Mind Travel To Omeo

Let’s assume you are a tourist or vacationer who chose to stay at Omeo Hotel where the 180 degrees of panoramic view enticed you to pick this place. From airport to this place, you may have traveled by road. Luckily, you get the best room available overlooking the views, a notch higher than what you’ve expected. You then rest for a while and decide to survey the surrounding area later after a quick nap. Down the hill, you see activities of lovers, families and friends slowing down the time or burning up some fats through walking or jogging. Why not also try some sprinting you may say. Then you see cars dangling above, one descending and the other ascending in two-way lane cables. Within couple of minutes, you now see yourself suspended at hundred feet going down slowly and able to reach the ground in less than 5 minutes, make some warm-ups and there you are ready to zoom.

While jogging, as the sun settles down to the West and call it a day, you see the sky on the far left turn into a masterpiece. Painting the sky with colors of orange, magenta and blue from the brushstrokes of a master impressionist, highlighting the now darker Mt. Mayon. A cool ocean breeze begins to blow giving you a sense of belonging which made you stop, face the endless blue sea, close your eyes and take a long deep breath. You feel the chill and flashes of memories awash your consciousness. It’s good to be back in the presence of Mother Nature once again. Sweat dripping from forehead down after an hour of strides, it’s time to return to your room and have a warm shower. You take the same route back to your hotel via cable car. As you rest for 10 ten minutes in the veranda, Mr. Moon is already peeping from a distant horizon radiating like a big yellow incandescent bulb all set to illuminate the night. 180-degree 

The warm water quite relaxes your muscle still stiff from accumulated stress. Later you learned that they also offer Thai massage and spa. Within minutes, your muscle is dragging you outside in an open session room, a simple nipa hut with beds and accessories overlooking the ocean and the lighted boulevard down below. Mr. Moon is now at 45 degrees above with beams brighter than ever.

The suave pressure on your back from gentle hands is so soothing but what makes it more than satisfying is the background music blended with the natural live sounds of sea waves and noisy crickets as well as the splendid vista. After the session, you’ve never felt so light before. Lightness? Or is it because tummy boy screams a recharge? You remember then that you haven’t taken your snack this afternoon and tummy boy starts to wail.

In the adjacent area, a seafood restaurant awaits you and the delightful aroma only makes the screaming louder with drooling. You ordered grilled squid and ‘kinilaw na ampalaya’ and you eat like there’s no tomorrow. Tummy boy is now full and at peace. After the lavish meal, you ordered hot flavored Lipton tea and bring it up to your room. In your veranda, your hot tea compliments the cool air. For another half an hour, before gravity pulls down your eyelids, you savor the scenery, reflect on yourself and the future and sing aloud your final song for day…how wonderful life is when you’re in the world.

Opportunities and Beyond

For easy accessibility, typical houses are situated in the low-lying subdivisions and town which are now unfortunately prone to flooding. The nearest to city the better. But ideally, some of us want to settle far from urban life. You’ve been working all your life 50 plus hours a week in a crowded box of rat racers and sometimes in your idle time you dream of someday owning a house on top of a hill or at the middle of a ranch that will rejuvenate your tired bodies from years of hard works and pollutions.

Yes as always, I love sharing my place to interested families. They can build houses on top of me and savor the sceneries that I’ve been enjoying centuries back. Unfortunately not all has the privilege to own me if ever my owners decide to sell me to others. Anyway that would be another topic.

How about those people who can’t afford me? If only I can persuade my bosses to open the place for public viewing, I would only be too happy to share my place to them. But I have a suggestion. How about putting up commercial establishments here? Like mini hotel, restaurant and spa. Eych shared this idea to me couple of weeks ago and I like it. The more people will come here, the more they will appreciate this place.

Here are some of the visions Eych conveyed to me in photos creatively edited in Photoshop. Let your imagination soar a little. I would be glad to hear suggestions from you. 

Oh My Omeo

It was a random pick- from Boro to Lolo, the selection usually limited to words ending with letter o. But Oreo was the focal point. And we all know what Oreo represents even to adults. It started from Ameo to Zeo. It was a process of jumbling letters to create something unique that sounds like Oreo and which eventually ended up as Omeo.

During the setting up of accounts on the internet for blogs or photo/video sharing like Flickr and Youtube, the name Omeo was already taken or used by others. Although there were suggestions like Omeo1, it simply didn’t sound right.

So he tried searching for the word Omeo in Google for a possible connection. He discovered that the word Omeo is a small town in Australia with less than 500 populations. What was rather interesting was the meaning the Aborigines have given to the word – it means mountain or hill (courtesy of Wikipedia). A coincidence?

With such an apt discovery, it convinced him all the more to stick to the name, Omeo. This is not plagiarism, of course. The word existed for a long time and around the world many places and towns bear the same names. But the problem is how to use Omeo in the setting up of accounts. He tried mixing it with words like omeohill or omeolegazpi, but it doesn’t rhyme. In short, the choice was cut down to omeolegazpi, gazpi was deleted and replaced then by letter o. So omeo with a surname leo was created. Although Omeo is the account name for my blog since it was accepted, the rest of the other accounts were named Omeoleo.

The Music of Sea Waves

I never thought that music and nature’s sounds would have a more relaxing effect when combined. Of course I’m accustomed to sea waves rushing and crashing along the seawall and it’s the kind of music I love listening to especially when accompanied by strong winds. Every beat of sound is different and the harmony it created is like cool water that washes you from head to feet. Try to listen to this one and close your eyes. Imagine you are on a cliff watching the edge of rushing water bursting with white bubbles as it hit the rocks below. How do you feel?

My appreciation with sounds leveled up when Eych introduced me to real music. By the way, not all music has soothing effects. Most are classical and instrumental. There is also a kind of tribal sound from a century old instrument made of wood or bamboo that still wonderfully resonates especially in these modern times where chaos is a daily menu.   

Now, if you’ll be given a chance to stay with me with this kind of view and background music like this one, would you rather stay longer or just press stop and move on? Hope you love it too, as much as I like it. Whoosh!

Nature’s Unequal Balance

In a city oftentimes chaotic in various ways, little chance do we get to repay the services our bodies have sacrificed for the things we usually do not need. We can then consider ourselves lucky to be able to live in a world of gray and black with a glimpse of green at the center of it in hundreds of square-feet. Yes a park of floras and faunas at the heart of shimmering infrastructures, giving us relief from dreadful life. How wonderful it is that after all the rush comes the hush. The typical urban life. 

But in the country-side, life is somewhat simple. People are working and living in a park. The park of a mega city is the kind of city these folks usually in contact with, in harmony with nature. Not just a glimpse of greens but blends them with grays. It equalizes chaos but likewise resulted to dullness.

http://flic.kr/p/aFjurk

To break boredom, and to hype up those adrenaline, they would scuttle to mega city and lose themselves amidst the rushing crowds and bright lights. In contrast, the pressure-cooker guys wanted to unplug the current that boils their asses and souls. They go to extreme places of rushing waves and cool breeze. They indulge in fresh fruits and sea foods, while the folks buy shoes and drink coffee in fancy cups.

The big difference however is between the affluent and the poor. Successful millionaire urban guys who may have all the gadgets of the modern world also have the best views of nature downtown. They can afford to buy houses on hilltops overlooking the wonders of the world. That’s reality – an unfair reality. Even a guitar-strumming boy who lives his whole life accompanied by humming birds may not have the best of what nature can provide.

Oftentimes extreme poverty resides in the purest of nature, in the wilds. So what is actually the measure of wealth if these folks have all the treasure of nature but still dream of touching concretes and later end up in slums? Again in contrast, why would professionals who work at the 31^st floor fifty hours a week, still hope to touch the soil at weekends? The common ground here is peace of mind. Too much noise or too much silence is both deafening. The folks who have all the serenity of nature worry how to buy cellphones to break the silence, to have a better life. While the urbanoys (urban boys) with the constant buzzing and ringing try to imagine the sounds of crickets in the silence of the night, longing for quality life. The folks want to die with shining shoes on their feet while successful executives want to retire bare foot.

So being in contact with nature constantly is truly a blessing. It could be a breathtaking scenery or just a simple garden of flowers. People from all walks of life want balance in their lives. It could be from modern living to nature loving or vice versa. But the rich who has all the money in the world also has the best varieties of experiences with nature. Unequal balance.

My Discovery

Hey, I’m not a talking hill here. Somebody just taught me how to use the web, lent me a laptop and here I am blasting my keyboard as words came out presto. He also taught me some writing styles. But let me tell you this, he’s not that good. Just read my works and be the judge. My style is his style. (Peace man!) And Mr. Wind, with his vast knowledge of everything from geography to politics and because he has this ability to travel around the world and collect different information from different cultures, helps me sort-out things and gives me tips regularly. By the way this guy, the one who gave me voice, I usually call him Eych (as in letter H).

He is the grandson of my owner. Like I’ve said I hate being propertied by somebody but I can’t do anything about it. It’s reality. I also have this document like Live Birth with nos. on it - TCT achuchu or Lot No. acheche with boundaries from North to South. That is also how they usually call me and other adjacent lots (what a pity). Hays! Anyway, please, just call me Omeo. Capital Oh, em, ee, oh. That’s the name Eych gave me.

Eych is actually my first discoverer. It’s not the Malays or Spaniards exploration kind of things No no, not that part. I mean, he discovered my uniqueness (ehem). He said I’m not an ordinary hill. He gave me an identity.

Topographically, I have one of the best locations in town which has a 180 degree panoramic view. Aside from being elevated at 80 feet above sea level, on my left side is our majestic Mt. Mayon which perfect beauty I never cease to admire. On the upper left side, Kapuntukan Hill or the Sleeping Lion blends with Mt. Mayon as it shows the contrast of light to dark blue ocean as the background, while the front brings you an extended blue horizon of endless sea where the Great Sunny Sunshine emerge from his sleep at dawn everyday. Down below is the newly constructed Legazpi City Boulevard appearing like a glowing snake at night crawling in harmony with lovers and joggers. And also at far lower right side is a glimpse of Lignon Hill, a mole on a dome. Not only that, beneath my lower side run a long river that meets the ocean like sweethearts making love elegantly. Don’t forget how the city lights of fireflies illuminate the night.

It’s hard to express all of these in words. If you can experience it personally and see for yourself, only then that the feelings become mutual. Yah, a picture paints a thousand words but painting with your eyes creates a landscape of thousand views. That is why, in line with my purpose, I’m here to share with you what my ‘eyes’ can see. Yes, a hill has eyes.

How would I do that? Here’s what I think. Humans have not yet invented a device or gadget to extract panoramic scenes from my memories, even from human minds. Instead, someone has to be with me to help me capture them. Eych offered his time to record the moment and freeze it using a camera. I love this device.

In this way, I can fulfill my mission of sharing my world and my lovely town to you. You can look at the pictures in Flickr or Facebook just don’t forget to like, share and tag. 

My Name is Omeo

You can call me Omeo, your friendly hill downtown. I’m not really sure how to introduce myself to you and to the whole world. Here is my little story of who I am and what I can offer to the world.

I’ve been around this planet or should I say formed by the Mighty Force thousands of years ago, which was long before any of you existed. I’ve witnessed solitude, calamities as well as wars and yes, development. I remember when dinosaurs rule the Earth where fortunately we were spared to share rooms with them. Hundred years back, I’ve seen little human activity below or up above. There were just a hundred or so people populating the entire city they now call, Legazpi. At that time, life was simple here. Mostly people would just explore the vast gulf of Albay to catch fish or till the fertile land for food.

Things rapidly changed for the last 50 years however. Development gradually but at the same time rapidly took place. Population increased hundred folds and infrastructures grew like mushrooms. Then came World War II. Properties were damaged as fighting became a norm. Strategically, my place was one of the best locations because I’m at vantage point to defend the area.

Not just human events but natural calamities occurred as well. Typhoons struck often as my none too happy friend, Mr. Wind indeed became a regular visitor. He shook my ass wildly and it’s ok. But what I could not take was the devastation brought by his uncontrolled emotion which made my heart bleed seeing how those people lost their properties and loved ones. Sometimes I don’t understand it but Mother Nature does. I don’t argue with her, Mothers know best.

 http://flic.kr/p/aGFSr2

Kablaamm! A frightening loud sound reverberated from afar as Ms. Mayon once again lost her temper, spewed ashes and lava. Don’t get me wrong on this. Amidst the damage and destruction she wreaks, every eruption is an astonishing display of power and grace. An elegant show of natural pyro-technique.  She is my majesty.

With all those momentous events, I was thinking then and now and came up with this question – what is really my purpose of existence? Yes, I’m part of nature and our role is to equalize the world. We clean the air you breathe and reduce global warming. Another one is by giving you moments to release the negativity in your mind and body and be fascinated by nature’s random beauty whether it be a volcanic eruption, simple sunrise or glistering blue ocean.

I go for the last one. From the time I was molded nobody owns me except God, until civilization invented boundaries of ownership. I’m not blaming those people who trimmed my hair or those who claim I’m their property because that is what the world is intended to be. Human created rules and legalities to maintain order and avoid confusion. My purpose here is as clear as the ocean eighty feet below - to share nature’s relevance to the world.