Bossing Papi

I was christened with a new title by the guys in our frisbee team last Saturday.

Bossing-Papi.

I got to Grilla's at Greenbelt-1 late for the usual after-game drinks. Pagpasok ko pa lang ng pinto, scanning the crowd to find where my team were seated, JP blurted out from their table: "O... ayan na si bossing-papi Stip!"

"Yeah!"
"Bosing-papi.. dito ka na umupo."

Laughters all around. Hahaha!

I didn't bother asking anymore how they came up with the title. It's pretty obvious given my recent 'generosity-its-on-me-ako-ang-bahala-i'm-working-on-it' to the team, such as:

(1) Party-size tuna sisig last Wednesday at 121 Bar.
(2) Scrounged 2 cases of Gatorade for Saturday's Ultimate Frisbee Beginner's Day. [Thanks to Marc and Lyndon of Men's H&F for the sponsorship! Sa January uli!]
(3) Hosting the accommodations for our team's Subic Beach Ultimate tournament for two nights on December
(4) Working on accommodations-sponsorship for our tournament entry at Boracay on March 2010.

I'm just doing my job as the Logistics Head for the team.

And of course, my drinking habits/preferences is well-known to them. I shun beer, I prefer hard drinks.

My behavior as bosing-papi adheres to the Bro Code. Look it up. Hahaha!

I'm privileged to be dubbed as "Bosing-Papi."

Sa Tagal Ko Ng Hindi Nag-b-blog...

...ay pinansin na ng mga tao kung bakit hindi na ko nag-b-blog.

Well, plenty of reasons not to blog recently.

1. Plenty of work/tasks. Audits, reviews, evening telecons, meetings. Troubleshooting of various LP models. Economics analysis.

2. Plenty of parties. Weddings, stag parties, birthday parties, victory parties, date-parties and your usual gimik nights.

3. Plenty to read. In the last month alone, I've bought fourteen books! Mostly children's literature but I was able to get a couple of horror books from a secondhand bookstore. And, I'm already done with reading them.

4. Plenty of games. Playstation has been keeping me busy recently -- I just finished Batman: Arkham Asylum (very cool game), currently playing Ninja Gaiden 2 (I'm looking for a really good co-op player), still have to play Beatles: Rockband, and I have yet to pick-up my Drake: Among Thieves. Yup... Christmas is early for video gamers. =D

5. Plenty of Ultimate Frisbee. Our team finished as champions in the recently concluded Monsoon League. We bested 7 other teams. Been playing this sport for only a year, and I've really enjoyed the experience so far. Practice/training sessions every Wednesday nights and Saturday afternoons.

6. Plenty to drum around. I try to practice on my drums for at least 4 hours per week. Currently beating to the music of Green Day.

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I’m thinking of bright sunshine, ice-cold drinks, salty air and a white sand beach. And some nice beach music. And the occasional hot pretty girl in an awesome swimsuit taking a tan under the sun as I go beachcombing.

And the bar parties. Don’t forget the bar parties, where 4 out of 5 times I do something entertainingly stupid that everybody except me remembers that ‘entertainingly stupid’ thing that I apparently did.

OR

I’m thinking of the humid rainforest, muddy trails, rough tree bark and my fullpack. Afterwhich, night descends to bring its cold darkness countered by a warm campfire. Hot soup and gin pomelo. Laughter all around the campfire.

And being at the peak, admiring the three-hundred-sixty-degree-view. With the wind blowing against us. Being amazed that everything beneath and around you was the work of a Supreme Being.

Kelan kaya ako mag-b-beach or aakyat ng bundok uli?

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I can swim again!

Seven weeks ago, I injured my right ankle during frisbee practice. An X-ray scan and an MRI scan diagnosed that my RLA ligament had a tear, and that it should take 2-4 weeks for it to fully recover. For the next four weeks I was hobbling around, not doing anything stressful for my ankle (my cardio was restricted to biking only). The orthopediologist fitted me with an ankle brace to partially immobilize my ankle. He also gave me instructions to undergo physical therapy for 3 hours per week.

Since I've mentioned to the doc that I go wall-climbing, mountaineering, swimming, running and ultimate frisbee as my sports activities, he required me to take the 'hop test' to ensure that my ankle's fully recovered before I take on my sports again. I failed it twice (on weeks 4 and 5).

On week 5, the metal braces were removed from my ankle brace. But I still had to wear the ankle laces. The doc allowed me to try swimming. I had problems with doing flutter kicks (painful on my ankle) so after a single lap attempt on the pool I gave up.

On week 6, I passed the 'hop test'. But I did complain that there was still some significant pain and a slight swellig in my ankle.

Well, because it's been 6 weeks already, the doc asked me if I wanted to have another MRI scan to see how my torn ligament was doing. So I had another MRI scan.

The tear is gone, but the ligament was bulky. And it seems that some fibers got caught in my ankle bone.

Apparently, I had a fracture seven weeks ago!

Oh well... the pain is now permanent. I can live with it.
The alternative is that they can shatter my ankle again and set it properly.

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Major party this coming Saturday! "Cos tonight is gonna be a good night..."

Pilosopong Waitress

Last night, I decided to have dinner at a local bistro. So I ordered for some pasta, bread and caldereta, which is a spicy beef stew.

The pasta was okay, the bread was good, but the caldereta lacked some sort of creaminess. So I called the waitress over:

"Miss, may cheese ba 'tong caldereta 'nyo?"

And you know what she answered?

"Ay ser, beef po iyan."

Tinginingning nito... pinolosopo ako. Hahaha... I burst out laughing.

How's My Body?

On Sunday noon, I woke up with a really sore body. I played in a badminton tournament the previous day despite my still-injured ankle, and I had to be extra creative in terms of court movement in order to play a decent game (hopping around on my good foot to minimize the stress on the injured ankle...). I and my partner managed to emerge as runner-up in our pool.

Anyway, I took inventory of the various aches and pains. It doesn't look good.



That afternoon, an orthopedic-friend had a look at my ankle and reprimanded me for subjecting my foot to such torture. Hehehe. I'm a really stubborn person when it comes to sports.

I'll rest the foot this week. Hopefully, I'll be able to run and sprint by this weekend in time for the next ultimate frisbee tournament. Hahaha!

Ain't I a really stubborn guy?

More Injuries

My right foot is currently confined by an ankle brace (with metal rods and all). And I've got a long bruise on my left shin.

Syet. Ang tanda ko na. I'm getting injured from my various sports more often. The body cannot cope with spirit. Hahahaha.

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Maybe it was just the excitement on the prospect of our team finally being able to be pool champions for the last tournament league this year. My game last weekend was great. I had fantastic catches, no... make that really awesome catches despite the hard playing conditions brought about by the pouring rain and water-drenched field.

But my ecstasy lasted only for about half-an-hour because after that, I found myself lying down on the ground/mud soaked by about two inches of rainwater.

It was a good play. A quick short pass from the endline, then I made a running cut for a midfield pass. I must be going too fast because I overshot the pass by about a head. My reflexes were faster though --- seeing that the pass will zip by behind my head, I planted my left foot on the muddy ground and stepped backward using my right foot. I twisted my body to face the pass, arms outstretched over my head. I caught the pass perfectly.

All that took maybe less than two seconds.

Then I found myself trying to regain balance. My center of gravity was then way behind my feet. Gravity took over, tipping my whole body with my right foot as the tipping point.

And that's when I heard a loud snap comning from my right foot. A few tenths of a second later, I was lying on my back on the field 2 inches deep in rainwater. I can feel the water puddle tickling my ears but I can't feel anything on my right foot.

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The guys had to carry me off the field. A nurse attended to me. Two hours later I was finally able to stand by myself.

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By midnight, my right ankle has already swollen to the size of a lemon.

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One last thing: while running after an opposing player, I was so close behind him and we were running too fast that his cleats grazed my left shin. Left a long shallow gash on my leg.

Ouch.

"Old?"

After a whole afternoon of frisbee training and team dinner last Saturday at Fort Bonifacio, a couple of my much younger teammates (age difference = 10 years) asked me if I wanted to join them later in the night at Metrowalk for some drinks.

“Sure, no problem. I don’t have anything planned for tonight anyway. Text-text na lang,” was my reply.

After the team adjourned at 9 pm, I hanged out at a friend’s pad in Serendra which was nearby. No sense in going home if I’m going out again after an hour or two (that’s one of my gimmick philosophies, which is why my car trunk has an emergency bag of gimmick essentials --- shoes, clothes, etc). My friend has been raring to show me his Rockband set-up at his condo unit and have me join on a live jam with his condo-mates. After a quick shower to remove all the mud and grit from the afternoon’s games, we started rocking away…

… Three-bottles-of-wine-shared-by-four-people later, an SMS came in on my mobile phone.

“Ey Stip! Nandito na kami sa Metrowalk. Wru?”. Damn… it was already 1253 AM. And they just started?! … mental thought --- these guys will finish around 3 or 4 AM, and then there’s the after-drinks-hot-sabaw-meal which means I’ll be home by 5 AM… I hate to admit it, but I’m too old already for those kinds of parties!

Replied: “Here at Fort at a friend’s place. Nearly drunk. Hehe. You guys go enjoy Metrowalk without me.”

Drat… I’ve never felt my age until that time.

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One of the differences between being ‘young’ and ‘old’ is that ‘old’ people have more responsibilities to look after and commitments to honor. On that particular gimik night, I was designated driver for my aunts the following day for a visit to my grandparent’s graves at Loyola. So naturally, I can’t party into the wee hours of the morning.

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Once your teammates-slash-friends denote you as “Tito” or “Papa” instead of the usual “kuya” tag, then the age gap is really significant.

Kung Bakit Ako Nag-e-enjoy sa Paglalaro ng Ultimate Frisbee

Last Saturday, it was the finals for the third ultimate frisbee league in the country this year (the annual Malakas at Maganda Tournament). It was a blistering hot sunny day at the Alabang Country Club polo field for the finals.

Our team played three matches that day and won only one, giving us just enough points to be ranked 7th overall for this league. Suffering from a very lean roster with only one substitute player that day, the scores we posted were 4-10 (against Team Circus, who eventually became the pool champions), 6-11 (against Super Bueno) and 10-6 (against Kanto Terrors).

Despite the losses and tall odds, all our opponents complimented us for being very spirited during the finals day and giving them really challenging games. Most of the points were hard-fought, a direct result of all the trainings and conditioning drills that our team has done in the previous weeks.

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By October, I will be playing ultimate frisbee for already a year. It’s an awesome sport-slash-workout, and I do recommend it to all my friends out there.

Playing ultimate frisbee has improved me in a lot of things: I’ve got a much better running endurance now (sprinting for an hour is now so easy that the norm is now I should be able to sprint for two hours before having cramps) and developed a good sense of eye-hand-body coordination (try catching a bullet pass one-handed while suddenly jumping in a direction that you were NOT running to). Although I’ve been eating voraciously crazy these past months, the calorie burn from playing this game is such that my current maintaining weight is at 129 lbs. Before, my maintaining weight was at 135 lbs. And yup, people have noticed that I’ve been becoming noticeably darker and slightly leaner. (I would like to be a little heavier though, but I’m having problems putting on weight… hypermetabolism probably).

And so far, I have the lowest body fat analysis in our workplace: 13.9%. Health and fitness magazines are quoting that a male’s body fat should be somewhere between 10-15% if he wants those ab muscles to show… hahaha.

One other thing: it’s a team sport, so you need to know what role you play for the team. For a change, I was more than glad to be the one receiving instructions/orders/strategies now. And I’ve been enjoying it.

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The finals games last weekend was a record-of-sorts for my stint so far in playing ultimate frisbee. I sustained a long shallow cut on my palm on one of my dives –- I was a bit surprised when I saw blood on the disc that I was handling at that point. I also got a cut inside my mouth when an opponent’s elbow unintentionally connected with my right cheek while going after a disc (thank goodness my tooth filling didn’t come off!!). I had two fantastic dives to save/regain possession of the disc, and one of them was a one-handed save. I suffered from leg cramps twice. Scored three goals, a couple of assists and finally executed a huck (a really long throw) confidently that eventually became a goal. These things are pretty easy to do for those veteran players. In my case however, incidents like these point out that my game has been steadily improving.

I also bruised my left foot --- when I jumped for possession of a disc, an opponent jumped alongside me. His cleats landed on my foot --- major ouch --- but the adrenaline kept me going.

But that’s nothing compared to Serge’s hipbone connecting to Jay’s ribs at a speed of around 40 kph in mid-air. I was probably 50 feet away from them when that happened, and I swear I heard a “crack” sound. Jay was breathless for about a couple of minutes, just lying on the grass and staring straight up. Ohboy… I was scared at that time; I thought that we would have to make a sudden trip to the nearest E.R. Fortunately, Jay’s made of tougher stuff than that so he just sat out the rest of the game.

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After an awesome championship party at Giligan’s Greenbelt (left by 3 am, with the party still in full swing), I woke up with my my kid brother and a doctor-friend staring at my face. I thought I was hallucinating or it was just a really terrible hangover…

Doc-friend: “Do you know that your face’s left side is all red and its upper area is covered with rashes?”

Me: “Huh?”

Doc-friend: “Take a look at the mirror. Looks like heat rashes.”

Yep, my face’s left side was slightly reddish. As for the rashes…

Me: “What rashes are you talking about?”

Doc-friend: “Ang dami kaya!“

Me: (staring hard at the mirror) “I don’t see it.”

Kid brother approaches me. Points at various spots on my face.

Me: “Ohhh… so that’s what it’s called. I thought those are just signs of ageing!”

And we burst out laughing and talked about it over breakfast.

KAYU MADNESS Party: Heroes and Villains

What: MADNESS Party -- Heroes and Villains. Kayumanggi Ultimate Frisbee team
When: July 17-18th 2009
Where: At some hotel suite in Ortigas...

Sponsored by the team's March-to-July-birthday celebrants -- myself, Nina, Serge, Choy, Boom, Bai, Cadoosh, Jonas, Nelle, JP and Josh.

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Now this was a fun party --- the team traded their cleats, jerseys and discs for hero/villain costumes, kunais, headbands and make-up. Darna won the best costume.

The party went on until the wee hours of the following morning.

Some photos:

+ Tyler David Tan

In the very early hours of 17th July 2009, Tyler David Tan who at fourteen days old joined the ranks of our Lord's angels.

Tyler,

As your godfather, I have vowed to watch over you.

Now, it seems, that you will watch over us.

- Ninong Stiff

P.S. Please be a good little boy up there.

Sharing Hardships

Late last Friday night, I found myself paying for a home delivery of a box of pizza and a carton take-out of pasta at the house of T and A. J and F were seated at the dining table, T was uncorking a couple of bottles of wine, A was upstairs attending to their kids D and Y.

A and T have been married for almost two years. I, J and F are at their residence to talk about Y’s baptism the following day and his eventual heart operation.

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I got a call from T on Wednesday afternoon, asking me if I would agree to be godfather to his newborn son Y.

“Of course, man!”, I replied with enthusiasm.

“Pero Stiff, the baptism is this coming Saturday,” T mentioned.

“Ha? Pero Y’s not even two weeks old. Why’s the baptism so sudden?”

And that’s when his voice broke. My long-time college friend T explained it to me over the phone.

My eventual godson Y needs heart surgery urgently, scheduled for the following week. Without the operation, the doctors aren’t sure if the infant would survive for more than two months. With a leap of faith, T and his wife A gave the go-ahead of the operation despite their foreseen problems of financing the whole procedure. Having the baptism before the operation is their insurance. In case the operation fails, they’ll be sure that Y will be one of the angels who’ll watch over us.

Meekly, I said, “Sure, I’m honored to be his godfather. I’ll drop by on Friday night.”

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Over wine, pizza and pasta, I got to learn more about my godson’s condition.

He’s got multiple congenital heart disease.

The least worrying is a hole found at the infant’s heart. The success of corrective operation for this is greater than 90%.

The more worrying concern is a lump of mass that’s blocking the passage between two of his heart chambers. At Y’s age, the success rate is about 80%.

The most worrying complication is that Y was also found to have transposed major ventricles. The success rate for corrective operation on this is also about 80%.
However, doing all three procedures on Y, who is just 12 days old today, is a first-time operation even for the best pediatric cardiologist surgeon in the country. He’s placed his confidence numbers at 50/50 for the operation’s success.

*Sigh.

Preliminary cost estimate for the procedure: 1.4 Mln pesos.

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By coincidence, my godson Y is in need of seven blood donations or two reliable blood transfusions for the course of his operation.

It turned out that I’m a perfect match for him. B+ blood type. Of good health.

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I pray to God that He watch over my godson, and to give his parents the strength needed to conquer this challenge.

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One of my weaknesses as a person is that I readily give aid in whatever form I can to the less fortunate or to those who find themselves facing a great challenge. Some of my peers say that I’m too soft-hearted, too compassionate at times that I make myself prone to being abused by others.

I firmly believe that there’s no such thing as being too soft-hearted.

People should learn to share hardships. Not all people are privileged to experience the extreme hardships that some are subject to. It’s an excellent way to forge the soul to become a better person. I believe that if God doesn’t throw a major obstacle in your path, it’s because He wants you to help those who are having difficulty overcoming their own obstacles.

Things I've Been Meaning to Blog About...

... but time has suddenly become a scarce resource for me since June 1st, so I haven't blogged about them. I'm actually writing this post down during my mandatory 5-minute break for every hour of data crunching I'm doing.

1. My 2009 Summer Rundown
2. It's-Been-Raining-Again, and You-Know-What-That-Means
3. Ultimate Frisbee Summer League (hooray, our team finished third!)
4. My Brother's Hard Lesson on Failure
5. 5 Books I'd Recommend for the Casual Reader, and Why
6. My Newest Toy -- an awesome electronic drum kit!
7. On Family Ties, and How I Resolved My Suppossed Accidental Fatherhood
8. The Weddings

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Advertisement: I've got 10 free tickets to a private screening of Transformers 2 slated on June 21 at the Director's Club in Mall of Asia. Five of them are already spoken for, so there's five more currently with no takers. Any takers?

Here's the catch: It's a purple theme party (I really look stupid in a purple shirt... drat), and you'll need to mingle with 120 other strangers during cocktails and listen to a half-hour presentation of a new product concept to be launched by a certain apparel line.

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Okay. Got to go back to my crazy numerical world. I'll be needing a long, long break when this week ends.

Isang Gabing Malakas ang Ulan sa Isla ng Calaguas

Alas diyes medya ng gabi. Di ko na matandaan kung naka-ilang tagay na ko ng pinaghalong Ginebra San Miguel at mango juice na inaabot sa akin nila Rex, Emer, Ayla, Cha, Ti at ng kung sino-sino pa na hindi ko na matandaan ang pangalan. Nagsimula ang pag-inom ng alak ng mga dakong ika-tatlo ng hapon. Tumigil ako sa pagbilang ng aking nainom sa aking ika-labing-isang baso (at may araw pa noon). Ako ay nasa isla ng Calaguas, mga tatlong oras ang layo mula sa Camarines Norte. Kasama ko sila Jay at Emer, at kami’y sumama sa limampu’t pitong ibang tao na hindi namin kakilala ngunit may interes katulad namin na makita at makarating sa Calaguas.

Iyan ang aking huling natatandaan ng gabing iyon. Sinabi na lang sa akin ni Jay kinabukasan na matapos kong inumin ang huling itinagay para sa akin, bigla na lang akong tumayo, naglakad pabalik sa aming tent at humiga.

Patay daw ako sa mundo… sinubukan nila akong gisingin ng mga bandang alas onse y medya dahil hindi nila malaman kung paano papatayin ang ilaw na nakasabit sa loob ng aming tent.

Lumipas ang gabi. Nagising ako sa malakas na buhos ng ulan. Ramdam ko pa rin ang epekto ng alkohol sa aking katatagan. Ako’y na-alala sa kondisyon ng aming tent kung kakayanin nito ang napakalakas na buhos ng ulan. Bumangon ako at sinarado ang mga zipper ng bintana ng aming tent para kami’y hindi bahain --- hindi madali ang gawin iyon kapag ikaw ay ganap na lasing at ang mga kasama mo as loob ng tent ay lasing din at mga walang malay.

Sa wakas nasarado ko rin ang mga bintana ng tent. Umupo ako saglit sa aking hinihigaan. Inalam ko kung anong kondisyon namin as loob. Ang tent na dala namin ay hindi pang-bagyo. Napansin kong may tubig na pumapatak kay Jay. Sa gilid ko naman ay pakonti-konting umiipsi ang tubig galing sa labas, ganoon din malamang sa gilid ni Emer. Sa aming paanan ay nag-uumpisa ng magsidla ang tubig. Pinakiramdaman ko ang ulan at ang aming sitwasyon. Alas-tres pa lang ng madaling-araw. Kung magtuloy-tuloy ang ulan, ang pinakamasama ng mangyayari ay basa lang ang aming paanan at ang kasama naming si Jay pagdating ng umaga. Humiga na ko uli para ituloy ang aking pagtulog. Sumasakit na ang ulo ko as aking ilang sandaling pagbangon.

Wala pang sampung minuto ang nakalilipas, ako ay nagulantang at napaupo as mga boses na nagsisigawan mula as aming katabing tent.

Boses 1: HAAAAAAAAA!!!

Boses 2: (nagising) ANO YUN ??!!!! PARE, BASANG-BASA NA TAYO DITO SA LOOB, PARE !

Boses 3: PAKSYET! ANG LAKAS NG ULAN!

Boses 1: HAAAAAAA!!!! MAY INSEKTO DITO SA LOOB NG TENT, PARE!

Boses 3: ASAAN?!

Boses 2: ETO FLASHLIGHT!

(maaaninag mula sa loob ng aming tent na nagbubukas ng kanya-kanyang flashlight ang mga tao na nasa kabilang tent)

Boses 2: ASAN NA YUNG INSEKTO?

Boses 1: ANDYAN LANG YAN, PARE! HANAPIN NYO!

Boses 3: ASAN?

Boses 2: AYUN! AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!M

Boses 1 and 3: AAAAAAHHHH!!!

Boses 2: PATAYIN NYO YUNG INSEKTO! PALABASIN NYO YUNG INSEKTO!

Boses 1: PA’NO NAGKAROON NG INSEKTO DITO SA LOOB NG TENT NATIN?!

Boses 3: AYUN! MAY MALAKING BUTAS YUNG TENT NATIN! KELANGAN NATING TAKPAN! AAAAHHH!!! YUNG INSEKTO, PARE! SINONG MAY PANTAKIP NG BUTAS??!

Boses 2: ETO PARE, MAY SINULID AKO!
….
…
..
.

Napahagikhik ako sa aking mga narinig. Medyo pumipintig pa rin ang aking batok at noo sa kalasingan. Tuloy pa rin ang sigawan ng mga magkakasama sa kabilang tent, pero hindi ko na hinintay ang kanilang pagtatapos dahil ginusto ko ng matulog uli.

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Went on a roadtrip to Daet (Camarines Sur) over the weekend and joined the TravelFactor group for their Calaguas Island ultimate beach bumming experience. Calaguas Island is great, though its one destination (for me) that is only worth visiting once in your lifetime. The sand is nice and the water’s warm, but the hassle of getting there and doing everything beach-camping style doesn’t make it tourist-friendly. Calaguas’ beaches are at par with White Beach of Puerto Galera.

It’s the TravelFactor group which made the whole trip enjoyable, amusing and fun. Really friendly bunch of people.

Summer's Slipping By...

Thank goodness it's Friday.

I need to hit the beaches before the month ends.

Clincher Question

When I was growing up, I was a regular participant to various quiz bees and quiz shows. I knew the routine perfectly: a written or oral examination for the eliminations, and if I make the cut I get to go to the finals round.

The finals rounds are usually oral in nature: quizmaster asks the questions, then you have an x number of seconds to answer. The answering style varies: sometimes, you write it on a piece of paper or illustration board (for school or university quiz bees), other times you need to press a buzzer and announce your answer through a microphone (for those televised quiz shows) and in a couple of instances the answers are given at the end of the hour (programming competitions) in a mini-floppy disk.

The questions are broadly categorized in terms of difficulty: easy, average, hard and clincher. I always get a good rush whenever I get to answer a question rated as "clincher". On the other hand, I do not get disappointed if ever I fail to answer a "clincher" question. In the field of academics and general knowledge trivia, I consider myself as mediocre.

So why bring up my past of quiz bees and clincher questions?

In the last month, there's a certain question being asked me by numerous people that I find difficulty in answering. Oftentimes, I can't give an answer because I don't know how to answer it plus I find it a really difficult question to answer. Truth be told, I want to find out the answer myself too. I'm actually surprised of the timing of their questions --- it's too closely-spaced. Colleague #1 asked me that last month, then sister #1 asked me the same question a week after that. A faraway colleague asked me a similar question two weeks ago, then last week college friends 1 and 2 asked me the same thing. Then this week, girls #1 and #2 on separate occasions asked me the very same question. That makes 7 unrelated people asking me the same question.

I think fate is telling me to find the answer to this question soon, or else it will haunt me. (However, I do admit that I have this talent for ignoring fate. Its one of my best/worst talents, hahaha).

I'm sure you're guessing now what that question is.

I'm sorry to tell you that my personal clincher question for the month is not "When are you getting married, Stip?". Hahaha. Though I've been getting that a lot too.

I'll leave you pondering while I attempt to search for the elusive answer to my clincher question.

Re-Conquering Mt. Apo, Final Part

April 11 (Day 4: Last Day)

Whoever said that climbing down a mountain is much easier than climbing up probably hasn’t done some serious mountaineering or a traverse.

It was raining when we broke camp that morning, hence it was a bit difficult to pack our gear (we had to wipe dry the raincovers of our tents so that we don’t unnecessarily bring some ‘water weight’ with us). After breakfast, packing and doing our morning rituals (yes, it still involves the use of a spade), we set forth for the last day of our Mount Apo adventure.

The mist was thick when we left the camp at Lake Vinado, really eerie. The scenery reminded me of the Silent Hill video game (arguably the scariest game I’ve ever played). It took us about a half-hour to find our way through the mist to get to the forest trail going to Kidapawan.

Photo (R): Searching for the Kidapawan trail in the heavy morning mist.

The trail going down Mount Apo via Kidapawan is very challenging: we had to contend with loose soil, muddy trails, slippery tree roots, wide tree trunks that needs climbing over, makeshift ladders and rope bridges. The trail is also steep for more than 70% of the way at angles ranging from 45 degrees to near-vertical (this is where we had to rely on tree roots as our only handholds). You can imagine how stressful to our knees the whole descent was.

The descent is usually the most dangerous part of a mountaineering expedition. We got reminded of it when we were held up for almost two hours at the trail, not progressing, because of a long line of climbers which could not advance further. Ahead of the line, a female climber broke her ankle earlier. As the trail can only accommodate one person abreast, everyone else could not advance until the victim was rescued by Red Cross volunteers.

When the victim was finally rescued and taken to a safe place, we resumed our descent. We had to quicken our pace to make up for the lost time. Marlon and I blazed through the rainforest, scouting ahead of Kat and Ren in order to mark the easier routes for the climb down. The two of us took turns between coaching the others on where to step or place their hands or which branch to swing from and do some scouting. I can feel the tension on my knees that our pace is causing --- my legs/knees would feel rubbery on a couple of instances when we stopped to rest.

On one of those rest stops, we had lunch (rice, chorizo and fruit jelly) beside a stream. It was there when both Ren and Kat acknowledged that Marlon’s and my trail skills are superior – ‘talagang veterans kayong dalawa sa mountaineering’, they quipped – because we were so sure of our footing despite the sharp angles and slippery trails. Well, we’d both find ourselves slipping on our butts every now and then, but those instances were really unavoidable.

We exited the forest area by three in the afternoon and entered the Marble River. The last leg of the trek would be river-trekking.

At Marble River, we criss-crossed among the big boulders (the big boulders scattered along the river bed provided Marble River’s its name) to cross the river back-and-forth, depending on where the trail is. The river trek is the perfect ending for our adventure. The sound of the water crashing among the rocks had a calming effect, and I got to see an eagle soaring across the open skies.

At one particular river crossing, I almost fell into the water because I lost my balance --- in a split second I decided to fall flat instead on the boulder where I was standing. I bruised my ribs with that, but at least I was still dry.

We arrived at the exit point sometime after five that afternoon. Our last day was really tiring (the last 10 minutes of the whole trek was another steep uphill climb!), and I shouted happily when I first heard the sound of vehicles from the highway. We deposited our trash at the Kidapawan exit station, paid the corresponding exit fees and hopped aboard dirt bikes to get to Kidapawan City’s bus station for our trip back to Davao.

Photo (L): Group photo at final exit at Marble River.

Onboard the bus, we felt how really tired our bodies were. All of us were suffering from muscle pains throughout our lower bodies. It was an effort to sit down, stand up, or even walk! Hahahaha. Our adrenaline reserves must have been 100% depleted by then.


Oh, and even before we boarded the bus, we didn’t have time to clean ourselves or change our shirts. So we took the seats at the back because we realized how dirty and smelly we were. Hahahaha.

The Mount Apo adventure was great.
I was in my element.
I was with great company.
It was full of challenges. It’s been my hardest climb so far.

The fact that we’ve done everything on our own (no porters, no guides, no tour groups) for the whole four days makes our conquest of Mount Apo a hundred percent official.

And we were so damn proud of it.



Photos (top left, clockwise): (1) Our respective fullpacks and initials in stone; (2) Me; (3) Marlon in [photography] action (4) Kat celebrating her summit conquest

(Re)-Conquering Mount Apo, Part 2

Apr 10 (Day 3)

On this day, I celebrated the 10th year anniversary of my first Mount Apo climb.

I and Marlon planned on waking up at four thirty that morning to climb back to the peak and catch a sunrise shot. Unfortunately, the fog was too thick (visibility of less than 20 feet!) so we snuck back to our respective sleeping bags for another hour of sleep. The temperature outside our tent was a really low 4 degrees Celsius.

At six in the morning, I was up to cook rice and boil some water for Milo drinks. Mount Apo’s peak was still covered in fog, and dawn hasn’t really arrived at peak camp yet. Handling the burner and cooksets with my fleece-gloved hands, I prepared breakfast and lunch alongside Kat.

We finished cooking and eating by seven-thirty that morning (danggit, sinangag, hot cups of coffee and Milo). The sun’s risen by then (though with the fog rolling in occasionally), so I and Marlon climbed back to the peak to get some photos.



Photo (L): Altitude check at Mount Apo's peak.

And the results are amazing. This is what mountaineers look forward to in each of their expeditions: breathtaking sceneries from the highest point in the area.




Photos, clockwise from top left. (1) Two lower peaks of Mount Apo, taken from the official peak location. (2) Marlon and Stip on 'conquer' mode at the peak. (3) "A walk in the clouds".


After getting our shots, we quickly made our way back to peak camp to re-pack our gear and get back on the trail to descend to the third camp area: Lake Vinado. From peak camp to Lake Vinado, it’s a 4-5 hour trek descending from Mt Apo via its Kidapawan side. We left peak camp at nine-thirty that morning.

The trek going down to Lake Vinado was at a relatively leisurely pace --- the only difficult aspects of this trek is that “descents” (going down) are usually the portion of the trek which causes most of the injuries. I sprained my ankle once when I tripped over a stone, fell on my bum countless times and got me worrying on the strain that the descent is putting on my knees (my 20-kilo fullpack is now only about 16 kilos, but I’m also now lugging about 2 kilos of our trash).

We stopped along the trail for lunch, just before re-entering the tropical forest area of Kidapawan. We had a good view of Lake Vinado from our lunchstop. Fortunate for us, there were some children selling banana-ques there (during Holy Week, the more enterprising locals strategically place themselves along the trail to sell some simple food).

The trail started to become muddy when we re-entered the forest area and the climate quickly became humid.

We arrived at Lake Vinado without any further mishaps by two in the afternoon. There must have been more than 50 other tents in the area, plus about twenty makeshift stalls selling eggs, vegetables, softdrinks and Tanduay! We had the chance to clean up a bit at the lake (water’s not safe for drinking though); none of the other climbers were swimming at the lake because there was too much algae in it. So technically, none of us had taken a bath yet, even with the plentiful water from the lake!

We unpacked, set-up our camp areas, brought out the stoves and cooksets, and took inventory of our remaining food supplies. We can afford to have a feast that night for dinner: canned lechon paksiw, Spam, salted egg with onions and tomatoes, and my expertly-cooked rice (hahahaha).

The campsite at Lake Vinado is the largest in Mount Apo, and every Holy Week, the campers there engage in some friendly games and “parties”. The mood is festive, almost like a fiesta.

That night, me, Kath, Ren and Marlon finished the remaining GSM blue in my bag. We had a great time telling stories, recounting the last 3 days of adventure, gazing back at Mount Apo’s peak, and psyching ourselves for the last section of our mountaineering trip the following day.

We called 'lights out' after we've downed all the gin (I was starting to see some fuzzy circles in my vision by then... I think the group connived in handing me a 'taller' round everytime it was my turn to drink).

Oh, and yep. By the end of Day 3, none of us have taken a bath yet (hurrah for 'alcohol sponge baths!'. We're not really sure if we're used to each other by then, but I don't think any of us were stinky (yet).

--- to be continued ---

(Re)-Conquering Mount Apo

On April 10th 1999, I climbed Mt. Apo with my university's outdoor club. I was barely a hundred pounds then. I didn't have any photos of the climb to remember it by (well, some of my fellow climbers had those disposable cameras with them).

For the last couple of years, I and a colleague of mine (Marlon) have been trying to organize a Mt. Apo climb but constraints on schedule and numbers always cropped up.

Finally, on April 8-11, we set to traverse Mt. Apo with two of my acquaintances (Kath and Ren, who are first-timers). We planned to ascend Mt. Apo from the Kapatagan trail (Davao side) and descend it via the Kidapawan trail (Cotabato side). It's been 10 years since my last (and only) Apo climb while it has been 5 years ago for Marlon's.


Apr 8 (Day 1)



The four of us boarded a bus at Davao City's bus terminal at 0400H (really early!) for a one-hour trip to Digos. Marlon and I had 55-liter fullpacks on (more or less 20 kilos each of gear, canned goods, rice and water) while Ren and Kath had 45-L fullpacks on.


Photo: Davao City bus terminal at four in the morning.



At Digos, we had a heavy breakfast at a nearby carinderia and also bought some food and bread for take-away lunch. At Digos terminal, we haggled for a van with 4 other students/climbers to take us on a special trip to Baras in Kapatagan to get registered and secure our permits.

By 0800H, at the Baras checkpoint, the environmental officers took inventory of our potential non-biodegradable wastes -- plastic bottles, canned goods, garbage bags, tissues and sanitary napkins and foil-sealed food. It was expected that as responsible climbers, we will be bringing down our trash and not leave anything behind, hence the inventory. If ever that we are unable to prove that we brought down all our trash, a penalty of 300-1000 Php is imposed upon exit.

After the inventory-taking, we proceeded to having ourselves registered and securing our mountaineering permits. A medical check-up is mandatory for all climbers followed by a briefing/orientation conducted by an environmental officer on our responsibilities as mountaineers. Climbing fees vary among students, locals and foreigners. Each of us had to pay 600 Php for our climbing permit. After securing our IDs and permits, we were cleared to climb.




Photos, from L-R: (1) Medical check-up done at checkpoint (2) Climbing permit fees at Kapatagan (3) Kath, Marlon and myself outside Baras checkpoint/registration.

Getting from Baras checkpoint to the jump-off point is almost a whole day's trek across the farms at Kapatagan. The alternative is to board a vegetable truck and drive through the farm lots for about an hour, which we did. By 900H, we were at the jump-off point.

We hiked for about 2 hours across farms and small villages before stopping on the trail to eat our packed lunches. After lunch, we continued hiking until we entered the forest area and started to contend with moderately difficult rises and dips on the trail.

The next stop for the day is Baruring river (actually, it's just a big stream), the trail's first potable water source. Most of the hikers needed to make the pitstop here to collect water for drinking and cooking. We re-filled our water bottles and got out our stove and cookset to cook some rice for our dinner.

The RICE Accident

Marlon attempted to cook rice at Baruring river. Yun nga lang mataas masyado yung apoy, and resulted to undercooked rice. We tried to salvage the rice (since we have only just enough to last us for 4 days) but we were unsuccessful. I explained to them how to cook rice using a stove. Since then, our group has nominated me to be the official rice cooker. Hahaha.

We had to dig a small hole to bury the undercooked rice near Baruring river. Dinner was going to be a light one --- it will be a simple ration of instant noodles and 1 can of vienna sausage among the 4 of us. After repacking our stuff, we set forth for Camp Gudi-gudi, the first campsite for the Mt. Apo climb.

Getting to Camp Gudi-Gudi from Baruring river is about a 3-hour trek. We left Baruring river at around 330pm. The trail going to Camp Gudi-gudi was very challenging --- aside from having to contend with the slippery mud, there were several fallen tree trunks scattered across the trail which we had to (a) climb over, (b) swing across and (c) crawl under. There were also a number of steep descents and rises which we had to carefully tread through. The fact that our packs were a bit heavy (because of the water we collected) made it necessary for us to take a break every half-hour.

We didn't meet anyone on the trail for a while, and soon after it got dark. We brought out our headlamps and flashlights. Navigating the trail was getting harder in the darkness. We had no idea then how much farther is Camp Gudi-gudi. We took a faster pace. I slipped countless times, not minding anymore where I step. I skinned my left shin and slightly twisted my right ankle.

After more than an hour of trekking through Mt. Apo's rainforests in the darkness, we finally heard sounds of people talking and butane stoves cooking away. At 740pm on Apr 8th, after 11 hours of trekking through slippery slopes and climbing over trees with heavy backpacks on, we were finally at Camp Gudi-gudi.

Tired as we were, we set up our tents and sleeping bags. I made a makeshift noose suspended from a treebranch where we can hook our butane lamp from so that Kath would have light for her cooking (instant noodles and vienna sausage). After a quick dinner and cleaning ourselves up with alcohol (no baths!), we slept for the night.

April 9 (Day 2)

None of us got a good night's rest. Camp Gudi-Gudi is a relatively small campsite, and since we were among the last persons to arrive at the camp we had to contend with the remaining tent areas. These tent areas were on a slight slope. So every half-hour or so into our sleep, all of us would be twisting in our sleeping bags to regain a comfortable sleeping position.

In the morning, I lighted one of the butane stoves to cook rice enough for both breakfast and lunch while Kath set on cooking vacuum-packed corned beef; we brought along a few onions and garlic to spicen up our meals a bit. The weather was a bit biting --- 15 deg C that morning --- so we spared some of our limited water for coffee.

After our meals, we broke camp, re-packed our gear, went about our “morning rituals” (morning rituals involve the use of a spade for digging, hehehe…) and were finally off for the climax of the trip: reaching Mt Apo’s peak. We left Camp Gudi-Gudi at 0840H.

The first two hours of hiking were difficult, as we were still in the rainforest area. We had to maneuver across very steep descents and contend with equally steep rises, relying on tree roots and the occasional rock to serve as foot-and-handholds. This portion of the trail is still muddy and slippery because of the rain earlier that morning.

Finally, we cleared the rainforest and found ourselves in the open. Elevation of 2300 meters. The humid conditions gave way to cold-weather climate, and the abundant presence of ferns and lichens are an indication that we were already at above-tropical altitudes.

We trudged on the trail, mindful that to our left side it was a sheer 200+ feet near-vertical drop. We rested on the occasional huge boulders on the trail, which were actually clues of what we were going to tackle next.




Photo (R): Lichens (those yellow strands that you see) and baby ferns, indicating above-tropical altitude. Lichens are technically parasitic plants, relying on other vegetation to survive.


From Davao City, some of the locals who are able to look at the whole of Mt. Apo on a clear day (no fog/clouds/mist covering the mountain) will notice that the top portion of the mountain is a pristine white. It greatly contrasts the peak (which is brownish) and the rainforest area (a lush green). Some people thought that there was snow on Mt. Apo.

That ‘white face’ of Mt. Apo is our next challenge for the day’s climb. It’s not snow. Grey-white boulders ranging from the size of a basketball to as big as a townhouse cover a significant portion of the mountain’s upper face. Mt. Apo is actually a dormant volcano, and its last eruption hundreds of years ago scattered boulders in this portion of the mountain. Think “Lord of the Rings” mountain scene. It’s going to be a 2-3 hour bouldering session for us, depending on our pace.

Mt. Apo’s boulder face does not have any “trails” to speak of. To facilitate mountaineers on where to generally head for, small pyramids of rocks are located strategically at the edge of some boulders to serve as trail markers. We made a game of scanning the area to spot the next trail marker for our amusement and distract us from the heavy loads that we’re carrying. Kath and myself are wall-climbers, and we took full advantage of our wall-climbing skills to maneuver across the boulders to set a path from one trail marker to the next.

Midway through the boulder face of Mt. Apo, we had our lunch break in a small canopy created by some criss-crossing boulders. We enjoyed our lunch; our energy reserves needed to be replenished. As added measures, we consumed some of our “power foods”.

Power Foods?

My power food is a mix of black coffee and Lipovitan (caffeine + sugar, hahaha). Kath and Ren had Extra Joss and honey oatmeal granola bars. Marlon, on the other hand, was way too proud of his Cloud 9 candybars.

And then it rained. The difficulty rating just went up another notch.

We donned on our rainshells. I remarked that we have to keep going with the climb in order to reach the peak camp with daylight still available. Some of the boulders started to become slippery, so our pace became slightly slower. At this point I got my first serious “injury” – I banged my knee very hard on a boulder in an attempt to climb it. I lost sensation in my left leg for about 10 minutes and I ceased moving during this period. My knee swelled slightly, but as soon as I got sensation back in my leg I consented with the group to continue on.

It rained for about half-an-hour. Actually, after half-an-hour, we’ve gained enough elevation to be above the rainclouds. Sweet! It was still foggy though, but occasionally the fog clears up and gives us a few seconds of glorious sunlight to take in the magnificent view of the ash-white boulders at 2600 m above sea level. And just beside it is Mt Apo’s biggest sulfur vent (locally dubbed as Baby Volcano), a yellow-green crack in the mountain’s side about 150 m long continuously spewing out steam.

We cleared the boulders area by two-thirty in the afternoon and got to a small flat clearing where we rested for half-an-hour. We ate our remaining bread and consumed some more of our power foods. A hundred meters away from us is the next challenge for the climb: Mt. Apo’s “Gulugod”.

“Gulugod” means spine. The usual mountain spines are ridge trails, with an incline of 30 degrees tops. Mt. Apo’s “Gulugod” is a staggering 80 degree ascent, almost near vertical! It’s a one-hour climb for a 200 meter ascent on a rocky+muddy wall. From where we are standing, we can see the string of climbers making their way up the Gulugod.

Photo (L): Dead Lake (left portion of the photo) and Boulders Face (right portion of the photo).

Again, wall-climbing skills proved to be an advantage. Kath and I had an easier time climbing up from one ledge to another as compared to Marlon and Ren, despite my sore knee and heavy pack. When we stopped to rest, we’ll find ourselves in precarious positions --- a slip means a potentially bad fall hence we tried our best to lean on the mountain wall as best as we can.

At the top of Gulugod, the trail forked. As Kath was in the lead, she took the right-side one. And lo…

… we found ourselves I a really big clearing. Easily the size of 2 football fields. Kath was ecstatic thinking that we’ve made it to peak camp finally.

Her happiness was short-lived when Marlon and I simultaneously commented that (1) there are no campers there – which is weird and (2) the ground was too soft. We were not at peak camp yet. We were at Dead Lake.

During the rainy months, this clearing fills up with water and hence becomes a lake. In the summer months, most of the water would have drained out or evaporated.

We left our mark at the Dead Lake by arranging some stones and getting a photo of our packs.

After this detour, we back-tracked to the fork in the trail and took the left one.

Photo (R): The trail going to Peak Camp. Photo taken from Mt. Apo's summit.

A half-hour later, we were finally at the peak. Wahoo!!! Tired as we were, we took in the foggy view, had some photos taken. This wasn’t the end of the day yet. We had to make our way to the peak camp.

Peak camp is 30 minutes away from the peak. It was an easy trek from the peak to the peak camp compared to the bouldering and 80-degree ascent earlier.

At 550pm on April 9, we were at Peak Camp. Wahoo!!!

Peak camp was much larger than Camp Gudi-Gudi, although all the good spots (the ones just beside rock walls) were already taken. We settled at an open (and more importantly flat) area. Marlon and I quickly set to cutting some talahib to lay out for our tent areas, while Ren went to look for water sources. The wind was beginning to pick-up (it’s very cold and gusty at the peak camp). While Marlon and Ren set-up the tents, I had to fashion a make-shift wind-shield for our burner stoves so that Kath and I can cook dinner. The wind-shield I did was crude: used my earth mat, some garbage bags and some twine to create a wind-barrier. Crude, but effective.

Dinner was rice (now expertly cooked by me, hahaha), corn soup, Spam and sautéed sardines. After dinner, we drank half of our GSM Blue supply while exchanging stories and jokes.

By 930 pm, we were back in our respective tents wrapped in our individual sleeping bags to sleep. The wind outside was really gusty and the climate is really cold. My watch registered 6 degrees C just before I went into my tent.

Oh, and of course, it’s not possible to take a bath at peak camp either so we had to make do with rubbing ourselves with alcohol again.

And one other tidbit: hygienic mountaineers put on a fresh pair of underwear everyday. Hahaha. I have always been a hygienic mountaineer.

---- to be continued ----

Before There Was HALO or Gears of War or Rainbow Six or any of those similar video games where you played as a soldier...

... you were a kid who played with action figures.

If you were an 80's kid ("kid" here refers to somewhere between 4-16 years old), had the privilege of having a television set at your house, and that you were actually allowed to watch TV for Saturday morning cartoons, then you...

1. Would be going up-and-jumpy when you see the images below;
2. Can recognize at least two of them; and
3. Be excited to watch it on August 2009 when it hits the movie theaters.

Post-Bora

1. a 3-and-a-half gentleman's spa package
2. "deductions" -- so many climbers can't figure out the perfect route for the wall. Nobody got a perfect score. (Hahaha... actually, on my first impression of the wall, I couldn't figure out how to get to holds 17 and 18 from hold 16). Kudos to Graz for designing the route.
3. Met Ben Wiggins. He's like the ultimate ultimate frisbee trainor/coach.
4. Bad Fall. Thank goodness for insurance. One of the climbers broke his arm when he fell during the speed climbing qualifiers. Despite the sand, he fractured his arm.
5. Partying at Solstice. Nice cool bar with an exclusive feel.
6. Pick-up games. I played plenty of beach ultimate. With strangers. Taught some of my climber friends how to play the game.
7. The PUA party was insane. It was my first PUA party. Free-flowing alcohol and partying with your fellow ultimate frisbee players.
8. Morning jogs along the beach. Absolutely the most tranquil feeling I've ever experienced.

Can't wait to get back there on June.

It's Only 5 PM

... and I'm already tipsy at Bora.

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHKAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAskfghaldgaw.eofga.dfgadhihgiotuwpo..

Many Thanks

Dear Marijo, Tin, Buddy, Richard, Kath, Duane, Emer, Marlon, Julie, Val, Maimai, Yang, Ian, Tina, paul Chang, John, Fiel, Quito, Bettina, Macky, Rurik, Nikko, Dee, Jugs, Rae, Jayjay, Annelle, Keith, JP, Orange, Boom, Choy, Vern, Nelle, Raquel, Jonas, Louie, Jenny, Mig, Bai, Chewy, Serge, Rina:

Thanks for celebrating my 30th birthday with me at Mag:Net Cafe! Pucha, I wasn't counting on seeing all of you in one place!

We totally rocked Mag:Net on March 14th! Without you there, it wouldn't be my best party ever.

Thanks also to Glenn, Janice, Gyro, Paul Chang, Ube, Lissa, Marj, Donna, Shierry, the rest of the ultimate kayumanggi group, the rest of my airsoft friends, my family and extended families, the management of Mag:Net cafe, my high school batchmates who greeted me online and the others who greeted me but I missed out in this message.

I thank the Lord God for all of you. =)

Mar 14th 2009, Mag:Net Cafe along Bonifacio High Street. 9 PM to 3 AM! TOP PICTURES, clockwise from top-left: (1) Niks, Chard, Stip, Chew and Bai on a smoking break. (2) Raise up your hands! (3) Bettina signs Stip's birthday shirt. (4) Team KAYU signs Stip's birthday shirt.
All photos by tinters and buds. Thanks!

More photos at tin& buddy's smugmug: http://bugnotandkulot.tintoot.com/gallery/7597299_ZqGeJ

Bloody March 14th 2009

I’ve been thinking about this for more than three years now.
And I finally decided to had it done.

I got an ink job from Gene Testo as my personal birthday gift. I’ve booked an appointment for the tattoo at 11 am last Saturday after providing Gene’s studio the tattoo pattern the night before. He was impressed that I’ve brought my own pattern and remarked that I must be really committed on getting my first tattoo.

It was the most painful experience in my whole life to date. To describe the pain of getting a tattoo is beyond words.


And here’s what it looked like.

The tattoo is really simple: its composed of four alchemy symbols arranged in an inverted-Y position. The simplicity of the pattern gives me expansion options to add-on more symbols in the future (if I do decided to get more). I had it placed across my left shoulder blade, the side of my brazo de Diablo.

There are both short and long answers to the question “What does the tattoo mean?”

The short answer is: I enjoy activities on the air and land, I’m a Pisces, and I’m an accommodating person. I’m left-handed, so I placed it at my left shoulder blade. Pretty much a shallow explanation.

The long answer is:

The top symbol is the alchemical sign for air and directly below it is the sign for earth. At the back of my head I’ve always thought that I was an “earth” person – climbing mountains, running across fields, rappelling, camping – anything outdoor. Earth also represents the firmness of beliefs --- religion, morals, intelligence –- effectively using these as the groundwork for all their actions and reactions. Most of the time ‘earth persons’ are quiet and have a melancholic temperament.

My life experiences in the past few years dictated that I was really an “air” person. The reason for my outdoor activities’ preference is not because I had my foot on dry land but rather because I enjoy the feel of the wind against me and the thrill of being at heights. Flying objects fascinate me. I formulate ideas quickly when needed. I talk my mind when I think it is necessary. Such are the traits of people who have an affinity for the ‘air’ element. Air also corresponds to the heart and the blood, and people with such an affinity would usually serve as the most loyal of friends.

At the lower right of the tattoo pattern is the alchemical symbol for “quicksilver”, or mercury. It also stands for the planet Mercury. Quicksilver, also known as “living silver”, is one of the three prime substances used for most alchemy processes, able to accommodate any substance for purification. It was believed that quicksilver has the ability to remove the impurities of other substances to be used in alchemy, making it as pure as possible.

It took me some time to finally decide on using the alchemical symbol of quicksilver for my tattoo. I did a lot of research online. Later on, I found out that quicksilver has been ascribed to critical thinkers, because it is the nature of critical thinkers to distill out the unnecessary from the necessary.

The last symbol at the core of the tattoo has two representations. First, it’s the symbol for the Pisces zodiac. Secondly, it’s the last process in an alchemist’s quest of transmuting ordinary lead into gold, and this process is called ”projection”. In alchemy lore, by letting the Philosopher’s Stone come into contact with lead (or any other material), that material is changed into gold. Projection, however, is the skill of the alchemist to turn any material into gold without the Philosopher’s Stone coming into contact with that material (but of course, the Philosopher’s Stone must be in possession of the alchemist).

Such a simple tattoo pattern has an extensive meaning for me. Paraphrasing all the discussions above, my tattoo represents who I think I am and can be: I’m steadfast in my beliefs, quiet, occasionally melancholic, adventurous and have a deep sense of loyalty. I aim to be a better person by always thinking critically. And if I’ve become a better person as I become older, I hope it inspires others to be better themselves.

After enduring the 2+ hour session, gritting my teeth and taking deep breaths, the tattoo was finally done. It’ll take about 2 weeks for it to completely heal. I was bleeding for about three hours after the session (the shirt I was wearing was blood-stained by the afternoon).

I felt more “complete” with the tattoo on. It made me feel satisfied with my 30 years so far.

Yup, I turned 30 on March 14th of 2009, on the day that I got my tattoo. =)

Singing Francis M

I’m a terrible singer. I used to be a tenor during my elementary Glee club days (yup, believe it or not), and during my choir stint then our group won for two consecutive years at the Yamaha Con-Con (Concert Contest) district level. I even have a few lines on solo for those contests. In particular, these are the only lines that I recall:

Kung nag-iisa’y alaala
Ang yakap mo at pagmamahal
Hinding-hindi malilimutan
Ngayong walang nagmamahal.
At ang lumipas na pag-ibig ay alaala
Ng puso kong…

I can’t remember the last couple of lines. I occasionally hum this song when I’m swimming or in the shower.

Then, puberty sets in and my voice cracked. I can’t carry a decent tune afterwards, hahaha.

Nowadays, I usually shun singing in public. Unless there’s alcohol involved. Everytime there’s a videoke gathering amongst friends and colleagues, I rarely volunteer to pick a song and sing a tune.

Except for one song in particular.

It’s Kaleidoscope World by Francis M.

Sadly, Patay na si Kiko. He passed away last Friday.

I’m pretty sure that there are thousands of blogs paying tribute to Francis M, one of Pinoy music’s icons. Back during my glee club days, I’ve memorized ”Mga Kababayan Ko”. Whenever I’m on the beach lying in the sand slightly buzzed and on the lookout for shooting stars, I sing ”Cold Summer Nights in my head.

His Kaleidoscope World? It gets me singing.

"Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slop
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin’ round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world."

Ma-miss ka namin, Kiko.

Photos taken by STIP. Francis M at SAGUIJO. Mar 31st 2007.