Forest Park, Bacolod City

I didn't have any expectations of the place save for the animals, which I wanted my son to see (whatever they were). So when we got there I went, "Wow! this IS a park!"

It's an enclosed property (much like Eden Natural Park in Davao) only 30 times or so smaller. The greenery was a feast for the eyes. There were three playground sites complete with monkey bars, swings and see-saws for kids and feeling-kids. Lovers could take a stroll and settle on the many wooden benches around the park. We actually saw at least three pairs during our visit. Hmmmm, was that other girl still in her school uniform?

The lagoons and the bridges made a perfect site for the much needed emo moment. I made my mother pose in one of them, choreographed it even to make it more dramatic (echos!). Picnickers could bring their own food or order from the canteen located near the mini-zoo. We bumped into a few teenagers on the way to the cottage areas carrying bagfuls of junkies. I hope they know how to dispose of their garbage properly.

For the animal lovers, there were the rabbits, guinea pigs, birds, snake and monkeys in the cages and the kois in the ponds. One of the resident monkeys (lolo monkey, we called him) was a bit hostile though, banging on the cage and threatening to bite us. That's just because I touched the baby monkey's back a few times.

If action is your game, you can also check out the airsoft game site and ask around about memberhip.

Forest Park is located near St. Francis Village in Brgy. Taculing, Bacolod City. It is open from 7am-6pm daily.

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The Lovely Bones (2002)

Written by: Alice Sebold

Plot Introduction provided in Wikipedia:

"In 1973, a 14-year-old girl named Susie Salmon is raped, murdered, and dismembered by a neighbor. Over the next few years she watches from a personalized heaven as her family and friends deal with their grief. She sometimes becomes angry and frustrated from the choices her family makes while looking over them."

It's another death story told in a rather creative way (If you've read Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven you'de know what I mean). It's actually a poignant recount of the events that follow the death of a daughter/sister/friend/crush/schoolmate.

The story of a brutal death does not end when a body is found or a murderer served with a sentence. It lingers. Like the wringing sound of a pulled spring. Each reverberation echoes the pain felt by family members, friends, relatives and the whole community touched by the deceased.

Death means something to the dead as it does to the living. The letting go part is never easy. Painful, especially when death comes in a rather unexpected and brutal way. The father, not willingto move on, consumed by anger. The other daughter who just wanted to be seen for who she is and not whose sister she was. The younger brother who barely new what gone even meant. The mother, struggling and finally giving up on family life.

If I were to dream of my own heaven it would contain a placid lake with me floating on it. The wind caressing my cheeks giving me a little push while I move past beds of lilies and lotus. It would be eternally misty, as in early morning.