Writer's Block

Since I'm still gathering my thoughts and photos from my recent climb in Mt. Pulag, I'll just share for the mean time the music video of Kanye West, Rihanna and Kid Cudi for the song 'All of the Lights.' The video was tastefully done; creators maximized the use of lights without overdoing it.

I see that Kanye is a talented person; it's just that he has a hobby of bad mouthing other people from time to time.

Pulag

Exactly a year later, I will be returning to the highest summit in Luzon; soaring a height of 2922 MASL! This time, my friends and I will be treading the trail of Akiki-Ambangeg. FYI, Akiki is dubbed as the "killer trail" and I'm excited to find out why. :)

Cristobal

I joined Pat and the group of his friend from gradeschool in their climb to Mount Cristobal. The mountain is located in Dolores, Quezon and sits beside Mount Banahaw. Mount Cristobal is often referred to as the 'devil's mountain' and surrounded with stories about ghosts and many other spiritual creatures. However, some say it was given that name just because Mount Banahaw is called the 'holy mountain.'


Here are the photos taken from the summit:


Mount Makiling can be spotted from the summit:


From the top, seven lakes can also be seen. (Sorry, I failed to capture it all)


Break camp:


Climb to summit: Two hours

Climb going down: 45 minutes (caused we run!) :)

Balagbag

For Valentine's weekend, my friends and I joined a charity climb in Mt. Balagbag, Bulacan. The proceeds of this climb will help a girl from Brgy. Balagbag who is sick with meningitis and epilepsy.



We arrived at the summit around 4pm. (After being too lazy to climb because it was so hot and it is an open trail.)But our arrival was perfect in time for the sunset.


Wasting time listening to Bob Marley and watching the horizon eat the sun.


Gray clouds dissolving in the sky. :)

My Valentine

The trail of love leads to him. (Pat sitting on the beak of Pico de Loro, October 2010)

Hear me say, LomoLomo!

Hooked up my phone with a new app called LomoLomo (for free!) and in an instant I turned into a lomography enthusiast. With just a tap of a button, I was able to produce superb photos.

Caption: The book I'm reading right now. A boy named Peak, 14, joined his father to climb Everest, the rooftop of the world. (This made me think to name my future son, Summit. Weird or what?)


Caption: Came a bit early for a meeting; ordered a cold Morning Mocha to wake up my senses.


Caption: Pat goofed around while eating.(This is the first time I tried LomoLomo; I didn't know it takes four shots, that's why one photo was out of focus.) :)

Bleep Yeah, Hiking

Found out today that the photo I submitted last year was actually featured on the 'Fuck yeah, hiking' Tumblr account. Photo taken in the summit of Mt. Banahaw in Quezon province, August 2010. :)

A link to my own tumblr account here.

Baby's and Adults' Day Out

Yesterday was baby Daphne Johayla's christening. As much as possible, I never skip occasions like this because these are the times where I get to see my truest friends (We call our group 'kada', short for 'barkada.' We coined this term when we were in highschool but we were classmates since grade 2). That's Daphne giving us what-are-you-doing look.


The exciting part of the day is the after-party. (Forgive us Lord for having an after-party after the christening ceremony) It was not actually a full-blown party; just a get-together to celebrate Rel's birthday (Daphne's mom). We pigged out, laughed, threw jokes, took photos and bravely jugged down shots of Bacardi.


However, being brave and having a high tolerance to alcohol are two different stories. And our friend here tells us the two sides of the story. :)

Goodbye Boracay, Hello Caramoan

Cebu Pacific declared yesterday the day of the Piso Sale; the day when fares for all domestic flights are slashed down to one peso (excluding tax, etc).

I hurriedly checked their site. First destination I thought of was Boracay, but booking was unsuccessful because dates which fall on a long weekend were all sold out. What to do, what to do?

And then miracle! My college friend Izah Morales, a travel blogger,(her site: http://tripadora.com/) is looking for a travel buddy to come with her to explore the city of Naga (this came about since her initial companions backed out). I gladly took the offer, plus I got the tickets fairly cheap.


Though we'll not be coming in time of the festival of Penafrancia in September, we are looking forward to visit the island of Caramoan.


Wow! Forget about Boracay; this is the place to be. :)

Photo credit: http://travelphilippinesmabuhay.blogspot.com

Bootie Call

My original plan was to drop by the drugstore to pick some things last night but I saw an "ukay-ukay" (thrift shop) and proceeded to look at the stuff there.

(Enter shop; saw the shoe rack and hoped to find something valuable)

Pick a pair of booties, seems nice and new. Surprise! size 37, perfect!

But what's the price? oh there written on the sole, Php480. (Sad face)

(Calls the saleslady to negotiate price)

Asked the saleslady: Can I buy this for Php400?

Saleslady walked away and went to a price list posted on the wall.

Uh-oh...Saleslady smiled! Shoes are sold with 70 percent discount.

Ending: I got the booties for Php140! Great! :)