first time in SAGADA...and i loved it!!!! really loved it!!!!

...It was for our last class meeting actually... for my PE2 class (Outdoor Recreation) with Sir Florendo,..at Sagada, Mountain Province -- my first time to reach his place.
We rode a bus and travelled the rough and curvy dirt road for a totally sleepless 6-hour drive.
It was really exhausting since I'd always got head bumps from left to right.

Around lunch time, we were able to reach our inn. We settled for a while - relaxed, change our clothes, ate our lunch and rest for a few hours. Then we made our way to Sumaguing Cave. We walked until we reached the St. Mary the Virgin Parish...took some pictures and started moving again.

At the entrance of the church...

Walk. Walk. Walked to the slope. In the road.

Passing countless stores, restaurants ans inns.

It was really a long walk.

Exhausting as I would describe it.

Literally.

Walk. Walk. Walk. And more walk.

Houses. Pine trees. Tourists.

Then it began to rain a little...

then it grew stronger.

But we kept our pace.

I think we walked around 5 kilometers. I'm not really sure. I'm bad at estimates.

When we reached the cave entrance, we grouped ourselves.

But first, we gathered at the opening to have a brief history of then place.
It was discovered decades ago and they said that Sumaguing Cave is the largest cave in the Philippines... and it was really great to have known that fact!

Then we had our line which was lead by Sir Florendo followed by our group. The guides said that the slowest should go first to decide our phasing. So here we go!!!

At the first part, it was so slippery we needed to help each other out. The stones and steps were slippery because of mud. And as the other ones, this cave have lots of bats on the ceiling... undoubtedly making the area sting. It's like there were tiny Batmans hanging above us!

When we reached the interior of the cave, we put our slippers off and began our spelunking with bare feet. This time it was easier since the formations weren't slippery after all. It was also easier since our guides were really expert of the place, like they can jump here to there with such an ease.

You can really witness how God was so great with the magnificence of the cave - the color inside, the ice-cold, clear, flowing water , the stalagmites and stalactites, the really small holes where just one person could pass through... There were really great formations in there. I really enjoyed the scene. We were saying that we would like to live in that place... Of course, that was a joke.

Here are some pictures inside the mighty cave:

Come in and see....

Prepare to be enchanted...

Pictures began here... haha... cam addicts!

Going deeper...

I'm the one of he 6 persons who descended through this rope!

The famous "King's Curtain."

A view from the inside...

Imagination works here...

haha...

Pics with Jen, Laila and Je-al....

Class picture.... all in wide smiles!!!!

As we were trying to make our way through the very narrow space inside...

And thank God we made it!!!!

Pictures with Sir Florendo and Sir Perry...

I love the water...though it was really really freezing cold!

Water flowing everywhere....

Nice formations on our backs, right?

We love to stay here....!!!

Going up his time...

We're almost on our way out... oh no....!!

Cute pic...

Last picture while we took our exit from the cave.

All were happy to survive the spelunking experience!

Just a picture at the inn where we stayed for the night.

It took us around 2 hours until we came out. It was such a nice experience. The cold water made me chill but it was part of the picture.

I really want to be back someday... with my family of course.

I want to show them the beauty of this cave...

plus some other tourist spots here that we were unable to explore.

We were able to travel home by 1pm the next day.

Another 6-hour travel.

And I was home at the dorm by around 7:30pm. Just on the right time.

Yes, it was exhausting.

But nothing can replace my experience there...

We made lots of happy memories in this place.

And i really look forward for my next visit here.

Final Exam....English 1

By 5pm, I will be having my final exam -- since there are three batches due to conflict in schedule - 1pm, 3pm and 5pm -- on English which would cover all the lessons that we tackled during the whole summer. This includes sentence revisions and constructions, editing, detecting parallelisms, etc.
This would serve as our last meeting as well.

I hope to pass then exam,,,
I've been reviewing for nights for this one.
And praying that God will guide my hand to write what is correct...

So be it.

LAST Day of Summer Class

Oh...
This is the last day of summer class. And I still don't want it to end. I really enjoyed my summer here... and again, except for the daily rains.
I guess I've been enjoying since my classes were a lot of fun as well.
I'll miss my teachers and classmates...
Really...
And my roommates, too, since this is my first time to live in the dorm (with the usual sleepless night due to noisy neighboring rooms, of course). We shared a lot of funny and happy memories here.
But everything has an end.
"Sooner or later, it all comes crashing down..." like what NERD said.

Well... at least i learned so much during the 5-week term.
So now, I'm getting ready for tomorrow's field trip in Sagada, Mountain Province ans my Final Exam on Physics on Monday...

Please pray for me...
haha....

Then, I'm ready to go home...
Back to Victoria...

done with physics project...got a perfect score for it!!!

Sa wakas natapos din...
We made "something" out of straws and put a fresh egg in it.
The experiment was done a few hours ago.. during my English class, that's why i wasn't able to really see what happened. ='(
But after the class, i saw Sir Ian and asked for the grade of our group.
He said we got a perfect score...

The experiment was like this:

"Save the Egg Project"
(Egg drop)

• The egg will be placed inside our "creations."
• It will first be dropped from the 2nd flood of a building and will be checked whether the poor egg survived the fall.
• If there were no cracks, it will proceed to the next stage... a fall from the 3rd floor.
• If the egg still remain uncracked, the group would be given a passing grade.
• Plus, the construction and design of the "creation" will have respective points as well...

Di kami nanalo sa design... they said the other class got this award. Anyways, at least natapos na... no more problems... Exam na lang sa Lunes... right after makabalik ng Sunday from Sagada...

Exhausting summer.... indeed!

super PURPLE....!!!

...wala kaming magawa ni Sam...
pauwi na sya..
patawid naman kami ni Ate Mika nun...galing Engineer's Hill...
pagkakita ko kay Sam..aba!
pareho kami ng shade ng damit!!
Haha....!
By the way, purple ang favorite color ni Sam kaya di nakakapagtaka.
Then, bumalik kami ng school...
Wala pa ring magawa....
Naglakad-lakad kami sa IB, sa lobby, sa IM Plaza...
Hay...
Nakakatamad...
Nung bumalik kami ng lobby, naupo tapos nagpicture-picture....
Sabi ko nga di ba?
Obsession ko na yata 'to...
Pero konting pics lang kasi madilim na...
Konti na lang students...
Si Manong Guard palakad-lakad sa lobby....
Hirap magconcentrate...
Hehe...
Here are the pics:

Definitely purple, right?

as i quote Sir Popoy....

Hmmmm....
I'm really enjoying my summer classes (excluding the fact of the frequent rains).
I'm learning so much and i love it...!
I became more active and felt less nervous when it's my turn to answer some random questions even though most of the time I'm not really sure of what to say.
Like what Popoy said on the 23rd of April,

"Force yourself to think.
I know you have the answer,
you just have to let it out."

He said this when no one wanted to raise his hand to answer Sir's question. I wrote these words on my filler and read them every time I'm feeling confused.

Yeah, I guess we know the answer to most of the questions that we frequently ask ourselves or some of which that are asked by others unto us. We are just afraid of being wrong or by the concept of rejection once we utter our answers. Maybe we are just confused of what we know and what we feel. We are just confused; on the edge of self-denial. This makes things difficult for the people around us as heavily as how we sink unto them.

Maybe we just have to push ourselves more - to have more courage; to know when it's time to cross the bridge.
Our existence is accompanied by a lot of risks and doubts... we just have to know if it's the right and moral thing to continue with the current... and to keep on fighting for whatever is important to us.

happy birthday my RobertPattinson!

happy 23rd birthday sa kanya!!
i like his looks on Harry Potter better than in Twilight..
pero i like his role on the latter....
go Cedric!
go Edward!!!!!!

Neil Gaiman's SMOKE and MIRRORS<<<

I've been reading Smoke and Mirrors for weeks now. I bought my copy from National Bookstore, SM last February and just opened it this summer...
I really love Neil Gaiman and I'm trying to collect his books..
Coraline was the first book that I read from him - this was years ago. I borrowed the copy from a schoolmate.

As i was reading this one now, I got a mix of emotions from one story to the next. Maybe you were wondering why it took me so long to finish this. It's because I am not reading it continuously. If i have a break or just finished a book, I open this book and read one short story...
One piece at a time...
And I'm loving Neil Gaiman more and more...
(Plus points for the good looks despite his age... he's still cute...yeah... dangerously cute)

first time to Our Lady of Lourdes Parish...

Since I'd been to many churches here in Baguio, it was my long-time aim to visit/ attend a mass to all the Catholic churches here.
Some of the churches that i already visited are non-Catholic because of invitations from friends and schoolmates...(Iglesia ni Cristo, Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary, University Baptist Church, Victory/ Every Nation Campus Ministry ) and i like the idea of attending these churches since i also want to know how other religions conduct their masses...

Yesterday, for the first time, I attended the mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, in Kisad Road, Baguio City...
Good thing, i still found a vacant seat...then i took my place.
During the mass, I saw my blocmate Jose at the far side. He gave his seat to a lady in purple carrying a child, and stood at the back... how courteous.

I wasn't able to listen perfectly since half of the attendance were children who stood three and a half feet and below - many were running, ascending the stairs, giggling over the bridge, and as expected, some were trowing tantrums. OH dear...

But was a nice church...
Lots of people attended. I even saw some familiar faces.
I'm sure I'll bring my family here once we all got the opportunity to stay...

started reading Life Expectancy the other day///

as my nerves were totally filled with boredom and lifelessness... the drive to pick a book made me feel more productive deep within...
i started reading Life Expectancy as i arrived home from the library last rainy Saturday (i returned Illusions by Richard Bach and used the Internet)...
i really love Dean Koontz...

i started browsing the novel and now I'm halfway through it...

i can't have a continuous time in reading the book since i also have other stuffs to accomplish...
but so far, the story caught a variety of emotions in me - fear (my heart beat faster on the initial part, indeed), humor, gladness, confusion - and i expect more thrill on the other half of the story...
he has such a gifted hand and mind...
oh i wish i can share this talent!

buhay DORM...food chaos!

!!!oh noh..!!!
as i woke up around 7am kanina...
nagmadali ako na maglagay ng heater sa tubig na paligo ko sa 1st floor (by the way, i'm residing at roon 207, 2nd floor, UPBaguio Residence Hall ) kasi ang daming nakapila sa 2nd floor (as usual) hoping to have a warm bath kasi lagi na lang malamig yung paligo ko...eh pag umaga, ang lamig-lamig sa dorm...

after nun...i checked my grocery kasi i was planning to cook canton (as usual uli) for my breakfast plus some hot chocolate to pair it with...
as i was tring to find a pack of pancit canton at the SM plastic bag sa upper shelf ko...i discovered na wala na pala akong stock!

oh no talaga!

nakakainis...!
so i ended up making a hot Milo drink and eating a pack of 3-piece Presto Creams...so light...
hay....

sana makapaggrocery na ako mamaya....
di ko pa naman hobby ang magpagutom...
di kasi ako sanay ng walang kinakain kung walang magawa...
hay....
pero so far enjoy pa naman sa dorm..
di lang nga ako masyado nakakanuod kasi i prefer to read upstairs than to watch TV programs na di ko naman gusto...(pero usually come to watch the news for some updates)...

how BLIND people can see...(n_n)

I'd been walking my way home last Friday when i came to saw a line of people connected to each bother by clinging to the right shoulder of the person in from of them..
at a distant, it looked strange since they were all senior citizens i think...
as i came closer... i realized five of them are blind... the guy in the front was the one leading them as they walk and crossed the road... four old men and two old women...
isn't it just inspiring?
despite of their condition, they seemed to be happy and unbelievable comfortable of themselves...as if everything was the way it was before...
it really just tells us that the capability to see it only a dimension of our colossal cosmos.
for us, who live our life by how see it (up to some point), we would be in total mess if our visions expires within a blink of an eye...
it seems that you've been sleeping forever though you're really awake...
the curtains are down...
the lights are off...
you're imprisoned in the darkest dungeon you can imagine...
under the deep shadows of fear and frustration to escape...

if i were in their shoes,,,knock on wood... i don't think i can survive...
or it would be extremely difficult for me to adjust in any way...

but i really admire these people...
they, who despite the absence of sight, continue as if nothing has happened...
as if nothing was lost...
still enjoying every single day of waking up in the morning and living a life of contentment and simple aspirations...
i guess it's what you call

...FAITH...

i really salute these guys...
all of them who experience the same situation out there...
i really found the courage in you...

may God bless you always in every step you make...
in every day you are experiencing His grace...

got the book: Gravity by Tess Gerritsen

Finally, I have the copy of this book - hardbound, used, but still in very good condition.
I bought it from BOOKSALE since I got interested with the topic and I saw at the back cover hoe Stephen King commented -- oh actually praise, yeah... I think that's the word -- how the author effectively wrote this book. He even stated that she is better than Cook. I had read one Cook novel and it was really great! How much more about this one?
I'm really excited to finish Life Expectancy...
next target... Gravity, of course.

Mother's Day tomorrow...

my Mom and I near Burnham Park during Panagbenga last February...

so color coordinated, huh?
yeah...
but pink is not our favorite color, mine is blue and hers is green...

well, i will not be spending Mother's Day with her for the first time because i'm here in Baguio for my summer class (which doesn't really seem to be summer at all due to the RAINS!!).

hope she'll have a nice and memorable day tomorrow...
i'll just be whispering my sweet prayer for her like what i'm always doing for all of them...

...love you, Ma!!
thanks for everything....

seriously, THANKS!

hugs and kisses from me...

oh no!!! it's raining hard..i can't get out of the library!!!

how can i go home?
i guess I'm stuck here again...
i don't want my feet to be wet but how could that be??

finished reading Illusions...before sleeping<<<

Category:	Books
Genre:	Religion & Spirituality
Author:	Richard Bach

another dimension of the human soul and faith...
Richard Bach, the same author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull does it again...
with the right words coming directly from the heart... like his hand and wisdom were tied together within the guidance of the Is...
(it is not an overly religious book as it may seem...it's sounds like the narrator, Richard, is just talking to you in a mild and pleasant way...how nice..)

this really gave me another way of looking into life...
full of illusions...

and here are some insights i got from the book:

"I am tired of clinging. Though i cannot see it with my eyes, i trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, i shall die of boredom."
(talks about taking some risk and going an untraveled path...brave feat indeed!)

"The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare to let go."
(don't hold on too much...know when to ease the grip...)

"Nothing good is a miracle, nothing lovely is a dream."
(know the reality from the abstracts...)

"When you ask the question properly, it answers itself, doesn't it?"
(grammar... sentence construction<<)

Try to look for this book and you will not regret reading it. I already returned it in the library. Hope i can also have my own copy of it.

bought another one: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz

again..
i walked inside BOOKSALE and looked for some good reads...
then at the bottom of the shelf at the back, a hard-bound blue book caught my attention... (i must admit that my criteria on buying a book are quite 'odd' in some ways, sometimes i choose the one in good condition, with a good illustration , with the publication that i trust, known author, New York Times Bestseller, International Bestseller, etc., or with a praise from another distinguished writer... - something like these...).

i picked it up and saw that Dean Koontz was the author...
the i read the overview and the plot seemed to be good.
furthermore, the book is really in good condition and was published just in the year 2004.
it seemed that the book wasn't even browsed by the original owner yet...

gonna start reading this one soon...

newly borrowed books...

even though i recently bought some books...
i just can't keep myself from looking over other books...
especially I'm now here at the library and have nothing to do for 2 hours... (i already reviewed my lessons for the next class - English).
as i was looking for some books in the shelves at the back... i saw the book entitled Illusions and took it out... Richard Back wrote it, and i expect it to be good like what he did with Jonathan Livingston Seagull...

as i went to the other side... i picked another book which i once borrowed before - paradoxes from a to z.

i checked these books out and hope to find new insights from them.