline, our real dialogue continues, which includes washing my share of the dishes and trying your latest culinary experiment.

And just as the small text in the last photo reads: "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear."

Jo
011713

*Borrowing the title of a Wim Wenders flick

afar

I saw a magazine with that title at Booksale last week, and it struck me, being as it was our situation just a few months ago.

You know, from afar I was reminding you that it was your turn to reply here on our blog. Then weeks passed before you finally got to reply.

Then from afar, I found myself being reminded by you. Of the fact that it was my turn to reply. Weeks passed too, but I never got the chance to reply.

And then you came back. And your presence, as well as your reminder of my turn to post, were no longer from afar. With an uncomfortable distance no longer between us, I hope you'll forgive me as I relished on the former, and setting aside still the latter.

I'm glad you are back. It is so great to have someone else wash the dishes. Because of that, I can now post a reply.

Jordan
011113
5:30pm

*Store table wrapped with a Derek Ramsay movie tarpaulin along Mindanao Avenue.

Out on a limb

Traveling, even to familiar places, is never easy for me. I'm swept into a web of memories, stories, heightened senses, and the complexities of personal relationships, seen and experienced up close. To retain my perspective, it helps at times to be around nature: to breathe in the fresh air and let my eyes and limbs do the walking. I took this photo last weekend and maybe it can give you a sense of that moment when I looked up and saw this above me. How odd that it is a black and white image when I usually prefer and have a better feel for color.

Jo
111612

goodbye's eve

I for one realized that after all this time, I have yet to take photos at the airport whenever I drop you off. Even when I wait outside till you give me the go-signal that all is okay at customs and security. And that my wife is clear to leave me for a spell or two.

So I did, and found this kid, a reflection of what I was going through. Much more obvious though, as he is still far from being an adult.

Jordan
110612

*Kid moping amidst the bustle of the airport.

All Hallows' Eve

I missed spending All Saints' Day with you and documenting the traditional observances in Manila. Catching, instead, a bit of All Hallows' Eve, here are some sights leading up to that spooky night.

Jo
110412

rooted

I think a person's roots which are constantly looked for have much more meaning than what a person is born with.

Recently, while travelling, I saw this Philippine flag hanging on a wall at the Boni MRT station. I was surprised with myself. Instead of feeling nationalism, I felt it was out of place, without purpose, abandoned even as Araw ng Kalayaan--the most probable reason why the flag was hung there--was over three months ago.

The flag for me was like a representation, of the likes of Santa Claus, Cupid, or the Easter Bunny. Excited to see them during times when they were expected, but unwelcomed guests when not.

Jordan
092612

A nomad with roots

Your photos remind me of how Taguig is your hometown. It shows in the way you observe and photograph life while riding jeepneys, trains, and buses. Your eyes are trained from years of long commutes to and from Taguig.

Unlike you, I can't actually name my hometown. Where I was born is different from where I spent my early childhood. Which is different from where I went to grade school or went to high school or went to college. Which is different from where I studied and worked later on. It's different still from where we live now.

Lacking a specific hometown used to bother me before, but I've come to realize that my family, friends, and experiences are what made each of these places my hometown, at least for a little while. I don't feel unrooted; I just feel that I have roots in various places. Certainly, I still care about these places, wanting to return to them again and know them better. Being a type of nomad has probably influenced how I see and react to the world. I pick up quickly on people marginalizing those different from themselves and treating others poorly. I also have little patience for narrow, provincial attitudes, or when small-mindedness clouds people's beliefs about religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, and gender. Does this translate into my photography? Building upon my experiences, I think it's the process of making images (and learning from the images themselves) that challenges me to go beyond myself and still dig my roots deeper.

Through photography, I keep searching for that sense of being at home, of finding my hometowns, both outside of myself and within.

Jo
091112

full circle

I came to Quezon City to be with you.

It's actually a full circle thing. I was born in Quezon City, but grew up in Taguig. I studied College at Quezon City, worked at Quezon City, too. I'd also go to Quezon City to do that boyfriend thing.

And now, I live in Quezon City in a little apartment full of books with you.

I miss my travelling days from Taguig to Quezon City though. Here is a documentation of my last travel to the place where I grew up.



A dog enjoying the waters at an abandoned lot along Mindanao Avenue corner Road 20.



A Blind singer at the Quezon Avenue MRT Station.



Two girls holding hands along EDSA near Megamall.



A vine snaking along a concrete wall also along EDSA near Megamall.



A woman in a contemplative mood, oblivious of the vehicles passing by in front of her carinderia along Signal, Taguig.



A kid trying to open the door of an Alfombra store along Pateros.



Grandma, mother, and sleeping son waiting anxiously for the traffic to move along Pateros.


A kid hanging behind a jeep (sabit) while his friend tries to catch up at Pasig.



A girl comforting herself by sucking at her arm on the MRT.



A mother with her tres marias on the MRT.



A man hanging on while waiting for the door to open on the MRT.



And lastly, a Cafe Breton service crew taking a picture of some customers while I wait for you.

Jordan
090212

On my way home tonight

While riding the FX on my way home tonight, the oppressiveness of the city seeped into me, as did the weary faces of the other commuters. Faces drained from work, from family, from problems, from long hours in traffic, from our collective history. Here was a multitude of life stories, yet only the sounds of car horns and vehicles traveling along uneven roads punctuated the silence between strangers.

To get home to you in our tiny apartment, to share stories and laughs together over dinner -- this helped to wash some of that dreariness away.

Jo
083012

creature comforts

Your photo reminded me of a certain irony I saw, tucked inside a room in the UP Main Library museum. During an event where dozens of mannequins are exhibited wearing various Filipiniana dresses, a few of their lot are left alone, naked in what seems to be a video presentation room with no audience.

jordan
082112

*main libe museum mannequins at a video presentation room, turned storage.

Cold Comfort

Quite often when I take pictures, I am moved by what I see and by the people who I meet. I keep thinking about the stories, about the environment, about the implications, and about what I can possibly do. Now and then, I wish I could tune it all out and switch off my thoughts and emotions, and I have been able to do that at times. Yet, I've also experienced having to put a camera to my face and take pictures just to hide my tears. But that's who I am and that's why some of my photos, even the street photography, are important to me in a way that's not always easily explained or quantified, regardless of what others might think of them.

Jo
082012

*Along a flooded street in Barangay Landayan, San Pedro, Laguna