Hi Kaalagbays, it's me again! Missed me... I'm sure you've been dying to hear me speak again or in this case, read another post of mine... hehehe! But really, I'm glad that I'm able to post again after the long vacation. Yup, this is my first post for the year 2008. And bytheway, Happy New Year Negrenses!

Now, as the title suggests, Oriental Negros is once again up for what's instore for her this year. I'm not gonna talk about stuff and all those non-sense fearless forecasts. Instead, I'll be doing a personal evaluation on the last track that Oriental Negros left last year.

Sadly, our provice faced the new year with a couple of cuts and bruises. Taking off 2007 was never easy for her. Let me mention some of the last hurdles she had last year.

Buglasan Festival, Buglas festival... oh whatever! For me, this much awaited event was a disappointment for very obvious reasons. Let me briefly enumerate them:

• Schedules - this festival shouldn't be competing with Christmas and New Year celebration. Put it back to October!
• Location - somehow, it didn't have that charisma to lure people in.
• Unfinished booths - is this how you showcase Oriental Negros? Tsk... tsk... tsk...
• Participants - from booths to the street showdown, anyone can count with their eyes closed.

These are just some of the factors why the celebration didn't get the expected "thumbs-up" of the majority. It didn't create that kind of buzz and excitement that we usually feel and experience during Buglasan Celebration.

Nevertheless, these mistakes are ought to be learned. Atleast, the organizers managed to nail the famous cliche, "The show must go on!"

Hep! The stumbling doesn't stop there. One last big rock hit Oriental Negros and what a great way to start off the year... the Balanan Incident... wait... not just an incident, a tragedy as far as toursim is concerned.

Here are some snippets from Negros Chronicle:

"Tunugbanua related that last January 1, their family decided to spend the New Year at the famous lake."

"Tunugbanua was lucky enough when he was held and saved by a Good Samaritan who helped him but his cousin’s hand suddenly got loose on his savior’s hand and directly vanished from within the deep waters."

"One was saved while one is still missing after some young individuals opted to spend New Year at Balanan Lake in Siaton town last January 1."

"The dead body of the youngster who was drowned at Lake Balanan in Siaton town last January 1 was finally found, confirmed Ramsted Tunugbanua, the cousin of the victim who was with him during the drowning incident but was saved by some people who were also in the lake."

My condolences to the family of Jilo Geralde. Yes, he drowned on the day which was supposed to be a joyous day of his life.

2007 was the year when Balanan lake was quickly gaining its popularity, luring a lot of tourist from all walks of life. A supposed plus for Oriental Negros. Unfortunately, the last ladder step broke off.

Hopefully, Oriental Negros will recover fast... as I'm confident that she would. The initial events of 2008 may have been a bit harsh for her, but eventually, everything will be fine.

Good luck and God bless Oriental Negros!