From the Beach to the City

5 AM in the morning at Alona Beach, I had to drop off the keys to Rubi, the person I was renting it from.

I woke up at 4 AM to catch the 6:50 AM ferry to Cebu. For some reason I didn’t sleep that well. Maybe too many things going through my head. I got a ride from my friend Nic to the pier in Tagbilaran. As usual, the 2 hour ferry ride was cramped, cold, but on time. In Cebu, the company I was to work for—HPI—sent a driver to pick me up.

Sunrise over construction at Alona Beach.

A person passed out from too much of something to the Police (Pulis) station.

I was dropped off at a building called the OC Pavilion where I was told to go upstairs. Despite not having a sign for their name, I was able to find the right place. Shaun, a local, let me in inside where I met another local named Jean. The studio is a small, dark, clean place lined with nice iMacs and large Wacom tablets. It mimicked a typical visual effects or creative studio in Los Angeles.

Arriving a little later, I met Rob from London who is the 2D supervisor and my friend Suzette. When Suzette arrived, we went across the street to Vienna Kauffehaus where I had a nice “native“ style breakfast including longannisa, garlic rice, a fried egg, fresh mango juice, and a good brewed coffee.

Back at the office, I learned a new rotoscoping (roto) and paint program called Silhouette and started rotoscoping my first shot. It didn’t take me long to realize that Silhouette is much better for roto than what I’ve used for the last 6 years—After Effects. The movie we were working on is ”Australia” directed by Baz Luhrmann who previously directed Moulin Rouge. It was a little exciting to work on a film that people will probably watch.

For dinner, I went with Rob, Mike, and Suzette to the Wineshop which was across the street. Everything at the place was expensive relative to anywhere else I’ve gone to in the Philippines. I ate the pork in peppercorn sauce which was decently good. After Wineshop, I planned on going home to our condo because I was tired from a lack of sleep.

Walking back to the office, I heard someone scream out my name. I looked around shocked because this was my first time in Cebu and I don’t know anyone else here other than the people I was with. To my amazement, it was Teresa—the girl I met a couple days ago while waiting for my delayed flight. Cebu is large and the chances of me randomly bumping into her are slim. Despite my tiredness, I agreed to hang out with her and Rob and go out.

Rob, Teresa and I went to an area called IT Park where Rob knew a friend, Walter, that owned a restaurant. Walter is a slightly intimidating, well dressed guy that seems to know key people in Cebu and the hip places to go. After eating a little food at Walter’s brother’s restaurant and passing by a few clubs, we settled on club Juliana’s in Mango Square.

The club was fairly good. It was moderately crowded at first until about midnight when a lot more people came in. There was a lot of dancing and people drinking at their tables. We managed to get a table and order a lot of Red Horse beer. The club was quite lively especially for being on a Wednesday night. Walter was nice enough to drive Rob and I back to our condo and Teresa home.

The condo is big and clean with fancy old looking furniture a wealthy old lady would buy. Despite being nice, the place is a bit sterile. There’s no character as the furniture didn’t match the style of the rooms. Unfortunately, there was nothing to cook with, and few plates and utensils. It felt like being in a nice college bachelor pad with three other roommates (Rob, Suzette, and Mike). The best amenity of the place was its bathroom with plenty of water pressure and hot water. Oh, and the maid that cleans the place and does laundry almost every day is a plus too.


- jason