Away from Home

3 weeks. longest I've been away from home since June 2011. This time, distantly farther but closer to heart.

Longest was when mom threw me out of the house for apparently slacking and lazing at the house on weekends. Other reason was if not that, I was out spending time traveling and hinting that I was overspending and that I did not make myself useful at home during work breaks. She sacked me. Really.

Of course, those were her version of truth. I came back 2 weeks after not because I wanted to apologize but because I didnt want to be misunderstood. Then got some more clothes and didn't show my face to them for 2 mos. I still continued my support leaving all of my savings on her closet then sped away. She knew that's all I had.

Sept 11, I received text from her wanting me back. I came back and apologized and she asked me what's there to apologize for. She admitted they judged me for just resting on weekends after stressful work and living alone on weekdays and that they thought I earned so much and spent so much I didn't save enough for myself. Then they got Pokwang.

I saved enough for the following year I traveled along with her. To show her what's there that I craved for. And that life can also be enjoyed today.

I just missed being home. ❤

A little more

Day 7.

It's been a while since I lose track of the days of the week, time of the day and day of the month.

I just know it's still August. Ive been waking up at noon (breakfast and lunch overlaps), sleeping anytime my eyes feel heavy 3x a day ( sometimes past dinner waking up hungry).

Not even going out the front gate if I am not hungry, staying indoor until sundown. Reading the book that makes me confused and now almost halfway through it.

If not for the torrential rains I'd be anywhere but home i think.

Ah, staying home is more sustainable in my pocket.

Introverts know.

August Rush

Day 1.

I woke up and my thoughts were still about my previous work and those people. I shrugged it off my mind and went on for the day.

As I drove back home at sunset, I was greeted with orange hues and clear skies. I was literally awed. 

Then I started to embrace that tomorrow no responsibility, of that sort, awaits me nor unacceptable treatment anymore. I felt relieved.

I turned on the music. Parokya ni Buchokoy singing in the background. I reflected. When was the last time I felt easy, going home witnessing that beautiful sunset? Ah, that was some 6 years in the past, when I resigned from my first work.

I did not notice, as time passed by me, ahead of me, little by little, I had pushed myself too hard. It became toxic. 

I really needed this kind of break.

On the other hand, today, I received 2 good news. News about the aspects of my life that has gotten out of place. But there are 3 of them.  I wonder if God has lost count of the third one?

Mag-aaral ng K to 12: Handa sa Pagharap sa Hamon ng Buhay

"Ang araw na ito ay sadyang espesyal.  Makaraan ang labingwalong taon, narito muli ako sa paaralang nagmulat sa akin ng kahalagahan ng edukasyon, disiplina sa sarili at sa bayan, respeto sa sarili at sa kapwa, ang paaralang nagbigay ng oportunidad sa ordinaryong mag aaral, na lumalakad ng dalawang kilometro kada araw, suot ay gusot gusot na damit at paldang minana mula sa kamag-anakan. Mga ala-alang dala ng labingwalong taon simula nang ako ay nagtapos.

Narito po ako humaharap sa inyo, dala ang pagpupugay, bilang isang alumni ng paaralang elementarya ng San Jose Patag. Mga guro, mahal na prinsipal, mga kagalang galang na panauhin, mga mag-aaral na nagsipagtapos at minamahal nating mga magulang at tumatayong magulang, isang mapagpalang umaga po sa ating lahat.

Sa mga minamahal nating magulang at taga gabay, batid po natin ang ginhawa, sa wakas, na tayo’y makapagpatapos makalipas ang 6 na  mahabang taon sa elementarya. Sa pag gabay sa araw araw mula pag gising nila sa umaga, pagpasok sa paaralan, pamromroblema sa pambaon sa eskwela, pantustos sa pang araw araw nilang pangangailangan, hanggang sila’y makatuntong sa stage na ito at humawak ng diploma, ako bilang bahagi ng lipunang ito na naghahangad ng mas maganda, mas matalino at matuwid na kinabukasan maraming maraming salamat po.

Sa mga guro, na tumatayong ating ikalawang magulang, mga nagsipagtapos, aminin natin, sila minsan ay kontrabida sa araw araw nating buhay sa eskwela, madaming assignment, projects, exams, deadlines. Lilipas ang bawat araw, buwan, taon, magkakaroon tayo ng mga bagong guro na patuloy na gagabay sa atin, mga bagong kakilala, bagong kaibigan, magtuturo ng dapat nating matutunan sa paaralan, at sa buhay.  Ngunit magkaganun pa man, mamimiss natin sila, namiss ko sila.

Nais kong ibahagi ang karanasan ko na minsan ako’y may isang guro na naniwala sa kakayahan ko. Pagkat ako’y mahirap lamang at walang bilib sa sarili, inisip ko, kaya ko ba?  Ngunit dahil sa kanya, kinaya ko, nabuo ang kumpyansa sa sarili ko. Minsan, ang kailangan lang natin ay isang taong maniniwala sa kakayahan natin, at ayoko syang biguin. Sa gurong ito, maraming Salamat po sa tiwala, maraming salamat po sa inyo.

Sa mga nagsipagtapos, nasa kalahati na po tayo ng K to 12. Anim na taon. Anim na taon na lamang ang ating sasanayin upang mas maging handa sa hamon ng buhay. Mga kasanayang dapat nating paghandaan pagtuntong ng grade 10. Ang isa sa may akda ng programang “K to 12” na si Senator Joel Villanueva ay naniniwalang “Dahil sa globalisasyon, kailangang kailangan nating baguhin ang istruktura ng edukasyon at training sa ating bansa upang maging globally competitive ang mga kabataang Pilipino”. Nais din niyang ipabatid, na sa inyo, mga bagong graduates ng taong 2018, sa inyong mga kamay, sa inyong determinasyon at patuloy na pagpapaunlad ng sarili ang inyong tagumpay. Huwag sana nating biguin ang mga taong umaasa at naniniwala sa atin. Ang sabi nga, “hindi natin kasalanan na tayo’y ipinanganak na mahirap, ngunit nasa ating mga kamay kung tayo’y mamamatay na mahirap”.

Sa lahat po ng naririto, batid po nating hindi dito nagtatapos at ito’y panimula lamang. Ating gabayan ang mga kabataan natin upang sila’y huwag maligaw ng landas at patuloy tayong magbigay ng inspirasyon pagkat ang kailangan nila’y gabay, at paniwalang kakayanin nila ang hamon ng buhay.

Sa mga nagsipagtapos, nais naming patunayan ninyo na ang : Mag-aaral ng K to 12: Handa sa Pagharap sa Hamon ng Buhay.

Sa inyo pong lahat, mabuhay at maraming Salamat."

Dear Self,

Dear self,

It is with great regret that I caused such commotion because of my untimely departure. On the other hand, it wouldn't have been like this if you just loved me unconditionally and gave me what I deserved without reservations. 

I know you've been weary of my future but you did not trust me enough to handle those myself. Instead, that thing I craved for, you also gave it to someone else but without hesitation, without question. It saddens me but more than that, I feel less valued, less trusted.

Now that the game is over, some still find excuses and still deny their actions. The folks who want to understand what happened and why are still in pursuit but I am now happy. Like I said, I will no longer hold on to my chances, but will act upon it. It's been hard, actually.


P.S.
You also taught me that if I would fail; "fail now, fail faster" thus, I failed you now.


Lovingly yours,
Len.

Mt Ulap, Itogon, Benguet, February 10, 2018

I have only been to few mountains and of those, my favorite thus far is Mt. Ulap. That was a chill 7km hike plus excruciating 2km descent to Brgy. Sta. Fe and that made it a memorable 9km of this trip. The mountaineers saying goes "if you got so many pictures along the trail, that means the mountain is not as difficult and technical".

At 12midnight my group hit the road and ventured to a 5hr long ride from Quezon City down south towards Itogon, Benguet up north. At 5 o'clock in the morning we reached the jump off point. The group prepared shortly, registered, took some photos and off we went, excitedly.

My Passport to the checkpoint!

It was a trip I shortly planned, solo travel if given a chance that nobody from my 800+ facebook friends would join me. At least I wouldn't want to get a hilarious comment afterwards that I did not bother ask for joiners. haha! Would anyone agree? Say 799 FB friends ignored me and one of them joined and bring a pack of 7 more or so! That's 7 more acquaintances only if I happen to talk to all of them. Well, I did to 4 of them not bad. I walked on my own pace and stopped from time to time to take a simmer, enjoy the nature, take photos and be amazed.

 

The route at 6am was cold. Glances of sea of clouds could be seen from afar. Benguet herself is way above clouds so it wouldn't take much of a climb to get a view such as this.

 

With the troops!

 

Info alert. As we ascend from Brgy. Ampucao, the first peak would be Ambanao Paoay, followed by Gungal Rock, then Mt. Ulap and traverse to Brgy. Sta. Fe. That would be 9km overall.

No Bike trail on the road.

Not there yet.

With the gang. I would be accompanied by them throughout this trip. Some of my photos were taken by them. Thanks guys! On the other hand, when they wanted a group photo they would call me out haha because I got monopod. (Too bad I lost my DSLR years ago, I even had tripod and remote for all of us. *sobs*)

Sunrise!

Just a hundred or more meters from the jump off.
  

            

 

I enjoyed the view thus far. One of the many.

 

Taking breaks.

                 

                 

Some of the inhabitants of the mountains.

                 

     The view.

We've just gone by 3km in 2hrs. 6more to go!

 

 

First peak in the view!

Ambanaw Paway Peak (Ambanao Paoay Peak)

 
(Can you) Imagine the depths?

Fog embracing the mountain. So cold and refreshing I did not even sweat.

 I sooo love this place!

 More scenic views.

The lone tree that can be seen from afar.

 

Off to Gungal Rock. (2nd peak)

Not yet Gungal Rock but having a photo here is as awesome.

I had to try thrice to be here, because it was literally cliff edge! I mean, nothing but high trees below the slopes!

I can see that from here, my skin got darker already!

Take 30

  

Met the 5km mark.
 

At Gungal Rock at 10am.

 

  

Info alert. If you haven't noticed from the start, the trek to Mt Ulap was packed with hikers. We hiked during a weekend so it should not be a surprise. With that, the community guarding the place had to control the crowd by giving photo opportunities to every hiker. The queue number was given to the guide. We waited  for our turn and posed for 10sec every person. There was a man guarding the photo area so if you were that afraid walking and imagining you'd fall on the abyss, there's kuya who will guide you through.

Got our photo taken at 11am.

At this point, we were headed to Mt. Ulap, the main peak.

We ate lunch here as we waited for the rest of the group to come along. During our walks, we got separated from the bunch because first, some group got ahead of us since Gungal, then there were other groups who scrambled through our crowd, then there was heat of the sun so we opted to find a shelter which was so far away. There was mostly grass land.

It was high noon when we reached Mt. Ulap peak.

Behind us was the Mt. Ulap peak. Last assault and then there was mostly descent coming our way.

Looking back at where we were. It was awesome.
 

At Campsite 2. I did not notice where Campsite 1 was though. When I decided to go to Mt. Ulap, I was offered with an overnight camp. Since I was not comfortable spending the night with groups of people I would just meet in the trip such as this, I declined and went for a day hike instead. I would love to if given a chance to be with long time friends who can tend for themselves and are more mature in camping. Soon after, I camped out with friends on the next mountain on this blog (Mt. Daguldol in San Juan, Batangas).

 

One of my new friend resting in the background not minding the heat of the sun at 12noon.

This is where the tents are pitched.

7km mark. From here on, it was all descent and take 5 is a must.

This was one of the stops along the trail.

9km mark concludes our journey.

But without Mang Inasal it wouldn't  be complete.

Post script.

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After the trek, we rested, and found a paid shower (20pesos per bath, 10pesos for comfort room use) down the road. 

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Short review on the trip: I enjoyed the place definitely, but I did not appreciate the noise pollution and too much crowd. I was part of the crowd but I did not bring the city night party with me. The place was totally crowded at the first few kilometers I thought I was in the national park. The difference in pace dictated if it would still cram along the trail. Loudspeakers played on the background too, they should have known the word peace and serenity. Some folks also had taken the time of their life in resting in the coveted and very scenic positions which took most of us longer on the trail.