Yellow Submarine

Baboo asked me to join them in a trip around Northern Luzon after that Noynoy rally a month ago at the People's Park. Things weren't jelling then; there were no funds and Baboo and Vicky Clemente wouldn't dare ask the Noynoy camp for funds. Not their style. I said, Yes. The last time I joined Baboo on a road campaign trip was during the last elections with Anna Angara. We had a fun time and we made a difference. Baboo got me because she said I was familiar with the Northwest side. We thought of Leilani Adriano to take care of the hotter Northeast because she was from Laoag and Pudtol. Apayao. But we hardly knew her and Laarni had her old number. She called and it was Leilani agreeing. More miraculous for me is that the old phone number was working. No cellphone robbers in Laoag? Wow! Son we planned and planned. Beleive me, when Baboo plans, it's more of a  Let's drink and that tapa looks delicious thing. We met last week at 5 AM in Volante. I was the earliest because I need to drink my coffee. Knowing Baboo when she arrives, it's go go go. True enough, she arrived. Go go go. I was the only one to finish my refill. When we later went to Abra and met 4 AM again at Volante, Vicky's coffee just arrived when it was go, go, go and not even a bitten lip touched the lip of the cup. In the black van, it was Vicky in front with Noel, the driver. At the back was me and Merci, who jsut commemorated the 40th day of her son's death. With Baboo in the middle in Mang Opring Versola, our guide for Apayao. A tall and nervous man. I took the wrong CD packet and so our trip would be marred by Lisa Ono, U2, John Pizzarelli. We arrived in Candon at about 9 and had our first radio interview with Arlon at DZTP, hooking up Noynoy's sister. Baboo and Vicky made their assessment about how to undergo later interviews: slower, certainty of where Noynoy is, not be defensive about the depression issue, speak a phrase in Ilocano. Then off to brunch. After a few U-turns, we ended up at Michelle's near the Dominion Bus station. We ordered imbaliktad, pork steak, pinakbet, bunog, bagnet and sinanglaw. Michelle's was transformed into a sudden Noynoy camp with all the yellow posters and ballers for the waitresses. This is, after all, Ground Zero of the attempted Oranging of the North, when the Northern Alliance, a group of 30 Ilocano congressmen, said that they will support Villar. A few wanted Gibo (for the funds and also because their opponents are LP). It promised to be a fun trip.