11:40 SGT, having breakfast at Changi Airport
This morning, I woke up with my pulse racing. As I scrambled to cram some last minute packing, I realized that my hands were literally shaking. I was so jumpy that when a hanger fell out from my closet, I thought my heart has leaped out from my chest. I wasn’t even this close to an anxiety attack on the day I picked up my bags and chose to leave my home in Manila for the flats of Singapore. Continue reading Kaladkarin’s UK Adventure – The Prologue
Getting bigger is more than just fitting into your older siblings’ clothes.
It’s more than finally getting the freedom to stay out as late as you want.
It’s realizing that the world is vast, and yet we’re closer to each other than you might think.
It’s knowing that no matter how much space you take up, there’s always room for improvement.
It’s realizing that at the end, all you really need, all you really wanted in life, was there right at the start, right at the moment you were born — people who are simply happy that you came into this world.
Since everyone is talking about the looming doomsday anyway, if I could, I would fill my last days with endless conversations — meaningful, gibberish, small talk, profound, I welcome them all. Yes, it departs from my usual repertoire of play-run-play-til-I-die, but the art of conversation holds within it a healing power.
Isn’t it great that as a species, we have long carried the tradition of storytelling without actually giving it any thought? That in bouts, we can actually agree to disagree? That we never tire of recounting old memories, laughing at them as if they happened yesterday?
The anticipation is messing with your head. You could have sworn your heart was right next to your ear, as you hear the thumps bang against your eardrums. You glance at your designated spotter squinting at a distance, before swapping Bicolano with the other boatmen. You nervously fidget with your snorkel mask. Wait, did he just say… ‘Jump!’?
And you jump, right into the chilly beryl deep. After a few chaotic seconds of flailing limbs underwater, you compose yourself and catch sight of what you came all this way for: the magnificent leviathan of a fish, nonchalantly passing by in all its 8-metre spotted glory. Everything else fades into the background. You feel that it’s just you, and the giant. It takes all self-control not to reach out and hold on to its fin, ala-Free Willy.
We were blessed with a sunny day in Donsol; all in all, we spotted 4 whale sharks. It’s said that in season, it’s actually rare NOT to see at least one. Some of them glided slowly, letting you bask in its graceful splendor; some of them will really make you work your fins. During the interactions, the guides will remind you to stay at least 5 feet away from the whale sharks, as to not spook them or more importantly, not to get swatted by its tail. At one time, I was gliding along on top of the whale shark, when I noticed the spots getting larger by the second. I soon realized it was trying to surface. In my head, I was going like ‘5 feet! 5 feet!’ at the titan. My friends who dove in with me saw this as well. They swore that given a few more seconds, I could have gotten a free ride on the back of the whale shark. He plunged into the deep again after a while, and once the nervousness wore off, the thought of that rare close encounter still gives me smiles up to this day.
Donsol is one hour away by land from Legazpi City, Philippines. There are a lot of sites offering information on how you can organize your own Donsol whale shark experience; here’s one from the regional tourism site.
God provides — this, despite all jadedness, I still believe.
There is a prerequisite though — you must not only be willing to work for it, but in order for blessings to reach you, you must pave the road by which it comes with your own two hands.
I’ve been in situations wherein I toiled my ass off, yet the fruits of my labor have yet to manifest themselves. Similarly, I’ve been in situations wherein the toil has been worth it — sometimes the rewards were even more than expected. There is added satisfaction in reaping rewards that are deserved.
But I’ve rarely seen situations wherein blessings were provided without having to do anything. I admit, it’s possible that these things have actually happened. But to depend on chance, to actually believe that you are privileged to be endowed with miracles, is to me, nothing but folly.
2011-02
Mt. Kitanglad, Bukidnon
Of course, every great trip deserves a tribute video. =)
To say that Mt. Kitanglad was a sight to behold is a glaring understatement. It was definitely one of the best climbs I’ve been on –> fun trail + awesome view = winner! If there was any doubt if climbing is still my first great love, then this trip just about squashes it all.
This goes out to kindred spirits Jan, Stan & Biboy. Can’t wait to go back and visit D2 next! 🙂
(Mauuna na ang side — It must be said that these emo attacks may be actually good for something. The long-dormant, theatrical writer in me is having a feast day; it has been yearning to be indulged, feeling neglected since the Pauliworld days.)
A dark cloud has been hanging over my head since I walked into the office this morning. Yes, it was another Monday; no surprise that I wasn’t turning cartwheels. But this particular morning has been, well, depressing. I could not put my finger on any particular reason — which scares me.
They’re probably going to kill me for calling them this, but I miss having friends around who are as messed up as me. It’s because when I see them conquer the world each day as if it was nothing, it gives me hope. That I can be just as strong. That I can grow even just half the backbone that they have.
I remember always wanting to go to New Zealand to try out the zorb, but the good thing was I didn’t have to go all the way to NZ anymore! A lot has changed since I last went to Boracay — now they’re offering zorb rides as well. Call it a cliche, but Boracay is really THE island paradise — nothing but fun, smiles, good food and the glorious beach. I had to ask myself over and over — how could I NOT be from Boracay?! Here we were, literally having a ‘ball’ at their new attraction.
Because ‘why not’ is for things that you don’t take seriously. And we both deserve to be taken seriously.
This is my first attempt at creating a compilation of 2 sec glimpses from my daily routine. It’s not so much about chasing that great shot each day — it was about how to make something mundane still look, well, at least, interesting. Here’s the January attempt; hopefully the next months fare better. 🙂
Warning: Uber-vain post ahead.
Only in this crazy-wonderful-Net-frantic world do some websites come into your life and leave a dent. Yes, some will just intentionally waste your time, but well, there are a few sites that I’m thankful I stumbled upon. I remember running across this page which featured an ingenious family’s take on annual family portraits (check it out at http://zonezero.com/magazine/essays/diegotime/time.html) — each year they take id photos of themselves and now they have 30 years’ worth of photos/hairstyles to reminisce. This got me thinking, ‘why don’t I do the same and have a photo shoot every year on my birthday?’. What did I tell you — uber-vain, right?
I bought the first discounted photo-shoot package I saw on one of my beloved voucher sites, but I never got around to taking the shoot during my last birthday. The new year rolled around, and I didn’t get to book either. Finally, on this characteristically lazy weekend, I decided to haul my butt off the couch and finally get that shoot done.
What I didn’t expect was how fun it would be. It brought me back to the grade-school/high-school days when digital cams were yet unheard of, and trips to Galleria meant movie+lunch+neoprint+studiopic shoot. I remember cringing at my smile whenever we got the prints from the studio, but today at DeCharacter Image’s studio (it’s located on Purvis St. near Raffles Hotel), Dana (the stylist — sashyaaaal…) and Kyaw (the photographer. I repeat — sashyaaaal…) put me in so much ease that I only remembered how awkward a shoot should be after the shoot. So kudos, Dana & Kyaw! 🙂
If you’ve read up to here and you’re not puking yet, you may want to check out the other pics from the shoot — https://picasaweb.google.com/ishgagno/201102Me# .
(If my sisters are reading this — since Ondoy washed most of our childhood pics away and we literally are oceans apart now, what do you say to making our own yearly timeline? It’ll be fun to show it to our kids 30 years from now. 🙂 Let’s have it every Christmas, what do you guys think?)
John Lennon said that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. I say that this adage can be tailored a bit to suit our generation — life now is what happens when you were too busy documenting it.
A few people realize it, but we live in a time wherein people do have a fixation of documenting even the tiniest bits of our lives. More likely than not, once or twice you’ve found yourself overwhelmed by the volume of pictures and videos that you have yet to upload. Maybe once or twice, you’ve given into posting how excited you were that day, how yummy the snack you had was, or perhaps even (eep!) how bored you currently are (I have yet to figure out this phenomenon). Perhaps it’s due to the deluge of mediums and tools we have today to do so. Could you imagine if they had WordPress, Flickr, Facebook or Twitter back then? Maybe we would have found Balagtas’ blog to be more interesting than Rizal’s. Maybe the revolt wouldn’t have taken place because Bonifacio and Aguinaldo were too busy having a tweet-war. Shakespeare could have one less masterpiece, because he was too busy maintaining his blog to actually publish another poem. Maybe — just maybe — we could ‘follow’ Jesus and find out what He would actually do. Think about it — how many unsung heroes would we have known if only they could have just left their traces just as we could today?
Maybe that’s just it — at a day and age when almost everything but peace is ubiquitous, perhaps we just have a fear of being obscure. Maybe it’s our silent shout that we want to be recognized and appreciated for who we are, instead of having others describe you through eulogies when it’s too late. Or maybe we just had nothing else better to do at that moment.
And here I am, mocking my own generation while blogging. Kidding aside, I hope that at the end of my days, I can look back and honestly say for each entry here, ‘I’m glad I blogged that.’
.: ishcapades 