regardless
we in my immediate family are not touchy-feely people and it's right to say that we don't wear our hearts on our sleeves. sure, we miss one another and keep our communication lines open but except for "take care and God bless always" we usually avoid talks of sweetness and mush. when we find ourselves together, we're warm and happy but we're seldom (if not at all) seen in a hug or anything like that... i'd like to think that we love one another silently and discreetly. we openly talk about our bad feelings and vent out our frustrations (sometimes to the point of arguing or, worse, fighting!) but we tend to keep the good ones and those that light up our very hearts to ourselves. i don't know what will really change all that. i wish to...
last week, i received an e-mail from my father. it's been a long time since i last received an e-mail from him and i was a bit surprised that he took time to send me one; just disregard the fact that it was a forwarded e-mail. i knew why he sent it. he just wanted to make me feel remembered. the top most part of the message said: "teng, please read this and take care always. papang."
even with those few words, i felt my worth in his life. i was very grateful for his e-mail eventhough receiving it made me feel a little bit uncomfortable. it's weird that i should feel uncomfortable, i know. not really quite knowing what to reply, i decided to e-mail him about our group's R&D win -- something that got announced last december but my family didn't know of... because i didn't tell them. (even though i openly talk about the places that i go to and the companies that i keep, i'm notorious at home for keeping people in the dark when it comes to my activities -- good or bad, better or worse, best or worst. my family's usually the last to know that i did this and i did that. in fact, they don't know about this blog. so ssssssshhhhh.)
i figured my papang deserved some delightful news from me and not my standard boredom-inducing "buhi pa ko" (i'm still alive) statement, so i told him my stale news. as expected, he congratulated me. he wrote very briefly that he's proud of me. instead of acknowledging his congratulations, i pointed out that he misunderstood some things i said in the e-mail (he really did misunderstand some things!) and i proceeded to make things clear. i wrote a few lines of probably senseless blah blah blahs without commenting nor reacting on his congratulations. i know, i know... my head's really ought to be hit by a hammer.
my papang's reply ?
"regardless... basta, just remember i'm very proud of you."
...and our exchange ended right there. i knew in my heart i'd end up starting an argument over something good if i dared to contest that one. regardless is such a powerful word. i didn't know... until papang used it on me.
powerless
"no. it can't be," i thought as i made my usual way to the catwalk. with catwalk, i mean the usually deserted hallway that i pass through almost daily on my way to the research lab. it was monday morning and the hallway leading to our labroom was dark -- it meant only one thing: another power outage. tut. tut. no power. no experiments. uhm, no work until brownout's over. no work? argh. (call me abnormal, i don't care.)
tough luck. the labrat in me was hungry for action that couldn't just be there. just when i decided to welcome monday morning with zest to do things that need to be done, i got welcomed by darkness in the lab. no light, no aircon, no internet, no computer to fiddle with, no equipment that could be run. i should have seen it coming: our building's been experiencing at least one power outage every week since late april for reasons the "experts" couldn't exactly pin-point and fix.
listless
clark kent. superman. kal-el. clark kent. superman. kal-el. clark kent. superman. kal-el. clark k...
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
dancing the tinikling
"you don't go to the precipice of yes and then stop.
you don't say yes and then hold back. you don't say yes and then change your mind. the biggest thing to do when you go to the precipice of yes is to jump off and feel the exhilaration of
saying 'yes' to a noble calling."
-- mr. pagsi
last weekend (june 9-11), i joined a leadership retreat held at the betania retreat house in quezon city. i'm one of the participants this time, not one of the facilitators -- nice change.
the retreat gave me more than a mere break. on top of the opportunity of spending time with friends (whom i haven't seen for quite some time) again, i also had the great opportunity of forming new friendships with other young professionals (naks!) whose dreams are not that different from mine although they belong to other fields and they grew up in other parts of the country. more than opening doors for lifetime friendships with at least 21 other people...
• the retreat strengthened the Filipino soul in me.
• it affirmed my conviction that more than financial investments, i should have socio-civic investments.
• it made me realize that i do want a closer relationship with God and that means i want to know Him more. please don't raise those eyebrows. i'm somewhat a lost sheep and i really want to find my way back.
• it also inspired me to continue believing in the concept of team: together everyone achieves more.
i had a lot of realizations last weekend. i also had a lot of fun during the stay-in. it was good to find myself in the company of "people of like mind" -- people who believe in this country's potential despite and in spite of everything, people who have not given up on the concept of nation-building (big word, i know) and on being Filipino.
together, we ate, laughed, cracked jokes, and sang love songs with guitar as accompaniment during breaks in the discussions. with them, i had the time to pause, identify and openly talk about my real fears. i listened to their stories and they listened to mine. the flow of the discussions reminded me of the choices and the changes i can make. the activities helped me pin-point my gains and my losses, my pains and my blessings. they made me assess and reassess my paths as well as renew my commitment to my dreams. in a way, i could say that i got recharged by dancing the tinikling.
imagine young urban professionals coming together and dancing the tinikling: medical doctor, councilors, project managers and assistants, engineers, programmers, accountants, scientists, lawyers, and new graduates. well, yes, the tinikling! some of us had to do the limbo. some of us had to revive seemingly-forgotten top-spinning (pagpapaikot ng trumpo) prowess. some of us had to show how to do the sipa and the siko. some of us had to crack not-so-common philippine riddles. some of us had to pull the slingshot (tirador) and put down designated targets. all of us had a dose of alibata. all of us were made to dance the tinikling!!! more than being challenging, it was helluva fun!!!
here, before i get too carried away with my fun-fun-fun tinikling experience, let me share some of the lines i jotted down during the discussions:
"success begins in the mind. it is nurtured in the heart and is expressed through labor."
"it takes courage to do the right thing everyday. one has to have values to stand on, values that must not be compromised. after all, the people who make a difference are those with virtues."
"love is not a pinky-pinky thing. love is service."
"the most terrible thing that can happen to one's life is to be no longer needed."
"anything worth doing is worth doing well. a job well done is its own reward."
"if you want to have a fulfilled life, then you must choose to invest your life -- not just on a goal but on an ideal."
"in times of crisis, people either break down or shine. there is so much magic in woundedness."
by the way, the name of the leadership retreat is AGIMAT. interesting name, don't you think? well, we had an interesting line-up of speakers, too: dinky soliman, ateneo boys high's very well-revered onofre "mr. pagsi" pagsanghan, manila water's president antonino aquino, newsbreak magazine's editor-in-chief marites vitug, AFP's major dennis eclarin, ang lingkod ng panginoon's atty. bobby quitain, and society of jesus' bro. javi. if those names don't ring a bell, you're missing on a lot of information about the people in this country... time to read up!
as a consequence of attending AGIMAT, i added the following to my "to do list":
• answer this question: "what do you put in the center of your life?"
• complete this: "in the morning, when i wake up..." maybe come up with a poem, song or an essay?
• identify those who are in your hall of fame. guide questions: who are your heroes? why are they your heroes?
• plot (and re-plot) your lifeline. be as detailed as you can be. identify the ups and downs.
• val, make up your mind on this jolting question: "are you investing your one life on the right thing?" if the answer is yes, justify. if the answer is no, what then is the right thing and what are you currently doing with your one life -- why are you not investing it on the right thing?
challenging-enough list, eh? as you can see, i have no five-year nor ten-year plan in my "to do" list. i refuse to do anything like that because i can only clearly see as far as next month (i'm not even sure about this. sometimes, i can only clearly see as far as the next hour, haha). in fact, i'm not even gonna start budgeting my money and my time on paper. that means i'm not so sure about plotting (and re-plotting) my lifeline although i have no problem in identifying my ups and downs.
p.s. feel free to take on the challenges, if you want to. i think they'll make interesting blog entries, if you care to share... and, oh, they require honesty.
Monday, June 12, 2006
overwhelming
you stare at the screen. you see this awesome sequence of distinct shapes, colors, and meshed sounds. first, you get the idea that you're actually looking at some part of the earth. then, you are pulled back. you're looking at floating big chunks of rocks. you are pulled back further until you see jupiter and its distinguishable red spot. next, you see saturn and its rings. you are pulled back continuously until what you know as the solar system fades in the distance and gives way to an even grander picture of stars, constellations, galaxies... whoa... the spectacular vastness of the universe unfolds before your very eyes and the next thing you know, you're looking straight into the eye of a comely girl saying, "CQ, this is W9GFO. come back."
if that seems too familiar, then perhaps you are a fan of the movie...
title: contact
year of release: 1997
director: robert zemeckis
story by: carl sagan and ann druyan
main cast: jodie foster, matthew mcconaughey, james woods, tom skerritt, and angela bassett
contact is one of those beautifully done films that i was not able to watch on the big screen -- something tells me that the experience would have been better (but it's too late for regrets. anyway, i don't have to fret -- i own an original copy of the movie and i have the book as well).
the opening sequence of the movie is the story of the movie itself. it takes one on a journey that starts within, here on earth, tunneling to somewhere, lending a breathtaking, incomprehensible sense of vastness which leads back to the heart of reality that paves way for inspirations and a sense of significance on top of thought-provoking insights.
"you are capable of such beautiful dreams and such horrible nightmares. you feel so lost, so cut off, so alone... only you're not. see, in all our searching, the only thing we've found that makes the emptiness bearable is each other."
-- from the movie, contact
more than a year ago, i picked up a copy of contact (the movie) from the shelf and did not let go of it until i paid for it. i "officially" made it mine for these three big reasons: jodie foster, carl sagan, and extra-terrestrial intelligence -- not necessarily in that order.
"if it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space."
throw in jodie's brand of acting, sagan's genius, zemeckis' talents, and add a good blend of special effects and background sound... then, proceed to tell an interesting story of how the world reacts to a message from one of the stars -- "contact" with "little green men" that are not little green men at all. the movie has both entertainment and considerable intellectual value. in contact, we have science fiction that is closer to science than mere fiction. in contact, we also have a woven picture of humanity, religion, politics and ambitions. all these elements contribute to an overwhelming movie-watching experience.
p.s. i love the book more than the movie. there's more drama, more character development, more picture of reality and undeniable scientific poetry in the book. dr. sagan pulled together the elements that pique my imagination well.
if that seems too familiar, then perhaps you are a fan of the movie...
title: contact
year of release: 1997
director: robert zemeckis
story by: carl sagan and ann druyan
main cast: jodie foster, matthew mcconaughey, james woods, tom skerritt, and angela bassett
contact is one of those beautifully done films that i was not able to watch on the big screen -- something tells me that the experience would have been better (but it's too late for regrets. anyway, i don't have to fret -- i own an original copy of the movie and i have the book as well).
the opening sequence of the movie is the story of the movie itself. it takes one on a journey that starts within, here on earth, tunneling to somewhere, lending a breathtaking, incomprehensible sense of vastness which leads back to the heart of reality that paves way for inspirations and a sense of significance on top of thought-provoking insights.
-- from the movie, contact
more than a year ago, i picked up a copy of contact (the movie) from the shelf and did not let go of it until i paid for it. i "officially" made it mine for these three big reasons: jodie foster, carl sagan, and extra-terrestrial intelligence -- not necessarily in that order.
throw in jodie's brand of acting, sagan's genius, zemeckis' talents, and add a good blend of special effects and background sound... then, proceed to tell an interesting story of how the world reacts to a message from one of the stars -- "contact" with "little green men" that are not little green men at all. the movie has both entertainment and considerable intellectual value. in contact, we have science fiction that is closer to science than mere fiction. in contact, we also have a woven picture of humanity, religion, politics and ambitions. all these elements contribute to an overwhelming movie-watching experience.
p.s. i love the book more than the movie. there's more drama, more character development, more picture of reality and undeniable scientific poetry in the book. dr. sagan pulled together the elements that pique my imagination well.
Sunday, June 04, 2006
goodbye may, hello june
"There is no such thing as pure pleasure;
some anxiety always goes with it."
--Ovid, Metamorphoses
...and so another month has passed and i'm still here in metro manila. please don't ask me why i haven't moved on yet when according to the plan i had three summers ago, i should have been out of here last year. let's just say that this early twenty-something phase i'm currently in is meant to unfold here and not anywhere else. nice enough excuse eh? don't worry, i'll be out of here soon. you just wait.
apart from work, the highlights of the last three weeks were good food, old school art, movies, and great company.
movies recently seen on the big screen: x-men 3: the last stand with labmates, the da vinci code with nobody, and over the hedge with p6peeps
other movies recently seen: sideways and la visa loca with ids99 beautiful gal pals
recent food trips: montanara, spinach and gelato of amici di don bosco with bisaya bloggers, pizza and pasta of sbarro and chicken meals of jollibee with labmates, clubhouse of delifrance with sealdi, pork sisig and sinigang of dencio's in megastrip with p6peeps, seafood jambalaya and pepperoni pizza of burgoo with my kuya
recent artworks: glitter glue painting and spur-of-the-moment crayon work on our table top in burgoo
recent overnight sessions: movie marathon and food trip with ids99 beautiful gal pals in rose's makati apartment and inuman session and get-together with p6peeps in edson and jerk's apartelle in makati.
on the movies recently seen...
first, allow me to say what they say, "ignorance is bliss..."
i know there are people who are quite disappointed with the recent installment of x-men. me? i'm not disappointed. how could i be? i did not grow up looking forward to friday nights and the x-men tv series, i never got into reading the x-men comics, and my familiarity with the x-men characters is only due to my kuya's x-men cards and my labmates' x-men stories. i went inside the cinema without much expectation on the plot, i went out satisfied with the special effects and the bonus scene after the end credits.
as for the movie version of dan brown's the da vinci code (DVC), i think only those who have not read the book will be impressed by the movie. tom hanks happens to be one of my favorite actors yet i have to agree with my bisdak friends who declared that he didn't quite fit the picture of the robert langdon that we got to know in the book. i believe audrey tautou gave the best that she could for her sophie character but the screenplay didn't give her much to work on... man, they downplayed sophie's brilliance several-fold! except for that part where sophie introduces herself as a member of the french intelligence department, nowhere else in the movie will you get the idea that she's really a cryptologist. i was also disappointed with how they barely moved the camera over leonardo da vinci's works in the louvre scenes. plus, duh, they downgraded the "cryptex within a cryptex" to a mere cryptex and, as a result, one code/clue got left out. if there's something in the movie that i'd like to praise, it's the beauty of the surroundings of the rosslyn chapel... and oh, sir ian mckellen's performance as leigh teabing and paul bettany's portrayal of the murderous monk, silas.
if in poseidon we had a movie where sweet home alabama meets glory road meets phantom of the opera meets motorcycle diaries meets perfect storm meets titanic meets..., for the DVC movie we have amelie meets a very long engagement meets forrest gump meets x-men meets the lord of the rings meets spiderman 2 meets the last temptation of christ meets... okay, okay, i'm stopping.
on other things...
i'm glad that i still get to spend time with my friends from high school and from college despite our respective locations and "busy" schedules. i guess, it helps a lot that we get to think that "being busy" is such a lame excuse for not getting together and enjoying each other's company. people who feign they are too "busy" simply don't take time. who're they kidding? the world happens to be fair, it almost always proves "busy" people right. i'm one busy bee with a track-record to boot, i should know.
haaay. may is over and june is here. the rainy days have come and i haven't gone on a decent vacation yet!!! whack me! i had a fun summer, why am i complaining??
i haven't been home in my mindanao since the fourth day of january this year. i hope to be home for at least a week this june or maybe this july. in a way, i've already got some things planned: go trekking and horsebackriding and dare the zipline in mapawa nature park, put my life in the way of danger via white-water rafting and then dive off some high bridge in cagayan de oro city. a clever suicide plan? naaah! i'm actually talking about thrill and fun. tara, let's!
for now, raindrops keep falling on my head... i should buy myself an umbrella soon.
p.s. my "amazing" saturday article got published in Inq7's YOU! click here to see my byline.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
gratitude
today, caterpillar talk is officially two years old. thank you readers for all the comments and for the interactions (virtual and otherwise). you make blogging fun and rewarding.
smorgasbord: some selected lines...
may 2004: what i really long for right now is a lengthy and meaty conversation, and not this task of typing down words as if i’m talking to the monitor.
june 2004: this attempt at blogging is doing wonders for me. i’m beginning to understand a little bit (according to my own reckoning) of html coding. yehey! i’m learning!
july 2004: my mind is old, but my senses are young...
august 2004: letting go is more painful yet more rewarding than holding on.
september 2004: my life, it seems, is literally a blur.
october 2004: i don’t like airports!!! they always make me feel miserable.
november 2004: i’ll not lose anything if my wishes don’t come true, but i have something to gain if they do come true... and that’s the comforting thought with wishing.
december 2004: you see, when you have many sets of friends, it’s so difficult to make them come together. for my case, it’s so complicated. i think spending time with all of them together in one go would only bring out my almost-always-hidden multiple personalities, hahaha! it’s too dangerous, i think.
january 2005: i have to keep going, if not for myself, then at least for someone else...
february 2005: speed got me when i was just a kid. i wasn’t 5 years old then when i got dragged by a fast-moving motorcycle. why? because i thought i could run as fast as the motorcycle!
march 2005: i don’t wanna pursue one dream, give up the other and, in the end, be haunted by the dream i did not choose. if only i can have my cake and eat it, too...
april 2005: ah, i would love to find myself in caleruega again! the comforting silence, the breath-taking scenery, the sweet scent of the air, the beauty... my soul found a new home there.
may 2005: a thousand heartwarming moments are treasures that all the money in the world can’t buy, but i can have them. you can have them, too.
june 2005: the girl that i am today is already years and leaps apart from the little girl that i was, yet there are things far better than my childhood memories with papang that continue to stay with me... his time, his unconditional love, his passion for providing for the family and giving us what money cannot buy, his showing us what things in life are truly important, his good values, the freedom that he gave me and my brother, his support and guidance through his sound decision-making skills, his genes, his name.
july 2005: i know... i ought to stop whining. i shouldn’t drown the world with my troubles for the problems out there are far greater than whatever ails me...
august 2005: when i was in grade one, i belonged to the end of the spectrum. i was in the last section...
september 2005: i cannot go on deceiving myself that i’m still okay because no matter what, i still know that for every moment of happiness that i find here, really being home could make me feel so much more...
october 2005: be ready with screwdrivers and derring-do. computers need r and r, too. r and r as in re-seating of modular devices and reinstallation.
november 2005: my heart broke so perfectly into a million and one pieces — had the wind fiercely blown the tiny pieces away, they would have scattered like bloodied rose petals on the ground and become puzzle pieces that would never again fit...
december 2005: to hell with suckers. ha ha.
january 2006: my parents regard me as secretive. they’re familiar with my tendency to hold back talking about certain things. they know that i have the tendency to wait for the last crazy minute before i share anything too personal. they know that i don’t tell them a lot of things. they know that despite my being such an incessant talker, i still keep a lot to myself.
february 2006: i’m such an incurable romantic, i don’t really buy the valentine crap. love is sacred and should not be commercialized. you can make me feel giddy on other days… with sweet gestures that have nothing to do with flowers, chocolates, jewelry or dinners in fancy restaurants.
march 2006: maybe what i've been told is true: the answer will just come to me when the universe knows i'm ready. when my right time comes, i'll fall freely into what i'm destined to be and i'll truly, madly, deeply be happy.
april 2006: sometimes i think it's just my pride still holding me together. haha, i wanted that to be funny... but it's heartbreakingly funny.
may 2006: play in the rain up there in benguet, I DID!!!
weeeeeeeeeee...
smorgasbord: some selected lines...
may 2004: what i really long for right now is a lengthy and meaty conversation, and not this task of typing down words as if i’m talking to the monitor.
june 2004: this attempt at blogging is doing wonders for me. i’m beginning to understand a little bit (according to my own reckoning) of html coding. yehey! i’m learning!
july 2004: my mind is old, but my senses are young...
august 2004: letting go is more painful yet more rewarding than holding on.
september 2004: my life, it seems, is literally a blur.
october 2004: i don’t like airports!!! they always make me feel miserable.
november 2004: i’ll not lose anything if my wishes don’t come true, but i have something to gain if they do come true... and that’s the comforting thought with wishing.
december 2004: you see, when you have many sets of friends, it’s so difficult to make them come together. for my case, it’s so complicated. i think spending time with all of them together in one go would only bring out my almost-always-hidden multiple personalities, hahaha! it’s too dangerous, i think.
january 2005: i have to keep going, if not for myself, then at least for someone else...
february 2005: speed got me when i was just a kid. i wasn’t 5 years old then when i got dragged by a fast-moving motorcycle. why? because i thought i could run as fast as the motorcycle!
march 2005: i don’t wanna pursue one dream, give up the other and, in the end, be haunted by the dream i did not choose. if only i can have my cake and eat it, too...
april 2005: ah, i would love to find myself in caleruega again! the comforting silence, the breath-taking scenery, the sweet scent of the air, the beauty... my soul found a new home there.
may 2005: a thousand heartwarming moments are treasures that all the money in the world can’t buy, but i can have them. you can have them, too.
june 2005: the girl that i am today is already years and leaps apart from the little girl that i was, yet there are things far better than my childhood memories with papang that continue to stay with me... his time, his unconditional love, his passion for providing for the family and giving us what money cannot buy, his showing us what things in life are truly important, his good values, the freedom that he gave me and my brother, his support and guidance through his sound decision-making skills, his genes, his name.
july 2005: i know... i ought to stop whining. i shouldn’t drown the world with my troubles for the problems out there are far greater than whatever ails me...
august 2005: when i was in grade one, i belonged to the end of the spectrum. i was in the last section...
september 2005: i cannot go on deceiving myself that i’m still okay because no matter what, i still know that for every moment of happiness that i find here, really being home could make me feel so much more...
october 2005: be ready with screwdrivers and derring-do. computers need r and r, too. r and r as in re-seating of modular devices and reinstallation.
november 2005: my heart broke so perfectly into a million and one pieces — had the wind fiercely blown the tiny pieces away, they would have scattered like bloodied rose petals on the ground and become puzzle pieces that would never again fit...
december 2005: to hell with suckers. ha ha.
january 2006: my parents regard me as secretive. they’re familiar with my tendency to hold back talking about certain things. they know that i have the tendency to wait for the last crazy minute before i share anything too personal. they know that i don’t tell them a lot of things. they know that despite my being such an incessant talker, i still keep a lot to myself.
february 2006: i’m such an incurable romantic, i don’t really buy the valentine crap. love is sacred and should not be commercialized. you can make me feel giddy on other days… with sweet gestures that have nothing to do with flowers, chocolates, jewelry or dinners in fancy restaurants.
march 2006: maybe what i've been told is true: the answer will just come to me when the universe knows i'm ready. when my right time comes, i'll fall freely into what i'm destined to be and i'll truly, madly, deeply be happy.
april 2006: sometimes i think it's just my pride still holding me together. haha, i wanted that to be funny... but it's heartbreakingly funny.
may 2006: play in the rain up there in benguet, I DID!!!
weeeeeeeeeee...
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
bisaya bloggers' "amazing" saturday
dragon boat rowing. selling ice candy in front of malate church. trip to thailand manila zoo. selling bottled water in the streets of makati. ice skating in megamall. relay in mandaluyong. all that during one fine saturday!
it all started with gail asking the manila-based bisaya bloggers to block-out their may 20 schedule for her. her group, the YUPPeace (young upbeat professional for peace), was organizing an amazing race-inspired activity and she wanted the bisaya bloggers to participate. fun-loving people and adventurers that we are, zimm, kuya toto, jory, sealdi and i said yes. we committed ourselves to join the one-day activity eventhough we had no idea of the tasks that will be assigned to us. the mere mention of "amazing race" was interesting enough... nice bait so we bit!
the details we got from gail via SMS were: may 20, 2006. meeting place: CCP parking lot, manila bay. be there 7am. wear blue shirt. bring swim wear and goggles. medicines, if you need any. extra money. extra clothes.
ulk... swim wear. goggles... and what?! manila bay?!
when i saw the words "swim wear", "goggles" and "manila bay" i think my eyes popped out, my head spun, and i quickly reconsidered taking back my "yes". there was just no way i was going to take a dip in manila bay... not even with the promise of a million pesos. nooooooooooo.... sure i can get crazy enough to walk on very fine broken pieces of glass, burning coals and tightrope but dip in manila bay?? no way!
gail's reply to my request for "no manila bay dip" assurance wasn't quite assuring: part of the game. not sure if there will really be swimming. bring swim wear and goggles, just in case. be there on saturday, 8am (not 7am as originally scheduled). wear blue shirt.
since i was looking for adventure and after some summer fun, i forgot about backing out and found myself and my backpack in the manila bay area on the morning of may 20, saturday. zimm, kuya toto, jory, gail and the YUPPeace were already there when i arrived and the activity was just about to kick off. ahh, i admire my timing! (let's just forget that i was actually late and gail somehow worried that i got lost in the manila jungle. hehehe.)
bisaya bloggers + YUPPeace = amazing race
amazing race YUPPeace edition 2006. 3 teams, 3 colors: yellow. red. blue.
bisaya bloggers in blue!
1st challenge: dragon boat race in manila bay
i thought i'd never get around to being part of a dragon boat rowing team. what do you know? the opportunity came to me last saturday and i grabbed it with much excitement. yes!!! i'll no longer wonder what it's like to be on a dragon boat, rowing. i've experienced it!!!
after a warm-up session, all of us participants had a crash course on dragon boat rowing courtesy of one of the key people of the national team (read: 2005 SEAGames dragon boat race champion). we were shown how to hold the quite expensive oars (PhP3K each and imported from canada) properly: one hand should firmly hold the "T" and the other should be on the "shaft" to control the angle of the "blade". we were told that "stroke" means right and "bow" means left. the other terms we kept track of were "backwater", "standby position" and "entry".
yes, we're eager learners... but somebody got distracted by the "barako" bodies of the SEAG rowers, hehehe.
then, it was time for the real thing... the dragon boat could hold twenty rowers but for our challenge, only ten rowers were needed: five on the "bow" side and five on the "stroke" side. the experience was great!!! i loved it!
we, members of the blue team, learned things so fast. we're so proud of our performance! when we were already out there in the middle, our instructor and "drum beater" asked four of us in the "bow" side to change positions to maximize the team's potential. the act of standing up and walking on the boat was quite exciting (and scary, too). gail and i had to let out our ear-piercing shrieks because, at one point, we thought the boat would overturn (and you could just imagine what's next!) due to all the motion of people standing up. fortunately, my much feared dip in manila bay didn't happen. all of us had our share of very minor splashes of manila bay water on our arms and thighs though courtesy of how we moved our oars in the water when we were told to row hard. it was such a grand experience to row as a team. every merciless ray of the late morning sun and every drop of water on our skin was worth it! gail, who got kissed by the water (hahaha...), could attest to this.
the dragon boat experience of the yellow team and the red team captured on cam.
the rowing team to beat
after the dragon boat race (what race? the blue team had so much edge, i said so. hehehe), all teams got the 1st clue and raced towards the next stop: fountain area beside aristocrat restaurant, in front of malate church.
leading the pack: happily making our way to the grand fountain
agile and addicted to winning (gail says we have major issues on rejection and losing, that's why -- and i agree with her), our team got to the fountain area ahead of teams yellow and red. in fact, zimm and kuya toto were able to rush to the venue ahead of the game marshalls who're to give the task and the next clue! talk about agility and ability!
task: sell 20 pcs. of ice candy (PhP5 each) in the bay area
hehehe... imagine us (read: people in blue, sweaty from the walking/running we had to do in order to get from the CPP parking lot area to that grand fountain in baywalk) selling ice candy to people we don't know and convincing them to shell out PhP5 for ice candy that actually costs only PhP2! we're quite good, we completed the task in no time and got the next clue for the next stop.
we all got on a jeepney in front of malate church and egged the driver on to go as fast as the streets would allow and head right away to manila zoo!
smiling faces: we're going to the zoo!
task: give the scientific names of hippopotamus, african lion, leopard, eagle owl, tiger, philippine cockatoo...
wanted: scientific names! ack!
only four of our teammates were allowed to go inside the zoo to look for the scientific names. the rest of us waited outside...
hay! this task took more time than what we were willing to spend. it's the marshalls' fault, not our teammates'! (hahaha, gotta blame others! *winks*) as a result, the yellow team caught up with us and we lost this round to them. what?! yellow team got our precious lead from us? we lost our preciousssssssssssss?
anyway, while we waited for our teammates to finish their task inside the zoo, we camped by the zoo's entrance and played a fun round of "shagidi shagidi shapopo". we followed jory's graceful movements while chanting. in no time, we were quite a sight! we shamelessly provided a short-lived entertainment showcase by the zoo's entrance with our cultural dance-inspired actions and "shagidi" chanting. oh, what fun!!!
at the zoo's entrance
our next stop was somewhere in filandia. we rode on a jeepney (taxi cab rides and hitch rides were not allowed by the marshalls) and got to this car shop...
task: car washing!
when we got to the shop, the yellow team was already there. three of their selected members were quite done with putting "shampoo" on the car they were tasked to clean. as for our team, we had to wait for a car to drive in...
...until finally, dzan dza raaaaaaaaan... fanfare and drum roll please: jory and gail found a new calling... car washing!
after they made the car look squeaky clean, we got our next clue and off we went to the next stop: don bosco - makati... to catch up with the yellow team.
as soon as we got off the jeepney that took us near don bosco, we immediately headed for the spot where the game marshalls were... to ask for our next task.
task: sell bottled water (15 bottles at PhP15 each)
this task made us realize how very difficult it is to convince people on jeepneys and on the sidewalks to buy bottled water. it's not easy to find yourself on the street calling out to people to buy something from you. moreover, it is quite disheartening when the people you're trying to sell to completely ignore you. lesson learned: at least acknowledge the presence of the vendor. even if you don't buy anything, be kind enough to at least make the other person feel that you're aware of his/her presence... it means a lot to a person who's making an honest living.
blue team eventually completed the task (after the yellow team did and before the red team got their share of bottled water to sell). we had our lunch and after a few minutes of rest, it was our time time to proceed to the megamall for the next task.
at this point, we were able to catch up with the yellow team as we managed to get on the same train with them. hehehe. when we got to our stop in ortigas, teams blue and yellow raced against each other to get to the skating rink.
task: ice skating
only 6 members of each participating group were allowed to do this part of the game. the 6 "skaters" of each team were required to make two complete trips around the rink without holding the sidebars. lucky for us, there are members of our team who really knew how to skate... blue team (our team!) was the first team to get the clue for the next and last stop. we were quite a sight as we (and the yellow team as well!) rushed out of the megamall. destination: don bosco - mandaluyong for the final showdown.
task: swimming relay
who won? blue team with the manila-based bisaya bloggers, of course!
the team, our team: where winners belong.
do i still have to say that we had a saturday that's so full of fun?
---
click here for more pictures.
photos included in this post are courtesy of val, zimm, and gail.
it all started with gail asking the manila-based bisaya bloggers to block-out their may 20 schedule for her. her group, the YUPPeace (young upbeat professional for peace), was organizing an amazing race-inspired activity and she wanted the bisaya bloggers to participate. fun-loving people and adventurers that we are, zimm, kuya toto, jory, sealdi and i said yes. we committed ourselves to join the one-day activity eventhough we had no idea of the tasks that will be assigned to us. the mere mention of "amazing race" was interesting enough... nice bait so we bit!
the details we got from gail via SMS were: may 20, 2006. meeting place: CCP parking lot, manila bay. be there 7am. wear blue shirt. bring swim wear and goggles. medicines, if you need any. extra money. extra clothes.
ulk... swim wear. goggles... and what?! manila bay?!
when i saw the words "swim wear", "goggles" and "manila bay" i think my eyes popped out, my head spun, and i quickly reconsidered taking back my "yes". there was just no way i was going to take a dip in manila bay... not even with the promise of a million pesos. nooooooooooo.... sure i can get crazy enough to walk on very fine broken pieces of glass, burning coals and tightrope but dip in manila bay?? no way!
gail's reply to my request for "no manila bay dip" assurance wasn't quite assuring: part of the game. not sure if there will really be swimming. bring swim wear and goggles, just in case. be there on saturday, 8am (not 7am as originally scheduled). wear blue shirt.
since i was looking for adventure and after some summer fun, i forgot about backing out and found myself and my backpack in the manila bay area on the morning of may 20, saturday. zimm, kuya toto, jory, gail and the YUPPeace were already there when i arrived and the activity was just about to kick off. ahh, i admire my timing! (let's just forget that i was actually late and gail somehow worried that i got lost in the manila jungle. hehehe.)
bisaya bloggers + YUPPeace = amazing race
amazing race YUPPeace edition 2006. 3 teams, 3 colors: yellow. red. blue.
bisaya bloggers in blue!
1st challenge: dragon boat race in manila bay
i thought i'd never get around to being part of a dragon boat rowing team. what do you know? the opportunity came to me last saturday and i grabbed it with much excitement. yes!!! i'll no longer wonder what it's like to be on a dragon boat, rowing. i've experienced it!!!
after a warm-up session, all of us participants had a crash course on dragon boat rowing courtesy of one of the key people of the national team (read: 2005 SEAGames dragon boat race champion). we were shown how to hold the quite expensive oars (PhP3K each and imported from canada) properly: one hand should firmly hold the "T" and the other should be on the "shaft" to control the angle of the "blade". we were told that "stroke" means right and "bow" means left. the other terms we kept track of were "backwater", "standby position" and "entry".
yes, we're eager learners... but somebody got distracted by the "barako" bodies of the SEAG rowers, hehehe.
then, it was time for the real thing... the dragon boat could hold twenty rowers but for our challenge, only ten rowers were needed: five on the "bow" side and five on the "stroke" side. the experience was great!!! i loved it!
we, members of the blue team, learned things so fast. we're so proud of our performance! when we were already out there in the middle, our instructor and "drum beater" asked four of us in the "bow" side to change positions to maximize the team's potential. the act of standing up and walking on the boat was quite exciting (and scary, too). gail and i had to let out our ear-piercing shrieks because, at one point, we thought the boat would overturn (and you could just imagine what's next!) due to all the motion of people standing up. fortunately, my much feared dip in manila bay didn't happen. all of us had our share of very minor splashes of manila bay water on our arms and thighs though courtesy of how we moved our oars in the water when we were told to row hard. it was such a grand experience to row as a team. every merciless ray of the late morning sun and every drop of water on our skin was worth it! gail, who got kissed by the water (hahaha...), could attest to this.
the dragon boat experience of the yellow team and the red team captured on cam.
the rowing team to beat
after the dragon boat race (what race? the blue team had so much edge, i said so. hehehe), all teams got the 1st clue and raced towards the next stop: fountain area beside aristocrat restaurant, in front of malate church.
leading the pack: happily making our way to the grand fountain
agile and addicted to winning (gail says we have major issues on rejection and losing, that's why -- and i agree with her), our team got to the fountain area ahead of teams yellow and red. in fact, zimm and kuya toto were able to rush to the venue ahead of the game marshalls who're to give the task and the next clue! talk about agility and ability!
task: sell 20 pcs. of ice candy (PhP5 each) in the bay area
hehehe... imagine us (read: people in blue, sweaty from the walking/running we had to do in order to get from the CPP parking lot area to that grand fountain in baywalk) selling ice candy to people we don't know and convincing them to shell out PhP5 for ice candy that actually costs only PhP2! we're quite good, we completed the task in no time and got the next clue for the next stop.
we all got on a jeepney in front of malate church and egged the driver on to go as fast as the streets would allow and head right away to manila zoo!
smiling faces: we're going to the zoo!
task: give the scientific names of hippopotamus, african lion, leopard, eagle owl, tiger, philippine cockatoo...
wanted: scientific names! ack!
only four of our teammates were allowed to go inside the zoo to look for the scientific names. the rest of us waited outside...
hay! this task took more time than what we were willing to spend. it's the marshalls' fault, not our teammates'! (hahaha, gotta blame others! *winks*) as a result, the yellow team caught up with us and we lost this round to them. what?! yellow team got our precious lead from us? we lost our preciousssssssssssss?
anyway, while we waited for our teammates to finish their task inside the zoo, we camped by the zoo's entrance and played a fun round of "shagidi shagidi shapopo". we followed jory's graceful movements while chanting. in no time, we were quite a sight! we shamelessly provided a short-lived entertainment showcase by the zoo's entrance with our cultural dance-inspired actions and "shagidi" chanting. oh, what fun!!!
at the zoo's entrance
our next stop was somewhere in filandia. we rode on a jeepney (taxi cab rides and hitch rides were not allowed by the marshalls) and got to this car shop...
task: car washing!
when we got to the shop, the yellow team was already there. three of their selected members were quite done with putting "shampoo" on the car they were tasked to clean. as for our team, we had to wait for a car to drive in...
...until finally, dzan dza raaaaaaaaan... fanfare and drum roll please: jory and gail found a new calling... car washing!
after they made the car look squeaky clean, we got our next clue and off we went to the next stop: don bosco - makati... to catch up with the yellow team.
as soon as we got off the jeepney that took us near don bosco, we immediately headed for the spot where the game marshalls were... to ask for our next task.
task: sell bottled water (15 bottles at PhP15 each)
this task made us realize how very difficult it is to convince people on jeepneys and on the sidewalks to buy bottled water. it's not easy to find yourself on the street calling out to people to buy something from you. moreover, it is quite disheartening when the people you're trying to sell to completely ignore you. lesson learned: at least acknowledge the presence of the vendor. even if you don't buy anything, be kind enough to at least make the other person feel that you're aware of his/her presence... it means a lot to a person who's making an honest living.
blue team eventually completed the task (after the yellow team did and before the red team got their share of bottled water to sell). we had our lunch and after a few minutes of rest, it was our time time to proceed to the megamall for the next task.
at this point, we were able to catch up with the yellow team as we managed to get on the same train with them. hehehe. when we got to our stop in ortigas, teams blue and yellow raced against each other to get to the skating rink.
task: ice skating
only 6 members of each participating group were allowed to do this part of the game. the 6 "skaters" of each team were required to make two complete trips around the rink without holding the sidebars. lucky for us, there are members of our team who really knew how to skate... blue team (our team!) was the first team to get the clue for the next and last stop. we were quite a sight as we (and the yellow team as well!) rushed out of the megamall. destination: don bosco - mandaluyong for the final showdown.
task: swimming relay
who won? blue team with the manila-based bisaya bloggers, of course!
the team, our team: where winners belong.
do i still have to say that we had a saturday that's so full of fun?
---
click here for more pictures.
photos included in this post are courtesy of val, zimm, and gail.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
from may to may
"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment."
--Author Unknown
i tried to make a summary of my past 365 days and here is what i came up with...
medical mission in marilao, bulacan. hearing my godson kenj's version of ABC over the phone. about 50 trips to the movie houses. prince plaza ii. learning of my kuya's bye-bye to his bachelor days. meeting my then would-be sister-in-law for the first time. laboratory clean ups. bellevue hotel, alabang. baywalk nights with my papang and my kuya. TOSP meetings. yellow cab pizza sundays. trips to central bank. bisaya bloggers eyeball. unexpected photo op with junior kilat. fete de la musique. quality time with my cousins from US and singapore. the peninsula - manila. badminton in the zone.
the legend villas. tagaytay days. balai taal. carrying out "angel duties" for the TOSP formation program. research proposal submission. powerpoint presentations and technical reports for the lab. p6peeps get-togethers. billiards and ping pong and wallclimbing. kuya's wedding. experiments, experiments, experiments. laguna trips: cabuyao, pacita, calamba. walking around intramuros. brownman revival in 70's bistro. stalkers. TOSP community's tribute to roco. r&d entry submission. going back to my art. footloose the musical in meralco theatre. going crazy over oh-so-cute and colorful socks. photo ops and chikahan with high school classmates, especially the beautiful gal pals. "marathon-testing" the scents. scientific write-ups and paper submissions. washing my hair with ariel detergent.
business letters, research line-item budgets, quotes, and research project outlines. padi's point araneta center. major laptop troubles. losses, frustrations and blues. boat trip to iloilo. dinners with labmates: batchoy and seafoods. community exposure. scientific conference. group presentation: shamelessly dancing to the rhythm of vhong navarro's don romantiko. island-hopping adventure in guimaras. overnight stay in bacolod. roadtrip around negros island.
setting foot on dapitan, followed by a trip to ozamiz and then to lanao. being home in my iligan. visiting my grandpas and grandmas and being reunited with my titas, titos, cousins and cousins-in-law, their sons/daughters. going home to everything familiar -- including lechon roasted by my "mang-lechonay" uncles and cousins. first meeting with my cousin b-boy, our new instik baby boy. videoke session with high school batchmates 'til the wee hours. heartbreak. officially becoming a tita (and to an uber cute and charming chinita baby girl at that!).
drinking session and overnight with the gal pals in malate. painstakingly looking out for the precious dots, dots, dots. lone trips to bicutan, taguig and alabang. seeing the interiors of medical city. having my first bite of the fruit called persimmon. the watering hole. trips to gilmore and e. rodriguez. countless train rides. books!!! bouts with depression and nostalgia. our r&d win! thesis proposal. oblation run. UP lantern parade.
becoming 23. losing my research logbook. painting in starmall. reunion with friends from college. "emceeing" for jerk and tiff's wedding reception. dips in timoga pools. high school reunion. unforgettable december inuman session in manticao with pals from high school. three hair-trimming sessions. weight loss. hair loss. trips to and fro my mindanao. finding comfort in my family. reunion with best friend. equipment problems. only you a.k.a. "tj and jillian" craze. getting sick. lab parties and food fests: pa-ice cream, pa-pizza, etc. lab days and nights, runs, and very stressful moments with fluctuating power supplies. trouble-shooting.
binondo adventure with friends. food trip at a gal pal's place in makati. my very memorable and funny but painful and embarrassing ikot ride dive-off. sta. mesa brickhouse. wine tasting. getting new contact lenses and eyeglasses. sleeplessness. postcard from weng. thesis deadlines. week-long UP fair and eraserfest event with friends from high school. first ever henna tattoo. bisaya bloggers picnic. super jigsaw craze. buying a childhood dream: RC race car. phd comics. eastwood, metro walk, rockwell, greenbelt 3. exploring the south and the north. reunion with favorite roommate in the world. trip to baguio. playing in the rain up there in benguet. biking. very disturbing stalker's emails and amusing fan mails. thesis my quest to follow that star. fruitshakes and the threat of homelessness.
dine-outs and food trips with friends and family: gilligan's island, chowking, tokyo tokyo, old spaghetti house, pancake house, ihaw-one, jollibee, mcdonalds, pizza hut, shakey's, thai canteen, beach house, mang jimmy's, chocolate kiss, cafe donatello, max's, greenwich, kfc, dencio's, big ben, dear manok, tita fannie's, barbecue inn, burger king, goldilocks, super bowl, hotshots, ice monster, starbucks, breadtalk, green tomato, bubble gang toppings, krocodile grille, cravings, almon marina, yellow cab pizza co.!!!
here is the bottom line: let's just say that, in the past 365 days, i've been through and i've been up to -- as usual -- uhm, nothing much. *winks*
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