Mt. Maculot day climb (traverse)

I'm livin on the edge!!! 

Check out Steph lounging on the rockies. Just check out that breathtaking view! 

YOLO 

With some new members of RMC! Clockwise from the back- Marco, Eslav, me, Steph, Miki, Ayen and Jovic. 

Posing with Steph cos they wanted to compare the inappropriate vs. appropriate climbing outfits. We actually just hated her cap. :)) 

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MT. MACULOT 
basic facts from Pinoy Mountaineer

major jumpoff: Mountaineer's Store, Brgy. 7 "Siete", Cuenca
exit point (traverse): Brgy 5 (to Grotto), Cuenca 
LLA: 13°55 N; 121°2 E; 706 MASL (Rockies) / 930 MASL (summit) 
days required / Hours to Rockies / summit : 1 day /  2-4 hr 
specs: Minor, Difficulty 4/9 (Traverse) Trail class 1-3. 
features: Scenic views of Taal Lake, rock formations, forests 

We finally got to climb another mountain last Saturday and we chose Mt. Maculot in Cuenca, Batangas. There was a tragic bus accident again the night before so we decided to take our own cars and just contribute to the gas/toll money. Usually buses are more convenient since we get really tired after each climb but we figured a 2.5-hour drive from the city to Batangas wasn't too bad.

Decided to start our journey through the grotto which was really a challenge for me. I felt like having an asthma attack throughout the 15 stations of the cross made of concrete stairs but I'm so glad I didn't! I just recovered from 3 days of having a fever, colds and cough so I was being really slow. None of us slept the night before as well. I'm just glad I made it through that without fainting. ALSO, I discovered my trekking shoes shrunk! I felt my right foot was a bit squished when I put them on at home and as I went through the hike I slowly felt my feet giving up on me. I shouldn't have given them to my sister's yaya after my last hike- letting them dry out under the sun shrinks the leather and that waterproof layer in between so you're supposed to go half a size up when getting new trekking shoes. Oops. It was the most painful climb ever so don't do what I did!

The trail wasn't bad at all. There were just too many burs along the way that kept sticking to my cotton leggings, headband and sleeves so I had to take them out every few minutes. There were two roped segments (that proved the rope wasn't too useful) and a lot of sections that required holding on to tree branches and roots just like most climbs. There are a few flat trails which makes it a level four climb, so it wasn't too easy nor too difficult.

The first part took us about 3.5 hours. After lunch and resting for an hour at the camp site, we proceeded to the rockies. The view was AMAZING! Pretty sure you can see just how thrilled we were in the photos. Those moments make the gruelling climbs really worth it! If we had planned to stay overnight I would've stayed on the rockies til sunset. I'm doing another Mt. Maculot trip for sure!

❤

my birthday + Harrison & Rizbelle's wedding

I went a little mental about turning a year older this year. I decided not to celebrate since I've been extremely anxious about something for the past month now and I feel like I can't really celebrate until I get my results. I also decided to hide my birthday on Facebook to see how many people would really remember. A bit unfair since I'm the one who NEVER remembers anyone's birthday (I even forget my mum's sometimes) and with the amount of "friends" you can have nowadays, how does one really keep track? 
The social experiment failed a bit since I decided to greet my father (we share the same birthday) and I had to post a couple of blog-related gifts and giveaways, but it did prove that nobody really knew my real birthdate without the help of Facebook. 
As with any occasion I tell my friends to stop giving me gifts. It's cards and letters that prove to be the most meaningful to me. I wanted to share with you one of the letters my friends sent me for my birthday since I think we can all take something from it--

Ral! Belated Happy Birthday!!
I wanted to send you this birthday message sooner, but it had to be perfect! I just wanted to share something that captures how i've been feeling recently and how perhaps you can apply since you're thinking of moving to Boston.
An old lover of mine once asked me 'What if your dreams and your fears existed in the same place, would you still go there?'

I must admit, at the time I always thought 'Surely you can pursue your dreams without having to face your fears!' I mean, why put ourselves through that? But as the days go by and my fate is unraveling itself, especially since I will eventually have to leave the comfort of the academia life that i've gotten so used to, I realize nothing is as scary as chasing after your dreams. There is great truth to this; If the thought of pursuing your dreams doesn't keep you up once in a while, then you haven't been shooting for the stars.

That being said, how do we prepare ourselves? How do we face the fears that come with pursuing our dreams? Well I thought about the question more, and realized we need more than just a pat in the back; we need a change in perspective. Not necessarily a perspective i'm asking you to adopt, but perhaps a perspective to get you thinking.

You see, to the universe, nothing really matters. Not family, not relationships, not work. Nothing - your birth is as pointless as your life as well as your death. The universe doesn't give a damn about how you live your life.
...and that's the beauty of it. Because the world around us is inconsequential, the only purpose to your life is the purpose you choose for yourself. The only actions worth pursuing are the actions you want to pursue. That is the ticket to a free spirit, YOUR free spirit, and whenever I think of a free spirit, you are one of the few that come to mind.
So go to that place where your fears and your dreams exist, not many people do. The universe would not punish you for it, and the only punishment that will come is the regret of not daring to dream bigger and the realization that you were more than capable to tackle your fears.
Anyway, I’ll keep it short, I hope you know i'm rooting for you and your decision to move here. I miss hanging out with you and I apologize we didn't get to see each other last winter break, but I know our paths will cross sometime again soon. Until then, may you have many more birthdays! The world is a brighter place with you in it, despite all the black you wear, so squeeze out as many years as you can. 

I'm thankful for friends who can put into words a lot of the things that bother me about life. In the end you are accountable for everything that happens to you, but it makes you feel loads better when you have people in your circle to encourage you to take risks and really put everything you've got into the things you're doing when uncertainties are holding you back.

Apart from choosing to have an uneventful birthday, I flew to Cebu over the weekend to be a bridesmaid at Rizbelle and Harrison's wedding. Much has been said about the rare sighting of me wearing pink and I'm pretty sure it's the first and last time this year. It was an intimate, sweet wedding and I don't think my good friend Rizbelle would've planned it any other way. Honoured to have been asked to be part of the entourage and I am genuinely happy two good souls found each other and chose the right path for the next chapter in life. We need more love stories like theirs.

Congrats again, you two!

❤

January favorites- shoes

I was crushed when I couldn't find these Airmax 90 Sneakerboots anywhere in my size during my last visit to San Francisco, but thankfully my friend Pauline who runs Sole Search MNL snapped a photo in Hong Kong with a couple of Airmax 90s. They are seriously my favorite pair right now!!! They keep my feet warm now that we're experiencing temperatures as low as 16ºC in Manila and most of you know that I HATE the cold. These are actually the men's version of the previous sneakerboots I posted about (another fave). 

A lot of my girl friends kept asking me about these black on black Airmax 2014s- they're actually available in Manila (last time I checked the Nike store at High Street) BUT they're at the men's section. I keep telling my friends that guys are lucky cos they get the nicer sneaker designs. I usually don't buy women's shoes just because they have too much pink/pastels/animal prints on them. I love these for working out, they give great support especially during high jumps and sprints. The white version was what I wanted at first but I guess black is just easier to pair with given that 3/4 of my wardrobe is in black. 

Haven't purchased heels this month, sneakers are just more practical for traveling and for work! I only change to heels before meetings and special events. 

❤