Dipolog Photo Gallery

Fireflight - Forever (Acoustic Version)

A new discovered band (for me). The voice and the words help me relax. Hope you guys enjoy this one!

Traversing Mt. Maculot to the Rockies

This is the 2nd time I went out with friends for a mountain trek. This time, it's in Batangas. Very near. As far as experienced mountaineers are concerned, this is a very light trek up and down again. But NO! By GOD, NO! That wasn't the case. We spent the night at the Grotto and by daytime, we were on our way up to the peak. This trek took me by surprise. We had to climb an almost vertical set of rocks yet again with a singular blue rope to help us up. We apparently had no plans for lunch so we went straight ahead to the ROCKIES. (That by the way is Ces, cool as ever, waiting for her turn for a solo shot by the ridge.)







And may I now introduce you to the Anbu series. You will be seeing this jacket profiled many times in FB. As per Anbu (Zarah to most of us), we were not even cool until Sky came along. The easy slopes became tougher. Know why? Sky has a habit of looking for new trails and redefining the mountaineer's experience. This new trail for Maculot, we had to grasp grass left and right. Mind you, we were on our way down and it was very steep. The soil was so dry it was dusty. When we started the trek, my feet looked normal. Halfway down, with several falls on my behind, my feet and my new Tribu sandals looked like it was several treks old. I could smell myself. That was bad!

And there was a point where there was nothing we could hold on to. Super steep land with inch thick trees several feet apart was the scenario. I was super pissed when Sky announced that we had to go back up because the trail was proving to be hard on all of us. I had the honor of taking a couple of black bruises home. On the rest stop at the bottom of the mountain, Sky explained that there should have been more blue ropes to help us rappel down the cliff. When I learned that, I was ashamed for being pissed at Sky in the first place. He would have to report it to the Airforce for replacement. The airforce has been using the area for military training so they have to be informed.


A new friend also came along in the person of Annalyn Aguila. Cousin to my childhood friend, Joy and colleague Leo. Ministry acquaintance under Media. Office jokes are wafting at the Charlie-Annalyn love team! Good thing, Charlie is a great sport at this sort of jokes. And inside secret, Jonah has this excessive "laugh trip" when she has a bit too much of soju. She was laughing uncontrollably with absolutely nothing. Kakaiba. I had to be the Tough Ate to make her stop.

So there. I tried to sum up our trip. We had merienda at Annalyn's lola's house along the highway. We were served boiled corn and mango shake, not the combination you might order from the mall but we were grateful. It was free after all and we were in the company of fellow believers.

Next stop would be Melkas Ridge. By God, I have to find a job to finance the next trip. (A little help here, God!) It's gonna be a bone-breaker!

Jobless and Desperate

It's now officially 1 month since I left CANS...

Since then, I have been looking for the right job... Something that would be perfect with God's schedule... Ministry and church life...

There have been times when I totally regret leaving TP...

But then again, I realize that the emotional roller coaster is not worth the succeeding days I will spend there.

Same reason I left CANS, another set of emotional roller coaster.. That hit me and I had no idea what I was getting into...

I also got my JLPT results this morning.. Sadly I didn't pass... Had to inform Papa Bear about that. Kampai, he replied back.

But I still have hope... Envisioning light at the end of this desperate tunnel. A pinpoint, an almost impossible-to-see spark of hope... I just got 2 calls from prospective companies. I wasn't expecting anything. (But I was closely watching my mailbox for any replies from Jobstreet). I was actually waiting for Sunday. Buy the newspaper and get some more possible employment sites. But I got those calls and actually interviewed at the comfort of my own home.

Hope! He sees and He hears.... Truly there is nothing impossible with God!

Chapter Over

My recent post was highlighting a new job, a new career in my life. Most of you are asking, why did I leave the call center industry anyway? Doesn't it pay much better? They have a rigid system in hiring to begin with. Why, after 6 month, decide to leave?

ANG DAMING REASON!

Reason # 1: 6 Months na ko nasa NIGHT SHIFT!

Our account has a 24 hour a day operation. I just don't get it why they ask you if you are OK with "SHIFTING SCHEDULES" then give you the night shift for life. I have never been a night person. Ever since I was little, I remember Christmas eves and New Year's eves that I am always the first person to sleep. I remember I sleep before midnight thinking I'd wake up by midnight but really end up waking up as the sun rises. I don't care about the night differential. The schedule is not working well for me.


Reason # 2: Within 6 months, I almost lost my voice thrice.

I find myself coughing, sniffling, sneezing for days on end. I'd be feverish, but I'd still report because of the pay. Then I'd lose my voice. Then I'd get a bad QA. Then the supervisor will blame me. What the heck!


Reason # 3: I miss my SOCIAL NIGHT LIFE

Night time has always been time for my friends to meet. It was for movies, coffee, sleepovers, Arashi marathons, caregroups, nail care at the spa, the works! I wasn't able to do all these while I was in there. The only 2 movies I had was New Moon and Avatar. It wasn't so bad. my officemate watched it in the afternoon by schedule. We can't just go on a random, "Tara, watch tayo movie!" kinda thing. We finish the shift in the morning. What do we expect?! Malls are still closed at that time, especially if our shift ends at 430AM.


Reason # 4: I miss my CHURCH FRIENDS

Godly friends give Godly advise. They emanate with the Spirit of God! I just missed them a lot!


Reason # 5 (And probably the heavy weigh champion of all my reasons): I HATE MY SUPERVISOR

Let's hide her under the name JUNISIA MALAYKO. This is the team's 2nd supervisor while I was still in the call center industry. This girl, 27 years old, almost my age, does not have the tiniest bit of profesionalism in her system. Why?

*She only does her job when her manager is around.
*She take 45 minute yosi breaks 4 times during the shift.
*She has her ident logged IN even if she's out on a party night.
*She doesn't know how to motivate her team, workwise and life-wise.
*She doesn't even know what she's supposed to do.
*Whenever she's present, she makes the most out of her time flirting with her girl friends and boyfriends on the floor.
*She does not coach properly.
*I hate her friggin' guts!
*If there was ever a candidate worth terminating, It was her!!!

I hated going to work just because I am going to see her, interact with her, hear her irritating voice. Thank GOD I AM OUT!


Nevertheless, I am going to miss my friends there. The pay of course, but in all these, MY GOD SHALL PROVIDE!

Time for a BIG BREAK!

2010

A year for some serious blogging. I was up last night just thinking about this year, about plans, where to go, what to buy, what to prioritize. I filled a whole page of a steno sheet just randomly thinking out these things.

But priority one for the year is to have a DAY JOB. I was praying last night (along with my year planning session) for God to give me a particular job. The pay isn't so great, but the environment!!! To be surrounded by Christians again who pray and aim for the best of the company!

This morning, I got a call from the company (I sound like the narrator of HEROES) and asked me to go for a secondary interview. The interview went well and thus the initial orientation for my schedule. I love how God honors your desires! I love Him so much!

So there, the Day Job is there. I would label my designation just yet. But I know that he has a big surprise for me, INCREASE and PROMOTION for me!

Glory be to GOD!

Panikian Trail to Tarak

Again, another milestone has been added to my 2009.
My first mountain climb ever... and a major one at that.. traversing Mariveles Mountain Range in Bataan.





My initial purpose in going was to add photos to my already overflowing collection. I was really, really, really excited just because of that.





It was a blessed trip. My sister, Zarah, invited me to go with a budget of Php1500. I told her I couldn't. Budget-wise, it was too expensive for me. Considering the fact also that I have to buy my own supplies for the trip. I haggled the price over and she said she'll take care of the rest. So I really have no idea how much we all spent per person. Zarah was officially the team purser. (And she does a great job at that.)





We started agreed to leave at 4am from Alabang. But as you Pinoys, 4am became 5am. We met our team tour guide Sky Biscocho in Pasay at around 7am. Sky was stuck in traffic coming from Batangas. We left Manila at 8am, reached Bataan at around 11am. We had lunch at the jump off site with "Manong", Sky's adoptive father in that area.

Manong collects Php30 from every mountaineer who wishes to conquer the land form. Sky says Manong does a better job than the Barangay, who collects Php 20 but absolutely keeps the money for themselves. Manong collects for the maintenance of the area. He keeps a ledger that he presents to the Municipal office for whatever reason. Bataan is a growing province and it's tourism is one of it's main attractions. Maybe the city government is keeping tabs on their hotspots. Money in, yet again.





Then we started the real trek. Sky was actually gauging our pace. If we were able to reach The Gate before 2pm, we would take the Traverse route to Tarak. If not, It would be the Papaya River Trail for us. Surprisingly enough, we reached The Gate before 2pm and headed for the Panikian Trail. Most seasoned mountaineers would love to take this particular path to Tarak. One reason they don't is because they think Sky (our tour guide and discoverer of the Panikian Trail) is not sharing the trail. It is true. That path is super challenging. Once you hit the river, it's river trekking for mountaineers and there is not turning back. Skip over boulders, small and big, and you'll eventually find yourself hugging to the nearest rock you could find. (I found myself crying over pain and exhaustion when I could barely haul myself up a huge one). And that was the last of my stunts for the day.



We then held camp near the river. It was nearly 6pm and too dark for my eyes if we continued to go upstream. Sky found us a cozy area good for 3 tents. He had dinner of Zarah's marinated pork and some pork and bean from Charlie. Soju was then served after dinner. I was so tired by that time, I passed the Soju offer and headed straight to sleep. I really wish Sky would name that campsite Soju.





We woke up at 430 am to freshen up and have some breakfast. Trekking time started again before 7am. We reached the Sladge (I don't know if I'm spelling it right)around 10am. We were a bunch of newbies to major climbs. Laugh if you want but for me, it was already an accomplishment to reach that part of the mountain. We had a 15 minute break, pictorial and headed again to the Peak! And when I say that we are going up at almost 30 degrees from vertical. That is steep!





we conquered the boulder part of the climb hanging on to thick roots and small trees and then WE LOST THE TRAIL!. Sky couldn't find the easier trail so we had to go HARD CORE! More steeper grounds and loose soil. We are thankful it wasn't as muddy or else, we would have taken the Papaya Trail from the start.

Almost there. time to go pass the Japanese garden. Even if we wanted to take picture from every point of the trail, it would be really difficult. You need both hand to climb up the summit. We climbed almost vertical now and was over grey boulders. First grasslands appear in a distance. a few more minutes and we were at the Joshua tree at the peak.





I t felt great to actually accomplish what you came for. The view compensated for the physical pain we all felt that time. We then had lunch. No more rice. We had oatmeal and corned beef and then we began to trek down to Tarak Ridge. It was 3pm when we got there. What a view! Sky says that most mountaineers are satisfied to camp out at the trek and not really reach the peak. The trail is harder than usual is they want to go up the peak.




Going down to the Papaya River was much more difficult than we realized. It took us 2 hours to reach it. We lost the trail once and Sky was a few minutes ahead of us. Fear was subtly creeping in but since the sun was still out, we pursued Papaya and eventually reaching it after 30 minutes after Sky. That experience is freaky!





I had no psyche left when we reached the river. A few minutes of rest and some chocolates did not improve anything. Remember, we were trekking since 7am and the beauty of Papaya I didn't really enjoy. I hated the view I saw. Snippets of trash from previous campers. Vandalizing trees with names they think is cool. (KUNG IKAW YUNG NAG VANDAL DUN, MATANONG KO LANG: Kung ikaw ang puno, gusto mo bang maging papel na ginawang scratch? Cheap niyo naman!) Sorry, guys. Nakakaasar lang talaga.





We headed uphill again, we are on our way out. It was almost 6pm and the sun is sinking fast. We had no choice but to do a night trek. Charlie lent me one of his flashlights. I was hyperventilating and almost at the point of crying and didn't want to move one more muscle from my body. If it wasn't scary enough to walk on foot in the middle of a jungle like place in the night, you had to cross a landslided area around 14 feet deep. Not much during the day but at NIGHT! Grrr...





So there, we were eventually at the resort by 10pm. Hungry and tired, we all did our bath there and decided to eat at Burger Machine. Dinner at Midnight. Ironic eh? We then headed home for Manila catching the 2am bus of Bataan Liner.





Trip was tiring but super awesome. Sky says that they will be considering opening the Panikian to people, BUT by invitation only and would be charging a sizeable fee. This is the best mountaineering trip, ever!