Summer!

AnI think this has to be one of my busiest summers ever! I feel like I have something to do every weekend – from flights, to boating, to road trips! I guess the lack of international travel (for the first time in 4 years) is a sign that I should spend more time exploring the country instead. Anyway, it’s more fun in the Philippines, right?

I’ve been enjoying simple and not-so-simple pleasures lately. Last week, I splurged: I flew to Manila for the weekend and indulged in some R&R. I met up with friends, I attended a cocktail party at the official residence of the US Ambassador to the Philippines, and I went shopping. The shopping part did me in. It was not part of my plans, but I just had to shop. My next schedule to go there is still in September, there was no better time to check out stores that has my size available.

This weekend, I’m going island hopping around Samal’s Talikud Island for our company summer outing. I wasn’t supposed to spend, but I had to buy a new swim suit – they’ve been challenging me to come wearing a bikini, and I said “sure, why not?” but of course I won’t be playing their games so I am not. I’ll bring a pair though, just in case I get naughty.

Anyway, to end this post allow me to share a picture of an office mate’s pet.

Oh no. You’re not seeing things. That is really a TARANTULA. And yes, it’s alive. And it’s a PET. Somebody is actually crazy enough to have this hairy creepy tarantula as a pet!

Of course I wasn’t very comfortable about it, but I just had to dare myself to hold this monster in my hands. After a few self-motivating talks, I summoned the courage to pick this spider (this sounds too tame to describe the tarantula) and hold it for a few seconds. Let me tell you, it can grip. Like in an only-insects-can-give-you-this-kind-of-creepy-feeling way. The worst – but most exciting – thing about this is that I couldn’t hold it in my palms. I might get the urge to squeeze it to death, and I don’t want to be stung by its venom! I was already patting myself on the back after I let it stay in my hands for a while, but then it started going up my arms and that’s when I panicked! My office mate actually had the gall to laugh at me and taunt me by not picking it up immediately – I think I made such a racket at the office when I started shrieking all over the place and begging my office mate to get it off me!

I swear I’m never touching another eight-legged monster like this anymore!!!!

That said, I think I’m going to bed. I have a 6AM call time tomorrow – I need to be there early because I don’t want to miss this summer outing!

Next week, it’s Camiguin for me and my MBA friends! How exciting!

River (ROCK!) Tubing

I therefore conclude that we are not the luckiest group when it comes to water-related adventures.

The first time we tried bonding over an extreme sport, we went White Water Rafting during the summer. Result: low water level. The second time we attempted it, there was no water at all for River Tubing in Danao, Bohol! And just last weekend, we went River Tubing to very low water levels that felt like we were Rock Tubing instead! LOL.

As mentioned, Chic was in town for the weekend. And she arranged for us to go River Tubing for Sunday – we all said yes around midnight the day before! Talk about SHORT NOTICE!

 

The River Tubing guides brought us to the middle of nowhere. Just to give you an idea of how primitive the place we were brought to:

 

One way roads! OMG. The motorcyle with sooo many cargoes had to stop so we could pass through, and the guides had to help push so the motorcycle could cotinue moving up the mountain!

 

And oh, since Omay and Donna were not able to join us, I brought my siblings Karl and Kim to tag along.

When we got to the drop-off point, we still had to trek the mountain carrying our tubes (salbabida!) to get to the river for like 15 minutes!

After the trek, imagine how happy we were to finally see the river!

But OMG would you look at the river! WHERE IS THE WATER?! I saw PAGASA share this weather forecast on TV (for Kadayawan): Expect rain and thunder for the whole weekend. UHMM. YEAH. WHATEVER.

  

But WEEE. We still had a lot of fun (and cuts and bruises)!

Though the water level was very low – the rapids were still super awesome!

 

Looked fun, eh? The most exciting thing about River Tubing is that aside from your vest and helmet, there is nothing anchoring you to your tube! So anytime you encounter a rough rock, or a really strong rapid, I wouldn’t be surprised if you capsize – THAT’S THE BEST PART, THOUGH! I couldn’t even begin to count how many times I fell off the tube! However, I fell even before I got to the “best bend” among the rapids! HUHU

There was this really cool “pool” right before the last major rapid! If you don’t fall off the tube often, you won’t really get wet. But well, while I fell and fell – I still jumped and jumped and jumped! I loves it!

The low-down: RIVER (or ROCK! hehe) TUBING is super fun! It’s a bit painful and slow when the water level is low, but I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be wet and wild when the river is flooded! It’s a definite must try! It’s cheap, so you have to bear with roughing it! Go go go! 

okthxbye

Holy Weekend: Easter Sunday

I got bajillion photos from our recent trip during the Holy Week weekend which wasn’t actually too holy for us. For the first time ever, we never stepped into a church during the Holy Week. Before, no matter where we were, we always make it a point to visit a church especially during Good Friday. This year, we all got lazy. Uh-oh.

So anyway, back to blogging about our trip. And since this is the last part of this blog series, prepare for a VERY VERY VERY long post!

After having breakfast at the hotel, we headed straight back to Dahilayan Adventure Park in Bukidnon.

 

Holy Weekend: Black Saturday

           

We travelled north to Bukidnon early Saturday morning. We went to this spring resort recommended by the friends we were with at Camp Sabros. Giant slides, “cable car” ride, zip lines, and the whole works. My sibs only availed the pool though while I stayed in our table. We stayed long enough for lunch.

Second stop was the dairy store near CMU. We drowned ourselves with Milk Bars and bottles of chocolate milks! NOM NOM NOM.

Before going to Cagayan, we stopped over at Dahilayan Adventure Park to check it out. It was already after 5pm so we couldn’t avail of the facilities anymore. But the place was great. It was raining that day, so 4000ft above the ground, we were shivering through our teeth! Loves it!

An hour and a half later, we were checked in at our hotel in Cagayan, Harbor Lights, and were off to Lim Ket Kai Mall to explore. The place was big and empty. LOL. After texting my Tito for dinner suggestions, we finally settled at Bourbon St. in The Site. I’ll make a food review soon! The owner was kind enough to sit at our table, chat a little and take photos. After, as per Zhaun’s suggestion, we went to Candy’s for some desserts. The place looked great, but Lachi’s still win in the desserts department! TEEHEE.

All in all, it was a very long day! After settling in at the hotel, we all headed straight for bed as it was going to be another long day for us the next day!

 

okthxbye

Holy Weekend: Maundy Thursday

    

Maundy Thursday was spent in Digos. We had lunch at my grandmother’s, and then went to join some friends from our hometown up the mountains to Camp Sabros. 3 zips, one an 820m ride downhill, and a cable car ride later, we were still at it with our cam whoring.

We then spent a very “quiet” day at home for Good Friday.

 

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ELEAT, March 2010

   

Thanks to Chic, we really went all the way with our adventures last month! We weren’t even given enough time to think things over. Things happened in just a *snap*! And it was so awesome!

I can’t wait for our May adventures!

 

okthxbye

Absolut Vodka Party

Note: Visit the winery/liquor store at Palma Gil St. (near Autoshop compound) for super cheap (swear!!!) spirits/wines! They’ll be open by mid-April. Will post more details when I get them!

The Liquor Men surpassed my expectations tonight. I had a great time at the ABSOLUT VODKA PARTY, initiated and organized by a group from Mrs. Marte’s Entrepreneurship students’ Retailing class. The event was in partnership with the local distributor of imported spirits (eg Absolut, etc) in Davao, the company of Mr. Ryan Seng.

With my co-panelists. Though Sir Humphrey and Sir Darwin had to leave 15minutes into the program. The place was almost deserted then.

  

The guys hosted the party at Recuerdo, Legaspi Suites. In layman’s terms, the big white house in the middle of Legaspi compound in Pelayo St. Now I can brag that I’ve seen what’s inside the house that I was ever so curious about for some time now! It’s such a charming place!

Mingling before most of the guests started arriving.

So much food for us! The nachos will now and forever be present for Sir Aguelo who, unfortunately, wasn’t able to make it.

 

The oh so yum yum Absolut Vodkas. Too bad they didn’t have Peach.

 

During the program, they presented a short AVP about Absolut Vodka. YAY for the girlfriends of the group members who were obviously in full support!

Part of the program is an exhibition or something like that of the different cocktail drinks that can be made using Absolut Vodka by Jed, a friend of a friend of the group members, who studies at Davao Doc. AWESOME. Also, let me just add what an entertaining host Cheska Mempin is. She really knows her thing! Love her!

They gave me the first cocktail of the program, the Madras. OH NOM NOM NOM. You wouldn’t even know it has Vodka with the taste alone. Great drink. Loves it.

Too bad I didn’t have a picture of/with the group. That would’ve been perfect!

So anyway, great job guys! I’m so proud of you! I knew you could do it! I feel like a proud mama! ROFL. I’m just really happy because most of the group were my batchmates/classmates at some point in the past 8 years. They’ve set a standard for the other repeater groups (they’re the first group to do the 2nd batch of events) which I hope the next groups would surpass, or even just level with. So proud, really!

 

okthxbye

 

P.S.

A lot of their guests were familiar faces. Many are my batch mates from Ateneo High School, and others were people from college. I happened by a former seatmate in 2nd year high school at the party. I can’t believe Paolo still remembers me. ROFL. And though I know some by name or by face, it’s really awkward talking to them and stuff. HAHA.

P.S.S.

Instead of going to Aguipo Awards directly, I decided to accompany Mrs Marte to the event instead because the other panelists weren’t available. Glad I did. Got to the Elysees for Aguipo at around 10.30 already. They were packing up and a lot have already left. HAHA. But that’s for another story

Behind The Teacher’s Desk

Tonight, I was lucky enough to feel how it is “behind the teacher’s desk.”

Earlier today, my former Marketing professor, Mr. Anthony Aguelo, called me up to ask me to be a part of the panel for his Mktg310 classes for tonight. I was hesitant at first because really, what do I know about being a panelist? I just graduated last year and I still don’t have that much background in the field. But I eventually gave in so after work, I found myself sitting in one of my old armchairs in school – this time not a student, but as a guest of my former professors. I paneled along with one of my favorite teachers in college, Mrs. Lynith Marte. YES. I LOVE MRS. MARTE. NO SARCASM HERE. I REALLY LEARNED A LOT FROM HER. MAGIS! (I had a chat with her tonight and I’d like to say more but that’s for another post really)

What was weird about it was that I was schoolmates in high school with one of the presenters. She’s a really close friend of my PBF, and though we don’t really talk, we do know each other by affinity. And for the second group I paneled for tonight, one of the presenters was a “friend” of mine from waaaay back as we were playmates when we were kids, we were carpool-mates, and most of all, his house is just a house away from mine. Also, one of the students from the second class who came to observe the first group was a childhood friend of mine from the province – our dads works in the same company, and our families often see each other. HOW CRAZY IS THAT?!

While I was only supposed to panel for Sir Anton, I found myself going with him and a couple other teachers to the “final presentation” of 2 groups from Mrs. Marte’s class. For their retailing final grade, the have to do an actual promotional event for their chosen product/service. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! I was bummed coz we didn’t have it back then – Mrs. Marte made us do a paper instead. That was the end of her comprehensive exams, and the beginning of her innovative final presentations. So going back, the first two groups held their “exams” at a bar in Jacinto Ext. YAY FOR FREE DINNER! The food was really great, and desserts from Anniepie!

I hope these students realize how  lucky they are to have experienced this kind of practical learning. I’m sure I’d have loved it during my time.

As a panelist, I’ve learned a lot. I used to think that it was only us students who learn from the comments and guidance of our mentors, but it’s really a two-way learning. From this experience, I’ve come to appreciate the role of my teachers more, and the roles of a student. My experiences in college are still fresh, and while doing the deliberation and all the interactions I had with the students and teachers alike, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s really not easy for teachers to fail the students – but if they don’t deserving a passing mark, then what choice is there left for the teachers. Honestly, I love how objective and technical Mrs. Marte approaches things. On the other hand, I also love how Sir Anton mothers (for the lack of a better word) his students and encourage then. Today, I sat beside two different sides of a coin and it’s a very informative place to be.

So yeah, cheers to MAGIS, and cheers to AWESOME TEACHERS! I met two other professors tonight, Ma’am Rhea (who I heard is a terror prof) and Ma’am Michelle (who, I learned only on our way home, is a teacher of my brother Karl.) And even more awesome, they invited me for another “defense” this weekend. CHEERS!

 

okthxbye

 

P.S.

I’ve also learned how much we’ve done right (and wrong) during our time as students. We as in me and my groupmates of course. Having been trained under the terrorizing hands of Mrs. Marte, and the “fly-little-bird-fly” technique of Mr. Aguelo, really takes its toll. There is really no excuse to mediocrity. And yeah, BEING CHARMING is a great weapon. *bow*

Down to the Sea We Go

What better way to spend the weekend than sliding down into the sea with your very best friends?

Above is a collage of the highlight of Eleat’s Sunday Fun at Maxima. Click on the photo to maximize it. You can check out the full photo album in my Multiply, but if you insist, below are selected photos from our adventure.

Sunday’s Aqua Fun

It’s been a long time since my family and I went out of town for some outdoor adventure!

My dad was home for the weekend and he decided we should go to Maxima for some water fun all day! FINALLY!

Of course the major attraction was the giant slide or The Abyss! The number one rule at the resort: “NO LIFE VEST, NO SLIDE, NO SWIMMING” as the water is really deep!

According to my dad, every slide is different! You fall in different positions and get hurt in different parts of your body depending on the impact – butt, things, head, etc.