so there. fuck. my mares regulator is officially gone. due to some friggin miscommunication with my instructor and dive master friends, we friggin left it at boardwalk dive center in subic. the owner said nobody declared any lost and found shit. yea most of it was my fault, i should have taken care of my own gear more. after all, its my responsibilty. but damn i miss the days when you can forget your shit at any dive resort and nobody wouldnt have any interest to stash it and shit. and now i have to deal with it, alone. damnit. i aint diving at boardwalk dive center again. then again, who cares.
was planning to go up north this coming weekend but i gotta scrap it for now. gotta save up first for a couple of concrete jungles. sagada will have to wait til december, i guess…
last sunday, me and the scuba junkies went up to tagaytay. now its not something really new to the gang because we usually pass by there (to eat bfast/dinner before/after anilao or to just literally “pass by”). but this weekend was no dive trip. no getting high with excess nitrogen swimming in the blood vessels. this weekend was all natural high. from the the innocent smiles to the joy of them lil kids eyes.
a few days back, cris told us that she would be going back to visit Little Angels in tagaytay, an orphanage managed by nuns, which i never heard of before nor do i have any experience of visiting such place. (ive joined a couple of outreach programs before though back in my mountaineering days but it was more on helping families on remote areas near them mountains).
she said it was something she wanted to do for her birthday, to bring goodies to them cute lil kids and spend the day with them. and since it was something positive, the gang was all up for it. and while she was busy briefing us about what we can bring on one ym conference window, there was another window open without her and the topic what we can do for her birthday. the plan was made.
D-day. jocs, pax and i met up early to buy her a big cake (which was actually more planned for the kids) and the goodies/food supplies. then headed up to tagaytay an hour before the other group leave makati. of course we told cris we werent coming hehe. after pax zooomed (literally, again) our asses there, we looked for the orphanage. found. talked to the nice sisters there and gave them the heads up about the plan. since they already know cris, they excitedly agreed the cake hidden and them kids ready to sing the bday tune, we waited til the other junkies arrive.
and when they did, she got into a surprise. we went out from hiding (in the kitchen) and brought her the cake and sang her the bday thing. the kids later on put on a lil show and we all watched. the rest of the afternoon we played with the kids like we were young again hehehe. bumalik kami ni fhay sa roots namin, yung tumakbo takbo ng walang sense pero tumatawa hahahaha. sayang nasa loob lang kami ng compound, mas masaya sana if pwede sa may field sa labas hehe.
im no saint and i know i havent done much for others since i spawned here on earth (im one selfish muthafucker, yes), but theres something in them kids that (as cheesy as this may sound) touched my soul. my parents went away when i was in third grade. but they would come and visit every few years until they decided to come home permanently. theirs is a different story. their parents went away but they cant really hope for them to come back. i saw and felt how they long for family.
its really nice to be able to make them smile even for just a while but it kinda felt frustrating to know that i cant do anything for them that is permanent and long term. realistically speaking, im not capable yet of doing any big stuff for them or any other people who needs help. im still trying to save my own ass in my own war hehehe. still though, im thankful i went there. (thanks cris and happy birthday ulet)
so there, not really the most typical of birthdays. nobody got drunk. no ledge dancing (hello iva and haze!). no unlimited pulutan and bottomless cocktails. no karaoke-drunk-babble singing. no hip-hop or house music to dance to. no tipsy photo ops. it was just the junkies, the kids and a whole afternoon of kiddie fun. hehehe, and for the first time i felt… damn, i wish it was my birthday
i wrote this one for Canned Thoughts some months back, im reposting it because im feeling the sagada itch again. hopefully before this month ends, i’d be able to get my ass back up there…
Every once in a while, we all find ourselves burnt out with all the zig-zaggin hustle of the city life. Your boss dropping another brick on your head, freakin office online connection keeps on crawling like you’re on isp-bonanza prepaid, cab drivers with body odors, a bug loungin in your morning cappuccino, or a boyfriend who’s addicted to milf porn. Sometimes, we all just wanna pack up and get away. May it be for drowning or just ankle-deep reasons, everybody wants to get away…
Where time is inexistent. Where people aint in so much hurry. A place where smog is replaced by a soothing mist. Where the sun is not hidden by the corporate-hungry smoke but by a few white clouds and blankets of towering pine trees. Where you wont feel you’re inside a penitentiary but rather in a holy sanctuary. A natural high, thats what they say. But nah, this aint no bitter pill, man. What im talking about is a better feel.
Pack your things. Ready your ipod and make a playlist of slow lazy tracks. Some trip-hop, acid-jazz or old blues music will do. A liter of C2, packs of cigs and your latest read. Hail a cab and ask the driver to take you to the Autobus station in España. Board a bus bound for Banaue. From there you will have to take another bus that will bring your ass to Bontoc. And after a shorter jeep ride, you will finally reach Sagada. That my friend, is when you’ll realize that the long trip was more than worth it.
You don’t have to bring a suitcase full of cash, a few grand will be alright for a week long stay. One of the best things about this place is the fact that its pocket-friendly. Accommodation, food, tours, etc. come cheap. Locals are very friendly and they’d be happy to assist you in any way that they can without asking for any cash in return. Ask about St. Joseph’s Inn, this is one of the nicest places to stay at in Sagada.
After settling your stuff in your preferred lodge, head out and take a walk. Try their pinikpikan. Get some local yogurt from the famous Yogurt House that is just a few minutes walk down the main street. If you’re up for it, get a guide and after fixing a hardhat in your head, try the Cave-connection adventure that they’ve just recently offered. You will start at the Lumiang cave, a burial site littered with wood coffins and tribal remains, and exit through the more famous Sumaguing cave. This will test your slithering abilities hehehe.
Go to Aguid Falls and bathe in its cool water. Visit the Demang old village, the Underground river, or the hanging coffins in Echo Valley. Climb Mt. Ampacao. There’s alotta stuff you can do and places you can discover in this almost hidden part of Mountain Province. And if you dont wanna do anything, you can just bum around, read a book or do some emo-type soulsearching. There are plenty of spots where you can lie down on soft green grasses, stare at the creeping sun and smiling trees and feel the cool breeze brush your memories off. Float on the Sagada chocolate tide.
Breathe deep and then try real hard to convince yourself that you will still have to leave this place to get back to your concrete jungle. But if you decide to stay there for good, well then I guess I’ll see you there next summer
Useful Numbers:
Florida Bus (manila-banaue) tel#: 3864042
Autobus (manila-banaue) tel#: 7358098
Cable Tours (manila-bontoc) tel#: 0918-5216790
St. Joseph’s Inn tel#: 0918-5595934
Sagada Guesthouse tel#: 0919-3212511
Masferre tel#: 0915-5777550
i think you almost got everything now. an adventure-filled life. a great career in a prestigious company. a shiny set of wheels. your own house and lot. an amazing smile. a more amazing dance move. good friends. caring family. a gorgeous and loving wife… and now, Gabriel Isaac
sabi ko almost everything lang kasi kulang ka ng pair of cuddly dimples hahaha
CONGRATULATIONS SENYO NI JINKY, MAN
first climb ni gabe mt. pulag kagad pero ambangeg-ambangeg lang muna tayu nun hehehe.
1 gig of mixed mp3s. 1 liter of water. 2 dunkin donuts. 1 sausage mcmuffin. 2 fresh buko. 3 and a half hours of total ascent / descent time. 1 hour of total rest. 1 phone-in climbmate. zero actual climbmate/s. 1 new summit trail and one scorching hot monday afternoon.
it’s supposed to be my training climb for the mindanao climb this coming weekend. but now i’m not so sure i still wanna go…
i wanted one last big climb for the year, that’s why i said yes to the major climb in ozamis. but after my solo climb last weekend, i think thats already what i wanted. its now time to prioritize
last night was our final exams for the Nitrox Course… got them enumerations, true-or-false and what-shit-how questions right but i didnt review the table shit. so there, all my computations were messed up like my toxic-waste-dumpsite room. and now i friggin have to retake the friggin shit. i know, too many crap words in one shitty post.
the cake hidden and them kids ready to sing the bday tune, we waited til the other junkies arrive.
hahaha
