Easter and a Manuscript called Heaven

Happy Easter!

Yay! It’s easter and I have just submitted a manuscript entitled, Heaven.

I had difficulty writing. And even more difficulty editing what I have written. I practically spent my holy week break doing it and I couldn’t seem to find the satisfaction in the manuscript – not in the story, not in the way I told the story.  At first I wasn’t sure why.  Then it finally occurred to me. I was pressuring myself to write according to what I thought was expected of me rather than going to the heart of the reasons why I write.  Because I want to write. Because I want to tell a story. 

I sat down and told myself, forget about everything – all the techniques, all the writing rules, stop second-guessing yourself, JUST TELL THE STORY YOU WANT TO TELL. 

I wanted to tell the story of this professional, responsible, self-sacrificing single woman who worked her way to the top and a self-entitled, playboy bum who only care about 2 things: himself and a beautiful garden called Heaven.   I want to tell the story of how the two of them, seemingly on the opposite poles could find each other, love each other, learn from each other and grow with each other.

I wrote for two days, deleting and editing most of what I have written already.

And finally, the girl who knew only how to love others learned to love herself as well and the man who seemed to have forgotten how to love others learned to do so  and in so doing, both of them found a miracle.

The end.

There.

 I have written the story I wanted to tell. It’s now in the hands of the dear editor who will get to pick the MS in tomorrow’s draw.  And then, it will be in the hands of the readers who in the end will tell if I have succeeded in telling a good story.

 But for now, allow me to celebrate.  I have lost this storytelling self for a few months. And I welcome myself back.

First of Summer City Getaway (Location: Luxent Hotel)

(YES, THIS IS GOING TO BE A HOTEL REVIEW)

Holy Week normally marks the beginning of summer for me. Probably because there’s a long vacation that goes with it.  This year, we planned a May trip so there’s really nothing in the calendar late March, early April except a trip back to my hometown.  And as it has been particularly warm – no, sweltering, the past few days, we decided to pack our bags and spend the last half day of work and last day in Manila in a hotel. Hotels in Manila are quite cheap during this season because all city-people are planning out-of-city trips.

With two boys in tow – my son Pao and his cousin, Joman who is vacationing with us – friend, co-worker and condo-kapitbahay, Pam and I checked in new Quezon City Hotel – Luxent Hotel, which I think would be rated as a 3 Star Hotel.

I dropped off Pam to check in and went straight to work.  A few minutes after, I got this text saying: Room XX Perfect Beds. Kasya tayong apat. And true enough, the room was surprisingly spacious with two medium –sized beds.

The two boys made much ado about lounging out in the poolside. We called them teenagers na luma-lifestyle.  Pao said the pool looks really good.  Ditto the gym where he tried all equipment. 

Of course I never got to see both as I originally planned because – well, the bed inside the airconditioned room just looks (and feels) so much better.

Then there was the buffet breakfast. I was pretty excited about it. I have been on a strict calorie-counting diet for the past six weeks and a cheat day is something I’ve been really looking forward to. The buffet looked exciting enough and plentiful enough for me to call Pao (who was still snoozing in our room) four times to go down and join us for breakfast pronto.

I started with a cheese-topped roll, bacon, ham, pork and beans and coffee. The roll, and later on all the pastry stuff, turned out to be really good, with the crispiness of freshly-baked goodies on the outside and that soft, warm, fluffiness inside. The ham was the first disappointment . It was tough and really salty. And can I just say first that Pao loved two breakfast items  the most: bacon and pancake. So he saved those two for last and he went – “Blah, so disappointing.” The bacon was tasteless he said and the pancake could have used more eggs  (as in, to make it lighter) and the bottom was burnt too.  

On the upside, I ate the best tasting corned beef – ever. And I must repeat, all the pastries I tasted were worth every single calorie. And the coffee… I could drink that coffee without sugar or cream the whole day.

On the upper up side, although you can feel the bit of lack of confidence that usually comes with the ‘newness’ of everything, the staff were really nice and friendly.

Over-all rating   :               3.5/5

Value for money:             4.5/5

Will I check-in again? Definitely. Next time, I might even try out the pool and the gym. As for the breakfast – I can always get my money’s worth eating pastries, sipping gallons of coffee and having nothing else but corned beef for ulam.

(** Photo credits for hotel facilities: www.luxenthotel-quezoncity)