My Passion My Blog

Riding the Sumilon waves

http://www.philstar.com/archives.php?aid=20080601184&type=2&

Sumilon Island, just off the coast of Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu evokes calm seas, serene travel and idyllic relaxation for the weary traveler. It was the perfect destination for our company summer outing.

However, I was fortunate to have seen a different Sumilon Island on May 10, 2008.

A storm was brewing somewhere, dark clouds were hovering over the entire Cebu province, and rains were threatening as we left the mainland shortly after lunch for a 15-minute motorboat ride to Sumilon Island. On the way, we were plagued by the big waves over the dark blue deep waters. Upon reaching Sumilon Island, we heaved a sigh of relief to be on land, whew! The rest of the afternoon saw us pre-occupied with the teambuilding activities and challenges.

When we were finally able to relax, we decided to check out the Sumilon sandbar, where big waves, surf type waves, greeted us! Good Lord! Too bad, we left our surfboards! Ha ha ha! I am not one for extreme sports that I initially avoided the huge waves. Yet seeing my colleagues jumping into the waves as high as six feet felt exciting. After frolicking on the right portion of the sandbar where smaller waves rolled by, we were ready for a big adventure.

My colleagues and I, all women, decided to brave the waves. We started from the leftmost portion of the sandbar, jumping into the waves or at least attempting to jump in until we were caught in one breaking wave after another that we ended up slammed against the sand, barely able to stand up to run for dear life before another breaking wave caught us!

My next attempt was smoother, as our boss, Mike Tyler, a Kiwi, an avid fan of extreme sports coached me. He taught me to jump in as soon as I saw the wave about to break. The trick, he said, was to jump into a breaking wave and then pop out on the other side. Well, it seemed simple enough as he made it look easy. Sure, I wasn’t dragged by the waves, I was able to ride another one, so to speak, except that salt water burned my nostrils and throat every time I jumped in and popped out to the other side of a gigantic wave.

As I found myself where the sandbar curved, an undercurrent pulled me in every direction. I rolled around and started spinning viciously amidst the waves and sand for what seemed like eternity. I must have taken in about five liters of seawater in my seemingly never-ending struggle with the waves. Miraculously, I ended up standing, back up on my feet on the sand!

That was my cue. I had to call it quits but not after, I had a grand first time riding the waves! There was the adrenalin rush, the exhilaration, the high! So this is the reason why extreme sports was created. This was the reason why some people were hooked to the thrill!

The Sumilon waves provided the perfect venue for me to try out my first adventure. Now that I know how gratifying it could be, I vow that though this was just the first, Sumilon will definitely not be the last adventure I will plunge into, no pun intended.

MY TWILIGHT LOVE AFFAIR

Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer
Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn

MY TWILIGHT LOVE AFFAIR

"About three things I was absolutely positive.
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."I discovered the Twilight series in much the same fashion as Bella Swan discovered that the cool, mysterious and utterly gorgeous Edward was a vampire…

It was a Saturday morning while I waited with my mom in the cramped waiting room for her appointment with her rheumatologist when I picked up the Philippine Daily Inquirer. PDI featured a full 2-page spread about Twilight, the series by Stephenie Meyer and Twilight, the movie produced by Summit Entertainment.

It was also a Saturday morning when Bella went on a beach trip with her school friends to First Beach at La Push when she met Jacob Black and “tricked” him into launching into the Quileute tribe legends of werewolves and the cold ones, blood drinkers, vampires…

While Bella had goose bumps learning about the cold ones, my pulse was racing when I saw the Twilight movie poster. I have never heard of the Twilight series but I have always been the hopeless romantic, a typical Pisces and I always had more than room for another love story, no, love saga that was currently sweeping across the globe. It was probably a mania spawning numerous websites, fansites and forums.

Right after reading the fascinating PDI articles, I knew I had to have a copy of the whole Twilight series starting from the first book Twilight, the second book, New Moon, the third book Eclipse and up until the still unreleased Breaking Dawn.

“And I knew in that I had my answer. I didn't know if there ever was a choice, really. I was already in too deep”.

The week after that, I looked up Stephenie Meyer’s website and watched the movie trailers on youtube and was fascinated, enthralled. On Tuesday, my officemate passed on a copy of Twilight and boy was I hooked with even just the first chapter. It was definitely un-putdownable that I finished reading, nay devouring Twilight at 2am barely 24 hrs since I started reading it! After finishing Twilight, I knew I was already in too deep, I was hooked!

"So what you're saying is, I'm your brand of heroin?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood.
He smiled swiftly, seeming to appreciate my effort. "Yes, you are exactly my brand of heroin."

I couldn’t get enough of it! It was simply too addictive! I read the next two books, New Moon and Eclipse, serially. It took me only three days to finish all three books! Immediately after finishing Eclipse, I saw myself pre-ordering from Powerbooks a copy of the Breaking Dawn and then I started re-vamping (a term used in forums meaning re-reading) Twilight! I could not stop! It was also my brand of heroin, the perfect pill for a hopeless romantic like me.

August 4, 2008 the date of release saw me claiming mine and Twilight buddy Divine's reserved copy from Powerbooks during my lunchbreak! Months after I have read all the four books. I am still as hooked as ever... dazzled...

My first Moonrise over Mr. A's Bar, Busay, Lahug, Cebu City

I was dining with my pangga last Friday, October 17, 2008 at Mr. A's restaurant up in the hills of Busay, Cebu City when the moon made its appearance. I was fortunate enough to be nestled up in the Busay hills with a clear vantage point as the moon slowly rose over illuminating the Cebu metropolis.

For over 32 summers, it was my first time to witness a moonrise! I did not even believe at that moment that there was even such a phenomenon. I was that amazed! Witnessing my first moonrise was an exhilarating experience - it was simply awesome and breathtakingly beautiful. I was able to see the moon at first cast a dark golden hue slowly rise up over the Cebu seas until it settled high up in the Cebu skies casting a pale yellow sheen.

For a romantic like me, a moonrise over the Busay mountains, I realized, was far more romantic than a Panglao sunrise or a Manila bay sunset. Cuddled up to my dear hubby all the more made the sight more appealing. And, because the moon only makes its appearance a few days in a month, the rare occurence of witnessing a moonrise counts for its allure and beauty, making it truly a sight to behold.