critiquing at lake balinsasayao

Last Saturday, December 1, was a good day for hitting the subtly secluded nature spots of Oriental Negros. Good, not perfect, because it was the intramural season when I was not able to watch the basketball championship games (hah! Engineering won!), and the day greeted me with dark clouds overhead signaling that the weather is not in the mood again.

Nevertheless, it was good because the almost-complete group of Litcritters Dumaguete, if not for Marianne who may be enjoying the time of her life with Japanese pals, decided to have our session at Lake Balinsasayao, in the town of Sibulan. What was more fun was that we were to critique the original outputs of our third challenge: “Out of your Comfort Zone Task.”

Described as a “maximalist” who’s like a cheap carbon copy of William Faulkner, I had to create a minimalist work in the vein of Socorro Villanueva. Whoo… I think I failed just by the title alone: Dramas and the Intercession of Something Dim.

Well, what mattered most on that day was the rare enjoyment we shared with each other, the trek from that steep hill, the feeding of hundred fishes by the side of the lake with chicken bones, and most of all, the lake that made us think that in some corner of this busy world, there’s peace.

I, Mich, Lyde, Pong, Odie, Rj, Dirg, and Sir really wanted to come back to that quiet place.

[more pictures here]

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