Some random musings derived from a recent out of town trip in the North:

• Anyone who thinks the Caleruega chapel in Tagaytay is the only one of its kind should visit churches in the Ilocos Region. Since many parishes in the North were run by the Dominicans, many churches there are also made up of red bricks
• PAGASA and international weather bureaus have warned of another impending typhoon. But we never found rain: only the bright sunlight everywhere, and the cool breeze of the night.
• We passed through many towns that were in the news during the rampage of typhoon Peping/Melor. No, there were no floods. But it’s alarming to find that many, many riverbanks have been eroded, as if the rivers widened by a meter. Meanwhile, business as usual…
• The best place to get your healthy dose of bangus is still in Dagupan. ‘Nuff said
• Spotted ABS-CBN’s Abner Mercado on a stopover on the way home. He’s a big, hefty guy but sans the keffiyeh shawl. He was on the phone for the most part; it looked like he was already discussing his next assignment just as he was already returning to newsroom.
• SM is going to open another mall in the provinces???