First Blush Part 2

A month after my Ultimate encounter (see First Blush Part 1), I still had not tried my next target sport, Rock Climbing. Scheduling with a partner proved difficult. But the opportunity finally came last May 29, just 2 days before the end of Nike's First Dates promo.

The sight that greeted us at Power Up Silver City was not what I envisioned. The place was like a makeshift venue for AXN's Amazing Race Mall Tour. There was no door, no partitions, just the hall of Silver City, a lone desk, some fixtures, and the floor to ceiling wall that went up 38 ft. My sister remarked that it's much higher than the one she tried before. The wall was quite intimidating. But as brave but unprepared soldiers getting ready for battle, we approached the reception, ie. the lone desk.

We presented our Nike printout, signed up, paid for the harness and belay card. Only the session was sponsored by Nike, so gear rentals would have to come out of our own pockets. To our relief, our shoes were approved so we didn't have to rent footwear, which we wanted to avoid for sanitary reasons.

For our belaying lesson, our trainer ran us through the terms commonly used:
Climbing - the word used by a climber to inform his partner/belayer he/she is ready to climb
Climb on - go signal to the climber
Tension - when a climber is asking for more tension in the rope
Slack - when a climber is asking for less tension
Down - when a climber is ready to go down
Let go - go signal to the climber to let go and "sit back" on the harness

After learning the vocabulary, it was on to the real thing. I volunteered my sister to climb first. She didn't mind. After all, she's done it before. :-P The trainer guided me in belaying. It was a high climb but it did not take long for her to reach the top and come back down. And then it was my turn. The 38-foot wall seemed even more intimidating than when I first saw it that I forgot to say "Climbing", which the trainer was quick to remind me. As I climbed higher and higher, there were moments when I feared I would lose my grip or my footing but thankfully, I didn't. I felt like the top wasn't getting nearer, but the way down was getting longer and I doubted that I could make it all the way up. But I pressed on and before I knew it, the "rock" at the center of a red square marking the end was staring me in the face.

My sense of triumph was shortlived for I still faced the challenge of going down, which I must admit unnerved me a little. Reminding myself that I've gone on rides that plummeted from greater heights, I shouted "Down!" and let go at the signal. Clutching the rope, I waited for my belayer to lower me down to safety. At the first gradual movement of the rope, I relaxed my grip, for there was no stomach dropping sensation, just a feeling of being pulled down, really slowly. We collapsed on a bench after my descent, both climber and belayer exhausted.

Climbing is hard, but so is belaying. To some extent, the safety of the climber rests on the belayer. The belayer must 1. constantly pull in excess rope during the climb,
2. pull the rope taut before descent,
3. gradually feed rope during descent, supporting the climber's full weight in the process.

Belaying solo during my sister's second climb (i.e. without the trainer to guide me), I made the mistake of not doing #2 properly and proceeding immediately to #3, such that there was too much slack in the rope, causing her to drop faster than intended. Upon trading places, she made the same mistake, and I hit my knee on the wall at the sudden jerk of the rope when she recovered.

We called it a night after the second try, knowing fully well that the next day would be torture on our muscles. The belaying strained our muscles and drained our strengths more than the climbing itself. We only climbed the beginner's wall twice and did not bother trying the intermediate level. And we were probably not employing the proper belaying technique. Maybe on our next visit, we'll tackle the intermediate wall and also learn that technique.

Conclusion

Between Ultimate Frisbee and Rock/Wall Climbing, there's a better chance of me climbing again than playing Ultimate. Not that I enjoyed one more than the other, because I enjoyed both. But in terms of logistics, scheduling, and manpower, rock/wall climbing is easier to arrange ;-)

First Blush Part 1

I have always considered myself to be somewhat athletic. Although as I mentioned in my previous entry that my favorite hobbies are eating and sleeping, I do like to have some physical activity every now and then. And so Nike Women's First Dates promo piqued my interest. You get to choose from 8 sports (and quasi sports) and have 1 trial session for FREE! For details, check out http://www.nikewomen.com.ph/thisislove/redbook.html.

Being the thrifty (or stingy as my family would say) person that I am, I was excited at the prospect of sponsored trial sessions. I browsed through the sports' schedules and signed up for my first date with Ultimate Frisbee.

Arriving at the Meralco compound, I marveled at the facilities - tennis, basketball and volleyball courts, a fitness center, and a baseball/soccer field. There could be more but I didn't tour the rest of the compound as I was already running late. Meralco employees are lucky, if only for the facilities ;-) Yet I haven't met or heard of anyone who works at Meralco. But I digress...

The frisbee session was held at the baseball/soccer field. Relieved to discover that we were not the only first-timers, my companion and I joined the others after jogging 2 rounds and stretching. Our designated coach taught us the basics of catching and throwing the frisbee (also called disc) while the rest did some drills. We found the game’s similarity with other sports somewhat amusing and easier to relate to. For instance, upon catching the disc, you can not just run away with it. You must throw it to a teammate, and you are only allowed to move or “pivot” on one foot in the process, much like basketball. Also when defending, you can not touch your opponent. But unlike basketball, you can not snatch the disc from his/her hand. The disc changes sides when it is intercepted or a turnover is committed. A point is earned when a team member catches the disc in the team’s endzone, like football.

This is a simplistic description of the game. The game may seem simple, just throwing and catching the disc, but my first encounter showed me it's not. There's technique involved, along with muscle aches and bruises. Throw the disc without power and it wobbles. Throw it too hard and it sails out of reach of your teammate. Throw it at a wrong angle and it goes in a direction you didn't intend. Hold the disc the wrong way and you just can't throw it properly. And here is where I got my sore muscles, doing forehand and backhand throws.

Catching the disc, whether pancake style, overhead and down below was fun, but in no way easy. And I have the bruises to show for it - one each on my left and right palms just below the middle and ring fingers and another forming a U shape between my right thumb and index finger, which made writing by hand a chore. Good thing though, in this digital age, I use my computer keyboard more than my pen ;-)

(Note: Except for the pancake catch, "overhead" and "down below" are not the official terms but words I cooked up since I don't know how to refer to those catching styles.)

It being our first time, we didn't expect to join the scrimmage. Luckily though, everybody got a chance to play. It turned out to be a complete experience of Ultimate Frisbee. At times I felt like we were running around like headless chickens, first in one direction, then another as the disc changed hands. Then I managed to catch the disc and completed a pass to a teammate. Suddenly, I no longer felt like a headless chicken.

All in all, frisbee is a fun way to work up a sweat. Something you can do with friends, as long as you have a disc and a field to play in. But there's also something in store for those with a competitive side, frisbee tourneys can attest to that. As for me, I will defer my verdict until I've tried the other sports ü

Sweet Escape

I love nothing more than eating and sleeping. This weekend I got to enjoy my favorite pastimes in Tagaytay, spent at a lovely resthouse at the heart of Tagaytay. Despite its proximity to the main road, the surroundings were serene, and featured a spectacular view of Taal.

Looking out to the view of Taal from the veranda, one can almost forget that less than 1km away were vehicles passing by nonstop. It was a perfect getaway.

In my book, a trip to Tagaytay would be incomplete if it didn't involve good food. That night, upon arriving at Tagaytay, our hosts took us to Dinner at Antonio's (pun intended). I had Grilled Gindara, Prawns, and Scallops with Chorizo Rice. The gindara, prawns and scallops were grilled to perfection. The gindara and scallops were so tender they seemed to melt in my mouth. I would have preferred my rice not to have chorizo or to have less of it but it didn't really matter. I also had a taste of my sister's Chilean Sea Bass with Truffle Mashed Potato. And like my gindara, the sea bass was cooked perfectly. And the richness of the mashed potato was just right. For drinks, we had the House Juice Dalandan, which was refreshing and provided a good contrast to the richness of our food.






















For dessert, we had the Dark Chocolate Souffle,
Panna Cotta and Tartufo Nero. Not being a dessert person,
I don't have much to say about them
except they were quite good.
(Pardon the over/underexposed photos).


















It might have been the sumptuous dinner, or the airconditioned room, or the inviting bed, or the drive to Tagaytay, or all combined, I was ready to call it a day before midnight. I had an uninterrupted, restful sleep. People who know me would say that I don't need an excuse to sleep soundly. No argument here. I do have the "talent" to be able to sleep whenever, wherever ü

The following morning, we enjoyed a hearty brunch at Tootsie's Home-cooked Specialties. I had the Tapa del Pilar and hot chocolate. I was not disappointed.














The tapa was savory and the hot
chocolate, made the way I like it. The turon (banana fritter) (not in photo)
was unlike any other turon I've had in my life and my companions
liked it immensely. I found it too soft for my taste though.



Noon was spent buying more food to take home. Bangus from LZM and pies from Bag of Beans. By mid-afternoon, we headed for the Cliffhouse Tagaytay and settled on Buon Giorno for a late lunch. I decided that I was not done stuffing myself and ordered the Rib-eye, together with Mushroom Soup and Dalandan Shake. The "muscular arm" of the mug amused me, but the shake didn't, which was a bit on the bland and watery side. The soup was great though, and my steak, juicy and flavorful. I had some salad too, but nothing extraordinary there.























Back at the resthouse, I managed to grab a little shut-eye, a nap once again induced by good food and cool room temp and of course, my talent. But as the sayings go, "All good things must come to an end" and "Time flies when you're having fun". And soon, it was time to leave. I was transported back to reality, to the hot and humid weather of Manila, longing for a trip back.

Invent This!

I woke up this morning with sore muscles, thinking, "What I'd like to see invented is a battery operated portable water heater". What do I need it for, you might ask. Surely I won't be needing it at home, hence the need for portability. And at home, aside from the installed water heaters, we have a portable electrical water heater. But source of power is hard to come by when you're outside.

There's this fitness gym I used to frequent that doesn't have heated water. Before any violent reactions, note that membership at this gym is really cheap and it's airconditioned. The gym is not really meant to be a business but as a perk for school alumni, students, and teachers. And water heaters might be an unnecessary expense. When I was there, I never saw anyone else using the showers other than my sister and me. If it's due to the lack of water heater or not is beyond my knowledge.

Another place I will have use for this battery operated portable water heater is the basketball gym where I play every Friday night. As with any normal basketball gym, the locker room doesn't have heaters. Normally, I don't mind the cold showers. But there are times when the weather's quite nippy, making the water seem even colder. And after an hour of basketball, I just want hot water to soothe my tired muscles. Deferring my shower till I get home isn't really my style. But I might be getting a bit old for cold showers after sweating it out. So to the inventors out there, please make this your next project. Or if anyone knows of such a device in existence kindly point me to one.

A Casual Blogger is born

Ever met someone, a Pinoy no less, who doesn't have a Friendster account? No Multiply or MySpace accounts either. I have. I'm one such person. And yet here I am, doing something I never would have considered doing a year ago today - Blogging.

I started toying with the idea a while back, writing about a topic as mundane and unimaginative as shampoo. Months passed, the blog did not materialize.

But today...it just happened.