=)

This marks the day when we fumble our way past being friends, and discovering for ourselves if there is more to it. However it turns out, at least we agreed that we'll still be friends in the future and laugh heartily about this.

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Two for the Books (or in this case, the Blog)

FIRST

I'll never hear the end of this.

Last Saturday, I attended Volt and Donna's wedding at Tagaytay attended mostly by my peers and colleagues at our workplace. Let's skip the ceremonies and go straight to the 'interesting' things that happened to me.

When Volt and Donna released the doves after walking down the aisle, both of the doves flapped their wings at their sudden freedom. To my surprise (and shock), both of the doves decided to land at my feet. The more mature people among the guests commented that it is a very good omen of things to come to me. Uh-oh.... I think I'm not ready yet for what they're thinking of those 'good things' that will come my way.

At the reception, there was the standard game for the bachelors and bachelorettes among the guests. To make the long story short, I and my selected partner received the white flower among the reds, which means that I get the garter and need to 'garterize' my partner. Double uh-oh....

And to make things worse for me (I think, hahaha), the program required the new bride-and-groom to act three kisses which I and my partner needed to duplicate. Uh-oh uh-oh uh-oh... I think it's fair of me to assume that me, my partner and our situation had the whole venue shouting, kilig and cheering on their feet.

I'm not saying that I didn't like what happened to me, but it really was an awkward situation. =)

. . . . . . . .

SECOND

It was crazy of me and Gel to drive straight to Clark from Tagaytay (after the wedding) that Saturday night just to catch the 11th Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Festival. We got there at 130 am. Buti na lang hindi kami nauubusan ng pagkukuwentuhan, otherwise the long drive will be a tedious task. But being there early was clearly a good decision, based on the photos we took and featured at Gel's blog.

We signed up for a photo contest, saw the balloons get inflated and released, got to ride a tethered hot air balloon, befriended several photographers and admired some girls (ahihihi...).

On the drive back to Batangas (Gel and I had to take turns between sleeping and driving), we stopped at a fruit stand near Angeles exit where I was able to buy Zambales mangoes (those small sweet ones which I last tasted when I was still in elementary school) and finally satisfy my year-old craving for street-food fishball.

.....

Pagod na kong mag-multitask.

run LP, validate at REFSIM, analyze results multitask with evaluate terminal option scenario, identify needed capex multitask with do cost estimates multitask with run valuation model, identify investment strategy multitask with update 5-year capex plan for Euro IV multitask with prepare slide pack for MF, do technical write-up.

Haaay... malapit na yata akong mag-burnout.

Chronicles of my Cristobal Climb

Where: Mt. Cristobal (Level II), Quezon-Laguna province
When: Feb 3-4, 2007
Who: Me, Geland (opismate), Blos, Kat, Val, Ron, Agnes, Leo A, Leo C, Jayson (BMS), Tinog (mascot), Manong guides #1 and #2


Geland + Stip + Jayson


What transpired:

Feb 3

0200H: I'm still packing. Got off from work late.
0300H: Finally, I got to sleep.
0510H: Woke up. Ligo. Bihis. Text Geland (baka tulog pa e, he's driving). Go to House 3.
0545H: Left housing compound. Bigat ng packs namin. Kaya kaya namin?
0725H: Breakfast kami ni gelpogi at Jollibee Sto. Tomas. Di pa nakakaalis yung BMS group from Makati kasi late daw si Agnes.
0830H: At San Pablo. Blos, where are you?
0845H: At Barangay San Cristobal. Stip goes for a powernap, Geland goes for a scrambol and lumpia sold at the roadside.
0940H: Yaaay!!! Dumating na yung BMS group. Drove towards Gomez store. Iwan kotse.
1035H: Onboard rented jeep. Left Barangay San Cristobal.
1115H: Disembarked rented jeep. Group picture taking. Prayer. Start of hike. Ngarrk... mabigat nga yung pack ko. Pero kaya pa naman.
1240H: First reststop. Chowed on packed adobo and rice near a farmland. Kat forsakes her 'Skyflakes diet' for two extra servings of rice.
1330H: Forest trail blocked. Decided to take another trail. 15-minute assault.
1410H: Saw another group of mountaineers at a nearby crest. Sinundan namin.
1415H: My first tumba-slash-hulog. My left foot slipped into a rock crevice. 'kala ko I'm a goner, hehehe. Stupid me.
1421H: On the rocks. Photo ops. Manongs and Ron scout the crest to check our next attack.




1435H: Bad news. Our current path is doble-dehado: boulders on the trail and steep inclines on both sides. Group decides to backtrack to the crest where we started from.
1440H: Assault na naman. Made harder by trailblazing --- walang trail so we had to make our own. Half of the time I was on all fours just to advance. Can feel the pack weighing me down.
1500H: On the crest. Enter the kaingin-lands. Dusty.
1520H: Assault on the talahib slopes. Eyes are drooping already from lack of sleep. Decided to consume my Lipovitan. Pack getting heavier, despite me consuming 1.5L of water so far. Musta na kaya si Geland, his pack and his slippers? Girls are already muttering p*tang ina occasionally hehe.
1525H: Group starts to take more frequent rest-stops, intervaled at every 150-250 m advance on the assault-plus-trailblazing. I can feel my calf muscles tightening.
1555H: Trail becomes very narrow, bordered by steep 100-plus-meter drops on both sides. Had to crouch down occassionally due to strong wind gusts. Need to shimmy along a rock wall obstacle on the trail.
1610H: Group stops. Evaluates that the trail we've made is NOT going to the established campgrounds. Advancing further will be difficult. Will be dark soon.
1615H: Group decides to set-up an emergency camp.

1615H to 2000H:
We were very fortunate to find a relatively flat plot of land along the trail (elevation: 1180 m). In a half-hour's time, Manongs 1 and 2 were able to clear out most of the gigantic talahib and Agnes' group had the camp stoves lit to start cooking dinner.

As the temperature is rapidly dropping at our position, Kat prepared a liter of GSM+pomelo punch for everybody to sip and keep warm.

The rest of the boys started to pitch tents.

Dinner was served at 1800H. Drinks and socials started immediately after that. Brrrr... the cold temperature (16 deg C minus chill factor) had everybody craving for alcohol.

2000H: Alcohol run-out. Val sound asleep, walang pakialam sa mundo. Rest of the guys are asking who's hoarding/hiding alcohol. Kat reveals details of her 'first love'. Ahihihi...
2015H: So far, Blos and Gel started skipping their turns to drink.
2035H: Gel goes, "Pasok na ko sa tent." Hahaha... as I was very tired from the lack of sleep, I blurted out immediately "Ako rin matutulog na." Everybody else started calling it a night. Tent distribution: 7 BMS peeps in one tent, Jayson and Leo in another tent, me and Gel in our tent.



2100H - 0630H: Restless sleep: had to wake up every half hour or so because (1) my back's starting to ache from the big rock at my side of the tent so I had to shift my sleeping position and (2) because our tentground was sloping, I kept sliding to Gel. Pag nagdikit na yung pwets namin, ops! Reset sleeping position. And as usual, I was snoring daw according to Gel. He on the other hand covered his face with a towel because he's hearing voices calling out his name. Spooky.

Feb 4

0630H: Breakfast prepared by Ron, Kat and Val. Morning rituals. Picture taking.
0830H: Break camp. Blos starts to timekeep (Guys, 4 minutes to go!) Group photo at campsite.
0850H: Start descent. Goodbye, Mt. Cristobal!
1100H: Exit Mt. Cristobal, enter Barangay Kinabuhayan.
1200H: Took a much needed bath at a river in Barangay Kinabuhayan. Water had a minty taste (suppossedly with healing powers). Felt refreshed.
1300H: Group consumes halo-halo at a local store. Start trek towards pick-up point. Travel back to Gomez store. Goodbye socials. Late lunch at Jollibee. Drive back to Tabangao.

1730H: Me and Gel back at Tabangao. Haaaypagud.

Souvenirs list: 5 scratches on my left hand, 2 scratches on my right hand, a puncture wound on my right middle finger, 1 scratch on my left cheek (c/o Valy), callus on my left big toe, a slight sprain on my left foot, several pictures, pride in completing the adventure with a fullpack, and most of all a new gang that I look forward to joining in future climbs!


Photo courtesy of Geland.


Pictures from my cam are here. Also see Gel's accounts of the climb in his blog.

Rant

It's really frustrating the way your superiors have a great sense of timing to throw a wrench at your perfectly planned Friday.

Today, I had to surrender my plans of spending an afternoon with my parents, a quick shopping trip afterwards and a date tonight. Why? Because this morning, I was told that I need to do some analysis work for my boss and his boss. Urgently. Pronto.

*sigh* *sob*

Better Than Coffee

... leaving a message on my voicemail just to greet me a "Happy Wednesday!". =D

Happy Wednesday everyone!

MISS KO NANG MAG-ERSOP

haaaaaay... kaka-miss ng makipag-ratratan with strangers and friends. Kelan kaya ako uli makakalaro?

Doing a "Good" Deed

I only did it because you're a good friend of mine, and not for any other reason. =)

Sometimes, I'm puzzled why some people would think that the good deeds I do are because of other reasons aside from the one I mentioned. Why would they want to view things complicatedly rather than see it in a plain and simple context?

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Out of topic: SABADO NIGHT

I'm really old. Spent Saturday night with Emer (24), Jake (22) and Mac (21) for a gimik. Emer suggested that we go to SAGUIJO to catch live performances of some indie bands (support local music!). Goodness!!! People there were mostly college students! Felt out of place for about a minute.

We intended to bar-hop that night, but since the Makati scene is not really lively that night, the only suggestion that I came up with was R E D B O X . Hahaha!! Imagine four engineering guys in a videoke room until 4 am.

Boldyak Wala!

Hahahahahay... hindi ako naboldyak kanina when I presented an hour ago to the Big Boss in her office. Many questions thrown, but I either answered them satisfactorily OR was able to evade-and-counter the questions. Wahoooo!!!

Ganito pala ang feeling ng daga na nakatakas sa mga pusa.

? / Feeling Radioactive

If somebody came up to me now and asked how I'm feeling, I'd answer that I currently feel radioactive.

In chemistry, a substance exhibits radioactivity if it cycles back and forth between an excited state and a ground state while periodically decaying down in its own atomic composition. Only a few substances are naturally radioactive but in theory, all substances (with the exception of hydrogen, which cannot be decayed further) can be induced to display radioactivity by applying enough excitation or conversely forcing it to decay.

So what induced me to feel radioactive today? My end-of-year Goals and Performance Appraisal (GPA) discussion with my supervisor.

To sum it up, the discussion made me feel good, then disappointed, then great, then disappointed again. And so on and so forth.

My supervisor's appraisal of my 2006 performance was excellent. Yay... excitement! But, and to quote him, "due to the needs of the business and your specialized skillbase, we cannot afford to release you." Ground. "However, as soon as we have developed or identified your replacement we will nominate you for movement to SGS." Slight excitement. "By the way, don't be surprised if your colleague is moved out earlier than you; it doesn't mean that she's better than you. It's because you're important to the refinery now." Decay.

Crap. I think I need a drink tonight.

Climb: Taal

I went trekking yesterday (Saturday) with Geland at Taal Volcano Island. It wasn't really a planned climb, but since I had to meet up with my parents this weekend and they were going to Talisay anyway, I recruited Gel to go trekking.

It's been 14 years since I last climbed Taal Volcano (back in my boy scout days). I remember it to be a dusty (volcanic ash blown around by the wind), hot and a thirsty adventure back then. It still is.

We arrived at Taal's shores at noontime. Donning on bandanas to prevent "dush" (dust+ash) inhalation, we hiked along the tourist trail. There were a lot of Koreans that day, but all of them were on horseback. The tourist trail is an easy trek of about an hour at a moderate pace. It would have been shorter by about 15 minutes if we didn't need to avoid the horses now and then.

We had a 10-minute break at the rim of the volcano's crest and drank from chilled coconuts to refresh ourselves.

Now starts the adventure part.

Going down the crater to reach the crater lake will cost us 2500 pesos if we availed of a guide. Since Geland is the adventurous-type, we decided to gung-ho it sans guide. We searched around for a probable trail, found one and followed it. We had to manage a couple of steep slopes, walk along a portion of the rim (a steep drop both sides) and soon found ourselves in another reststop. Took us about 25-minutes, but the loose ash+soil made the trek a bit tiring.

Catching our breath at the reststop and planning our next route, a group of people were approaching us from another trail. And lo: there was Billy Joe Crawford. Boka talaga ni Geland, and he was quickly engaged in a casual conversation with him. Look for their picture at my smugmug (Geland: "Stippy, picture please!"). Click.

There's a bamboo gate at the reststop which is chained and locked. Apparently, it's the shortest route to get down to the lake. Luckily, Billy Joe and his companion were planning on going down to the lake and so the gate was opened. Yahooo!

The descent to the crater lake is 400 STEEP STEPS. Going down was manageable.

At the lake, we rested a bit, took pictures, waded in the sulfur-smelling water and chatted a bit with Billy Joe. Soon, we had to climb up back to the rest-station.

Climbing up was physically demanding. I take pride in being a physically fit person, and I think that Geland is in a better shape than me if not at par, but we had to stop four times to catch our breaths. When we got back to the reststop on top, we were more than glad to rest and raise our legs on the bamboo benches.

We took a different trail to return to our starting point. We passed by a barrio and appreciated it's idyllic ambiance.

Back at Talisay, we had lunch (time: 430 pm) and wolfed down inihaw na tilapia and sinigang na hipon. Busog!

Every step of the trek was worth it. Despite the muscle fatigue (guess what time I woke up the following day), I had fun, felt proud and enjoyed everything.

Pictures here.

Thanks to Tito Carlito and Tita Virgie for hosting us. Lunch was superb!

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Getting to Taal

From South Luzon Expressway, take Batangas exit and go towards STAR (Southern Tagalog Arterial Road). At STAR, exit at Sambat going towards Talisay/Tagaytay.

After Barangay Quiling, you'll come across a fork in the road with plenty of "Boat Rentals" signs and billboards (the path at the right will bring you to Tagaytay). Just stop there and wait for one of the barkers to approach you, hehehe. Or if you want referrals to my Tito Carlito (who runs a boat service to Taal volcano island), send me a message.

Boat ride to Taal volcano island from Talisay is about 20 minutes. Cost is 1500-3500 pesos, depending on your nationality.

At the island, the registration fee (sanctioned by Department of Tourism) is 50 pesos per head.

Horses are available for rental at 500-800 pesos each. Or you can be cheap and adventurous like us and just go hiking.

At the crater rim (top of the tourist trail), fresh chilled coconuts are for sale at 30 pesos each (or 1 USD).

I Hate Oil Movements Duty!

It's now been 25 hours since I last took a bath.

The nature of my work requires me to render supervisory and coordination roles of the Oil Movements area of the refinery where I work in every 7 weeks, for a duration of one week. The tasks involve preparing all the daily instructions for the refinery to ensure supply and availability of fuel products across the nation, addressing any emerging items for critical maintenance and managing abnormal refinery situations related to production. The Oil Movements area is composed of more than 70 tanks (about 3 BILLION liters of hydrocarbon) and all the pumps and piping systems needed to transfer, blend and deliver them. And some paperwork.

That is a short description of an Oil Movements Duty officer. The OM Duty Officer is expected to be able to address any emerging issues ANY time of the day, no matter how ungodly the hour is.

Unfortunately for me, on my first day of OM Duty for 2007, there are a lot of emerging items. So many items need to be addressed last night and today that I was late for the 7 am meeting today, skipped lunch and any trace of freshness from my anatomy is nil. I was planning on going swimming or visit the gym early this afternoon but I had to forego that too.

Still, I did try to cook a decent meal for dinner today and relax a bit while doing it (heck no!...cooking under limited time is actually stressful, I found out. and it's not easy doing it if you have duty calls every 5 minutes or so). Thank goodness for technology that I was able to chop tomatoes and onions while having my mobile phone on 'speakerphone' mode to talk to whoever needs to be talked too in the production/supply chain. Thank goodness too that my sense of smell was sharp enough to notice that my beef stew was beginning to get burnt while I was on the radio talking to the operations supervisor and I was still able to salvage the stew. And thank goodness that Jake and Anne found my cooking tolerable despite my crazy cooking conditions, task-wise (buti na lang masarap yung appetizer ko, hahaha).

I'm beginning to think that for all the hardships for rendering Oil Movements Duty, do we get enough incentives to continue on with this kind of work? One incentive was removed recently (duty meals -- bachelor duty officers are entitled to company-paid meals during the weekend) and I seriously think that THAT was a bad and inconsiderate move by management. I see that and the responsibilities for an OM Duty Officer as unfair.

Now don't get me wrong. I recognize that the world is not fair (otherwise, we won't build character). But for starters, I would like to be on the NOT-receiving end of the 'unfair concept' occassionally. It makes living more tolerable, like sugar in bitter tea.

Now that I'm done ranting and released my tension somewhat, I can now go home and take a decent bath. All phone calls will have to wait.

Getting some decent sleep is another thing.

I hate oil movements duty, and I'd like to own a shirt which says just that.