Mt. Pulag is LOVE!

Imagine this. You are walking on a path that’s surrounded by hills and mountains with lots of trees. The sun is smiling upon you. It may become hot at times but the soft breeze of the wind blows to cool you down. Occasionally, you’ll see waterfalls in the mountains and you wish that you could go dip in the cool refreshing water. There’s a river down below which provides music as you continue to push yourself to the top. Atop, the scene is priceless and majestic. All you see are endless mountain ranges. The wind is continuously blowing, as if trying to take all your troubles so very, very far from you so that it won’t come back and haunt you. At sunrise, you see how the sun slowly breaks into the sky to once again give light to the sleeping world. With the chill the night before, it’s glorious to feel its warmth all over again. You see the different cloud formations BELOW. It’s almost like sitting on top of it. You’re on top of the world. You feel that you’re almost in heaven. It feels heavenly.

Is this for real? YES! That’s Mt. Pulag, the mountain I really, truly fell in love with. :) Mt. Pulag is LOVE!

More pictures @ Multiply.

Mt. Pulag Day 4

Another early wake up call at 4 AM to get ready for the summit assault. By 4:30 AM, we were already on our way. I think we had to walk for another 30-45 minutes in order to reach the summit. I was all covered (sando, shirt, sweater and a jacket) so that when I had my warm up walk, it was getting harder for me to breath because it felt so hot. To remedy that, I just removed my sweater and my jacket. What a relief hehe. It was drizzling when we reached the summit. I was already in a panic because I can’t take good pictures. All my shots had drizzle in it huhu. When our group was complete, we offered a short prayer. I was really praying hard that we be able to see the sunrise. I heard from another colleague that after being in Mt. Pulag for more than 10 times, he was only able to witness the sunrise 3 times. Weh! Anyway, after a few minutes, the drizzling stopped! Yippee! So we just waited in anticipation for the sunrise. And while doing that, we had shots of the cloud formations BELOW us. Yes, we were looking down at clouds! This time, I really was on top of the world hehehe. It was really, really amazing. Few minutes before 6 AM, the sun started to rise. Wuhhhuuuu! Everyone got excited and everyone just wanted to have the best pictures hehehe. Mga adik. But who won’t be? It was so very beautiful that you just want to capture all the perfect moments. Good thing I had some good shots. Thanks Sony and thanks buddy hehe.

We also inducted some of the applicants here. There were I guess 5 of them. Our graduation for BMC was supposed to be on the summit too but we were not complete so we’ll just do that some other time.

Much as we wanted to stay longer in the summit, we can’t for long. By 7:30, we headed back to the camp for breakfast and break camp. By 9:35 AM, our group was ready to leave camp so we went ahead. This time, we are going back via the Ambangeg trail. It was easier. We were running in some parts of the trail thus, we were way ahead the others already. We also passed by Camp 2 (Ambangeg campsite). After more than 3 hours of walking, we reached the Ranger station. Our ride was already there waiting for us. We did not have lunch along the way. It was just all trail food. By the time we were all complete, we just loaded our things in the jeep and continued on to DENR where we will be having our much needed bath. The group just decided to have lunch/dinner along the way.

Upon reaching DENR at around 4 PM, and while waiting for the bathrooms to become available, some of us went to look for food hehehe. Don’t blame us. :p We were so hungry already. There was also a shop here where you can buy souvenir shirts. Unfortunately, they don’t have my size so I was not able to buy one. Olats.

By 6 PM, we were back in the jeep. Everybody was looking forward to dinner, wherever that is hehe. Good thing that after only an hour, we reached the restaurant. Ayos. We had to be quick though. After dinner and yosi break for others, we resumed our travel so that by 9 PM, we were already at Victory Liner terminal. We were lucky to have the 9:30 PM schedule. We were 2.5 hours late based on our itinerary hehe. Huwell.

Right now, we’re on our way back to Manila already. Thank you Father for taking care of us in this adventure. It was fun fun fun! Your creation is really amazing. :)

Mt. Pulag Day 3

We had to wake up at 4 AM this morning so that we can have an early start. After a short breakfast, we packed up and prepared for another long trek. Our group was still the sweeper so we were the last to leave again at 7:30 AM. We had to cross a hanging bridge that was quite long. It was a little scary because the current in the river is strong. Imagine if you fell from the bridge hehe. After the bridge, it was already an assault. Good thing it was cool so it was easier to walk. But still, it was all assault huhu. After 3 hours, we reached Marlboro Country. It was called as such because of the view. You are surrounded by mountains and trees. What a beautiful view. We had our early lunch here. We also had a lot of those jump shots. I was able to master the timing of my camera (and 2 others) in order to capture the perfect jump shots hehe. Our group resumed our trek at 1 PM. After 40 minutes, we already reached the mossy forest. It’s called mossy because the trees in the area are covered with mosses. After another 40 minutes, we reached the last water source. This is where we also reached the other groups who were already having their snacks. After a short rest, we had to resume our trek, else, we will reach the summit by night time. Though tired, we still pushed ourselves. Unfortunately for me, I was stupid not to eat anything during the break and so 5 minutes after the trek, I was trembling with hunger. My buddy and I had to stop several times for me to eat. Weh! But thanks to jelly sticks, cloud 9, and water, I regained my strength hehe.

We reached the grassland at around 3:45 PM. Whew! As per itinerary, this is the last part of the leg and we are only 30 minutes away from the saddle camp! Can’t wait! It was hotter in this area because there were no trees to provide shade. It was just a steep mountain covered with grass. Good thing that it was already getting late in the afternoon so the sun was not that hot. At this point, I was beginning to feel that I was already on top of the world. :)

After a few more pushes, we already reached the camp! Yiffee! Unfortunately, just after a few minutes, it rained. It was not that strong but strong enough to get us drenched. We had to set up our tents quickly. Our other companions were still on the trail when it rained. Good thing everyone was able to reach the campsite safe and sound. My teammates can’t stand the cold so I just volunteered to do the cooking for dinner. I think it got to as low as 8 degrees Celsius. And since it rained and it got dark right away, we were not able to assault the summit for the sunset. Huwell.

It was mostly assault today. It was tiring but all worth it. And we were not able to follow our itinerary, yet again ahihi. I can’t wait for tomorrow’s sunrise. I hope we’ll be able to witness it. It will be another early day. So, for now, I’m signing off. Good night world!

Saddle Camp at last!

I reached the campsite at exactly 5 PM. So happy happy happy! :) I was the first one to reach it teehee. I was so excited when our guides told us that it’s already near so I ran the last part of the trail with backpack and all hehehe. Now, it’s starting to rain. We are being blessed! Time to set up tents!

Mt. Pulag Day 1-2

Guess where I am right now. At Mt. Pulag Akiki first camp. Hihihi! Yes, finally, I’m on my way to the summit of the second highest mountain in the country located in my very own province, Benguet.

A little flashback though.

The group met at Victory Cubao last night. Due to the lack of seats for the 11 PM trip, one group had to take the 10 PM trip. The 11 PM batch arrived in Baguio at 4:45 AM. After repacking and regrouping, we already boarded the jeep that would bring us to Mt. Pulag jump off. We were also met by Sir Bong, our guide. By 5:40 AM, we were already on our way. The route is via Ambuklao. This is new info to me (shame on me hihihi). At 7:25 AM, we stopped by Jang jang Eatery (Bangao, Ambuklao Bokod Benguet) for a quick breakfast. Some of us also bought our packed lunch here. After an hour, we resumed our trip. By 8:45, we were already at DENR. We had to drop by here for registration, a video presentation about the do’s and don’ts in the mountain and some orientation. Some of us also shopped for shirts (they don’t have my size so I did not buy any sniff). By 10:30 AM, we resumed our trip so that by 12 noon, we were already at the Akiki jump off. Here, we were met by our porters. We lack I guess 1 or 2 porters so some of the groups had to redistribute their loads. Our group only had 2 porters, 1 of which to be shared by the 4 of us, the other by our 2 group members. After all the registration, repacking, lunch break and a little stretching, it’s now time to hit the trail.

Our group was the sweeper so we should be the last in the trail. While others left a little after 1, our group started at 1:55 PM. The trail was not hard actually. It’s a combination of steep and rolling hills. It was not as challenging as Mt. Tarak. Along the way, our group disbanded since some of us had faster pacing. By 3:50 PM, I and another group mate reached Edette River (along with other groups). After approximately 30 minutes, we were all in the campsite. It was time to set up our tents and prepare for dinner. It was a challenge for our group to organize what foods to bring so prior to this climb, the group just decided that each one bring his/her own food and we’ll just share. It worked for us. I’m so glad. And Goldilocks is our savior hihihi!

By 7:30 PM, I’m already getting ready to sleep hehehe. Early? Hey, it says in our IT that it’s lights out by 8 PM and it’s for strict compliance so I’m just following rules teehee. Besides, I’m worn out more because of the long trip from Manila rather than the 2 hour trek.

I just can’t stop myself from documenting this early so here it is. Tomorrow is a long day so good night world! And good luck to us all. I’m praying for a safe journey until we’re back in our own little worlds.

Mt. Pulag IT

Lapit na! Am so excited! Hihihi! :)

Mt. Pulag Climb
Akiki-Ambangeg Trail
Kabayan, Benguet
October 17- 20, 2008

DAY 1 - OCT 17, 2008 Friday
2200 - Assembly Victory Terminal
2300 - ETD Cubao to Baguio City

DAY 2 – Oct 18, 2008 Saturday
0500 - ETA Baguio City (Breakfast)
0600 - Departure Baguio to Akiki trail via hired Jeep
1200 - Akiki Jump Off
1300 – ETA (Briefing and Registration/guide/porter)
1330 - Resume trek. Steep trail.
1630 - ETA Edette River. Set up Camp and cook dinner. First and last water source.
1700 – Early dinner
1800 – Prepare/cook breakfast and pack lunch for the ff day (optional)
2000 - Lights Out (for strict compliance)

DAY 3 Oct 19, 2008 Sunday
0400 - Wake up call. Prepare breakfast.
0430 - Breakfast.
0530 - Break camp.
0630 - Start trek.
0900 - Cow Country.
1100 - Marlboro country. Helipad. Take early packed lunch.
1300 - Mossy forest.
1430 - End of forest line (2600 MASL); Reach Grassland.
1600 - Saddle campsite. Set up camp. Prepare dinner.
1730 - Assault to summit. Sunset. (Optional)

DAY 4 - Oct 20, 2008 Monday
0400 - Wake up call. Assault to summit.
0430 - ETA Summit / Graduation
0600 - Descend from Summit
0700 – Breakfast
0800 – Break camp
0900 - Start trek to Ambangeg Ranger Station Via Summit or Camp 2.
1000 - Camp 2. Water Source.
1100 - Ranger station. Take early lunch.
1200 - Resume trek. 10K trek.
1300 - ETA At DENR-PAO; tidy up and log out.
1400 - ETD Amangueg to Baguio City
1700 – ETA Baguio City. Buy return tickets. Dinner.
1900 – Head back to Manila

I Honestly Love You

I Honestly Love You

Maybe I hang around here
A little more than I should
We both know I've got somewhere else to go
But I've got something to tell you
That I never thought I would
But I believe you really ought to know

I love you
I honestly love you

You don't have to answer
I see it in your eyes
Maybe it was better left unsaid
This is pure and simple
And you should realize
That it's coming from my heart and not my head

I love you
I honestly love you

I'm not trying to make you feel uncomfortable
I'm not trying to make you anything at all
But this feeling doesn't come along everyday
And you shouldn't blow the chance
When you've got the chance to say

I love you
I honestly love you

If we both were born
In another place and time
This moment might be ending in a kiss
But there you are with yours
And here I am with mine
So I guess we'll just be leaving it at this

I love you
I honestly love you
I honestly love you

********************************************************
I just saw this in one blog and I remembered liking it. Hehe. E kung bigla ko kayang kantahin ko sa kanya? Ay anubayun. Ay mali! :p

Doing something about that whatever

It’s getting hot in here. Hihihi! Di ko na pala kailangan ng kape para magising wahahaha.

Katigas ng ulo. Toink!

Let's volt in!

It's the same case! Pramis. Why oh why can't you see that? My gulay.

*******************************************************

Tip to self: Be guarded with facial expression hihihi. As much as possible, maintain an expressionless face and a monotonous voice kahit pa boring na dating mo! Wahahaha.

*******************************************************

1:56 PM

Ayan na naman ang mga expectations at miscommunications. Di na nman kami nagtugma wahahaha.

*******************************************************

2:03 PM

Humupa na pala ang init........kasi may ice cream kami! Nyahahaha!

******************************************************

3:07 PM

Umiinit na naman. Yihee! Hahaha.

Things to do...

As of current date.

• Create a checklist of things to bring for Mt. Pulag
• Buy things for Mt. Pulag especially fleece jacket/sweater. Mahirap na tirahin ng lamig don kahit pa sabihing taga-Baguio ako. For sure, iba pa rin lamig sa Pulag hehehe.
• File a leave for Mt. Pulag (crossing my fingers that it would be approved! Sige na boss! :p)
• Email Mt. Pulag teammates for final group planning
• Print Mt. Pulag IT. Ako ang naataasang group scribe :(
• Read information about Mt. Pulag
• Charge ipod and camera, empty cam's memory stick
• Start planning on Anawangin. (read: Ardee simulan na natin ‘to :p)
• Answer emails
• Plot schedule
• Review documents
• Clean the house! Wahaha. Kakalakwatsa ko, di ko na ‘to nagagawa. Hayif!

Yan na muna. Di naman masyadong focused sa Mt. Pulag no? Hehe. Di ko rin akalaing this weekend na ‘to eh. Sana maging ok lahat :). Lord, sige na please hihi.

Mt. Cristobal Training Climb

Ooppss, I almost forgot about this.

We had our first major training climb at Mt. Cristobal last October 4-5, 2008. We were around 20 in the group. Urrrggghh! I can’t remember all the details anymore huhu. Here are some:

• This time, our food was not centralized. Finally! Hehehe. We were divided into smaller groups and each group was responsible for their own food and whatever. For the previous climbs, we always had centralized food so there were always problems on load assignment, etc. etc.
• The campsite is not at the summit. You’ll pass by the summit, and then you need to go down to the campsite.
• There are no indications of the summit. If you reach the part where you’ll be “romancing with the boulder” (term ni Troy :p), then that’s it. But you won’t really have time to appreciate the summit because you’re more focused on the challenge of how you’ll cross the boulder hehehe. As in mag-isa ko nung nadito ako sa part na ‘to. And being short-legged, di ko maabot ung other side na safe nang apakan. I had to remove my bag first then cross.
• The trek started with a road until we reached Boy Motelibano’s place. After that, it was mostly assault until the summit. It was forested so even though it was hot at times, the path is shaded by trees. Personally, it was not a hard trek. Mt. Tarak was harder for me.
• Along the way, we planted the Narra that we were supposed to plant last August. We had to plant 5 each. Hopefully those trees will survive. :)
• It rained a bit on Saturday but it was tolerable. It also rained on Sunday. This time, it was stronger. Fortunately for some of us, we reached our destinations before the strong rains poured hehe.
• We had to be quieter on this climb. Mt. Cristobal is said to be the dark mountain so we had to restrain our boisterous selves just to be on the safe side hehehe. I think it was also only on this climb that we prayed as a group hahaha. But we should really do that in all of our climbs.
• It was nice to be bonding with old acquaintances and getting to know them better.
• Our group (minus 1 member whom we lost to another group along the trail wahahaha) reached the campsite first. Well, there were two others actually (the guide and 1 other from another group) but we were the first group hehehe.
• There were rats in the area iwww hahaha.

Hmm..wala na akong matandaan hehe. Yan na lang muna. See previous post for our IT.

Mt.Cristobal IT

When: October 4-5, 2008
Where: Mt. Cristobal

Day 1
8:00: Assembly OSMA
9:00: ETD MLA
12:00: ETA Jump off before Kinabuhayan. Start trek
13:00: ETD Boy Montelibano Rest House - Lunch
14:00: Start Ascent (Plant Trees on the trail with in the National park)
18:00: Summit / Crater cook dinner
19:00: Dinner
20:00: Socials
0:00: Lights out

Day 2
5:00: Wake up call
6:00: Breakfast
7:00: Break camp
7:30: ETD from Campsite - PUSH IT
12:00: ETA Boy Montelibano Rest House
13:00: ETA Jump off
13:30: ETA Bato Resort + Lunch + Tampisaw
16:00: ETD for Manila
19:30: ETA Manila

Something Fishy

Dahil gustung-gusto kong kumain ng kanin kaninang madaling araw, niyaya ko ang aking mga officemates na kumain. Di namin alam kung san nung una pero bigla kong naalala ang Something Fishy (Eastwood, Libis)! Once pa lang akong nakakain don pero gusto ko uli kasi sobrang sulit. Sa murang halaga, may eat all you can breakfast ka na. As in eat all you can. Maraming choices ng ulam. Hindi tinipid. More than ten ata yung selection ng ulam. May soup, pancake at deserts pa! So sulit talaga. Panalo. Kaya tinodo na rin naming ang lamon. At sobrang nabusog hihihi. Pero pagdating ko sa bahay, parang gusto kong isuka lahat ng kinain ko kasi sobrang uncomfortable ng feeling wahahaha.

Habang kami ay nagpapahinga sa paglamon, kwentuhan muna ng kanya-kanyang buhay. Nakakatuwa lang na may mga ganitong pagkakataon na makapag-usap kami ng hindi tungkol sa trabaho. Kaya naman kami inabot don ng 5 AM na hihihi. Nakakapagod pero nakakatuwa. Ngunit subalit datapwat mas nakakatuwa sana kung…ay ano ba yun. Bakit may ganon. Ahihi.

Blocked!

Starting today, I’m blocking all negative thoughts/things/events that will be thrown at me. I’ll only welcome everything that is positive. :) :p

Here's one reason to celebrate...

How to do it?

How are you supposed to act normally despite the abnormalities of the day? How do you convince yourself that it’s ok despite all that’s happening? How will you prevent yourself from feeling bad and staying as professional as possible so that you can still make rational decisions?

Tough questions whose answers you alone can give. Tough, but it’s the fact of life.

Can you?

Can you please just stop pestering me? It ain’t fun at all. And it doesn’t help as well. So, just stop it and let go, ok?

Some tips

• Be more tolerant
• Be open to changes
• There’s nowhere to go but up
• Medyo wrong timing but take it as one of the challenges of being a winner
• No matter how good you are if you are not confident, what you know becomes useless if you cannot deliver it well
• You cannot please everybody
• Kailangan makisama

Random Thoughts

Kakayanin ko kaya? Ang alin? Wahaha! Magagawa ko ba ‘to with flying colors? Pressure’s high!

Magiging masaya kaya ako sa pinasok ko? Hahaha. Saka ko lang naisip ‘to ngayon. Pero sana naman. Ito na lang. Sisikapin kong i-enjoy no matter what happens!

Di ko pa alam kung uuwi ako this weekend or not. Bakit nga ba? Nagkakagulo rin sila don eh. Dinadagdagan problema ko hehe.

Ano kaya mangyayari sa mga darating na araw? May mababawi ba? 3 weeks is still too long. Maraming posibleng mangyari.

Totoo ba yung nararamdaman at naiisip ko or paranoid lang ako? I’d like to think na paranoid lang ako. Pero paano kung totoo nga? Waaaa! Di ko alam gagawin ko. Sana naman hindi. I don’t want to deal with such things. Not at this time. Not even in the future. Huhu.

I didn’t expect that some people can do such things. It was a total surprise. And I’m surprised with myself as well because I’m not affected hahaha.

Mt. Pulag! Kakayanin ko ba? Sana di ako pahirapan.

Mt. Apo! Leave kung leave. Nakakaguilty lang hahaha pero right ko naman yun eh :(

Malapit na December. La lang. Mabilis lang talaga. Ano kaya mangyayari ngayon?

Lapit na deadline namin. Medyo marami pa kami di natatapos.

Miss ko na si mami E. Tagal na namin di nagkikita huhu. Makipagkita nga uli sa kanya.

Anawangin! Kailangan na magstart mag-organize?

Dumating na yung tadpole tent ko! Nagsusumigaw na yellow! Sabi ni Troyla, kailangan ko raw iset up kaagad pagdating sa bahay. E good luck di ba. Di ako marunong wahahaha!

Windangers sa work. Di ko alam uunahin ko hahaha. Daming emails na di ko pa nasasagutan. Good luck naman hahaha. May gana pa akong tumawa ngayon ahihi. Paano na ang lovelife? Wahahaha!

Bakit nga ba ako nagtatampo? Tampororot!

Bakit nga ba ako nalulungkot? Ewan ko ba. Hindi ba pwedeng happy na lang lagi? Nasa tao lang yan :p

Bakit ba hanggang ngayon wala pa akong laptop lock? Tagal ko nang binalak bumili ah! Nggrrrsssh!

Gutom na ako. Parang kagabi na naman ba 'to na wala nang kainan? Of course not! Hehehe. Lalamon ako mamaya.

May utang pa akong libre.

Paano na ang project? E di project pa rin :p

Confused? Hahaha.

Invented word of the day: Plamose. Wahahaha. Hulaan nyo anong ibig sabihin. :p

Eto pa: trweack. Wahaha

Labasan na ba?

Uwian na! Byers!

Wish list uli

October na naman! Malapit na ang pasko! Weeeee at wahuhuhu na rin. How time flies!

Anyway, I’m retrieving my wish list last year hehehe.

• 4-bedroom house on top of a hill, with a front and backyard, with a bathtub, a walk-in closet and a reading corner in the master’s bedroom, a library where I can fill it up with books to my heart’s content, a prayer room for those quiet moments, and a big enough living room fit for big gatherings. Oh yeah, I want my own house! Haha. - Gusto ko nang matupad 'to!
• A light blue or tangerine Isuzu Crosswind, or bluish silver Honda Civic or a pink Honda jazz hekhekhek. - Kaya ko gustong matupad na si item 1 kasi mas gusto ko nito hahaha.
• A personal laptop with a developer specification. No idea on what brand yet. - Meron na ako nito ahihi.
• Climb Mt. Pulag. Shame on me. That’s in my province but I haven’t even thought of visiting it when I was still in Baguio. When I came to Manila, I met people who really want and who really have plans of climbing the mountain. - See you, Mt. Pulag on Oct. 17-20, 2008! I'll be there! Pramis! :D
• Travel, travel, travel and more travel. I’m already old and have been working for a while but until now, I haven’t even ridden an airplane. That’s so pathetic. :( But still, I wanna go around the world. - Namundok ako ng kung ilang beses, nagpunta sa ilang tourist destinations. Next year uli! :D
• Learn a new language. Spanish it is! Hehe. Hola! For starters, I want those CDs they sell which you can listen to and learn! - Wala pa rin akong nabibili hahaha. Malaman next year.
• Books, books and more books! I want my own library remember? - May nabili ako this year pero iilan lang ata. Wala pa siguro 10 books haha.
• Finish my cross stitch projects and unread books. - Eto naghahabol matapos ang isang cross stitch at atat simulan ang isa pa. Marami pa akong backlog sa books hehehe.
• Start a business at home to be managed not by me but the income must go to me hihihi. - Wala pa rin nito hehe. At wala na rin akong pera para dito sniff.
• Learn to ride the bike hehe. Yeah, when I was a kid, I did not have any bike. Budget was tight so our parents can’t afford to spend for wants. - Sa iba na ako naadik eh. Nakalimutan kong may sinulat akong ganito last year. Saka na lang siguro. Sasabayan ko na lang yung magiging anak ko kung trip nya wahahaha.
• Be the best in my field and in my role as SSE. Hay, this is quite hard. But no pain, no gain hehe. - Still tough. This will always be a work in progress.
• Bond with old friends, meet new friends. - Sama ko pa rin for next year.
• And…WORLD PEACE. No kidding. - Forever na 'tong wish na to.

So, that's it again for next year's wish list. Hehehe. Wala pa ako ibang maisip ahihi.