2008.07.22
Baguio City Adventure
Cold air went through my jacket… I knew exactly where we were. Shanties inartistically lining up on the mountain’s edge… not the exact sight I was expecting. We were in Baguio City. But at that moment, I thought, that was not the Baguio City that I wanted to see.
Bermuda Hills
We arrived in Baguio City at around 4:00 in the morning, and our first task: find the place where we will be staying for our entire 2D1N adventure. We knew it was a flat in Bermuda Hills. What we didn’t know was how to get there. So we hired a cab, asked the driver to bring us to Bermuda Hills, and once there, we relayed to him the mysterious direction that the house owner gave us: “Just follow the white line.” Hehe. Sounded creepy to me. But there was indeed a white line. And it did guide us to the rental house.
Being my first glance of what Baguio City looked like at daylight, I was not pleased at all with the sight that Bermuda Hills offered me. To be fair, though, it was a rather new subdivision with a lot of constructions still going on. But it was not the village that captured my critical eyes. It was the houses all jammed up towards the peak of the mountain. Others may find the sight artistic, even reminiscent of the Grecian houses we’ve seen in movies. I didn’t.
Good thing, though, it was not everything that Baguio has to offer. Because when we travelled to the other side, we found beauty.
Baguio Cathedral
Now, let me tell you quickly why we were in Baguio during that tranquil July 12 morning. It was the wedding day of our officemates, Harold and Amy, and the wedding was held on the city. The wedding was scheduled at 9:30 in the morning, leaving us with not much choice but to head directly to the wedding site after a hasty preparation.
The Our Lady of Atonement Church, more popularly known as the Baguio Cathedral stands atop a hill. Tourists can reach the place directly with a taxi cab (I don’t think I’m giving good directions here), but we opted to use the stairways to reach the cathedral, as advised by our taxi driver. Anyway, we wanted to eat breakfast along Session Road first before going to the wedding.
Late have we discovered that we made the wrong choice. While the path uphill offered some religious images worth seeing, the climb was so tiresome that I was again hungry when we reached the topmost step.
The thing that waited for us at the top, however, was a pleasant view to behold. The Baguio Cathedral is quite small, compared to the other cathedrals that I have already visited. But it has a beauty of its own. It was cleanly tailored on the outside and every bit religious on the inside.
The Hotel Supreme Convention Plaza
Now, no Filipino wedding is complete without a little reception afterwards. And for the Espallardo-Cutib Nuptial, the reception was held at Hotel Supreme. Again, I would not be telling you how we got to the place. I am neither a resident nor a tour guide. We just hailed a taxi and after a few minutes… wallah… we were at the Hotel Supreme.
The Hotel Supreme provided a wide hall for the reception of the couple (I wonder how much they paid for it). And except for a few glitches at the beginning, their program did flow well. The food was great, too. It’s sad, though, that they have to get the plates and dishes on the table while you still want to take your time indulging your taste buds.
Baguio City Market
We planned to roam around Baguio City right after the wedding ceremonies and the reception. Too tired from the event and still sleepy from our travel, however, we decided to cancel all those things and opted to sleep for a few hours. And after a few hours of sleep, we went to what may be the most accessible place and best destination with the time we have remaining: the Baguio City Market.
True to the statements made in a travel website, Baguio City Market is indeed a tourist destination of its own. Probably not for the sight there is to see, but for the things that are there for purchase. Souvenirs, fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables, delicacies… name anything you can buy in Baguio and you’ll definitely find it in the city market. And while some delicacies may be bought at another place at quite cheaper prices, the market would be the friend of the traveler hurrying to buy presents with the little time that he has.
Solibao
Not Solinao, and definitely not Bolinao. What am I talking about? I’m talking about Solibao, the resto where we gathered together to have our night’s fill of what good food Baguio has to offer. The restaurant is located across Burnham Park. The place was very Filipino, with the dishes they serve and the furniture they had.
That night, we ordered sinigang na baboy, sisig, inihaw na hito, barbeque, liempo and one more dish that I now can’t remember. After the satisfying meal, we were expecting to get an extraordinarily large bill. Much to our surprise (in a positive way), however, we ended up shelling out only 200 pesos each for all those delicious food that we have eaten.
KaffeeKlatsch
Not wanting to end our night in Baguio short, we decided to hangout on a coffee shop supposedly owned by the better-half of a once AWS employee (I hope I got my infos right :D). Meynard, our efficient guide (hehe), encouraged us to just walk to the place. Anyway, the place is near Solibao, he said. But after fifteen minutes of walking, we still cannot find the place! Another problem is that we don’t know what we are looking for. It ended up that none of us knows exactly how to spell the shop’s name :D.
Eventually, we did found the place. It was a cozy little nook that provided us warmth in the cold Baguio night. A live band was playing when we arrived there. And while they did not grant us our request (they can’t play David Cook’s version of Always Be My Baby), we did enjoy their music. Add to that the taste of the assortment of hot and cold beverages the shop offers. I had a hot choco for myself, and I did enjoy the taste.
Mines View Park
On our second day in Baguio, we had only one place in mind to visit: Mines View Park. Why? I myself don’t know. Well, it is a popular tourist destination in the city, and we can’t think of any other place to go.
Mines View Park, according to a web travel guide, once offered a good view of Benguet’s gold and copper mines. During our visit, though, these mines can no longer be seen. All that is left there to see are houses on the right side and the lush greeneries on the left side of the mountains. The left side, though, is still a good place for some picture taking.
Good Shepherd
From Mines View Park, we went to Good Shepherd to buy some pasalubongs at cheaper prices. I, for one, did not buy anything at the Baguio City market because I want to buy the delicacies where they were originally made. At the convent, I bought the strawberry jam that my sister was asking for, and a jar of ube jam all for my own :D.
Aside from the pasalubongs, the Good Shepherd convent also offers beautiful sceneries on its own. We had a lot of group pictures on the place, including some ala boy band takes.
Wright Park
Still two hours before lunch, we have already visited what we planned to visit and bought what we ought to buy. With that much time to spare, we decided to visit the next tourist spot near Mines View Park: Wright Park.
When we arrived at the park, the sight and the smell of horses welcomed us. Not interested on riding a horse or even a pony (we don’t have much time and cash), we decided to just roam around the park. The only way to the great sceneries of the park, however, is through a stair of however many steps. Left with not much alternative, we did climb the stairs, taking pictures of ourselves along the way each time we get tired.
Up the stairs is the “park” part of the Wright Park. With flowers in bloom during our visit, the place proved to be an ideal place for picture taking. And we did just that. We took pictures every step of the way, with Joie and Rhoy as our subjects for most of our shots.
Farther on Wright Park is the much pictured spot in Baguio City, the Pool of Pines. I took a shot of it myself, but mine was not that great. At the end of the Pool of Pines can be found the Mansion—the official resting place (hehe) of the President of the Philippines in Baguio City.
I Have To End This
You’ve read that right. That was, in a quite lengthy summary, all the places that we have visited and all the things that we have done in Baguio City. There are other places that we have not visited during our stay, like the Botanical Garden, the Bell Church, the Grotto of Lourdes, and a lot of other historic and scenic sights. Well, that is expected, knowing that we only planned to stay for one and a half day in the city. Damn all the work that needs to be done the next day! Hehe.
Well, this is the end of my long story. And if you have not dosed off while reading up to this point, I would like to congratulate you! Hehe. Reaching this point of the article is even worth congratulating ;). So until my next adventure, Ja ne! Hehe. Just don’t know how to close it. ;)
21:15 Posted in Road Trip | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: road trip, baguio city, wedding
2008.07.19
let me start... again
Well, I have reasons for not writing much. Or for not writing follow-ups to an article with a hanging end. Some reasons are true. Some, even I have difficulties believing.
But I don't want to make excuses in this post. What I want is to make a commitment. And what commitment? To update this blog as frequently as I could.
I owe to my readers, however few you may be, to make this site as interesting as it can be. And since I have no way to gauge if what I have posted is interesting enough (ayaw nyo kasi mag-post ng comments), then I'll just write as many as I can. Hopefully, one of my posts will catch your interests.
So let me start all over again. Let me relate to you, once again, whatever stories I have to tell. And hopefully, this time, I'll be able to give more of these stories to you.
21:30 Posted in Reactions, Reflections, etc. | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: random thoughts
2008.06.09
AWS Company Outing 2008 (Part I)
This fact cannot be any truer when talking about the AWS Company outing for this year. Having turned 15 years, we expected it to be Grand. And our expectations didn't fail us, because last May 29, me and my officemates headed south of Luzon to enjoy the confines a paradise called Arreceffi Island, better known to many by the resort that welcomes guests there, the Dos Palmas Resort.
The Travel
More than two and a half hours of travel, plus all the unwanted delays, can really make a person tired. True enough, our travel from Manila to Dos Palmas did just that.
After a delay of nearly an hour, we left Manila on board a Cebu Pacific plane at around 9 AM and reached the Puerto Princesa airport more than an hour later. From the airport, we travelled by land for some 30 minutes until we reached the Sta. Lourdes Wharf. And from the Wharf, it took us another hour of travel by sea to reach the shores of Arreceffi Island.
Two and a half hours, plus nearly an hour of delays and wait, is indeed tiring. And it could have been more tiring if we had nothing to do during the travel. Luckily, we found a lot of things to do during those hours -- from trying to get the calling cards of our co-employees (a game thought of by the outing committee), to measuring the heights of PBA players (they boarded the same plane with us), hearing the "funny" stories of our guide (and don't forget the C and the G for stalactites and stalagmites), and taking pictures of the various islands (and some swimsuit clad ladies on their beaches) that can be seen between Sta. Lucia Warf and the shores of Dos Palmas. But the ultimate tiredness-reliever was the sight of the Dos Palmas shoreline--our entrance to what would be our home for the next two days.
The Resort
"Tuloy po kayo, tuloy po kayo, sa aming tahanan, munting paraiso..."
Now, that's pretty much all that you can see on the island resort. But there's a lot more to see... that is if you go under water. A minute or so from land, a motor boat can bring you to Helen's Garden, a popular dive site near Dos Palmas where different kinds of fishes, corals, starfishes and many other underwater creatures can be found. If you're lucky enough, you'll be able to see a turtle, Nemo, or maybe even Ariel (wishful thinking) during your dive.
The Accommodation
(to be continued)
16:20 Posted in Road Trip | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: summer, outing, AWS, Dos Palmas
2008.05.04
Three Birthdays and a Farewell
I may be talking about four things, but the celebration of these was held all in one day... last April 30. It was the birthday celebrations of Jojo (May 3), Akiyo Sensei and Gian (May 4). At the same time, it was also the/our farewell party of/for Akiyo Sensei. After two years (not sure), she's finally bidding the company and us farewell,
But to make this long post short, let me just focus on one person... on Akiyo Sensei. And while some (or most) of what I'll be writing here has already been said in our April 30 morning meeting, let me relay to you what Sensei has been to me and to us during her two years stay in the company.
A Sensei
That's why we call her Sensei! But why would I create this section if it is already too obvious that she is a Sensei? Because there are a lot of things we'll miss with her being the sensei. From now on, we will no longer be hearing the all too familiar "Kiite Kudasai!" or "Nikyuu hajimemas!" calls. We'll also miss the sensei with whom we talk in tagalog and readily responds even if she's not sure of what we are saying :D She may not be the best sensei that our company has, but it was surely always fun to attend her classes.
A Friend
All of the sensei's in our company are our friend, but Murakami Sensei is probably the closest to our batch, or maybe just the Alabang group of Action Batch 7. Why? I don't know. Probably because she is the most "makulit" among them.
An Intelligence Officer
A military intelligence officer, I mean. I don't know where she gets her information, but she just gets a lot of them. There was one time when we met at the 7th floor and she was smiling at me. When I asked her why, she said because she knows something about me. She said that I like a certain girl and she knows about it. Well, it turned out that she's right about her information... but I never admitted it.
A Newscaster
Because she shares the intelligence information she gets with everyone, and she won't wait for you to confirm it! Or maybe I am just complaining too much :p There is this one issue in our batch about me and a certain batchmate. It was never really a big issue then, because everyone in our batch knows that it was plain teasing. But everything turned big when it reached Sensei's ear. It was not actually her fault, because she actually believed the information she received. In fact, when I asked her why she is always matching me with the girl, her answer to me is "Chigau?".
A Secret Bearer
Because she asked and I just have to tell her. On her last day, she asked me who my crush is. I was actually serious about the girl, so I wouldn't tell anyone, in the fear that whatever plans I have will fail if I tell anyone. But I think I owe it to her... to tell her who I really plan to court. After all, she has been asking for the name for quite a long time now. So before she left last Wednesday, I told her my secret, with the dismay of my batchmates because I haven't told them anything... yet.
That would be the five things I'll remember most about Murakami Sensei. There are still a lot of other things, but I have to settle with this five to make this post end.
So again, Sensei, we bid you good bye and good luck. I know we will all meet each other again (if I'm invited in the wedding :p) and I know that my secret will be safe with you :D And to the other two persons included in this post's topic, just a belated Happy Birthday to Jojo and a Happy Birthday to Gian.
21:02 Posted in Reactions, Reflections, etc. | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: sensei, birthday, farewell
2008.04.19
PageRank 4
A long, long time ago, in a blog seldom visited by anybody but me (or so I thought), a girl named Geek posted on its chat box, congratulating the blog owner for reaching PR4. Had it been any other person, the blog owner would have jumped for joy and treated his friends and officemates at Dad's, Saisaki, Kamayan for an eat-all-you can dinner. Sadly, the name of the blog owner is Amiel (which is synonymous to kuripot). And one more thing, he does not know what PR4 means!
Then, one day...
Tama na! Hindi ko kayang panindigan yung fairy tale style of writing!
Anyway, all I am going to talk about in this post is the PR4 rank of this blog. Hehe. Well, I was once proud of it, thinking that rank 0 is the lowest and rank 5 is the highest. I thought my blog was ranking well, only to discover later that the highest is 10 and mine has not even reached the halfway mark!
But what is a PR ranking, and why is it so important that I'm so willing to dedicate a space for it here in my blog? Actually, the ranking is not so important to me. All it gives me is the chance to tease my friends because mine is higher than their blog's PR. Hehe. But the ranking seems important for those who are blogging for cash. Maybe, they use it as a gauge to know how popular their blog or website is.
PR stands for PageRank. And according to Wikipedia, it is a link analysis algorithm for measuring the relative importance of an element within a set. If that definition is too mathematical for you, allow me to try to explain it in a much easier way in the next paragraphs. But if you want to discover what kind of algorithm it is and how it is computed, you're welcome to search for it on Wikipedia. Your author here is not that good mathematically to understand all those notations posted on the site.
So, how does Google PageRank work for simple bloggers like you and me? According to the same Wikipedia page that I have been talking about, PageRank rates your site based on links. I don't know how it works exactly, but the number of links to your site makes your rank higher. Not only that, it also "weighs" the site that links to your site. If the site that links to yours is ranked as "important", then the value of the link also becomes higher.
So how did I get a PR4 while some of my blogger friends are cursing Google for getting a zero? I really don't know. Probably because of my friends' sites that have better rankings. Or maybe because of the links from Technorati, or from Blogspirit each time I update this blog. Or probably because I'm just plain good at this thing. Haha. Pakibasa naman hanggang matapos... huwag na mainis or magalit.
Is a higher PageRank important for your site? I really don't know. But just like a medal that you can display on your blog or website, it's better if you can have a rank that you can be proud of. It probably is important for people taking blogging seriously or as a source of income. But for this blog that contains nothing but rants and blabbing, it probably won't mean much. But I am still displaying it on my sidebar. It looks good, if you'll ask me. And should it drop down to a zero ranking later, I can just delete it :p
22:25 Posted in Bulletin Board | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: google, pagerank