# 37 across the miles

the drums beat in rapid cadence, a rhythmic pattern that is easy to dance along to. that is the beat of the sinulog, a festival observed in our city every january.   

the week-long celebration has origins religious in nature. it has, however, taken a more festive atmosphere, carnival-like revelry if one may say so. the mardi gras is the festival's crowning point.  it is a visual delight like no other.  perhaps, aural, too. just stand away from those thunderous speakers that make your heart beat like it is going to explode any minute.

the running community looks forward to the sinulog for a different reason. the running craze that has taken off at hypersonic speed in recent years has paved the way for the staging of the cebu marathon at the start of the sinulog week.  on race day, the people take to the streets like it is one big playground. runners and supporters, dancers, drumbeaters and onlookers occupy every inch of space along the length and breadth of the race route.

cebu comes alive in blazing colors at the city's premier road race.  traditionally scheduled on the second sunday of january,  this race is as much a celebration as it is a test of endurance for the participants. 

a race that raises the bar is the best antidote to the running fever. the higher the standards are set, the better it is for the running enthusiasts.  each year, the organizing club, the cebu executive runners club,  pulls out all the stops. theirs is a tough act to follow. as it is with any other race, a shirt comes with the race packet.  a stellar race warrants a top-notch shirt.  with its logo splashed across the front, this year's shirt makes one proud to be part of the city's mother of all races.  a much coveted shirt, it is worthy to be given as a souvenir to special people.

teacher vicki first visited cebu in 2006 on official business.  she has been back three more times.  in 2008, she was thrilled to know that a race was scheduled a few days after her arrival. running was little heard of then and races were few and far between.  her podium finish was one for her memory bank.  unfortunately, there were no races when she came to visit in 2009.  she has heard of the cebu marathon and has been enticed to experience it for herself.   she has yet to.   

across the miles, in far-away kansas city, KS, the highlight of the inaugural cerner15k is a finish inside a newly-built stadium that carries the livestrong vision.

 the race pictures are out. you see teacher vicki wearing a familiar shirt. you get a glimpse but the logo is partly covered by a very mascular arm.

 that is my shirt! that is my city! that is my race! your heart swells with pride.  

 and then you get a clear shot as teacher vicki eyes the finish line.  quite a distance that shirt  has traveled! 

teacher vicki sprints to a top ten finish in her age group.  way to go, t. vicki!!  a few months short of her 50th birthday, she said if she was 50 at the time of the race, she would have topped her age group.  no, thank you, ma'am, i would choose to be top ten in the 45+ anytime than top the 50+ age group.  am in no hurry to get there.

the 2012 edition of the much-anticipated race will be officially launched in a few days.  a different tagline banners the event but the fire is there. 

doubtlessly, the new logo will look good on a shirt as its predecessors have. perhaps the shirt will cross the finish line on foreign shores again. that runner will feel the beat, get on its feet and leap across the miles.  isn't that awesome?

# 33 somebody is coming to town !!

so you better watch out, you better not cry and you better not pout !

i am telling you why. a few decades back, there were no big names in the quick-serve restaurant industry in cebu.  they were all in the country's capital city of manila. business traffic was high there. back then, cebu was deemed to be lacking in action which translated into weak feasibility of any business venture. QSR franchisees flocked to manila like bees to honey.  even big local brands, jollibee, red ribbon and goldilocks, were not ready to bring their businesses to our part of the country at that time.  if you want a taste of that burger or that doughnut you see on tv, you have to ask around if someone is going to manila and shamelessly ask for pasalubong (present).  any manila-bound relative is obliged to bring a box of dunkin' donuts to an eagerly waiting family back home. at the airport arrival area,  you would most likely bump into a kenny roger's take-out box or a goldilocks bag of goodies-carrying gal who seems to be strutting her trappings too exaggeratedly (the better for her prized treats to be seen by all).

then the winds changed.  in the latter part of 1993, two of the country's largest malls opened its doors to the cebuanos. cebu became the new manila!  this meant the arrival of the big names.  they all came marchin' in with all the fanfare.  how the cebuano people embraced them!  it was almost bordering on frenzy.  there was a mad dash for the food counters; lines were long and table turnover was fast.

through the years, the trend continued. a new brand would open shop and the cebuanos would give it a warm welcome. yes, we are a very hospitable people. everyone came but one.  but not for long now.

you crave for krispy kreme doughnuts. they are heavenly - absolutely and wickedly so! and sinfully caloric, too! just having one makes you guilty of the eighth deadly sin.  it is that one brand that has steered clear of your own home city.

at the entrance to the active zone of the ayala mall, the green, red and white logo joyfully announces the much-awaited news. finally!! it is coming to town!! its corner of the mall is closed off while it is being fixed. it is expected to open in november. soon, there will be a quick glaze to your krispy kreme fix. you think about the calories. you very well know that the calorie count of one piece (flavor-specific) is between 200 and 440. but who is counting?  cebuanos are.  counting the days till it opens its doors.

in the meantime, you patiently wait. it will be worth the wait.  a krispy kreme whenever you want it.  isn't that awesome?

# 11 advantage, ma'am?

yes, you do have it so you take it out and hand it to the cashier.  a blue plastic card is what it is. countless times, you've been asked for this card and countless times, you've handed it to them. you don't really know when you'll ever get to use the points. or how many points you have. or if you'll ever get to use the points at all before they expire.  you just take it for granted, is all.

almost, if not, all business establishments have their own version of the loyalty card program.  in appreciation of your loyalty, SM gives you this advantage card (that you have to pay for and that expires every two years).  

you buy some baking utensils for your teen masterchef. you fall in line at the cashier's counter, waiting for your turn.  adding up your purchases mentally, you have an idea of how much cash you need to prepare.  the cashier rings up your purchases.  after swiping your advantage card, she looks up and says 'would you like to use your points?'  you are taken aback.  you ask 'use it?....like now?'  in your many shopping jaunts before, no one has ever offered to do that.  she says you have P257 worth of points that you can use against your purchase.  would you like to use it? right off the bat, you say 'yes, please and thank you.'

an unexpected advantage!!  isn't that awesome?

# 10 making all the greens !

not the greens of a golf course nor the greens of a bowl of caesar's salad. it's the green that goes with the red and yellow and is, literally, hanging over our heads. driving on the streets of cebu city is no mean feat. it takes tons of patience, a bucketful of fortitude, an extra serving of guts, a pinch of fate and a sprinkle of luck.  it is a true test to the limits of one's blood pressure reading.

at certain hours of the day, major city streets are off-limits to vans, buses, trailers and cargo trucks. once the ban is lifted, big and small vehicles, alike, elbow each other for space.

you have scheduled an early evening flight. the airport is sixteen kilometers away from your house. check-in counters close an hour before the flight. you have calculated two hours before flight schedule as enough time to get to the airport. you call for a cab but all are taken. ten minutes go by and still no cab. minutes ticking away, your panic button is pushed. you finally find a cab with an hour and a half to go. you brace yourself for end-of-day rush hour traffic. 

your cab crosses the first intersection, barely making it before the lights turn red. miraculously, everything after that is all green or just skirting the green.

you wonder what good you have done today to deserve all this luck.  you get to the airport with five minutes to spare. isn't that awesome? 

# 9 growing a centimeter overnight !!

a water slide, be it a small and simple one or a  highly-structured elaborate maze, is sure to capture a child's fancy, anytime, anywhere. the imperial palace resort in mactan boasts of  a water park like no other in cebu. the long and winding giant water slides, the park's main attraction, make for great bragging rights. a 15-year old, a couple of 11-year olds and an 8-year old just couldn't get enough.

due to its elevation and the twists and turns along the whole stretch of the slides, a height requirement is imposed. one has to be at least four feet to get on them. 

the easiest and kid-friendliest one among the three is the white open-type slide. the green one, being the tubular kind, is not for the claustrophobic. this is tete's favorite. after some hesitation, yangi soon got the hang of this one, too.  

the red and white one, with the spinning motion in the big bowl before the stomach-heaving drop into a 6-ft deep pool, is definitely only for the daring and the fearless. count dudud in in this category.

on her first try to measure up to the height chart, wawa fell short of a centimeter. the lifeguard refused to let her in. this was a big blow to an eight-year old kid. not wanting to be left out, she tried again the next day. there was a different lifeguard on duty. with moral support from tete, yangi and dudud, she went up to the chart and made it to 4 feet, according to the lifeguard. 

priceless joy and bragging rights!!

a very considerate lifeguard on duty - isn't that awesome?

# 8 we've got it all for you !!

are retail giant SM's catchwords, like they needed any word to catch our attention (or our wallets)! No less than a hundred thousand visitors leisurely walk or hurriedly stride along its many hallways every single day. the numbers are even more staggering on mega sale days.  indeed, they've got it all, except for ample parking space, it seems. 

  cebu is home to the 4th largest shopping mall in the philippines, the 11th in the whole world (in 2009).

finding a vacant parking slot on weekends, weekday peak hours and big sale days, is a major headache. there are definitely more cars than there are slots in SM-cebu's 3-level covered, 1 roof deck and open-air ground parking. bliss to the lucky and woe to the unlucky when that much-coveted 15-square meter space is up for grabs.

the multi-level covered parking is equipped with sensors that turn green when slot is empty and red when occupied.

inching your car up the spiral passageway to the first level covered parking area, you see the 'FULL PARKING, please proceed to the next level' sign at the entrance. you scan the whole area and all you see are rows and rows of red lights. undaunted, you ignore the sign and choose to gamble on a slot that may open up. you start to cruise along on the lookout for a green light. you offer a silent please-let-there-be-a-vacant-slot prayer up above.  He must have been listening because five cars down your lane, you see headlights and a car slowly moves out. in seconds, the sensor turns green. answered prayer !! you step on the gas lest someone beats you to the spot.

peak-hour hassle-free parking, isn't that awesome?