A HIKE TO HIVE MY INTRODUCTORY BLOG

All about me

Hi there! My name is Melvin Cabilan, everybody calls me "Ben" or "Benben" but I often used "Mac" as a pen name. Where did I take it? Well, it's just an acronym for my name, "M A C" A is for my middle name. Situated in Tabogon, northern part of Cebu, Philippines. I graduated from Cebu Technological University last 2016 and became a Licensed Professional Teacher in the same year.

People's first impression towards me is strict and snobbish but when we get together, it turns out to be the other way around. I'm just a moody person and I can describe myself as an intrapersonal or introverted person because I hate crowded places although not at all times. I remembered something from my mentor as she said, "if you can master loneliness, you can survive and succeed because you'll realize soon that you're not alone in this place".

The place that gives me home.

When I was in college, I stayed in a private beach resort somewhere in Daanbantayan. The place is so quiet and peaceful during that time. In fact, whenever there's a poem or script that needs to be memorized for class activities, it's not that difficult for me to memorize it. The area is clean and wide. There's a lot of trees around and the air is so fresh and cold even at noon. I lived there alone but not too lonely. The ambiance is so perfect which motivated me to be interested in poetry.

A product of boredom

I've created some pieces of poems in both English, Tagalog and Cebuano. The theme includes educational, love, and some inspirational/motivational.

In fact, one of my poem was used by my friend for her humanities assignment and submitted it in school and the other one was used by my sister for the same reason. Most of these poems were written when I feel lonely and bored.

Aside from poem writing, I've also learned to expand my creativity in sculpture at a young age. I made two improvised air guns which use flying tiger alcohol and marble as a bullet.

I used them in hunting birds for food at night and even during day time when I'm free. Hunting birds is difficult and challenging. It really needs patience and perseverance in order to hit a target and have a delicious breakfast the next morning. Quite interesting isn't it? That may sound a little harsh but I love hunting.

Since I stayed at the beach for a long time, I have learned a lot of time killers when boredom strikes. Cleaning the beach was the second priority next to school. Raking the seaweeds that are flushed by the waves and Picking up the plastic garbage, broken glass and even pampers or clothes from the seashore is like a routine to me.

It's actually annoying at first because I kept thinking that what I did is just a waste of time. I'm cleaning the area everyday but some people keep throwing their garbage at the sea. As a result, It's like everything ends up in my area and here I am, picking it every now and then. But as the years passed, I became used to it.

I just learned to accept the fact that there's always that kind of person who doesn't care about nature. They only love what they could take from it. I also realized later that what I did is not just a simple cleaning as part of my job but I take it as a training to myself for the future. While cleaning, I also picked up some beautiful sea shells that looked nice to me.

I collected and crafted them into something like a souvenir by sticking it together with a stick glue. It's actually hard to think of something unique when it comes to crafting. So I just assembled them accordingly until I came up with a result. I got two pieces of these things although the other one is not finished yet.

I'm still collecting colorful seashells until now but I have no time to craft them for now.
I'm actually having this Filipino characteristic called, ningas cogon which means, eagerness to do something at first then followed by an abrupt loss of interest that's why most of my pieces were unfinished.

DIY to survive

When everything's done, Fishing is the next in line. I learned several ways of catching fish. Fishing nets, fishing traps, and fishing Rods are the most commonly used tools in catching them. Most people around the area know how to use it including me.

I also have this companion when spear fishing. He is one of my neighbors across the street and he's the one who taught me everything about fishing. Sometimes we get abundant catches and sometimes just enough for one meal.

Learning is a continuous process.

After I graduated, I enrolled in TESDA and took Automotive Servicing NC2 as a preparation for ranking since one of the criteria is to have a National Certificate level 2.

This qualification that I took is not in line with my bachelor's degree but I pursued it for future benefits.

After which, I took a master's degree in education as an advancement for my teaching career instead of practicing my profession. I also started applying for a teaching position during this time. While I was studying, I heard some negative feedback from my classmates which are teachers and school principals and I was discouraged to teach. I stopped and decided to become a TVET trainer in TESDA.

By the end of 2019, I enrolled again in TESDA and took Trainer's Methodology to continue my automotive servicing and become an automotive trainer.

I passed the Comprehensive Assessment and became a Trainer's Methodology Certificate (TMC) holder.

Last 2020, I got my National TVET Trainers Certificate level 1 which qualified me to be a trainer. But we can't counteract God's plan. If something is not really destined for you, you will not have it at all. We all know that the world is strucked by NCOV and later known as COVID-19 pandemic. It spreads throughout the Philippines by 2020.

The economy stopped for a while. The schools and TESDA training centers were closed. From then on, I realized that maybe I'm not for TESDA. So, I decided to reapply and became eager to teach every year until now. And guess what? I'm still jobless, waiting for something and ends up for nothing as usual. It's hard to get a teaching position here and you don't want to know why.

Pandemic memorabilia.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I started traveling from one place to another with the multicab. I was tasked by my boss to buy our food supplies or buy and transport some construction materials to one of their properties in Daanbantayan. I can still recall that every time I travel, I need to be healthy to get a "one-day pass" from the municipal health unit which is 12 kilometers away in order to pass through every municipal border control point.

At that time, the road was so clear, silent and boring. That's the time that I started to get interested in the view of nature. I started to appreciate the beauty of nature. I took photos of the clouds, fields, and even taking videos of my journey.

Traveling in the Philippines is so fun as long as you have the resources.

Life at its normal level.

When everything goes back to normal, life remains difficult and challenging. As of now, I'm staying in Tabogon doing some random things, gardening, backyard poultry raising, harvesting coconuts, coconut Dehusking, etc.

The one who pushed the cart.

I was in my boss's backyard chicken farm back then when @naymhapz, one of my acquaintances and more like my sister introduced me to hive. I actually knew from someone that she is into blogging for a long time but I just didn't care much because I don't have that kind of guts to blog. Until such time that she explained everything and offered me to try it.

Well, it's not a bad idea for me because I actually have some spare time now. I'd love to learn something from this platform because this is new to me and I think this is worth a try. On the other hand, I want to discover the world of this platform to share my experiences covertly and meet other bloggers together with their shared ideas and experiences.

I also want to discover new things by reading from this platform because I know that everything shared here is a real life experience. Given my hobbies and interests, Hive can expect a unique and worth reading experience from me. I know that this is a worldwide platform. So I also want to take this opportunity to see unfamiliar places and experience the world beyond. Looking forward to a beautiful trip with Hive.