Mt. Kalisungan (06/27/2015)

Known as Mt. Kalisungan to visiting hikers, the mountain is called many different names by the locals. (Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to our guide much. Yes, this is a useless blog post haha.) Conveniently located at Calauan, Laguna, Mt. Kalisungan is perfect for those looking for a day trip. Please refer to other blog entries for directions. My friend drove us there and parked at a church in Calauan by the pineapple monument. 

We took a trike and specifically told the driver to drop us at the barangay hall of Lamot. One or two? It didn't matter to us. We said we were climbing the mountain. So the tricycle driver dropped us at Brgy. Sto. Tomas, which also had a path leading to the mountain.

BEGINNERS: DO NOT CLIMB FROM BRGY. STO TOMAS!

We were asked how much we would pay. P400, we said, based on the blogs we read online. The guy who volunteered to be our guide found it too low, but he eventually accepted. The guide, whose name and picture I wasn't able to take (see, this is a useless blog) asked us if he could just take us to the summit and leave us there. (WTF?) We said we weren't staying long. So he told us to wait for him at the barangay hall. It took him an eternity (probably 20 minutes) and we noticed he changed clothes. He wore long pants and rain boots. We were about to learn why.

Mt. Kalisungan from Brgy. Sto. Tomas

There is no one single trail to the summit and no matter which path you take, it's best to avoid Brgy. Sto. Tomas. Just start from Lamot 2.

So far so good

The nonexistent trail we took from Brgy. Sto. Tomas was not a level 3/9 climb as the other blogs described. It was torture. It was filled with itchy and prickly plants, grass, and huge mosquitoes. Our guide assured us it was a fast way to the summit. But because it was entirely an uphill climb, we ended up taking long frequent breaks, nearly depleting our water supply.

Good thing I was wearing leggings underneath my shorts as well as arm sleeves. I didn't feel the heat much nor did I itch at all.

Water Break # 231315

It took us 3 hours to get to the summit. And it took us another 3 hours to get down (using the longer and more existent trail this time) and we ended up at the Field of Faith Sanctuary. There were several sari-sari stores along the area where we bought ice cold beverages to rehydrate ourselves after our brutal waterless descent. I brought 1.5 liters of water and 500 mL of Gatorade. It was barely enough for me. I suggest bringing at least 3 liters of liquid per person as there are no vendors up in the mountains.

Almost near the summit!

Many visitors flock to Mt. Kalisungan during summer and holy week, but we climbed on a regular weekend, and only encountered at least 5 other groups. 

The cross at the summit

View from the summit

San Pablo, Laguna from the summit

As of this writing, Mt. Kalisungan is probably the highest mountain and most difficult one I've climbed. I am not going back, even if they find a better and easier route to the summit. The view is great, but it's not worth a second look.

At the summit!

Lawskool

I'm in law school. For now.

The government job I had gave me so much free time to the point that I think I grew stupider, duller, and more unproductive by the minute. So I decided to take the UPLAE and enter law school in case I passed. Which I unfortunately did.

Everyday I'm studying. Well, on most days I am. I've been studying more than I have in all my elementary and high school years combined.

2-hour recitations, 30-70 cases per day, and moody professors. Had I known what I was signing myself into, I probably wouldn't have taken the law aptitude exam in the first place. But I'm here now and the only way I'm getting out is if they kick me out. 

Everyday I think about quitting and leaving law school to get myself back in the job market, have more time for myself and my friends, read more non-law school books, watch more movies, do more stuff. But I can't leave now. Not while people still believe I can survive this hell I've blindly chosen to get myself into.

Recrudescence

And just like that my voracious thirst for knowledge is back.

After spending the entire Sunday cooped up at home (save for the one hour I was out hearing mass), I've suddenly found myself actually reading a lot of articles and not just the headlines on my Google Reader feed.

What rekindled this love affair for the yet-to-be-known was perhaps an article I read on Cebu Pacific bagging flight entitlements to Papua New Guinea.  I know a really nice person from PNG and it would be great if I could pay her a visit in my twenties.  It would actually be nice to visit my friends from around Asia-Pacific even for a weekend.

What's holding me back? I'm of legal age. I have a job. My parents shouldn't see it as a problem if I decide to go abroad for the weekend.

So it's settled then.  Slightly quoting a One Direction song, tonight, and in the future nights and days to come, I will get some and live while I'm young.

Ich wollt mal wieder Servus sagen!

"Ich wollt mal wieder Servus sagen" is Austrian German for "I just want to say hello again" 

One of my good friends, Harald, sent this card last August 15, 2011, during Mariä Himmelfahrt (Feast of the Assumption), which also happens to be Der große Frauentag (Women's Day) in Austria.  

His Facebook status that day reads, "...Be sure to remember the important women in your life today: especially those who keep you pure and act as your steadfast light during the challenges of life on earth. :)"

Sunflower!

Perhaps the sweetest and most thoughtful postcard I've ever received :)

April Update

Haven't really had much time and enthusiasm to update this blog because I finally got a job for the government.  Awesome contractual job that'll do for now.  As expected, I failed the preliminary exam of the FSE.  Game face on for next year! Gotta read more on Management.

I cleaned my room tonight and threw out old papers and outdated flyers.  Reorganized my desk and took out some dusty high school books to relearn algebra, physics, and chemistry.  Will also start reading on Management and Organizations. All this while reading fictional novel and a pop economics book on the side.

Stopped sending postcards actually.  Will resume on Monday.  And will write on this blog again.

Lez do this.  Let's see how long this feeling motivates me.

FSE Part I

The exam's tomorrow and I am restless.  I know I should get some sleep, but I want to finish the last 2 episodes of Dexter Season 6 tonight and I need to find me more Mongol Number 2 pencils and an eraser as well.

What if I don't pass?

Why didn't I study? But how do you even study logic and math? Ughhh better play Brain Champ on my phone before sleeping.  Might help.

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BRB panicking

Karymsky Volcano, Russia

Named after a Russian ethnic group, the Karymsky is a stratovolcano which last erupted in 2011 and will continue to do so in the years to come.  It is the most active volcano in the Kamkatcha Peninsula, located in the Russian far east and is in between the Sea of Orhotosk and the Pacific Ocean.

I received this postcard in June 2011 from Olga of Novosibirsk, the third most populous city in Russia, just after Moscow and St. Petersburg.

It came with these stamps:

Hare and Elk stamps issued in 2008 and a joint issue with Serbia stamp of Mary and the child Jesus