Conquering Mt. Tarak

It stands at 1,130 ft. above sea level. Also known as the "Blue Mountain", as it is fondly called, is an ideal site for mountain trekking, climbing and exploration. A 5-6 hours of mountain climbing from Brgy. Alas-asin, Mariveles, Bataan to its peak. With a little dose of stupidity, I conquered Mt. Tarak the hard way.

Lessons learned:

1. Get enough rest the night before a climb. I woke through it all, attended a friend's birthday and attended a friend's dad's funeral... how ironic.

2. Pack smart and pack light. My backpack weighed a ton because I shoved in 4 sets of clothes instead 2 and dumped in a hammock that I didn't even use. I also carried 3 additional liters of water for a climb buddy.

3. Don't wear sandals! This is probably the stupidest thing I did. My feet didn't get a good grip so I slipped a dozen times nearly plucking my toe nails. Sandals stresses your feet more than normal, thus I got cramps all the way to the summit, literally I crawled just to through the agony.

4. Bring enough trail food. Not only does it gives you something to munch on while trekking, it also gives you warmth and prevents your body from shivering. Along the way to the summit, heavy rain and strong wind robbed my body heat. Good thing others brought extra trail food to sustain everyone.

Through it all, it was hard yet exciting. A lot of bad experience but I welcome them all with open arms. In the end, you wake up early morning and get captivated by the view. You are on top of the world. It was worth it all.

mySpace

Wohoo! I now have a SPACE in mySpace. =D

choices choices

P = Pay (5-H 1-L)
M = Mediocrity (5-L 1-H)
B = Chance of Getting the Big Bucks (5-H 1-L)

Options
1. status quo P=2, M=4, B=1
2. this one P=4, M=1, B=2
3. or that one P=1, M=5, B=4

:(

in the spotlight

When I came back from 2-week long Xmas vacation, I was greeted by one of my office mates. She asked me if I could play the guitar for our company's Annual Globe Awards 2006 as opening act. This anticipated awards night honors leaders, teams and projects who have made great impact on the success of the company. It's a formal event attended by our CEO and top executives within and outside Globe. Unfortunately, I'm not one of those recipients (boohoo) but fortunately, I get to show off a bit of talent ;).

Playing with me was Wally, another great guitar talent and way better than me, btw (damn, need to practice more). He did more of the instrumental part while I did most of the rythms. Our singers were Ainah, Wilma and Paolo, and mostly sang lounge renditions appropriate for a formal dinner. We played 1. Can We Just Stop And Talk A While by Gary V, 2. Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell, 3. Emotions by Destiny's Child, and 4. Knocks Me Off My Feet by Stevie Wonder.

Man, oh man! Our singers were great! And we played one heck of a performance too! ;)

Hehehe, wish I could do this more often... doing things away from work... and get to be on the spotlight even for little while.

"Fun" Facts

Last week was a very, very, if I may say, interesting experience. I have been marathoning a TV series and somehow it confirmed and contradicted "very common" facts that we encounter in our everyday lives or in those we encounter by surprise. Take these for example.

Fact #1: Everybody lies. White lies, or honest-to-goodness lies, lies are lies, whether planned or instantaneous.

Fact #2: Everybody lies for a reason. But do you even sometimes wonder why people still lie even if they are dying, or even if they know they will hurt someone?

Fact #3: The most common reason for lying is to protect his/her reputation. Ok, I just made this up... there may be some truth here.

Fact #4: The truth can either make your toes tingle or hurt you in general... either sweet or taste like shit?... bittersweet?

Fact #5: People DON'T change for the better. They just want others to see them they've changed, which brings me back to Fact #1. Once a _____, always a _____. People, however, DO change for the worse! People like me, perhaps?

Fact #6: Revenge can be oh-so-sweet! Yeah... very tempting, but I advise all of you to drop it. Let Him handle it for you, but don't wish for it to be some bad kharma either.

Fact #7: People cheat. Hell yeah, in exams, in careers, in love maybe?