Boracay 2009

Just got back from a wonderful weekend in Boracay, though it was not really a relaxing weekend getaway one would expect from going to the beach due to the cornucopia of activities that we did while we were there.

Boracay is beautiful! I've never seen such fine, powdery white sand in my life. The turquoise-colored water is also beckoning. Boracay is indeed one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. What I don't like about Boracay though was that, it was too crowded and commercialized for my taste. The thing is, my idea of a perfect beach getaway is lounging around in a secluded beach, sun bathing in the powdery white sand while reading a good book and sipping fresh buko juice straight from the shell, getting a good massage, watching the sunset with my boyriend while holding hands and kissing in the beach, having long, senseful conversations and swimming in the warm, crystal clear waters of the ocean. Aahhhh... paradise! Boracay, I can say, is almost paradise (oops, is that a song?) but not quite. Wtf!

me, remie and jing enjoying Boracay's white sand and clear waters

Anyways, as I said, we did a lot of activities while we were there we hardly had time to swim in the glorious waters of Boracay.

1. ATV Driving to the top of Mt. Luho

This was the first activity that we did while in Boracay. Aside from parasailing, the other activity that I was most excited to try in Boracay was ATV. ATV, short for all-terrain vehicle, is a small 4-wheeled truck that you have to drive on the rough, uphill road leading to the top of Mt. Luho, the highest point in Boracay. I almost backed-out at first when I learned that I have to drive it to get to Mt. Luho. I thought I only have to drive it in an ATV course. I mean, I don't know how to drive. I don't even know how to ride a bike, wtf! How do they expect me to drive it all the way to the top of Mt. Luho? Wtf! But when we were test-driving the ATVs, I found out that it was quite easy and that you don't need to know how to drive a car or a motorcycle to learn how to drive it. Unlike cars and motorcycles, all you have to press is the gas and the brakes and you're good to go. Gas and brakes, I can do that. The total drive to Mt. Luho and back was about an hour. It was such a great experience. The view from the top of Mt. Luho was exhilarating! It has been one of the highlights of our trip and I'm definitely trying it again.

all geared-up for the ATV ride

me on the ATV. I can drive! see, I'm not completely useless! =)

the amazing view from the top of Mt. Luho

enjoying the view at Mt. Luho viewpoint

2. Parasailing

The ultimate experience! When I was planning the itinerary for the trip, it was the foremost on my list. As I said before in my previous blog post, I wanted to try skydiving at least once before I die. And parasailing is the closest I can get to realizing that dream. I found it so liberating to be strapped in a parachute hundreds of feet in the air while being mercilessly blown by the wind. While I was in the air, I was endlessly screaming due to both excitement and fear, and shouting I Love You to my boyfriend who was strapped beside me. It may sound cheesy, but I found it romantic when my boyfriend and I were shouting I Love You to each other while we were hundreds of feet in the air. Hahaha! Parasailing was an experience to remember. As with ATV, I'll definitely try it again on our next Boracay trip next summer.

parasailing with my boyfriend

up, up and away! yihee!

the operators asked our friends waiting on the sailboat if they wanted us to get wet, and they said, "hell yeah!". so that explains the water touch-down. wtf!

3. Island Hopping

The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands so naturally, island-hopping is a staple on every beach trip in the country. Our Boracay island-hopping experience was unfortunately unexciting due to the strong waves. The waves got me all dizzy and nauseous. We only got to land on one of the islands, Magic Island, but fortunately our sumptuous lunch made up of sinigang na sugpo (prawns), grilled fish, bananas and fresh buko juice that the island's caretaker cooked for us brightened up our moods and made the grueling boat ride back to white beach much more bearable.

on the boat for the grueling island-hopping

at Magic Island, the only island we were able to land

Boracay love

swimming at Magic island

4. Snorkeling

Another activity that I didn't get to enjoy due to the strong waves. Every time I tried to put on my mask and snorkel and dip my head in the water, I have to remove it again because the water would enter the snorkel and would leave me swallowing the salty sea water. Wtf!

no comment, wtf!

5. Helmet Diving / Seawalking

Helmet diving or seawalking is another underwater activity that Boracay offers. Helmet diving gives you the chance to get up close and personal with the fish in Boracay waters, watch an interactive show featuring your friendly divers, and best of all, have the option to take home the memories (free video and photos are included in the package). Morning is the most ideal time to don the heavy astronaut-like helmet (it weighs 25 kilos on land and 1 kilo underwater, so it's quite a strain on the shoulders) and take the plunge. The fantastic thing about this 30-minute under-the-sea activity is that you don't even have to know how to swim or dive to try it.

while waiting for our turn

taking the plunge

under the sea

honey feeding the fish


seawalking

6. Banana Boat ride

I was still able to enjoy this ride despite the coast guard's prohibition on throwing the passengers in the sea. I don't really have any qualms about that fact since I don't really want to be thrown nonchalantly into the sea and consequently drinking lots of salty sea water. Wtf!

paused in the middle of the sea for a photo-op

goin' bananas

7. Watching the beautiful sunset

Boracay has one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. It's awe-inspiring! And it was so romantic to be sitting on the beach with your loved one while watching the breathtaking sunset that is uniquely Boracay. Aawww!

Boracay's magnificent sunset

watching the sunset

hmmm... nuff said..

8. Nightlife

Boracay is famous for its thriving nightlife and excellent bar scene. But since we were too tired and needing much sleep, we just decided to get a few drinks and sample Aria's pizza while lounging on the throw pillows on the beach before heading back to slumber zone.

chillin' at Aria

cheers!


For more pics, click here.

Life is unfair! T_____T

warning: this is a VERY angry (and stupid) post!

I am the most STUPID person ever!

'cause I committed the most STUPID thing one can do.

which is: NOT BACKING UP MY FILES ON MY FREAKIN' USB STICK!!! WTF!

and now, I am so paying the price of my stupidity!

my USB stick just died on me the other day. it says that my disk is unformatted whenever I tried to open it. and so now, all my files were LOST. WTF! WTF! WTF!

My last back-up was on December of last year. That's 2 1/2 months worth of my files! I don't mind some of the files that's in there, cause I can easily reconstruct them. I am most worried about my files on this particular client of mine. For 2 months, I've been working on finishing it's monthly financial statements from July-December. I am almost done. Just finishing touches on my December FS. When this STUPID thing happened! When I checked my back-up, only July was there. Which means I have to re-do everything from August-December! WTF!

I'm gonna die! T______T

I have downloaded about half a dozen file recovery programs I found in the net which claims that they can recover my files from my USB stick. But they are all completely USELESS!

And now I am completely HOPELESS!!! T______T

Ok fine! Another lesson learned. Boo!

Kaleidoscope World

I would like to share this very beautiful song from the King of Pinoy Rap, Francis Magalona, who died of leukemia last March 6, 2009...

Kaleidoscope World
by Francis M.

So many faces, so many races
Different voices, different choices
Some are mad, while others laugh
Some live alone with no better half
Others grieve while others curse
And others mourn behind a big black hearse
Some are pure and some half-bred
Some are sober and some are wasted
Some are rich because of fate and
Some are poor with no food on their plate
Some stand out while others blend
Some are fat and stout while some are thin
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most
Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world
Some are great and some are few
Others lie while some tell the truth
Some say poems and some do sing
Others sing through their guitar strings
Some know it all while some act dumb
Let the bassline strum to the bang of the drum
Some can swim while some will sink
And some will find their minds and think
Others walk while others run
You can't talk peace and have a gun
Some are hurt and start to cry
Don't ask me how don't ask me why
Some are friends and some are foes
Some have some while some have most
Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slope
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin' round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world

Learn more about Francis M. and his battle with leukemia at his blog.

Facebook's 25 Random Things About Me

Thought I should post this list I made for my Facebook account. It's just me and the stupid things I do. Oh, well...

1. I don't know how to ride a bike. Wtf! I never learned how to ride one when I was a kid because first, I'm not really good at balancing myself, up to now, and second, I was so scared of falling over and getting ugly bruises and scars on my legs (I was always told to take care of my legs). Ironically though, my one and only scar that I have on my legs came from a freakin' bicycle. I was riding on the sidecar of my friend's bike when I accidentally cut myself from a metal protruding near the seat of her bike. It got infected and all and now it looks like I have a 25 centavo coin sticked to my left leg. Wtf!

2. I enjoyed chemistry and physics in highschool because of our teacher Ms. Suniega. I especially enjoyed the contests we had wherein each row will go up against each other and race in answering our teacher's questions in the blackboard. Whichever row wins will have additional points added to their quizzes. I remembered one time we had a quiz wherein the total score reached 1000 points (that high because each question was worth like 10 points, I think some even reached 50 points per question) and I got like 950+ points and since our row won the contest we each get additional 50 points and after that my total score reached 1000+ points. It's more than a perfect score. Hahaha!

3. I almost flunked my Rizal subject in college for the silliest of reasons: I rarely attend our classes because I was so engrossed in playing tong-its with my friends. We were that addicted to tong-its we even rented a boarding house so we could play tong-its non-stop and we would even spend over-nighters there. Silly!

4. I cry a lot. I have easy tears. I cry over sappy movies, I cry when I'm mad, I cry when I fight with my boyfriend, I even cry when I have my facial wtf!

5. I love to travel and experience new things. My dream destination is Paris and Greece.

6. I read blogs everyday. I'm currently into Malaysian blogs. My favorites are Su-Ann, Audrey and Tim. I never thought Malaysians could speak that good English. I thought we Filipinos are better in English than them. Apparently, our English is rusting while theirs is rapidly advancing. And are there really that many Chinese in Malaysia? I have never read a Malaysian blog written by a Malay, all of them are Chinese-Malaysians. Hmmm!

7. I don't know how to cook. But now, my boyfriend is teaching me how to cook because he is afraid that he will eat canned-goods and fast-food for all of our married life. Now, I am happy to announce that I now know how to cook fried rice and adobo. I thank you! Bow!

8. I don't know how to clean and paint my nails. I always have to go to the salon just to have them done. What an idiot!

9. I studied in a Catholic school from elementary to highschool. We would pray every flag ceremony, before and after classes, Angelus at 12nn, the 3 O'clock Prayer every 3pm, Novena every Wednesday, Mass every first Friday of the month, Mass every Sunday, confession every month. I was even a commentator and lector during masses since I was a member of the Liturgical Committee. Having said that, you would think that I am a devout Catholic and have an unshakeable faith. But I don't. I don't go to mass anymore because I don't feel anything when I'm in Church. My last confession was before my highschool graduation. I don't really know what is happening to me but I do have lots of questions about my faith. I don't believe everything that is written in the Bible. I am literally losing my religion. But I still believe in God. He is just different to me as He is to most of you. Ok, so I think I'll burn in hell because of this.

10. They said signs of aging becomes visible at age 25. I believe it now. So I think I should start using an anti-aging cream. Wtf!

11. I regretted taking up accountancy in college. I don't think this is the right path for me. I am currently analyzing my options and contemplating on what I really wanna do with my life. Hope it's not too late.

12. I am currently addicted to Body Combat of Fitness First. I love all the punching and kicking and all the action of it. I just hope I'll see the results soon.

13. I want to try sky diving at least once before I die. For the meantime, I'll try parasailing when I get to Boracay this month. It's the closest I can get to sky diving just yet.

14. I thought I will kill myself at 16. I sort of forgot.

15. I started drinking when I was in college. We have this every other day, albeit sometimes everyday, drinking session back in college because of our long vacant periods. We would sometimes attend our classes all drunk and one time our law professor asked us why it smells like chico in the room. We just kept our mouth shut. It's not something to be proud of. But they were good times. And I am now reformed. =)

16. I am often asked if I'm related to Smokey Manaloto. Wtf! Well I'm not.

17. I hate okra! Yuck!

18. I love math. Back in highschool, I represent our school during inter-school competitions and I won a couple of times. Ha! But now, I think I lost it in me. Blame it on technology!

19. I used to collect stationeries back in grade school. My friends and I would use our collections to write daily notes to one another. I kinda miss those days. Today, when I see a Papemelrotti paper, I remember Che.

20. For almost a year a now, I'm afraid to sleep alone. This is due to a traumatizing experience I had a couple of months ago. The thing is, I used to share an apartment with my uncle. One morning, I woke up and found him dead in the living room. He had a heart attack. They said he was already dead for hours when I found him. There I was sleeping soundly in my room oblivious to the fact that my uncle was already dead. I'm still not over that experience. I think it will take time before I fully recovered. Sigh!

21. I usually get disappointed when I hear myself sing. I sound better in my head. Wtf!

22. I rarely watch the news (especially the local news) cause I only get disappointed and irritated. Damn those politicians can't they get their acts straight?

23. I am moody and I often get irritated even with the littlest of things. I hate it when people act so morosely obtuse! Please don't push your luck with me that far.

24. I really wanted to become an astronomer. I love seeing heavenly bodies and i want them revolving around me. Joke! Lol!

25. I am satisfied with some parts of my life right now and is aching for change in some. Life is a never-ending journey. I will just be ready for whatever life will throw my way.