fish out of water, trying to climb mountains...
fish out of water, trying to climb mountains...okay. so i'm in cantabaco right now, somewhere in the mountains of cebu (thanks to modern technology, i can surf the web and even blog via my mobile phone right here in the middle of nowhere!) desperately trying to be a... "climber." yep, so far, i don't think that i've been doing a very good job at it. "how come?" you might ask? well, to be painfully honest, if you were to ask me for my job description these past few days it would probably go a little something like this: water boy, bus boy, carry boy, ice boy, battery boy, runner boy, food boy... and so many other types of "boys" that i can't even try to name all of them (except for that kind of boy. refer to the fifth word after this sentence for clarity). gee.. i can't even call myself a belay slave since i can't even belay for crap! tsk, tsk, tsk...but don't you dare think that i've just been some sort of pathetic city boy lost in the wilderness (okay, fine, this ain't the sahara but it sure does come real close!). i've climbed a few routes as well... it doesn't matter that i haven't gotten to finish any of the routes (so far) in this trip (i did get to finish one in dingle though!). the point is that i, at least, tried to climb, right?ho hum...
anyway, you can't even begin to imagine how much of a fool i've made of myself during the duration of this trip. and the thing is, it ain't even finished yet! thinking about the other ways that i can and probably will make myself look even more stupid and totally undone than i already have done in the remainder of our stay here just makes me wanna cover my head with a paper bag, run for cover, hide and hurl! haha... well, at least i can say that i was able to give these uber cool and uber tough outdoorsmen, local and foreign alike, a little bit of amusement the past few days. never mind that it can be and actually is pretty degrading on my end of the deal. i made them laugh... them laughing... at me... not with... at... me... at my expense... more times than i can remember. that should be more than enough reward-slash-punishment, i guess. err... right?oh! and have i mentioned that all that they've been telling me and all that i've been hearing since my arrival here in cebu has been nothing else but "you're not one of us!" i mean, gimme a break! try telling that to a manila boy busting his ass to gain some semblance of respect in the outdoors (aka me)! can you be any more brutal? i've gotten totally filthy already the past few days that i've practically already become swamp thing come alive! i mean, what else do i have to do (other than to actually finish a freaking route) to gain some sort of validation as a climber? tell me... what!?!
sigh...
but it's okay. don't get me wrong. i'm fine. actually more than fine. i'm having a grand time. i'm totally enjoying spending these past few crazy days and nights with true blue climbers, my pathetic yet entertaining attempt at being "one of them" and all the other things that come with it! i'm just being overly dramatic right now. gimme another five minutes or so and i'll be fine... just a little bit sensitive... but fine nonetheless.
i just wonder and look forward to the time when i won't be a "wannabe" anymore and actually be considered an authentic... (drum roll please)... "climber!" ha! imagine! that'll be the day! oh well. till that day comes, i guess all i can do is to just try even harder... maybe even finish a route or two... or three...
oh wait... i hear something. i gotta go right now. they're calling me again. they probably need something bought from the store. i'll just check back again later. and i'll be posting the pics on my multiply again soon as well. until then... here's a pic of a bunch of my newly found slave-drivers...
oh and how could i forget... aldwin, miel, travis, garth, doc, mikko, pot, angel, trick, carlos and macoy... thanks a whole lot. let's do this again sometime soon. hopefully by then, i'll be able to keep up!
back in town...
back in town...hello to all my faithful readers... all four of you, that is. heehee. just wanted to tell ya'll that i'm back from my trip and am glad to be home where i can be and am near all of you who mean so much to me.*tear*now, enough of the cheese. i just got back from my trip yesterday and the very first thing i did upon arriving was... sleep! over the past six days, it shocked me to discover that i had an accumulated slumber time total of a mere... seven hours... accumulated from my sleeping periods in the hotel, flights, bus, taxi and boat rides. seven hours. gee... no wonder i was so exhausted.so from the time i arrived home, which was at about 9 am, to about 7 pm, i did nothing but hibernate, gaining for myself, that single day, a grand total slumber time of ten hours. imagine, i did more sleeping yesterday alone than in the past six days combined. sweet...after waking up refreshed but nevertheless still feeling totally sore from all the hard work i had been doing the previous days, i freshened up and met up with miel at mcdonald's katipunan. we chatted for a while and from there, went home to have a star wars battle front fest as well as eat dinner, the lovely beef in oyster sauce that ate rits had prepared for us and the rest of the house.then came the best part...miel had the most awesome idea... magpamasahe! haha! like me, he had been working hard (but not to the same degree as i have) and was feeling sore as well. so off we went to tranquil mood, just outside xavierville, and had ourselves a long sought-for full body massage. sweet.
although i almost passed out out of pain when the masseuse began massaging my legs, feet and lower back, it nevertheless felt so good. like i always say, there's a fine line between pleasure and pain... so much so that pain can oftentimes be pleasurable and vice versa. no i'm not a masochist, it's just the truth. ask kiddo. he agrees with me, right joe? anyway, the massage was awesome. a totally perfect way to end the day.oh, i almost forgot. off on a slightly different tangent, i just wanna let you guys know that i have lubong for you! it ain't much really, but it comes from the deepest recesses of my heart. hope you guys like it. i'll just give them out whenever i see you guys.till then... i'm out.
walk on: a eulogy...
walk on: a eulogy...my feet are officially dead. *and as to be expected, the post mortem autopsy (redundant, i know... but then again, "post mortem autopsy" sounds cool... so it's okay) has revealed that indeed, the cause of death can be attributed to my feet being "over-walked" as a result of incessant shopping (or incessantly following the golden girls as they shop), sight-seeing, frolicking around popular (and unpopular... i make my own you see) tourist attractions and gallivanting all through the night in strange and foreign locales.the bright side of things here is that, at least, my feet were able to reach, touch and roam on mainland china ground before their impending expiration and cessation. ooh... and as a fringe benefit of sorts, my feet were also able to walk upon the famed spit (excess saliva and mucous) that some (or most) of the local chinese residents have hawked, regurgitated and let fly onto terra firma. gross, i know, albeit it being fascinating. but don't take these remarks against me. i'm simply writing the truth... something i witnessed countless times today.wait... i'm digressing. back to my feet. as i was saying, my feet were able to roam on chinese soil today... for the first time. and needless to say, it was one for the books (my books at least). although they failed to trail through the great wall, wander through the streets of ultra-modern shanghai or to even find its way to the ancestral homes of zhang ziyi and yao ming (some of the things they hoped on doing upon reaching the mainland), the experience was still sensational.they got to tread on and along the chinese coastal city's (area and city name to be added later. author is currently forgetting the names. what a blockhead...) various venues, its historical landmarks, bus and subway stations, shopping malls and streets (both above and under ground), restaurants, parks, restrooms, hotels, skyscrapers, playgrounds, ports, docks etc... oh... and as well as its various official immigration halls and offices. definitely a blast.too bad they had to succumb so soon. there were still so many things that they wanted to do. so many heights to reach, so many depths to fathom, so many other malls to invade... you know? the things that really count. but alas, it was not meant to be. at least not yet. we all believe in life everlasting right? well, so do they. but for now, this is where their story ends. but not before their ever-loving owner gave them their farewell endowment. as a simple fruit and reward for their unwavering allegiance and loyalty to him, the owner robed them with brand new leather boots. a simple gesture, yes, but nevertheless very much greeted with much adulation.sigh...they were good feet. wonderful feet, in fact. gentle, faithful, persevering, obedient... yet strong, sure, steady and fast... willing to fight on... to walk on... till the end. surely... they will be missed.but do not fret, my friends. all is not lost. someday... someday for sure. when the right hour comes (after lots of rest and most importantly, a day or two at the foot spa)... they will be back again. better than ever. back again to walk... back to walk on... across the mountains, across the miles, across the malls... with a vengeance.until that day comes... we will definitely be waiting patiently... with great anticipation... with joyful hope.*history in the making. probably the longest sentence i've written on this blog's history... err... not!
my feet are killing me...
my feet are killing me...
hey peeps. i'm in hong kong right now and this is my second internationally made blog! hurrah!
anyway, i just came from stanley and as my blog title clearly says, my feet are killing me. i'm not kidding. it's not even funny. it's just that i've been walking so much!
last night, or rather, this morning, i got back to the hotel at about 5:00 am... after roaming the streets of macau the entire time... on foot! after a totally refreshing bubble bath and barely two hours of sleep, i was again rudely awakened by mother. apparently, we had to catch a boat bound for hong kong. unsurprisingly enough, as soon as we stepped on dry land, totally fresh off the boat and all that, the golden girls made a mad dash for all the shopping sites they could reach. granville, nathan, time square, stanley, yada, yada, yada... who was i to argue with them? it just ain't a good idea to stand in between women and their innate urge to shop. anyway, apart from our short bus and taxi rides, we've simply been walking all day... killer!
don't get me wrong, i've been loving all the sleuth-like exploring i've been doing so far, as well as all the shopping we've done today... as well as all the benefits that come with it. i just wish i had a segway or something to take away some of the agony my legs are feeling right now. oh well, at least i get to get some cool, new, nifty stuff.
anyway, i gotta jet for now... the golden girls are beckoning. more shopping i reckon. and tomorrow, we're going to the mainland. yipee... more walking though... ugh. nah... who am i to complain!?! i'm having the time of my life!
mabuhay ang macau...
mabuhay ang macau...
hey guys! hola from macau! this is actually the first time i'm blogging from another country and i'm all giddy about it! hahaha... talk about cheap thrills! but you gotta give me some slack... mababaw talaga kaligayahan ko!
anyway, macau is a whole lot colder than i expected. in fact, despite being indoors in a pinoy-filled web cafe called "chinoy," and despite it having indoor heating, i'm still shivering from the cold! but it's all good. needless to say, i'm having a great time.
i'm actually here with my mom and my two aunts (i'm gonna be their slave for the next five days) but as for the moment, since the golden girls are all tired and probably snoring away in their comfy hotel beds, i'm exploring the city solo... and having an awesome time at it! gee... i feel like macgyver or something! heehee...
it's such a great experience and feeling to be out exploring a strange city, not knowing anyone and hence, not having anyone to tour you around and tell you where to go and all that. it gives me a rather strange thrill.
okay, okay, fine... it's not like i'm in casablanca, india, brazil or mexico. you know, those mysterious places where you can just be mugged at gunpoint at any street corner or killed without any logical reason whatsoever. heck, it's not even the philippines where you can get kidnapped (in certain places) or spat at anytime, anywhere. it's just macau... practically one of the safest places on the planet. but still.
the point is, i'm in a place i know nothing about, for the first time, alone, with nothing but pennies in my pocket and trying to make it around the city on my own. you gotta give me at least some credit here!
but seriously, it's a new feeling for me. and it's an experience i'm liking very much. for the longest time, i've been wanting to go out and do something like this... and now i'm actually doing it. a dream come true, you could say.
anyway, i can't stay that much longer. gotta check more of the city out. so to all my friends out there in the land of the dried mangoes, jeepnies and gloria macapagal-arroyo, i greet ya'll with the warmest "mabuhay!" i can give in this freezing place... and i expect you to holler back!
so for now... it's ciao!
ps - pics are sure to follow. keep posted.
