..AIIAS y0utH LeaDeRs & fRiEnDs Baguio TriP..

On May 30 - June 1 some of the AIIAS Youth Leaders, together with some friends, went for a retreat to Baguio City. We left at midnight May 29.. Maybe even considerably early morning of May 30 boarded on Victory Liner. Around 7 hours later, we reach the Victory Liner bus station in Baguio City.

Our main agenda? Go to SM Baguio! No kidding!! We spent a lot of time in SM. Haha. On friday, we spent some time in the arcade. That's right!! The ARCADE!! haha.. and then some videoke.. which was great fun!! Well, we did go around a little. Boating in Burnham, and walking around Session Road other than that? Not much.

Next agenda? Eat!! This was major!!! Mama Oyette kept our stomachs filled!! She cooked most of our meals including the overflowing bowl of curry!! Yah!! Lasted for 3 meals. haha. We had so much food that we had some left to give to the guards of the condo.

Speaking of Condo. We (thanks to Michael), got to stay in the Europa Condominium in Mines View Park. it was such a spacious place. We were supposed to stay down at the mission but after checking out the condo we decided to move in. Below are the shots taken during the "scouting". You see, there were four of us who went to scout while the others went to SM to buy the groceries. This was Friday.

Our Top Priority Agenda, though, happened on Sabbath. Waking up at around 8:30AM, eating, taking a bath, and everything else, we started our own worship service right in the condo at around 11AM. We started off with songs and was introduced to new type of worship.. forgot what it's called. We just had the Spirit come in and when one felt like singing a song, he sings, when one feels like praying, he prays, when one feels like sharing a testimony, he shares. This went on for some time. Sharing, singing, praying.

Then, we had a little activity that I felt fused our bond to each other. We shared with each person, what we remember about them, what we will miss about them. We also shared what our dreams were. It was such a blessed time we had. Our program ended at 3PM. So you could imagine.. we were hungry!!! So we had lunch.. at 3PM!! Hehe..

The rest of the weekend didn't quite happen as planned. We got out at sunset, so we weren't able to see the view of Mines View Park. We decided to go on to SM (again) and do some stuff. But since we weren't able to do much, we just decided to buy a movie and speakers and go back to the condo and watch. When we got back, though, everyone was pretty much sleepy and went to bed while Aimee and Oyette stayed up and watched.

Sunday morning, I started off with a run around Baguio. I went from Mines View, down to Burnham Park then back up. It was around 10km. We were cramming in the morning since we had to be on our way back to Manila right after lunch and everyone woke up late! So while others went around shopping for souvenirs, Obed, Mike, and I went to the bus station to book our tickets.

Well, after all the time we spent in Baguio, I think I can say that we have created a strong bond between all of us. Distance will not matter anymore.

May God always bless you -- Michael, Aimee, Hiro, Betty, and specially Oyette and Obed. And also those who weren't able to make it with us. We missed you guys -- Pastor Jonel, Ate Gay, Kuya Ken, Ate Janice, and Abishek.

"The Rock" - Corregidor Islannd

May 26, 2008

The AIIAS family went on retreat to the Island of Corregidor. Also known as "the Rock" because of it's rocky land formations, it withstood heavy bombing from Japanese forces in World War II and again by American forces in the retaking of Corregidor in the same war.

To read more about this historical icon click the link below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corregidor


The boat ride to the island took around 1 hour & thirty minutes. Having nothing much to do in the ferry, we played some games of Uno while eating some snacks. Others just slept during the trip. The ferry had a viewing deck where the picture at the left was taken from. While on the travel to Corregidor, Bataan could be seen on the right and Cavite on the left.

Getting off the ferry, there were buses (jeepneys? trolleys?) waiting for us. We got into bus number 2 with the driver - Ceasar and tourguide - Armando (cool! I still remember their names..haha). We went around the island on a tour visiting gun batteries, barracks, memorials, shorelines and other spots.

One of the really interesting places we visited was the Topside Barracks aka "Mile-Long Barracks." At its time, it was the longest barracks in the world. Although not really a mile long, it was still really long at 1,520 feet. It was really great that we stopped here because, according to our guide, tours usually stop at Middle Side barracks which wasn't as long and as magnificent but we skipped that one to get here. Plus, we were allowed to climb it. You have to be cautious climbing the steps since they were crumbling. Climbing to the third floor and looking across to the other side caused some weird feeling. You could really see to the other end. This barracks used to be a magnificent building. I'm sure alot better than the Molave Hall of AUP. This was actually luxurious in a way with recreational rooms and such. I perceive it used to be pretty too.

The guns were another interesting site. They were already painted green but you could still see the chips on the barrel caused by splash damage from the bombs dropped. These guns were the main strong point of Corregidor; what made it impregnable. That's why it was important for the Japanese to get a hold of it no matter the number of casualties. The guns could shoot to anywhere in Bataan and Cavite ranging up to 29,000 meters vertical range. And since it was right at the mouth of Manila Bay, it was the main defense of Manila Bay.





The end of our tour was the Malinta Experience. The sound and light show inside Malinta Tunnel. The tunnel served as a bombproof shelter and a path through the hill. During the bombing, the tunnel remained intact. The tunnel sheltered most everyone during the bombing of Corregidor. The reason why it is now ruined is because, during the retaking of Corregidor, the Japanese blew themselves inside the tunnel creating a massive explosion crumbling most of the tunnel and even destroying and American tank in the process.

Below are some pictures taken. Thanks to my sister, Aimeem for some of the pics.





Other places we visited were the Pacific War Memorial, the Eternal Flame of Freedom, a really nice piece of art and the Spanish lighthouse.

Makati City Hall Vertical Marathon 3

May 25, 2008 is definitely a day to remember. My debut to the running world. So far, I've been doing training runs and it came time to put myself to the test.





The plan was to join the Doc Fit Takbo Para sa Puso 10k at the University of the Philippines, Quezon City. It turned out that the registration was closed so we decided to join the Makati City Hall Vertical Marathon.

Waking up at 01:45 AM Sunday morning, I prepared myself (just had 1 & 1/2 hours of sleep). Meeting place was the AIIAS gate 03:00 AM. Sir Jerry, Sir Mac, & Wilson Kafiar & my sister & I were waiting for a bus. Got into one at around 04:00 and arrived in Powerplant Mall, Rockwell, Makati City at around 05:00 AM. There was no sign of anyone there, Jerry got hold of some runners and found out that the starting line was around a block from where we were!! At least, we got there and registered.

Waiting for the run to start, I was intimidated by all the HARDCORE runners around showing their massive quads & hamstrings, calves, & their almighty running shoes! I was dressed in jogging pants, a white shirt, and my trusty Reebok crosstrainers that I use all around. This was my normal parkour outfit.

When they called for check in, we didn't know which direction the run was going to go. We weren't residence of Makati City so we just followed the crowd. Later, though, we found out which direction we were going. Standing on the ready, and looking at the person with the gun... click.. and a couple more clicks.. a shout.. "GO!!" and we were off.. what luck!! The gun didn't sound!! Jerry & Mac were still chatting. They were waiting for the bang which never came. But since they saw everyone run, they ran.

It was around a 2k road run to Makati City Hall, went straight in through the front and up some stairs before entering the "gas chamber." Boy!! The emergency stairwell was full of runners on their way up to the 22nd floor. The air was damp, it was hard to breath!! I was panting badly after a couple of flights up.. I couldn't run anymore. I more of walked up 1 run up 2 til the 22nd floor. Then the "easy" part. On the way down, I went on to put my parkour training to the test.

Jumping from landing to landing of flights, parkour turned out to have a slight advantage passing some runners in the process. Out the building, I shot, back to the road and around the corner to the finish line. I finished between 12-13minutes. Didn't get a chance to time myself. I finished just behind the number 1 female finisher. I was tired but still pumping with energy. In around 12 minutes, the run was over for me. I'm officially in and I'm going to continue training for the next runs.

Thanks to Sir Jerry Karundeng, Sir Maclan Matthews and Wilson Kafiar.

Now here are some pics:





Here is Flash!! He beat everyone.. SUPER FAST!!



Here is a good ("excellent") example of a BAD example. I find this very ironic that people who are involved in fitness activities such as running have vises such as smoking that actually deteriorates your lungs which is very important for "airflow" in your body. Bad, bad, bad!! This guy is one of the organizers, or sponsors, or whatever of this run. He did the awarding. I didn't really catch his name.

..soLo RuN..

Following up the run to Tagaytay with Sir Mac, Sir Jerry, & Ate Jenn last Sunday (blog here), I decided to run the same route. But since Ate Jenn and Sir Jerry went on a hike to Pico de Loro (Mt. Palay-palay) and Sir Mac was doing a run in Pasig, I was alone.

May 18, 2008 - I woke up early Sunday morning to the rain. It has been raining recently with two typhoons in the Philippines' Area of Responsibility - one to the west of Mindoro island and one to the north-east of the Philippines - I decided not to run.

In the afternoon of the same day, I decided to run. starting at around 1730 I started my solo run to Tagaytay via Brgy. Iba to Brgy. Ligawan to Brgy. Bucal to Brgy. Tolentino East. The sky was cloudy so it wasn't all that sunny. It also rained on me a bit but it was refreshing. The run to Tagaytay took me 1hour 12minutes & 52seconds according to my clock. When I got there, I remembered I didn't have fare enough to get me back home. So I ran another 12minutes & 32seconds to Olivarez for a total of 1hour 25minutes & 25seconds which is a new record for me as the longest run I ever did.

With this new accomplishment came new confidence in myself. Hard Training together with good advice from experienced people helps.

--Road TesT--

Waking up at 4am isn't easy but I this day I was going on a run with Jerry & Maclan. This two guys are pros. They've been running for a while now and, as a novice runner, I look up to them. The route we were going to take is a back-route from Silang all the way up to Brgy. Tolentino in Tagaytay City.

The meeting place was the belltower in AIIAS. Time - 5am. I was there but none of them were still there so I waited. Then, Ate Jenn came. The night before, she was asking me if I was going to run with Mac & Jerry today, and I said that I was. It's a good thing that she decided to come along at least I wasn't the only novice runner. haha.

Anyways, after waiting for sometime, Mac, then Jerry showed up and we started off. Back down to Silang, up to Iba and on our way to Tagaytay. The run took around 1hour & 30mins - 2hours. The pace was slow and easy but was still challenging.

The route had a lot to offer. A combination of hills, flat, trail. It was good training. We ended up walking the last segment of the road up to the road connecting People's Park and Olivarez Plaza -- somewhere between "palenke" (market) and Olivarez. Mac decided to run to Olivarez while, Ate Jenn, Jerry and I flagged a tricycle for a ride.

I really learned loads about running this day from conversations with the two pros. Tips on how to keep hydrated to strategies on long runs to big names in the running world.

I am greatful for these people who gave me the enthusiasm to run. So far, it's been quite an experience. I'm still looking forward to my first race & still training for it.

Wallclimbing in SSD

In the afternoon of the same day, RJ, Ed, Shin & I with Jerry went to SSD for some wallclimbing. SSD has a wall behind the guesthouses in the basketball and tennis court area. The wall is not too high but is quite challenging. We went up it a couple of times and attempted to scale it from one side to the other. It proved to be more than we could handle for that day. We didn't even get half-way. All well there is always next week.

..PKPH Dry Run + Habagat 20th Anniversary = a gReaT daY..

May 4, 2008 was a day to remember. With the lots happening this summer, I really didn't expect this day to be what it was -- A GREAT DAY.. This weekend was, in my schedule (our group of friends' schedule), the day we were supposed to trek Mt. Maculot. But because of the PKPH scheduled dry run for their summer class starting on May 11, 2008, we decided to postponed the climb to a later date.

Parkour Philippines (PKPH) Dry Run

The Dry Run was supposed to start at 8am. Meaning we had to leave AIIAS at around 6am. Instead, Red, RJ, Ed & I left at around 0730, Sunday morning. Reaching Ateneo at around 0930, we were really late. We were still able to join Alvin, Tam, & Sandy for the rest of the morning trying out the plan for the summer class.

After that, we had a small jam. It's been a while since we jammed with Alvin & Tam and we had a great time.

After the jam, Alvin Teng offered us a ride to our next stop and lunch. He brought us to Shaw to pick up my Canon PS A620 which was under repair. And since they were on lunch break, boss Alvin took us to lunch. We had a great time together. Discussing plans and recalling experiences. He didn't just bring us to our next stop, though. He also took us to our next next stop. He took us an extra mile. Thanks boss.


Habagat 20th anniversary celebration at ROX

Boss Alvin took us to Recreational Outdoor eXchange (ROX) in Global City. This was the first time that we've ever visited this shop. We didn't know that Habagat, the Philippines' leader in outdoor equipment, was holding their 20th anniversary celebration. We were amazed to see a Venado pack - 17yrs old on display there. And it was still good for use. We got to meet the Habagat staff there. They invited us to a merienda and we got to chat with them about various topics such as the Carera Habagat and their packs themselves. It was quite an awesome experience. RJ was starstruck!!! But how I wish I had a functional camera then. But although I was able to get my cam that day, I forgot the batteries at home.



More pictures of the event could be viewed here: Habagat 20th anniversary celebration at ROX


Some points to share

Going to Manila on May 11, was not as we expected.

- The night before the set day, that was Saturday night, Shin kinda busted his shoulder again which put him out of the plan. It was very disappointing.

- Another thing is that RJ texted late that he didn't have money to spare. Ed & I discussed this case and decided to pitch in for RJ's fare.

- We were in a really tight budget when we went there, and not even planning to have lunch. But thanks to our friend Alvin Teng, it turned out fine.

- We weren't expecting to meet the Habagat staff in ROX that day. If we went any other day, we wouldn't have met them. It was really quite a coincidence.