Goodbye

One of my closest friends asked me about you.  Whether you've made contact, like an alien.  I said no.  Probably that's for the better?  I still don't know.  When it comes to life experiences, we learn mostly from hindsight, don't we?

I told her I will message you on Christmas.  Or New Year.  Because you were a big part of my 2015 anyway.

She asked if you have a concept of Christmas.  I said yes.  You, you smart ass you.  I told her how your family celebrates Christmas.  How your entire village celebrates Christmas.  I forgot to tell her that you usually even have a cake for Christmas.

I told her more about you.  About how you view religion.  And how we agree about religions.

Sometimes I wish we should have met earlier.  Like what you would usually say and I would usually negate.  If we did, Im afraid I would have fallen for you.  I dont know if you would have felt the same way.  Or would have been bored with me.  I wouldnt know.  We definitely wont know.

It's Monday.  By this time last week, I was traveling the entire day.  From Boracay to Kalibo.  From Kalibo to Manila.  From Manila to Singapore.

On that day at the airport, I thought I've misplaced and lost my phone.  One of the saddest things I thought of if that did happen, was that Id lose all my tangible reminders of you.  Without your messages, without the archives of our conversations, you will solely reside in my memory.  And that almost made me cry.  More than the phtos from my trip.  More than the photos from the wedding.  More than the fact that the phone was given to me.  Our conversations hold a special place in this gadget.

I also thought that maybe, just maybe, that was a sign that I should let go.  But I found my phone.  I wasnt ready to let go.  Not yet.

Today, a week ago, was the last time that we talked.  The last time that we bid each other well.  The last time that we were 15 miles away.  Now, when I look at your profile, it says 2580 miles away.  So far from each other.  Geographically. Physically.

It's weird isn't it?  One day, we were so close to each other.  Hugging.  Kissing.  The next day, we act like we dont exist from each other's lives.  Im sure if you're here, we would make sense of this again. Like how we would rationalize trivial things.

But then again, you're not here.  We're thousands of miles apart.  Im not sure if we're still going to see each other again.  Maybe.  But most probably not.

In the meantime, we say goodbye.

I Love New York

View of the Statue of Liberty on board a Staten Island Ferry

Sabi nga sa kanta ni JZ

"In New York

Concrete jungle where dreams are made of

There's nothin' you can't do

Now you're in New York

These streets will make you feel brand new

Big lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for for New York, New York, New York"

Four days in NY has been short but sweet.  It was not in my list of to-go places really but a last minute decision brought me to the big apple. 

NY is alive! It's my kind of city.  Big, breathing, confident.

I like how I can stay at the subway at 11pm and catch up with friends from the other end of the country and the other side of the world because of the free internet.

I love how I can just walk from block to block and would easily realize when Im lost because the streets are easy to navigate because one would know that 42nd is next to 41st and not to the 5th, eh?

I like how people are accommodating, that when you ask them for directions, they try to help and make you feel comfortable and not a bother to them.  That it's perfectly ok to ask.

I like the fact that talking to them puts my grade school GMRC into use.  I like the fact that I could say thank you, you're welcome, have a good day, etc without sounding awkward or pretentious.  Those simple acts of politeness can really help lighten up one's day.

They say that New Yorkers are rude but I didnt experience that.  I assume that rudeness could be the exception and not the norm.

I like how I see different kinds of people with different heights, skin color, hair color, hair styles and hear them speak English with different accents.

I love how they seem to have and support their local brands.

I love the fact that on Monday morning, at rush hour, people in the subway still read books or the papers.  That they still talk to each other.  That others seem not to mind not doing anything except listening to the sound of the train.

I hate it though how difficult it is to find public restrooms.  Or how hard it is to find stores that sell cheap souvenirs and that the cheapest short that I could find were those that they sell at JFK for $10 a piece which is way more expensive than the usual $3 shirt that Im used to.

Despite, and because of, all of these, I love NY!

Journaling

One of my friends had told me before that keeping a diary is helpful in keeping one's own sanity and I've read several articles who prove that point citing empirical studies.  I kinda agree to that.

So I have to go back to that habit.  "To write more often" has always been part of my yearly to-do list.  And I've been failing, yearly.

Yesterday, I had a lunch with a friend who shared that she and her husband also keeps journals together.  They used to be more consistent in updating it.  But now, they are also becoming more lenient.  So we promised to sort of push each other to write by asking each other how things are, even just for once in a  while.

I wish I could keep that promise.

Kale

Side note: I am happy that there are new entries in Ala's blog.  No, I dont know her personally but I've been a fan of her writing for a long time now.  

Kale.

I went to the grocery to buy some greens.  And greens did I buy.  Aside from the usual herb salad, I also bought kale

a bouquet of green goodness

I had no recipe in mind when I bought this.  I know it's a healthy food and kind of trendy, but I've never had it in my plate, or in my kitchen.

So when I got home, I consulted google.  And he never disappoints.  The first that I saw was a page that suggests 11 ways of cooking kale.  They were quite doable, and seem appetizing.  From pesto, to baked kale mac and cheese, to kale slush, the variety was good.  In the end, I ended up doing kale chips and chorizo and kale stew.

Kale chips

You know when health buffs try to lure ordinary people into believing that healthy food could taste as good as unhealthy food?   That, I felt, was what happened to me.

I watched 3 different videos of people who made kale chips and all of them were eating those chips as if they were the best chips in the whole wide world.  So I willingly fell into the trap.

The chips was easy to do.  Just tear off the leaves from the stem, wash them, let them dry.  I used a salad spinner to dry them faster.    Then drizzle a bit of olive oil onto the leaves.  If you prefer, you can also sprinkle herbs and spices to make them tastier.  Place them in a baking tray, and pop them into the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180C.

After that, voila!  You'll have your kale chips.

Ready for baking

fresh from the oven

kale chips on a plate

So how did it taste like?  I think that health buffs or vegetarians should be more truthful when they talk about kale chips.  Or I dont know, maybe it's just  that mine didn't turn out well.  In terms of crunch, hands down, it was really crunchy.  Like Lay's potato chips but a thinner kind of crunch.  Tastewise?  It didnt taste like potato chips at all.  It was by all aspects tasted like, I dont know, kale?  The first bite was a bit bland, save for the taste of the spices that you'll sprinkle on it.  But after several chews, there's that faintly bitter aftertaste. I thought that it was because of the "burnt" ones.  So I adjusted the cooking time and had ones that were still green.  They were still crunchy and still had that bitter aftertaste.

So the verdict, when one chooses to eat healthy,  one should learn how to love the natural taste of healthy food and not to pretend that they taste like junk food. 

Oh, and after several hours, they were no longer crunchy so I ended up throwing all the 'chips' into my stew pot.

Chorizo and Kale Stew

I like this recipe better.  It was direct to the point, no advertising gimmicks.   Even the method of cooking was direct and simple.

Saute everything together, let it simmer, sprinkle a dash of your favorite spices (mine was cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper) and after an hour or two, you'll have a good stew.

ingredients: kale, chorizo, garlic and onion, tomato, potato, celery and spices

saute garlic, onion and chorizo.  add potatoes and tomatoes. simmer. add kale and celery. simmer again. sprinke some salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper 

kale chips thrown into the stew pot

Next time, I'll try the kale pesto.  And maybe, give kale chips another chance.  But not after trying it from a restaurant or a bag from the grocery.

XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no othe way

than this: where I does not exist, or you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
-Pablo Neruda

I was skimming through Facebook in the midst of chatting with a friend when I saw an acquaintance tagged in a post that shares how his girlfriend feels about their relationship.  How it's back and white colors.  How it's extraordinarily real.  How happy she is with their simple dreams.  

Though we are not that close, I felt the genuine happiness that they share and was inspured by it, leaving me staring at this poem for about 10 minutes with a smile plastered on my face.

And my favorite stanza has to be this:

 Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,
sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres..."

Brunch

From the time I learned how to make pancakes from scratch (not the premixed type sold in boxes which is THE kind of pancake everyone back home knows), I have gradually developed a sense of fondness over beautiful breakfast meals and brunch.  By beautiful, I mean pancakes with either sausages or bacon, eggs, some greens or any kind of vegetable, tomato, mushroom and coffee.  The sausage and bacon components are of course based from staple hotel breakfast food so having those for breakfast on a regular Saturday, in the house, makes the experience feel more special.  The tomato and mushroom are reminiscent of breakfasts that my sister used to make for her family in Auckland.  And the greens, well, greens make every meal healthy and look pretty in a photograph.

So two Sundays ago, we decided to host brunch in the house.  Well, brunch and some baking sessions.

We sponsored pancakes, greens and coffee and asked our friends to bring bacon, mushroom and some of the baking ingredients.  I prepared the pancake batter in advance.  Dangs cooked it.  Mike fried the bacon and tried to dehydrate it by popping it in the oven after frying.  We were chatting, talking about   cooking, baking, etc. And before we knew it, my sister smelled something.  It's the bacon burning! Dang's was on the verge of crying. I felt bad because I saw how Mike tried to make that bacon perfectly crispy and dry.  And Mike obviously was frustrated.  Good thing that Denise bought two packs so we still had another pack to fry.

Eventually, we managed to wrap up the cooking.  And everything was served on the table.

Of course, everyone wanted a piece of everything in their own plates.  So that's what we did.

Five hearty and beautiful brunch plates.  Mike and Vicky shared a plate. Denise accidentally purged her photo. And Mitchie arrived late.

Having brunch in a hipster cafe here would cost roughly $13-$20 so since there's eight of us, that meal alone would have cost us more than a hundred.  But since we made it in-house, i assumed that would have cost us around $50.

Next time, I wanna do a picnic.

Paddling for the UPAAS Paraws II

I slept early the previous night.  I think I went to bed at around 10 that when I woke up one and a half hours earlier, I was a bit disoriented and thought that it's already the day after.

I knew body pain was inevitable so I took one tablet of muscle relaxant with paracetamol.  I think that helped me sleep well too.  

I woke up at 6am but got up at 630am.  I brushed my teeth and took a quick shower.  It was my lucky day because my bus arrived shortly after I got to the bus stop.   So by 715, I was already at Lavender.  Too early for the 730am meet up time.

I had one major setback though, I couldnt connect to the network! So I didnt receive messages from the team. 

I went straight to the Kopitiam and waited for Raul and Mitchie. 

Good thing Raul arrived within a few minutes.  And Mitchie came shortly after him.  Then Bea.  After a quick breakfast, we went to the other exit to meet the rest of the team.  

There were a lot of Pinoys at the mrt station.  We even bumped into the UPStat team at the escalator.  

At 815, there were already a lot of teams at the venue.  We found a spot and camped there. The mood was festive.

The event was formally launched with an opening speech by FDS President, Mickee Balagot.

FDS President Mickee Balagot welcoming everyone to Isang Bangkang Malaya

After the speech was warm-up exercises.  And the start of the eliminations.

the UPAAS Paraws 

Maybelle sharing some tips on paddling

The boys goofing around the drone

Seventeen teams competed against each other.  There were five heats with the first two having four teams each and the last three with three teams each.  We were in heat two, paddling against King Ina mo Spawn - last year's winner and Balasador A & B (I think).

All the winners in each heat go straight to the semi finals.  After the 5 heats, there's gonna be a repechage. And the semifinals. And finals.

Even before the warm up, we knew what our chances were :)  I mean, one of the teams had their own paddles.  The others had their own shirts made.  And before the race, they had their own warm up exercises! I mean, it looked like they knew what they were doing! It didnt look like they were just there to support and have fun.  They were talking serious paddling business!

So to 'improve' our chances, we knew we had to strategize ;)

Our game plan was to treat the first leg as a practice.  And then give our best at the repa.  Sounds like a good plan, doesnt it?

There were 12 of us from UPAAS, all newbies except for one.  Four pacers and two newbies from FDS were fielded to our boat, upping the level of our paddling even just for a tiny bit.

And it's time to compete!

Paddling towards the start of the race area set the mood for us.  Even with our game plan in mind, we knew we had to paddle hard to at least keep up with the competition.

Paddling our way to the start of the race course

I personally could feel the tensed atmosphere.  My heart was beating fast.  I wanted to paddle well so I knew I had to calm my nerves.  

Upon hearing "Ready!", we dipped our paddles into the water. And at go, we all pulled hard and paddled. I paddled hard. I knew we were all paddling hard. But it seemed like it's not enough for the steerer who was barking "Longs!"  When we felt that water was getting into the boat, we knew at that point that we were lagging behind.  And it's gonna get tougher from then on because there will be ripples from the other boat that's going to make paddling more difficult for us. Nevertheless, we kept on going....until we were told to stop. 

Apparently, we were on the verge of colliding with Spawns.  They veered left towards our direction. And our steerer couldnt move away from them so to avoid an accident, both teams had to stop.

Even if I knew that we were lagging behind compared to the other teams in that heat and a re-race was a good chance for us to improve our timing, I felt bad that we didnt finish that leg. 

Taking a break 

There were 3 other heats before the re-race so we had a looong break.   I think it was already after lunch when the re-race started. We were paddling head to head with Spawn so we knew we had to level up. Man, it was tough!

Paddles accidentally bumping against each other. Too shallow paddling. The steerer's frustrated voice. We were in pretty bad shape in that leg.

Our second attempt to paddle

In the repa, we were in the same lane.  And it was out last attempt to make it to the semifinals.   Among all the legs, I thought this was our best one.  We were in synchrony.  Dangs (she's the only one I can see clearly from my vantage point) and I worked hard to make sure that the force was coming more from our upper bodies than from our arms. We werent even near the finish line yet we're already tired yet we kept on paddling.  I was counting softly.  I dont remember how many counts it took for us to reach the finish line.  And before we knew it, we're done!

I was so happy! I was so happy that we reached the finish line. I was so happy that I gave my best.  I was so happy that I knew I paddled better than the day before. And I was happy that everyone in the boat seemed satisfied with our performance.

Our last attempt to make it at least to the semifinals.  We were that boat at the far end, with everyone wearing red shirts.  Obviously we were trailing behind.

No we didnt make it to the semis but Im glad with how we performed.

Can you see the happy faces here?  Tired but feeling great.

The Paraws with our two pacers, Pez and Mix

We stayed until the end.  We cheered for the UP Stat team but they also didnt make it to the finals.

Ambassador Morales giving his closing remarks

Here, Ambassador Morales was delivering his congratulatory message to the winners, the organizers and to everyone who participated.  Aside from the medals and the cash prizes, the winners also had cases of beer. I learned that this is a tradition in IBM and in dragonboat competitions. 

It was definitely a fun experience.  Next year, we're gonna practice more :)

Ambush photo-ops with Ambassador Morales and Consul Mers

Weird but good food

Phoebe having wrap for lunch. Yan An was nibbling on peanut butter.  There was a spotted banana on the table.

Lightbulb! Spread the peanut butter on the wrap, top it with cheese and sliced banana.  Toast it in the oven and voila! We had a banana-cheese-peanut butter quesadilla!

And since everyone was on a healthy food binge, Yan An made this quinoa-based sushi.  The quinoa was a bit uncooked so it was hard but overall, it still tasted like sushi.

Necessity is the mother of all inventions.

Paddling for the UPAAS Paraws I

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Mine was this weekend.   I joined the UPAAS Paraws and competed for Isang Bangkang Malaya 2015.

20 June 2015 Training Day

That was the first time I've held a paddle and I think most of us were in the same boat.

Call time was 830 am and we arrived at the FDS cage at 845.  There was absolutely no one in there.  For a moment, I thought we were in the wrong place.  But with Maybelle in the team (she used to paddle for FDS),  we couldnt be wrong.  True enough, after a few minutes, people arrived.

They seemed to have come from another training.  Or at least they looked like they did.  They knew Maybelle so they said hi to her. No one asked who we were.

RA messaged me and apologized that she will be late.  It seemed like the group didnt know who's gonna handle us.

Eventually, someone volunteered to train us.

After some more minor setbacks, we managed to go to training area where we were taught the basic commands, how to hold the paddle, and how to paddle.

It's TOUGH but FUN.

Apparently, paddling isn't all about arm power.  It requires body movement and twisting of the torso.  And since it's a team sport, synchrony is mandatory.  And this was the most difficult to achieve.

Our trainer was kinda strict - the no nonsense kind.  I remember there was a point when we were laughing with the way we were paddling and then he quipped "Guys, nakakatawa pa kayo.  Yung pacers niyo pagod na pagod na".

Awkward silence after that.

And this was kinda helpful I guess.  Otherwise, we would have just rowed instead of paddled.

UPAAS Paraws

Convenience

If, many years later, I will leave Singapore, what I'll definitely miss about this place are its food and the convenience of living here.

This afternoon, I was craving for masala milk.  So after doing some business at a hotel in Little India, I went to that place behind Tekka market, and bought a $1.50 hot masala milk for take away.  And that's what I sipped happily on my way to City Square mall.

At 1030pm tonight, I was a bit hungry.  There's this beancurd house located just across the road from my place.  Without even changing my clothes, I stepped out of the house and went to buy soya milk, you tiao and egg tart.  And I was back in the house within 10 minutes.

you tiao

you tiao and hot soya milk

that trusted beancurd house

Budget travel series: Climbing Mt Arong

Gunung Arong's satellite view

The Planning

One morning in January, while i was at work,  I got a message from my sister asking if I will be free on Feb 1 and if I wanted to go climb a mountain in Johore Bahru.  I said yes.  That same day, 12 other folks confirmed that they're joining.  And so the group was formed.  If it was a love story, it was what one would call, a whirlwind romance.  Short but sweet. Swift but not bereft of beauty.

The Preparation

The first month of 2015 for me was packed with activities.  After coming back from my trip, all my weekends have been booked.  Even weekdays were planned because I am sitting-in in two classes this semester.  Classes are on Wed and Thursday nights, so Mon and Tue nights are usually allotted for assignments.  Which leaves me one day, Friday nights, free.  Therefore, my preparation for the climb was nil.  Oh well, except for the daily use of the stairs up to the 6th floor.  For one week.

I havent climbed a real mountain before.  The only ones I've been to are hills such as Rangitoto in NZ and Bukit Timah hill here in Singapore. I dont have gadgets.  When our hike leader told us to use proper hiking shoes for the climb and sandals for the river crossing, I had to go and buy.

Aside from these, I had no preparations of any sort.


The Hike

We left Singapore at 11pm of Saturday.  Instead of sleeping, travel time was spent on endless chatters and laughter.  So to ensure that everyone will have enough energy for the hike, we had nasi lemak and teh tarik at Kluang.

the entire gang while waiting for the food (photo from Raul)

Bunch of overly excited people waiting to start the trek

From Kluang, we spent another hour or so traveling.  When we're already at Mersing, we saw a mountain from afar and wondered whether that was Arong or not.  It was not that tall, so the overconfident us were kidding that should that be Arong, we could have just went to Bukit Timah instead.  Little did we know that indeed, that was it.

At the 'base' camp, we prepped up and wore our headlamps and gloves and applied insect repellant.  And of course, took photos.

repacking (photo from pia)

testing our headlamps (photo from Pia)

We didnt have a local guide with us but we had two in the group who had been to Arong for a number of times already so we felt relatively safe.  We were paired into two and the leader reminded everyone to always look out for one's buddy.  And before hiking, we, as a group, uttered a short prayer.

The start of the hike was very easy.  We were just walking on a flat paved road.  The wind was cold and I personally could feel the adventure that we were going to embark on.

After about 10 minutes or so, we stopped in a sort of "entrance" to the forest, and the leader told us that we are starting the climb which will go on for about 1.5 hours. Bring it on!

starting the climb

It was dark.  The only light source that we had were the lamps on our heads. I realized later on that the absence of light helped a bit with the climb because we couldn't see how high or steep or difficult the terrain was.  There were difficult areas in the terrain, areas where we had to hold on to a rope to help pull ourselves up because the terrain is too steep. There were times when we would have to stop because one of us felt like he couldn't do it anymore.  Times of obligatory rest periods. Nevertheless, we continued. We were climbing slowly and continued doing so without seeing our destination clearly.  I guess this is where the philosophical parallelisms between climbing and living comes in. When it's dark, you move towards the direction of the light and you base your move on what you can see.  But then again, you keep on going because you believe that eventually, you will reach the peak. Or whatever :)

at the summit

Anyway, after more than an hour of walking in the dark, we finally reached the summit.  In the summit was  a small hut where climbers can take a rest.  It was still dark when we got into the hut and we still had more than an hour to wait before sunrise.  So some of us tried to take a nap to recharge and prepare for the descent.  Some started cooking breakfast.  We had breakfast of instant noodles and eggs.

And then the sun came out.  This part was a bit anticlimactic.  Since the mountain wasn't that high, we didn't really see the sun slowly coming out from the horizon.  It seemed just like a regular day when you would see the sun already up there.  It was still good nonetheless since it's not everyday that we get to see the sun from the mountains.

sunrise in the mountains

the Gunung Arong group

After taking several photos at the summit, it was time for descent.  Descent was fun! My favorite was rappelling down the steep parts.  I felt so strong. I also loved the scenery changing from thin leaves to thick covers.  And oh, the sweat.  I felt like I've lost a few pounds from too much perspiration.

Rappelling down

At the base was the sea.  And this is where we took shelter and rested after the descent.  We are ready to boulder and cross the river!

Resting by the beach

To go back to the main road, we had to cross some boulders and a river.  The rocks were huge.  They dont look intimidating in photos but in reality, it made my heart beat faster.  I could still recall the combination of thrill and fear that I had while trying to jump from one rock to another knowing that one wrong step or a slip could cause me to hit my head on one of those rocks or fall into the sea.  Ok, the water wasnt that high but still...

Starting to cross the boulders

Bouldering looks so much simpler in photos

As part of our preparation for the river crossing, we had to waterproof our belongings.  One of our guide-friends said that the water could be waist-deep (or chest-deep, im no longer sure) so we were ready to get wet.  But when we got there, the water was knee-deep :) Well, I guess it doesnt hurt to be over prepared.

The overestimated river crossing

 On the other side was the shore as wide as this...

And that celebratory jump!

Needless to say, it was the perfect first climb that will make one want to give climbing another try.

Cost of this one-day hike: about RM100 inclusive of lunch and transport.