Domingo, Abril 30, 2006
The Tromatic Experience (Revised)
It's been three days since I got back from Baguio with college friends and I'm still feeling exhausted. However, having said that, I daresay it was one of the most unforgettable trips in my life. What we had there was ultimate fun, with a twist of horror, and a little drama, although I thought we could endure the trip without the last one. Hehe. The other day, someone messaged me via YM asking if I ever missed my bed. I do miss it, however, I could not put up with the heat so I would rather sleep on the double deck in Baguio with two of my friends crammed on the lower bed.
The moment we rode the bus that hot afternoon, I was pretty amazed that this trip's happening at long last. We've been planning this since January. But as I have mentioned in my comment to Ava on her Troma post, the experience highly deserves to be written in this online journal although it was meant to be a secret from the others. We're like the Order of the Phoenix in HP5, or the Priory of Sion, or the Katipunan, only we are not at all revolutionary. We just revealed our secrets much too early, (oh, that rhymes!) but it doesn't matter now.
DAY 1 (Sunday)
We took the 12:30nn Victory Liner bus at Pasay terminal. This was actually my second time to go to Baguio by bus so Karen, my partner during the trip, was amazed to see me all hype for the 7-hour ride. Still I was pretty anxious that buses don't have seatbelts. I freak out when I don't use seatbelts on long trips! And talk about ischemia of the ass. It was a good thing we stopped over at Dau, Tarlac, and Pangasinan where I could walk around a bit and try their 'nice restrooms'. Haha.
From afar we could already get a good view of Baguio's city lights after an hour of bends and turns along the highway. I've seen the breathtaking spectacle so many times before that I no longer find it exciting. But witnessing the ooh's and ahh's of my Tromapips as we approach Baguio, I managed to feel happy because they're happy. Bringing my friends there for the first time is a whole new adventure. This is going to be fun, I thought to myself.
We arrived at the terminal at around 8p. The climate was not as cool as it was before when my family went there last December. Jackets were surprisingly not a necessity. Before we were even able to get inside the house and drop our luggage, we had to spend half an hour trying to open the front door. We even had to take turns so as to figure out how to open this old wooden door. Unsuspectingly, Ava was the ultimate culprit who unlocked it without using the alohomora charm. Kudos to you!
DAY 2 (Monday)
Generose and I managed to wake up so early in the morning to prepare breakfast. The Tromapips named her Becky from the Princess Sarah cartoon. To all the youth that have watched this, you know what I mean. Haha. FYI, that wasn't disparaging to her. I forgot all the food she cooked for us that morning and the rest of the trip but they were all absolutely delectable, I tell you. We helped in the dishwashing and cleaning, of course. I am so thankful to her that she took the initiative to feed us for five days because we are all ignoramuses in the culinary world.
I woke the rest up shortly and told them to go outside the house for a few minutes of fog-fog-an portion at 7 in the morning. You can see your breath coming out of your mouth.
Bren arrived at the house shortly and, man... you gotta look at that tan. He just got back from Boracay and he totally looked great having that tan. Bah, forget the risk for malignant tumors. So there, now that we're complete, we thought it was time to take hundreds of photos and drain all our batteries. This is the first day to drive ourselves in a frenzy.
Mines View Park is a souvenirs haven. This is where they got most of their pasalubongs for their families and friends back in Manila. As for me and Generose, we have already gone through that shopping mania phase that's why we just sat on the stairs and waited for them to finish. I also helped Ava look for scarves that would match the colors in the Gryffindor House (red and gold/yellow) but couldn't find any. Sayang. As you know, that was one of the major reasons why she went to Baguio with us. The mines view was great, it could have been more wonderful had we arrived at the place earlier since the fog had started to settle so it obscured some areas of the mountains. Our pictures there looked good nevertheless.
Our last stop for the day's Camp John Hay. We were supposed to go ride the bump cars there but I didn't realize they close very early during off-peak seasons. So I coerced my friends to join me at Choco-late de Batirol instead because I'm starting to miss their 60-peso hot chocolate drink. I have no idea if they liked it. Actually I couldn't care less as long as the drink satisfies my cravings. The group photos we took there were very nice as we simply took advantage of the yellow lights and foliage surrounding us. Haay, kakamiss agad.
DAY 3 (Tuesday)
The Easter Weaving Room is just a few blocks away from our house. By this time, we were becoming mindful of our fare expenditures which seem to get pricier each day. As you know, the jeepney fare in Baguio is 7.50Php per person while the taxi flagdown rate is 25.00Php. Yes, obviously, it's a lot cheaper there than here in Manila. But being on a Baguio tour is almost tantamount to what modern people term as cashectomy. It was a good thing that there are seven of us who can contribute to the food and fare expenses. Anyway, I remember writing about this school last December. I have to profess again, however, that I am still amazed at how the women scrupulously interlace different threads in their old looms.
Next stop is Tam-Awan Village, which has become more popular nowadays, thanks to the several travel channels who made this possible. For a reasonable entrance fee of 20Php, you can already marvel at the authentic houses of our ancestors. A young tour guide showed us the different types and uses of huts that our natives inhabited (the famous DUKLIGAN is among them. Eheh...). To save on merienda expenses, we brought with us chichiria and had a small picnic under a hut. However, it was a stupid thing that we always forgot to bring water so we ended up feeling a little dehydrated from walking around Baguio and ate lunch at the Slaughterhouse. Should you ask why on earth we happened to eat there, it's because we thought we wanted to try eating something Igorot instead of McDonald's and whatnot. But when we realized we did not really enjoy what we ate, I thought maybe we weren't actually ready for exotic delicacies.
The warm wind apparently brought us to the next destination which was the Bell Church. I chanced to visit this temple with my high school friends years ago but only for the purpose of picture taking. This time we decided to go inside the temple and kowtow to the gods and offer them incense. The idea is merely an aim to gaining experience from Chinese rituals. Well, anyway, I think I messed up the ritual thing because I sort of misunderstood the question of the Chinese man. I thought he asked what my wish was when actually he meant to ask if I made a wish or asked a question. So I rephrased my question to make it appear like a wish (but did you think I'm going to reveal it here?!). After a short silence, however, he said everything is not good. That life will be hard and all that jazz. Well, I thought that was a funny thing to say. Since when has life been easy anyway?
Afterward we hiked up the peak of the temple (right now you shouldn't be wondering why I suddenly lost 20 pounds) and had our pictures taken while doing kung-fu poses.
It seems to me that Camp John Hay’s our favorite hangout. After so much persuading, Soc and I alone ended up sliding and rappelling while the others watched and took pictures of us doing weird acrobats. They were simply killjoys at the time. Ahaha. I would have preferred eating putobumbong over rappelling had Karen only been a little more persistent in buying one for all of us.
We also got way too addicted to trekking in its Eco-trail. Indeed, it was very tiring because the first time we did it, we even had to stop and take a rest for about ten minutes. Walking is good for the heart. Yes, that is a given. But what I love more about this adventure is the scenery. We never got tired of the sweet smell of pine trees and the thousands of conifers and caterpillars that we spot along the way. An hour passed and we finally reached the end of the trail. You can see from the photo how undeniably haggard we looked. That was such an unforgettably exhausting trek that when we were already inside the cab on our way home, I blatantly told Ava, "Don't talk to me," because I was totally assed out.
(to be concluded)
The moment we rode the bus that hot afternoon, I was pretty amazed that this trip's happening at long last. We've been planning this since January. But as I have mentioned in my comment to Ava on her Troma post, the experience highly deserves to be written in this online journal although it was meant to be a secret from the others. We're like the Order of the Phoenix in HP5, or the Priory of Sion, or the Katipunan, only we are not at all revolutionary. We just revealed our secrets much too early, (oh, that rhymes!) but it doesn't matter now.DAY 1 (Sunday)
We took the 12:30nn Victory Liner bus at Pasay terminal. This was actually my second time to go to Baguio by bus so Karen, my partner during the trip, was amazed to see me all hype for the 7-hour ride. Still I was pretty anxious that buses don't have seatbelts. I freak out when I don't use seatbelts on long trips! And talk about ischemia of the ass. It was a good thing we stopped over at Dau, Tarlac, and Pangasinan where I could walk around a bit and try their 'nice restrooms'. Haha.From afar we could already get a good view of Baguio's city lights after an hour of bends and turns along the highway. I've seen the breathtaking spectacle so many times before that I no longer find it exciting. But witnessing the ooh's and ahh's of my Tromapips as we approach Baguio, I managed to feel happy because they're happy. Bringing my friends there for the first time is a whole new adventure. This is going to be fun, I thought to myself.
We arrived at the terminal at around 8p. The climate was not as cool as it was before when my family went there last December. Jackets were surprisingly not a necessity. Before we were even able to get inside the house and drop our luggage, we had to spend half an hour trying to open the front door. We even had to take turns so as to figure out how to open this old wooden door. Unsuspectingly, Ava was the ultimate culprit who unlocked it without using the alohomora charm. Kudos to you!
Afterward we went to SM Baguio hoping to eat our first dinner there. However we got to the top floor first and enjoyed looking at the fantastic city lights. A few moments passed and we observed that the mall's closing so early that we resolved to eat at McDonald's along Session Road instead.
DAY 2 (Monday)
Generose and I managed to wake up so early in the morning to prepare breakfast. The Tromapips named her Becky from the Princess Sarah cartoon. To all the youth that have watched this, you know what I mean. Haha. FYI, that wasn't disparaging to her. I forgot all the food she cooked for us that morning and the rest of the trip but they were all absolutely delectable, I tell you. We helped in the dishwashing and cleaning, of course. I am so thankful to her that she took the initiative to feed us for five days because we are all ignoramuses in the culinary world.I woke the rest up shortly and told them to go outside the house for a few minutes of fog-fog-an portion at 7 in the morning. You can see your breath coming out of your mouth.
Bren arrived at the house shortly and, man... you gotta look at that tan. He just got back from Boracay and he totally looked great having that tan. Bah, forget the risk for malignant tumors. So there, now that we're complete, we thought it was time to take hundreds of photos and drain all our batteries. This is the first day to drive ourselves in a frenzy.
Mines View Park is a souvenirs haven. This is where they got most of their pasalubongs for their families and friends back in Manila. As for me and Generose, we have already gone through that shopping mania phase that's why we just sat on the stairs and waited for them to finish. I also helped Ava look for scarves that would match the colors in the Gryffindor House (red and gold/yellow) but couldn't find any. Sayang. As you know, that was one of the major reasons why she went to Baguio with us. The mines view was great, it could have been more wonderful had we arrived at the place earlier since the fog had started to settle so it obscured some areas of the mountains. Our pictures there looked good nevertheless.
Our last stop for the day's Camp John Hay. We were supposed to go ride the bump cars there but I didn't realize they close very early during off-peak seasons. So I coerced my friends to join me at Choco-late de Batirol instead because I'm starting to miss their 60-peso hot chocolate drink. I have no idea if they liked it. Actually I couldn't care less as long as the drink satisfies my cravings. The group photos we took there were very nice as we simply took advantage of the yellow lights and foliage surrounding us. Haay, kakamiss agad.
DAY 3 (Tuesday)
The Easter Weaving Room is just a few blocks away from our house. By this time, we were becoming mindful of our fare expenditures which seem to get pricier each day. As you know, the jeepney fare in Baguio is 7.50Php per person while the taxi flagdown rate is 25.00Php. Yes, obviously, it's a lot cheaper there than here in Manila. But being on a Baguio tour is almost tantamount to what modern people term as cashectomy. It was a good thing that there are seven of us who can contribute to the food and fare expenses. Anyway, I remember writing about this school last December. I have to profess again, however, that I am still amazed at how the women scrupulously interlace different threads in their old looms.Next stop is Tam-Awan Village, which has become more popular nowadays, thanks to the several travel channels who made this possible. For a reasonable entrance fee of 20Php, you can already marvel at the authentic houses of our ancestors. A young tour guide showed us the different types and uses of huts that our natives inhabited (the famous DUKLIGAN is among them. Eheh...). To save on merienda expenses, we brought with us chichiria and had a small picnic under a hut. However, it was a stupid thing that we always forgot to bring water so we ended up feeling a little dehydrated from walking around Baguio and ate lunch at the Slaughterhouse. Should you ask why on earth we happened to eat there, it's because we thought we wanted to try eating something Igorot instead of McDonald's and whatnot. But when we realized we did not really enjoy what we ate, I thought maybe we weren't actually ready for exotic delicacies.The warm wind apparently brought us to the next destination which was the Bell Church. I chanced to visit this temple with my high school friends years ago but only for the purpose of picture taking. This time we decided to go inside the temple and kowtow to the gods and offer them incense. The idea is merely an aim to gaining experience from Chinese rituals. Well, anyway, I think I messed up the ritual thing because I sort of misunderstood the question of the Chinese man. I thought he asked what my wish was when actually he meant to ask if I made a wish or asked a question. So I rephrased my question to make it appear like a wish (but did you think I'm going to reveal it here?!). After a short silence, however, he said everything is not good. That life will be hard and all that jazz. Well, I thought that was a funny thing to say. Since when has life been easy anyway?Afterward we hiked up the peak of the temple (right now you shouldn't be wondering why I suddenly lost 20 pounds) and had our pictures taken while doing kung-fu poses.
It seems to me that Camp John Hay’s our favorite hangout. After so much persuading, Soc and I alone ended up sliding and rappelling while the others watched and took pictures of us doing weird acrobats. They were simply killjoys at the time. Ahaha. I would have preferred eating putobumbong over rappelling had Karen only been a little more persistent in buying one for all of us.
We also got way too addicted to trekking in its Eco-trail. Indeed, it was very tiring because the first time we did it, we even had to stop and take a rest for about ten minutes. Walking is good for the heart. Yes, that is a given. But what I love more about this adventure is the scenery. We never got tired of the sweet smell of pine trees and the thousands of conifers and caterpillars that we spot along the way. An hour passed and we finally reached the end of the trail. You can see from the photo how undeniably haggard we looked. That was such an unforgettably exhausting trek that when we were already inside the cab on our way home, I blatantly told Ava, "Don't talk to me," because I was totally assed out.
(to be concluded)
Carnaval took a nap at 9:50:00 PM
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Sábado, Abril 22, 2006
Hem hem...
Ages ago, during the time when my friend Ava went to watch HP4 at Rob with me, I remember her looking so aghast when I told her I still haven't read the Order of the Phoenix and the Half-blood Prince. I could see how a bit disturbed she was when she continually blurted out the words, "Anu ba 'yan! 'Di mo pa talaga nababasa book five??!" It's as if it's a mortal sin not to be reading Rowling's books. So to resolve that, Ava was kind enough to lend me her Harry Potter book five. Okay, I could be a slow reader but I'm really liking the story. Funny, at night I'm finding it much harder to sleep because I get so kilig at Cho and Harry. Hahaha. J.K. Rowling's a genius. She really knows how to relate with teenagers. Most of the time I discover myself laughing at each chapter because I could connect with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Professor Umbridge reminds me of another real-life portly teacher in Anatomy and Physiology named Pamela David. She's just too annoying. Hem hem... Can't wait to see the movie.
Aside from Harry and Professor Umbridge, I haven't got any more interesting to say. Plus, with the scorching heat that makes you want to take a bath every hour, I no longer find this blogging enjoyable. I do hope it rains soon.
I'm off to Baguio City with some important people tomorrow. I'll be back on Thursday. May you all have a great week.
Aside from Harry and Professor Umbridge, I haven't got any more interesting to say. Plus, with the scorching heat that makes you want to take a bath every hour, I no longer find this blogging enjoyable. I do hope it rains soon.
I'm off to Baguio City with some important people tomorrow. I'll be back on Thursday. May you all have a great week.
Carnaval took a nap at 4:41:00 PM
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Segunda-feira, Abril 17, 2006
Life's Simple Pleasures
Got tagged weeks ago by Cow.
Name five of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick five people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not use things that someone else has already used.
1. making cat sounds (combat mode) and assuming the role of a referee in a fight between Kofi and Mingming.
2. DVD buying spree with my family in Quiapo.
3. photo hunt-ing with my blockmates in G-Box after crazy long exams in Med-Surg.
4. being able to hitchhike at least once in your life. I can’t believe I did that in Antipolo twice!
5. strolling around Merville with my dog Chino.
I'm tagging/passing this curse to:
1. Ava
2. Augie
3. Bren
4. Karen Kristie
5. Mom Deb
Carnaval took a nap at 12:15:00 PM
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Segunda-feira, Abril 10, 2006
What Folly
*Warning* Intense rage ahead.
Perhaps the more you mature or get exposed to different situations, the more you find that nothing is ever surprising. In my case, surely it's no surprise that I've returned to becoming the loner that I've always been in high school. When I was a freshman, I did not mingle or open up with my classmates because majority of them I believe were phony and boring. Not until my older sister confirmed this, I never noticed how alone I was then. Quite frequently, I was without company while eating at the school's hot cafeteria, or while going to Robinson's Place on a Friday afternoon, or while brushing my teeth and washing my face on the sink at the quadrangle after lunch, or while having a bathroom break. As you know, this must seem to you like a sad tale, but being a detached thirteen year old then, I was fine so I couldn't care less.
Solitude measures one's reflection to self and others. It makes you contemplate on things you have already thought of but never really paid attention to. Sometimes it's worthwhile to have a sore throat so as to keep our mouths shut and simply breathe in all the stimuli which before have been obscured by non-essential things.
Just recently I went to a three-day leadership training hosted by my school organization (Tugon-Rescue) in Antipolo. Aside from the activities that absolutely pitted me out, the event was mostly undelightful. Maybe it would be better if I say instead that if it hadn't been for the games and amazing races to and around Antipolo, my stay there would have been a waste of my precious time.
On those three days I have learned how some people can take others for granted. I'd like to think that this is my doing because I have thought of them more than myself... that even if they underestimate my value, most of the time I am patient and would rather wait and see things unfold according to its will, maybe they'd give me even a half-price credit in return.
During breaks at the training, I laid down on the bed in the big room and read part one of Paolo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain. At least for a brief moment I have enjoyed the company of Elijah, albeit he's only a biblical character, while everybody else is outside burning their butts off under the scorching sun, taking pleasure in the company of other Tugonistas. I hate to pretend that I have to be friendly to all of them. More than anything, I hate the fact that cartwheels are a necessity for my buddies to spot me. What had just sunk in to me was that people only recognize you when they need you. I'm all assed out from always having to do the first move.
It may be a quirk of fate why solitude paid me a visit in Antipolo. While I sat quietly on the gutter outside the house, I chanced to observe my friends in groups happily talking with their new acquaintances. From there I recalled the void I felt when I was a freshman in Manila Science. How 70 percent of my classmates were a bunch of grade-conscious phonies. I will not take that back! Yet my isolation told me to remain strong and brave. Surely I've fallen so many times in my life but still managed to stand up and start over. I have shed a few tears but what the heck. This time I just want to be cold.
To put up being taken for granted. What folly. To appear like a half-witted histrionic to be sighted. What folly. How lame and desperate.
Perhaps the more you mature or get exposed to different situations, the more you find that nothing is ever surprising. In my case, surely it's no surprise that I've returned to becoming the loner that I've always been in high school. When I was a freshman, I did not mingle or open up with my classmates because majority of them I believe were phony and boring. Not until my older sister confirmed this, I never noticed how alone I was then. Quite frequently, I was without company while eating at the school's hot cafeteria, or while going to Robinson's Place on a Friday afternoon, or while brushing my teeth and washing my face on the sink at the quadrangle after lunch, or while having a bathroom break. As you know, this must seem to you like a sad tale, but being a detached thirteen year old then, I was fine so I couldn't care less.
Solitude measures one's reflection to self and others. It makes you contemplate on things you have already thought of but never really paid attention to. Sometimes it's worthwhile to have a sore throat so as to keep our mouths shut and simply breathe in all the stimuli which before have been obscured by non-essential things.
Just recently I went to a three-day leadership training hosted by my school organization (Tugon-Rescue) in Antipolo. Aside from the activities that absolutely pitted me out, the event was mostly undelightful. Maybe it would be better if I say instead that if it hadn't been for the games and amazing races to and around Antipolo, my stay there would have been a waste of my precious time.
On those three days I have learned how some people can take others for granted. I'd like to think that this is my doing because I have thought of them more than myself... that even if they underestimate my value, most of the time I am patient and would rather wait and see things unfold according to its will, maybe they'd give me even a half-price credit in return.
During breaks at the training, I laid down on the bed in the big room and read part one of Paolo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain. At least for a brief moment I have enjoyed the company of Elijah, albeit he's only a biblical character, while everybody else is outside burning their butts off under the scorching sun, taking pleasure in the company of other Tugonistas. I hate to pretend that I have to be friendly to all of them. More than anything, I hate the fact that cartwheels are a necessity for my buddies to spot me. What had just sunk in to me was that people only recognize you when they need you. I'm all assed out from always having to do the first move.
It may be a quirk of fate why solitude paid me a visit in Antipolo. While I sat quietly on the gutter outside the house, I chanced to observe my friends in groups happily talking with their new acquaintances. From there I recalled the void I felt when I was a freshman in Manila Science. How 70 percent of my classmates were a bunch of grade-conscious phonies. I will not take that back! Yet my isolation told me to remain strong and brave. Surely I've fallen so many times in my life but still managed to stand up and start over. I have shed a few tears but what the heck. This time I just want to be cold.
To put up being taken for granted. What folly. To appear like a half-witted histrionic to be sighted. What folly. How lame and desperate.
Carnaval took a nap at 9:59:00 PM
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The Author
Carnaval is a fourth year nursing student of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. Her thoughts are whacked. She's mad so she's talking back. She's tired of people who stick their noses in things that are none of their business.
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Previous Posts
- There She Goes
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- New Course
- Buti Tapus Nang Ma-QA
- Hula In The Glass Ball
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- Summah Blahs
- I Think I Would Prefer Being With What People Call...
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