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.

Baking, cooking and mixing

It's the last weekend before Christmas and while everyone is busy shopping, I, on the contrary, hibernated and stayed at home for the entire weekend.  My Christmas parties were scheduled early on so no more parties this week.

The weather was very cooperative.  Mornings were sunny and afternoons were rainy which was perfect for just staying at home.  And eating.

And these are what I made/ate over the weekend.

Banana bread

We had some bananas in the kitchen waiting to be consumed.  And since banana bread is one my favourites, I tried my hand on making that.

My friend Dini has been maintaining a blog about her cooking and baking escapades for quite some time now so I knew that she will have something on banana breads.  And her blog didn't disappoint.

She had several recipes on banana bread! I chose Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Banana cake that she got from Averiecooks.

So here's how it turned out.

I have to say that my final product looked decent for a first timer :)  About the taste...it tasted ok.  Edible.  I mean I won't mind finishing it.  But I have to admit I'll still have to do a few more tries before I could get the taste and the consistency that I want.  My bread was too dense.  Maybe I overmixed the batter.  Or maybe I didn't stick to the measurements in the recipe.  I don't know.  This needs practice.

Salad

This is a random salad that I made for lunch and dinner for both Saturday and Sunday.  Well, except for the roast lamb which I only had on Sunday.  I had leftover baked orange chicken for Saturday.

I had too many meat and sweet food over the past couple of days so I wanted to do salads and veggies this time.  What I had was a mixture of red, iceberg and butter lettuce.  The dressing is mixed sesame oil, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, and salt with chopped coriander and grated ginger.  I figured I couldn't survive with just the salad so i bought 200gms of roast lamb from Fairprice to go with the salad.  And it tasted good!

Oven grilled chicken bbq

I initially wanted to do salted baked chicken but we just had baked orange chicken last week which to me resembles a bit how baked chicken looks like.  So I opted for BBQ chicken instead.

It's very simple.  I marinated my chicken in a mixture of soy sauce with calamansi and minced stalks of lemongrass for a sweet scent and popped it in the oven for 30 minutes to cook.  After 30 minutes, I brushed the chicken with a mixture of the marinate with banana ketchup and grilled it for another 15 minutes.  And this is how it turned out.

This was the chicken while cooking.  No, it didn't look appetising at all.

And this is how it looked after :) It tasted really good too!  Meat was soft, juicy and tasty!

Scent and taste of Christmas

Christmas tradition back home, aside from the simbang gabi, tiring gift hunting, monstrous traffic, countless parties, and reunions/meet-ups for lunch/dinner, is characterised by a quest to have that Starbucks planner.  So once December sets in and once Starbucks starts to serve their drinks in that red cup, yuppies would start to frequent the store more often to have their coffee binge, excited about collecting 20 or so stickers in exchange of a planner.

I was part of that culture too.  And silly as it may seem, I kinda miss it.  More than the planner, I miss the comfort and familiarity of being with old friends while sipping coffee at a cozy corner in Starbucks after work.

So when I saw this at the pantry the other day, that nostalgic feeling engulfed me.

The coffee wasn't really fantastic but I guess I was after the cherished memories that it's bringing back.

Glitches

About two weeks ago, my cousin’s flight from Honolulu to Guam made an emergency landing at Midway atoll somewhere in the Pacific.  Passenger accounts from online sources said there was a burning odor and that at one point during the flight, they felt a 40-foot drop.  My cousin said that they thought they’re gonna go for water landing because they couldn’t see anything but water.  They stayed in that island for a few hours before they were ferried to Guam by a replacement aircraft.  And when I saw the photos of the place, I realized that it was such a close call.

And then last Thursday, there was the MH flight.  We were in the airport, sending my sister off to Sydney, when I saw the news on FB. At first I thought it was a hoax, but when I saw that it was from Reuters, I thought it may be credible.  And when I reached home at half past one in the morning, there were more news about it online.  It was an unbelievable incident.  Two MH flights in four months. And this was due to a missile.  Crazy.

A few days later, there was the TransAsia flight in Taiwan. 50+ people dead.

And just yesterday, the AirAlgerie flight. 100+ people dead.

Going back to a few days ago, I heard that my former colleague’s son is sick.  He has bone cancer.  It was one of those news that breaks your heart. He is just 10.

And yesterday morning, I learned that another colleague is having a crisis.  Her husband needs kidney transplant and they need to raise funds.

This afternoon, I was chatting with my friend.  She divulged that she had a bike accident two weeks ago.  She was cycling with her husband when she lost control, flew from her bike and lost consciousness.  The next thing she knew was when she was already in the ER. She had a splint on her mouth, cut her lips, chipped her teeth and her whole face was swollen.  She couldn’t go to the toilet on her own and had to rely on her husband for bed bathing.  She was just thankful that the accident didn’t incur damage to her bones or spine.  

Life's surprises remind us that we are not in total control.

Recollecting random thoughts

When I was a student and couldn't seem to write something decent for my essay or my exam because my thoughts are all over the place, this is what I do. I blog.  Somehow, writing something that is personal successfully guides my thoughts in just one direction.  Yeah, maybe, it's the communion of the mind and the heart which is sometimes difficult if one is writing about something purely technical.  And now that I couldn't seem to focus and produce a decent write-up for our final report, I hope to tame my thoughts by writing these:

I joined a recollection last Saturday.  I don't remember when was the last time that I joined one.  Maybe it was in high school.  Well, Catholic schools like recollections.  I wasn't ecstatic in those events before because I felt out of place.  Whenever the retreat master tells us to close our eyes and think of something, my mind drifts away and I think of random stuff instead of focusing on what I am supposed to think about.  But to be fair, I like them not only because I get to have lunch at school, but I also think that they somehow change a person albeit in little ways.

My participation in last Saturday's recollection was out of pure interest.  It's part of my "balik-loob" program haha Parang bilanggo lang.  I wanted to be a better person, a better Catholic, so I open up myself for these kinds of activities And Im glad that I did.  No, we didn't have those tearful and group hug moments at the end of the retreat.  But I had a few take aways that I treasure.

God's word is powerful but we have our freedom.  I guess this is my main issue before.  I didn't know how to reconcile this thought. 

The same words leave different meanings/effect on different people at different points in our lives.  I guess this proves the validity of poststructuralism?  The meaning lies in the reader.  Nooo, sociological theory is haunting me!!! But on a serious note, yeah we make our own meanings.  God will talk to us depending on how we want him to talk to us. 

In the middle of those "silent moments", I had a realization about heaven.  I guess Im the kind of Catholic who doesnt care whether there is really a heaven or none.  Im just grateful to be alive and I try to do good (I fail 90% of the time) not because I want to go to heaven when I die but because I think that it will make living easier, and because my mother says so.  :)  So going to heaven is just a bonus for me (if ever I make the cut).  But seriously, the reason why heaven didn't appeal to me before is probably due to how I picture it.  Imagine clouds, angels, God, music. Yes, nice (oh my God, Im gonna be excommunicated for describing heaven as just nice) but there's something lacking.  But I thought, that if heaven is going to be an eternal life with the people I love and being reunited with my Dad, my grandparents, Auntie Loling, Uncle Doming, and living with my sisters and brothers and their families, and hopefully mine too, basically, being with the entire family forever, then yes, I would love to go to heaven. 

Be careful with your wishes...

I remember that sometime last year, I said, "Ok God, I think Im ready for adult problems"

So today, I am given an adult problem. Not the type that I was hoping to face but something definitely faced by many adults.

And after a few minutes of bewilderment, I smiled. God really has a sense of humour. 

If I'm still in my "old ways", I would have sulked, asking "why? why? why" and went on in my "Im a victim of this situation" mode.

But now, I just shook my head and said, Ok, it's not the end of the world. I could handle the worst thing that could happen out of this anyway.

Immigration museum

Today, I've decided to go to the Immigration Museum.  It was a choice between Melbourne Museum and this one and I chose to come here because, well, it is close to my heart.

Im a migrant.

All of us in the family are migrants.  My dad has been a migrant for a while due to his job posting.  My mom was from another province, moved to Manila when he was a teenager, stayed in Aparri for most of her life, and when my dad passed away, became more mobile than ever.  She would stay with my brother in Manila for a few months, go home to the province for another few months, come visit us here for a month or two, or would go to my sister in Melbourne when and if she can.  My sister has lived in three different countries aside from home.  My brother is based in Manila.  And my younger sister and I are here.

These photos, or should I say, captions, strongly resonated in me.

the words that welcome you to the museum

True. So true.  How a trivial object carries with it a lot of meanings.

 

Sometimes I question my assumptions to the point when I no longer know what I believe in

  

spot the green philippine passport

 

 

Eavesdropping

Unintentionally eavesdropping at foreign exchange students’ conversations makes me smile because they constantly remind me to make the best of every situation.  I mean, they are here as students but for the most part, I think they are travelling.  And since a number of them (at least the ones whose conversations I understand anyway) come from the west, they usually make Singapore as a homebase for their travels to the region.

A lot of them take the bus from U-town until the Central Library or Business.  And in that few minutes of bus trip, I usually pick up conversations that go something like these:

A: Hey, how are you doing?

B: Good, how are you?

A: Good.  I just came from Bali over the weekend. 

B: How was it?

A: It was awesome. The beach was really nice.  We also went to these rice terraces and like biked for the entire day.

A: So did you just come back today?

B: No, I came back yesterday.

A: Where did you go?

B: I went to KL and Malacca.

A: How long were you there?

B: I left Friday so I was there for around 5 days.

A: How did you find it?

B: Oh, it was great.  We basically ate a lot. I have a friend who was from there and he would bring us to a stall and say this is my favourite, and to another stall and say this is another favourite, and another favourite, and another.  I like the food there and it is really cheap.

A: How long was the travel?

B: I flew to KL but from KL to Malacca, it’s about 1.5 hour drive.  My friend has a car so we drove.

A: Did you like the place?

B: Well the locals love it because it’s relaxing.  But for a tourist, there is really nothing much to see.  By 8pm, the shops are already closed and there is no more food.

A: So what’s your travel plans this week?

B: My friends are planning to go to Cambodia for the weekend but Im still thinking if I should go or not.

A: I went there two weeks ago and I learned that this season is very hot. They usually go up to 40C but the good thing is there is no humidity there. Unlike here, it’s hot but also very humid.  I still cant get used to the heat. Im sweating like sh*t!

Aah...the joys of traveling and adjusting to a new place.

Planning Session

This is the first Mancom planning session that I have been to.  It was a long but generally good experience :)  In college, I was a shy student so even if I joined several orgs, I did not dare run for a leadership position.  So this Mancom thing is very new to me.

People of different ages, backgrounds, mindsets but bonded by one trait - the desire to give back to UP and the Philippines. I am excited :)

Quick notes

Dear March,

Thank you for a productive encounter.

You were so hectic with both work and social commitments and I am thankful that you became that way.

Till we meet again,

Gi

===

Dear April,

I thought that the end of March paved the way for a little breathing time for me but I think Im wrong.  You've just came and Im already overwhelmed with a long task list.  Ok, I may be exaggerating.  Maybe Im just being a scatterbrain now.  But I know for sure that you will become a critical month.  Im looking forward to your third week onwards though :)

Please be nice to me.

Love,

Gi