Thank You

To the new friend that i gained,   Thank you in advance. You have no idea how happy i am with the thoughtfulness of the act. We may not know each other that long yet, still, meron agad akong gift. Ico-consider ko na to as an advanced gift for my birthday and christmas. Again, maraming maraming salamat. :D   YOSH!!!

heartbreaking story

i know i haven't been able to blog about my recent trips, however, this one can't wait. i feel so bad about it, it breaks my heart.   we were on our way home (at least the guys i am with are) when a white kitten mee-yeowed at us. it was a cry of hunger, and i also hear it as a "take care of me" mee-yeow. he started following me, and as i stare back, i saw that he sat in the middle of the street. fearing that a passing vehicle run him over, i picked him up and placed him on the side of the street. as we continued walking, he started crying again, and i felt really bad because i have no food to give, with the feeling that i can't take him home with me. i am writing with the hopes that someone with a good heart take him in, give him food to eat, at least find his family, or stumble upon sir karl's place, where there are other cats that he could mingle with, and give him food to eat.   i am torn with guilt and sadness. i really really wished i could take him in, or feed him at least. i hope i see him the next time i visit their place.

Mt. Arayat Dayhike

i attended ton's baby's christening two saturdays ago. the idea of a dayhike came from this gathering where the original plan was to do an overnight swimming afterwards. well, the overnight swim was canceled but not the dayhike. so we went to pampanga but met at sir pik's house at around 12am that day. we arrived at nanay ruby's house at around 7am to eat breakfast and started our trek at around 8am.

about to register



on our way up



serious mode



the view from the summit: white rock (?)



the view from the summit: bitukang manok river (wala lang, narinig ko lang)



some pictures with the rest of the group







going back: me in action.. haha!



and so they say that hiking is not for the weak and faint hearted. this is true. i knew that from the first time i experienced the hardships of climbing a mountain. perserverance, discipline, respect and trust for others are some of the traits that one should have. ako, i still consider myself weak and faint hearted. a lot of times, i think of giving up, kaya lang lagi na lang, pumapasok ung realization kapag nasa gitna na ako. might as well enjoy the view on the way to the top. mahirap, madumi, and most of all, nakakakaba. kaya ba ng katawan ko, kinakaya naman. iba kasi ung satisfaction na mararamdaman kapag nandun na sa taas. magandang view, and most of all, ung luwag sa dibdib na tipong "shit, kaya ko pala!"

kaya ko to, i am so proud of myself - mantra ni babing :)



photos courtesy of mark estrella :)

Mt. Cinco Picos Traverse to Silanguin Cove to Green Island Beach Camp (Jan. 22-23, 2011)

this is kind of a late post. here are the pictures that i stole from them on facebook.. hahaha!

from our cinco picos traverse to silanguin cove adventure trip. :)

breathtaking view from above



patunay :)



with bampy



sa talahib, with bampy again (on our way to silanguin cove)



one of our pahinga moments



good morning!



another shot with bampy



pagod and sunburnt moment



group 1 came number 1



first climb as an official pikniker - one proud babing :)


a lot of new friends, promises of new adventure, new places, new challenges. ewan na lang kung di ko pa makita si mr. right. for now, enjoy lang. ang mantra - "i am so proud of myself, rakenrol!"

from a proud pikniker,

babing

February Fun

a long due vacation is coming up. i am excited as any person would be at the sound of the word "vacation".   i am not actually sure if i would be able to rest, i will be on leave for 9 days. here is the actual plan:   after work on friday, i am heading off to las pinas to celebrate part of the chinese new year and to see my family. mostly because i miss them, partly because i won't be seeing them for another 2 weeks.   the next day, saturday, i would have to leave in the early morning to meet up with the piknikers. we are off to mount arayat in pampanga for a day hike. according to the tentative IT, there will be swimming afterwards. what i plan to do is to take a different route and visit papa's place to say hi. afterwhich i will head back to the hotel that we will be staying in.   since the dayhike plus swim party will be an overnight event, i am expecting to be home on sunday, most probably in the afternoon. i should be able to pack the necessary things for the trip come the next day. will sleep early as our flight is early as well.   come monday, we leave for Palawan! yay! we leave at around 8am and should be there at around 10am. as far as i know, we will head directly to El nido. chillax for 5 days, baby, yeah!   after 5 days, we are now talking of saturday, there will be a mini reunion at vine's place. inuman, yosi, bonding session. fun, but not so looking forward to it. hm.   sunday will really be a rest day. and a laundry day, and ligpit day. whew, sana di na matapos ung week. haha!   monday, i am back to reality. back to work na ulit. as it seems, i am fully booked. i wish there is a job that will pay a lot and at the same time, not as strenuous as mine. i am not to complain, but one could be lazy sometimes. :)

point to ponder

i have been watching this sitcom, and one of the episodes was about Ted. This episode was about him turning 30, and one of his plan was to discard everything that he does not have any use of. things, personal effects, friends, etc.   this got me thinking. what if i do the same, and remove those that i have no use of. any complications, trash, anything unnecessary. i bet i'll have more room to myself.   maybe i should start with one baggage. then everything else will follow.

Mt. Kalisungan day hike with piknikers :)

i conquered another mountain and got a new set of friends. not bad for the start of the year.

last saturday, i joined a practice climb with karl, bampy, and ton. they are from the group called piknikers mountaineers and we went to mt. kalisungan in victoria, laguna. this is the second time that i joined them and hindi nga ako nagkamali the first time. very accomodating and maasikaso cla.

anyway, we all met at the hm bus station in cubao. kakaaliw kase i was expecting na mejo marami kame. practice climb kase sasama ulit ako sa kanila next week sa cinco picos. sabit lang ako dun actually, pero major climb daw un, and considering na sa daraitan yung huli kong adventure, mejo kailangan ko talaga ng parang warm up/ practice.

mentally, i was prepared. alam ko na mahirap cia. hindi ko lang inexpect na MAHIRAP PALA TALAGA. nandun ung nahilo ako sa mga unang oras na naglalakad kame, nandun din ung halos paunahin ko na si sir ton at pinipilit ko cia na susunod na lang ako (grabe, hindi cia nagpapilit, at hinintay nya ako kahit alam kong mas napapagod cia sa kakapahinga), at ung ilang beses ako nadulas. pisikal pala and stamina ung kalaban ko. kabado tuloy ako sa darating na sabado.



some of the catches of the trip is ung pagkakaligaw namen. nasundan namin ung trail kaya lang, habang lumalaon (naks! ang lalim!), mejo nawawala na cia. buti na lang maalam mga kasama ko, nakita naman din nila after mag bushwhack (yep, may literal meaning pala ang term na ito). dito din ako maraming natutunan, c/o tips nila sir ton, sir karl, at maam bampy. naexplain nga din maigi sakin ang catch phrase ng group na "never leave a man behind". simple pero mabigat ang meaning. at siempre, in-invite din nila ako sa group nila. first time ko ulit sumali sa group na di ko masyado kilala pero sa buong panahon na kasama ko cla at nila ako, di ko naramdaman na others ako.

sa piknikers, salamat sa adventure, sa pagalaga, sa guidance. looking forward sa mga climb na susunod. hopefully maging kasing bangis nyo din ako someday. :)