Myerkoles Santo 2015

Edmund said it’s getting more and more difficult to go to the Rizal towns on Myerkoles Santo because of vehicular traffic and santos congestion. Every town and barrio have their own prusisyon of santos kaya it’s traffic all the way.

I was so agitated throughout our travel,
afraid of getting stranded, worried we couldn’t cross the town to get to Pilapila. The ride seemed so long.

We reached the barrio an hour before the procession started. That gave me a breather.

I was able to put the floral arrangements on the carossa of Saint John the Evangelist, took a few photos, ate pandecoco, bought candles, wiped clean the carossa, and do a quick may I go out.

The barrio is blessed to have Fr. Jeffrey. More people  go to church and participate in all the church’s activities  because of his dedication and charisma.

Two candles for E & A

I noticed some of the carossas have become fancier. I thought the parish priest and the townsfolk all agreed to follow the rules— smaller carossa and simpler design and decorations.
The simplicity rule is supposed to be a reflection of the kind of life the saints lived.
Sa main poblacion, ang mga karosa ay parang fiesta, sobrang ang gaganda, people look at the karosa, parang natabunan na ang santo. In my opinion, it should just be simple, maganda rin pero hindi naman dapat exaggerated or ostentatious.

Aside from this gilded one (mas simple pa nga ito), I also noticed one that’s bigger in size and clad in polished aluminum. It looked so over the top. Meron pa syang malakas na stereo.
One of the things that I asked the parish coordinator before I agreed and committed to have a santo was that I didn’t want the event to be ostentatious. I didn’t want to participate in a parade, festival,  pageantry or contest, or display of wealth. My participation is borne out of my faith, to honor God and to honor my mother (+) who hailed from that barrio. We people have to learn RESTRAINT and we should follow the original agreement to keep it simple.

That’s Antonia, behind me.

My goal was to last through the procession, kasi last year it was super haba and super tagal.

Oops, some rest was necessary. We sat down on the cemented barriers by the lake.

We didn’t finish the last leg anymore. Masakit na ang balakang ko.

We were very thirsty. Edmund drank two tiny bottles of ice cold coke. I bought 4 glasses of buko juice, two for my maids,  one for Jaymar and one for me.
A———-“Ale, filtered water ba ito?”
No answer
A———-“Ale, filtered water ba ito?”
No answer
A———-“Miss, saan mo kinuha yung tubig?”
No answer
A———–“Galing ba ito sa gripo o sa poso?”
Still dead-ma
A———–“Galing ba sa Nawasa ito?”
Finally, she opened her mouth
Ale———“Walang lasang chlorine yan”.

I got the point.   Thank you.

All the restaurants were closed, the only one open 24 hours was KFC.
I gave money to our 3 companions for their midnight snack then Edmund and I went inside KFC.

While he did the ordering, I went to the restroom and wash my hands four times, kasi parang ang lagkit. When I came back, “Naku tart, ang dami”.
The cashier was successful in convincing dear husband to get the meal package, good for three people.
“Tart, dalawa lang tayo”.
“Oonga eh, sabi nya kasi mas mura ito lalabas”.