Asingan is in a gaeity mode..Like expecting the Big Circus arriving soon..It is not easy campaigning. All politicians have to bite the dust: they would stay in the roadside in the grueling heat. Their smile muscles MUST not get tired. And the country is suffering from an unprecedented hot spell now a days..The commercial on audio truck jingles goes on and on and on extolling the virtues of each candidates..TV is no better..The 6:00 pm TV patrol does its part in showing mud slinging gimmicks by different parties..I do not want to discuss these issues because I still abide by Mr. Marinias rules..No political issues..Just describing what I see..That's all..All I am praying is for the RAIN to come..Even the toilets in Urdaneta restaurants have signs saying NO WATER IN CRS..Take a crap at your own risk..:D

Things are getting better in Asingan when it comes to Digital photography..There is a FUJI FILM imaging centre which could provide printing services for digital cameras at a fraction of what is normally charged in US/Canada..The place is right near the western side of the Asingan market in an impressive, multi-storied business building.I had some of the images in my camera burned into a CD so I can delete some of the shots to free my card...Saves me the trouble of buying another card for my future shots..Services are cheap, workmanship is good! What more could you ask!..( the sales girls are also very polite and always smiling )..All around are the non technical services, mostly food and snacks..There is a fresh buko juice vendor who peddles a cup of fresh buko juice for 5 pesos only..He has a cartful of bukos which he peels as his pitcher of juice runs low..There are also ice cream vendors, slurpees stands, and as night falls, the fires of bibingka makers dot the sidewalsk with the unmistakable orange glows...Bibingkas and tupigs are 5 pesos each..Then there are the balut vendors..And also a portable Jolibee truck which offers some jolibee sandwiches/drinks to hungry fiesta revelers..This truck is stationed in front of the South Central school..All around the plaza are different snack stands offering home made Filipino dishes like papai-tan, dinuguan, pinakbet, etc..Again, eat 'em at your own risk..:)..A better place to eat would be the eatery run by Blanca Gonzales ( whom I heard is on a tourist visa in London with her husband )..A wallmenu advertises mami, siopao, sio mai, and drinks like RED HORSE ( it could kick like a horse ) and l do not think Asingan requires a liquor license for a joint to sell alcoholic drinks..If a customer looks like a teen ager, they do not ask for an ID anymore..What else is new..:) It is nice to observe the sceneries all around..jeeps plying from Urdaneta to Santa maria via the "diversion road" crossing the bridge to Santa Maria..Roads again are cramped because of the tricycles and the tiangee (night market ) surrounding the plaza..I took a few video shots of Asingan but you have to wait until May until you can see it cuz I need my PC in Toronto to process 'em..But I assure, there is nothing like being in Asingan, looking, hearing, and smelling the scenery ( and trying to avoid a tricycle wheel which would almost run over yiour foot

April 16

I went to the froNT of the ASINGAN town hall at around 11:30 am to wait for the Asingan bound Viron bus from Manila. Miggie is supposed to be one of the passengers.. I have to walk under shady parts of the Asingan streets. Can't find my hat so I had to grin and bear it. In the waiting shed are a few assorted characters waiting for the bus. There were three gays and they looked like women really. They are good people. I was given a haircut by one of them a few days ago and my wife said he was good! Then there was the lady who did a dance during the canvassing. This time she was trying to make conversations with a waiting passenger. After she left, the passenger said: "Agmauyong sa met?"..She made her rounds somewhere else...But my heart go to the tricycle drivers. Under the heat of the sun, as soon as the bus arrives, they would tryto get a fare. Their voice are soft spoken, they would ask where the newly arrivals are going, and you can read in their faces a kind of brave spirit..Not to give up inspite of hardship. Some have tattered clothes, their skins have already several layers of tan, if this is possible.God bless them all and even with no high education, they can make some kind of living or fill their pockets with little but honest cash...+++

staying in the Motherland is really an expat's dream.The common situation for retirees abroad is the lack of many friends. Here in Asingan, it is just the opposite. I LOVE standing near a crowd here, and try to eavesdrop..:) I know its bad, but there are lots of things you learn preening your ears to daily chat by people in the street..Each person has a story to tell. events that can only happen in Asingan...One can develop that sense, that intuition by listening closely between the words..Once upon a time, there was a long line of mini shops operated by the likes of:Victorino family, Calindas family, del Rio family,etc. Now there is a line up of joints selling feeds, offering xerox copiers, cel phone loads, different snacks ( whether safe to eat or not )..At 5:00 am, this section stirs to life with the arrival of people of all ages, sizes and looks...It becomes like Portobello road, a flea market from a story book. The market is Portobello road, Asingan style...Some items are still sold from the time I was in Gr.2: big knives, ropes, scythes, bolos, clothes, ..now there are pirated DVDs and CDs, The animal slaughter area still looks ( and smells ) the same..The jeepneys that leaves Urdaneta for Asingan goes further up to Sta. maria, then back again to Urdaneta via Asingan...Now you do not have to cross the river in Sanchez just to travel to Sta. maria from our town..However, Tayug is already cut off permanently from Asingan. You have to reach Tayug thru Santa maria...I know in a few weeks I will be back again in Toronto so I will drink my cup to the dregs and proclaim loudly to the stars my joy that , the fates allowed me again to step into Asingan soil!!!

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Laoac is such a lovely place too..I used to visit it especially during the sugar cane season when my grandpa hoisted the carabao and it turns the sugar cane mill round and round..The frothy POLOTIPOT is just the perfect topping for a plate of newly cooked rice...Then travel a few more miles and one sees the venerable Manaoag church..Many legends abound this hallowed edifice. One is the wandering image of the Virgin Mary..We enter the church, say a prayer foR our loved ones. Then go out after and check out the PATOPAT or the SARGUELAS!!

Wow.. reading about your posting make me, want to come home now. I wish I could be there. Love reading about your posting. Foods. yumm..yumm. yummy. Don't forget your bottle water. --Marcie Uson Wise