mightymaroon

Tara, Let’s Explore Isabela!

2011-11-01T14:26:00.006+08:00

I’ve been traveling to places and yet have not explored much of my home province, Isabela. This time, let me take you to some parts of the second largest province in the country dubbed as the Queen Province of the North. It’s been a while since I’ve been to my hometown as I am currently working in the metropolis. Let me serve you a prescribed dosage of trivia about Isabela. It was named after Queen Isabela II of Spain and was established on May 1, 1856 through a Royal Decree. Isabela comprise an aggregate land area of 10,665 square kilometers, representing almost 40 percent of the regional territory. It is the largest province in the region and the second largest province in the Philippines in terms of land area. The province is bounded on the north by the province of Cagayan, on the south by Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino and Aurora, on the west by the Cordillera Administrative Region and on the east by the Pacific Ocean. So that’s how vast Isabela is. I wonder how long will it take to fully explore what Isabela has to offer!

How to Get There?

Just a little travel guide when taking your way from Metro Manila towards Isabela. You’ll have to take of course the North Luzon Expressway if you are traveling by land. If you have your own car, well and good but be sure to have a sound engine and a great driver. Otherwise, you may take the public transport. Daily trips to Cagayan Valley are available at the three famous transport companies namely, GV Florida Bus, Victory Liner (both in Kamias, QC) or Baliwag Transit (along EDSA). I often ride in Florida since I find it very comfortable. The busses have wide seats, great air-conditioning and a restroom so you won’t need stopovers to pee. You may choose for a Regular AirCon Type, DeLuxe or Super DeLuxe with reasonable price ranging from 500 to 700 pesos. On the other hand, I used to ride in Victory Liner and Baliwag Transit for I can avail of discounts wayback when I was a student. But I find it more comfortable in Florida now. If you are on a daytrip you might enjoy the scenery as you pass by the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Nueva Vizcaya before finally setting foot to the boundaries of Isabela. It will surely be a long eight-hour trip. I usually find it better for a night-trip so I won’t take much of the daytime traveling and I can sleep a lot. But of course, you may opt to have an hour flight from NAIA to Cauayan Domestic Airport via Cebu Pacific which would cost you much. That would surely be no problem for travel enthusiasts. At least it will just take you an hour compared to an eight-hour trip by land.

As you approach the boundaries of Isabela’s 4th Engineering District, starting up with the municipality of Cordon, look up and you’ll see a majestic welcome note confirming you’ve just arrived! I borrowed the picture and promised to put proper citation. It belongs to a good friend and fellow Isabelino, Linette. Thanks for the permission to use the pic. ?

What to Expect?
Recently, Isabela has been under severe destruction due to typhoons. Several communication lines are down; flooding happened in some areas, no electricity for a few days but Isabelinos are resilient just like any other Filipino. In short, do not expect much! Haha I wonder how to meet expectations but whatever these expectations are, I hope my home province will give you more than what you deserve. After having a long trip from Manila, have some time to relax and eat good food. Famous food favorite by those who already went is the Felicitas’ Pancit Cabagan which you will surely love. But there also exist a great café/restaurant in my hometown, Echague which will delight your appetite. It is called the Ramos Café aka Café by the Park. This is a semi-fine dining restaurant that offers an array of food favorites from pasta to pizza and the likes where prices are reasonable. I particularly like the Tacos here as well as the pizza of course. Hehe It’s good I found a blog about this café in our place which is quite thrilling for the writer really appreciate it.

Tara! Explore na!
Having said to present some interesting places let’s head start the tour to the different attractions Isabela has to offer. I have been to some and will soon be visiting the remaining ones. But make sure be also ready for a bit of walking. This is how to really commune with nature. So buckle up, tara na!

Magat High Rise Dam and Hydro-electric Power Plant (Ramon). It was constructed in 1970 which costs P6.5B to include the dam itself, powerhouse, office buildings and other related facilities. This infrastructure project used to be the biggest dam in the whole of Asia. Project benefits include year-round irrigation supply of some 102,000 hectares of agricultural land and an ultimate capacity of 540 megawatts of hydroelectric power sufficient to supply the whole of Northern Luzon Grid. Its reservoir area of 4,460 hectares has a great potential for water-based recreation like fishing, swimming, boating and water skiing, among others. Recommended for educational tours and is accessible by jeepney from Santiago City. I’ve been here for several times and I am always awed by this huge dam. Actually I am thinking, how does it feel to slide on its spillways? hehe That would surely be fun isn’t it?

World’s Biggest Butaka (Ilagan). At the heart of Isabela’s capital town, Ilagan sits the famous Butaka (lounge chair) which held a record of being the largest in the world for quite some time. This gigantic Butaka was completed in 29 days by 25 workers. It measures 11’4” high, 8” long and 9’7” wide weighing 2,368 kilograms. It was made of 1,762 board feet of seasoned Narra, our national tree and 1,740 foot-1 inch diameter of rattan. The total cost of production amounted to Php 175,000.00. I had a close look at the chair and it was really big!hehe However, I wasn’t able to climb it. The famous butaka was housed at the center of the town proper along Maharlika Highway where everyone can have a glimpse of this magnificent Isabela’s pride.

Santa Victoria Caves (Ilagan). Sta. Victoria Caves and Environmental School at Fuyo National Park features naturally formed lattices and sparkling rock formations. Visitors are given lectures and are allowed to plant their own seedlings. It now has a zoo while within the area is the Pinzal Falls conducive for excursions and swimming. I was able to visit this cave with my UP Isabela Society brods and sis after our Outreach Program in Ilagan. Since we have nothing else to do, we had a side trip. I was lucky enough to have seen the rock formations. It is really worth being an active member of an organization. You are able to see places you have never been! The park here is just simple during our visit. I would love to revisit the place and I heard a lot of improvements have been made.
San Pablo Church (San Pablo). Built in 1624, it is said to be the oldest in the province. Its lofty bell tower of six layers including the circular apex made of adobe is the tallest in the Cagayan Valley. San Pablo, the oldest town of Isabela, was founded by Padre de Sto. Tomas, 210 years before Isabela was made a province. This is my next destination as I haven’t seen this for long. I’ve been in the town of San Pablo but didn’t have a lot of time to spend especially I was there for a Christmas Party which happened to be celebrated at night as usual.

Isabela has a lot more to offer on the religious aspect. The different churches built centuries ago and lately are quite enormous and historic as well. From old bricks to the new architectural materials, Isabela have that. And for the purpose of concentrating more on that aspect, I’ll be presenting a separate blog of the religious institutions in the province later on.

The Natural Wonders!
Isabela is also endowed with powdery fine white beaches and warm beds of crystalline waters, which span the shoreline of the coastal municipalities of Palanan, Divilican, Maconacon and Dinapigue which are surely a hit to those who are hydrophilic. Its coastal area is a small strip of flat to rolling land with s 208-kilometer coastline and is home to beautiful caves, coves, bays, and rich marine life. And since the province is part of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range, biodiversity is definitely high. Endemic flora and fauna and several unnamed are sure to be found. That’s why extensive researches are done to explore what the province has in store in terms of natural resources.

On the stretch of its shoreline can be found the powdery white beaches such as the Bicobian and Dimasalanasan Beaches in Divilacan, Dicotcotan Beach in Palanan, Flores Beach in Maconacon to name a few. The Crytal and Blue Lagoons of Palanan are also mesmerizing. Isabela also boasts of towering falls such as the Dinapigue and Disadsad Falls. Another great attraction is the Honeymoon Island in Divilacan which serves its purpose by its name? hehe Just kidding!
Bonsai Forest (Dinapigue). Sumanget, Dinapigue houses about 20,000 hectares of bonsai forest. The area is accessible by land transport from Baler in Aurora Province and by air from Cauayan Airport.

Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (Palanan) is the largest protected area in the country and is a low altitude rainforest at 800 feet asl. The area is about 359,477 hectares and is rated No. 1 in the world’s biodiversity. Very ideal for marine and outdoor adventure. Tours take for five days over rainforests, mountains, rivers/streams with stops at indigenous people’s communities; appreciate at close range a wide variety of flora and fauna and enjoy a relaxing dip into rivers and streams or the Pacific Ocean. From Manila, Isabela is about 10 hours by commercial airconditioned buses. Palanan Wilderness Guided Tours can be arranged through DOT Region 02.
Other attractions which bring wonder and a fun-filled tour to every first timer are must see. These venues provide great relaxation and time travel to history.
Camp Samal Hotel, Resort, Training Center & Leisure Park (Tumauini). The municipality of Tumauini operates Camp Samal which offers accommodation facilities, lagoon boating area, swimming pools and slides, grill house and restaurant and other facilities for vacationing families and big groups. This is a great location for reunions especially if relatives have to travel from far places.

Aguinaldo Shrine (Palanan). A historic place where the First President of the Philippine Republic, General Emilio Aguinaldo surrendered to the American forces, thus ending the Philippine Revolution in March 1901. Palanan is accessible by aircraft, pump boat and trail hiking thru Sta. Ana, Cagayan, San Mariano/Cauayan/Aurora and Ilagan, Isabela respectively. Nelbusco buses in Santiago City have trips to Palanan via Dilasag, Aurora.

Isabela Museum and Library (Ilagan). Inaugurated last May 11, 1999 and is housed at the old capitol building in Ilagan. It is the repository and custodian of the rich historical and cultural heritage of Isabelinos. It features a gallery exhibit-collection of artifacts, fossils, heirloom pieces, visual arts, dioramas and other historical documents. It is open on weekdays.

There are a lot more to explore in my home province. I will be doing a lot of research to bring you the best we have in Isabela. Specific locations for specific getaways! That would be all for now. I will be back with more! ?

Team Airwaves 101.1: Simply the Best!

2011-04-09T21:04:00.001+08:00

Simply amazing! That's the first thing that came to my mind upon deciding to write this blog. This is about a newfound family no other than Air Waves FM-Mellow Touch family.

But how did I get to know Air Waves FM? Astigryan, who is my batchmate since college informed me of this mellow touch station via the internet. He said it was nice that makes work fun and easy. Since I'm getting used to and almost memorize all the songs in my playlist, I immediately looked for the website for a change since it was my routine from day one to tune in to my mp3 player from sunrise to sunset while in the office. And poof! It was really cool! The Mellow Touch music the station plays is a great relaxation mode while busy doing tasks on the desk.

Erwebs, as everyone dubs is a great avenue for kamustahan, asaran, and all for Filipinos here and abroad. It was designed primarily to connect each and every Filipino worldwide to come together virtually. This creates the feeling of being "at home" due to the atmosphere in the chat-box. It seems like we are one and had known each other for a long time. Airwaves FM 101.9 has brought changes in our social life. We got to meet new people and share our experiences, likes and dislikes and everything under the sun through the chat box! Yes, we have the chatbox to interact with one another. What makes it best is that the DJ's are just like any listener. They let the listeners feel that they are not far different at all. The bonding brought by the online radio station really created a strong family tie in each and every listener and DJ.

The AWFM Addicts with Bossing JFrank and DJEnrico

We had a blast last 18 December 2010, at Agogo Cafe in Ortigas. It was a fun-filled and jam-packed event as the "addict" airwaves avid fans/members/listeners/chatters came together for the GRAND EYEBALL and CHRISTMAS PARTY hosted by the voices behind AWFM---that is the "cool" DJ's headed by Bossing JFrank. It was our first time to meet each other and yet it seemed like we have known each other long ago. Except of course that we already have friends whom we know before the airwaves thing.

Just after this first meet-up, series of jamming and gimmicks had been made by most of the AWFM addicts here in the Philippines and abroad. Weekend parties, birthday celebrations and even weddings and christening! Name it, the erwebs are always there in flock! That's the confidence and trust built just by merely listening to the radio!

So what's with AWFM aside from the cool DJ's and the chat-box? Of course the great station programs which make the listening worthwhile and addictive as well. By the way, the station plays our favorite music 24/7! So how does this happen? Starting from sunrise to another sunrise, you will hear the songs played as long as you have an internet connection at home since it is an online radio station. Broadcast stations are either in Lucena City Philippines or sometimes at our Bossing DJ Frank's residence in Denmark! And I quote the program descriptions as it appears in the website as follows:

Start of with Morning Drive with DJ Gavs, Majah Blanca and Johnny G plays from 9 am to 12 pm Mondays to Fridays. The program that provides a boost to start your day at home, at work or wherever you are and whatever it is that you're going do for the day. Join Gavs Rivera, Majah Blanca and Johnny Gizmo, in this three hour morning show. Playing mostly your favorite cool medium beat, groovy, funky, and upbeat music to inspire you accomplish the day's tough task and helping you to have a a perfect ambience of your busy environment.

Relax with RX Request Express with DJ Sherry Warma from 12 pm to 3pm Mondays to Fridays. A program full of interaction. Greet your friends, relatives and love ones on air! Send your messages/greetings and song requestto our SKYPE ID, YM and thru our Waveline! This is the program that plays nothing but requested songs. Also, the perfect time to release the melody which is tuck in your head. Join Sherry Warma on this three hour program. Your wish is our command!

Next stop is the Traffic Jamz brought to you by DJ Enrico Sesbreño and DJ Merie Anda from 3pm to 6pm from Mondays to Fridays too. This program gives you a wide range of music selection from today's "Top 40" down to all time favorites "Oldies but Goodies" tracks. Also provides you with an active ambience during this slow, stressful and tiring time of day due to heavy traffic caused by the rush hour. Plays party music during its 3rd and final time slot; 5:00 - to 6:00 pm. Your perfect companion while on the road! Go mobile, tune in using your mobile gadgets, like iphone, ipad, nokia, motorolla and let Traffic Jamz take care of the stressful journey on your way home.

As the twilight breaks in, soothe yourselves with the Moonlight Freeway with DJ Natalie Coco from 6pm to 9pm from Mondays to Fridays. A program intended for your relaxing moment after all the hard work of the day. Perfect for chilling out and having a romantic evening with someone you love. The best company while reading a book, having a cup of coffee, tea or perhaps a glass of red or white whine. An elegant evening with Natalie Coco. Simply a highway to the moonlight as if you are in Paris, the city of love and romantic people and as the day fades into the night, same time as your weakened body prepares to regain some strength, so is the perfect time for us to impart and help you calm to call it a day by playing by providing you your favorite love songs.

To end the week right, listen to DJ Frank with TGIF! Thank God It's Friday from 10 pm to 12 midnight. Playing familiar party music from the 3 deacades, 70s, 80s and 90s! Intended Bring you back the good old days of disco, dance, ballroom and funky music. Recall the steps, the moves and fun! It's party time on AWFM.Your friday evening would never be boring having TGIF as your company. Turn up the volume and let's get it goin. It's the perfect mix for your party mode. No slow music during this three hour program.

Every Saturday, get on board! Take the air cruise to a destination where only you can tell. Enjoy this three hour flight with J. Frank as your pilot of the airwaves. Together, we will be cruising thru our dreams. All you have to do is lean back, relax and enjoy the smooth ride with the smooth operator.This is "The Dream Escape", playing oldies but goodies love songs, smooth jazz tracks and easy listening tunes.

Sunday Weekend Romance Specials is a talk program intended for lovers who can't seem to find the answers to the questions they've been seriously thinking about for some time in their life. Allow us to discover and unfold the answers through the combined efforts of our DJ and our online listeners. Who knows? Perhaps, this is jus what you've been waiting for. Send your points of view, questions and comments to J. Frank's YM: jfrankawfm@yahoo.com or thru SKYPE: air.waves.fm so we may discuss it with our online listeners. Rest assured that your identity will be kept in absolute privacy and confidentiality if needed.

And when all DJ's are having their off, we can still enjoy the music through the Love Bus Express! A commercial-free, nonstop long hour trip of music; it’s a highway of request thru our Direct Song Request (DSR) without limit. Giving you all the best from our playlist and offers you an enjoyable and absolute ride of music to the most relaxing world of your own. Song request is enabled thru DSR.

And here is the great opportunity for DJ wanna bes out there! The station is looking for Volunteer and Co-DJs who will host some of the programs which are yet to be filled up! For the early risers, the "Early Touch Down" from 6am to 9am daily may be a great opportunity to start your day. You may also want to host the Midnight Flight program from 9pm to 12mn from Monday to Thursday if you are a sort of nocturnal person! The Weekend Park every Saturdays and Sundays from 12am to 3am also need enthusiastic DJ's and is well suited for some insomniacs over there! And finally, a Christian Contemporary Sunday program from 6am to 12noon needs you to pilot the program! All you have to do is visit the website for the qualification/requirements!

So that's how I found my second family. It's good we are now in the information age that exchange of views as well as communicating is not a problem anymore. With AWFM by the side I was able to relax while at work and have social interactions when it's free.

Geographic Information System

2011-04-08T09:17:00.000+08:00

I am venturing into the field of spatial information. Spatial meaning it has attributes that can be located in a map. I remember my teacher in Introduction to GIS say: "If it's not in the map, it does not exist!" That is the very essence of spatial information. It has geographic coordinates.

I am merely starting to earn my interest in my chosen career path when i encountered this term; GIS. I was in the BS Forestry curriculum for my undergraduate degree. I am just a little wanderer that time. Just going with the flow. Study botany, zoology, scientific names, family names, identify tree species, wearing a hard hat with matching "bayong" where to put the collected specimens to study. Leaf phyllotaxy, morphology, anatomy and everything that I need to know in order to properly name a tree, a vine, or any living vascular and non-vascular plant. I was just enjoying lots of field trips. What a ton of money for on the average, there are 3 field trips in a semester which are two to three days long. But I didn't mind joining the trips for I want to enjoy life and travel as much as I could. Travel to the north and south and back and forth.

It was in my junior year when I am about to specialize that I chose to major in Forest and Environmental Resources Management. Maybe through bandwagon, I opted to choose FERM. This one has the most number of major students and everyone after graduating lands a job! This has been my motivation for I wanted to start working right after graduation. And when you are a FERM major, you feel like you are at par! Not only that we are in the second floor of the building but because most of the employers are looking for someone good in GIS. It is because GIS is already an essential part of every study either in social, environment, business and the likes. If you have a knowledge or even a simple background in GIS, you are at an advantage position among others. In this globally changing world, spatial information is at its peak and sophistication.

Today, I am working as a GIS Technician in a foreign-supported project on Hazards Mapping. This is my first [and maybe the last] job since I graduated in 2009. I do some analysis of the data gathered from fieldwork with the aid of a GIS software. Outputs produced are digital and printed maps that will show the susceptibility of an area to flooding/flashflooding. I stay in the office and do all the tasks of a research person. I gain a lot of knowledge via the internet. I am also thrown at different seminars and trainings so as to improve myself into my craft. Personally, I do readings and attend web seminars which are quite exciting. I got to listen to experts in the field of geographic information systems. I try their free softwares and experiment on myself. Later on, I apply those that I learn in my work to facilitate the analysis. It is a great task. Not that toxic for i have some time to relax and visit social networking sites. I can even have a nap and I do not worry of deadlines for I do the work fast. It has been two years since I started to work here at the state weather bureau and I feel like I have not been that stressed.

On the other hand, GIS has been my hobby. I was a frustrated computer scientist. I really wanted to study this particular course but I was not able to do so. This has also been one of my reasons in venturing into the world of GIS per se. I love discovering things spatially. It excites me when there is a new software to be used and I eagerly study those. By engaging in GIS, I feel like a computer scientist already!

My Baguio-Sagada-Banaue Roadtrip!

2011-04-07T17:30:00.001+08:00

It's been a while since I made my last blog. Now, I am up to making more of my past adventures and experiences. This time let me share you my experience in Sagada alongside with Baguio and Banaue last February with my friends.

At the Baguio City Heritage Hill and Prayer Mountain

I am very excited for it is my first time to visit Sagada! I went on different field trips wayback in college but I missed going to this place! Finally I had the chance and it was great! We rented a van in our whole three-day adventure. Since I am coming from Quezon City and they will be from our hometown, Echague Isabela, we decided that our rendezvous is at Baguio City where one of our batchmates is staying. I boarded the Victory Liner Bus bound to Baguio. It was a long trip and I spent 80% of the time sleeping. It was a short stay in Baguio for we really want to spend most of the time in Sagada. We had a little stroll to the famous Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto and had a walk to the Baguio City Heritage Hill and Prayer Mountain.

The best Loyung's Rice

After some sight seeing in Baguio, we made our way straight to Sagada. It was an awesome and tiring 8 hour travel from Bagiuo to Sagada. It was 4am when we departed from Baguio and since we haven't had breakfast yet, we need to stop at one of the few restaurants on the way. It was already 9am when we finally found a restaurant in Atoc, Benguet. This was the first we had spotted and since we are all hungry, we had no other choice but to fill our rumbling stomach. But this resto offered us more than what we are craving for. The group's favorite since lauriat came to life! It's more than just a simple and delectable dish boasted with fine ingredients. A quarter chicken, porkchop, chopseuy and a cup of huge rice topped with egg represents Loyung's rice! The best lauriat in town which will only cost you 85 pesos. This is a great discovery of the group which made us really full! An energizer for the long day to power us in our adventures later.

The Philippine Pali: 7200 masl

On the way to Sagada, as we pass through the province of Benguet was the highest point in the Philippines. It's called the "Philippine Pali" with an elevation of 7200 meters above sea level along the Philippine Highway System. We had a quick stopover here to have some picture taking. Just to document our way. It's getting cooler and cooler as we move towards Sagada. What would we expect? Elevation is getting higher in here! And there are times where fog is so thick that it is nearly zero visibility. The natural air is cooler than the aircon of the car so we just let our windows open to feel the cool air but sometimes we can't just stand the cold so we shut the windows close..haha But to show that we are not affected much by the cool weather, we had a topless shot along the way! Just to stir people in vehicles passing the highway. To had their attention in us and we did it! They blow their horns and cheered for us!

Who says it's cold in here?

The road to Sagada is still under construction. You will feel the typical countryside living but will feel thrilled by the breath-taking sceneries! We just don't make it obvious but we are sometimes wary of the deep ravines just at the edge of the road! Just one single maneuver mistake and there you are! More than a thousand meters down under! It was scary but we just ignored it and enjoyed the cool breeze and the verdant sceneries. All we see are mountains and terraces and some houses. There are parts of the road which as concrete and other parts are just ordinary ones that creates a lot of dust!

Welcome to Sagada!

Upon arriving to Sagada, a lot of tourists and local people flocked the municipal hall for registration. Stalls are also seen with all the different food, accessories, souvenirs and a lot more to offer. There are also emergency preparedness team around just in case there are circumstances of untoward incidents. Of course the community police is present for security and peace and order to remain. i myself is very eager to start the adventure in the area. But being the (self-declared) leader of the group, I need to radiate the excitement although the group is already tired of the long trip. it's good the group are also energetic and excited just like me. Some had been to the place but they are still very young that time. This time, they are ready for greater adventures and had no worries.We then had a litte briefing in the registration area, paid the registration fee of 25 pesos each. The tourist information officer said that the reg fee is for the maintenance of cleanliness in the area. But when we spoke to the receptionist in the guest house we are to rent, she said that it is not required to pay for some registration since there's nothing to maintain. And so, we just treated the reg fee as an entrance fee to Sagada since the payment has been made already. They are also offering tour guide services which are at reasonable prices and can be asked for discounts unlike the fixed tour fees in the municipal hall. After some talks and negotiations on the price of the lodge and some tips from the receptionist,we had our things settled in the guest house and relaxed a bit for the upcoming adventures! We had a few minutes of rest and prepared our getaway.

The hanging coffins

The tour has been set to start! It's good we had our own car in case we need to travel long distances. This will save travel time as well as the cost of renting transport which will surely cut our budget for the trip! On the way to the cave, our tour guides showed us the hanging coffins which are very precious in terms of historical value. We had a little stop over and used the provided binoculars by the roadside to see some hanging coffins just by the road. Of course, we didn't just have a distant look at the coffins. We went down at one part of the cave to see more of what they say hanging burial boxes. As what I remember, until today or just recently there are still people who have the dead bodies of their relatives in the cave. i just don't remember exactly the date. I'll just ask our tour guide once more when I get back to Sagada!haha It was just a short view of the coffins. We then get back to the car and went on to the take off point towards Sumaging.

And there we are at the Sumaguing caves! It was a two hour spelunking experience! Our guides are quick and humorous. They warn us of the deadly spots but they themselves walks through those deadly ones! We are amazed how quick they transfer from one rock to another without even caring to hold onto something for support. One thing more, they are wearing the typical beach walk slippers alone which might be very slippery! They just laugh at us as we move inch by inch, careful of our steps and strides. The reason they are that fast and carefree is because the cave has been their playground since childhood. They know everything about the cave, the stories and all other experiences that they share us. They are experienced enough and they are quite good in the history and all other stories they tell us. The magnificent rock formations in the caves are very captivating. But most of the formations are no longer alive. Crystal formations are no longer that prolific but they are still good looking.

Before entering the cave

Some photos below are magnificent limestone formations found inside the Sumaguing Cave. The stories and humor about those formations are quite thrilling and will tickle your funny bone!hehe The one just below this text is called the Turtle (if I remember it right) which is hiding in its shell. You really have to stoop and have your face touch down to see if it is really like a turtle. And it was!

Turtle Back

Another magnificent limestone formation is called "The Prince". I'll leave to your creative imagination the explanation or reason why it is called by its name. A tip I can share is that you need to study the parts of a male body and have a "wild" imagination to figure out why.hehe

The Prince

One more limestone formation below. If we have a prince, we also have a princess! So as to have a pair. Now, you don't need to have that "wild" imagination since it's pretty obvious why it was called by its name. Our tour guides are really funny and had our grin up to the ears while listening to their educational reasonings on such formations.

The Princess

Another limestone formation that made us more hungry is the gigantic cake in the photo below. One of the guides asked who among us will be celebrating his birthday and most of us are born on February. I thought he will have our tour fee slashed a little but to no avail, it was a giant cake! What more can we do than just have a memory of the cake by taking a photo of it with us! What a great trick? or treat..haha

Limestone cake

There are a lot more to enjoy inside the cave. Although we are already chilling of the cold water inside, the excitement and eagerness even went up! We even had a rappelling experience in the cave! The adventure inside is really awesome.

It was a very tiring yet thrilling two-hour spelunking experience. We got wet and muddy and wet and muddy but the laughter is always there! We even tease and scare one another to add humor to the atmosphere. Of course "site seeing" at a different angle is present for we are not the only ones who are in the caves. The beautiful ladies who screams most of the time due to fear of falling serve as our inspiration and energizer too!hehe We are done with this activity in as twilight embarks. We had to go back to the guesthouse and prepare for dinner and the socials night. We went straight to the marketplace to shop for food for dinner and breakfast. Of course some alcohol to enjoy the night's coolness.

At Mam Sheryl's home at Sagada

The night is really cool although it's also cool at daytime, it's cooler as the sun show-off. It's hard to bath for long, good thing there are heaters installed. By the way, we stayed at one of the home-stay services of George guest-houses. The owner of the house, Ma'am Sheryl and her husband is really hospitable and caring just like our parents. They even do the chores in the house for us. And the house is great! Simple yet elegant. The night went on as we had group conversations sharing one's experiences especially with girls who we are courting/courted and got busted with, had a relationship with and our close friends we are with most of the time. It was a night of fun and reminiscing also while rounds of wine tag along. The group is composed of hard core snorers and the opposite. I belong to the silent sleepers but my roommate is a snorer. Good thing I was able to sleep first before he did so as not to be disturbed for once I get knocked off by dizziness, I have a long one!

The day breaks and the plan of watching the sunrise at the Kiltepan came to just a dream!hehe We need to wake up by 4am but we just slept at 2! Some woke up by 6, most of us got up by 9. We had our breakfast prepared already as we get down the kitchen. We had some conversations again discussing the funny things we did last night. We changed plans and just explored the market for some souvenirs. We also need to get off Sagada before the sunset so as not to be hard up on the way since it's foggy that we might not see the road.

The cause of traffic

We took the Banaue route which is a closer to Isabela than taking the Baguio-Manila-Isabela way which is quite a long hours trip. On the way to Banaue, we met a truck which nearly fell the cliff. The roadside is under construction for barriers and the truck carrying loads of gravel and sand nearly dropped down. It's good, a little concrete barrier has already been made in the area where it was stuck. The scene created a thirty minute pause as motorists had a long queue at both sides. We dropped by the market in Benguet to buy some souvenirs too as well as the vegetables which are fresh and very cheap compared to those in the market in the metropolis and in our province.

The way back home is very thrilling and as well literally breath-taking. Our driver is very agitated and cool. He just go on step at the accelerator as we swerve left and right by the edge of the road. Whoa! It was as if we are at a race track! It was really breath-taking! But good enough that he managed the steering wheel well! And that was the adventure over the first weekend of February!

Sagada, we shall return! :D

Commencement!

2011-04-07T13:26:00.000+08:00

It is not the end but just the beginning. That's why it is called COMMENCEMENT!

This is the season of toga, diploma, medals, certificates and all other awards that an outstanding pupil or student may receive. The best thing is the family gets together for another momentous event in one's life. Party there and everywhere as food and drinks overflow. A very exciting and fulfilling milestone especially for the parents who made all things possible for their child/children. Let me reminisce my graduation years when I was still a student like anybody else.

March of 2001 when I first received my diploma having been graduated in elementary. It was a memorable one as i went upstage with my mother to receive my proof of having completed my elementary education;my diploma. Aside from that certificate i also received a meritorious award as one of the Outstanding Pupils of the graduating class. I still remember our graduation song: If We Hold On Together. But one funny thing is that I was late when i arrived as the processional march is already going on. I just followed in and successfully did it! I can no longer remember if we celebrated this one in the house or not. hehe

April 2005 when i finally reaped the fruits of a four year labor in high school. This time, not just an outstanding student award did I receive but a whole lot more. In God's will and guidance I was able to graduate on top of my fellow graduates. Several awarding bodies such as the the Office of the President of the Philippines, the Senate and Congress and the local school officials handed some awards in performing great. I excelled in some fields of endeavor as I was awarded the prestigious PGMA Achievement Award in Journalism. Not only that but also Senate Gold Medal for Academic Excellence and Leadership Awards to name a few. It was my shining moment as I was privileged to deliver a Valedictory Address among others. I nearly cried upon delivering the speech while most of the parents are already sobbing as I address them in recognition of their invaluable efforts to help us reach our dreams. Although I say that this has been my shining moment, this moment is best shared with the people behind the every cent we spend: our parents! The best and most precious gift they can give us is our education. We must not also forget our dear mentors in imparting their knowledge and expertise to us. They are our bridge towards information or wisdom.

And the final stage has come, a bigger world we faced which made much more changes in us in all aspects in preparation to living in the real world: college years! I was lucky when I had my third graduation in the premier state university in the country in April 2009. The commencement of knowledge accumulation and trial and error in real life. This time experiments are not done in the laboratory but in the realm of society. What it has to offer, what it has to teach and get from us. It is like we are in a jungle and it's for us to do things for our survival. I remember that during our graduation, it was a freaking bad weather prevailing. Downpour has been the daily event a week from the big day! What a messy graduation but I am still thankful that the rites has been successfully celebrated. It was the centennial graduation since the university celebrated its 100 years of existence that time. We are called the centennial graduates for that matter! We celebrated my graduation with a simple family get together. It was once again a reunion of family members and relatives. Everyone is present and enjoys each others company. Had some chit-chats, kamustahan, laughters and tears of joy. Some cousins are met the first time because of this event.

It is indeed the start of another chapter in our lives that's why it is called commencement. And the learning do not stop upon receiving our diplomas. Everyday is a learning opportunity. Every experience is a worthy learning object. Every failure that we encounter are just spices to make living our life great and exciting. As the adage say it, Experience is the best Teacher! But we must not settle to committing the same failures for this is not a good sign of learning. Let us move out of our comfort zones and explore what life has to offer in other avenues. Let us look and try all opportunities that come our way. We won't know unless we try!

Badminton/Seafood Sunday Escapade/Kite Flying!

2010-12-13T14:58:00.000+08:00

Talaba-arusip-lato salad

Interestingly, I find badminton a great exercise and a great reason to spend time with during weekends. I just played yesterday with my housemates outside the apartment. Since we got nothing to do upon waking up at 10 am, we decided to play badminton as our plan of jogging did not happen on Saturday. It's good I have my own pair of Yonex badminton rackets and a shuttlecock. We thought of playing in a court to fully enjoy the "tournament" yet due to our laziness, we just played by the road. Stop whenever there are incoming vehicles and then resume as the road goes clear. There are times the shuttlecock got stuck in between the crossroads of the electric wires and the mango tree beside that we need to use our slippers to get it. But even our slippers sometimes are stucked! Speaking of slippers, Pat's penshoppe slippers got broke!

Tahong shells (ubos n bago pa napicturan)

After having spent two hours of the tournament, we decided to proceed to Farmer's Market in Cubao to buy something for lunch as we are already starving (just to exaggerate)! It was decided to have a seafood escapade. The recipe will be Filipino Mussel Soup and Oyster and Seagrass Ensalada. We bought two kilos of "tahong"(mussels) and a kilo of "talaba"(oyster), together with "lato" and "arusip", which are seagrass species. To spice up the seafood we also bought pepper tops, spring onions, citrus, and tomatoes. As we head our way home, we dropped by the bazaar and bought a set of Christmas lights to lighten up the unit once it gets dark and for decoration purposes(as our unit is the only one with no Christmas lights) too. It was a steady lighting set but was made to flicker by the two other small bulbs called the "flicker"! We forgot to buy "Sprite" to make a tasteful "tahong" so we just bought one from the store at the apartment's entrance.

The blinking lights at the background!

Since I am the designated "Resident Chef" of the house, I do all the cooking except when I am not available and some other housemates request that they cook which is good for I can take a break. One more thing is that I am exempted from washing the dishes! Some sort of a privelege being the head of the gang, oops I mean of the household ;). And so the cooking started at around 1pm.

Our very unique superkalan has ups and downs. Sometimes it flames profiously and sometimes it just got abnormal as the flames flicker that heating a cup of water takes an hour! We always experience this one that we think there are no more gas particles inside it so we call for a delivery for refill. But to our surprise, the gas tank is still half full. What a foolish burner! We just have to clean the burner to have a great time cooking! Ryan, one of our housemates were able to cook rice while the three of us, Pat, Errol and me are away in the market. But the abnormality of the burner struck again! I was in the middle of cooking when the flame flickered which interrupted the show. Sherwin, the great burner fixer to the rescue! At last cooking resumed at 2.30. Since the fire burns profiously, the cooking show ended at 3pm which signaled the noise of the plates, spoons and forks and the silence of our stomach. What a nice epic!

And so everyones hunger was satisfied! I remember a blooper told by Allan, a call center agent housemate that goes this way: "Did we satisfy your satisfaction?" :D

Kite flying

Kite launch

Some of the people went up the rooftop and enjoyed the cool wind. Some slept while I took my time washing a pair of clothes and bedsheets as well as took a bath later on. All chores done at around 4.30pm while most of the housemates are in the rooftop making kites! Pat, the leader of the commotion made a kite out of a plastic bag but to no avail it was a total failure! It did not fly! Errol soon destroyed the failed kite. Since, I have nothing else to do, I also made one. We had a kite flying contest therefore. Due to the failure for the first kite, Pat made another one made of newspaper. They say, practice makes perfect! I had a little trouble at flying my kite due to imbalance and so on and so forth. But the more I try, the more I learn of the possible adjustments to make. I was grateful as the kite I made finally took off to greater heights after a series of bumps.

The plastic (away) and paper (near) kite

Then soon followed the newspaper kite. Both flew while the sky gets dim. We enjoyed the kite flying that it was surprisingly the first time of Renz, a city brat with less expereinces on early childhood to hold and fly a real kite! It was a sort of fulfillment for him as he shouts and screams while flying the kite. We are like children once more as we are teasing other's ability to fly kite. Of course during the initial launch we fail as the kite twirls. Sometimes we wait for a strong wind blow. There are irregularities in the kite itself that we need to fix such as the weight balance. The tail should be this and that and so on. Everything that we encountered proved that learning is made through the mistakes we did. The deeper we drop, the higher we soar.

The night eventually crept as we can no longer see the image of our kites distant from us. That made us decide to cook again for dinner! We have to continue the seafood sunday escapade so we shopped for maya-maya slices at the famous Molave Garden in Anonas. We searched for firecrackers but there are none as of the moment. The pyrotechnique plan was posponed until further notice.haha I mean until firecrackers are seen in the market! Since there are no firecrackers bought, we dropped by the Ice cream House to have some pizza! haha We had ice cream too of course!

Ice cream and pizza time!

It was a fun-filled and exciting sunday for the people of Unit 24, ES IV Apartments at Illinois, Cubao. Things really come random. Things might be the first time to undertake. The next gameplan...a Christmas party this coming wekend! Keep posted! :D

Bannawag hits 4!

2010-12-10T17:50:00.000+08:00

This is my original article in a publication of the UP Isabela Society in 2007. Since it is our batch' fourth year anniversary today, i would like to repost this and have some additional insights.

"Unity in diversity, that best describes the amazing batch: BANNAWAG."

2006: The making of Bannawag

"Pursuits in academics have been the number one priority of each Isko and Iska thus entering the premier academe in the country. Extra ingredient is added as each one get to be affiliated in other matters, which include joining organizations in the university. It is not a necessity yet we feel some need of a second family. This has been provided for the thirteen young ones of batch Bannawag!

2007: First Batch Anniversary

Bannawag meaning sunrise is a new hope; a new beginning. As we, the thirteen explicitly witty, undeniably active and absolutely good looking young minds continue to fulfill their dreams and aspirations; it is remarkable how we come to prove our worth as outstanding members of the organization. A weeklong process seems not enough to test how determined are we; how much can we give and long can we endure. It seems so short to inculcate the organizational matters effectively. It seems to be a rush! However this does not reflect our behavior now that we are part of the organization. There is an adage that is put as: “the longer you endure, the harder you give up”. But this is not true at all times. It depends on the person to choose whether to give up as he gets tired or not. It is a matter of discernment and assertion. We need to be sure whether we really like something or not. Once we have established our self-determination, however tiring it is or not, surely we do not surrender. In the first place, we are responsible of things we do as we get to suffer the consequences of our actions later on.

2007: Exploring elbi.

Achievements being members of the organization are quite fulfilling. “Yes! I have done my best and I got rewarded!”. This is a feeling of contentment and honor as we get to be recognized of our effortful acts. Roland, Mirriam, and I, has successfully done this, as we became members of the month for August. It just proves that the batch performs well not only in academics wherein Patrick and Nover lead an exemplary performance being university and college scholars. It was just a few months and yet we come to purposefully develop our skills and talents. Claudine excels well in singing, as Ali is very much at ease with playing the violin. Mark has a quite good speaking habit as he leads us in ceremonies. Thea is quite good in oral arguments/debates. Kath is gifted with dancing prowess as well as Bryce and Ryan. Jayson is a leader type, which is inherent in him since he is a corps commander way back in high school. This has been helpful for us as well as for the organization for we are able to share our talents. There is diversity! We become better than the usual.

2008: Second Year Anniversary

Never in our vocabulary to let anyone down especially we are brothers and sisters. Unity is hardly worked out by most of us but we easily manage it with ourselves. Being siblings, we treat each other with equality. No one is better than the other. We work together as one as we aim together and fulfill those dreams we want to reach.

Natives of Isabela; sons and daughters of the hardworking individuals who sought into hardships just to give all we need. We are thankful that we have our immediate families to lean on especially in times of problems and laughter to share. Because of them, we are here in the organization and perform well in as much as we want to be the best. They provided us with the best that they could give; the support we need financially, emotionally and physically. We are not let down by them as we do our best to give back the favor they give us. They do not let us wander in the dark as they provide us the light to lead us in the right way we must take.

2010: Orientation

Amidst the differences we have, we are working as one and never do anything to hurt each one. We are bound to mistakes yet we make it to a point to have in us the essence of companionship every time to avoid gaps. We are not perfect individuals yet we are able to fix what we should arrange without inflicting pain or wrecking lives.

What are several years of existence compare to months of excellence? Being effective members is not measured by how long is our stay. We have noticed things such as inactivity as others choose to be so cant help to be so. It is not merely being part of an institution that we are known. It should be coming from within us the courage to outshine. Our existence is useless if we choose to be just “members in thought” and not in deed.

As time goes by, we are all molded into something better of us. Our leadership skills are tested as members come and go. We have not yet celebrated an anniversary yet we feel like we have been so long in the organization. We have learned so much from the older members as they lead us by example. As this happen, they impart in us the subtle techniques of holding or leading people in the most efficient and convenient for both leaders and followers. Today we follow and soon we will lead. This is the natural process. Succession in part is quite a mater of following and leading and soon fading yet we are still remembered for we become outstanding members as well as people of our own.

God is good. We are surviving against all odds. Changes are but permanent things on earth yet these humble us. Humility is never been an act of inferiority but is a strength that must learned by all. All things happen for a reason. The existence of Bannawag is destined to be so. Our batch has proved a lot yet we have a long way more to go. Being a member is a lifetime commitment. Once an ISian forever an ISian. Bannawag rocks! "

Reality is that it has been four years since then and the original thirteen members of the batch have been reduced to ten due to some reasons which are out of our control. But still, the same strong and united individuals continue to strive for the best. Most of us have also graduated and are now facing the real world. But still, we gather once in a while to rekindle our great memories and even the odd ones.

On our way towards the attainment of our dreams, we are sure to beat the odds. Brought up and equipped with the necessary values in life, Bannawag will shine above the horizon. In support to our great adviser, Mitch if I may quote her: "Only those who dare to lift themselves rise above horizon".

Cheers towards a great and longer voyage in life. Happy fourth year anniversary Bannies! May all our dreams and aspirations come true.

Yuletide Insights

2010-12-10T16:08:00.000+08:00

It's literally cold in here. I'm, as always, sitting comfortably in my office chair with the two split type air conditioning units continuously providing some cold air in the office which are just behind me. It is the usual work of those AC units from 7 in the morning until 6 in the evening which most of the time makes us wear our jackets. And since, I have no much work to do yet as my boss is out for some field verification in Bohol, let me share some insights for the season.

There are only 14 days more to count before finally celebrating Christmas! This will be my second yuletide celebration in the company as a contractual employee. I just hope that my wish be granted before the year ends---and that is to be officially part of the state weather bureau as a permanent employee! I just hope so!

The giant Christmas tree beside Araneta Coliseum

When we talk of the yuletide season, we often see a lot of decorations, festivities and other activities that super-impose the coming of Christmas! Anywhere I go, there are signs and symbols of Christmas! First and foremost are the towering christmas trees in malls or any establishment as well as of course here in the office and nearby. Celebrating the spirit of the season with all the well-lighted bulbs ranging from different colors of the RAINBOW to gleaming combinations of those colors. Santa Claus is once again expected by children as well as adults of gifts!

CAROLING

Christmas carols are also heard every night. One particular instance is in my apartment unit, children aged 3 to 12 are always in front of the door singing songs of joy and merriment. They do this in a daily habit which sometimes irritate me and my housemates. So when they are there ready to sing songs on top of their varied voices, my housemates shouts "patawad" for the children are already making noise. We tell them to just come back on Christmas day! So harsh of us but we believe that they will just keep coming back and depend on the little amount we might give. Not to mention, most of these kids are street children who sniff rugby or other drug. The money they incur from caroling are used to buy these vices instead of buying food.

SANTA CLAUS and JESUS

Going back to Santa Claus. I have receive a text message that reads this way:

Jesus: You know Santa, I envy you.

Santa: Oh, but why Lord Jesus?

Jesus: Because during my birthday, the people remembers you not me.

Sad but true. Most if not all of us often associate christmas with Santa Claus undermining the true reason for the celebration--the birth of Jesus Christ. The kids especially are brought up to the idea that they must behave well so that Santa will give them presents during Christmas eve. As years pass by, the spirit of the season becomes different from what it should be.

SIMBANG GABI

On the other hand, we are always reminded of the real reason for the celebrating the season through our religious traditions in the Roman Catholic church. The unique "dawn mass' or simbang gabi from 16-25 of December is quite a pilgrimage. I remember waking up at around 3am and prepare for the dawn mass which starts at 4am. My siblings, cousins and I walk from our house to the church for around 30 minutes just to complete the nine dawn masses. It was fun while walking as we tease each other reminding of our attendance. This is especially true when the priest mentions the names of those departed who are offered prayers during the mass and we have "tukayos" or same name being mentioned. Once the mass is through, people flock at the bakery shops to buy "hot pandesal" for breakfast. It was hard to get through the thick line towards the front but patience is a virtue! I hope I can complete the dawn mass once again after 7 years since the last time I made it!

MANO PO NINONG, MANO PO NINANG

Friends, ladies and gentlemen who are godmothers and godfathers, it's your time to show off! Kids it's time to raid your ninong's and ninang's houses. By the way its December and they already have a lot of bonus. I remember my godfather told me before, "don't worry if I don't give you gifts every christmas, just come to me when you are about to go to college and I will support your tuition". But when I got to college, I'm already ashamed to ask my godfather for that.hehe As of the moment, my three nephews and a niece are my godchildren. Most of their wishes come true everytime I go home.

FAMILY REUNION

Of course celebrating the season by yourself is quite melancholic. It was also a tradition to be always complete in a family during the Christmas Eve's Noche Buena. And our family is always observing this custom. Some sort of a family reunion always happen!

Days come closer and I am excited to coming home for the season! Have a merry christmas and a fruitful new year ahead everyone!