Car-less

Because the car's being repaired right now, there'll be no more riding in the car with boys for me. Well, at least for the next four weeks. And the car being my car. Because fortunately, there are other cars. One of them in fact, is owned by my long time friend, who also happens to be a boy. And he invited me to go jogging last night. And as for jogging invites, I grab them. So yesterday, just when I thought my holiday-season jogging days are over because I've got nothing to serve as my locker as I go exercisin', I still got to jog, and ride in a car, with a boy.

Now I've got to record the numbers: 14:31.93, 13:39.31; 28:10.24 total.

P.S. To ride in cars with boys is not a big deal. Actually, to not be commuting but riding conveniently in a car is. But with boys, no. I just liked the sound of it. . .

cafe shadows

Took this yesterday, at the carwash cafe, while waiting for my poor dirty and smashed-hood car to look like a clean smashed-hood car. I had my cd player on and already plugged to my ears but somehow maroon 5 seemed not enough to quell the boredom of waiting. Good thing the digicam, which I used the day before to take pictures of the smashed hood, was still in my bag.

Jog Log

this was tonight's: 15:02.32, 13:37.84; 28:40.16 total

Still above passing

Yep, still above the standard. It's because 30 minutes is the minimum that I've set, just like in the UP PE exam, although I should make it a bit quicker now, because I've been jogging for a few months already. But I wasn't very consistent. Like, last week, I didn't jog at all, because I was in Bangkok. So, maybe later.

For now, though, I'm just happy with last Tuesday's. Because, despite wheezing through the last stretch and being practically out of breath after the two rounds, the run was only five seconds above 29 minutes. If I could match that number tonight, I'll be very glad indeed.
The breakdown: 15:11.47, 13:54.54; 29.05 total

Now I'm outta here. Time to run!

Sunset on the Trail

sunset on the trail
Originally uploaded by jemione.

Took this shot last month, when I climbed Mt. Talamitam. The trek started late, hence the view of the sunset not from the top but from somewhere a little higher than the bottom. Still, it was one lovely sunset.

Since the time I came down from that mountain, I've been wanting to share this climbing experience of mine. But then I got busy, and then forgot... Then yesterday I remembered. Unfortunately, yesterday's work was heavier than usual, plus I had to deal with problems relating to my current car accident. Anyway, I'm on my lunch break now, and I still have around 10 minutes before my free hour runs out.

So, the climb. Ahhh... that was one enjoyable trip. It was the most relaxing I've ever had. My buddies were tons of fun. The two kids who came with us, nephews of Chino, were a riot! The scenery was gorgeous and the mountain was very pretty. Tall grass covered it making the mountain look like it's being embraced with a carpet of soft feathers, all swaying with the cool fresh breeze of the countryside. Of course the view from the top was awesome. We just had to wait a few minutes till the cloud cover cleared out. And when it did, I could see the province of Batangas below, plus some parts of the sea to the west, and look in the eye the opposite mountain, Mt. Batulao. I was the queen of Batangas!

Since most of my previous climbs were "major" climbs, meaning I had bigger mountains, bigger views, but much more exhausting and strenuous experiences, I've totally forgotten how invigorating and fun minor climbs like this one could be. The climb didn't pose much of a challenge, but I didn't need one anyway.

I'm about to run out of time. So, I'm just gonna point you to a mini gallery with my best pictures of this trek. Hope you enjoy them!

TTh

Thanks to my waning interest in watching TV and some "peer" pressure from my exercise addict brothers, I was able to jog three times this week! My Tuesday and Thursday numbers:
Tues: 14:34.27, 13:39.24; 28:13.51 total. Thurs: 14:59.28, 13:43.60; 28:42.88 total.

Eat or Jog?

I'm hungry. But I want to go jogging. I'm about to leave the office now. About to head out to the parking lot. Now, where will I go? Part of me wants to go straight home to the family dining room, where dinner awaits. Ooh, yum! But there's this stubborn part of me that's just goading me to go to UP, to its windy tree-lined acad oval. And it's whispering too, saying "It'll only take you 30 minutes... "

Heck, I knew the answer the moment I went back to my desk and decided to write this blog entry. I knew, the purpose of this entry right here is really to record last night's run, so, in around 5 minutes, I could reset my watch as preparation for a night of two more laps around the acad oval.

Last night's numbers: 14:06, 13:49; 27:55 total.

I'm really hungry now. Jog, then eat. Jog, then eat. Jog, then eat.

Jog Logs

It's a new week and hopefully a week of physical fitness! I'm going to jog tonight with my bro Carlo and for tomorrow, I'm going with my officemate Khen.

Now before I head to the acad oval once again, let me just record my past runs, one from last week and another from last last week. See, I haven't been jogging as often these days. So tonight's a good start. I hope. :)

-last last week
14:36.40
14:00.79
28:37.19 total
-last week
14:58.46
14:10.83
29:09.29 total

Sunday Side Stitch

Gonna go jogging tonight and before I reset my watch, lemme record my times from last Sunday, the first time, actually, that I jogged on a Sunday. I didn't enjoy it very much, though, because a side stitch erupted not 20 meters after the starting line! I nursed it for a whole round, and funny, it disappeared when I started to really pick up the pace. I was quite surprised I even made it below 30.

The numbers:
1st lap 15:55.95
2nd lap 13:41.34
total 29:37.29

Whew!

Satisfied

After a few more hours of tinkering, I can finally say that I'm ready to let go and leave my template be. Ah, finally...

I don't think I wanna see another style sheet anytime soon.

Yellow lookin'

Been tinkering for a couple of hours now with this plain template named pixels which I got from blogger-templates. Now it's unrecognizable and totally mine, haha! Makeover's still far from finished but I have to give it a rest for now because dinner's waiting and I'm already late for choir practice!

Fastest First Base

Ooohh, but not with a guy! (How I wish..!) Coz if last night's jog would be any related to how fast I could snag a guy, I would have been in third base by now.

You see, I recorded my fastest first lap last night: 13:39.14! And at 13:49.10, my second lap was not so bad either. Combined, I covered two rounds in 27:28.24--a new record! (Yey!)

But boy, sap my energy that run did! Going into the first half of round two I could already feel my thighs getting tired. But my lungs were still all right, so I pushed on.

Then I had a side stitch. Must be because I was already breathing through my mouth when there was still a kilometer or so to go. But it was only a slight one, so I breathed in big and exhaled hard, and pushed on.

I was almost breathless when I finished. Quite ecstatic too. I was just too drained to jump in delight.

Tonight I'm gonna run again, but no record breaking this time. I can't be thaat desperate to go to first base.

Watch Mulawin or go jogging?

Go jogging, of course! I knew I'm gonna feel guilty anyways if I'd gone home without giving a go at the acad oval. So jog I did, despite the aching butt.

Now let's get last night's run recorded:
lap 1 14:51.88
lap 2 14:00.59
total 28:52.47
cooldown quarter lap 1:53.03

Yey! It's below 29!

Wag na Wag Mong Sasabihin

yep, the one by Kitchie Nadal. My officemate Tid is playing it right now, on Mach's cool blue telecaster (without him knowing--yet), here at the office. We're both singing to it, of course. It's a great song. I actually tried to play it the other night, also on Mach's telecaster (also without him knowing--until know), but failed to find the right chords. Good thing Tid knows the whole song! Yey!

Tid and I have actually just finished playing basketball. Boy I haven't played in a long time! It was fun and I would have really enjoyed it had I not slipped real bad on the cement. Now my butt's aching terribly...

I'm supposed to go jogging tonight but somehow I'm starting to feel like not doing it. Must be the butt...

Cool choir

Last Sunday, my sis' choir, Coro Cantabile, performed at the Philam auditorium. The choir has been improving. They were already quite good when they started I think about two years ago. Now, they're even better. I hope their plans for a Europe tour push through!


Coro in concert

Hehe. At the lobby, there was this tiled red wall that caught my fancy. Loved it so much I had my bro Carlo take a picture of it, with me of course.

me by the fabulous philam wall

Last of last week

Last jog, that is. My Thursday night run. Covered two rounds in 28 minutes, 31.53 seconds. I've already started to extend my run to 2 1/4 acad ovals. Still cant' push myself further, though, because I can feel my knee wouldn't like it.

Mach and another office mate saw me when i passed by vinzon's and the next day he said that I was jogging pretty fast. Hmm.. I must have. My two-round average is improving, wheee!

jogging on the 'first day'

Clocked 29:51.24 for a smooth two rounds last night. I'm just happy I was still able to jog. No thanks to dysmenorrhea, my tummy was hurting sooo bad the whole day yesterday. I just wanted to lie on the floor and sleep the pain away.

jog log

Wow, another new record! This time mostly because of my bro Carlo's relentless pacing.

After my Wednesday's good run, I actually considered resting Thursday night--go home early, play the drums, play badminton, or play The Sims 2. But Carlo seemed really excited when he asked if I would go jogging, so I said OK. Although that decision last night made me soo itching to play the drums the whole day today, I'm glad I jogged anyways. Never thought my lungs would be improving this much!

The numbers:
Lap 1 14:59.08
Lap 2 13:19.44
Total 28:18.52
Cool down 3+ minutes

Yey!

(Still not over with) Alicia Keys in Manila

got this from http://clickthecity.com/around_the_city/?p=20041012

An excerpt from The Keys to Alicia's Diary by Ann Vicente.
The writer totally nailed it. I soo agree!


The Keys to Alicia's Diary
By Ann Vicente

October 12, 2004

...

I thought Saturday--the concert night--would never come.

When it finally did, Araneta Coliseum was packed. The concert venue was almost full by the time my best friend and I arrived. I had a few celebrity sightings because our spot was on the sponsors' reserved seats, so famous and not-that-famous people kept passing in front of us like there was a parade. I even got seated beside this male commercial model that used to be in a TV ad for a telephone company.

Starstruck? Who, me? Nah, I just felt like one of them. We were rubbing elbows, you know? Ha!

If actors, singers, directors, fashion icons and basketball players added glitz to the event, there were also commoners who didn't look any less glamorous, as they were dressed to the nines. They looked like celebrities, too! It was a fashionista event if I'd ever gone on one.

I saw that a lot of Alicia Keys wannabes were present. They sported dreadlocks or simpler braids under hats and caps, donned faux fur jackets, and had on big pairs of sunglasses (which I didn't see the purpose of, except for strictly fashion-related reasons, as sundown was long past at 7 o'clock in the evening).

The groovy mood was palpable as local artists Luke Mijares and Kyla opened the show with popular R&B songs. These two front acts served like a prologue that gives a peek into the main story, enticing readers to watch for the main character in the plot.

And was the main character anticipated! When the lights dimmed and somebody's hands on the piano were flashed on the projector screen, the coliseum went wild. Soon, Ms Alicia Keys appeared like an apparition with only a cane and a microphone in hand, looking all dolled up in an orange corset, a tight pair of pants and the signature hat. And the audience roared their welcome.

Alicia Keys first worked the crowd with upbeat R&B cuts. And there was a revelation that night: she can sing and dance! She can do both simultaneously! Her moves were as smooth as they were sexy, hinting of salsa. It's like dirty dancing that isn't tasteless.

With her lead, the fans got up from their seats and began dancing. Some threw their hands in the air, some bobbed their heads to the catchy beats, some hollered and howled like hyenas. Me, I'd never forget that butt shake she did. She could seriously give J.Lo a run for her money in that department.

An hour into the event and Alicia Keys had already turned the Big Dome into a fun hiphop party place. The concert was a party in itself but it would never have been complete without the R&B singer's soulful ballads, which she was generous enough to dish out. All the funky dancing gave way to a more laid-back mood as the first strains of You Don't Know My Name filled the dome.

Hearing her songs being rendered live is simply incomparable to hearing them on the radio. I don't think I'd ever hear her music on the airwaves the same way again...I think I would always hear her singing live in that great voice of hers, even just in my head.

Aside from the strong presence that she had while performing, her specially arranged songs How Come You Don't Call Me and A Woman's Worth added to the vibe. The inventive arrangements proved that jazz and old school genres are her major musical influences.

The concert's highlight came when she sang If I Ain't Got You, a radio staple nowadays. When Alicia (at this point we're already on a first-name basis) started to play the initial notes on the piano, people just screamed while those with their significant others couldn't resist sweet-dancing. The song spelled "M-U-S-H" but it's natural for Filipinos to love it, we being hopeless romantics. It's obviously everybody's favorite.

All eyes and lights were on her as her fingers moved across the grand piano to produce a few classical, instrumental pieces--no words to sing, no high notes to hit. Just Alicia Keys and her grand piano. The darkness had a chilling effect as she held her fans captive for quite some time. It was haunting, I tell you.

The concert was largely unadorned; there were no fireworks or frenzied costume changes. It was a no-frills showcase of sheer talent. And you just had to admire Alicia because she hardly talked in between numbers, perhaps wanting to let the songs speak for themselves.

The event's mood was far from being intimate. Nevertheless, there was a degree of intimacy in the fact that Alicia Keys let her fans get a peek into her diary through the power of her beautiful musical compositions. Listening to her songs was really like being let in on her deepest, darkest secrets.

Like what I've said, this is one diary that I would not regret reading (or hearing) and telling people about. It may not contain conventional, everyday topics such as crushes, wild activities or improper behavior that would surely raise an eyebrow or two. There may be no juicy gossip that I can share with my friends after knowing what's inside the Diary of Alicia Keys. Except...is it true about her and Usher? So there's gossip after all! (Haha, enough of that--you know I'm just being silly.)

Big-artist concerts can sometimes be so loud and rowdy. The Alicia Keys 2004 World Tour was riotous, but only in that it was such a resounding success. It offered something different: a combination of melodic ingenuity and emotional connection. And how many artists command such presence and create such a stir? Only someone like Ms Alicia Keys, a musical diarist nonpareil.

Amen!

jog log

Wednesday night's run set a new record! Yey! I'm thinking next time I might run more than two rounds and stop only when I've jogged for at least 30 minutes. That'll probably be like extending my run 5 more meters (wow!!)

At least I'm seeing some improvement...

The numbers:
Lap 1 14:57.50
Lap 2 14:05.05
Total 29:02.55

jog log

last night's acad oval run:
lap 1 16:10.39
lap 2 13:46.09
total 29:56.48
yey!

Jogging tonight

I'm glad my watch is working again. The battery probably needs immediate replacing lest it goes catatonic again in the middle of something important (like when i'm clocking my jogging). But since discovering this morning that the watch can function again after a few days of hibernation, I'm risking using it for tonight's jogging.

I so badly want to accurately time my runs around the acad oval. Recently, I've timed my laps using only my cell phone, which I leave at the car while I'm actually running. So, so far, what I've been getting are mere estimates. But not today! Because today my good ol' timex is back. I just hope it endures the two laps...

I'm glad too that I'm not gonna jog alone tonight. My officemates Peejay and Astrid will be joining me, as well as my bro Moti. Having been jogging alone for the past couple of weeks, we're already quite a crowd! But hey, the more the merrier!

Choco overload

One of my bosses just arrived from the states and brought with him a sack of chocolates! I've had at least 4 mini bars already and I'm starting to feel guilty...

Enthralled! (Alicia Keys in Manila part 1)

"Hello? Can i speak to... to Michael? ...
So what you do?
Oh word?...
Is that how you get down in Manila?"
-- A. Keys, during her performance of "U don't know my name"

Alicia Keys rocks! I was at her concert last Saturday and it left me sooo impressed!

She has an amazing voice. She already sounds great in cd, but hearing her live was a whole new magical experience. She was great at the piano (even played while lying on top of it!) and showed that she can dance as well! Aside from picks from her two albums, she performed some socially relevant songs too. Just showed how she felt for the current state of affairs our world's having today.

I absolutely enjoyed every minute of the concert. Left me with great admiration for somebody who can showcase such an immense talent such as hers and yet be only as old as I am!

Forgetful me

I was supposed to go jogging tonight. But I realized just now that I forgot to bring my rubber shoes! Again! I have been forgetting to bring my rubber shoes at least once in two weeks since three months ago, when I decided to regularly go jogging at least twice a week.

The funny thing is, in the morning I always remember to bring them out from my bedroom but then forget to put them inside the car. Whenever I call home to check if I had really forgotten my shoes, Ate Lenie would say that I left them at the door, or at the garage, right beside where the car had been parked! I'm getting frustrated at my being so forgetful! I hope I'm not sick or something...

Intro

Although this was written a bit later than my actual first entry, I want this to be the first on the list so this blog could have a sort of an intro. Well, I actually just want to write down why I'm getting on in this blogging thing....

I need the practice. I've been working for more than a year now and so far most of what I've been writing are words only compilers and a bunch of programmers understand. I wanna try to balance them with words normal english-speaking people can at least recognize. I'd like to see if I can at least tell of what's been going on in my life. And to try to write real sentences for a change!