And I thought happy gimmicks only happened in party settings and malls...
It was a hot hot Saturday afternoon when Sha and I finally arrived at The Zoo in Ninoy Aquino Park, having accepted Bequa's invitation to come for a little reunion. Her older bro Jershwin had volunteered to take care of endagered species here, and is now training a beautiful 4 year-old female eagle named Paobe (taken at airport customs). Bequa had thought of taking advantage of the situation and having fun with us (and the animals), so she called us for the gathering.
Background check: I did not escape from the clutches of my Ma. In fact I had her permission, provided that someone would drive me there. That's the job of Sha's older law stud friend (age withheld upon request :P), Techkie, whom I find very intriguing.
We were just in time for the live show. The current owner of The Zoo (also celebrating his birthday- the next host mentioned later), Andrew, did the hosting. The crowd that had gathered to listen comprised mostly of the kids, not caring to hide their eagerness to touch the reptiles and birds and answer questions in exchange for fun prizes. Andrew mentioned some interesting trivia about the place and the animals as we had a minipicnic there while somewhere at the center, giving us a very good view of the stage.
Food: According to Bequa, we should eat some of it as not to waste 'yung pagdekwat ni Ahia niyan!' Although there were three meals, we only opened one and shared- one of the most intimate meals I've ever had, with all of us giving a spoon to each other once in a while. (Later the plastic fork I was using for tearing the meat had only 2 tines left after the meal...)
There were special portions of the show where every reptile and eagle presented were paraded around the seats for everyone to touch. There was a turtle, a tortoise, an eagle, a parrot, a white cockatoo, an albino python and another type of python. We did not participate because it was clearly for the kids, but when the host suddenly asked for an older volunteer, I quickly raised my hand up in the air, anticipating that he'd call me in to assist, but he merely smiled and replied (on the mic), 'no friends', much to my disappointment.
After the show, we hurried over to where Jershwin was resting and asked permission to hold his newfound friend, which he's been training now once a week. The trick was to wear a thick glove, close your fist, and nudge the back of your arm slightly on the eagle's chest level. That's when it'd flutter and hop a ride on your arm.
4 no-no's in handling such majestic beasts: 1. do not use flashes in taking pics 2. no joking about hurting or letting the python swallow it, especially in front of the caretakers (as Sha had done, much to the owner's anger when he heard it) 3. do not pet the head 4. do not handle with bare hands- the talons can pierce the skin!
The venue: The ambience of the place was really refreshing, and with trees and more trees around, one would forget that it's actually in QC! It was relaxation time, a quiet time to think, reminisce on the good old days, and walk with friends. :) The place was big. There was a zoo on one part. The bird show area had booths for face paints, accessories, souvenirs, and pictures. There was also a lake of fishes, tadpoles, dragonflies, and God knows what there that I didn't want to look at because it made my heart break, hay.
Three hours after, Jonreph, Ian, and Jefferson finally managed to come- but not before getting lost by touring on their own when they're new to the place. Bequa sermoned like a mother to poor adventure-seeking rat Rep through Sha's Sun cell upon finding out. Later, we just met on the road to the zoo. We watched the feeding of eagles and toured the zoo after that.
The feeding: Feeding eagles is in fact a very delicate task. The bird only feeds once a day, and the trainer feeds it with raw beef (not the usual chick prey as to keep it from attacking other creatures when they're older). It does not feed in summer- a point that Jershwin had missed, because he kept on feeding his eagle when it did not seem too pleased about it.
Interesting species:
Making out cockatoos- We noticed two white cockatoos with locked beaks, crooning while perched in the cage. I quickly figured it was a delousing ritual, but Ian insisted some meaning to it and fished out his camera to capture it, only to realize that they had finished. The birds must have felt bad with Ian disturbing their privacy, hahahaha!
Eagle owl- You guys recall the wise owl in Winnie The Pooh? Well, there's a bird here that looks exactly like it! It had these really wide questioning eyes, staring at spectators, as if asking, 'what?' Hehehe. I first thought it was fascinating, until it suddenly reminded me of one of Rep's frequented places, Wise Hotel (for those who know nothing, it's like Anito, Victoria Court, and so on...).;p
Mouse deer- The deer was licking at the rusty hinges of its cage door. Rep first assumed jokingly that it was trying to scratch its nose. Jeff later came and said that it was trying to lick the hinges with hopes of making it melt (for it to escape)! Wahahaha
Baboon- The big red-butt baboon was funny, but it was by the cage of the blue-butt chimps that we made our best guesses. The blue butt seemed bizzarre for us. Ian theorized that it was a sign that the chimp was ready to mate. I theorized that the color was merely a marking- so the monkey in heat won't miss the target area, hahahaha!
Jonreph- yes he's a dull, uninteresting rat- but that's not the point. On our way to the exit, we saw this stubby kid wearing blue sando and shorts walking. I could not help but share to Rep how much it looked like his mini version. We were laughing all the way when they realized it too.
Trajectory! We went back to the lake and looked at the pythons again, this time touching them and asking their trainers about them. But another fun time came for us when I pulled them to the side of the lake. I hit Ian when he made a snide comment on my ridiculous hesitation to look at the lake scenery. My shoe sole got pulled off after the walk. Bequa initiated the bouncing of rocks on water. She did three jumps. I didn't do any good one. Grr. Perhaps another day...
Later we went to Starbucks (my third time!), SM North, for a little cooldown. We told some stories, corny jokes, and good-time gimmicks while drinking. I settled for vanilla cream- also the item Hershey had offered me during my first time in Starbucks (Katipunan) about two years ago.
I panicked when it was time for me to go home. I felt slightly bad about giving Sha something to worry about. Her driver took me and the Quas home as soon as her ma had arrived. On the way we talked about basketball. And when I was left alone, I chatted with George, the driver, who was nice enough to give some extent of moral support when I became more nervous about my ma. But when I came home, she was not there to scold me. I texted her to apologize, hehehe. :P
I felt really thankful for that rare and surprising opportunity to enjoy without going to the mall or a party. Largely it was due to the pressence of my friends, who constantly make me yearn for my high school life back, hahaha...