Boracay breakaway (part one)

31-on-31 #4: the galera getaway - epilogue

as i have mentioned in my prologue, this beach getaway was something i needed.  it was a well-deserved vacation and something i have been wanting to do since last year.  i enjoyed my time there and i'm looking forward to planning and having my next trip there–hopefully within this month, or at least before summer ends–either alone or with a few friends.  i also mentioned that there were some realizations that took place, something which i wish never happened, but i guess it also acted as an eye-opener of some sorts.

i always had a soft spot for batchmates, whether it be school or at work, and i still do.  and i always have the highest respect for them because knowing that we, as a group, took on something, be it four years in high school or college, or being trained for days or weeks for something that we're paid to do, that level of respect is gained because even if the person next to you in class didn't directly help you out whenever help is needed, you know what he or she is going through, and that person feels the same way about you.  my galera trip wouldn't have been possible if my batchmates didn't actually ask me to join them.  to provide you a little bit of history of our batch, myself, together with jen, a female colleague, were the only leaders to join a batch of associates in training.  but during those two weeks, we bonded in a special kind of way, even if the two of us were holding management positions and the rest, are the ones to be managed.  so going back, on this trip, i am the only one who's holding a position higher than the rest of the group.  but i never, ever brought my title with me to that trip.  even if, during the vacation, they were used to calling me by my title, i always reminded them that "there's no such thing as an AMO or team leader here.  we're all equal, ok?"  the getaway was not about work or colleagues.  it was about friends having a good time.  and a bonding time at that.   i was wrong.

on the drinking session during first night, i noticed the others starting to have their own private conversations by either whispering to each other, or using signals.  at first i didn't mind this, and just continued to have fun.  but it all crystallized on the second night, wherein we were all in one long table and in the midst of the drinking and the partying, most were leaving the table to have their own private conversations, then go back, party, then go away again.  i mean, we're supposed to be celebrating as a group and most of them would talk on their own?  and guess who's left at the table most of the time?  me.  i literally was getting drunk by myself!  that was why i left the table and wandered around by myself because i was getting annoyed at the scene.  i tried to have fun with the group, bond with them, yet they opt to have their own private groups.

then it dawned on me that no matter how close i was with them on a personal or professional level, nor that we're batchmates at work, or that i joke with them at the office whenever we cross paths, the fact that i was a freakin' position higher than them, there remains an invisible wall between us.  a gap that cannot be shortened, except maybe if we're both not working for the same company anymore.  i admit, it was hard to swallow at first, but i understood and didn't hold any animosity towards them.  i mean, i can't choose the way they act.  heck, i'm not the one controlling their brains.  it's just a sad truth that i have to live with.  i brought this up with jen while we're having breakfast at work and she told me that there will always be things that they (the associates) won't be opening up to us, no matter how close we are with them, or the fact that we're batchmates.  they will always have their own private world, their little space where people like us are not privy to it.  i guess i was just naive about all of this.

but again, for the record, i'm not mad at them for being that way.  i didn't actually realize what jen was talking about during the second night until after i took that walk alone.  actually, one of them, days before the galera trip, told me that once we're there, we'll have lots of things to talk about.  i actually looked forward to that, and waited for that person to approach me and start having that talk, but it never happened.  and i completely understand why that person didn't, and i didn't think negatively of that person.  i also wanted to clear some personal things and issues with that person, but i guess it wasn't meant to be.  will it happen?  maybe, maybe not.  another one of those unclosed chapters on my personal archive.

but i had so much fun on that trip.  really.  honestly.  and i'm not treating the ones who i went with any less than how i treated them before the trip.   they're still my friends, and my colleagues.  and with that, this closes the galera getaway series.  i hope you enjoyed reading this as i enjoyed telling it.  but the 31-on-31 series continues.  on the coming entries, i'll be posting some, if not all, of my prized poetry collection.  poems that i wrote during my college years.  initially, i was hesitant to post them here, for someone else might copy it and claim that they wrote it.  but i thought i'd rather share it and give inspiration to others who might need that particular poem during a trying time in their lives.  so, look forward to that.  thank you to everyone who placed their comments about my galera trip, whether it be on the shoutbox or the comments after each entry.  until tomorrow's entry, hope everyone has a good friday! 

31-on-31 #3: the galera getaway - day three

chapter one:  sunday - "the morning after"

the sound of rain pouring outside disturbed my otherwise restful sleep.   it was still dark, but signs of dawn breaking were visible from the window.  still lying down, i surveyed the room.  there were at least 8 of us inside, all except me were fast asleep.  the only thing i hate about sleeping in other places outside my room at home is that when someone or something wakes me up, it's impossible for me to go back to sleep.  yet i remained laid down, trying my hardest to get a couple more hours of z's, but to no avail.  my mind was already up and about, not to mention my stomach, perhaps looking forward to breakfast since i didn't have any dinner last night.  i checked my mobile phone and it read 5:30am.  so i decided to do what's normally being done when one wakes up:  go to the bathroom.  the moment i sat up, a blinding headache shot me back down.  "damn hangover," i said to myself as i steadied myself and slowly re-attempted to get up.  as i positioned myself at the end of the bed, my eyes getting accustomed to the dimly lit room, i started to tiptoe towards the bathroom, carefully not disturbing any of the others who decided to sleep on the mattress on the floor.

i went back to bed after going about my business and again tried to get some more sleep.  even with my eyes closed, not an ounce of drowsiness overcame me.  for some reason i just laid there, my mind just empty yet consciousness was very active.   after it seemed like an eternity of nothingness, i heard the others stir and slowly wake up.  grunting sounds then filled the room as my colleagues stretched and tried to make sense of what's going on.  eventually, we were all awake and decided to get some breakfast.  the others who arrived the day before hurried up and tried to take advantage of waking up early to do more things, like having massages, going on a ride on the banana boat, exploring the beach and of course, swimming.  the five of us, after composing ourselves, went to get some breakfast.  just like yesterday morning, stories and anecdotes of what happened last night filled the breakfast table.  i guess it's safe to say that everyone, and i mean every one of us was horribly drunk.  after breakfast, i decided to go to the beach where the other group was to get some more sun.  i didn't go back in the water for i was scheduled to leave shortly after lunch and i didn't want to go through the uncomfy feeling of leaving while having so much fun.  i just watched the others from where i was.  the sun eventually came out after being covered by a big ass cloud and everyone heaved a sigh of happiness.  i stayed there for a couple of hours, chatting while some of my colleagues took turns in getting a massage.

chapter two:  sunday - "the lone ride home"

my ferry ticket read, "1:00PM - 4/29/07."  'twas already 10:30am and i decided to go back to the room to fix my things.  i was the only one scheduled to leave that day, while the rest were set to leave early monday afternoon.  if not for some things i had to do on monday (read:  responsibilities), then i would've remained there in a heartbeat.  i mean, who could resist getting drunk again that night?  imagine, three straight nights of consuming alcohol and being in a state of… utter drunkenness?  yet inasmuch as it was convincingly tempting, my mind was already set on staying there until sunday only.  i took a shower and packed my things.  i didn't want to disturb the others who were having fun out on the beach so i went to eat lunch alone.  i also used the extra time to make another sweep of the stores to get something for the folks back home.  after some shopping, i went back to the room to rest up before the ferry trip back to batangas port.  i saw edon, nikki, chris and chuchay outside the room, already drinking the tequila they brought along!  another noontime session!  they offered me some shots, and being a good sport even though i was leaving, gamely chugged them.  after spending some time with them while waiting for boarding time, i bid farewell.  i thanked them for letting me tag along and for having such a great time.  handshakes and hugs went around, then off to the beach i went.

i sat by the bar near the area where the ferries dock, load and unload passengers.  it was already 12:45pm and there was still no sign of the ferry.  good thing some of my other colleagues were at the same bar, also drinking and kept me company while waiting.  the ferry arrived 45 minutes late.  after exchanging goodbyes with the other group, i proceeded to board the ferry.  it left the island after 10 minutes.  the ferry ride back was not as interesting as the one going to the island.  the pace was steady and i just listened to music on my ipod.  upon arriving at the batangas city port an hour and a half later, i looked for the bus terminal and upon finding it, got on board on a bus bound to alabang and waited for it to depart.  vendors climbed aboard, selling food and drinks.  i realized i was thirsty and a bit hungry so i bought two bottles of mineral water and peanuts for the trip.  i texted nikki, edon and chuchay, informing them that i just got on the bus and headed back to the city.  the bus left after around 30 minutes and i remember falling asleep about half the trip.

i arrived home with a smile on my face at 6:45pm to the delight of my mom, brother and sister.   they asked me how my galera experience was, and i happily told them how the place was, what we did, and the fun i had.  after dinner, i gave them the things i bought for them.  i texted nikki, edon and chuchay again, this time letting them know that i arrived home safe.  i also thanked them again for the fun i had, it being my first time there.  i was tired from the trip, so i retired to bed early, with memories of what happened for those two days still vividly etched in my mind.  just before i finally fell asleep, i thought to myself, "time to plan when to go back there!"

31-on-31 #2: the galera getaway - day two

chapter one:  saturday - "sun, sun, sun!"

i found myself waking up with a slight headache, a direct after-effect of what i consumed the night before.  it was still early, probably around 5:30am.  i remained laid down on the bed, with eyes closed, but trying to recall what transpired last night.  slowly, the events all came back, like playing a video recorder on my head.  i felt my mobile phone was beside me, so i got it and saw that there were around three messages, all from work.  i didn't even bother replying to them since i was in no mood for any work-related stuff.  i tried to go back to sleep, but all i can manage was being half-asleep with the ambient noise from outside the room going back and forth.  the next thing i remember was nikki and chuchay were knocking on the door.  i opened it and saw them all dressed up, ready for day two.  but first things first:  breakfast.  we woke up edon and chris (and had quite difficulty doing so) and asked them to have breakfast with us.  it took around 20 minutes to fix themselves up for they were still feeling the after-effects of being the most wasted last night.  we then went to dream wave restaurant for breakfast.  chris and edon kept asking about the events last night since they claimed that they can't recall the latter part of the drinking session.  we told them all that they did, including edon almost falling asleep while taking a leak on the beach and chris slumped on the beach where the waves come in.  after having breakfast, we went back to our rooms to get ready to, well, hit the beach!  chris, nikki and chuchay were already in their swim attire, so that leaves me and edon going back.  the three went ahead and informed us of where they will be.  at first, we had a hard time looking for them since we thought they will be just within where most of the people are.  i then called nikki up on her mobile to ask where exactly they were.  she told us that they were on the far right side of the beach from our rooms.  so we trekked the sand with the sun beating down on us.  although i had to admit, the heat wasn't as scorching as what was in the city, so it was still quite comfy, and perfect for sunbathing.  we then reached where the three were and nikki and chuchay were already taking in some sun, while chris was in the water.  the place was beautiful, far from "civilization" so to speak, and has a rock formation as backdrop.  edon and i went to the water as well, and oh was it sooo nice!!  it wasn't too cold and it was very clear.  i spent a good thirty minutes in the water, although not going to the deeper end.  i also found some nice rocks which i thought of taking home with me, but thought twice of not disturbing where nature placed them.  i went back to the sand to take in some more sun and after about 20 minutes, edon and chris also went ashore.  with the heat from the sun getting increasingly hot, we then decided to head back to get some rest.

'twas around 10:30am when we reached a bar and lo and behold, we started to have beers!!  we were still talking about stuff from last night while taking some pictures.  i had two bottles, while edon had four, i think.  chris had three and chuchay had a piña colada.  edon and nikki went back to the water not far from where we were to take another swim.  imagine consuming alcohol late in the morning!  what more later tonight?  we then decided to have lunch and went back to our rooms to take a nap.  most of our other colleagues will be arriving later in the afternoon so things should get pretty interesting later that night.  i didn't feel sleepy, so i just stayed up and watched tv.

chapter two:  saturday - "i'm not drunk!"

i realized that i had fallen asleep when i found myself waking up with the remote in my hand.  i saw edon and nikki both asleep on separate beds (we transferred to nikki and chuchay's room since the adjacent room will be occupied by our other colleagues arriving later that day).  i decided to explore the area by myself, so i fixed myself up and went outside.  i visited the different shops and saw the wares they were selling.  from shirts to shorts, bracelets to anklets, purses to necklaces, and everything in-between.  i decided to do my buying for my family back home the next day before i leave.  i soon found chuchay and chris on the place where we had dinner the day before.  i joined them and found out that they already had consumed two bottles of red horse beer.  they offered me to have one, but i declined, saying that i'll have my fair share later that night.  our other colleagues arrived from manila a couple of minutes later.  both groups were happy to see each other and i then accompanied them to where they will be staying.  most of them quickly changed to their swimwear, taking advantage of still having daylight and headed to the water.  some went back to where chuchay and chris were and joined in their drinking session.  i, on the other hand, stayed in the room, continued to watch tv while psyching myself up for a longer drinking session later on.

we gathered at around 7:30pm where majority of the group was.  some are taking dinner, while some are just talking.  i wasn't hungry so the five of us (chuchay, nikki, chris, edon, and myself) decided to go ahead to the place where we drank last night.  we told the group where to find us.  it's not far from where they were at, so it was easy to find.  upon arriving, of course, comes the first pitcher of mindoro sling.  i ordered an additional beer as chaser, and we were off.  being a saturday night, there were more people than last night.  there was even a concert involving sugarfree and brownman revival on the other side of the beach where there was an entrance of 50 bucks.  yet we decided to stay right where we were and continued on.  the other group then arrived and we started to have fun together with the music being played on the background.  r&b, hip-hop, and trance tunes filled the air as we consumed pitcher after pitcher of the dreaded mindoro sling.  i again started to light cigarette after cigarette while slowly but surely getting wasted.  i then noticed some of the people on our table frequently going out and back to the table again.  i don't know if some of them wanted to have a private conversation, but the main point why we were there was to have fun as a group.  the comings and goings became quite irritating so i decided to do a leave of my own.  carrying a bottle of beer on one hand and a lighted cigarette on the other, i went outside beside the bar and drank and smoke by myself.  i occasionally took a walk back and forth around the area near the bar, and in my drunken state, started contemplating on my personal life.  i then remembered donna texting me a couple of days before i left (see entry titled, come and go).  i decided to give her a call right there and then.  her mobile phone was ringing, but she wasn't picking up.  i tried it again with the same result.  i continued to drink my beer and went back inside the bar where i drank some more.  i ran out of smokes so i went out again, bought another half-pack, and went back.  after what seems to be endless shots of mindoro sling and bottles (i lost count) of beer, i was dead drunk so i excused myself from the group, told them that i'm through and went back to the room.  to give you an idea how hammered i was, i bumped into not less than 15 people on the way back to the room.  yet my mind was lucid, and i know what i was doing.  i just couldn't focus walking straight.

upon reaching the room, i crashed to the bed.  my mind was still up and about, yet i cannot move too much.  my mobile phone alerted me with a message.  it was from donna.  she asked why i called and that she was at work that's why she couldn't answer the phone.  i replied, to the best of my knowledge, saying that i just wanted to say hi.  after a couple of minutes, she replied back, saying that she was taking her lunch break.  i decided to call her up again.  this time she answered.  i tried to talk as normal as possible but she then noticed that i was slurring.  "where are you?" she asked.  i told her where i was and added that i was already drunk.  she then asked me why i didn't even invite her to go with me and i told her that it was with colleagues.  turns out that she hasn't also been to puerto galera.  she then asked me why i called and i told her that i just wanted to say hi and because i received her message a couple of days ago and added, "is it bad to call someone who i miss?"  while we're in the middle of our conversation, some of our colleagues came in the room, wasted as well.  but one of them, luanne, kept shouting, "i'm not drunk!  i'm not drunk!  i'm just tipsy, and i'm going back out with you guys."  she would fall on the floor several times while going to the bathroom and kept doing the same after coming out.  she kept slurring and saying things about how she could hack it, etc, etc.  i then asked donna if she would like to go with me back to galera before summer ends, since i'll be having another long vacation towards the latter part of may.  she agreed, but knowing her, this could end up nothing.  so i just played as if we're gonna push through.  there were some stuff i told her about thinking about her everyday and she refused to believe that and i said, "you know what, i'm drunk and drunk people end up telling the truth, right?"  after a couple of minutes, we ended our conversation and noticing that some of my colleagues were in the room already asleep, decided to do the same.  i remember saying before falling asleep, "why is the room spinning?"  one colleague just blurted out, "it's because you're drunk, that's why."  i replied, "me, drunk?  nah, no i'm not…"  that's when i blacked out.

31-on-31 #1: the galera getaway - day one

chapter one:  friday - "are we there yet?"

i met up with edon and nikki at the office at around noon.  i have to admit, for some reason i didn't feel at all excited about my first beach trip in two years.  i was looking forward to it, yes, but not as giddy as an eight-year-old getting his or her dream toy for christmas.  we then proceeded to jollibee near the bus station to meet up with chris.  chuchay was already in galera earlier in the morning to take care of the room reservations.  we had lunch and proceeded to the bus station.  the ride to the port was as uneventful as it was a pain in the ass–literally.  we just put on our ipod headsets and minded our own music business while the bus traversed through traffic, smooth and bumpy roads, dropping off and picking up passengers along the way.  since the three of them all came from shifts the night before, they would doze off to sleep and wake up occasionally to say, "are we there yet?"

after around two hours, we finally reached the batangas city port.  we hurried off and checked the next available ferry to white beach and found one about to leave at 3:30pm.  we had around 10 minutes to buy tickets, pass through security and proceed to the docks so we quickened our pace.  sure enough, we made it to the ferry and after about five minutes, we were off.  this time, the ride was more interesting.  rough waves hit us towards the middle part of the journey and the driver (i'm not sure what they call him, but i'm sure he wasn't designated as the captain) would at times cut off the engine just to ride out the incoming wave in order not to force it and end up toppling off (scary thought).  i'm not seasick, thank goodness, so for me, the ride was pretty interesting to say the least.  after an hour or so, we finally reached the island and, like the first man on the moon, i was able to set my first shoeprint on the sands of puerto galera as i stepped off the ferry.

chapter two:  friday - "the infamous 'mindoro sling'"

chuchay met us up as we stepped off the ferry and we headed off to our rooms to get settled in.  edon, chris and i had one room, while nikki and chuchay had the one next to ours.  most of the other colleagues will be arriving tomorrow afternoon so we didn't think of the room-sharing part, at least not yet.  we unpacked our stuff, changed into more comfy clothing and headed back out to get something to eat.  my first impression of the place was it was like one big beach mall.  all the bars, places to dine, lodging and stores were all there.  there was quite a number of people already on the beach and in the water from where we sat and i could just imagine how many more will be arriving by saturday.  after an early dinner, nikki, chuchay and i decided to go back to our rooms to rest a bit, leaving edon and chris, little did we know, started the drinking session.  nikki wanted to sleep, so she and chuchay asked me to be their wake up call at 9pm, to which i obliged.  edon and chris arrived at around 8pm, obviously already tipsy after having a couple of beers and asked also to rest and to wake them up also at 9pm.  both were lights out immediately after lying down and i continued to watch tv.

around a couple of minutes before 9pm, nikki and chuchay knocked on the door.  they apparently couldn't sleep and just watched tv as well.  they saw edon and chris asleep and asked me what happened to them.  "they already started," i said, and taking advantage of the situation, they asked me to take a few pictures of them in their wasted state.  after having some fun at their expense, we woke them up and we hit the bar.  chuchay ordered a pitcher of mindoro sling, apparently the local specialty.  i'm not sure what was mixed in there, but i do know from the taste that it has either gin or rhum laced with juices and topped with apple slices.  we consumed one pitcher until we realized that the bar we went to was not that ok, so we transferred.  upon arriving at our second bar, edon and chris were obvuiously wasted, for their sleep was interrupted, hence the alcohol was still in their system.  we ordered another round of mindoro sling and a couple of beers to boot.  a pair of colleagues who were there the day before, spotted us and joined in.  chris and edon were the ones talking and joking around and the rest of us were just laughing.  a couple of minutes later, edon stood up and went to the beach, apparently, wanting to throw up, but can't.  chris then followed suit, went straight to the water to wash off the effects of the alcohol.  nikki and chuchay caught up with them, leaving just myself, markee and cris on the table.  i was getting quite hammered too, but continued on.  nikki and chuchay ultimately brought edon and chris back to the room for they were wasted as hell and couldn't continue.  i on the other hand, apparently taking advantage of the getaway, bought myself a half-pack of smokes (menthol) and started puffing away.  'twas three years (i think) since i last touched a cigarette so i thought, "why the hell not?"  obviously, the mindoro sling turned on the knack in me to smoke, so there i was.  after a couple of more hours and shots of the concoction and bottles of beer, we decided to call it a night and went back to our rooms.  i was still smoking while walking back to the room and i remember faintly walking not in a straight line.  i slumped on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

the galera getaway - prologue

it was something i badly needed.  to get away from it all–stressful work, city life, scorching heat at home (in my room to be specific), among other things–and marvel at the view of the sea, the surf, the sand, the gorgeous ladies, and empty my mind of things both serious and useless.  not to mention having episodes of realizations along the way.  never mind the hordes of people who flocked there to spend the weekend, or to the surprising non-appearance of celebrities who, from word of mouth, frequent the island, or the amount of money i spent for food and booze (i nearly had nothing left on my wallet).  what's important is that i was able to, finally, hit the beach after two years.  over the next couple of entries that'll spread over a couple of days, i'll be recounting my three-day, two-night experience at one of the country's premiere summer destinations.  i thought of putting it all in one entry, but most of you might not have the patience nor time to read a very, very, very long entry (as if most of my entries are that short).  so better yet to spread it in installments.  now i'm not much of a picture person, but i did bring my camera and took some pictures.  i don't know if you can see them posted at the middle to lower left portion of this page, but some of them are also on my friendster account, so feel free to check it out.  for now, this prologue will do for today.  since the month of may starts tomorrow, and to celebrate my birth month, i'll do a 31-on-31 segment on my blog.  31 entries for each of the 31 days of the month to mark my 31 years on this earth.  and what better way to start my 31-on-31 segment tomorrow than day one of my galera getaway.  right now, i'm still having galera hangover.  anyway, hope everyone had a good weekend as i had. 

beach bound

i'll be off to puerto galera tomorrow!!  woohoo!!  finally… i'll be able to get away from work and enjoy the sand, surf, babes and booze galore!!  i'll be back home on sunday.  until then, enjoy the weekend!! 

beach plans

summer is here.  well, sort of.  early dawn and mid-afternoon temperatures are still kinda cool, not to mention the sudden downpour that happened over the weekend.  yet undoubtedly, it is the start of the summer season.  and this has got my mind thinking of only one thing:  hitting the beach.  putting what happened over the botched plan i had last year in the rear-view mirror, i started to look around for potential getaways and found two–with at least one solid plan.  in other words, i'm finally going to the beach this year!!  finally!!  i can't say that enough with much emphasis and excitement.  damn it, i so much want to get out of city life for a change for maybe two nights at the most and enjoy the sand, stare and drool at the eye candy babes, and breathe the sea air.  if this still doesn't happen, i honestly don't know what's wrong with me.  but, as they say, "think positive," so here are my (crossed-fingered) plans:

getaway plan number one:  puerto galera

when:  late april 2007

this is the more solid of the two plans i have.  some batchmates at work and i thought of spending a post-holy week vacation and what better place to be at than, well, the beach.  i, of course was the most animated one in the discussion since i haven't been to puerto galera since, well, ever.  it's a given that it's going to be on a weekend, when most of the group are off work and only the remaining few can file for a vacation leave (me included, that is, if schedules for the second quarter of the year stays as it is).  the only challenge i have is the time i have in saving money for this trip.  the most i can do is try to pay off my credit card balance as much as i can to free up the limit.  then, it's swipe, swipe, swipe!  god, if my old self can hear me now about credit cards.  he would have a field day running me down.  but hey, the beach is calling so what the hell, right? 

getaway plan number two:  boracay

when:  june 2007

this is my backup plan in case number one goes kaput.  wait, this is my backup plan?  what the hell am i thinking making this my "backup" plan?  i must be going beach crazy.  well, thanks to cebu pacific's ongoing promo, fares to boracay have been reduced.  i just don't know if the reduction amount is that significant–taking into consideration that i haven't planned a trip to boracay before–but i pretty much think that it's a good deal.  i tried to see how much a two-way ticket to and from kalibo on their website costs and it came up to PHP3,484.32.  hmmm, not bad.  but that's just the airfare.  from what i heard–and you can correct me on this–accomodations range from four to six grand, depending on how long the stay is.  so for me, that's roughly around 10 grand.  and that's for a two-night, three-day deal.  and i still don't have pocket money for that.  so throw in an additional two grand (at least) and that would bring the total expenses to around 14 grand at the most.  uhm…. am i losing my mind?  well, the only positive thing here is that i have more than enough time to save up.  but the downside is that i have to book and pay the flight online–and i don't even like making online purchases–between now and march 8th in order to avail of the discounted rates.  and it's non-refundable.  now that will put my credit card in a bind.  *sigh*  seriously, it's something worth saving up for (after paying the airfare now) and enjoying it later.  but again, as i've mentioned, the first one is the more solid than this, and if that pushes through, i will more likely put this one off.  unless i can get free boracay accomodations for my birthday then that would be a different story.  but airfares will be back to their normal rates by then, so go figure.

just mentioning those two plans make me want to leave the office, go home, pack some stuff and go to whatever beach on my own, right now.  must be the coffee talking.  plus the fact that i'll be having a six-day work week this week.  well, at least i already have beach plans.  and that's just half of it.  getting there is the other half.  and i hope i don't end up just taking the first half.  that would be a major nut-numbing experience.  like i know how it feels to have my nuts go numb. 

reflections and realizations

be forewarned, this entry is going to be a long one. i know i had long entries in the past, but i think this one's gonna be a bit longer. i was thinking of posting this entry in two parts, but with time constraints and unavailability of resources (posting an entry on a dial-up station gobbles up money compared to free internet at the office), i decided to put it all in one basket. although if the system won't allow me to post my one big entry, i'll be forced to make it a two-part story. so if i were you, i'd go get a glass of water or a cup of coffee or hot cocoa, plus something to nibble before proceeding.

this past thursday was my team's first ever off-site team building session. of course we preferred to call it a team outing, being it summer and all, but for all intensive purposes, that's how we ended up calling it. of course, we had a shift the night before, so everyone brought all their stuff in at work, including me, and we were all excited to end the shift and proceed to the beach. with my agents having spread out schedules, we had to wait for everyone to log out before we can leave. so that means, i have three-and-a-half hours more to burn after my shift ends. luckily enough, my ex, lei happened to be online through ym and initiated another chat session with me. contrary to what happened during the last session, this would change things a bit.

she started by telling me about her efforts to get in touch with donna and "whip up some magic" to try and turn things around. lei made up a surprise party invitation and texted donna about it. donna didn't reply immediately, but eventually did asking lei what was that all about. grabbing the opportunity, lei told donna about me and lei being in a group back in college, and how we met last weekend, and ended up telling stories about her and how the group wanted to meet her on that "surprise birthday party." donna said that she was not sure, reasoning an out-of-town trip. i then told lei the real story behind that trip. i explained about her boyfriend coming home that week (it is described on my previous entries, so i won't elaborate it here further. just check it out) and that she's going up to clark to meet him. i also told lei about what kind of a boyfriend donna has and how his work "hampers" him from making any sort of communication with his girlfriend back home. being a woman, i was expecting some sort of agreement response from her regarding a boyfriend's attitude in a long-distance relationship (which i honestly and truly believe that never works). instead, she just felt sorry for me about that and the topic came to a screeching halt. i told her that it's ok and told her about my "project" (which i won't be describing here until it has been rolled out). i was so excited when i told her, but her response was the opposite. she told me that it's not worth it for someone like donna. i defended my would-be actions, explaining that i need to do that for myself and that some of my other friends suggested to have "the talk" with her and i'll be using that to incorporate what i have in mind. still defiant, she persuaded me to not proceed with what i'm planning and move on. i was surprised and saddened with her stand that our replies to one another slowed down. i then told her that if this changes her promise to help me out with donna, then i'm asking lei to stop texting donna altogether. with the last of my agents soon logging out, i pleaded with her just to "back off" from donna if she really disagrees with what i'm planning and not text her about what my plan was. with that, our conversation ended.

excited to get out of the office, we raced towards the rented van and waited for the others. some brought handycams and started filming, and others (including me) who brought digicams started taking pictures. with one of my agents bringing a car, we were quite comfy sitting on the van (13 of us, including the driver) and we were off 30 minutes after stepping out of the building. we stopped for supplies at a gas station near the highway, and some bought lunch to eat while on the way. the ride was smooth all throughout, except for one portion which was really, and i mean really smooth that the van spun 180 degrees on the road. everything happened so fast. we were all laughing, joking around, teasing while the van was cruising at about 60kph at the main road in tagaytay, just past the highlands. suddenly, i just noticed that the van was already sideways, eating both lanes of the road. all of us became quiet instantly, as the van spun on the open road, 45, 60, 90 then 180 degrees and we suddenly stopped on a grassy portion just beside the road on the other lane, just beside a house. no one said a word for a full five seconds as the driver started the van and continued on our way. one of us then uttered, "thank you Lord" and all of us soon followed suit. the women were all shaken and the guys were just quiet as we contemplated on what just happened. the good things about that were (as if there is any "good" thing from a near-accident) there was no vehicle on the other lane, and behind us, the driver had excellent control over what was vehicle as it was spinning, we didn't hit the house, or anything on the side of the road, and the van didn't turn turtle as it was spinning. if any of those had happened, then you would be reading this in some newspaper. still reeling from the experience, all of us in the van were then talking about what they were thinking at that exact moment. but, being the wacky bunch that my team is, jokes and teases soon came flying again. i guess we're just covering up what happened so that we could still have a good time at the beach.

after about an hour and a half more of travel, we finally arrived at our destination–safely, if i may add. we started unpacking and headed to our cottage. some of us rested, changed clothes, while some continued down to the beach, handicam in hand, filming away. we then prepared the food we were about to have for dinner. as some already owned up to what they want to do, with nothing else left for me to help out on, i went down to the beach to see the ocean. it was already dark, and all i saw was black water, with white waves coming in. some of my agents already helped themselves and went into the water for a dip. i breathed the salty air and listened to the relaxing sound of the waves while i sat on the sand as my agents frolicked and played in the water, occasionally inviting me to join them. i politely declined, preferring to swim in the morning where i can see the water more clearly. a few more minutes after, we all had dinner. as usual, laughter and teasing filled the dining hall as we feasted on grilled pork, rice, chicken and pork adobo. after dinner, some still insisted and went on swimming, others just rested, some took pictures left and right.

well into the night, we then had our team drinking session. all of us were there, as it also served as an open forum of sorts. each agent went around the table, telling what he/she thinks of that agent. there were positive comments as well as negative ones. the session ended up with me telling each of my agents how they are personally, and what i think they need to improve on. it was an eye-opening session for all of us, and i think all of us learned something new from the experience. of course, things were not all serious, as potential "hidden feelings" between agents were conjured up and became close to being known. we ended up close to around 3:30am as one by one, some of my agents went back to the cottage to sleep, tired from work the previous night and the trip to the beach. i stayed on, since there wasn't enough room on the cottage for me to get some shut-eye. i just rested my head on the table and got 15-minute power naps, occasionally waking up just because i suddenly woke up.

at first light, with almost everybody still asleep, and around three of my agents still swimming (they just spent their time in the water after the session), i started cleaning up the mess from last night. we had breakfast shortly, and as some of the others were waking up, i asked them to join in. coffee and hot chocolate was served, together with bread and leftovers from last night. after eating, i decided to go down to the water for a dip. some of my other agents who still can't get enough from swimming almost the entire night last night, joined in. the water was cool, and the waves were high and sturdy. we played and swam for a couple of hours until the sun's heat rose and i had to get out of the water, lest i end up changing skin color. i then took a shower and changed clothes since we were leaving at around 12:30pm. i then spent the rest of the morning wandering around the beach, taking pictures with some of my agents and checking out the scenery. before we left, we gathered all in one room and told our "closing comments" on film which was being done by an agent. after a few more picture taking sessions, we were off to manila.