Silent Snow

click picture first

I wish I could just float like her in the air

You could see the loneliness and emptiness in her eyes

The soft and silent snow breezing with her in the wind

But eyes around her seems to gaze as she looks upon the sky

I wish I could make her smile

I wish I could hold her hand and float together

And together we will go down to pick the flowers

And smell its fragrance forever

- K -

Life Sucks

...have you ever been in a situation wherein other people look at you in envy for what you have, and yet, you envy them for what they don't have?

...have you ever been in a situation wherein you fell in love with a person who had already fallen out of love for you?

...have you ever been in a place where everyone wants to be... except you?

...have you ever been searching for something but you are too busy searching it that it had passed you already?

...have you ever been loved but you cannot reciprocate it?

...have you ever been in a situation wherein you wanted to cry, but you can't coz other people expect you won't and they are looking?

...have you ever wanted to reach out for something you can see and yet, you cannot touch?

Sometimes in life, these things happen as if it had a purpose. I guess they just happen, plain and simple.

It's in how we react which makes the difference. Ikaw? How would you?

Reminiscing

I was once a mountaineer.

I once wore ankle and wrist bands, once attempted to grow my hair long (but it didn't get long... it got big!), once had a backpack which, when fully loaded, weighed more than one-third of my weight. I once wore hiking boots, "mojos" (not the potato food), sometimes a bandana on my top, and a lot of things dangling in my neck (dog tag, utility knife, flashlight, whistle).

I once sang songs of the Eraserheads while waking along the trail, reaching the hands of the one behind me and sometimes reaching out for the hand in my front, slid and slipped a thousand times in mud, stone and grass.

I once told scary ghost stories to everyone during frolics at night, gotten bit by mosquitoes as big as it can be, looked up on the unusually many stars at night, and listened to the music of the woods.

People ask me, "Why the hell do you climb mountains?". They say it's just a waste of money, time and energy. It's true that you spend some money for climbing. Of course you also get tired. But what they don't understand is the feeling of accomplishment, freedom and the feeling of being on top of everything after you slipped, fall, or in some instances, fall while climbing.

Well, this I can say, they just have to try it for themselves before they open their mouth.

I was once a mountaineer, and I will always be. See you on the top!

Philippine Cadet on Japanese Soil (Part 4)

Winter Ski Training (ako yung 173)

For a person born and raised in a warm, tropical country like the Philippines, having the chance to ski (for free!) is an opportunity of a lifetime.

When I was a second year cadet, our batch went to a ski resort in Nagano Prefecture, somewhere to the north of Tokyo. A week of "training" (or should I say, just playing) away from the Academy grounds served both as a training and a way to release the stress and tensions piled up.

You just wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, and off you go! It was more of a gimmick than of a training. After skiing for one day, everyone gets back to their own billeting area and take a rest, eat dinner, sleep. A week of this makes you not want to go back to the "real life" as a cadet.

But, it was a good release. We learned how to ski, we saw the Japan alps, we drank some traditional Japanese soups, and most of all, formed new beer buddies between our classmates.

Philippine Cadet on Japanese Soil (Part 3)

View From Above

Imagine riding a super-fast rollercoaster without feeling the wind blow in your face, without the raising-on-top-of-your-voice and waving-of-the-hands thing. Can you imagine that?

Now triple it, with a mask on your face which blows a mix of oxygen and nitrogen gas, your G-suit (the one pilots wear while flying) sqeezing air on your legs, thigh and abdomen to prevent blood from going down your feet while maneuvering, a lot of switches in front of you and a stick like in the games.

Imagine flying sideways, seeing the blue sky on your left and at the same time, seeing the also blue sea on your right. You are starting to appreciate the magnificent view of the wide sky when suddenly, the plane suddenly sways 90degrees sideward and you notice the joystick being pulled back fully. The dogfight starts.

Feeling the pressure in all the parts of your body, you struggle to breath normally (which is virtually impossible coz the pressure suddenly drops and the air becomes thin). Thanks to the capability of the mask, it forces air into your nose when this happens. I tried to lift up my right hand while maneuvering but it was so heavy, and as I looked at the G-meter, we were having, on the average, of about 4Gs with the maximum of 8.6Gs (1G means your own weight, 2Gs mean 2 times your weight).

Imagine not knowing anymore where's right or where's left, where's up or where's down. Your hands moving the joystick trying to catch up with your eyes stuck at the enemy plane it maneuvers. You hear beeping sounds everywhere, the heavy breathing of the pilot in front of you, shouting, and shouting, and shouting at each other.

Then suddenly, everything just levels off...you can breathe normally again but still trying to catch your breath which was lost for a while. You can see the horizon parallel to the wings beside you, the clouds covering the very strong rays of the sun. Then you hear a voice which says, "Training's over, let's go home."

A feeling of comfort and sadness, thanking that everything's over and at the same time wanting some more. Taking some pictures of the still water, the clouds, the aircraft beside you with the pilot waving at you, you waving back at him.

Then you see the landing strip... landing gears down, then touchdown.

It was over.

Need some rest

Pagod.

Puyat.

Eyebugs.

Just finished a week of "pretending-to-study-until-2am" and "waking-up-early-just-to-sleep-again"... hell week is over! What's next... Cross Country! (Somebody kill me please...)

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I just got news from home that my nephew, Jaeson's left ring finger was caught in a door it was nearly severed. He was playing with his edler brother, Michael, when that happened. The nail was removed and some of his finger was cut off. I hope he will be fine.

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Life Sucks