weekend warrior
i decided to ditch friday club at angel’s house because i didn’t want to suffer that strange sleepwalker’s syndrome for the slew of weekend activities. i decided to do the recon run at UPLB just to get a feel of the terrain for our 15km induction run, assuming that i actually get that far. the training is just so stressful, which is a direct opposite to my reason for climbing. so at 5am, i show up at mcdo along edsa/quezon ave., and no one’s there, although i got a call from mosscake ten minutes earlier asking me where we should meet. when he shows up, he confesses he’s a little stoned, and his high was manifesting. when carlo arrived, we left immediately for shell SSH. the rest of the gang was there, and then all of a sudden, janet announces that she’s hot on our trail. moss and i had cinnabon, and before long, we were driving to the jamboree site. marlon and lyn were already there.
so we strike out on our 7.5km run with some trepidation. well, at least i was a bit concerned. it turned out that i didn’t have enough concern since the route, though short, is so friggin’ hard. i mean, more than half of the trail is downhill, but the short, winding path is a tough, uphill battle! the first round, i was okay. my second was bad. i slowed down even when the trail flattened out. then i discovered a technique on my third round: kick! i literally kicked when the terrain changed, so i consciously knew it was time to change cadence and pace.
during the first round, bert pointed out the spot where abet fell. and on my third, there were two guys on the side of the road saying: “di ba eto yung grupo na may namatay?” yeah. encourage me! i finished the course in 51 minutes. which is not good time since it’s likely i’d slow down on my succeeding laps, which means i might just finish the course in exactly 2 hours. i have to improve on my time.
after the runs, we had quite a few hours to spend in laguna. we had lunch at rose and grace, and then janet, wency, ed, and i decided to look for a place to stay for the night. we went around, got harassed by these middlemen, and ended up waiting for neri at walter mart in calamba. since only janet and i decided to stay, she said she could accommodate us.
so we proceeded to neri’s house in sirang lupa, canlubang. turns out that bojo’s group had decided to stay in a nearby resort. so we rested a bit, had dinner (neri showed off her skills at dessert-making; her refrigerator cake was yummy), and visited the resort where bojo and dindo celebrated their birthdays. surprise surprise: kuya mar was there. and when he’s around, you’re sure there’d be videoke and beer. i had a bit of both, before going back to neri’s for the night. slept well, woke up early, had breakfast. but arrived at camp vicente lim 2 minutes late! woohoo! chalk that up to my excess of merits!
anyway, rappelling was okay. we were reacquainted with ropemanship again, and everyone kept going “aaahhh...” like they were having life-changing realizations, or after learning how to solve a complex mathematical problem with the most basic of computations. unfortunately for me, i was lumped in a group of incompetents -- the self-appointed GL probably affected their skills -- and we wound up dead last in the ropemanship relay! i mean, everyone else was done and there were still 4 in my group who had yet to start!
anyway, we promptly started our rappels. started with standard, then the lizard, and finished off with the aussie. did well in the first and the last, although i lost balance in the second. i’ve done these before, and even more, but still, you can’t help but be gripped by some amount of fear. it’s really doubt over the equipment -- maybe you don’t trust the ropes, the 8 ring, the carabiner, the ropeman, or the rope harness. instead of the usual petzl or singing rock harness, you’re given a 3 meter rope, which you tie around your waist, and voila! instant harness! so i lacked faith in my own knot-tying skills. i mean, there were ladies screaming and crying! jay, despite his cool, was actually trembling. there were also some funny rappels. like mike sitting on the wall. when i asked him what that rappel was called, he chased me and swore he’d kill me “one of these days”. okay, so if i mysteriously die or get killed anytime, it’s yagburn mike who’s established/showed motive. suspect number 1!
i also had a field day taking profile pictures of my batchmates. i particularly like this one with mama lyn. i asked her: is it the photographer or the subject. she replied: it’s the photographer! there are quite a few photo-worty people in the batch, so i took advantage of the situation. most of them are looking up. i prefer these candid, closely-cropped photos over conscious poses. very nice, i have to say. after the rappels, kristy plucked me from the group to do the flying fox demo. enjoyed it to bits! hehe. it was the least difficult thing i did since i basically just held on to the 8 ring.
after rappelling, we had our 2nd pre-climb. then we proceeded to filinvest in alabang for dinner where i returned niel’s baonans. not only is he not thoughtful, but he’s also very forgetful. after that, we proceeded to vivere suites for a nightcap at the vivere skyline. after the milkshakes and beer, we discovered that our umbrellas were missing. made a big fuss about it. even emailed the hotel. their reply:
Dear Atty. Quiboquibo,
Warm Greetings from Vivere Suites!
Thank you for bringing up your concern to our attention. The General Manager wishes to speak with you regarding this matter. May I please get your contact number/s?
Thank you.
Respectfully yours,
Sheila Fajardo
Executive Assistant to the General Manager
i hope this means i get a free night! haha. anyway. another hearing was up at isabela. but not after doing the groceries for TC3, playing a bit of badminton, and getting locked inside the shower of shuttle master. interesting ain’t it?