summited

August 2, 2008 2:47pm local time (-5 GMT) 4,393 ft. (1339 m) above mean sea level, summited Mt. Mansfield.

I finally did it! Although I was delayed by a week, I have conquered the highest peak in Vermont. Estimated ascent/descent time was 4 hours which was pretty decent. We (I came with an officemate) were hauling ass pretty much the entire way, either because of the weather (60% chance of thunderstorms) or we were just pushing each other. We both tried to summit Mt Mansfield on separate occassions and got to pretty much the same place. And I believe if neither one of us was with each other, we would probably have turned back sometime during the climb.

not the trail we took, but some profanity was spoken

In any case, we pushed on and reached the top. The mountain looked pretty amazing above the tree line despite clouds obscuring much of the view. The landscape looked like the Shire, for a lack of a better description. Mostly rocks, small trees, and some sort of moss. And as I have researched previously, parts of it was alpine tundra and we where requested not to veer off the trail to avoid destroying the sensitive flora.

After a few minutes resting and taking a few snapshots, we headed back down. And not a moment too soon, as the clouds started rolling in and a few drops of rain started to fall. Just before we got to the tree line it was pretty much pouring. Good thing I bought a (pretty good, I might add) rain jacket a week before. It was a bit treacherous going down a rocky mountain in the rain, but we managed quite well. There was a few slips and slides, but nothing major. Surprisingly, my knee didn't bother me until we were near the end of the trail.

I did wish I could have taken more pictures, or stayed longer at the top. But I did what I came to do and that was it.

next summit please!

ToDo Entry

*First and foremost I would like to apologize for the work reference in the title...

A few things that I want/need/hope to/will do when I get back home:

1. Go to Boracay for a week
2. Live fire exercises (Verchie, if you can read this let me know when this will happen... BANG BANG NA!)
3. Organize Anawangin Trip (anyone up for it?)
4. Consider a Surf Safari to Siargao
5. Decide on the next step of my career
6. Ask Pads if I can work on his farm for a week (Pads, I'm serious... can I work as a farmer in your hacienda? Hard labor, I want to get ripped! I will work for food, lodging and transportation)
7. Get ripped! (I need to hit the gym again)
8. Sharpen my knives (hehehe)
9. Organize my email, pictures and other files

upgraded

I have approximately a week left if Vermont and I still have a few things to do (such as climb Mt. Mansfield). I am ready to go finally go home... not just for the fact that I will be going home, but that I will be going home in style.

World Business Class baby!

the geek in me

As mentioned in my previous blog entry, I was in Houston TX last week with Manny. It was a side trip from our Austin kick-off meeting, and as luck would have it Manny had a friend in Houston so we had a place to crash into.

Speaking of crashes, one of the few things did in Houston was visit the Space Center (space shuttle... spaceships... crash landing? get it? sorry corny moment). Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I was a bit surprised that I was very interested in some of the things that NASA does, how they do it and why. I always thought I knew a bit about space exploration and the space program from the media (TV, internet, etc), but visiting NASA was a real eye-opener.

I realized what a daunting task space exploration really was, and seeing the actual items used during the early days made all of what I already knew more real.... and more personal. Seeing the training facility was cool, and I could just imagine what actually goes on the other side of the glass. It was pretty neat to touch a piece of the moon, the actual Apollo modules that brought people back safely to Earth. I just couldn't fathom what extremes those "things" went through before ending up to right where I was standing. And I just found out that they do plan to go back to the moon for further exploration and I understood why (economical and scientific reasons).

Our last tour (and I was glad we took it as the last tour) was to Mission Control. This unassuming guy gave us a brief description of what goes on in Mission Control and a few personal notes on what it feels like to work in NASA. It was a priviledge to know that he was actually one of the guys who trains astronauts that go into space, and that he knew a couple of the guys who died in the shuttle disaster pretty well.

That kind of tied everything together for me. They had 4 badges on one side of the room that would never make it to the successful missions wall of the room. Because for them, they failed in not bringing those people back. Because they made a mistake. They didn't care about how much it cost to run the space program, or how expensive the shuttle that just blew up... it was about the people. Because at the end of the day, despite all the technology and the accomplishments and tragedies it still goes down to the human person. Humanity without the boundaries of sex, religion or ethnicity. Space exploration raises the simplest yet greatest philosophical question of life.. personally and in the grand scheme of the universe, who are we and why we are here?

Naval Officer Vistan

I am currently in Houston, TX but this blog entry is about my trip to Austin, TX. Confusing I know, but I will explain it on my next blog entry (hopefully).

Manny, Arnold and I were invited to a corporate kick-off meeting in Austin, TX. After a long trip from Vermont, we arrived a resort in Austin and the first order of business was some fun. We had some ideas that it would somehow involve the lake... I initially thought it would be simply hanging out on a yacht in the lake sipping booze. I was pleasantly surprised that we were divided into 8 groups and given a sailboat. That's right, a true blue (and expensive) sailboat... and we were told we were going racing.

After a few pointers from our skipper on some basic sailboating concepts (like how to man the lines), we were off. As soon as we got out of the harbor the skipper asked who wanted to drive first. And as I was nearest the wheel at that time, I was tasked to man the helm. We practiced the concepts taught us earlier about tightening and loosening the lines and turning the boat (which surprisingly turns on a dime). Then it was time to race.

We didn't have a good run at the beginning as we were a bit off the starting line. We were a little behind a group of boats but we somehow was able to catch up. And as luck with have it (and some good driving by yours truly), we got the inside line on all but one boat going into the turning point. We turned pretty tightly near the buoy, strategically blocked the other boats, and caught a pretty decent gust of wind. There were a couple of boats that were trying pass us but we crossed the finish line ahead of them.

We had another heat, this time with me as one of the lines men. Unfortunately we finished dead last. We had great fun though, and I now understand the fascination of sailing. I am definitely going to try it again when the opportunity presents itself.

a couple of our competitors

I also heart NY

As some of you may already have found out Manny, Waw, Vianney and I went to New York last 4th of July weekend. I don't think I have the capacity or time to write up everything that happened during that week, so you would just have to visit their sites to read all about it. I will not post any pictures as well since I took crappy pictures so again visit their blogs and check their pictures out.

I will have to say that I enjoyed NY. It may be due to the fact that I got a chance to get away from Vermont but that's another story. All the walking was pretty tiring, but I what can you do right? At least we were able to go where we wanted to... plus the added bonus of getting a pretty good leg workout (man I need to get back to the gym...)

surfing dreams

I wasn't really in the mood to work yesterday (as usual), so I decided to go on the Net (as usual) and check out possible things to do for a possible sabbatical from work.

I have more or less set my mind up for at least a couple of weeks of surfing. Simply living the life of a surfer, with no hassles... just plain old hanging out and surfing. It should of course be economical in terms of transportation, food, lodging and gear (rent or buy, that is the question). Living local is probably a viable option. Rent a room or apartment (rather than a resort), cook your own food (or local carinderia), rent a board (or buy one, whatever is cheaper in the long run) and hitch a ride with my parents (they are also looking at going on a vacation)

As I was researching, I came across a blog which more or less what I had in mind. Living local in Siargao. I was almost in tears... that's my dream! I want that kind of life!

I did find a place that was relatively cheap, and I could use some of my NWA miles to buy my plane tickets. It would now simply be a matter of buying and tranporting a surfboard or simply renting it. Miscellaneous tranportation, food and supplies cost. And of course the timing...

I haven't really considered this completely (cost vs feasibility), I just might as soon as I get back home.

wait for further developments...

... literally.

Expended 1 roll of film, another one in the barrel with 3 shots left and another waiting in the sidelines. I will try to get them developed as soon as I get back home (3 weeks left!). Very excited on how the pictures turn out.

nearly 2 years late

Someone else was there first

alive

Call off the rescue squad, I have successfully returned from my mountain operations. I wasn't able to reach the peak though, but my goal was not really to reach it but to simply climb the mountain. I was able to see the Cantilever Rock and reach the alpine tundra area (well I hope I did).

I will be back though, this time with the goal of reaching the peak. That will be my Everest... for now.

(almost) conquering Mt. Mansfield

standby rescue operations

I will go hiking tomorrow... or at least try to. The destination: the highest peak in Vermont Mt. Mansfield. It has a good view of the Champlain Valley and a glimpse of the Adirondacks on a good day. It also has a nice geological feature called Cantilever rock. I got my stuff ready, a good supply of water, trail mix, energy bars and drinks.

My only concern is the mountain itself. Vermont isn't called the Green Mountain State for nothing, and the fact that I will be climbing the highest peak is a little daunting. Mt. Mansfield is 1339 m above sea level (Gulugod Baboy, which I've summited a couple of times is only 470m above sea level), I have no guide, no cellphone and limited gear (as I never intended to climb a mountain while I am here).

Although I will be starting my climb halfway up the mountain from the ranger station, it is still a little higher than what I have climbed before (Mt Maculot or Mt Manabo, I forgot). And considering the latitude of the state, the weather and temperature is a factor. And although the trail is marked (I hope), I will be going at it alone.

So... if you do not see me online in the next couple of days, call the rescue troops in.

before and after

before

...


after

there and back again

I'm back in Vermont (did I mention I went back home for a couple of weeks?) for another 2 month stint. Things look a little different now... more green stuff and less of the white stuff.

Hopefully I don't get too stressed with the work I need to do here. I am excited, however, with the opportunity to travel to a few other states over one of the weekends. I am also looking forward to doing some outdoor stuff Vermont is renowned for.

But first I need to get over the upcoming jetlag... hopefully it won't be too bad.

from the Green Mountain State to the Red Sox Nation

Last Monday night, I drove 179 miles from Montpelier to Cambridge and met up with Patrick and Bikka. It was a long drive in bad weather (it rained pretty much the entire way) but well worth it. It was nice to meet up with friends in a foreign country and simply by sheer timing with Patrick taking up his MBA, Bikka on a vacation and myself on a business trip.

We had a few drinks to celebrate the occasion the first night we met up, then it was on to exploring the city the following day. Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating and it rained pretty much the entire day. But we still braved the weather and went around town to see the sights. Harvard, The Freedom Line, Boston Common, fresh Maine lobster, taking the subway, shopping at Macy's and a visit to Patrick's school were some of the many things that we did that day. I was pretty wet and tired when we finally came back to Bikka's hotel room, but was all good.

What kinda sucked was that the weather in Boston when I left earlier today was great, the sun was up and shining a perfect day to enjoy the city. It also sucked that I had to drive the back nearly 200 miles to go to work.

The gang in Boston Common

lucky 3

I headed out for lunch earlier, had a hard time looking for a place to eat as Church Street Marketplace is pretty busy on a Saturday afternoon. I ended up a true blue American diner where I sat on the counter and had toast, home fries, bacon, sausages and eggs plus a Pepsi.

I hung out for a bit, taking a couple of snapshots. I particularly like this one, oh the irony:

Having nothing else to do (plus the fact that I only had a 2hour free parking) I headed back to my car. A guy stopped me and asked me if I wanted to participate in a survey. He looked kinda dubious and was kinda leading me to a corridor. I was already thinking of an escape route but decided to man up and see how things go. Long story short I did, and around 20 minutes later I was done. As I signed my name on the list of participants I noticed that there was a column called "Amount received" and surprise surprise I was handed $3! Cool!

caught

We were caught speeding earlier this morning. Doing 82 miles an hour on a 65, which translates to $144. A whole lot of money.

Good thing I was asleep in the back seat. Too bad for my officemate though, what a way to start a Wednesday morning.

It was a nice experience though hehehe

I lovermont

sachet of sugar in Vermont

Three weeks into my stay in Vermont and so far I have no updates in my blog. That doesn't mean I haven't done anything since then, well nothing of significance except maybe for this:

I got mine in Stowe Mountain

I'm still aching from snowboarding (or trying to) so I'll keep this blog short. Will try to post a more detailed story (and more pics) on what I've been up to here.

brrrrlington, brrrrmont

I'm now here in Vermont, the place is beautiful.

It's been a tiring trip to say the least, however I am settling in ok. The hotel is nice, I have a decent car (SUV baby!)... and the weather sucks. For a tropical guy like me, but I like it... hopefully I'll get used to the day long sub-zero temperatures.

First impression of the project team is good. They are accomodating, and they are young troops like me. That should provide us at least with something in common.

Will definitely try to get some pictures up soon.

first look...

... at where I'm gonna be living in the next 2 months (at least, I think)

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/legacy/collegestreetcam.shtml

new stuff, no time

A quick update on what's happening, Socs and I went back to La Mesa Watershed a few days ago. This time we had some of the Oracle troops accompany us. Good fun and a nice break from the hassles of city life. Big thanks to the blood lusted, adventure freak Mr. Verchie Totanes for organizing the trip.

Earlier this week a few friends of mine (and a few strangers as well) went on a tour around Binondo. Good thing this was a walking food tour, ate a lot of good stuff! You guys should try it, especially if you've never been to Binondo. Socs and I are also considering trying out the other tours.

I'm flying out to Vermont next week! Another country/city to mark on my list of where I have been. Once there, I can say I have been to 2 continents... Europe and America. Is Asia another continent though? According to Wikipedia in depends, oh well. Europe, Asia and soon America will be off the list. Antarctica is gonna be a problem though.

Finally a chance to be on a project at the very start, I'm very excited. I hope I do a pretty decent job as this is an investment in my career.

Unfortunately I will have no per diems for the 2 months I am onsite, so no chance of earning a few extra bucks. Hopefully the project manager will let me reimburse costs related to fun, did I mention that Vermont is a haven for skiing? I just hope I don't freeze to death 5 mins upon arrival though...