travelogue

Tales From Another Broken Bar Examinee: OctoBARfest and its post production

2012-11-22T13:29:00.000+08:00

Our greatest fear about the Bar Exam is the number of people who were convinced that we can make it. While we would like to believe on such assessment, we are worried about the effect of that assumption proven invalid.

-adapted

The Philippine Bar Examination is the professional licensure examination for lawyers in the Philippines.

It is the only professional licensure exam in the country that is not supervised by the Professional Regulation Commission. The exam is exclusively administered by the Supreme Court of the Philippines through the Supreme Court Bar Examination Committee.

Source: Philippine Bar Examination

Information about the bar exams are readily available and there's no point in narrating such in this post. However, I am more inclined to share other stuffs, say for example, the 6-month struggle of a bar examinee, their being the WILD ONES after the fourth Sunday, and the never-ending-treat-I-deserve-to-treat-myself as an excuse to have a lengthy stay in the city of Gawd ... Manila... As coined by our El Presidente---imba mooter George Romea, "6 months and 20 pounds later" would make a great title for a book on the review. I would like to have the same title if I should make one, haha! But that would be impossible. I haven't even finished my book entitled "LATE, HAVE I LOVED YOU."

Oh well, let's begin... And I promise you, this won't be longggggggggggg...

TWO ZERO ONE TWO

October 29, 2012

The supposed to be Tagaytay Trip

October 30-31, 2012

The Zambales Series

Zambales Series Version 1.0: Canoe Beach Resort, Pundakit, San Antonio, Zambales

Zambales Series Version 2.0: Nagsasa Cove

The Zambales Series 3.0: Anawangin Cove

The Zambales Series 4.0: Capones Island and Camara

November 1, 2012

The Departure

November 2, 2012

Baclaran

Cartimar

The PBA Experience

November 3, 2012

Bath, feed, movies, feed, movies, swimming, sauna… Boring day.

November 4, 2012

The Mall of Asia Trip

Feed at the Racks

Taken 2

November 5, 2012

I like to call this trip, the Smooth Navigator trip. Why? Ask my friend Justice Emmanuel. The night before, the when-it-comes-to-the-last-year-in-law-school couple told me and the ever-torpe OSG Jeremie that they are going to have their eastern-approach-medical-check-up-through-pulse-detection somewhere in Binondo (my surname, according to Atty. Eugene in our Partnership and Corporation class, haha!).

Went with the group to visit Quiapo Church. I am not Catholic though.

Then, feast at Ying Ying’s Tea House. Must feed new food. Daghan sad ug bisaya sa place.

Later, halo-halo at Binondo’s Mang Inasal while waiting for our Eastern-approach-medical-check-up.

Surprised by our illnesses/diseases plus the cannot-be-read prescriptions. You’ve got to choose between herbal medicines or tablets. And for the consultation, Php400 damage after checking your pulse and the back of your tongue. A new approach indeed, hehe.

After that, a visit to St. Jude Church, the part where we walked a thousand miles (exag) and rode an almost-round-trip-route of the jeepney. The part where our Smooth Navigator EB, failed in his “sense of direction”. But we managed to find it though.

November 6, 2012

Time for the couple GO and EB to leave.

Fast Cargo picked up our cargoes, obviously.

Swimming then sauna.

Silent night for the guys, haha!!!

November 7, 2012

Another boring day in Shaw Residenza. Been tired of waiting for November 8. There will be no activity for the day, not until 2:00 p.m., the most-awaited body scrub-plus-Swedish massage. We just pampered ourselves with an Ensogo coupon of Nuat Thai, lol. And how was the experience? Ssshhh…

Later, went to Shaw 500’s 7/11 to buy coffee which was not yet available. There we saw Aiza Seguerra J No picture taking. No camera phones brought, hehe.

By 6:00 p.m., left JN at the condo to have dinner with my BAPS mates at their place. My soon-to-be-Bedan-lawyer-friend picked me up at our building and enjoyed some steps towards Wack Wack.

Must-feed-lechon-manok plus ang ipinagbabawal na Red Horse while watching Johnny M’s kapal face in his show “Who’s That Girl?”.

November 8, 2012

Why 8? Because it is the day before the owner could appropriately file an unlawful detainer case against us.

Why 8? JN, please explain your Chinese stuff.

Last day living in the city of gawd. Only me and JN were left. After packing our things, we went to the mall to make a sabay-sa-uso-pasalubong, the J Co. Donuts. I haven’t tasted it yet and I am not even making a bite. Dapat dw kasi umiwas aq sa mga sweets-and-sugared stuffs. Kaya nga hindi na ako umangal nung kinuha yung chocolate ko sa ref.

Window shopping was our thing that time, roaming around the mall until Mr. Hunger came knocking at our stomach walls. JN, the navigator, was a failure in searching for the restaurant with a tag name of ‘PEPPER’. While searching the same, my auto-focus-40/20-vision was triggered. Well, I saw a Kapamilya star and all I remember was that she was one of the characters of the station’s show, Good Vibes. She’s a beauty and her name is Linn Oeymon.

After deliberate search and despite earnest efforts to serve the summons-to-eat-in-a-not-in-Cebu-resto, we ended up eating at Sizzling Peppers, traced from the mind and late realization of JN that there’s a Cebu branch right at Ayala. Phew! Funny thing is, it was kinda weird to hear the line, “table for two?”. Two guys, table for two? Just weird.

Heading towards to the ultimate purpose of the day, the J Co. Donuts, we spend a lot of time WAITING to have them in a box. Para lang bumili ka ng gamot sa botika, may priority number, pffttt! Mind speaking, “patience is a virtue.”

Final(e)ly, after paying damages caused and settling matters with the condo unit, the manager reminded me (in behalf of us, lol!) to call her if we passed the examination. To my mind, I’d like to tell her that I wish and I hope that we could make that call by March, haha! However, I just smiled.

At NAIA 3, JN drank his favourite 7/11 vanilla coffee with a solution’s ratio of 1 teaspoon=1 pitcher of water, haha! After checking in, we saw familiar faces, the girls without their partners, JO and ICC. Talk and talk and talk and talk. Endured the delay, the Cebu Pacific way and their blame-it-to-the-air-traffic excuse.

It was raining when we boarded the plane, the same situation when left Cebu to ‘visit’ the city of gawd. Maybe a sign of whatever.

At last, we landed after numerous turbulences. Said goodbye. Headed directly to the mountains. And planned for a rock climb. The end, FOR NOW.

Note: During my brief stay in the city of gawd, I was really hoping I would meet Miss Bianca Manalo and Miss Georgina Wilson. Hehe. But anyway, I enjoyed the company of Team Cebu.

I hope, we are indeed waiting for something by March.

LORD, PLEASE REMEMBER US WITH FAVOR. AMEN.

The Zambales Series 4.0: Capones Island and Camara

2012-11-03T00:20:00.001+08:00

The Zambales Series 3.0: Anawangin Cove

2012-11-02T23:51:00.003+08:00

Zambales Series Version 2.0: Nagsasa Cove

2012-11-02T22:53:00.001+08:00

Zambales Series Version 1.0: Canoe Beach Resort, Pundakit, San Antonio, Zambales

2012-11-01T20:39:00.000+08:00

Bus Ride to Zambales

7/11 San Antonio, Zambales

Room #8 Canoe Beach Resort, Pundakit, San Antonio, Zambales

Homeward bound ...

2012 BAR EXAMINATIONS - OctoBARfest Possible Topics

2012-10-04T11:02:00.000+08:00

First Sunday - October 7, 2012

Political Law

Labor Law

Second Sunday - October 14, 2012

Civil Law

Taxation

Third Sunday - October 21, 2012

Mercantile Law

Criminal Law

Fourth Sunday - October 28, 2012

Remedial Law

Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises

Cantabogon Beach, Aloguinsan, Cebu

2012-04-09T16:16:00.003+08:00

it's the lime version 2.0 at Cantabaco, Toledo City

2012-04-05T05:16:00.002+08:00

Bojo River and Baluarte Park: Aloguinsan

2012-03-16T23:40:00.000+08:00

manga "screen shots"

2012-02-18T18:56:00.001+08:00

Shioon and Jini (The Breaker: New Waves)
____________________________________________________________________________

Fairy Tail's Lucy

it's the lime ... Cantabaco, Toledo City

2012-02-01T16:45:00.002+08:00

Cantabaco, Toledo City

2012-01-06T07:54:00.000+08:00

we make our own shots: New Year's Eve 2012

2012-01-05T16:36:00.000+08:00

Hidden Beach, Aloguinsan

2012-01-03T22:17:00.000+08:00

we make our own shots: high school buddies

2011-12-28T15:07:00.000+08:00

we make our own shots: vintage cars

2011-12-28T12:25:00.000+08:00

we make our own shots: room

2011-12-19T06:29:00.000+08:00

Sembreak Road Trip (Pinamungajan to Ronda)

2011-11-26T19:52:00.001+08:00

Municipal Building of Pinamungajan (starting point)

waiting...

Jvonne and VJ ...

Tinae sa Manok Road in Aloguinsan

Bingka for sale... Mantalongon, Barili

palit sa ta ug bingka para pamahaw

Aussie beauties dw... daghan ostrich diri

Milk Milk ... namnam

unsai name ani nga bao?

dalmatian???

i-se-kre-am

mama ningkamot pud ug kaon i-se-kre-am

mom and te rovie

kuya jun and jvonne

view from sayaw, barili ... japitan (naa dghn commercial fishing operators - - - thesis sa UP :p)

read...

kamote ... while waiting.. dumanjug public market .. barato isda diri :)

lol .. d kinaya ang haba ng byahe ...

snacks ug kamote sa bukid ... Malalay Ronda... balai sq papa :)

lola... ug agtang sq mama

padung na uli ... whew!

bye bye hacienda ... ai, umahan dy..

we make our own shots: Christmas Day Celebration - - - OnTheLook

2011-11-18T07:32:00.001+08:00

Osmeña Peak, Dalaguete, Cebu (1013MASL)

2011-11-11T08:49:00.001+08:00

This trip was actually set on October 31, 2011. However, the same was moved to avoid the travels to be made by most because of the long holiday. That was just a good reason to have it moved, so, no worries. Though, I missed doing the rock climb in the annual Lust for Lime held in my hometown which I was so excited to be part of.

Anyway, Osmeña Peak is situated between the towns of Dalaguete and Badian, right at their boundaries. Various sources stated that the highest point is pegged at 1013 meters above sea level. Not quite sure about it since my travel mates did not bring the GPS of their office (I know little-to-none about GPS gadget but they say that it can tell the elevation to where you are standing, yet to verify though).

The peak can be reached through Mantalongon, a barrio in Dalaguete, known for its vegetables and pine trees. (a.k.a. Vegetable Capital of Cebu)

It is Cebu’s counterpart of Baguio and if you beg to disagree with such statement, then how about me saying that the place has something to that effect?

The road leading to Mantalongon Public Market, the drop off point of most climbers/trekkers, poses no problem even to those as-long-as-it-can-still-run-cars.

In fact, the smooth-and-long winding pavement makes me want to try it on MTB, especially downhill. (to be continued, busy pa ang ghostwriter .. hehe)

Dili jud madala ug barog ... kurog tuhod...

MTB Rides to Mountain View and beyond...

2011-07-31T20:53:00.000+08:00

First Ride
July 10, 2011
Mountain View
....

Second Ride
July 31, 2011

I was already planning to have my routine, riding my MTB - and the same destination in mind, Mountain View. I kinda missed riding my MTB because of the not-so-fine weather which hit the country, not just Cebu City. It has been two Sundays already, missing the ride. Well, with those missed Sundays I still managed to shed a little sweat because of the volleyball practice, getting ready for the school's sports fest. It's quite exciting because the Law and the Political Science Departments are already merged having a new name, School of Law and Governance. It sounds lame though, I just can't imagine how the cheers would sound like. So much for that, it is so OT and as of now, I don't feel like writing about school and other related stuffs. Hello! it's a Sunday!

I started preparing my stuffs at around 1500hrs after watching series of movies since last night. There are not so many things to bring around. Just comfy attire for biking, worn-out WB shoes, the aged Adidas bag, coin purse, school ID (I don't why I am always bringing it, it's not like some Privilige Card, you know), and of course, my second-hand generic MTB. And most important, gotta take a bath before the ride. You can't allow yourself to get wet after, or you'll get varicose veins. Though, I got loads of those and they're like spider webs in my hands and feet. Tush!

My starting point is at home, obviously. It is located in Mambaling, near the school for the Badjaos, if you know exactly what tribe or shall we say race I am referring to. Started off at 1600hrs and my first stop is the vulcanizing shop. I have to air-up (if such term is correct, lol) my tires which costs me Php 5.00. Next stop is H.W. Miller Sanitarium to buy 1 liter of soya milk. I prefer soya instead of H2O.

So, here's the route for today. From Miller, I passed through N. Bacalso Avenue and did a left turn towards V. Rama; then a right turn to B. Rodriguez, next Jones Avenue, right to Escario, and then took a left turn towards Oppra. There's a road there that will lead you to either Beverly Hills going to Sudlon if you'll take the right and to your left is the access towards Camp Marina - - - I have gone through this trail when I was in college. You'll enjoy the climb and then a downhill rush where you will end up at Guadalupe Church. But anyway, I did not take that route considering it has been raining lately. I can't take care of the muddy road with ease with my generic bike. So, I took the road which led one to Beverly Hills and then to Sudlon. I was hoping my classmate will see me, she's residing at Beverly Hills (hush! hush!).

Nearing Sudlon, I think it is the same place where the Civil Service Commission had its office and also the Department of Education Regional Office, I happened to pass by a mini-ranch or is there a better term for a place where one will do horse rides? Yeah, there were beautiful horses, and big ones. To let you know, I had this thing for horses since I was a kid. And I have been wanting, not only to ride one, but also to have one. But, I'll surely buy one (I am unemployed, by the way), and bring it home to the farm. Horses look more good out there than having them here in the city. Maybe I could ask PMY (the aforementioned classmate) if the horses are available for a fee. :) Tush! Another ride which I haven't tag along a camera with me.

After watching the horses, I continued my ride going through JY Mall. This is where the challenge begins. And, I happen to see Ms. Ivy, of the SocSci Division in UP Cebu - - - waving at her while she smiles. I can tell she still remembers me, my face is not that common maybe. I think the right term is RARE! (self-pity mode). And so, the climb began!

I was beginning at a good pace actually when I started off. However, a few meters before Ford's building, the no-lunch thing took its toll. I began to feel my stomach aching and I was running out of breath - I started to lose the strength of my knees. So, I got off from my MTB and drink soya. However, it was of no help. I needed a respirator. My vision started to fade - - - like seeing a white light thing. It was not my first time having that experience but it was that time that I was so afraid because I don't have someone with me. And what I feared the most is the embarrassing experience in passing out in the streets, lol. Though I was kinda afraid that I might die because it can cause death, such experience. Some sort of a cardiac arrest maybe, I am no expert in medical stuffs. At that point, I have no idea on how to address the situation until later, I fell. Good thing that I happened to lean on a fence with my back or else, there would be a possibility that I will bump my head on the pavement. I just leaned there, waiting to regain my strength. I just closed my eyes because all I can see is a white light. This is not an exaggeration really. A few minutes after, I was okay. I was wondering then whether I will continue the ride or just go back home. But, I decided to go for it and just grab a bite along the road. Because of that incident, I forgot to monitor my duration in doing the climb. By 1725hrs, I was already at Hilltop Hotel. I stopped for a while to read their banner. Well, they had this KTV Bar and it will cost you Php 500/hr if you'll use the family room which can accommodate up to 25 persons and they have also a regular room at a lower rate, Php 250/hr which can suit up to 8 people. I should have brought my camera so that I could take photos of certain establishments up there for one to visit. Oh well... next time..

I arrived at Chateau de Busay at 1815hrs. I still have the energy to go on until Mountain View but it was getting dark and I don't have any head light for my bike, making it more dangerous to ride downhill. Worse, I got no helmet (I am still saving to buy one though). I stayed for a while consuming my soya and have some chit chat with the gays up there. They're doing some sort of interview about the hobby which I gladly answered some of their queries. One of them even asked me if (s)he can ride with me going downhill. As a courteous gesture, I just gave him(her) a smile.

Going downhill was pretty much exciting especially with my brakes which don't give a good grip at all. And you need them with the sharp curves you'll engage. Plus other motorcycles and automobiles in a small road. Whew! But no worries, it was my second time (just kidding, I was scared really) - - - same bike, same trail. It was a smooth ride except for one sharp curve which made me took off the road. Thank God I managed to make it on the road again. Even if there was a railing, crashing against it will cause you loads of stitches and injuries...

So, I arrived safely at about 1858hrs. Approx, I was riding for about 3 hours, whew! Sweat! Well, gotta rest. And wait for Sunday to arrive to have another ride. I wish I could post some pictures soon...

Mountain Biking Adventures - Pinamungajan

2011-07-06T00:21:00.000+08:00

First Solo Trek: Pinamungajan

2011-01-03T18:53:00.001+08:00

Bas Daku, Moalboal

2010-10-20T16:00:00.000+08:00

Kawasan Falls

2010-10-14T06:39:00.000+08:00

Where?
Matutinao, Badian, Cebu

How to get there?
There are two options, it's either a bus ride or a van for hire.

1. at South Bus Terminal - choose any bus that is bound for Oslob via Barili and advise the driver or conductor to drop you off at Matutinao. Tell them that your going to Kawasan Falls. [fare: Php 100.00 - Php 110.00]

if by v-hire
1. at One Citilink Terminal - choose the van that is bound for Badian. You may request the driver to take you exactly at Matutinao for a fee or upon arriving in Badian, you may opt to do buy stuffs in their market and just ride a multicab going to Matutinao. [fare: Php 130.00 - Php 150.00].

At the drop-off point, you have to walk approximately 500m towards your destination. There is an entrance fee pegged at Php 10.00 per head. Souvenirs are also available.

What to do there?
Well, swim, lol..

waterfall massage - raft's rent is Php 300.00

check point area --- main entrance dy

a long walk by the river - bring your kayaks with you

waterfalls number 1

Justice Te

the kids

@south bus terminal

serves as proof that there is good food there

hapa!

through the rain - - - i mean falls