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.

First of Summer: Surfing at San Juan

After attending the planning session of our group at Subic last Thursday and Friday, and facilitating the entertainment for Friday night, my colleagues decided to drive up to La Union and try surfing.

Haha… they had me and another colleague on a leash for this spontaneous trip because we were basically passengers in the carpool. Although I’m partial against trying anything in open water, I’m willing to try anything once.

So after checking out at Subic International Hotel on Saturday morning, we headed off to San Juan, La Union.

All it took was less than an hour’s session. The instructors will teach you how to lie on the board, how to paddle out, how to get up on the board, and lastly, how to stay on the board. I got to stand on the board after 6 attempts. Among our group, ako ‘yung late bloomer, hahaha.. I think Jay got it on his first attempt, followed by Bai (second attempt), and then Chewy (on her fourth or fifth attempt).


Note to beginners: Do stretching of your neck muscles beforehand. I’m nursing a stiff neck today.

For particulars:

Stayed at Se-Bay surf resort at San Juan. Room for 4 was 1600 Php/night. Strong airconditioning and clean toilet. Meals at the in-house restaurant ranged from 150-200 Php per dish, although the waiting time is a bit long (we had to wait for about 40 minutes before our orders were served). Breakfast at the nearby Lola Nanny’s is ~100 Php per pax.

The resident instructor and operator of the place, Badz, is friendly. He’s got a good crew of instructors. Surfing lessons are 400 Php/hour (inclusive of 1 hour of surfboard rental), strictly on a 1:1 basis.

The area is friendly for non-swimmers-who-want-to-try-surfing: water depth at the launch area is 6 feet max (if you don’t know how to swim, you can ask your instructor to launch you at a shallower depth), but do add 3-4 feet for the waves that you’ll come across.

Other things to do: ultimate frisbee. The sand is very fine, and great for playing frisbee on the beach. I had a good time diving for the disc. At nighttime, an area of the beachfront is well-lighted (stadium-quality lights!) which allows for night games. We managed to invite a few people to try out ultimate frisbee and play a friendly game for about an hour.

How to get there: Take NLEX + SCTEX, exit at Tarlac. From Tarlac, pass through Pangasinan and then La Union. At La Union province, the sequence of towns will be Rosario >> Agoo >> San Fernando >> San Juan. Travel-time from La Union/Baguio junction to San Juan is approximately 2+ hours.

Many thanks to Carmela and Kath for providing me quick tips for this spontaneous trip. Much appreciated!

Summer’s officially started!


Photos:
Top -- Chewy
Middle -- Bai
Bottom -- Jay

... and as usual, no photos of me since I was the one taking the photos.