Weekend what-nots

May 1 is Labor Day in the Philippines, and is a non-working holiday. Labor Day is especially significant to the working sector because it is at this time that many organizations and activists hold protest rallies with the goal of bringing to attention such pressing issues as taxes, increasing utility and service charges, and wage adjustments.

In the Northern region called Pangasinan, May 1 is also the Fiesta ng Dagat (Feast of the Sea), which is celebrated with boat races and a day of fun and sun.

This is a Sunday, but a Presidential Decree has made May 2 also a non-working day.

Personally, May 1 is a day where we get time off from work, and I usually spend such times at home. The searing midday sun is enough to make me stay put and play video games or watch TV.



But this weekend was quite different. Our neighborhood has gotten into the fiesta habit, and has strung colorful whatchamacallits above the streets. Sorry I don't know what these are called (sheepish grin). Apparently there is a contest for the best and most colorful street, so there. The fiesta is next weekend. In my 7 years' stay in our place, this is the first time I've seen more than one street dress up for the occasion. There are also announcements for singing contests. Yup, that's Filipino for you. Singing is part of life, much like basketball.



Then yesterday, we played Uno Stacko. It's a game which makes you pile blocks upon blocks until it collapses, with rules in the block sequence. It was fun; we played for a couple of hours, then proceeded to watch TV. It's too hot to move around much, so we simply had a laid-back afternoon and ate our halo-halo.