Coat of Arms: Bordered 4-Quadrant Shield, Crest, Supporters

You know how you get those days when you're simply out-of-sync, like you're whole body is going haywire? Well, I got one of those days last Thursday.

I was sick and I absolutely did not want to work. So, I spent my whole shift talking to colleagues. I just unveiled, however, that one of my "sisters" from work, Sol Invictus, is a geek! No wonder I loved speaking with him.

By some freak of nature, our conversations flowed from one topic to another, and then we landed on the topic of having Coats of Arms.

Have you ever imagined yourself being one of the royalties wearing your own emblem, your own symbol, your own insignia? Have you ever thought of having much more than your written signature as a way to "sign your name"?

I have, and I have always wanted to bring my family's crest wherever I go. Unfortunately, I could not find any available crests/Coats of Arms from any of my families, save for my middle name, Pereyra; but the one that I found in the Internet is not a genuine crest.

I was very happy to know that Sol Invictus was more than willing to "create" my very own Coat of Arms. We researched on a whole load of information about my family, but mostly, we only needed to translate what my names meant. As all of my names are of Spanish lineage, we had no troubles getting their meanings.

The picture above is a rough draft of what my "invented" coat of arms would look like when Sol Invictus finishes drawing it. A lot of things will still change: the pillars, the colors, the shield itself. Nonetheless, here's a preview of what it should look like, and below are the meanings of each symbol you see above (disclaimer: The Rules of Heraldry is a tedious topic to learn, much more to discuss. The "terminologies" you will see below are my own definition of what the symbols/pieces are in accordance to how I understood the rules. They are not to be taken as the actual terminology used in Heraldry):

1. Coat of Arms: 4 Quadrants - My invented Coat of Arms would have the four (4) quadrants, showing my lineage (from top to bottom, left to right): Santos-Nopuente-Pereyra-Zialcita.




2. Crest: The Mythical Phoenix - I have always been enamored to the immortal bird of flame. I would love to think that, like the phoenix, I never die. Although there are trials that come my way, I may falter, I may bleed, but never will I die. As the phoenix rises from the ashes, so shall I always be reborn to a better version of me.




3. Supporters: The Grecian Influence - To the left, you have the Greek god of music, Apollo, with his Golden Lyre. To the right, you have the Greek muse of music and lyric poetry, Euterpe. Both the god and the muse are facing outward to signify my longing for my music to be heard.




4. Border: The Sampaguita - This species of the Jasmine flower is the national flower of the Philippines. This is to symbolize my nationality, a Filipino. Although my lineage is mainly Spanish, the border of Sampaguita encompasses all lines as a whole shield. I may be Spanish by lineage and blood, but I am a Filipino by all intents and purposes.

My Coat of Arms is not yet complete, and I am looking forward to seeing the revised version soon. I would just like to note that this is an invented design. This is not registered, and this is not official.

If you wish to have yours made, you may want to get in touch with the College of Arms in your country. The most-probably-accurate College of Arms that the Philippines would have would have to be in Spain, Castille and/or León (I think). I am not very sure of my information, but you are more than welcome to research on it. Don't be shy to share whatever findings you may have!

I am thrilled to have this design soon! I have great respect and adoration for the artistic capabilities of Sol Invictus, and I am very thankful to him for helping me make this dream a reality!






Sang'gre Ashte Sol Invictus: ¡Muchísimas gracias por todo!

Ocean Park -- Luneta, Manila, RP

SO NOT WORTH IT!

If you love fish and the aquatic thingumajig, then I guess PHP350-400 is not a big deal.

However............

If you are not the aforementioned and you are about to go to Ocean Park: The Oceanarium for entertainment and learning, then I'd tell you that Discovery Channel and Animal Planet is soooooo much better!!!

Here's what you'll see as you enter the cheap imitation of Ariel's world:

As you step inside this big aquarium, you'll find yourself being stared at by a kick-ass big fish (don't ask me for names, I didn't read them) -- the size of a 5-year old child swimming inside a tank of water. Of course, if you and your party will be there on your own (which is unlikely on a payday weekend), you'll find yourselves in the middle of a lot of other parties busy taking pictures beside the tanks (GOD! I could almost hear them screaming "Photo op! FaceBook, here I come!")! Beside the tank of the big-as-a-human-being-fish, would be two other tanks of less-interesting fish.

You'd find a staircase leading to a landing where you'd see crocodiles (or alligators -- can't tell which is which) staying still near the water. Again, you'd find other people taking pictures. On one side of the landing, there's another tank that showcases another species of fish -- not impressive, if I may add.

Following the staircase-landing-staircase, you step down into a different part of the deep-blue. Of course, there are other tanks of fish, and a tank that showcases small fishies and a little turtle (yes, just one -- well at least I saw just one that seemed lost to me). You bathe yourself in a "sea" of colors and your breath is suddenly taken by the stars. Behind the tank of the little fishies and the turtle, you will find a tank of little sharkies and starfishes and sea cucumbers. The visitors are allowed to hold the starfish and sea cucumber that's in the floating hard plastic (Tupperware, if you will). You are warned NOT to dip your hands in to the water because the little sharkies may bite. Of course that did not stop the masa from doing so -- not until the Ocean Park marshal told them not to. To the adults, he'd say "Sir, dito lang po; huwag po sa tubig." (Sir, here; not the ones in the water.), and to the kids, he'd say "Huwag diyan. Kakagatin kayo ng pating!" (Not there. The sharks will bite you!). It didn't surprise me, of course, to see the kids suddenly flee the tank.

After the rather amusing/a-bit-scary tank of starfishes, you enter the world of the reefs.

In this darkened area, you'd see lots of different tanks of small fish that are... in a word... boring -- save for the tank of seahorses and the tank for the Giant Spider Crap (I meant CRAB, not CRAP). Much to my demise, the horses were asleep when we visited, and I didn't see much action aside from their tails groping the reef. You go 'round and 'round and you'd see the different reef fish -- including the very delicious Tahong.

Once you step out of the reef area, you suddenly expose yourself to a better place. Now things start to look interesting and promising. Now you're in an area where they feature the big, scary, mean-looking fish. Big, fat fish that would look at you like it wants to eat you -- and that it knows that it could eat you. Yet, they are very interesting. In this receiving area, you will find the entrance to Buhay na Karagatan (The Living Ocean).

The Living Ocean is probably the highlight of the whole trip. This part of the oceanarium gives you the feeling of singing with Sebastian, but stay dry. You'd see the interaction of the different species with each other. You'd see the interaction of the different species of fish with the corals and reef and its surroundings. You'd see the interaction of the aquatic living creatures with the terrestrial living creatures (yeah, the human beings) as they tap the glass. And you'd see the interaction of the terrestrial living creatures among themselves (yes, taking pictures, posing, taking more pictures, and posing some more). This was the WORST part of the trip for me. Why, you may ask? Simply because I was not able to enjoy the tank and the walk because of all the people there -- sitting, posing, taking pictures. I felt so ashamed to stay -- my boyfriend and I felt as if we were disturbing their pictorials! Disregarding the people taking photos, it was amazing. It feels a little incomplete and leaves you hanging because it's a very short walk. It's 25-meter short. The picture above is a preview of that walk.

Out of that aquatic-but-manage-to-keep-yourself-dry tunnel, you'd find the tanks of the bullies of the ocean. Sharks. The Pagi and Pating areas showcase a big tank of the different types of Pacific Sharks there are in the Philippines territories. Over-head, there's a floating tank of Stingrays. One word: AMAZING. Well, okay. I'm biased. I've always found rays amusing. Those angels of the deep-blue just mesmerize me with the way the swim. Maybe that's why I found it amazing. The sharks are scary. I didn't see any teeth, but I saw one shark bully another shark -- and I'm thankful my boyfriend was the one closer to the tank when it happened. He shrieked!

You step out of the whole oceanarium, go up, and you find the Fish Spa. I don't know what kind of fish it is, but they eat your feet. Just kidding. They eat the dry skin off of your body. They claim it's therapeutic. We never tried it, though. Like every other spas there are in the metro, you don't get to enter without paying a fee.

Now after the spa... It's all over.


Now the facts:

1. My boyfriend and I were there at roughly 6:30PM Philippine Standard Time (that's GMT +8). Maybe that's why the proper "sun" lighting was out and the tour would have been so much better with it.
2. Boyfriend and I only had 3-4 hours of sleep.
3. The traffic everywhere around Manila was bad.
4. The cab we rode was hot as hell -- and stunk like Durian.

I already told my boyfriend that I want to go back and re-experience The Oceanarium. I'll give a better feedback by then.

But until then, thanks for reading. Don't let this one review dissuade you from going there and experience the big, deep-blue on your own.

'Til next time.

~spanishdude