My 2010

2010 was a travel-filled year for me.  In March, we had our first Cinematica outside of Metro Manila.  Our then new organizer, the talented Mr. Dexter De Guia, took us to Davao for a workshop. There were less attendees  than we anticipated and Dexter was down on cash, but that workshop was the the beginning of something big.  After that initial hiccup, We decided to start doing our workshops in Makati.  At first, it was every other week.  Then, it became every week.  Before we knew it, we were being invited to teach in different areas of the country.  We had workshops in Davao, Cebu, Zambaonga, Cagayan De Oro, Laguna and other places.  Being able to travel for free and earn while doing so?  Hell yeah!  It's the shit, if you know what I mean.  Traveling is on of the best experiences this world can offer.

Being able to see new sights, meet new people, absorb new cultures, taste new food, and just do new things is what life is all about.  I traveled to Davao for the first time and tried their Durian coffee.  I rode down the white water rapids in Cagayan De Oro for the first time.  I tried new food in Cebu.  I met up with old friends in Zamboanga, and I met new friends in all the places I visited this year.  I also went to Guam and got drunk there and rode a bike there for the first time too.  I was also able to go to a real skatepark for the first time.   Just last week, I drove up to Baguio by myself without a plan for the first time.  I went to the Philippine High School For The Arts for the first time.  I went to Batangas with some friends without a plan.  We spent Christmas at Montemar for the first time.  My brother got married!  I have a sister for the first time.  I was featured on the front page of a newspaper in Zamboanga for the first time!  :D 

So many firsts and so many new experiences for me this year.  It's definitely a landmark year for me, but I think 2011 is gonna be even more awesome!  See you all next year!

Post Christmas 2010

 On the way

 Fillet Mignon

 Choco-Late, Camp John Hay

 Morning View

3 days after Christmas day, December 28, I decided to drive up to Baguio, as I said in my previous entry.  I got there at 5pm, having left Manila at around 11:30am.  When I got there, my brother Yuri and his wife Michelle greeted me with huge smiles, thinking “damn, you drove all the way up here on your own?!  You’re insane…”  Well, yes.  I’m kinda unhinged.  To hell with that. I was going to enjoy my cold Baguio time.  As Ramon Bautista quoted, “Time is gold, but time alone is golder.”
That evening, we went out to find some place to eat.  I called my friend who frequents the summer capital of the Philippines, and he recommended some places, among them, Forest House, beside the entry of Camp John Hay.  The three of us drove over there, and we were promptly greeted with “may reservation po kayo?” (do you have a reservation?).  Of course we didn’t!  And so our search for an evening meal continued.  We drove into Camp John Hay and checked out The Filling Station.  It was jam packed!   On to the commercial strip.  When we got there, the parking lot was in total chaos!  Having no other option, we parked a few hundred meters away and walked the distance to the strip.  We settled on Tender Joe’s Steak House.  They had reasonable prices, and all the food looked mouth watering!  I decided on the Fillet Mignon, Mich had the Surf and Turf, and Yuri opted for the Peppercorn Steak.  Although the service was every bit delayed, we still enjoyed the eats!  Bang for the buck!
When we got back to the apartment, we played a few rounds of pool in the gaming room.  We were all kinda rusty, but we all had a good laugh nonetheless.
The following morning, we all lent a hand cooking breakfast - Spam, sausages, eggs, and garlic rice!  Yum!  Then Yuri and I went to Mine’s View Park to grab some treats from Good Shepherd and some other goodies from the various stalls at the park.  Michelle stayed at the apartment to catch up on some work.  At around noon, we cooked the leftover spam, sausages, egg and rice for lunch.  At around 1:00, we got bored so the couple decided to drive home to Manila (actually, they went straight to Laguna for Mich’s family’s annual reunion).  I stayed behind and spent the afternoon at Starbucks in Camp John Hay.
By around 3pm, I got bored and got in the car and drove.  I drove around Baguio and suddenly found myself on Kennon Road.  “What the heck, I’ll go home now.”  Hahaha!  The trip home was uneventful, except for the crazy stupid traffic in Tarlac.  The entire drive home took me around 7 hours and lots and lots of energy.  By the time I got home, I was exhausted, but very happy!  It was a great trip, spending time on my own.  It makes me want to go out on my own even more, to tell you the truth.

Haulin' Ass

Roxy (my eleven year old Nissan Sentra EX Saloon) hauled major ass yesterday and today.  I took her to Baguio (240kms one way) and met up with my brother and his wife.  No, contrary to the title of my blog, I was not drunk.  I wasn't even hungover.  I just decided that I was going up to Baguio whether I had company or not.

Monday night, my friend Gina confirmed that she would come with me.  Sadly, something came up and she had to take a rain check.  No worries, I forged on!  Haha!  Tuesday morning, I got up at 8am and had breakfast.  Roxy's plate number ends in 4, so I was supposedly banned from using public roads for that day.  Bah!  I left the house at around 10:15 (there's a window of time when you can still use your car even if it's your supposed "coding" day - 10am-3pm), and stopped by at Shell Mindanao Avenue to get a tune up and change oil.  By around 11:15, I was on my to the City of Pines.

Joining the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), I stepped on it and easily reached a cruising speed of around 100kph (the speed limit for the highway).  Over the course of the next four and a half hours, Roxy did not miss a beat.  Accelerating, braking, swerving, maneuvering through traffic, she did it all.  Then we reached the base of Marcos Highway, one of the five roads that lead up to Baguio (the other four being Kennon Road, Halsema Road, Naguilian Road, and the Baguio-Nueva Vizcaya Road).  From the base, Roxy was pumped.  She took the whole of Marcos Highway in less time than she has ever taken it.  Not once on the way up did first gear become necessary.  On some stretches, we even reached fourth gear.  Talk about brute strength!  It was like Roxy was out to prove something!  And to think that her engine's only 1400cc!  I was very very impressed.  I've driven up to Baguio so many times, I don't even remember most of them.  I've used different cars, and they all got me to the top (eventually).  But this trip... It's definitely a trip I will remember.

I put Roxy up for sale a few months ago, and there have been inquiries.  Maybe she doesn't want me to sell her.  Maybe she's saying "hey!  I still got it!"  It's a mixed feeling of being proud of how well she performs, and a kind of sadness knowing that our time together is limited.  Maybe I'm being overly dramatic, but Roxy has been with me for 11 years, and has seen me through thick and thin.  I've literally laughed, cried, shouted, slept, ate, changed clothes, lounged, had serious conversations, and have done so many other things with Roxy.  She's really a friend more than a car.  So why am I selling her?  Because it's time for me to move on.  Roxy is real spunky and is really an awesome car.  But I'm not getting any younger, and my priorities have shifted a bit.  I'm looking for more comfort, more sophistication.  I've got my eye on a 5 series BMW that's been fully restored (it's a 1990 model), and I can really see myself driving that car for a long time.  Don't get me wrong.  Roxy's very very reliable, but I'm just looking for a more "mature" car.  I'm the kid who never wants to grow up, but it doesn't mean that my car has to stay young too.  :)

Roxy's 11th

For those of you who don't know her, this is my car Roxy, a 1.4L 2000 Nissan Sentra EX Saloon.  She'll have been with me for 11 years this Feb.  Yes, eleven.  My folks got her for me in Feb of 2000, when I was still in college.  I used to drive a 1.6L 1990 Nissan Sentra SGX (who I named Bu) that  was a hand-me-down from my Dad, but it was ill-maintained, and I had trouble keeping it running.  She would stall in the middle of the road every so often, and sometimes she wouldn't start again.  It was hard for me to let go of Bu, especially because I've had so many adventures with her.  So when Roxy came, it was bittersweet.  I had a brand new car.  But it wasn't Bu. 

At first, it was awkward.  "There's not enough power."  "It's just not the same."   But as the months went along, I started feeling more comfortable with Roxy.  After installing a racing air filter, front and rear strut bars, racing exhaust and performance suspension parts, Roxy wasn't half bad.  In fact, Roxy was kicking major butt.  I would go to Friday night races with her, take her out to the track to stretch her legs, and just drive the hell out of her for 11 years. 

This Feb, Roxy is turning eleven years old.  That's pretty old in car years.  But you know what?  She still kicks ass.  She's never staled on me.  Never had any major operations.   Never overheated.  The A/C is as cold as the day I got her.  All the power windows and door locks work.  She's never let me down.   You want to talk about quality?  The water in the radiator is the water that came with Roxy from the casa.  Yes, the water is eleven years old too.  I've probably topped off the water once or twice (with less than a cupful of water) during the last decade.  Now THAT's quality.  Roxy is running as smoothly now as she was running 10 years ago.  I'm not exaggerating.  Of course there are more than a few rattles and bumps, but what's to be expected from a car plying 160,000 kms on Manila's roads?  Yes, Roxy has circumnavigated the world 4 times over in the last decade and still runs awesome.  Beat that!

Today, Roxy and I are going on another adventure.  We're  climbing up to Baguio in a few minutes, and it will be Roxy's fifth time there.  I expect nothing short of a wonderful drive on this, Roxy's eleventh year.  See you all when we get back!

Google Ad Sense

I just signed up for Google Ad Sense.  By doing that, I get to earn money, depending on how much traffic I generate from my blog.  Ads are displayed on my blog, depending on the content of my blog.  It's a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.  No cash out, and there's a chance I earn.  Who knows?  I just might become a professional blogger! :D  Haha!

Baguio Road Trip

I'm going on a Baguio road trip tomorrow.  I don't care if I have company or not.  It's been a long while since I've gone up to the City of Pines.  I used to visit Baguio at least 3 times a year around around 7 years ago.  Now, I'm barely there once a year.  :(  I love Baguio.  I know it's not the Baguio of the 80's, clean crisp, clear.  It's congested, polluted, and there's not a whole lot to do. But I still love it.  I was built for Baguio weather.  A layer of insulation was generously provided me by The Maker.  In Manila, I feel like I'm in an oven.  I sweat profusely (alright, alright, I'm a tub of lard), and I'm very uncomfortable.  In Baguio, I thrive.  I can go all day walking up and down the crowded streets and through the narrow aisles of Baguio's (in)famous Ukay-ukay.  There's something about Baguio City that appeals to me.  I guess because it's not Manila in so many ways.  It's a world far removed from the hustle and bustle of our beloved metropolis. 

I'm looking forward to the long drive.  I'm looking forward to my high school barkada's tradition of taking off our shirts upon entry into the city.  I'm looking  forward to the chilling breeze and the awesome sights.  I'm looking forward to getting out of Manila.

Baguio may not be the cleanest place, nor the most peaceful.  But it's still Baguio.  I have loved it since I started going up there in the 90's, and I will continue to love it for a while.  See you later, Baguio!  :D

Maiden Post

I just started blogging recently, and I made a blog called ALkuHOLIC. It's a collection of my thoughts on all things related to the thing I love the most - BOOZE.  Yes, a booze blog.  But I wanted to share more than what I thought of booze.  I wanted to share the millions of mindfarts that I get everyday.  The random ideas that invade my mind, whether as small as a molecule or as large as the universe.  Thus, Drunk Driver was born.  I'll be sharing thoughts, opinions, questions, and answers to questions that aren't even addressed to me.  I've never really blogged before starting ALkuHOLIC, so I'm not even sure I can keep up posting entries on a regular basis.  But I'll try, that's for sure.  I'll do my best to share as many thoughts as possible, and honestly, I really don't care if anyone reads it.  There are just some things that you need to get off your chest, eh?  :)

Let's see where this takes me.  Cheers!