Rein Winds

Thanks to DepEd’s suspension of classes last Monday, June 23, I was able to fulfill my promise to my gems.

I treated them to a movie, Urduja. The trailer of this all-Filipino, full-length animation film has been shown on TV for quite a while and I personally have committed to support it.

Aside from the resolute and resilient character of Urduja that simply personifies an unconventional woman (I must say unconventional during its epoch - remember that Urduja is about a legendary warrior-princess who is recognized as a heroine in the province of Pangasinan.) it is Wang, dubbed by ace character actor, Johnny Delgado, whom I enjoyed the most. He is one true reflection of greed and wickedness.

Besides, too, the love story that Urduja myth is famous for, social satire is what the animation presents. Trying to infuse historical element of Spanish colonizers’ viciousness towards Filipino native dwellers during Pre-Spanish and Spanish era, Wang’s musical of Simple Lang ang aking pangarap… ang nais ko lang ay ang ilalim, ibabaw, panabi at paligid (to that sort) and his ripping of the Philippines from the map was apparent. Read the rest of this entry »

Excitement and anticipation fill my spirits as the itinerary for the Tour De Pinas First Stop : Photoshoot in Sagada and Banaue was finalized.

Mark your calendar now and be ready to explore, experience and expose the mystic and grandeur of the mountainous and idyllic Sagada and Banaue.

ITINERARY

4DAYS & 3NIGHTS (1N BANAUE / 2N SAGADA)

DAY 0 (WEDNESDAY)
August 27, 2008

8PM ASSEMBLY (SELECT LOCATION)
10PM-7AM Bus ride MANILA - BANAUE (9hours)

DAY 1 (THURSDAY)
August 28, 2008

7AM ESTIMATED ARRIVAL in BANAUE
8AM Check in HOTEL (BANAUE HOTEL & YOUTH HOSTEL)
9AM-10AM BRUNCH & BRIEFING BEFORE HIKING
10AM HIKE to AMPHITHEATER RICE TERRACES OF BATAD VILLAGE
2PM SNACK Read the rest of this entry »

The unwelcoming dark, silent, rough road greeted me inhospitably. In an instant, it threateningly challenged my passion and my courage to begin.

Mt. Makiling did not seem to be very inviting.

It was strange though that I did not even have qualms about climbing. For a first time climber, I love the very idea of communing with one giant piece of nature which will present me a grand showcase of her riches.

Yes, my climbing buddy was a securing presence; he certainly made me feel protected even amidst the vast darkness of the beginning trail. But, more than anything else, it was the unexplainable resoluteness and bizarre confidence in me that actually drove me.

That dawn of March 29, I was to put my lame, lazy, skinny frame to a great ordeal.
The entrance trail, though completely dark was an easy hike, at least for the first 30 minutes. Covered with fallen mahogany leaves, the first five-kilometer easy-walk from UPLB entrance was a relaxing promenade, I convinced myself.

Half our way though, I felt the pain in my left groin. Am not a doctor, neither a physical therapist, but I knew that I was suffering from a groin pull.

Read the rest of this entry »