Mind Wrecks

Closing Time

2010-01-06T12:40:00.002+08:00

It's 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

I've been neglectful of blogging recently. Two simple reasons: (1) I couldn't find the time to write down my thoughts, and (2) I got tired of writing.

Maybe I'm experiencing the equivalent of a quarter-life-crisis for blogging?

Anyway, I spent the whole Christmas holidays mostly alone (because I was on duty at my workplace) and therefore had the solitude to think things over. Plenty of things, in fact.

And among them was blogging.

I've decided to part with my Mind Wrecks. It's been a great 5 years of blogging. I'm a dominantly kinesthetic person, and blogging has been enjoyable for me as I write (or type) down my thoughts into digital words. Skimming through my past posts I've seen how some parts of my life has changed while some has stayed the same over the years.

Anyway, this post wouldn't be complete without giving tribute to key persons who've made 2009 a roller-coaster ride for me:

1. Marlon, Kat and Ren: Hands down, the Apo climb is my most significant outdoor event this year. I still couldn't believe we conquered the country's tallest mountain without any guides or porters. And that we were lugging 20+ kilogram fullpacks for 4 days! Nothing beats a mountaineering high.

2. Paolo: Pinsan, (well, technically second cousin) idol kita on surviving life -- a broken heart, deaths in the family and trying to earn to survive. Glad to see you all well and happy with your career gamble at Singapore. I haven't seen you that happy in years! I'm happy for you and Michelle, despite the long-distance relationship. Next time we meet, ako ang taya sa inuman! And I'm expecting na ako ang mag-h-host ng wedding reception program nyo in the future. Cheers!

3. Ube: Thanks for making my mom happy. And I apologize for the hot-seat-treatment that my favorite ninong (Uncle Tommy) has subjected you to. I hope that doesn't scare you in joining our family's future events, you're practically a part of it. *kindat*

4. Quito: Dude, for a best friend, you've really tested our friendship this year! Hahaha! This year, nakaka-stress sa akin by being your best friend. I feel like an accomplice to a crime whenever we buddy-ied up. Hahaha.

5. Fishyfishies and mushywarrior groups: Alam nyo na yun kung bakit, enough said. For the good old times!

6. Kayumanggi + friends of KAYU: I never would have thought na mag-s-seryoso ako sa paglalaro ng ultimate frisbee. I'm two shades darker, and I don't think mababawi ko na yung previous skin tone ko. Playing this sport has been challenging and fun, but playing it with you guys and all those after-parties have made it more fun. AND, binyagan ba naman ako as bosing-papi-chief-ninong!! Ayan tuloy, pati yung mga ibang teams ang tawag na sa kin ay bosing-papi. Hahahaha! Shot!

7. DOTA-mates: Hahaha... you guys managed to re-kindle my previous love (and addiction) for LAN-gaming.

8. The Cool Kids: Bai, Kaye and Jaywyn. Kayong 3, you brought out the worst in me. Hahahaha! But it's been real fun to hang out with you guys... magkakasingtanda lang kasi tayo bwahahaha!

9. The new Pamplona family: Well well well, you guys are the first family that I have affinities to everyone --- Dad / Mom / Son. I find our dynamics both comforting and amusing. I'm counting on you to give me advice when the time comes that... well, you know what comes next for me --- yung pinaka-inaabangan ng buong bayan! Hahaha! And I can't wait to hand Gyro his first PSP (or whatever portable gaming device is around by the time he's 5).

and lastly,

10. Mandrake Guy: We were a classic example of how an immovable object meets an unstoppable force. Ended up in a stalemate. In a stalemate, there are only two options: start the game over, or just let both kings concede. I'd rather have a re-match instead of conceding, so as not to let the previous game go to waste.

Happy New Year to all! Thanks for the great 5 years so far in the history of Mind Wrecks.

And now, it's closing time.

- Stip

Bossing Papi

2009-11-23T13:01:00.002+08:00

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...

2009-10-22T13:10:00.003+08:00

...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

2009-09-16T14:17:00.002+08:00

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?

2009-09-14T16:03:00.004+08:00

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

2009-09-08T09:14:00.003+08:00

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?"

2009-09-03T09:34:00.001+08:00

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

2009-08-20T13:56:00.002+08:00

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

2009-07-21T18:17:00.003+08:00

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

2009-07-17T09:05:00.002+08:00

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

2009-07-13T21:25:00.001+08:00

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...

2009-06-15T20:38:00.002+08:00

... 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

2009-06-02T11:29:00.002+08:00

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.

------

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...

2009-05-15T09:52:00.002+08:00

Thank goodness it's Friday.

I need to hit the beaches before the month ends.

Clincher Question

2009-05-03T14:10:00.002+08:00

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

2009-04-28T15:52:00.005+08:00

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

2009-04-20T16:12:00.005+08:00

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

2009-04-14T09:06:00.018+08:00

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...

2009-04-03T09:12:00.014+08:00

... 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

2009-03-23T21:42:00.003+08:00

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

2009-03-20T16:52:00.001+08:00

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

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHKAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAskfghaldgaw.eofga.dfgadhihgiotuwpo..

Many Thanks

2009-03-16T16:19:00.014+08:00

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

2009-03-16T16:05:00.002+08:00

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

2009-03-10T11:17:00.006+08:00

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

2009-03-02T11:14:00.002+08:00

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.

The Things That I Learned from the New Year League

2009-02-24T13:52:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday was the finals for the New Year League for ultimate frisbee. We lost a very critical game (against Team Jogadores). Sigh…

But the game last Sunday was the one where I really leveled up.

I have the throwing skills to be a handler. Well, that’s what the Class A boys (Blue and Sher) and girls (Nina) told me last Sunday. Ever since I started playing disc, my comfort zone was really in running, defense and catching. I’m only half-confident with my throwing skills. Truthfully, I was both shocked and scared at last Sunday’s game when the team captain announced that I’m going to be one of the handlers.

Very thankful ako to Sher for the tips on how to act and move as a handler. He literally crammed me into the role, giving me pep talks and coaching me at every opportunity that I was off-field. It’s really a great feeling for me when he told me in one of his pep talks that I have the talent for handling. My next step should be not to hesitate to throw. Nina said the same thing to me: ”Magaling ka magbato. Kayang-kaya mo yung pwesto (as handler).”

Talk about team pressure.

Babad din ako sa field. Out of the 13 points played, I was in there for ten points. From my last league participation, I would have expected that I’d be down on my backside suffering from leg cramps and sore muscles by the end of the day. Amazingly, my overall condition was still okay after the game.

Despite all our team’s efforts, we lost that critical game 7-6. I have this feeling at the back of my head that I could have prevented that loss --- there was this one goal scored by the opposing team that I could have prevented if I kept to the basic rule of never leaving your eyes off your opponent. I made the crucial mistake of stealing a glance at where the disc will be coming from, and the next thing I knew is that the man I’m defending has already bolted away from me towards the goalzone.

Next time around, I commit myself to playing better.
Perfect the basics.
Remove my hesitations.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.

And as always, have fun.

It's a Girl!

2009-02-23T08:39:00.002+08:00

I had anticipated the kid, but we didn't do the diligence of determining its sex via ultrasound beforehand. Everybody just assumed that it was going to be a boy.

And to our surprise and collective astonishment, at 0004H of 21st February, the baby girl was born.

And here starts one of my bigger challenges in life.

Chopsuey

2009-02-18T11:17:00.002+08:00

Too many things to write about...

1. ROCKBAND

For the last 3 weeks, I've been playing an hour each night online on Rockband. I've met some really good guitar players and superb vocalists when I sub as a drummer for their respective groups. Haha.. I've received my share of compliments for my drumming skills, like "Nice work on the drums, man!" and such.

Anyway, playing as a 'sub drummer' in the online Rockband community has earned me quite a reputation already. When I opened my Playstation account last night, I had a half dozen invites from "strangers" (online players who I haven't played with) to sub as a drummer for their "jam" sessions.

Also, out of boredom, I've created character profiles for a few colleagues who play with me occasionally. Ahahahaha.

2. TERIYAKI BOY

It was really hot yesterday afternoon.

I had a very late lunch (3 pm!) at Teriyaki Boy in Glorietta yesterday, as I've been craving for Japanese food. I was expecting that I'll be the lone customer there at that time, but there were a couple of cute Japanese college girls there chatting away over their cold soba noodles. One of them had a Hello Kitty charm dangling from her mobile while the other girl had red irises (special contact lenses, I suppose).

I seated myself across them, gave my order to the waiter, and eavesdropped on their conversation while I had my sashimi appetizer.

Now don't get me wrong... I generally don't eavesdrop. If ever I do, I have a perfectly good reason for doing it. In this case, I wanted to test out whether my Japanese language skills are still good enough for a conversation.

Halfway through my unagi don, Hello Kitty girl said something like this: "hadagi uetto waga... atsui!!". I burst out laughing! Bwahahaha! And the girls glanced at me suspiciously, with RedEye girl saying "Domo...?"

I apologized, said "Hai!" and blurted out a "sumimasen!" while smiling at them. I took out my pen and scribbled some stuff on a napkin and handed it to them, babbling that I'm not really fluent in Japanese speech but I'm pretty good at kanji writing.

Here's my rough translation of what they were talking about:

Hello Kitty girl: It's so warm here... my panties are actually wet!
Me: *snickers*, then goes "Bwahahahaha!"
Red-eye girl (suspiciously looking at me): You understood that?
Me: Yes. But I'm really sorry about it. =)

3. I went to the F.O.B. concert...

... and all I got was a t-shirt. Just kidding. I had a great time!(picture to be posted)

The last time I watched a concert at the Aranate Coliseum was when The Corrs were in Manila. Last Friday, I had the chance to watch Fall Out Boy.

Scanning quickly through the crowd (not bad... about 90% full!), I realized that:
a) almost 2/3 of the audience were kids in the 12-16 year old age bracket
b) two-thirds of the two-thirds mentioned above were girls
c) of the 1/3 who were not kids, about half of them looked like parents or chaperones, and they seem to have no clue who Fall Out Boy are

Thus, that leaves only 1/6 of the original audience who are in my age group and know that they're at Araneta Coliseum to enjoy the F.O.B. concert.

Front act was by Hey Monday, and in case you don't know who they are, tune in to Animax channel on your cable TV. Think Jonas Brothers meet Paramore, and give the female vocalist a New Yorker punk twang. Goodness.. I don't know any of their songs!

Finally, at 930pm, FOB got onstage and performed 17 songs for the night plus another 2 songs for their encore. They basically played the songs that's in their "LIve in Phoenix" concert album. Plus of course, their two hits from their newest album Folie a Deux namely "I Don't Care" and "America's Suitehearts".

Their stage presence was awesome. Neat tricks by the guitarists and energetic headbanging and stick-twirling by the drummer. The stage effects were also fantastic, specially when they performed "I Don't Care" and had all the lights onstage turned off --- all their instruments glowed in the dark, flashing on-and-off synchronized to the music and to their stage choreography.

By the end of the night, my voice was hoarse from shouting out the lyrics to their songs and joining the audience in some cued singing.

4. Gyro Now Smiles

Ngumingiti na daw si Gyro, according to Janice. I visited them early evening yesterday.

Unfortunately, Janice is a bit jealous of her husband Glenn because their 2-month old kid Gyro only smiles to Glenn (so far). Hahahaha!

Belated happy anniversary to you two, by the way.

Logic Problem

2009-02-13T09:46:00.002+08:00

Two friends were at a hospital, just outside the delivery room.
One of them is the father of the child to be born, but the other will be the father of the same child to be born.

How is that possible?

Reality Check

2009-02-11T14:21:00.000+08:00

I was at our head office yesterday to deliver a presentation to our group’s regional envelope manager and his successor. It was also an opportunity for me to be introduced to them and showcase my technical and supply-chain skills –- I was under the impression that it was a pre-conceived tactic by our leadership team.

Anyway, I delivered the presentation smoothly and confidently (I only stammered once!). Our guests commended our group’s showcase of competency. Even our group’s VP gave us a pat on the back.

Later in the night, after a few games of badminton with some colleagues, I joined my co-worker and our VP for drinks at a bar just behind the office. As I took my seat, our boss ordered me a beer and shot me a question:

“What’s the next job you would like, Stip?”

With no second thoughts, I confidently answered, “In the long term, I want the Fuels Technical Manager position, sir.”

”You didn’t answer my question. What next assignment would you like to have?”

“I figured that I have 2 to 3 more years of tenure at my current position. By that time, if the Fuels Technical position is vacant, I would apply for it.”

Boss took a sip of his beer, nudging me to do the same. And I took a few gulps of San Mig Light.

”There’s no way you can get that position as your next assignment.

Over the next few minutes, our boss explained why I cannot get that next assignment on my next job transfer. I needed to further broaden my skillbase. I also didn’t realize that the FTM position was two rungs above my present job level, and hence I needed a “springboard position” in case I really want to pursue that assignment.

At the end of that one-beer discussion, I’ve gained a broader view of my career options.

I wonder if an assignment in our Lubricants business is as exciting and rewarding as my current stint in our Fuels business?

I need to give that some serious thought.

I’ll start asking around.

Leveling Up

2009-02-09T14:04:00.002+08:00

I’ve been posting a lot about disc (or more commonly known as ‘frisbee’ for non-frisbee players) recently because I’m hooked into the sport. Here’s another disc post.

Last Saturday, I believe that I’ve played my best game in a disc tournament.

It’s our team’s first time to play in pool A for a tournament league, so clearly we’re the underdogs in the bracket. Moreover, I was one of the team’s newest players --- -- barely 6 months experience of playing ultimate frisbee, along with Bai.

The veterans say that playing ultimate frisbee is 50% skill and 50% confidence. I started out in this league with some skill and little confidence (specially after hearing about the story of the big-bald-guy-frisbee-player who taunted “I’m gonna break your head like a piñata” in one of the 2008 tournaments, what little confidence I had slid down a bit more). But despite the nervousness and having clammy hands, I took the plunge just like the time when I went bungee-jumping. Once you jump out, there’s no turning back. Well, that’s how my mindset was.

Finding myself in the familiar air and grounds of Alabang Country Club, I religiously participated in the warm-ups and drills. I know that I just need to push myself harder to be worthy of being in pool A (and hopefully get a decent number of minutes on the playing field so that my 700php tournament fee won’t be a regret spend). Trying to perfect my passes, my footwork, field vision, reflexes and endurance, I wanted to assure myself that I’m good enough to be in the pool A line-up.

And on my first game for the day, our team captain Blue fielded me in for our starting line. I couldn’t believe what I heard! For the last two weeks, I get fielded during the non-critical periods of the game (such as when it’s obvious that we won’t win the match) --- that was okay with me since I’m basically a greenhorn and I perfectly understand the need to let the more skilled players have the field in hopes of still salvaging the game. I was content with watching the game, taking in how the other disc players execute their plays so that I could learn more.

On the field, Blue struck another surprise at me. He announced that I’m to be his secondary handler. Whoa! For disc games, playing as a handler is one of my low points. It’s like being the point guard in basketball --- it’s the handler’s responsibility to bring the disc down to their goal zone, and rescue the disc from their teammates if they’re being trapped by defense. It requires very good passing skills and field vision. My passing skills are only mediocre --- my key skills in ultimate are catching, defense and running/endurance --- and that further rattled what little confidence I had.

For the next 10 minutes, despite that lump in my throat called ‘fear’, I played with focus and determination. I was amazed that I can keep up with my “match” (“match” is the player from the opposing team who’s defending against you or the one that you’re defending on). My defense was good too --- I’ve managed to bring the stall count up to 8. 75% of my passes were good. I was playing at par with pool A players!
And the culminating point is that I scored our team’s first goal for the game. Wahoo!

In a span of 10 minutes, my experience and confidence leveled up considerably.

Throughout the game, Blue would field me in every so often like a regular player. I didn’t get the chance to score another goal though, but I was tough on my defense and made a couple of assists. One particularly tall white guy on the opposing team even complimented me on my running --- he admired that I was able to keep up with him during the game, applying tough defense and preventing him from scoring goals despite our large height difference.

Although our team lost, last Saturday was the best game I’ve ever played in for frisbee.

P.S.
Thanks to my workmates Julie, Val and Jay for covering my duty last Saturday. The Krispy Kremes were very much worth it for my great game experience.

I Don't Care

2009-02-04T11:31:00.003+08:00

I say I don'te care about what you think
As long as it is about me.
The best of us can find happiness in misery.

This song has been playing over and over in my head for the last month or so, ever since I downloaded it for my Rockband game in my PS3. I love the drum sequence (really simple, but very catchy). I even played this song on drums AND on vocals at the same time.

"I Don't Care" is from the Fallout Boy's newest album Folie a Deux. The Rockband game had a great influence on my music taste for the last 2 years. I wasn't sure before that Fallout Boy was a good band with good music, but playing their songs on the game made me realize that their music (and beat) is just right for me.

And by some wild coincidence, my best friend gave me 3 tickets to the Fallout Boy's concert on Feb 13th --- not just any ticket, but Lower Box tickets. Sweet! It's a big coincidence because he got the tickets from his employer, who in turn has those free tickets because they developed the Rockband game I'm playing, and it was Rockband that got me to listening seriously to Fallout Boy songs.

It's a pity that they weren't VIP or Patron tickets, but what the heck. I don't care. Beggars can't be choosers. *grin*

I just realized that the chorus of the song "I Don't Care" is how my demeanor has been for the last many months.
As it goes, the best of us can find happiness in misery.

Dear Gyro

2009-01-28T15:11:00.002+08:00

Remind me five years from now what video game console you wish to have for either your birthday or as a Christmas gift.

I'll also support any artistic or athletic endeavors you may develop interests in --- play the violin, or your dad's saxophone, or swimming, or peewee soccer, or taekwondo. I enjoy wargames, mountaineering, badminton, wall climbing and recently, ultimate frisbee. I'll tell you about the time your dad and I played some wargames in the housing compound and how we ended up being surrounded by a platoon of real soldiers.

I'll hand you your first comic book as soon as you are able to read. I'll explain to you why Batman is the most kick-ass superhero around, and that you should idolize him.

I'll tell you to go to Tito Emer if you want to widen your musical perspective. He's the dark dude in the photo.

I'll introduce you to Tita Val, so she can tell you how to be popular among girls. She's the other woman in the photo.

The Chinese guy in the photo is your Tito Jay. At all costs, you should not believe in everything he says. Verify his statements either with your dad, mom or me.

Be sure to be obedient to your mom and dad. They are really good people, and they know what's best for you.

That being said, welcome to the Christian world!

- Ninong Stip

Sunday

2009-01-23T09:21:00.005+08:00

This Sunday:

1. I'm attending the christening of Gyro Benavidez Pamplona. Born last Dec 28th, looks and makes faces exactly like his dad Glenn. Gyro will be my third godson. Of course, I'm very honored to have been picked by Glenn and Janice to be their firstborn's godfather.

Hehehe... I cas see myself spoiling Gyro as he grows up.

2. First game day of the New Year League.

I'll admit it... kinakabahan ako about this league.
Because we're playing in pool A. There are a lot of other players who are in the lower bracket, pool B, who are much, much, much better than I am at playing ultimate frisbee.

Because we're like a bunch of Davids going against a horde of Goliaths.

Oh well, if I'm gonna get battered with the rest of my team, I might as well enjoy the league. It's going to be a really challenging experience.

Funny Story

2009-01-20T00:27:00.003+08:00

This is the first funny story that I've heard this 2009.

"Ahhhh... We're at Paris, dude!"

First time namin ni Butch pareho sa Paris. So excited kami sobra to get up to the Eiffel Tower. Kahit sobrang lamig, takbo kami paakyat sa tuktok! Sira kasi yung elevator... peste talaga yang mga Pranses!

Finally, when we reached the top, we were surprised pare! Tired as we were, we got shocked and awed at the same time!

Number 1: There were many people on top. Check.
Number 2: All the people at the top of the Eiffel Tower were COUPLES!
Number 3: Nobody was using the telescopes, and nobody was taking in the magnificent view of Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower!.

Biruin mo yun, couples left-and-right were cuddling, kissing and some were even groping each other! Geeeessh...

After being stunned and realizing what the other couples were doing there, slowly nagkatinginan kami ni Butch and nag-meet yung mata namin....

"F*ck you, pare! Don't even think about it!!", we blurted out simultaneously with our fingers pointing at each other.

There's supposed to be a lesson behind this story, but all of us at the dining table were laughing so hard by then.

- as narrated by Cris Taga, aka "Johnny Bravo" in our group, over a small reunion dinner at the Aganda household. Cris is still currently a bachelor (although we seriously think that his happy days are about to end soon. *kindat*)

RIOT, Squeaky Clean

2009-01-19T09:13:00.003+08:00

1. RIOT

Arrgs... The frisbee league is starting on Sunday. I'm excited about it, but at the same time a bit anxious. Our team is moving up in the pool bracket, and we're going against the more elite players in the disc community. Our team has merged with another team and decided to brand ourselves Team RIOT for this tournament.

We played pick-up games with three other teams at the Sunken Garden last weekend. Ang daming tao! Seems like the whole frisbee community is preparing hard for the first league of the year.

Blue, the captain of the other team that merged with us, taught us a complex drill --- a "2-man go-to" drill. It was fast-paced, required some nimble footwork and more importantly, precise passing.

But, it wasn't my best day for frisbee. I twisted my ankle. I fumbled the disc four times in a row (which my teammates noticed).

But at least my passing was decent.

After the games and drills, we went to Shakey's for dinner and Cantina for drinks, and had ourselves a RIOT kind of time!

2. Shower shower shower... shower

I technically had to take four baths yesterday. Hahahaha!

I practically spent most of my free time soaking myself under the sun. The chilly and cloudy weather for the last few weeks at Batangas made me appreciate it.

Ten Circles of Hell

2009-01-14T13:34:00.000+08:00

I was cooking some chili late last night when I decided to pop-in a DVD on my player and watch a Hongkong horror movie. I bought the movie many months ago but hadn’t had the time or interest to watch it until last night. It was Neraka 19.

Neraka is Hindu for hell.

The movie has its selling points – an interesting storyline, good acting, and some pretty nice girls. The only disappointment for me was it wasn’t a hair-raising, voice-muting horror movie. Japanese horror movies are much better.

Anyway, what fascinated me about the movie is that apparently there is a Chinese belief that there are 18 gates of hell, and that there are cultists who believe on the existence of a 19th gate. Hence the movie title Neraka 19.

Yeah, I know. I have a slight interest in this religious-occult genre.

I tried to do some research on these 18 gates of hell, but I couldn’t get a good match so far. But based on what has been presented in the movie, there is only one good parallelism between the Oriental belief of the 18 gates of hell against the 9 Circles of Hell presented by Dante in his Divine Comedy.

Both concepts of hell distinguished between an Upper Hell and a Lower Hell.

In Dante’s hell, as one goes lower and lower into the further circles, the space becomes smaller and smaller. Like a funnel. In the Chinese concept of gates of hell, the “hell” beyond each gate is limitless. Dante’s concept was based on the gravity of the sin at each circle – the higher the gravity of one’s sins, the deeper he goes into the circles of hell, and the more severe the retribution is. The soul carries out the punishment at his ultimate circle only.

In the movie, the Chinese gates of hell have to be passed successively for all souls. The belief was that beyond each gate of hell, one needs to survive the retribution waiting for him. The punishment is equivalent to the sin (well, as far as the movie and artistic concept implied) --- for example, the first gate of hell is “The Torture of Tongue-Cutting”. Those who have used words to offend others will find themselves cutting off their tongues themselves if they are guilty of this sin. Those who are innocent of this sin are guided on to the next gate.

Because of this, Dante’s concept of hell is eternal damnation. There is no redemption. In the movie, it was portrayed that there is a chance of redemption. If your conscience remains clear at each gate, you pass the test of the gate. When one clears the 18th gate, his soul is redeemed.

Now what happens beyond the 18th gate? Is there really a 19th gate? Based on the movie, there’s none.

The parallel question to that is what if there was a circle of hell? What punishment will be there? In Dante’s 9th circle, Lucifer is there, conscious but unable to move, frozen in ice along with the souls of the sinners “worthy” of accompanying him.

I think, just to toy with the idea, someone more evil than the devil himself would be found at the 10th circle.

This brings to mind a local joke here at our office which names a few personalities more evil than Satan. Hehehe.

Ultimate Weekend - 2009

2009-01-12T09:09:00.002+08:00

* groan *

My battle scars last weekend:

A stiff left forearm,
Really tired hamstrings,
Sore calf muscles,
Tense shoulders,
And a hurting shin at my left leg.

The 2009 season for ultimate frisbee has started! Wahoo!

--------------

The team came over to our place in Batangas last weekend for some practice games and a party afterwards (Jungle-themed). I really can’t figure out which thing is our team better at: playing or partying, hahaha.

We played a couple of games at a field here in Batangas --- really great field for diving, lay-outs and rolls. I think the whole team was really excited in the weekend’s practice game. Everybody was running faster, passing better and making some awesome catches. The enthusiasm level was so great that it didn’t stop anyone from playing despite some minor injuries incurred by some players during the game.

My highlight: intentionally blocking off JP’s running lane during their side’s 1-2 play. Unfortunately, JP didn’t see me when I positioned for the block so he rammed into me (and his cleats dug into my shin). Sent me flying on my back, and the momentum was so great that there was enough for me to execute a back-roll and get back on my feet. The adrenaline rush was good, and for the rest of the game it dulled the ache on my left shin and ankle.

No pain, no gain.

--------------

I was surprised to find out that Orange, Vern and Erick can sing superbly well on Rockband. Astig! I found myself a new set of jammers!

HO HO HOS!

2008-12-18T15:00:00.004+08:00

(this blog post gets appended for the various holiday 'moments' that i'll find myself in. Season's greetings!)

3. The Godfather

Quito hosted lunch last Tuesday and brought his mom and my godson Maqui along. I got to the restaurant earlier, hence I was already seated comfortably when they walked in.

Maqui comes running to me.

"Ninong Stiff!!"
I stand up and extend my hand. "Oy Mak... Merry Christmas! Bless?"
Maqui takes my hand to do the mano gesture.

"Ninong Stiff, exchange gift tayo!"
"Huh? You have gift for me?" Maqui's five years old.
"Yes, I have a gift for you! Di ba Papa Quito?"
"Yeah man. Maqui's been excited the whole morning... he's been counting the days when we'll get to meet para makapag-exchange gift daw siya sa 'yo."

Mrs. S leans towards me for a kiss on the cheek. "Oh yes, Stiff. Maqui's been busy the last two days for your gift. I think ikaw lang yung ninong who's getting a gift from him."

....
...
..

2. Delivering Chrismas Presents

I did my milk-run of Christmas gift deliveries for my parents earlier this week. Had to go through Alabang Hills, PhilAm Las Pinas, Villamor Air Base, Palanan in Makati and then head north to Valle Verda V and Wilson in Greenhills. Mom made her traditional rellenong manok and leche flan, complete with storage and serving instructions, as her gifts to family friends.

At every stop, I had to get off my car and walk up to their respective gates. In almost all of the houses that I stopped, I got invited in by my parents' friends for snacks or coffee at their gardens or salas or kitchens.

My parents' friends meet up more frequently than I do with my college friends, so there's none of the usual "how's your mom/dad?" interview. Instead, I got interviewed! Some of them haven't seen me for 4 years. They would give me their own snippets of what it is that they best remember me for. I liked Tita Jing's story best -- of how she and my mom connived to set me up with her daughter when I was about to graduate from college (hahaha!).

I'm so glad to do this errand for my parents. Got to re-connect with some family acquaintances. One of my dad's friends even gave me a 500-peso pamasko (he insisted!).

1. HO-HO-HO BQ 25 Christmas Dinner HO-HO-HO
It’s been a while since I’ve hosted a big dinner. All my past dinners were limited to at most 10 people. Having more than 10 people is a bit difficult hosting-wise --- the food, the utensils, table settings, etc.

Now, Christmas is just around the corner, but I haven’t heard of any parties for the bachelors’ group at our workplace. Planning for that is a major time-drain and will require significant time and resources to prepare for it.

So, I compromised a bit.

I hosted Christmas dinner for my housemates and some choice friends, even though if it meant planning it for more than 10 people. There’s the food to prepare, setting up the tree and holiday decors, sending out invitations and of course… the gifts!

I didn’t need to prepare any games.
Nor did I have a difficult time managing everyone that I invited (that’s one of the challenges of being a host --- making sure everyone’s comfortable).
And I did manage to enjoy the party myself despite being the host.

Almost everything about the Christmas dinner turned out well (one invitee decided not to go though) --- lots of food, hearty conversations, wine (*no beer!*) and plenty of laughter. One of my friends commented that he found the party relaxing and reminiscent of how their generation used to have bachelors’ nights.

Ho ho ho ho!

The Circle of Life's Successes

2008-12-10T14:32:00.002+08:00

“At age 1, success means being able to stand up by yourself.
At age 6, it’s being able to use the toilet on your own.
At age 7, success is being able to ride a bike.
At age 17, it’s getting your driver’s license and driving your own car.
At age 20, success is having been able to make love, or get laid.
At age 25, it’s landing your first job and being financially independent.
At age 35, success is having a loving family and looking after their well-beings.

At age 60, success is still having a loving family with everyone’s well-being in a good state.
At age 65, success is leaving your last job financially independent and secure.
At age 70, success is still being able to make love and/or still be able to get laid.
At age 75, success is still being able to drive a car and ride a bike on your own.
At age 80, success is still being able to use the toilet on your own.
At age 90, success is being able to stand up by yourself.”

- shared by Boss Andrew this afternoon at our office over chocolates and coffee, right after we commented that his hair is noticeably more gray ever since he got assigned as our facility’s Operations Manager.

Economics

2008-12-05T18:15:00.002+08:00

... is defined as the study of how resources, profits and losses are allocated to maximize happiness.

I just completed a regional course on Refinery and Supply Economics; its arguably the best learning course I've gotten so far in my corporate stint.

My favorites:

1) Application of John Nash's "Game Theory" (global optimum is achieved when everyone thinks in their best interests AND the interests of others), and seeing how the default behavior of most economic deals are a result of Adam Smith's "Invisible Hand" theory ("the best solution is achieved when everyone thinks in their best interests, and an 'invisible hand' takes over to guide them to the optimum solution). John Nash was right, Adam Smith was wrong.

2) Investment economics is loosely based on the story of the bear chasing two men. Don't worry about the bear; worry about being better and faster than the other guy.

3) Risk management is about the rabbit in the middle of the road. If the rabbit stayed in the middle of the road, there's no risk management. If the rabbit chooses whether to stay on the left lane or the right lane of the road because it thinks it won't get roadkilled there, that's risk management.

4) Oil futures and Trading Economics is nothing but a paper market of guarantees. Only smart people can make money using Trading Economics, but engineers can't make sense of how is it possible to make profit out of guarantees. Therefore, engineers aren't smart enough to take Trading as an occupation.

5) Accountants will give you a numerical answer for a "How much is...." question. An economist must give you a counter-question of "Why do you want to know?". The accountant's answer is absolute, the economist's answer is always relative.

It's been great to be in a classroom again.

Ramblings in a Hotel Room with the newest Stephen King book before me

2008-11-30T21:20:00.005+08:00

is nike the god of speed? can't really remember.
climb sweet
dream rock
smash quick
dive frisbee.
work.
play.
party.
talk.
swoosh.
fight.
sing.
think.
peace.

id.
in a few days, all these words will mean something. and hopefully more.
thanks.

-------------

I got to meet up with my cousin Pao in Singapore this morning. He was all beaming happy when he got to see me. He's been homesick pretty bad ever since he started working as an OFW two months ago.

Both of us are mama's boys -- we spent an hour talking about our respective moms' dealings-with-life. Then the talk shifted quickly to the fun we had with our batch (we were classmates from 1st grade until senior year). We reminisced the many times he acted as a big bro for me in the classroom or in outings -- always keeping me in check and in line (believe it or not, I am the more "evil" cousin between us two). Too bad Elips or Maloy weren't around because the winning story for the day was reminiscing the time when we got the two of them "introduced" to magic shrooms and its induced euphoria on a rainy summer night on the beach.

In a nutshell, both of us enjoyed the few hours of reunion and wished it were longer ("Pao, baka umiyak ka na naman mamaya... hahaha). There'll be a next time bro, don't worry.

And next time, we'll party. On me. It's my turn to be the big bro.

The Birth of STD Nights

2008-11-18T08:32:00.002+08:00

16 pieces of good-sized crabs prepared in 3 ways and shared among 5 guys.

Welcome to the 1st S.T.D. night!

Last week, Jay sent out this photo of a crab dish he craved for to me, Emer, Glenn and Bai. It looked really really mouth-watering on the photo and soon all of us wanted some of it. Too bad that it's a plane flight away just to get that particular crab dish.

So we settled for the next best thing. We cooked our own! Hahaha...

I went to the SEASIDE seafood market last Sunday afternoon to pick out and purchase crabs. Got a really good bargain for it (~240 Php/kilo after some intense negotiation, medium sized, plump crabs).

Brought the crabs to Batangas, cleaned all of them that night, steamed them, chucked them in the ref and had 1 beer after.

Monday night: Glenn took care of the rice and drinks, Jay did the chopping of the spices to be used, I cooked the crabs and Bai and Emer brought their appetites (hehehe...). After a half-hour of chopping, frying and baking, we had:

* Oriental-Style Fried Crabs
* Baked Chili Crabs
* old-fashioned Steamed Crabs

Spreading all of the cooked crabs on the table was like looking at an oasis in the middle of the desert. We dug in! Sarap!

Until next month's STD night. Hehehe. And we'll have photos of the dishes next time.

Did you know that "crabs" is a term for a particular sexually-transmitted disease? Just in case you haven't figured out yet why last night was the 1st STD night.

Move It

2008-11-17T09:26:00.001+08:00

I like to move it, move it...

1.
It felt like I was on Amazing Race again last Saturday. Left Batangas at 10 am, lunch with my cousins at Alabang, sped thru SLEX and C-5 to be at Ateneo by 3pm for my frisbee game, Ortigas at 6 pm, then finally Mall of Asia by 8 pm.

Whew…

2.
I skinned my knee area, right arm and chin on separate goal attempts during my weekend frisbee game with the team. The injuries are not that bad though as compared to Eric’s and Pretty Boy’s (who by the way has earned a new alias --- Iced Tea Boy) who both had longer cuts on their legs. The field was deceivingly dry, packed and hard.

I think I’ve slightly upgraded my passing and catching skills. Hey, I was able to throw an air-bounce during the game. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t intend it to be an air-bounce pass. And all of my backhand passes were good. As for catching, I’ve been able to execute a full sprint-jump-one-handed-catch combo many times over.

3.
Madagascar 2’s a good movie. I used my brother’s last batch of free IMAX tickets to treat the fishyfishy group (plus Emer) for the animation’s IMAX screening. King Julian and Maurice are still funny, but this time around the penguins with the Mafia attitude steal the show --- from launching off their Air Penguin plane to tricking safari tour groups in leaving their vehicles and finally negotiating with monkeys about maternity leaves.

After the movie, we had a couple of sub-zero-degree San Mig Light beers at the San Miguel by the Bay just across Mall of Asia. Having a supercooled beer on a cool evening… woot!

My Name is STIP and I Am Here To Rescue You

2008-11-11T16:27:00.003+08:00

A.
Many years back, ALIAS was my favorite TV series. The spy-action plot involving the lead character Sidney working as a double-agent mesmerized me over four seasons.

My favorite episode is when the lead, despite all her martial arts and pistol skills, gets cornered by her enemies and gets imprisoned. The heroine becomes the damsel-in-distress. And so, somebody needed to rescue her.

Back at her agency, the one identified to have the necessary skills for the rescue mission turned out to be their gadget-specialist. They needed someone with the know-how of all the high-tech safeguards which Sidney’s captors are using in their hide-out. The extraction plan was simple: get past through all the security safeguards, blast a hole through Sidney’s cell and extract her. So, Gadget-Specialist Guy gets the job of rescuing her.

Anyway, what made it my favorite episode is because Gadget-Specialist guy (I can’t remember his name) doesn’t have any action scenes throughout the season. He’s usually on his desk, speaking through a headphone set. But in this particular episode, he’s part of the action.

And when he was finally able to blast through the cell of Sidney, he calls out to Sidney, “Hi, my name is XXXXX and I am here to rescue you!”.

That was cool.

-----------------

B.
Last week, I was “nominated” to attend a 5-day Advanced Rescue course conducted by the Philippine National Red Cross. It was a Rope Rescue / Rope Technician Level 1 course.

It’s easy to describe: I got to learn how to rescue someone using rappelling skills.

I’ve done rappelling before back in my Boy Scout / Eagle Scout / Nature Badge days. It’s easy for me to get down on a rope by myself using various rappelling styles, but this course is 100% different from what I’ve been exposed to.

This time around, I need to rescue someone which can be accessed only using ropes, and bring myself and the victim down to a safe place. With NO belayer. The rescuer will have to belay both himself and the victim simultaneously.

Hence, it’s definitely a physically-demanding activity. Not to mention the mental pressure of trying to assure myself that I can do this life-risking activity. Nature also added some sense of realism on the course by striking us with sunny overcast mornings then drenching us with afternoon downpours every day. Rain-or-shine....

A rundown of the things unique to rope-rescue (and be able to be certified for it):

1) Be able to neatly tie 15 different kinds of knots and combinations of them with bulky leather gloves on. And that you have 15 seconds to tie each of those knots neatly.

2) Laying out your own rope and anchoring them securely by yourself.

3) “On-rope….rappelling!!!”. And performing your own test-jumps.

4) “Locking-up” – the skill of securing yourself on your own line by maneuvering your rope to lock itself on your descender. Requires split-second timing and hand+body coordination. Allows you to free both of your hands for other uses, such as trying to rescue someone else. If done wrong, either two things can happen: either the rescuer falls to the ground OR you end up with an injured hand because it got caught in the rope. (Note: one guy in our class ended up with his thumbnail torn off despite the leather glove protection). This is the skill which I had the hardest time figuring out how to execute it.

5) Making rope hitches and emergency harnesses, and using them as your leverage control when doing ascending. Ascending skills will demand good upper, lower and core body strength on the rescuer, not to mention flexibility.

6) “Unlock” – the opposite of “locking up”. Has the same consequences as “Locking-up” if done incorrectly.

7) Buddy checks are a requirement --- have at least two other people check your straps, carabiner gates, rescue-8 rings and harnesses.

8) Accident recovery --- Recover to the rappeller’s neutral position in case he finds himself face flat on the wall or hanging upside down.

9) Transfer – You’re currently rappelling on rope A. However, you need to go to rope B which is alongside rope A. How do you disengage yourself from rope A and secure yourself in rope B at a height of 25 meters with no belayers?

10) Evolution. Combining items 1 through 9 in order to perform the last required skill for certification.

11) Victim Rescue --- Recover a victim from an area accessible only by ropes. Don a harness on the victim. Secure victim onto your rope. Bring victim down to safe area. Note: You’re doing all of these by yourself, so you should be capable of rappelling both yourself and the victim at the same time.

During my “graduation exam” wherein I had to perform 3 victim rescues, I psyched myself by calling out to the victim before allowing direct contact between us: “Hi, my name is Stip and I am here to rescue you.”

Hahaha… it sounded as cool as how I remember it when I was watching ALIAS.

Lastly, a photo of our class, now officially my workplace's elite pool of rope rescuers.

On Being Poor, My Parents and the Outdoors

2008-11-02T20:49:00.002+08:00

1.
sigh...

It's already November. It's the start of my monthly amortization.
I'm officially POOR.

Have to subsist on my salary for the next six months. My passive income all goes towards what I would like to think of as a "good investment".

I'm back in the rat race.

2.
My parents decided to stay this weekend with me at Batangas so I wasn't able to go anywhere else. It was a great, quiet weekend for us.

My mom cooked all my favorite foods (paksiw na lechon, menudo, bulalo, pork steak, monggo with shrimp, beef tapa) for the last two days with me, of course, as her kitchen assistant. She even brought her charcoal stove so that the bulalo flavor would be at its best. Hahaha. By the way, last Friday night, Bai, Chewy and Jay talked my mom into "adopting" them for dinner (menudo, fried tilapia, ginisang pechay with shrimps).

After dinner, my dad would have his customary drink (I keep a bottle of Chivas on-stock always) and chat with me about current events (this time around, his favorite topic is the Obama presidency).

My parents also got me a gift. Hahahaha. It was a remote-controlled dragonfly! When was the last time your parents ever got you a toy? I spent a couple of hours this afternoon figuring out how to operate the dragonfly. =)

3.
Finally, I found a group who's interested in climbing Mt. Kinabalu! Wahoo! We're gonna do it next year! I'm excited about the whole trip. It'll be my first climb outside of the country, and what makes it better is that we're climbing the tallest mountain in the region. Whoop! It's a 6-day climb!

A couple of my colleagues are still "encouraging" me to take up diving. My problem is I can't fit those diving lessons into my schedule (specially with Christmas season fast approaching).

Hmmm... maybe next year na rin?

When Angels and Demons Have Fun

2008-10-27T09:36:00.003+08:00

Who: The Team

Venue: at some particular hotel suite in Ortigas

Date: on some particular day of October 2008

Why: October/November celebrants party + Halloween(?) party

After a hot afternoon game, around 30 people, including myself, partied in a hotel suite in Ortigas this month with an “Angels and Demons” theme. Initially, I thought they were kidding on being in costume. But they weren’t.

Good thing that Joc had the foresight to buy some extra “props”, in case some of the guys (like me) doesn’t show up with an Angel/Demon costume or accessory. Thanks for the angel wings, Joc!

A rundown of the night’s events, based on what I remember:

1. Hands down, the most exciting game for the night was Bato-Bato-Pik. The whole room was shouting at the outcome of the Bato-Bato-Pik challenge.

2. Best costume was Vern’s, who came as Sweeney Todd. Chew in a Japanese school girl outfit with a halo and JP arriving as George Michael with fairy wings probably battled it out for the second best costume.

3. Ron calling me “dude”, and me calling him “dude” as well because neither of us have been introduced to each other, until somebody else pointed out that we “stop calling each other dude”.

4. A certain Chinese girl was so tipsy after one shot of Rhum coke. But I give her credit for trying hard to still be “lively” throughout the party.

5. I’VE NEVER game statement: “I’ve never given a woman 3 O’s in one minute.” And somebody drank up. HE THE MAN!

6. Marlon and Rodney as booze runners --- the two of them combined, they gave me (this is the sequence as I remember it) 3 shots of vodka, 2 servings of rhum coke, 3 shots of ginebra+lime, 3 ½ shots of tequila, 2 shots of Jag, 1 glass of Jag later on, and 2 shots of schnappes. That last shot of schnappes sent me running to the toilet for a… uhm…period of reflection.

7. Playing Dance-Dance Revolution on Wii is twice the fun if you’re drunk.

8. The girls lining up for a group shot.

9. By 2 am, only 3 people were left sober.

10. Had to use my first aid rescue/transfer skills on soemone; he was too drunk to stand up, and was becoming a hazard to the rest of the party.

11. Party was still going on at 6 am!

12. Taking photos, and half of them are ones that you don’t remember taking. Hahaha.

13. [Stage whisper]: “Shhhhhhhh….. that’s supposed to be a secret!”

By the way, on record the Angels group won the night’s games. But who cared? =)

Until the next party! Oh, and lest that I forget, happy birthday to the celebrants!

Somebody floated the idea of a “Merry XXXmas and NAUGHTY New Year” party.

Friday, 1600H

2008-10-24T16:01:00.003+08:00

At last. Pwede ng umuwi, tapos na duty ko.
Yahoo!

I haven't gotten used to it yet, but here's an attempt for having a bit of weekend team-spirit:

BOOM.

Laying Down my Domino Piece on Black Friday

2008-10-13T10:51:00.002+08:00

The newspaper headlines last Friday hit me hard. It got me worried.

”Massive sell-offs on world stocks: Nikkei, Dow Jones plunges”

I’ve got a small portfolio on stocks, about 9000 USD in worth as of end September. My net gain so far is about 14%. Some of my stocks were gifts from my parents and a godfather, but more than two-thirds of these I’ve accumulated slowly over the last five years.

Ever since I’ve gotten my first stocks certificate (25 shares on Intel), I haven’t sold any of them. Until last Monday though.

I sold about half of my portfolio value in order to raise enough money for a cash downpayment on a condo unit I’m keen on buying this month. I’ve been poring over it for weeks, analyzing my financial situation and cash flow. After consulting my status with a couple of financial experts, I’m convinced that I can manage this project.

Now here’s the thing: After reading the headlines last Friday, did I somehow contribute to the sharp decline on stocks values all over the world? I felt that my action there was like laying down my personal domino piece on the event leading to last Friday’s world headlines. I’m wondering if my stocks selling was part (even a tiny bit) of the “massive sell-offs” being acknowledged around the globe?

The upside of the whole thing is that if I didn’t sell my stocks last Monday, I would have lost about 400$ in value today (talk about a bearish sale!). It’s a measly sum compared to the 1 TRILLION DOLLARS reported be lost in the global stocks market plunge last Friday but 400$ is a lot of money for someone who works in a country with an average annual per capita income of around 800$.

I do hope that the country won’t fall into the same mortgage crisis as to what happened in the US. Otherwise, I’d really be in deep kimchi 4 or 5 years from now. (Fingers crossed…)

--------------------------------

Just an update on my frisbee playing: our team lost 8-6 last weekend. It was, again, a Spartan effort for us. I scored 3 goals, had a couple of picture-perfect catches (but no photos of it, darn!), overstretched my left arm/shoulder (now I understand why some of the guys have medical tape on their upper arms) and cramped my right hamstring again. It was tiring but fun.

--------------------------------

Get a copy of Wedding Essentials 2008, and look for the feature article on Glenn and Janice's wedding. =) I tried looking for a copy at ATC last weekend, but no success so far though.

2008-10-08T13:14:00.002+08:00

It was raining heavily. Visibility was down to about 40 feet. We were down 12-8 on goals.

At the end line, all of us were already weary. We were only five, against the other team’s ten. We’ve been throwing, catching and running like hellhounds for the last sixty minutes. No substitutions, no chance to catch our breaths or rest our cramped limbs.

In the rain, I can see my teammates’ resolve to push on for the remaining ten minutes of the match. Water streaming down our faces, we gave each other whispered words of encouragement.

“We can still do this.”

“The next goal is ours!”

I just nodded. I’m conserving what remaining energy I have for a burst sprint that will most probably be needed from me in a few minutes.

Rod threw the disc for the pull. We were playing defense for this next goal.

We ran, taking up a man from the opponent’s team and marked each of them. I can vaguely hear the cheers coming from the grandstand, drowned out by the water splashes made by our cleated shoes pounding on the rain-soaked playing field.

I and my teammates were already at the limits of our endurance. Running and defending against our opponents, hoping for a possible interception and turnover. I can sense that all of us were already slowing down.

And then luck smiled upon us. An opponent fumbled on one of the passes and failed to catch the disc. It was a turnover. The rain receded slightly.

We seized the opportunity.

By some mental connection, all of us knew where to go and what to do.

Vern, at midfield, threw the disc to Rod. JP and I were sprinting towards our goalzone. The disc's flight was arced, but Rod caught it while running.

Rod held the disc for a few seconds longer, waiting for JP to establish his position at the quarterfield.

I kept on running towards the goalzone. I glanced back, and saw Rod threw the disc backhanded to JP.

Two defenders were going towards JP. While running, I gave JP the nod to throw the disc.

He threw it. Forehand throw. High. The disc gained elevation momentarily.

And I ran like hell after it, feeling the rain streaming down my face. I could hear the cheers coming from the grandstand.

I was almost near the end of the goalzone, but the disc is still 6 feet above and away from me.

I jumped, my left arm stretched upwards, my momentum bringing me directly under the disc.

I felt my fingers connect with the disc.

I finger-clawed the disc.
….
…
..
.

“AAAAOOOOWWWW…”, the crowd cried unhappily.

The disc slid by my fingers. It flew on, outside the goal zone.

I landed on the wet ground, frustrated, and collapsed my whole body on the grass.
I was panting.
The puddle I was lying on comforted me.

------------------------

Our team lost eventually, 13-8.

We were tired and wet. We huddled underneath a tree. Our white jerseys were now brown, soiled with mud. We clapped each other’s back for the hard-fought battle earlier.

But many people, including our opponents, came up to us and congratulated us for a great game, despite our numbers being few. Some of the viewers from the grandstand even told us that they've become our “fans” while watching the game.

One guy, in particular, summarized everything neatly. "You guys have great hearts."

Until the next game.

One More Chance

2008-10-03T10:31:00.000+08:00

It’s ironic that the first group-watching, popcorn-laden, wine-drinking movie that was previewed at my new pad was a local romantic film.

One, I rarely watch Tagalog movies. Generally, I find the scriptwriting and videography of the local films too common; I’d rather be engrossed playing a video game than watch a ho-hum movie.

Two, it was a romantic film. Cheesy films are just not my type. I’m more of the horror-movie type of fan.

The Tu/Th swimming club decided to have a movie session last night after our regular laps at the pool. After a sumptuous dinner of Cille’s chicken wings, Rico’s caldereta and my salted porkchops, everyone squeezed into my studio-type pad to watch Angelle’s movie selection for the night, One More Chance (starring John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo). 10 of us settled down, passed around wine (excellent dry wine!) brought by Maimai and sugar-coated donuts contributed by Julie.

It wasn’t meant to be a funny movie, but we found ourselves laughing half of the time because of somebody else’s occasional side-comment. Some of the characters and situations reminded us of relate-able events and personalities at our workplace.

Anyway, the movie wasn’t that bad. What it didn’t make up for the storyline, the side-stories among the movie-watchers made it enjoyable.

I hope they suggest seeing a horror flick next time. Or a sci-fi movie. =)

P.S.

1) Good luck to Angelle for her upcoming board exams. Yep, the reason for the movie night was because she’s gonna be away for a month to review for her board exams.
2) Good luck din to Boks for your annual physical exam. Hehehe.

ULTIMATE!!!

2008-09-29T09:36:00.002+08:00

...my legs ache... *groan*

Yesterday was the 2nd day of the Malakas at Maganda ultimate frisbee tournament league. I was one of the rookie players in the team, so I wasn't expecting much field time for the games and had my DSLR cam at-hand for some sports/action photography. The team had to go against 3 other teams yesterday, and each game lasts for 70 minutes.

I ended up playing for about 60-65 minutes for each game mainly because the team was undermanned yesterday, and there were only just enough of us to play the required positions in the game.

That's more than 3 hours of running and sprinting all over the field. And sadly, no action shots.

But, I scored 6 goals and had a positive feeling that I contributed to the team's victory.

My 10 Reasons Why Ultimate Frisbee is a Great Sport

1. Lose the inches. In two weekends of playing, I've lost 1 inch on my waistline (from 31 down to 30) despite gaining 2 pounds on my weight.

2. Tone your legs. All that sprinting, jumping and running around to get possession of the disc will definitely work out your calves, quads and hamstring muscles.

3. Define your ab muscles. Granting that your body fat is not that much, you'll definitely start seeing definition on your ab section. Playing frisbee involves use of the core muscles maybe for all those breaks and sudden turns and mid-air twists, and certainly for those long throws.

4. Cardiovascular workout. Healthier heart and healthier lungs. Easily burn off 500 calories in one game! Second wind gets you going.

5. There's a science involved. Aerodynamics actually. If you can identify the factors of air resistance, disc rotation, tilt, release velocity and direction, you can be confident of the trajectory of the frisbee. Science helps in making you figure out how those some of those spectacular throws are possible.

6. Pain is my friend. Well, I enjoy the feeling of self-induced (muscle) pain. It gives me the feeling of an increased performance level. =) No pain, no gain. I believe that pain makes you a stronger person.

7. Girls. Self-explananatory. =)

8. For the lover of the elements. Play under the sun or the rain, with or without winds, on a dry or muddy field, the game's still on. And doing rolls or dives or slides on the grass is fun!

9. It's fast, and it's a team sport. Mostly physical, but some mental skills also required. Knowing how to utilize all of your team's strengths and cover the weaknesses pays off. It takes all of the team's effort to score a single goal -- handlers, defenders, receivers and runners.

10. It's a cool sport, but the community is cooler. Being a "new" sport, the frisbee community is pretty close-knit, friendly and the potential for networking is high. Moreover, most of the veteran players are more than willing to teach the rookies their tips and tricks in order to improve their skill levels.

Ultimate!!!

Congratulations

2008-09-26T14:20:00.003+08:00

Yup, Lissa's got it right. I've been gearing myself up since last night to announce this:

To Lissa, Mommy G, Roms, Chie, Niks, Gert, Aldy, Poch, BM, Tony, Nikki, May, Mae, June, and Lei, and the rest of my blue-blooded friends and "mentors":

CONGRATULATIONS to you and your school for taking the UAAP Men's Basketball title this year. =D

Until next year. Sana may re-match. Hahahaha!

ANIMO.

The Good and The Bad

2008-09-24T15:16:00.004+08:00

The BAD

If you think you can do a better job than me, I'll be more than happy to get my hands off of this project. I actually DARE you.

I'm already mentally exhausted over it, no thanks to the pressure from different parties. I choose to be credible than be "manipulative".

I'm really disappointed at the way we advocate Honesty and Integrity as core values but fail to uphold it when the pressure's applied.

The GOOD

I and my best friend went out for drinks on Saturday night with his 5-year-old son (my godson) in tow. We just came from a Superfriends-themed children's party earlier and decided to unwind a bit before heading to our respective homes.

Being the guys we are, the two of us soon found ourselves playing the "ratings" game for the girls that we see strolling by.

Me: "Hmm... she's a 7."
Him: "No way, man. At least an 8."
godson: "8!....9!....10!....11!"
Me: "Kid knows how to count. Great."
Him: "He's got gold stars for Math at his playschool. I'm not like that. Mana sa ninong!"
Me: "Dude, that's because I give him the incentive to do well at school, specially in Math. (to godson) Maq, what do you need to do to get a Gameboy?"
godson: "Learn to read and count! Ninong, sa school hindi pa kami nag-r-read... pa'no yun?"
Me: "You can ask your Papa."
Him: "Dude, 9 coming."
Me: "Yup, definitely a 9. Heard that? You can teach him to read."
Him: "My son's going to be a geek."
Me: "Hahahaha... I don't think so."
Godson: "Ninong, ninong, open your eyes! Open your eyes!"
Me: "Why? What do you want me to see?"
Godson: "(whispering) ...ten..."

Maq just spotted a really tall, good-looking lady. And definitely a ten.

Hahaha.

Ultimate

2008-09-15T10:51:00.002+08:00

What: Ultimate Frisbee Tournament League (All Female/All Male Matches)
Venue: Ayala Alabang Village Country Club

It was generally a hot blistering day last Sunday, but it was a good day to play frisbee and take some action shots.

Cheers

2008-09-09T12:04:00.002+08:00

One weekend, my peers got me drunk on Scotch and I woke up not being able to remember more than 70% of what happened the previous night. I woke up on my bed still wearing the same clothes I wore the previous night with the most terrible hangover I’ve experienced in a year, plus a bruise on my shoulder which we haven't figured out yet how I got it.

Another weekend, my best friend got me drunk with wine. I do remember having drinks in the pool at his floating bar with his mom, very late in the night. I woke up at their guest room with no hangover; rather, I felt light and happy.

On another weekend, my cousin got me drunk with beer. He broke up with his girlfriend of 8 years a month ago, resigned from his job, and flying out to Singapore next month. We drank at my place, celebrating. I woke up on our living room couch with no hangover and my cousin snoring, a trail of vomit going to our front door.

Lastly, on another weekend, I fixed myself a shot of whiskey and played the piano (I haven’t played the piano in a long time) and the violin. I had the house to myself. I couldn’t sleep then, but I didn’t want to go out either. I woke up the following day with melodies in my head.

Drinks anyone?

Throwing Spagetti on the Wall

2008-09-03T09:47:00.001+08:00

If there’s one extraordinary cooking tip that I learned from my Malaysian colleagues MinYee and JayWyn, it’s cooking spagetti noodles.

I’ve been cooking decent dishes for about 10 years now, able to duplicate most of my mom’s dishes. I tried to learn how to cook by being so geeky about it --- making mental models of the heat input, convection, precise measurements, monitoring time and color/smell changes which marked chemical reactions in the pot. I attempted to cook with a scientific approach.

But science experiments are meant to be trial-and-error activities. Food being an expensive commodity nowadays, I realized that making mistakes when cooking can prove to be a very wasteful activity.

Most cooks have it to an art.

And then I figured out that the art of cooking is just a scientific activity wherein the scientist can exploit the tolerance bands of smell, flavor and palatability as a function of time and heat.

But some things, like spagetti noodles, do not have indicators for smell or flavor. Aside from checking the noodle consistency for al dente, I mostly end up with spagetti noodles not to my exact liking whenever I cook it. Al dente is pretty subjective – how do you exactly specify it to the scientific cook?

And then, a couple of smart kids came along and told me to just throw the spagetti noodles on the wall.

If it’s cooked, it’ll stick to the wall. If it’s undercooked, it’ll slide off.

I was skeptic about the theory, but when they demonstrated it to me I was just amazed.

Last night, I cooked a tomato-and-basil sauce and some spagetti noodles for dinner. And yup, I threw a couple of noodles on the wall.

They stuck to the wall looking like albino earthworms.

The noodles turned out to be great, exactly just how I like it.

Next time, I’ll try throwing chicken wings on the wall. Hahaha. Just kidding.

My Room as My Sanctuary

2008-08-29T15:04:00.000+08:00

In the last couple of years, I’ve been living in a fairly big studio-type room allotted by the company I work for for bachelors like me. I find it perfect for my various requirements: the occasional privacy-slash-alone-time-moments, hosting small dinners or drinking sessions, letting a few friends sleepover for the weekend, my after-office-hours workplace, my private multimedia entertainment room and of course, my sleeping quarters.

In a couple of weeks time, I’ll be moving out of my current room and transfer to an adjoining room. The reason is primarily for aesthetics, but practicality is a near second. I wanted a room with more windows.

And moving into a new space generates some giddiness in me and some rampant spending.

I’ve bought a spanking-new, shiny, black LCD TV.
I’ve bought a dark-themed painting from a friend’s sister.
I’m buying romanian-type curtains in brown.
I’m scouting for a couple of tall wooden bookshelves.
A new bathroom mirror and a new shower curtain.
A wall-mirror.
A cheap low-but-long TV stand that’ll fit my new TV with enough room left-over for my game consoles and DVD player.

All these will cost me a little over a hundred grand.

I figured that if I’m staying in that room for another couple of years, I should make it comfortable and live-able by my standards. As soon as I’ve got everything set-up, I’d invite a few friends over as a sort of housewarming.

My room is my sanctuary.

Was, Is, and Will Always Be

2008-08-22T15:52:00.001+08:00

That's my current working concept.

Of what?

I'm not telling. Hehehe.

Happy Birthday Bro!

2008-08-07T10:33:00.002+08:00

Lampayatot.
Couch potato.
Die-hard Barangay Ginebra fan.
Janice's other half.
Sweet tooth.

The other day, one of my colleagues was showing the new girl in the group some of the photos and videos of the various fun activities that we held over the last few years -- parties+get-togethers, a Sesame-street style video (which won us 30 thousand pesos) and some dancing on the side. The girl says, "How do you guys manage to do these things so well and so fun-looking?"

Guy answers, "Well, mostly because of Glenn and Stip." High-five for you dude.

To the top guy on my favorite people list, happy birthday bro!

Saturday Night Mike

2008-08-04T11:49:00.002+08:00

1.

It takes me some getting used to to be referred to as Mike or Mikey. Sure, I get called by that nickname when I'm with my family and relatives, but on a Saturday night out with friends? It takes some getting used to.

Haven't seen most of my high school friends in almost 10 years. Everybody called me Mike or Mikey then.

But on Saturday night, despite the rains and flashfloods in Makati, I found myself sitting and drinking among them at my batchmate Onin's bar and being referred to as Mike. We had a blitz party for Jayson who's on vacation from his Dubai-based work.

Hahaha... I was appointed to be bangka that night. Had to rack through my brains searching for worthwhile snippets to discuss and laugh about that night. Called the shots on which topics to talk about.

2.

Yeah, I like this shot! (photo taken during a karting party with friends/colleagues)

3.

If you spend 5 hours inside the car travelling to somewhere and spending only an hour at our coffee shop destination, does my car count as a date place? *snicker* =)

Showtime

2008-07-30T16:40:00.002+08:00

1.

Congratulations to the Tabangao team for winning 3rd place in the country-wide dance contest among the various business units of our company. Held last Friday at One Esplanade Place, the annual dance competition's theme this year is "OPM Selection".

True to our site's 'baduy-on-the-outside-but-kwela-on-the-inside' demeanor, we settled for Andrew E. (well, we actually wanted Parokya ni Edgar but somebody picked that option first).

Some stills of the group's winning and fun performance. Congratulations guys and girls!
If you look really, really hard, you'll actually see me onstage. Hahaha.

2.

Kaye's off for a cross-post assignment to Singapore starting next week, so we gave her a send-off party the other night.

What's "special" about this send-off is that she requested for LIVE performances of our musical talents.

Good luck on your next assignment, Kaye!
And see you at Amanpulo in the future. Hahahaha.

Elements

2008-07-27T21:58:00.003+08:00

1. WATER

So that's how scuba diving feels like. It feels like a pre-meditated suicide.

A couple of weekends back, one of my colleagues sort of kidnapped me to accompany him on his dive trip. He figured that I'll finally do Discover Scuba (which I did) while he goes for a couple of dives somewhere nearby.

Note to readers: I'm paranoid about open waters.
Another note to readers: I've drowned twice when I was younger, and had been resuscitated twice. (Yep, the whole routine of one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and-five-and-six-and-seven-and-BLOW --- CPR). I'm living my third life already.

I decided on that day to finally confront my paranoia of the deep blue sea.

By mid-morning, I've been geared up into a wet suit, don on a snorkel mask and a pair of fins.

I breezed through the basics -- deflating the BCD, inflating the BCD, worked on a few hand signals, did mask clearing, retrieved my regulator and scubadived in the pool. Breathe in, breathe out. I'm okay. The instructor was happy with me.

The hard part for me is doing it in open water. Hahaha!

Swallowing my fear, I took the plunge in the sea.
There's an initial rush of adrenaline.
And found myself going deeper and deeper.
And then some peace.
And found myself smiling.

So that is how diving feels like. It's the same feeling that I get when I let go of a burden. Things feel lighter, I get to enjoy the scenery and everything just passes you by.

I think scuba diving is going to be an interesting... uhm... pasttime. Not a potential hobby for me (yet), but definitely a pasttime.

2. FIRE

Lightning suppossedly doesn't strike the same spot twice. But it can strike a nearby area without any doubt. Strike two.

I've a pretty good idea where it's gonna strike next.

3. AIR

I bought the whole MAXIMUM RIDE series by James Patterson a couple of nights ago. I finished the first two books in less than 24 hours.

I breezed through it. It really has been an adventurous read so far.

4. EARTH

I'm hoping for good weather this weekend. I'm going mountain-climbing. Yahoooo!

Hell Week

2008-07-18T15:43:00.002+08:00

Question: How does one conclude a hell week at work?

Answer: Get into a heated argument with the people you interface with.

I had to triple-hat the whole week because my colleague is on emergency leave. I discovered that the length of my fuse before my temper blows up gets divided accordingly.

Ergo, my temper's been short this week. By the end of this week, it was at its end.

BAM!

Argued with our group's Singapore-based planner (who I really think is a very incompetent person) ---- I think she was shocked since I sort of reprimanded her. Also argued with the Tech Support Manager on how a refinery's capability should be represented (he took a conservative stand while I took a lesser conservative one).

I'm finally glad the week's over.

Happy Birthday to You

2008-07-16T10:12:00.002+08:00

----------
june 22, 2008
12:04pm

chweet chweet. chweet chweet. text message:

i'm okay to be friends if you're okay to be friends.

Holy camote que!!

if there ever was a moment to say "be still, my heart" this would be it.

-----------

- printed here without permission from the blog of Lissa, who's celebrating her birthday today.

To the sexiest and funniest writer who loves to scare little kids and chide me during La Salle-Ateneo games, a happy happy birthday to you!

My Birthday Story

2008-07-16T00:31:00.002+08:00

I haven't found the time to blog in the last few weeks. I've been doing some thinking in the sidelines. Deep thinking.

Finally, I selected something to write about.

I've been missing on greeting some of my friends on their birthdays the last few weeks. Anyway, better late than never, I've greeted them post-event with my apologies (...my lame excuse was I totally forgot that it was their bithday).

Four months ago, it was my birthday. Come to think of it, I didn't blog about anything about my birthday then. It was too... extraordinary in a certain way. I think now's a good time to blog about it and keep it preserved as a good memory.

For my birthday four months ago, I had taken a leave (it was a weekday) from office. I was planning to take it easy: chat with my brother the night before to do some catching up, sleep for more than 6 hours on a weekday, have a special breakfast, then drive back to Manila in time for a family+friends-dinner-slash-birthday-treat at a newly-opened restaurant.

I didn't get 6 hours of sleep on my birthday. It was something like four.
I woke up to the sound of my mobile ringing at a pretty early time of the day.
I didn't hear any chirpy female voice at the other end of the line when I answered my phone. Instead, I woke up to the sound of a grown man crying.

How many people would actually hear a grown man cry on the other end of the phone? Probably one in a thousand. But how many people get that kind of wake-up call on their birthdays? Probably one in a million.

The person at the other end of the phone, one of the few guys I preferably hang out with, was asking for my help, desperate for it. He needed to find someone important to him. It was as if someone's life depended on it. He needed a means to get around, travel and search for someone.

It was a no-brainer for me. I offered him the use of my car. He needed it more than I do, I thought at that time. I decided that its okay to sacrifice some of my time to help out the dude, thinking that I'd make it in time for my birthday dinner at Manila anyway.

So, instead of having a special breakfast on my birthday I settled for a quick cup of coffee then bring my car over to him. I didn't make it for dinner at Manila as well, because I waited for him to get back hopefully with his problem resolved (and I was essentially carless).

He got back late that night, around 10 in the evening, and he was able to resolve his problem.

So where's the birthday celebration?

I still decided to drive back to Manila that night. Fortunately, my best friend who was supposed to join the planned birthday dinner party my parents planned for me was expecting that I'd call him sooner or later.

Two minutes before midnight, I was in a parking lot in Alabang with my best friend, a bottle of Shiraz each. I drank it for my good health, and for the relief that hours before I was able to help someone in need despite the sacrifice I made for my schedule and plans. At midnight, the two of us sang "...happy birthday to me...".

Not many people get that opportunity on their birthdays. I personally think it's one of the most unique birthday experiences I've ever gotten.

-------------------------------

Now, remember that I mentioned at the start of this post that I've been doing some deep thinking?

I was thinking that if it were somebody else who seeked for the same assistance on my birthday, would I have willingly helped him never mind the sacrifices I would need to make? Or if it was the same person but I knew him under different circumstances, would I do the same thing as what I've narrated above?

- end -

1. Discordia 2. Relief 3. Milestones

2008-06-20T10:35:00.002+08:00

FIRST.
I would never have thought that whom I was certain to be a peacekeeper would put on a mask of discord.
The change in persona took me by surprise, and got me disappointed.
I would like to believe that it was just a mask.
I would like to think that he/she was just on drugs.
Or that the peacekeeper had to resort to war tactics. Some of history’s great leaders believed that peace can be attained by engaging in wars, never mind the collateral damage. Such, I think the peacekeeper thought so.
Otherwise, my belief system needs a revamp.
I’ll sit back, watch and see how the situation will evolve.

SECOND
The last time I had a cold (and not flu) was back in sixth grade.
It was a cold. Not a runny nose which usually goes with my semi-annual flu bouts or my occasional episodes of allergic rhinitis.
It was a cold with the works. Stuffy nose, difficulty breathing through my nostrils, heaps of Kleenex tissues needed. And the characteristic yellow mucus that comes with a bad cold.
I tried all sorts of home remedies. But I think the remedy set which finally cured me was a big steaming bowl of chicken tinola, supplemented by hot calamansi juice with honey.
So after 11 days of having a nasal voice and a blocked airway, I woke up one day with my breathing back to normal.
It’s a simple joy to be back to normal.

THIRD
Of course, reasons to celebrate. Milestones.
Let’s start with a simple thing.
I almost whooped with ecstasy at the swimming pool yesterday.
I managed to do a tumble turn 75% right. Two of my colleagues showed me how early this week, and were giving me pointers on how to do it properly.
Yesterday, I was at the swimming pool again. And I decided to test myself if I can do it.
I think I executed it right, because it felt right and natural. Freestyle swimming: stroke-stroke-breathe-tuck arms in-use core muscles to whip body forward-blow out through nose-twist underwater.
I missed hitting the end-wall of the pool though (was about a foot off). So I wasn’t able to kick against it. Hahaha...

And on to a more grand milestone.
Receiving a big brown envelope is cause for celebration in my workgroup.
I’ve been on my current assignment for only two months, and yesterday I was handed a big brown envelope.
Inside was a letter of congratulations, and stating a certain award.
Wahooo!
That big brown envelope makes my current job a bit more palatable.
And to think that I was doing things normally, my way, my style, the last two months. It seems that my workgroup recognizes such work ethics, and gives corresponding rewards for it.

Oreos

2008-06-16T00:10:00.002+08:00

Some years ago, there was this TV commercial featuring a dad and his toddler son with a pile of Oreos and a glass of milk each in front of them. The father teaches the son the “right way” to eat an Oreo cookie: break, lick, then dunk. And then down it with a glass of milk. It was a nice picture of a father-son moment in a setting almost all of us have been in: being alone with your dad at the breakfast table and the rest of the house is still asleep.

Well, I didn’t have an Oreo cookie moment with my dad when I was growing up. Oreos were a luxury for our family when I was a toddler (I had to settle for those local Hi-ro cookies). And my dad doesn’t know the right way to eat an Oreo or a Hi-Ro cookie. It so happens that my instinctive way of eating a Hi-Ro cookie is the same way the Oreo commercial showed it; hence, in other words, I learned how to eat a sandwich cookie by myself.

And that is how pretty much my dad let me grow up. Learn most of the things by myself.

Like tie my shoelaces. (My teachers always wonder why my shoelaces keep coming off).

Or making my own projects from third grade. (I always envied my other classmates who had their collages made by their parents --- they looked really really good).

Or preparing my dad’s coffee. (It took me about a week to figure out how he liked his coffee).

In retrospect, I realize that what seemed to be my dad’s lack of handholding to me when I (and the rest of my siblings) was growing up is his way of teaching us to be independent, creative and competitive. I believe that all those times that when I was struggling to tie my own shoelaces or trying to make my first electrical circuit, my dad was stealthily watching me from a distance and silently cheering me to succeed in my small tasks.

And for that I am thankful. Much of what I have achieved now is mostly because my father taught me how to get or accomplish what I want with my own resources.

At lunch earlier, I had a surpise for my dad. A pack of Oreo cookies.

He grabbed a piece, popped it into his mouth and downed it with coffee. He still doesn't know how to eat an Oreo cookie.

Happy Father’s Day, Pops!

Supernatural

2008-06-09T21:56:00.002+08:00

1.
Out of 30-or-so distant relatives whom I got to talk to at my grandfather's funeral/wake all had the same story to share to me:

My lolo has been making the rounds in their dreams. Every single one of them have been haunted by my lolo in their dreams while they were sleeping. Some of them weren't aware of my grandfather's passing away, while the rest simply INITIALLY chose not to attend the funeral or the wake.

So I guess this proves that seeing ghosts and supernatural stuff are common in my mother's side of the family (lolo was my mother's father).

My mom thinks that being the prudent and proud (but stingy) man my grandfather is, he made rounds in the dreamworld to ensure that his wake and funeral is well-attended, thereby generating enough abuloys (alms) to cover most of his own funeral expenses.

Even in death, he remained proud.

2.
Our Baclaran house is my lola's property, and never was my grandfather's. So all the while, I believed that the house test I and the rest of my family believed in will not change in terms of mechanics.

My lola's house test was simple: Bring your friend or guest to our old Baclaran house for a night's stay. If the guest finds himself scared shit or screaming in the middle of the night, he failed the test. If he gets a good night's sleep/rest, he passed the test.

The people who fail would normally describe a clammy feeling of someone grasping their ankles or legs in the middle of their sleep. The really unfortunate ones think that they saw a hand or two hovering above their feet.

My dead grandma grants a good night's sleep to those guests whom she thinks are good influences to the host. Conversely, she provides an "unforgettable" experience to those whom she think will be bad influences.

So far, there have been only four cases of screamers among the various guests that I and the rest of my siblings have brought over to our house for a sleepover.

3.
Now that my grandfather's dead, it seems that there's been a new set of nightmarish experiences at our Baclaran house.

Some of the old people who found themselves dozing off while trying to maintain a vigil had dreams of my lolo sitting on top of their chests, and trying to open their mouths with his bare hands.

I'm puzzled by what that dream meant. None in my immediate family have experienced it so far.

At any rate, I am making a mental note of that particular nightmare. It can be a potential 'test'.

"I Am Rain"

2008-06-05T00:07:00.004+08:00

That's the working title of a potential koreanovela-style TV soap opera that I've conceived if I were a scriptwriter.

One does not need to look far to find inspiration for developing a storyline that is the current fad in Asian TV dramas. In fact, the reason why I was able to come up with this blog-post is because I took a macro-perspective of the relationship dynamics of a certain group where I belong to.

I built a character storyboard based on that.

And it turned out to be a really complex one which is good for the purposes of an imaginary TV-novela.

Circles are male characters.
Triangles are female characters.
Arrows represent potential "relationships". Or to state it in another context, these are lines of "interest".
Solid blue lines are lines of preferred acquaintance.
Broken lines are 'relationships subject to interpretation.'
Lightning symbols represent points of conflict.

No names have been provided, but in a Sodoku-like style, I'm putting in one identifier to help the reader figure out who's who in the diagram.

And your last clue: Nope, I am not Rain.

The things that I get to think of just to amuse myself...

Eulogio

2008-06-03T12:02:00.002+08:00

I spent last night wearing myself out in order to get a decent night's sleep: an hour and a half at the gym, two hours of badminton after that, and 10 laps in the swimming pool to cap the night. Dinner was a light meal of vegetables and braised pork.

I got to sleep soundly last night. No fits of restlessness, no dreams or nightmares.

At 0510 early this morning, I woke up for no reason. I just found myself with my eyes open staring at the ceiling of my pad. That's weird, knowing that I usually wake up at three in the morning and then snooze until around six-thirty.

I reached across to my bedside table to get my mobile phone. Checked the time. Yup, it was 0510 in the morning.

I saw the LCD display on my phone switch from 0510 to 0511. I've been staring at it for a minute.

And then a text message comes in. "1 message received".

My mom. "Your lolo already passed away."

My "Lolo Daddy" (everybody, including his business associates, calls him "Dad" because he used to control a lot of the properties and businesses in our area -- the palengke, botica, horse-betting stations, the largest grocery in the neighborhood, a hardware store, a bakery and several buildings and houses for rent) is not my favorite grandparent. He's a known womanizer.

But he was a doting grandfather to me.

He got me my first bank account.
He'd give me fifty pesos for every medal I take home at the end of the school year. 20 years ago, fifty pesos was a lot of money for a 9-year old.
He shouldered almost all of my Boy Scout camping trips, including an international jamboree.
He taught me the basics of tennis at the CCP tennis grounds every Sunday.
He pinches my ear if he finds out I haven't gone to confession in a month.
He offered me to learn his business, which I politely declined.
He bought me video games which I didn't really like.
He'd make me peanut butter sandwiches whenever I was around, even if I stopped liking to eat peanut butter sandwiches right after college.

And then he had a stroke. And then three more over the years. At first, he needed only a cane. Then a wheelchair. The last stroke rendered him bedridden, requiring the care of a nurse 24-hours-a-day and a weekly visit from a local priest to give him Penance, Holy Communion and Unction.

The Angel of Death has come to our ancestral house to finally claim my lone surviving grandparent.

At the age of 92, Lolo Daddy "Eulogio" slept peacefully for the last time.

The Value of PI

2008-05-29T09:47:00.003+08:00

It all started when I came across this graffiti vandaled in a toilet cubicle:

"Beauty times brains equals constant."

However, I mentally debated that the measures of both beauty and brains are highly subjective. Hence, I concluded further that the value of beauty times brains must be an imaginary number.

What a geeky humor, haha.

It got me thinking, in a humorous manner, what else can I think of as 'constant'.

I've hypothesized that I need to prove that the "The Law of Conservation of Mass" applies to my department: The total mass of schedulers and planners equals a constant. A corollary of this, therefore, is that if any in our team is gaining weight for some reason, the other members of the team will lose the corresponding amount of weight.

As a side-theorem, I also concluded that the Total workstress in my workgroup is a constant. If one or more persons are stressed due to their workload, the other members enjoy a less stressful environment.

Other working theories in the pipeline:

1) The stammering rate at which a certain manager blurts out "but-but-but-but-but" is a constant.
2) The number of brains working effectively in the process engineering group at any given time is a constant. (A more prudent statement will be: "The overall efficiency of the process engineering group at any given time is a constant.")
3) The total opportunity to receive formal training in our organization is a constant (and close to zero).

Of course, all of these are debatable. Like the value of Pi has been under debate for the past 900 years.

+ Mark Franco

2008-05-17T19:20:00.004+08:00

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters,
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the path of righteousness for His name's sake
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil.
For You are with me.
Your rod and your staff comfort me."

Salamat Mark sa lahat. May your soul, our fallen comrade, rest in peace in the company of our Lord and His angels. For our friend and teammate, a warrior and a gentleman.

We will truly miss you.

- Team Mission Specific

Change of Season

2008-05-16T14:55:00.004+08:00

1.

Summer has been announced to be officially over by our national weather bureau PAGASA last May 12th.

It was too short.

And the bad thing about it is the early onset of my change-of-season flu. And apparently, my flu shots last year are no good against the flu bug that bit me a couple of nights ago.

From sweating it out in the sun to having fever-chills in my bedroom last night:
had to trade my sunscreen and board shorts for anti-pyretic meds and bed comforters,
mango-banana shakes got replaced by warm fruit juice,
grilled foodfare gets substituted with chicken broth.
outdoor sports make way for some book reading.

All I'm wishing for now is just one more weekend of sun and sports, and I'll gladly accept afterwards that summer is indeed over. It makes having this flu more "acceptable".

-----------------------

2.
People change just like the seasons.
I've seen a lot of changes in people over summer. Some for the good, some for the worse.

There's Always Something New to Do at BORA

2008-05-05T00:20:00.017+08:00

I've been making annual trips to the country's sun-worshipping-place-to-be, also known as Boracay. My parents and some of my friends have been asking me if I don't get bored with visiting the place every year --- Bora doesn't change that much, they think, and thus going there at least once in your lifetime makes them qualified to say "been there, done that" whenever the topic of a Boracay vacation comes up.

Well, they're wrong.

I don't get bored at Bora. And the "been there, done that" routine does not apply to a Boracay vacationeer, specially if you're the creative and/or adventurous type.

Acting on a very compulsive manner, I decided to go to Boracay last week when Duane told me that he'll be there with 6 female colleagues from China, all single and available. Wait, wait, wait. I didn't plan my Boracay trip because of the "single and available" phrase. A Bora trip is definitely much more fun if you're going there with the prior knowledge that you'll be able to meet up with someone you know, and from there start getting to know who they know so that your social circle expands. A bigger social circle gives you more options on what to do at Boracay. Bai, on the other hand, decided to join this Bora trip because of the "single and available" phrase initially, hahaha. (Later on, Bai planned on taking kiteboarding lessons as his ultimate purpose for going on this trip).

Enough with the introductory storytelling.

For this Bora trip, I've planned on bringing my trusty EOS400D DSLR camera along for a pet project which I called the "Hundred Bora Girls Project". The mechanics are simple: take photos (either stolen or with permission granted) of at least 100 babes in the party island of Boracay.

So how did it turn out?

Well, I'll let some of the pictures do the talking.

We were fortunate to find out that on the dates that we were at Boracay, a summer event tagged as "X ON THE BEACH" was ongoing. Open competitions on extreme sports on the beach: wakeboarding, skimboarding, wall-climbing and ultimate frisbee. No registration fee! All we needed to do was just walk-in and register.

I registered for the speed-wall climbing competition while Bai registered for the wakeboarding competition. It's my first time to compete at speed-climbing (I've competed before on technical climbing, and they're totally different) and it was gonna be Bai's first time to compete in a wakeboarding event.

How it did turn out? Well, I didn't win the event (my time was 16.2 secs, while the 1st place finisher did it in 12 seconds flat!) and neither did Bai win in his event. BUT... I got an interview (and a good probability of being shown on a local TV show called "Sports Unlimited"). HAHAHAHAHA!

Ultimate frisbee anyone? It was my first time to watch an ultimate frisbee game done on the beach, and it turned out to be more exciting than the frisbee matches I see done at the San Lorenzo park or at the UP grounds.

Well, how about skimboarding? It really looked like an easy thing to do, but the ease with how the locals are able to do it is very deceiving. Skimboarding is H-A-R-D. First you need to lug a skimboard (and it's a bit heavy) on a running start. Next, you throw the board at the waterline such that it skims the water. Third, you chase after the board. Fourth, you jump on the board. Finally, you try to skim the water with the board. Hahaha... I injured my right big toe when I tried my skill at it, somewhere between steps 3 and 4. I had some minor successes on skimboarding, but there's very big room for improvement.

Of course, strolling the long stretch of Boracay's beaches will let you meet some interesting people. Old guys multi-tasking on the beach (go figure what I mean, haha), a multi-racial jamming session, very friendly locals (kids and manangs and everyone in-between their age brackets) and of course, the tourists!

Boracay's sunsets are great. There are so many ways to take a sunset shot of Boracay, and here's some of the good ones that we got.

Of course, we did the usual stuff: swim at the beach, get henna tattoos, meet girls, go drinking and get really drunk, shop, dine, talk with the locals... but if you're the fun, creative and adventurous type, there is always something new to do at Bora.

...like getting an outrageous hairstyle (which, by the way, rendered my boss speechless when I showed up at work with it).

Cluzzle (klah-zehl)

2008-05-02T01:33:00.004+08:00

Last week, expatriate colleague JayW cooked dinner and invited a few friends over to dine with him in celebration of his XX'th birthday.

Dinner was... uhm... interesting...
...
..
.

Hahaha. Okay, okay. Dinner was excellent! Honest!

Anyway, the gang played a round of CLUZZLE as after-dinner entertainment. Newly-wed couple Glenn and Janice emerged as the winner at the end of the game.

Here's how the final clay sculptures turned out. Can you guess what each of the sculptures represent?

Yellow sculpture by GEL, Orange sculpture by JayW, Green sculpture by Kaye, Red sculpture by Stip, Blue sculpture by Glenn&Janice, Purple sculpture by Emer

Looking For

2008-04-27T15:40:00.002+08:00

A lady friend of mine is looking for her potential life-time partner. She asked me if I know anyone who's available. Her "short list" of requirements:

1. Must be 30-35 years old (guys younger than 30 are not allowed; there's the possibility that they may call her "tita", hahaha!)

2. Pleasing personality.

3. Well-spoken, with good diction, grammar and writing skills (if you pronounce "parents" as "fe-rents", please don't read any further)

4. Must be single and available

5. No children/kids

6. Must not have been married/annulled/separated

7. Willing to commit

I think I should charge her for this advertisement? Naaah.. just kidding. Consider this as my means of helping her out in her search for Mr. Right.

Hahaha!

Quips from Jayjay and Annelle's Wedding

2008-04-27T15:13:00.003+08:00

Coach Jayjay and Teacher Annelle tied the wedding knot yesterday, and there were so many little things that made it really memorable for the weekend-warriors group.

A bit of history first.

Jayjay was one of the first guys who welcomed me at the MALL, a place in Pasig where airsofters meet every weekend and shoot bb's, when I started showing up by myself --- that is, I didn't have a squad or a team affiliation. The airsoft community then was pretty tight, where you almost knew everybody either by face or by name. Soon, a number of "cool kids" which includes me and Jayjay who really got along together became what is known to be our 'weekend-warriors group' (and later on got tagged as 'mushy-warriors group'), and the group went out for chit-chat over coffee, badminton, wall-climbing, road-biking or the occasional Tagaytay overnight trip regularly.

A number of us refer to Jayjay as coach because his real-life profession is a soccer coach for a private school in Pasig.

Annelle came into the picture about two years after the mushy-warriors group was born. How Jayjay met Annelle, well... I don't really know the details. But Annelle has a strong AND pleasing personality, which sorts of complements Jayjay's easy AND pleasing character. (in other words, I think Jayjay will end up as "ander")

Annelle teaches elementary subjects at a private school also in the Pasig-Q.C. area.

Now that I've presented a bit of who Jayjay and Annelle are, I will now present to you the top 3 quips from Jayjay-and-Annelle's wedding:

3. Officiating priest, after the mass: "I have two announcements to make. First, the mass I have just officiated counts as an anticipated mass so you need not attend mass tomorrow (Sunday). Secondly, like in the movies, this is the part where I get to say 'You may now kiss the bride!'"

2. Stephen, hosting the reception: "You hear that? The sound of glass clinking? Let's make this different. If YOU hear the glass clinking, ALL couples -- not just the newly-wed couple -- will have to kiss each other. Is that okay? Yes? YES!..... It's so much fun to host wedding programs; I can practically get away with anything."

1. Principal sponsor, addressing Jayjay in a speech: "The secret to having a long peaceful and happy marriage can be expressed in two words. You know what that is, Jayjay? No? It's 'YES, DEAR.' "

Congratulations and best wishes, Coach Jayjay and Teacher Annelle!

---------------------------------

Pahabol na quips:

a. By Philip, aka Desert Rat: "Ano ba kayong warriors kayo? Nag-asawa lang yung isa, sunod-sunod naman kayong nag-si-si-asawa! Mag-airsoft naman kayo!"

b. By Mr. Leonor, Jayjay's dad: "An advice to you, my son: Women always have the last word in any argument. By default, anything you say after her 'last word' becomes the start of a new argument."

pictures to be posted soon. didn't have my camera with me, so I'll just snag from tinters and niks

Recent Developments

2008-04-24T12:46:00.004+08:00

I've been having a blast the last few weeks, so blogging was one of the activities I've decided to defer. Some of my regular blog-viewers and fellow bloggers started asking if I'm still alive or am just in some remote location without a mobile phone signal.

To satisfy everyone's curiosity (which can kill you), I...

1) ... found out that I and some of my colleagues have been branded by our younger colleagues as "The Cool Kids". Really now? Whoever thought of that label for us must have been thinking that he/she/they are the equivalents of grade 3 students who either look up to or want to belong to the crowd of the grade 4s and 5s.

Personally, I'm not flattered by the label. I'm even concerned a little bit about it.

2) ... am one-month old on my new assignment. Is the assignment appropriate for my skills? Yes. Is the assignment challenging? Yes. Are you happy with your assignment? No.

3) ... was paid a surprise visit by my parents a couple of weeks ago (and stayed with me for one week!). Hahaha... anyway, they prepared a lot of dishes for me and my housemates.

4) ... have upgraded my Rockband Drum skills to EXPERT. Yeah! I even have a couple of songs where I'm in the top 10 of the high scorers in the whole Playstation Network.

5) ... went swimming, beach, swimming, sleep, swimming, sleep during weekends. Except for two weekends wherein I was on business travel.

6) ... kidnapped some unsuspecting colleagues for one-or-twos-and-more for two nights in a row and everyone had a "GOOD" time. p.s. happy birthday, jayw hahaha.

7) ... attended my college buddy's birthday party at an upswing club in Makati, where the crowd was really "friendly" and made me realize that I haven't been to THOSE kind of parties in the last 5 years or so.

When summer is over, I'll need to write about the following:
a) The Cool Kids Label
b) Stip's Theory of the Bachelor Group's Group Dynamics
c) Summer Rain

------------------------

postscripts:
Happy birthday to my mom (Apr 21) and to Ricky (Apr 23). Thanks to all those who greeted them as well.

SUMMER NA!!!

2008-03-31T18:01:00.008+08:00

My "busiest" season of the year is officially here, at eto ang mga ebidensya so far.

from top left, across then down: (1) Jumping at Crisologo Street of Vigan (2)Jumping at the Bangui windmills of Laoag (3)Late-night drinking at Sagada's Rocky Valley Inn (4) Trek and swim at Sagada waterfalls (5) "cover-album" shot at Pagudpud marker (6) "smiling crane style" at Laiya beach in San Juan (7) Three monkeys jump shot at Laiya beach

2 weekends of summer have already past, but I've still 8 more summer weekends to spend.

Summer Thought Processing

2008-03-12T16:06:00.003+08:00

an excerpt of my thought processing half-an-hour ago...

LP run non-convergent. 6 properties beyond convergence tolerance.
?!
What's causing the non-convergence this time?
Check tolerance settings. Okay naman...
Pull out constraints table and case comparison summary.
...
..
Hmmm... not there. Need to look at the iteration log.
...
..
Program trying to produce very little benzene heartcut. Marginal value is xxx.
Ang init... probably swim later instead of going to the gym
I'll need to block out this mode.
Edit the case file.
Case 36: xxxxx, MODIFIES Case 31. TABLE CAPS PLPS BC94 min1=0, max1=0.
Re-run the case at the LP.
Email from Mukesh. Received premises document for tankage requirements by 2012.
Skim the document... okay, the study confirms that 2 new tanks are needed... can quote this to support the investment proposal... cost = xxx
Case 36 at recursion number 121 already. 72 variables still outside of convergence tolerance.
Investment proposal economics... set-up DoVaMo valuation model for the proposal.
Swimming nga ako later. And ice cream after! That would be nice...
Case 36 at recursion number 148. Optimized. Objective function = xxxx.
Awright! Optimized results.
Hmmm... I wonder if I'll do a Boracay trip this summer?
...
..
Worst case, Laiya beach. Some of the guys wanna go.
Generating case summary. Generated. Review and ice cream after swimming generate mass balance. Send results to Strategy group.
...
..
.

Summer's been tugging at me the whole afternoon. =)

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

2008-03-10T16:24:00.002+08:00

Young masters Whichie and Stippy will be holding their annual birthday celebration jointly at the Tinter's Mansion on April 19th of 2008. Both young masters have a busy schedule for the month of March but have decided to pursue the celebration in April in order to convene their respective circles.

It is also expected that some announcements will be made on this date.

All mushywarriors, fishyfishies and teammissionspecific members are expected to be present.

My Janice-and-Glenn Wedding Post

2008-03-05T17:51:00.014+08:00

Note: Separately, both Janice and Glenn has been putting some indirect pressure on me to come up with my blog-testament of their wedding. I'm having a hard time on coming up with the literary concept for it, but this should suffice in the meantime.
This post may be overwritten in the future in the event that I do strike upon a literary concept which is most fitting for the two subjects in here.

February 16, 2008: Chapel on the Hill, Nasugbu.

It was my first time to decisively do a photography coverage of a nuptial ceremony. It’s not an official coverage though. Lens guru Nelwin and his team were there to do the official coverage. Besides, my skills and equipment are nowhere near their level. In fact, I felt a bit intimidated by all their equipment.

I was doing the photography coverage for two reasons.

The first reason is simple: Here was an opportunity to test and apply what I know about wedding photography.

The second reason requires some storytelling.

Glenn, the groom, has been my wingman of sorts a few years back. We shared a lot of things in common: FHM magazine collections, a “slight” nicotine dependence, one-or-two beers sessions, that weird sense of humor that is characteristic of engineers, a partial addiction to video games and affinity to outdoor adventures. We roughly have the same sense of idealism and what the world needs in order to be a better place to live in (volunteerism, for example). He had introduced me to his mom, siblings and pamangkins while I have introduced him to the regular occupants of our old house in Baclaran – my mom, my eldest sister and my dead grandma (hahaha! – my dead grandma decided that Glenn’s not a ‘bad influence’ for me, so she didn’t had to pull his feet while sleeping and scare the hell out of him when he spent a night at our old house).

Summing it all up, I think Glenn could have been my best childhood friend had we grew up in the same neighborhood. Childhood friendships dig deep roots.

But since we only got acquainted when we both started working for the same company (and somewhere between the stage of responsible adults and childish urban professionals), that friendship was kept relaxed – a bit shallow but broad nevertheless.

Janice, the bride, is like my favorite barber. No, she doesn’t cut my hair on a regular basis or give me a massage while I doze off during a mentholated scalp treatment. Like my barber, Janice has a certain charisma which makes it easy for me to talk about anything in particular. Janice has heard from me most of my disappointments and frustrations on what’s going on with me and around me as well as my small and big blissful experiences. In return, she’s given me the occasional words of encouragement to cheer me on but more importantly her willingness to listen to whatever is it that’s been occupying my thoughts whether it be serious, romantic, trivial or funny. Like my barber, Janice has become my part-time unofficial shrink.

So here are two persons whom I had the privilege of knowing on a more-than-casual basis and certainly beyond the “Hi, how are you?” degree of acquaintance. In the time that I have known them, I’ve concluded that both Janice and Glenn ranks high in my list of favorite people.

This now brings me to my second reason for being decisive on doing the photography coverage: Janice and Glenn, the bride and the groom, have been very good friends to me. I wanted to present to them something personal and homemade as my wedding gift to them, something which can’t be bought from a catalogue or ordered online.

So, I did my best effort to produce a portfolio of shots of their most awaited moment as seen through my eyes from a far distance. The results seem raw and not as perfect as I wanted it to be, but I was happy at the results.

For each time I press the shutter on my camera, two things happen: first is I capture a specific moment of their wedding, and second is I get a mental flashback of a random happy event that I’ve witnessed Janice and Glenn in. It was like going through a slideshow, no....., it was like browsing through an album containing photos of the present and the past arranged in an alternating fashion. Sometimes, when you browse through an album showing a lot of sentimental and nostalgic moments, you just find yourself crying and smiling at the same time.

Taking those shots wasn’t an easy feat for a photographer who had to deal with a blurry vision while doing so because he was trying to hold back his tears as long as possible, and that the last series of shots were done in almost a blind condition for him because his tears were already streaming down his face.

It was my first time to do a photography coverage of a wedding.
It was my first time to see two of my closest friends get married to each other.
It was my first time to cry at a wedding.

To Janice and Glenn, words fail me on how to express how happy I am for the two of you and how thankful I am for the privilege of allowing me to be your friend. Wishing you both a very fruitful marriage.

And hoping to take more photos of the two of you as we all grow older.

Okay, tama na ang drama. Hahaha. Be always cool, you two. :D

Travel Fatigue

2008-02-11T12:30:00.000+08:00

5 cups of coffee and 7 half-sticks of cigarettes was all that kept me going for 30 hours straight this weekend on a road trip from Batangas to Clark to Subic and back to Batangas. It's a good thing that I got to share the driving load with Geland, otherwise I would have been forced to spend the night in Subic.

Woke up today with travel fatigue despite 7 hours of sleep. Lethargic thought processing and a sore-muscle-from-head-to-toe feeling.

Why do I ever find myself in this state? Oh... it's because we didn't really plan for the trip. It was a last-minute decision.

Nickelback's "Rockstar" playing over-and-over on my mp3 player is all that's keeping me awake today.

A really bad way to start a hectic week.

Abstinence Day 3

2008-02-09T20:07:00.000+08:00

Hallelujah! A decent meal for dinner!

Breakfast was your poor-man's-staple of ginisang sardinas, lunch was an unappetizing tuna-sandwich-on-rye, but dinner was a feast! I had steamed fish, pepper-and-chili-fried cuttlefish and scallops with brocolli.

Well... I and a couple of my colleagues decided to have dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Hahaha.

Later on, after touring a friend on a "bar-hopping adventure" (five hours to barhop the Batangas scene), all three of us had balut near a convenience store to end the night, errr... begin the early morning I suppose. It's nearly 3 a.m.

Abstinence Day 2

2008-02-08T16:24:00.000+08:00

I was craving for steamed crabs yesterday. I imagined picking 2 or 3 of the fattest crabs at the palengke, pincers still tied up in string and their beady eyes peering at their surroundings. I visualized myself giving the crabs a quick rinse at the sink, then dumping them into my biggest pot along with a bottle of Sprite and a generous sprinkle of salt. I could almost smell the wonderful odor of Sprite being simmered in the pot and that delicious odor of crabs being steamed until they turn to that delicious shade of red.

I could see myself with a big plate of steaming rice and a small bowl of patis before me, and steamed crabs ready to be eaten.

However, it's hard to get hold of a fresh crab here in my workplace hence my craving is left unsatisfied.

I had to settle for canned tuna last night.

-----------------

Benny and Anne hosted a thanksgiving dinner at Gerry's last night, but I begged off from their invitation. I'd rather sweat it out a bit last night -- a couple of laps around the compound, 30 minutes in the pool and an hour of badminton. I need to clear up my head a bit. In the last two days, I've been self-studying matrix manipulations and recursion techniques on a linear program I'm using blah-blah-blah... really geeky stuff that would titillate hardcore industrial engineers. (I'm not one, by the way!)

I wonder if I can credit this linear programming stuff towards my penitence?

2 days down, 38 more to go.

Abstinence Day 1

2008-02-07T16:51:00.000+08:00

The first day of abstinence is always the hardest for me because it is also my self-obligated day for fasting.

I barely finished my running circuit around the compound last night. My regular running program is a 6 km jog to be done in 40 minutes or less (my best time so far is 38 minutes 12 seconds on my Timex). However, having nothing but a single simple meal for the whole day proved to be challenging on my endurance. I couldn’t stride as far as I used to, nor can I maintain a steady pace. I have that light-headed feeling associated with hunger. My stomach’s been growling the whole evening but I stuck to my commitment to fast and abstain.

I just wonder how those ultra-marathoners and ironman athletes are able to cope with their activities on no-meals/no-breaks events? Probably specialized metabolism.

After jogging, I had volunteered to cook for a colleague’s Chinese New Year’s Eve countdown party (my colleague has expressed that he is in serious financial crisis, but some of us guys were willing to chip in to have more fare on the table). The smell of bangus sisig frying in my kitchen was a great temptation.

Next time around, I won’t volunteer to cook on days when I go fasting.

1 day down, 39 more to go.

40 Days Penitence

2008-02-06T15:56:00.000+08:00

I vow not to eat any meat from 4-legged animals nor consume any softdrinks as my abstinence and penitence for the whole of the Lenten season.

Except for cases of medical emergencies, if any. =)

Back to School, Back to Manila

2008-02-05T00:59:00.000+08:00

1.

Human Resources invited me to be part of their contingent of speakers in their company-recruitment-career talk held at DLSU yesterday (Monday). Naturally, I agreed! I haven't stepped on the good old Taft campus for about 5 years, and a lot has changed.

To get inside the campus, students tap their ID's to a sensor at the gate. The IDs, I think, are already chip-embedded since those barcode scanners which were being used during my college years at DLSU can't be seen anymore. Once a student taps his ID at the sensor, the monitor being manned by security displays on-screen the student's ID photo, name and college. Neat! It'll put our immigration system to shame.

Ever since I graduated, the campus has undergone a major facelift. Pebble Wash isn't there anymore, and some of the Chess Plaza tambayans were demolished to widen the walkways. The campus also looks fresher, mostly because they've raised the heights of the walkways and changed the material from G.I. sheets to some translucent plastic. The LS Main Hall now sports a wide-screen LCD TV.

At the Agno gate, there are now seven street-food vendors offering a very great variety of cheap food. Before, there was only one foodcart in that area.

The Beach parking area is now a major throughfare for student traffic. Wi-fi is available at some study halls. The Yunchengco building, the former Brother Alphonsous Gymnasium, looks very imposing once you get past the LS Main Hall.

And of course, who couldn't notice all those cute college girls. I just had to sit at one bench along the LS Catwalk and the SJ catwalk and do some people watching, under the pretense of course of reading the latest issue of "Ang Pahayagang Plaridel."

I also made a quick visit to the Engineering faculty room to renew old ties with my former professors. To my surprise, some of them are well-informed of how my career is going mainly through my youngest brother who's currently with the Council of Student Organizations.

Oh, and the career talk went well. I gave my testimonial speech after the Country Chairman gave his career talk and Gino delivered his speech. I answered a lot of questions about internship, CGPA, academics, extra-curricular activities, why-did-I-choose-my-current-company, technical and non-technical options in the company... those sort of stuff that soon-to-be college graduates are so keen on asking. And I am more than happy to oblige.

One last thing: familiar faces in the campus still know me, and call me, as my college name -- Stiff.

For me, that was really nostalgic.

-------------

2.

A quick sidetrip to Pasong Tamo brought me to MJ's office, and I treated her and the girls (Blos/Kat/Val) for coffee. It just occured to me then that I haven't really seen B-K-V dressed in their office clothes, and I was actually amazed at what I saw. You see, these 3 girls I get to interact with them mostly on my outdoor activities --- wall climbing, mountain climbing, etc... --- so I've only seen them in their 'rugged' beauty.

All I can say is "WOW". But I had a hard time reconciling Kat's surfer-chick look with her office attire, hahaha.

That's one of the things I miss in Manila. Dropping by at a friend's whereabouts for a quick chat, coffee, and a lot of laughing.

So girls, when are you coming over to visit?

----------------

3.

Dinner was with Ube, and she brought me to BUDDY's at Escriva Drive (not sure if it was still Escriva drive though). Something was so familiar with the place but I just couldn't point it out. But when I saw the menu, I realized that I knew what Buddy's was. It's that big restaurant in Lucban! It has the same look, feel and lighting. One of the reasons why Ube liked the place because the motif of the restaurant's furnishings are sunflowers.

Aside from Lucban fare, there's the standard Pinoy offerings. I had lechon kawali and chopsuey while Ube got her wish of pusit sisig. It was a casual dinner, and it was great to just eat and talk, then eat and talk some more.

It's been a long, long, long time since I had dinner at a restaurant in Manila.

---------------

4. [sidetrips/postscript]

a. Dropped by our house to pick up my barong. Ma and Pa had a surprise for me. My birthday is still a month away, but they handed me my birthday gift in advance. Nothing really fancy, but I was thankful for it. They know that I've a really busy schedule.

b. I had to make a stopover at a Shell station along D.Macapagal avenue to fill-up on gasoline. Coincidentally, Marj was on the filling station opposite me. Had a quick kamustahan and reminded me that Quito is still expecting me to make up for my absence at his New Year's Party.

c. On the way back to Tabangao, Bai and I decided to check out Padi's Point in Calamba and grab a beer each. Wala lang. Lakas talagang mag-trip hehe.

The 4 W's of a Weekend

2008-02-03T23:01:00.000+08:00

Bai organized a whole day wakeboarding for himself earlier today and invited me and new guy Jay-Wyn along. I was there to get a chance of a change in scenery -- I desperately needed one because my creativity has been in short supply recently -- and do a bit of photography, while Jay-Wyn tagged along to try out Bai's favorite watersport. So on Sunday morning, the three of us left Tabangao and drove to the nearest wakeboard park at Calatagan, Lago de Oro.

And here are our 4 W's of what to do in a place such as Lago de Oro.

....
..
.

(pictures for uploading... hehe... just wait for it)

Excellent weekend trip. Everybody happy. Wahahaha!

--------------------

Just to complete the weekend's events, I was either drunk, asleep or nursing a hangover for the whole of Saturday after bartending for Bai's SLY party last Friday night. Excellent party! Hic!

Despite being forced to interact with Stip's-unfavorite-person.

Not One, But Two

2008-01-30T12:34:00.000+08:00

It's been my extreme pleasure to work on our group's send-off from singlehood for a couple of our friends. Glenn and Janice are two of my favorite people (my favorite-people-list is actually a very short one) and I'm more than willing to spare some time, effort and materials (ka-ching!) just to ooomph up what could be one of their most treasured experiences in our workplace.

My piece de resistance: a 4x5 feet photo of the two of them that subtly hints what other people see them for.

Of course, a lot of the other guys and girls helped. So, thanks to them too!

I didn't volunteer because of only one of them; I did it for both of them.

Not one, but two.

Best wishes in advance, you two!

Taxi Ride

2008-01-28T00:22:00.000+08:00

It's been ages since I last rode on a taxi in Metro Manila. Last Saturday, I decided to NOT bring my car and see how I can manage both my date and my schedule for the day. In summary, I was able to keep my date and attend to all my tasks for the day.

Now, with the topic of the date (which I'm sure a lot of people are interested to know about) and my schedule aside, let's talk about my taxi ride.

The first taxi I hopped onto had to bring me from Glorietta to Pioneer Street. I took my position in a queue just to the side of the nearby Shoemart. There must be a corollary of Murphy's Law somewhere for taxis: if you're in a hurry and you're all sweaty because of the humid weather, you get the most dilapidated taxicab in the queue.

It was a very interesting taxi ride: it was noon and the airconditioning wasn't working well. Add to that a very cautious manong driver who seems 10 years past his retirement age. Rather than let myself be agitated by the situation, I just indulged in my situation.

Pretty soon, manong driver was trying to make kwento with me.

"Ay iho, ilang taon ka na?

"28 po. Mag-twenty-nine na sa March," I added further. I was fascinated by the holes on his dashboard.

"Ha?!" Manong driver beeps at an Altis which is trying to cut into his lane along EDSA.

"Bakit naman po kayo nabigla? I think I can see a bare wire through the hole in the dashboard.

"Mukha ka kasing mga bentsingko pa lang." Whoa!

"Ay nako manong (lolo?)" At this point I was trying to guess what's making the wheezing sound from the taxi's engine.

"Siguro madalas kang mag-s*x 'no?"

What the...

Manong driver continues, "Nakakabata kasi talaga yang s*x. Aba ako, dati...."

Okay, I won't tell word-for-word everything that he told me during that taxi ride. Let's just say that it was pretty amusing (and awkward) hearing about the sex life of a septuagenarian taxi driver.

Hahaha. Weirdest taxi ride I ever got.

One or Two or Five?

2008-01-24T09:34:00.000+08:00

Hahaha... San Mig Strong Ice never tasted better last night. I drank four, Powerboy downed five and Bai finished six. Well, that's how I counted it anyway.

Since we had the bar practically to ourselves last night, ang ingay naming tatlo du'n. If you would have seen us then, you'd have thought na kami ay tatlong yuppies na naglalasing -- maingay, malakas ang boses at tawa ng tawa.

What was supposed to be a quick one-or-two beer session easily became a four-five-six count dahil nadala kami sa kwentuhan.

Hehehehe... hic!

Whatever Happened to the Twiddlebugs?

2008-01-23T11:38:00.000+08:00

If I were a behavioral scientist, I would be keenly puzzled on the twiddlebug life cycle.

The twiddlebugs are a rare species. As far as I know, there are only two distinct populations of twiddlebugs. One population is located at Ernie and Bert's flowerbox in Sesame Street. Recently, another population of twiddlebugs emerged right at my workplace. It's the latter which I was able to occasionally observe. From herein, I'll refer to them as THE TWIDDLEBUGS.

The most prominent observation I've made on THE TWIDDLEBUGS is their flocking behavior, particularly during lunch breaks and after-office hours. Their flocking behavior can be intimidating at times because of their sheer number. They make this call which sounds like "come-on-let's-join-us" along the corridors, and as soon as the other twiddlebugs get to hear it they come spilling out of their offices and aggregate like a good mix of sand, pebbles and cement.

In great similarity to the Sesame-Street-twiddlebugs, THE TWIDDLEBUGS are a chatty bunch. They can go on talking and shouting and singing non-stop assuming that no non-twiddlebug disrupts their discussions. Most of THE TWIDDLEBUGS have a high pitch, a few are even shrilly, but a number have baritone voices. With a mixture of voices like that, its either you experience a very musical moment if they harmonize OR one gets an ear-pounding if they are all off-sync.

Aside from chatting, singing and snacking, THE TWIDDLEBUGS indulge in DVDs and taking trips together to the nearby shopping mall to do more chatting, singing and snacking.

THE TWIDDLEBUGS also have a welcoming demeanor, and hence any new individual which sets foot on their territory automatically becomes a TWIDDLEBUG. Thus, THE TWIDDLEBUGS have undergone substantial upgrades (the last of which is TWIDDLEBUGS version 2.1). Aside from their increase in capacity, they became a louder and more diverse group.

Any behavioral scientist will surely be interested in inter-TWIDDLEBUG relationships, but this author has not had the opportunity to observe it from a close distance. There are other journals available on this topic.

What I would like to specifically highlight here though is the evolution of THE TWIDDLEBUG population. It seems that their flocking behavior has a limited lifespan with the emergence of individual preferences among themselves. I'd call this the ROCKBAND phenomenon --- rockbands in general, after some time of achieving success recognition, eventually disband.

Indeed, I think THE TWIDDLEBUGS have disbanded. Some would opt to have dinner with only a few, some would just watch DVDs, some would rather play badminton and some would prefer to continue working non-stop. One cannot hear their flocking call anymore ("come-on-let's-join-us"); it's highly probable that they have developed a new method of communication or even a new language.

But surely, should there be a need or a clamor in the future, THE TWIDDLEBUGS will surely have a reunion concert in the future just like any other rockband.

They're simply amusing, if you look at them from this perspective.

Me: The Frustrated Drummer

2008-01-20T23:06:00.000+08:00

I was suppose to make a post on two movies I watched recently, but I got hold of something which has gotten me excited the last 24 hours.

Okay, okay... just to put the movies aside --- I liked "I AM LEGEND", contrary to the feedback by Alvin and Geland (they think it's no different from "The OMEGA MAN"). There is a big difference between the 1950's book of the same title but both have equally great resolutions at the end of the story.

The second movie, "SWEENEY TODD" starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter, was a surprising find for me. I had no expectations on the film when I entered the moviehouse. I was surprised to find out that it was a musical. A gruesome musical. How does one manage the conflicting feelings of morbidness that you get when you watch a psycho-killer movie with the feeling of elation (and last-song-syndrome humming) one gets when he finds himself humming to the music in the presentation? Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars on my book.

Now, with those things aside, let's get to drumming.

I've always been impressed with drummers and have wanted to be one ever since I was a kid. Unfortunately, our family was the classical bunch. I was brought up in the presence of a piano, clarinets, violins, flutes and a saxophone.

One summer vacation, I decided to pretend that I was a drummer. I got a couple of old cans (a Nido can and a Baguio Oil can), a large water drum and one of my mom's old pots. I used a curtain rod hack-sawed into two as my first drumsticks. And I beat away to the tune of Bon Jovi and Cranberry songs.

I and my makeshift drum kit sounded terrible. So I gave up.

Enter the present.

I retrieved from Manila my last unopened (and unseen) Christmas present. It was a drumkit, a Stratocaster and a microphone. Hold your horses. They aren't the real stuff. It was something better.

They were accessories for my Playstation3. oh-my-gawd!

So in the last 36 hours, I've been drumming away happily. I ain't no expert yet, but give me a week and I'd be able to do those percussion tricks that you get to hear on your CDs.

A Few Corny Lines

2008-01-17T00:13:00.000+08:00

I.
I never thought I'd ever get the chance
To be so close to you like in a dance.
I only watch from afar
Moving like a distant star
So far away, away from me.

II.
And I promise you I'll make you smile again
Like the time before when we we were more than friends
Let me sing to you once more
All the songs you loved before
We can spend the night
Remembering this and more.

Bow.

Saan Tayo sa Holy Week?

2008-01-14T00:34:00.000+08:00

Malapit na ang Holy Week.
Gusto kong maggala. According to my feng shui consultant, I'll be going places this year, near and far.

Any suggestions kung saan pwedeng pumunta?

Budget ko: anywhere in the Philippines, but cheaper is better.

Seriously, we need to plan for this.

Kaye wants to go to Bantayan Island in Cebu. Geland wants to do a return trip to Sagada. Emerson wants to go to Ilocos. The fishies want to go to Cagayan de Oro + Camiguin (pero if it's Holy Week siguradong hindi 'to matutuloy unless magka-boyfriend si MJ para payagan na siya ng parents nya na maglakwatsa ng Holy Week).

I want to go to Europe. Pero baliw naman ako kung Holy Week lang ako nandun di ba? I have to hold on to my vacation leaves since I'm spending bulk of December on vacation.

And I Thought that Partying Does Not Exist in the Boonies

2008-01-14T00:07:00.000+08:00

I woke up on Sunday morning at my friend's couch with the worst hangover ever, disoriented, a very dry tongue and a sour feeling in my stomach.

And some articles of my clothing were... oh well, you go figure it out.

I can't remember what happened that night. All I remember was a group of friends were drinking, loud music, and then I had to cook some party snacks, later on we were dancing in the kitchen, and then some shouting, and more drinking at the living area, and then... bam!

Despite some gaps in my memory, it was an awesome party.

Name Game

2008-01-05T15:35:00.000+08:00

Medyo magulo itong post na ito, because this is a private joke among a select group of people. This post is a brainchild of three guys with nothing to do better (aside from girl-watching) for a couple of hours at a local coffee shop.

You can't escape the fact that at least once in your life, you have either earned or been awarded a monicker.

monicker -- (n., slang) a name, title or alias

In one of the realities which I would like to call my "neighborhood", there's this guy Boy Bato na sa akala ko ay may konting pagtingin siya kay Sexyback (yeah!), but Boy Bato denies it. Speaking of backs (as in the opposite of front), I happened to hear an old rap song by Sir Mix-A-Lot, circa 1990s, and it goes like this: "...I like big butts and I cannot lie...". Yup, ang title nyan ay "Baby Got Back". We laughed when we heard that song because someone can be Sir Mix-a-Lot and peared, oops I meant paired, with Baby Got Back.

Since I've mentioned pairs already, anyone remember Jay and Silent Bob? If you don't, I've done the liberty of showing here how they look like. Do they look familiar to you? Hahahaha...

Pairs are inescapable in any society -- I think it's one of the greater laws of the universe. There's Batman and Robin, Starsky and Hutch, and Calvin and Hobbes are examples of pairs. Now, in my "neighborhood", meron din kaming pairs. Perhaps the most obvious examples are CheekBoy and CheekGirl, and they earned their monickers because of their obvious physical assets: cheeks. The not so obvious monickered pairs are the new tandems of Folded and Hung (or is it Hang? Either is appropriate anyway). There's also the very obvious Beauty and the Bwiset, the former being likeable and the latter... well, let's just say that the Bwiset really earned his monicker.

And who could forget our ever popular Sesame-Street-"who are the people in your neighborhood? in your neighborhood?" duo of Ernie and Bert? And the unforgettable 'pork-chop duo' style of Pogi and Pards? And the recent pair of Better and Bes'?

There are also some people who aren't tagged as pairs, and they earn their monickers individually. Babe is one such example. A new guy in the "neighborhood" has a characteristic speech slur that we decided to bestow upon him the title of "Shtrong Aysche"... hic! One of the more cheerful ladies in our neighborhood is called Shnooki, because of her Snooky-Serna-lookalike features some years back. Thinking along the same line, can you figure out who's William Hung in our "neighborhood"?

One person in our neighborhood has a name that in itself has become his monicker: Paul Chang. Try saying "Paul Chang" aloud. It has a nice speech pattern to it, right?

We weren't successful in identifying the monickers for the rest of the "neighborhood". If you have any suggestions, feel free to let us know.

Ayt?

Oh, and by the way, as in pahabol: "Hale Federer!! Animo!" (spelling intended) =)

My 2007 Tribute Post

2008-01-02T00:05:00.000+08:00

2007 has been a great year for me, and it is with great pleasure that I announce here the top 10 persons/group of persons whom I am very thankful to for making the year 2007 fun, live-able and inspiring.

10. Pinched my butt, made everyone laugh and convinced me to run -- WHICHIE

Hey Chie, you're absolutely the funniest person I've known so far. For a pretty small guy, you've got the gift to spread a lot of cheer around. I think that's one of your greater purposes on earth (hahaha!).

One other thing that I am thankful for Chie is that he recruited me to my first 'official' foot race. I can run, but I wasn't confident that I can run as good as the others. Chie lectured me that everybody has to start somewhere, even at the bottom, and to prove his point he told me that his running time is among the worst in the group of races but that didn't stop him from participating.

Nice words from a small guy with a big heart and great spirit. You can be a life coach.

For 2008, I hope to participate in a full marathon.

Cheers dude!

9. Capture life's best moments and wonders -- JAMIE a.k.a. JIGSAW

This year, I officially declared photography as my hobby. I knew the basic concepts and composition techniques for point-and-shoot photography, but it was Jigsaw and his smugmug gallery which finally convinced me to upgrade to a DSLR camera and build-up my photography skills.

I've been enjoying seeing life through a viewfinder.

8. Distract me from the frustrations of work -- JANICE

Roughly for two hours per work-week, Janice and I get together. It's very useful time spent for coping with work-related stress, or brainstorming for a reasonable stance on an upcoming company policy, or discussing ways to be creative at the workplace (or work-related contests haha...), or pondering on the meaning of life, or getting her excited about her upcoming wedding to Glenn.

Many many many thanks for 2007!

7. Remind me that I'm mortal -- Blos/Ron/Ron/Leo/Kat/Valy

The mountaineer in me has been dormant for the last five years, but I was lucky to come across this cool bunch of people who love adventure and the great outdoors. It is a mountaineer's desire to always reach the peak; it's his proclamation that he has conquered the mountain and all the challlenges it laid before him.

And how does mountaineering remind me that I'm mortal? It does so by making me wonder about the awesome landscape ("Mortals can't make that," I'd say), and by finding contentment despite great physical exhaustion ("I made it alive!").

But one of the greater proofs of my mortality is this: fear. I felt that when we got lost in Mt. Cristobal. I felt that we had to cross a very thin trail with 200 feet near-vertical drops on both sides (one wrong step and you're gone...). I felt fear when I had to traverse a very narrow ledge with my 20-kilo fullpack amidst gusty winds. I felt fear when we got lost in Mt. Cristobal.

But fear = adventure in my books. Hahahaha! Thanks guys!

6. Showed me that "Happily Ever After" exists in real life -- Nikko and Dee

Even after these two lovebirds tied the knot, para pa rin silang nagliligawan everytime I meet them. And I meant that as a compliment. They're the most cheerful couple that I know, and their cheerfulness rubs off to practically everyone they're with.

5. For the One-or-twos -- BAI

My current job requires a lot of technical report writing, and very often I have to work under a very tight schedule. Since it's still "writing", I come across "technical writer's block" occasionally.

Now enter Bai and his invitations for one-or-two beers. Just grab a quick meal, lounge over one-or-two (sometimes three, other times four) beers and have a leisurely conversation (read: kuwentuhang 'toma') about anything in general.

Now the San Mig lights have a way of removing the stress from my head, and it also puts me in the mood to continue with my geek/work chores. At the end of the drinking session, I find myself able to type out my reports faster than a speeding bullet. When I review my 'Edgar Allan Poe' reports (Edgar Allan Poe always wrote under the influence of alcohol) the following day, I'm pleased to find out that only some minor revisions are needed on my previous night's works.

The one-or-twos did help me with my work this year (if I get a high IPF this year, it's partially because of the San Mig Lights), but those sessions with Bai are, for me, time well-spent talking about work, hobbies, careers, life and leisure.

4. For a great cause -- CARMELA

The country can use more people like Carmela.

She biked for 20 days from Manila to Mindanao in the "Bike for Life" event to raise funds for the Cancer Warriors Foundation, and also raise awareness for the fight against Cancer. And she did that while maintaining a regular job with HP. She took all her vacation leaves just for that.

She loves to run, swim and bike. She's a triathlete. She goes on adventure races. And she loves to eat, nevermind if she goes for seconds and thirds. (Hey, those are compliments!)

She's one hell of a supergirl. And despite everything she's attained, she's still mabait and humble.

Carmela sent out a video link to let everyone who's interested get a glimpse of what her cause is all about, which is truly noble: Carmela's blog

3. Keeping the faith -- GELAND

Some people would think that if they knew all of Geland's hardships this year, they'd qualify him to be one of the unluckiest people in the world. He had so many tough challenges thrown in his path this year, challenges so difficult that can make grown-up men cry. Most people would readily curse God and the rest of the world had they endured the same challenges Geland faced, but he is one of the few who firmly believe that whatever happens to him is God's will and that God will see him through it.

He survived the year's hardships with a lot of work and a lot of faith. Nakakabilib. I wish that if ever I find myself in the same situation as his in the future, I would have the same strength of character as him and endure the challenges successfully as he did.

2. The value of friendship -- QUITO

Dec 31, 2007. My mobile rings. Caller ID "QUITO" is displayed on my phone.

Me: "Yeah man? What's up?"
Kits: "Hey dude! Happy New Year to you!"
Me: "Happy New Year to you too. Give my regards to Marge and your ma too."
Kits: "Sure man. Pare, want to spend New Year's Eve with us here? I bought 4 kilos of prime rib. Grill-grill tayo, inom until midnight and kuwentuhan with my mom and Marge. You prefer Jack Daniels now, right? Meron ako nun! You can sleep over, we've a spare room for you here."
Me: "Thanks for the offer, Kits, but I'm in Batangas. I was on duty until this morning eh. So, what's new?"
Kits: "Well anyway, since you're not coming over, magtatampo ako sa 'yo!"
Me: "What?! Hahaha... you're kidding, man."
Kits: "No I'm not dude."
Me: "Seriously?" (i was snickering at this point...)
Kits: "Seriously."
... from the background, Marge's voice can be heard.
Marge: "Yes Stiff. He's serious. You're Quito's guest of honor for tonight sana."
Me: "Whoa? Ano yang guest-of-honor, guest-of-honor mong nalalaman?
Kits: "Well... I realized that we haven't seen much of each other this year..."
Me: "Ha? Didn't we just go bar-hopping last month? Inabot pa nga tayo ng 4 am!"
Kits: "Okay, since we're best friends..."
Me: "Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're best friends. And we toast to that right? Can we do it over the phone na lang?"
Kits: "Seriously. WE... ARE... BEST... FRIENDS."
Me: "Ba't parang galit ka?"
Kits: "...."
Me: "Hey Kits, I was just kidding. Ops, ops, ops, bawal magtampo. As you were saying, we are best friends. I acknowledge that. Since college. Even after graduation and I started working. And you got married and had kids. Which is why I felt privileged to be Maqui's godfather."
Kits: "Yeah man. I don't know if you'd believe me, I only have a few friends. And you're the only best friend in that group."
Me: "..."
Kits: "O ba't tumahimik ka?"
Me: "Can't believe I'm hearing this from you, dude. Hindi kaya bagay sa 'yo!! hahaha!! And you're saying this while you're still sober?! Hahaha!"
Kits: "Stop laughing nga pare!"

The conversation went on for about another 20 minutes. To make the long story short, I can't go to their place so Quito had to tell me over the phone that he is hoping that he and I will still remain best friends even when we're in our 60's or 70's. And that was his New Year's toast to me.

Don't worry, Kits. I will.

1. My purpose in life -- =)

You know who you are. Thanks for being my inspiration. =)

---------------------------

The honorable mentions include the fishyfishy group (actually, Hall of Famers na kayo), the weekend warriors, Maqui and Jutes, Glenn and Emer, Mommy G, Lissa, Karen, my high school batchmates, my titos and titas and cousins in New York and New Jersey, Benny and Anne, Cris and Kaye, Chito, Marlon Dejadina, Jackie Ruth, Tita Virgie (Sydney) and Aling Apeng. Many many thanks for crossing my life in 2007.

Unfortunately, there is one person on my 'dishonorable mention' list for 2007. Bahala na si Lord sa kanya.

And to all, have an awesome 2008 ahead! And thanks for visiting my blog!