how could i forget!

we had crepe when we went up Gulugod Baboy...

Peach ones, smothered in chocolate syrup...yum yum yum. Thanks to Ian for bringing dessert, and to Allan for the photo below.

wander list

All this wandering off to places out of the city has brought back my dream to travel around my country. While its nice to keep adding stamps and marks on my passport to show that I've been to other exotic nations, I feel it's shameful to admit to other people and to myself, that there are more places within our own shores that I have never visited.

So I am builing my wander list. A list of 4 areas I HAVE to visit in the NEAR FUTURE. Once I've crossed off two from this, then I can add more, cautious I know, but seeing how fast time flies and how big the possibility of foreign assignments are, I have to be realistic....

1. Palawan
2. Batanes
3. Sagada / Mountain Province
4. Siargao


In ANY order.

another weekend, another mountain

Two months into the year and I'm still at it. I'm still spending most of my weekends out of town.

This past weekend we went to Mabini,Batangas to trek to the peak of Gulugod Baboy. Unknown to me, the skies were cloudy that Saturday morning and I was too busy thinking of what to bring, I completely forgot to take note of the weather. I left my jacket home along with warmer clothes and opted for a lightweight long sleeve shirt instead (as opposed to the sweater AND jacket I brought to our Subic trip where, consequently, it didn't rain at all!).

On the road I was praying for clear skies and no rain at least for the duration of the trek because if it did, I would end up with a garbage bag over my head which is totally unacceptable! I chose to be vain because, based on the photos from Subic, I looked like a guy and I refuse to let that happen to me again. I figured if it rains at the peak, I'll stay inside the tent.

And it did. Rain when we got there. Worse, the fog was so thick, we couldn't see any of the 'breathtaking views'. So I put on my longsleeved shirt which brought about the question 'San gimik mo socs?' and ended up in one of my officemates me loaning me his jacket. I'd like to stress though, that while I had the jacket on and he was walking around in his shorts and sando, I kept asking him if it was okay. And he kept saying yes....

After our sinigang and adobo dinner, crepe dessert and shots of vodka later, I couldn't stop shivering. So I relented and against my better judgment, decided to curl up inside our nice warm tent,covered in my nice warm sleeping bag. Such a contrast to what I really wanted to do, which was to hang out with the rest of the almost-drunk (and eventually officially-drunk) crowd outside the tents, standing in the rain and battling the strong winds. Yes I know. I'm such a spoilsport.

The morning after I got up early, having been disappointed at missing the sunset the night before (because we didn't reach the peak in time and because the fog was so thick we wouldn't have seen it anyway, I was looking forward to a glorious sunrise. Outside the tent, what greeted me was a sleepy Good Morning from another early riser, and fog. Lots of it. No sunrise.

So I stayed quiet. Not really knowing what to do except wait for breakfast. Until the sky started to clear. That was when I hurriedly dug into my backpack for Buddy.

We headed off to the higher peak (we were camped not at the top since there wasnt room there, duh!) and I started shooting in between bouts of fog and clear skies. The sun was out for less than half and hour I think, but it was enough for me to take a few photos and to take in the views that we missed the day before.






Once the clouds came back, we were having breakfast. Soon after it was time to head back down. Goodbye mountain, hello beach! Right off our jump off point was a beach resort where we had a quick dip in the cold water, lunch and took our showers. Cleansed and content, it was time to head home.

More photos posted on my gallery here.

First Things

If the things you think about the moment you're awake are supposed to tell you something of who you are and what matters to you, then I have reason to worry.

See, for the past months --- okay YEARS --- I've been thinking of the same thing almost every waking moment. While the thought in itself is not a cause to worry, the fact that its something I have promised myself never to dwell on scares me immensely.

It seems that I fit what everyone says about a typical human...that I want most what is forbidden. Or in this case, that I think most of that which I ought to not think of.

when your mind refuses to function

go bug your seatmate with a phone camera!

phone and photos courtesy of my ever-buggable seatmate sumi ;-)

Enchanted

As a High School girl my friends and I would look forward to trips to Enchanted Kingdom because of the idea of a road trip all the way down to Laguna and later on, because some of them have developed crushes on the band playing on weekends.

This past weekend I got the chance to revisit Enchanted Kingdom. Its been 2 years since my last visit (I think) and this time, I was there, finally, with my nephew and niece. I say ‘finally’ because there was a time when my brother and I would wonder when and at what age would be the perfect time for us to bring them there. Not too young lest they don’t enjoy and we end up a perfectly good day and time, not too old lest they lose their sense of adventure and end up scared of amusement park rides worse than their tita (that would be me..).



Watching them run around the park and get on the rides together (I got the Carousel special ticket, thank you. Yes, cheapskate I am. I’d rather shoot than leave my camera behind too) is enough for me to enjoy as well. They loved Dodgem and Roller Skater and kept coming back for another turn. Give it a few more years and I’ll be holding their hand as I scream for dear life when we’re on the Space Shuttle… I may no longer roam the park running (so I can get ahead of the lines), and I may no longer spend the entire day from opening until closing time at the park, being there with Carl and Ally and my brother made it an entirely new experience for me. I still didn’t mind walking around over and over again, and every new ride is something that I’d like them to try since its something I myself have never been in.

Apparently, at Enchanted Kingdom the magic is still there.

heartless

so there I was at work, minding my own business when someone goes and says that a bus exploded along ayala avenue. So I search INQ7.net for any news...there was none.

A few minutes later I get a call from Teedge. She sounded upset and a distraught. Apparently she was at SM Makati heading off to Ayala MRT station when she heard an explosion and people started panicking and running. What someone told her was that a bomb had exploded within the MRT.

Minutes later the news hits INQ7.net. There was a bomb and the target was a bus near the Ayala MRT station.
I scanned other news and found out that there were two other bombs that hit Davao and General Santos City.

Terrorists attacking on Valentine's Day? Talk about surprise attacks. No, they won't strike on EDSA anniversary, because the police would be on red alert. Instead, why not do it on Valentine's Day when all people are thinking about are dates and flowers and gifts? Smart alecks all of them.

Maybe their chief plotter just doesnt have a date on Feb 14.

snob

I admit, I'm a snob.
especially when it comes to local TV shows and local movies. I never give it a second thought, I automatically just say "NO".

This explains why I don't know who the new local young stars are (and sometimes even the old ones), I don't know which show is "Kapuso"and which is "Kapamilya" --- I even cant get which network is "Kapuso" and which is "Kapamilya" most of the time.

I wonder how much I'm missing out on.Gauging from the showbiz chimis I hear and the movies that have recently been shown, not much I suppose.

nature trip

campfire, fresh air, trees and nature everywhere...
the perfect way to spend another weekend.

it was Subic Jungle Environment Survival Training (J.E.S.T.) weekend
where cooking in bamboo, eating bite-size bats and climbing down a steep, rocky
stretch of mountain are just common forest pasttime.

we had too much food with us, my tent was too darn heavy and bulky, I didnt have
enough strength and determination to bring out my camera more often and shoot
more interesting sights but all in all, it was one experience I will not forget. I finally
got the chance to camp out in the mountains!!!

news flash!

there is news of impending departure...

whether this will push through or not remains to be seen.

until things become final, I shall spend my time by being alternately anxious and then working to overcome the anxiety.

going around in circles

Change your life before your life changes you...

I was reading a book I found lying around the house when I encountered those words. And immediately I put my book down.
I myself am going through a lot of changes lately, and I wonder, are these changes because of life, or are they because I choose to change them?
Are the decisions I make brought about by the circumstances I'm in? Or are they what I shay should be?
Is there even a distinction between "my life" and "me" in the first place?
Am I who I am because of how I live?
Or do I live the way I do, because of who I am?
Is one the cause and the other, effect?
Or do they co-exist as pairs, without a single one bearing more influence over the other?


I am my life. And my life is me.
Yes, I've been going through changes...is my life changing me? Or am I changing my life?