The First Grader

Rebuilding Season

2010-05-16T22:14:00.002+08:00

The journey of a thousand kilometers begins with one turn of the spanner.

Keepin' Sharp

2010-04-22T22:23:00.002+08:00

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
True.
But what becomes of Jack when there's no work at all?
Same thing, dull.

Here's my way of keeping sharp. Hopefully, this will only apply for the months of April and May.

Special projects I'm currently working on:
1. Tend and expand my garden.
2. Build a parafoil kite.
3. Build different paper gliders (not the origami kind).
4. Learn more songs on the piano and violin.

Facts of life:
1. Wash and vacuum the car.
2. Throw the trash.
3. Feed the cat(s).
4. Wash dishes.
5. Cook.
6. Clean the rooms. (Not just mine!)
7. Water the orchids twice a day.
8. Rake the leaves in the yard.
9. Ride my bike to anywhere (and back, of course)
10. Run loops around AIIAS.
11. Hang from the monkey bars.
12. Watch programs on Discovery, NatGeo and History channels.
13. Listen to ASIN, Willamette Singers, and other artists.
14. Waste time on the net.

Occasional and "Semi-real" work for the parents:
1. Check test papers.
2. Make powerpoint presentations.
3. Research for journals.
4. Deliver their lectures (haha, dreamer)

Big, long-term project:
1. Catalog the books in the house.
2. Get my Transcript of Records and Diploma from AUP. :D

So yeah, that's work and play. No dull and gray, and no burnout either.

Plato, Republic X

2010-04-09T20:58:00.003+08:00

"A man must take with him into the world below an adamantine faith in truth and right, that there too he may be undazzled by the desire of wealth or the other allurements of evil, lest, coming upon tyrannies and similar villainies, he do irremediable wrongs to others and suffer yet worse himself; but let him know how to choose the mean and avoid the extremes on either side, as far as possible, not only in this life but in all that which is to come. For this is the way of happiness."

Plato, Republic X

Uh oh

2010-04-06T22:03:00.001+08:00

Me thinks I'm growing a belly.
And its been less than two weeks since school ended.
This could be bad since I'm stuck at home with PLS training postponed to late April or early May, and personal training for the triathlon won't kick in until the first week of June.

Gotta get off the couch.

Math and Blogging

2010-02-02T23:05:00.007+08:00

The number of stuff to blog about is inversely proportional to the time available for blogging!

Bah, decisions.

2009-12-03T21:14:00.003+08:00

As if deciding whether to buy new photographic or mountaineering equipment isn't excruciating enough, I am plagued with a million more decisions to make about the purchase.

The mother of all questions: Better pictures during mountaineering trips or more comfortable living during those trips?

Well, going for the lens would be the least distressing option, since I would only have one option that would fit my budget: the Nikon 50mm f1.8.
But if I choose the tent, I would have to make a decision between tadpole or tunnel types. Then, the model: Columbia or Coleman for tunnel-types, and Apexus, Conquer, Sideout, Jetstream for tadpole types. Still another decision to make is the number of doors it would have! Oh, did I mention the main color? Hot pink, yellow, black, orange, red, or blue.

And the cookset.
Anodized aluminum or titanium? Solo, 2-3 person-, or 5-6 person-capacity? And how about the Diameter and Volume of each saucepan and frying pan?
Okay, maybe the diameter and volume is exaggerated, but still..even if I cross them out, I guess would have to look forward to a couple hours in deep thought; walking around or with that thousand yard stare.

Not another typhoon

2009-11-01T21:55:00.005+08:00

Though sometimes I secretly wish that more typhoons would hit Luzon (for the breaks in classes), I do not want to see another typhoon come too close, at least not until I finish raking the leaves scattered on the yard and driveway. Typhoon Santi came early Saturday morning and dumped most of the leaves off the trees and onto the yard. Leaves were everywhere: on the trees, the lawn, and the driveway, stuck to the windows, and inside garden boots that were left outside the whole night. One of the neighbors piped up, "Maybe we need another typhoon to blow all these leaves off our lawns."
Smart!
But a rake or walis tingting would do the trick. With an inexhaustible supply of manpower, the yard, driveway and the other gardens would be leave-free in a couple of days.
So please, not another typhoon.

House..Son?

2009-10-19T22:00:00.000+08:00

I am a house-son. Uhh, if there is such a thing.
Dad's off to Cebu, Mom and Kim are in AUP for the Pathfinder Camporee, Kuya Paul's in Pasay.

Home alone for the whole week with with a long list of things to do:
cook my own food,
wash dishes,
do the laundry,
hang the clothes when it's sunny
then run back out to take them down a minute later because it would be raining,
clean the windows,
water the plants,
clean the garage,
wash the car,
throw out the trash,
clean the rooms,
wake up at 2am to let the cat in,
wake up at 4am again to feed the cat,
wake myself up for morning worship,
harvest bananas, durian, passion fruit, cassava..
and kagod ug lubi para sa biko.

Meal

Dishes

Boss

Ahh, it will be like living in my own flat.
No one to feed but myself, and oh, the cat...
My choleric self loves every bit of it.

New Sound System

2009-10-18T23:06:00.003+08:00

I do not understand most of what's written here. But it's pretty cool. Particularly the choir mics.

Yamaha MG32 14FX Mixing Console
Behringer Composer Pro-XL MDX2600
2 Behringer Ultragraph FBQ-Pro FBQ3102
Behringer Ultradrive Pro DCX2496

Lexus MA-1200 Amplifier
Lexus MA-1500 Amplifier
Lexus MA-1800 Amplifier
6 Lexus 115F Speakers
2 Lexus LPS 218 Sub woofers
2 Lexus Monitor speakers

Samson CL7 Condenser microphone for the grand piano.
6 Shure SM58's
4 Samson CM12C Choir mics
7 Samson BT4 Telescopic Boom stands
6 Shure SLX1/2 wirelesss mics

Now that the hair's gone...

2009-10-16T22:46:00.000+08:00

...I'll fill you in a secret of mine:
The only reason I tried growing my hair long is to cover these bushy eyebrows of mine.

Now hush.

Taho Day

2009-10-14T10:50:00.000+08:00

It's Wednesday today, which means that Mr. Belga (?) will bring his taho, soymilk, and other soy products to AIIAS to sell.

Today also marks the end of my attempt to grow a ponytail. I lasted only five months before the SAO told me I could not proceed with the next semester's enrollment unless I have my hair cut to a decent style.

Oh well, at least I got to look like Wolverine for a couple of weeks.

Survivalist

2009-10-13T22:24:00.000+08:00

I wanted to try this garbage bag-turned-into-a-bivy sack idea i read about on the net. It claims waterproof quality, but without the breathability of Gore-tex. It is actually two black garbage bags taped together to make a bivy sack. It can hold one person in a sleeping bag. The backpack and other gear have to go in a separate garbage bag.

Moreover, I've been reading Ultralight and Minimalist backpacking forums on tarp shelters.
Three aluminum tent poles, four pegs, guy lines, shock cord, and a small 5x5ft tarp i took from an old tent made up my new "minimalist" tarp shelter.
It really is a valuable piece of gear.
For one thing, it's real light and takes a minimal amount of space. Tent poles aside, the whole shelter can be packed into the side pocket of my Habagat Nailig.
It's free-standing too, it doesnt need to be lashed to a tree, which is useful in places such as Mt. Batulao or Talamitam. However, it can also be lashed between two trees and serve as a canopy above a hammock.
But the most amazing thing about it is it's "survivability." This shelter is not like those high-tech "tadpole" TNF or MSR tents, but it had a pretty similar design. It had a small opening (to be positioned on the leeward side), and a rather sharp "tail" that was to deflect the wind by being positioned on the windward side. Last week, I set the shelter up in our front yard one afternoon and left it there overnight. I wanted to see if it would last the pretty strong winds and rain brought about by the typhoon Pepeng. The next morning the tent was still standing contrary to my expectations that the tarp would be ripped apart and the tent poles bent or broken as it was a pretty strong typhoon.

I have all the basic equipment i need for a trip to Mt. Batulao. Shelter, food, cookset and stove, water, and an emergency kit, and they fit in my backpack.

I will try camping out in a hill near my place tomorrow night to "finetune" the shelter and to see if all my gear is sufficient.

Heck, if the shelter comes apart, I still have that garbage bag, or if worse comes to worst, I'll just have to look for a cave.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

2009-03-08T20:58:00.000+08:00

Roads aren't really the best surfaces to run on.
You know, potholes, "tapal" cement/asphalt, and the occasional gift from those dogs...
But we should also consider which side of the road we are running on.
Roads aren't really flat, the middle of the road is usually higher than the sides.
Running on the same side of the road may increase the risk of knee problems.
Why? Because the leg on the higher side of the road hits the surface earlier and does not flex fully.
So, don't run on the same side of the road all the time.

-What I understood from reading a portion of the Runner's World Complete Book of Beginning Running.

Thesis Writing is an Endurance event

2009-02-23T22:57:00.000+08:00

I guess thesis writing really takes the life out of you.
I haven't trained regularly since the new deadline was imposed upon me, and I really have to have it done before this semester ends.

In a way, thesis writing is like running...cycling..or maybe even swimming.
First, a lot of preparation goes into it. "You only get back what you put in," a popular running quote, seems to fit well with writing.

Second, the long hours spent reading, typing, or trying to understand the statistical data tires me out in the same way a 5 or 10k run will (well, not the legs at least).

And third, I get another reason for stocking my dorm locker with those sports drinks. They make good emergency fuel when I miss meals while chasing statistician for assistance, or when all the typing just won't give you enough time to head out to the cafeteria to grab a bite.

I dunno, there must be more. But this is all that the little portion of the brain not processing the betas, variances and coefficients can come up with.

Anyway, will be running the Cordura on the 22nd of March. Hooray.
Still deciding whether to run the 3k or the 5k. =D

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T17:56:00.000+08:00

Happy Holidays everyone! Enjoy the oppurtunity to swim/bike/run for whole days!
...and careful on the intake..hehe
Have you got your race calendars ready?

Takbo Para kay Ramil

2008-12-04T21:49:00.000+08:00

I ran my first 5k on Decemeber 1, 2008 inside the Toyota Special Economic Zone, St. Rosa, Laguna. It was called "Takbo Para Kay Ramil." The race was organized by members of the Toyota Runners Club for TMP members and the relatives (i think).
Since I was having my OJT there, I was able to join..
The weather was nice, and so was the route. I took the race as my "tour" of their plant. The participants were pretty cool too, I was talking with one employee who turned out to be at the TNF 100 and ran 10k too.

What happened during the start of the race was pretty funny.
There were two kids (sons of a employee) who joined and they were standing just behind the starting line. and I was standing behind them. They looked pretty hardcore (with all the gear and short shorts, hehe), and word went around that the older kid (around 14y.o) could finish a 5k in sub-15 minutes (i dunno how true)...I suppose the others became a bit intimidated..

Anyway, the when the buzzer went off, the kids started sprinting. But the funny part was that everyone else started shouting and screaming (i dunno, excitement?) and most chased the kids.
The more placid and calm runners refrained. I was at around 16th place at the start.

After approximately 800 meters, most of the ones in front started flaking out, but the two kids went on.. The kids flaked out themselves after a while (they were the stars of the race, hehe).

Eventually I came in third for 5k men's category with a time of 24:14. I was actually aiming for a 30:00 because I wasn't able to train before the race (the work got me). I dunno, I think it wasn't that bad.

Pictures can be found the Toyota Runners Club multiply page.

Singapore Running

2008-11-04T20:24:00.000+08:00

There's a really cool place to run in Singapore.
A Cool breeze, plenty of vegetation and animals, quiet and calm lake.
It does a pretty well job of convincing you that you're far, far away from the city.
But in reality, you're smack in the center of it.

I'm referring to the McRitchie Reservoir. It's walking distance from the SAUM headquarters (where I stayed at). Basically there's a lake with lotsa trails running around it.
I was only able to run a around 5k on one trail, but there is a 11k trail on the other side of the lake. There are fitness corners, a kayaking lane, and lots of open space for taichi. ANd there's that wooden path right on the edge of the lake, where you can run, take pictures, or see the turtles.

It's tourist-friendly too. Lotsa signs and directions along the well-maintained trails. Lotsa runners to follow too (if you think you lost your way.) And if the signs or runners don't seem to do very well in helping you find your way, you can always ask the monkeys (just kidding).

To those who plan to go to Singapore, better put McRitchie Reservoir next to Sentosa Island and Jurong Bird Park in the list of places to visit. And don't forget your trainers. :-)

Pictures taken by my sister.

Semestral Break Changes

2008-10-12T23:04:00.000+08:00

Semestral break.
I have two weeks to spend in AIIAS.
This means swim training will have to stop.
But I will be able to bike longer distances. And do it everyday.
I will start running in the evening instead of early morning.
No schoolwork, no cramming.
More sleep but less organized daily schedules.

Oh well, I'm running the same road I first trained on.

Pedal Like There's No Tomorrow

2008-10-04T19:31:00.000+08:00

This post is born out of fear.

I rode my bike from AUP to AIIAS today, after the Adventist Youth program we had at the Psychology Department. Although it was pretty dark already when I reached the shortcut (18:00) it was supposed to be one of the ordinary bike trips I make now and then.. I was feeling pretty confident too, because of my so-called "Grade1™ aerobars" and the fixed brake system.

Anyway, I was riding through Pooc, feeling the control and speed. Passing through the built-up areas, where there were many people passing by , was no problem. However, I also had to pass through a stretch of road that had no streetlights. The few houses that I would pass by on that stretch can be counted in one hand. Aside from a house, it was either a bunch of trees, a field of pineapples or a coffee plantation.

I don't know, maybe some dogs just don't see enough passers-by to stultify their curiosity.
But this one dog just started to chase me. He kept it up for a pretty long time. If his goal was to just to scare, he definitely succeeded.
I will tell you, I was scared.
I forgot about "steady and consistent speed."
I pedaled like there was no tomorrow. My legs were turning those pedals fast. Really fast. But the dog was fast too. Really fast. He was inches from my rear wheel. I was maintaining the distance for quite some time (because the road was flat), but there would be a small bridge and a steep ascent ahead. Fortunately, I didn't feel the rubber-muscle feeling of lactic acid buildup (thanks to adrenaline). And even more fortunately, there was this incoming vehicle. I bet that vehicle scared the dog as he scared me, so he stopped the chase.
He finally stopped the chase. I rode through the bridge and up the ascent shaken and, this time, feeling the rubber legs.

Mount Batulao: Trailrun

2008-09-28T22:48:00.001+08:00

Good times.
Went trail running at Mount Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas with Aldz, High Altitude, and Baldrunner.
Read their blogs, great coverage and pictures too.

Swam, Biked, Ran...and Won Second.

2008-09-28T22:47:00.000+08:00

Thursday, September 25, 2008.

I had the whole afternoon off from classwork and I didn't want to spend the whole afternoon sleeping (like I always do).

Open 25meter pool (free access too).
Fixed bicycle.
All the time in the world.
It was the perfect plan.

About two weeks ago, I decided to swim a kilometer in the AUP swimming pool, then ride my bike back to AIIAS, drop the bike there, and run back to AUP. Today was the day.

Problem arose though.
I am enrolled in Human Anatomy and we had a team that would compete in the semi-final and final rounds of the Anatomy and Physiology Quizbee on that same Thursday night. Start of program? 6:30 PM.
Oh well, push on anyway.
I just had to get back before 6:30. It serves as extra motivation to finish on time.

Swim: 1503-1515. (I used a permanent white board marker to mark my times on my leg.)
I arrived at the pool ready, well-hydrated and with a optimistic outlook. Kicked off and swam at a relaxed pace. Pull-push-breath-recover. It was pretty okay at first, I wasn't crashing into anyone. But after the 250m lap, some police cadets decided to swim the WIDTH of the pool. I started crashing into some of them and was losing a lot of time and momentum. Plus, it was really tiring to get back into the proper prone postion. And oh, one guy got pretty pissed off after I crashed into him. Oh well. I decided to stop after 500m.

Transition 1516-1527
Should I even call this a transition? I had to leave the bike back at the dorm because I had no chain and lock, and I would not risk losing my bike. So I ran back to the dorm, changed into my running/cycling gear, drank some water, got the bike and charged out of the dorm.

Bike:1528-1633
This was the hardest part. There are numerous ascents on the road to AIIAS, including the loooong in front of the Philippine National Police Academy. I decided not to focus on the speed, but rather keep a steady, consistent speed. At around 3k from AIIAS, it started to rain really hard.

Transition 2: 1634-1636
I ate some bread and refilled my water bottle. Then I dropped the bike tools, greeted the cats and started running. It was still raining at this time.

Run: 1637-1804
Oh, I enjoyed this. This part seemed like a victory lap. I just ran at a steady pace. I didn't notice any pain anywhere and I felt elated, maybe euphoric or something.. I only had to stop when this huge black dog became aggressive and started to charge me. I tried scaring him off but it didn't work. Fortunately, there was another person on the road and she scared the dog with her umbrella. The rain stopped but the it was getting darker every minute. I eventually arrived back at AUP really tired, but content.

Now to nail that Quizbee. I rushed to the dorm, refilled my water bottle, showered and rushed to the venue. We were briefed about the rules and were assigned our places. During the semi-final round, our team failed to make a mistake. but during the final, we had a few blunders and eventually landed in second place, won a trophy and some cash.

Not bad...Not bad at all.

PS. The AUP guard who was on duty, the one saw me as rode out of the campus, was the still on duty when I arrived at the campus. He was pretty shocked to see me pass the gate again. He was able to figure out that I rode my bike to AIIAS and ran back.

Happy Birthday Run

2008-09-19T20:38:00.002+08:00

Talk about celebrating a birthday in a different way. We've experienced the "egging" of a celebrator and other weird stuff people do to a person on his birthday.
Well, how about running? To celebrate.

Thats exactly what we did to celebrate Aldz's birthday.
Even though it was dark already and raining, we still pushed. We had a large group on this run. Ed, Francis, and Jimmy came along. Jimmy and Francis took turns on the bike (and the nice yellow reflective vest).

We ran along the highway, with Aldz leading (he was wearing the headlamp), Francis or Jimmy on the bike (with the reflective vest), and the rest in between them.
I got the stitches near the 5k mark, but it kind of went away after a while.

I did not expect that there will be many members in the "support crew." Arne, his sister and KC were riding in a van. Aldz's dad, brother and sister were in another.

Anyway, we reached Yellowcab-Tagaytay just minutes before they will close, but they were kind enough to accommodate us. We had a lot of fun and pizza. When we finished, as if the run wasn't enough, Aldz still rode the bike home. Talk about iron will.

More here:
Aldzheimerz: Rebounding Fun Run

My Longest Run So Far

2008-09-07T11:34:00.000+08:00

Last Sunday (August 31, 2008), I joined Highaltitude, IbanRunner, and Aldzheimerz in their one of their training runs. I didn't know much about the route they were going to take, and I started hearing stuff like"passing somewhere else" and "30k." Whoa. I really wasn't prepared for that. But then I decided that if I flake out, I'll just find my way to the highway, hail a jeepney to AIIAS, and ride home. And they'll continue to run. Just in case.

Sunday morning found me in front of their apartment. I still have no idea where they will run that day. Nevertheless, I just followed them as they headed out. We ran along the back roads going to Tagaytay City. Nice, cool breeze. Not much traffic. But lots of "greeters." I was surprised to see all these dogs come out to "greet" us. Most of the time we had to stop just to prevent attack. They were present in almost all the baranggays we passed: Pulong Saguing, Paligawan, Bucal, Tolentino East.
When we came off the main road, we started heading towards 7-Eleven located near the Tagaytay Rotunda. At this point, we covered around 15k already. I still felt pretty good, so I decided to push on with them. After refilling our different hydration systems, we continued on towards the Tagaytay City Hall.
It was in this stretch of the run I started feeling the pain and fatigue set in. Nearing the Josephine's Restaurant, I had to walk. The pain in my left foot was bothering me. HA, who was behind me, slowed down too. I had to push on, I'm not allowing myself to ruin his training run. So off I went again. But nearing the Taal Vista Hotel, I slowed down again. HA gave me some water (it was a bear to dig into my pack to get my bottle).
I thanked him and continued running.
And continued running...
Past Mushroom Burger.
Up ahead near the crossing going in to Tagaytay City proper, I spotted Aldz and Iban. They were waiting for us near the waiting shed. I saw a milestone(more of like a kilometer stone). 61 Kilometers to Manila. This was approximately 20 kilometers from where we started at. Here, I felt like I was out already. HA and Iban continued to run back to the Rotunda while I took a bus back to AIIAS. Oh, Aldz was with me too. On the bus ride back, we spotted the two still running. They covered a lot of distance before we saw them. I think they covered 25-30K that day. But not me, I'm happy with 20k even if I came off it in pretty bad shape. I had to call it a day.
A good, tiring day.

It's "Back to Work" for Me

2008-09-06T22:13:00.000+08:00

Practicum work this semester and the next. Rehabs and Mental Hospitals. That's going to take away my Friday afternoons, which means no weekend hiking trips and more travel expenses. The patients are fun though.

3.8 Kilometers is NOT an Impossible Dream

2008-09-05T17:56:00.000+08:00

3.8 kilometers is the distance for the swimming part of the Ironman Triathlon.
Long ago, it seemed like an impossible thing to do. Even swimming non-stop for a whole kilometer seemed impossible.
Well, Not Anymore.

Swimming took over my life when I was still in my primary school years, but I never entertained the thought of swimming long-distance. I just swam 25-100 meter laps, developing form and technique but not the endurance. I never saw swimming as an endurance sport.

It started this semester. I figured that even during school days, I have enough time to swim before or after some classes. Two 30 minute sessions on "short" days and a single 1 hour session on "long" days. Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays are "short" days. Thursday is a "long" day. And Wednesday is a rest day. I invited Ed and Francis to come along, and they bought the idea.

At first, my goal was to be able to swim a certain number of laps in one session. I did not aim for continuous, non-stop swimming. My goal was just to reach a number. Twenty laps was the first goal, the next 30, then 40 laps per session. It worked pretty well, until I encountered the problem of staying at the 40 lap mark, not being able to add more because of time restraints.
So I decided to take out the breaks in between the laps (you see, I talked with other swimmers, or crashed into them at times, forcing me to stop).
This time, I'll go non-stop.

My first goal was one kilometer, 40 laps (frontcrawl/breast stroke mix) non-stop on a 25m pool. I timed myself and finished at 0:24:29. It's not impressive, but that is something to me . I came out of the water in pretty good condition. Tired but not out.
A week after, I attempted to cover two kilometers (80 laps). It was anxiety-provoking. Especially before I started. I had to really convince myself not to give up. Even harder to was to convince myself to aim for the 2k. Fortunately, some people I knew were swimming that day. So I told them my goal. No turning back now.

I pushed off. Front crawl for the first 20 laps until the lactic acid took over. Relaxed breast stroke for 10, then back to front crawl for another 20. This was my routine until I covered the distance. The 40-50 laps were really excruciating. I had to battle that thought of quitting. I was already tired at this point. It was good I decided to push on. The 70-80 laps were the best. The feeling of knowing you're about to reach your goal was just overwhelming. Somehow, I still managed to come up with more energy to cover I distance. With the aid of an adrenaline rush, I even sprinted the last three laps. I finally tapped the side for the last time and checked the time. 0:53:25. Again, not impressive, but a really big thing for me. Two kilometers covered. I spent a few more minutes in the pool, doing breathing exercises and jumped out. But I eventually jumped back in and did a "victory lap". Butterfly stroke, 25m. I jumped back out, took a shower and rushed to the dorm. I had a meeting to attend to and I was about to be late.

So there goes my 2k. I'll have to figure out how to find time to be able to swim 3k. If 2k took me almost an hour, I'm pretty sure the 3k will chop off a larger chunk off my schedule. How about setting aside a "longer" day?

Some Pictures of me swimming:
(Photos by Francis dela Cruz)

How About One Wheel?

2008-08-30T16:39:00.001+08:00

That's Me on the Unicycle

It's just like riding a bike, without handlebars, brakes, another wheel, gears, chains...

It's pretty cool though.
There are no brakes and no freewheeling. So if you want to ride to a certain place, you'll be pedaling all the way. And all your weight is on the pedal and the seat. Riding is pretty comfortable, just have to make sure the feet don't go out from under you and leaving all the weight to the seat (ouch).
Some people will get shocked. Some stare and laugh, but when they ask to try it, it's my turn to laugh!

I've learned to ride the unicycle a fews ago, when Red brought one home, and allowed everyone to use it. I borrowed it every night for six nights until I got the hang of it. At first I would ride it along a wall, but I eventually learned to ride without aid of the wall, kicking off it and crashing onto a bush (poor bush). Then there was getting on the unicycle without an aid, riding off-road, and going down a few steps (this hurt the most,hehe). My friends have other interesting "success" stories.

Anyway, it's a really great way to train and condition. A nice "distraction" from the routine. Here's another photo:

PS.
I think knowing how to ride the unicycle is found in the genes.
Check this out.
Jing Almocera Youtube Video
Unicyclists in the Philippines
Philippine Acrobatic Troupe

Mount Batulao: Solo traverse

2008-08-17T21:54:00.000+08:00

Mount Batulao, Nasugbu, Batangas
August 9, 2008
Trek time: 15:45 - 17:32Hrs

Why Solo? The original plan was to climb Mount Batulao with members of the Ambassador Mountaineering and Masterguide Clubs of the Adventist University of the Philippines on Friday (8AUG), but it was disrupted by two things. First, the group would leave AUP at around 1300. My practicum work at the rehabilitation center would not end till 1730. Second, I have a part in the Sabbath School service the next day. What to do? I wouldn't want to pass up another opportunity to climb. So I decided I will climb it solo, ascending by the new trail to the peak, descending down the traditional trail and meeting up with the main group. I had contacted participants of the group earlier and they mentioned that they set up camp at camp 1.
There were these boys asking me where my companions were. I told them I'm going to climb alone. "Kuya , mag-paguide ka nalang. Baka mawala ka."
Enroute to the summit, I met Sir Jeth of S.E.R.V.E. and other climbers on their way back to AUP. After passing the kubo where the locals sell buko, I continued on the new trail. This was when the clouds came in. And it came in fast and thick. The wind was pretty strong and I couldn't see very far ahead of me. Eventually I reached the last camp before the peak and i registered.
There was that one ridge before the reaching the peak that really scared me. The trail was on top of the ridge and it was along way down on both sides (at least that what I thought). All I saw while passing that ridge was a small brown line in the midst of white clouds.

Nothing to see.I finally reached the summit. There was no one there partly because the other climbers went up earlier and partly because there was nothing to see because of the thick clouds. Took a couple of pictures and started to head down the traditional trail. Passed a couple of groups of climbers. They were looking for my companions too.
I finally reached camp 1. The masterguides were there, having their sundown worship. The rest of the trip was typical of a large-group climb. People singing "Happy Birthday" before they eat (even if no one was celebrating their birthday); the late night discussions; the food that, regardless of how it was made, always tasted good.