Dammit.

(I can imagine Zane breathing a sigh of relief, "Finally, updates.")

I wish this crazy schedule could be a little more cooperative. I hate not being able to blog. It's depressing...makes me feel so rusty. Sure I get to exercise the old brain at work, but writing's different. No heavy thought required, minimal stress, a welcome break from all the craziness of the corporate zoo.

There are a number of things to write about that have happened in the last 24 days, I just wish I could've stopped and posted them all. Well, if I had a brand spankin' new laptop and broadband connection like Gerwin, at least I could be blogging from home. But too bad, I don't have a brand spankin' new laptop, so I'll just have to make do with my old reliable office PC. *Rackum Frackum*

So here's a rundown of what's been up:

1. I have been going to the gym since June. I (or at least I'd like to believe that I) have lost weight, which is good. Though I still need a couple more kilometers on the treadmill to reach my "ideal" weight. Hopefully, the scale will show an acceptable reading by the end of the year.



2. I can finally say that I have been to Boracay. I was there on leave, with Pi and Pats from the 14th to the 17th. We celebrated half of Pi's birthday there. It's such a beautiful place, even on the off-season. I honestly didn't want to leave. Here's to next time. I will definitely save up so we can go back.



3. After five months, our half-full apartment has finally been blessed with cable television. The only thing missing now is a sofa (but you should see the abundance of 2-L distilled water containers in our kitchen, I swear if I had time, I'd make those into a sofa).

Sorry, that's about all the time we have for today, kids. Be sure to check back next time for more updates (right, I wonder when that will be).

Amazing Racer

My legs are killing me, but it was one hell of an experience.

Last Saturday, I had travelled with five other officemates to Tagaytay City for the 2004 ADSOC Adventure Quest, this half-day adventure race we had signed-up for a couple of weeks ago. I had never participated in an event like this before, so I figured this was a good time to try out something new.

A total of 10 teams, comprised of three members each (with at least one female member) had registered for the event and compete for the Php8,000 grand prize. Two teams came from our office. We had to find our way through 15 stops all over Tagaytay, completing challenge after challenge, testing our physical and mental abilities in ways I have never imagined. Think Amazing Race on a smaller scale.

A major highlight of the race was our team's climb from last place in the 8th checkpoint to 4th place in the 15th and final leg. Luck just seemed to be on our side all the way to the finish after a couple of bad breaks, one where we got lost trying to find the 7th checkpoint ("The fine-dining resto Tagaytay is known for") and a race marshall already had to give us the exact location (Antonio's). It sucked big time, but after Doni (my teammate) breezed through that checkpoint's challenge, it was all uphill from there.

It was the greatest feeling, coming back with a vengeance and overtaking those ahead of us one by one. We didn't finish first, but it sure felt like it. (The other team from our office, who reached as high as 1st place after the 6th leg, finished at 5th.)

Unfortunately, I have no photos of the event on hand...yet. But once they're available, I'll be sure to post them here.

Check back later. It's time for me to take a couple more pain killers.