If my dad ever invites you on a roadtrip, say yes—but pack lots of
clothes and money, and cancel anything you’ve got scheduled for the
next few days. With my dad, you never know where you’re going to end
up!

My parents blocked off several weekdays to spend time with me. My dad
suggested going up north on a 3-day trip. He loves the mountains. Me,
I’m not too fond of zig-zag roads and Banaue had felt a little cramped
last time we were there. Besides, with the onset of rainy season,
short trips seemed more manageable than long ones, so I suggested going on a
series of leisurely day trips.

So the plan was to go around Laguna today: a trip along the lakefront
to the south. A few minutes after leaving the house, though, my dad
suggested going to Baguio instead. Fortunately, this time we changed
plans early enough for us to grab more clothes from the house. One
time, we were just going to Tagaytay—an easy day-trip—and we ended
up in Bicol on a several-day roadtrip. I was *not* happy about not
knowing when I’d be back that time, but I think this time I might
actually be able to get back in time for a party on Thursday.

Baguio is okay, although there’s a lot more traffic than there used to
be. The landmarks my parents remember have either closed or seem to be
on the brink of closing. Times are changing. The sunset view is still
stunning, though, even though the best view now seems to be the one
from the mall.

My dad’s been teaching me how to shoot with a proper SLR camera. It’s
a lot more powerful than my other camera, although my other camera has
a few features that I really like. I had fun shooting the sunset with
a long exposure, improvising support by wedging the camera into the
rails. This brought out the subtle hues that I couldn’t see any more,
although I still had a little camera shake. More practice—or more
tripod, which would also solve that problem quite handily.

Tomorrow we’re going to an artists’ village. Maybe I’ll pick up
something.

Random Emacs symbol: gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines – Command: Strip all blank lines.