Rexona Adventure Hub 2011

When my officemate told me about the REXONA Adventure Hub, asked me if I would like to go Wall Climbing, try Free Fall, and go crazy while Bunjee Jumping, I said.. “Why not!”

So just a day before the Runrio Rexona Run 2011, we went to SM Mall of Asia Concert Ground to try the coolest adventures brought to us by none other than Rexona Men and RUNRIO, Run for love!

Everyone who went there was given a passport which will entitle you to try 6 different adventures. If you were a runner for Rexona Run, it’s for free, but since I wasn’t able to register for this event I still got the chance to try their adventures by simply buying Rexona Men Products.

And up the wall I went!

I immediately went to try wall climbing, and being there so early we were the first ones to try the fun. The staffs who put all the harness on me was very friendly, and they really cheered me on.

When I started climbing, I suddenly realized that WALL CLIMBING is not really a joke. You have to put up with the rough and not to mention HOT stones to be able to advance one step at a time. You have to be careful with your every step, but at some point you’ll be distracted because you are only given 2minutes to finish the climb and you have to be mindful of everything!

Amazing Zorb Maze!

Helmet: Check! Shoes off: Check!
All set for the zorb maze. Yeah, that thing that have will get you inside a big rubber-like ball, and will have you bouncing and rolling inside! It was fun feeling like a hamster for a while, crazy! :))

Then I tried Free fall.

Luckily, it’s not that high. It’s just like free falling from our roof. haha. It wasn’t really scary but challenging given that it was also my first time. I eagerly asked the guy who assisted me at the top about the things I should do, of course I don’t want to be naive if I’m going to fall face down. “just, don’t hold the rope!”, he said. It was the longest yet the fastest seconds of my adventure, but the energy rush was great!

Good Time Zipline!

I already tried Ziplining when I went to Tagaytay, and that was for sure, waaaay scarier than this. So all I really did was enjoy ziplining, I even spread my arms and allowed my self to rotate and enjoy the vicinity. Sweet!

Scary Bunjee!

HAHA! I said I’d try to flip, and rotate 360 degrees up there. But behold! When I was there flying 20 meters up and down and up and down again, I CAN’T. I just can’t! haha. I was all wide eyed going up, and eyes closed going down. Thank God I survived the two minute ride, way scarier than Space Shuttle in Enchanted Kingdom, and ten times the rush than the Free Fall!

Come and Meet New Friends!

While we were waiting for the Adventure Hub to open, we were greeted by a bubbly woman who was also waiting outside the hub. Shella, as we later learned, was waiting for her friend, but while she was alone, we decided to just enjoy the adventure together. She was really nice and energetic, and really cheered me on. This is really one of the perks of doing extra ordinary things, you know.. meeting different kinds of interesting people, plus getting a hotdog treat after! Yeah.. Thank you miss Shella! :D

I completed all the challenges in more than two hours, and was utterly exhausted after. But of course we still managed to abuse the photo booths, and the pose like crazy.




CHeers to Rio and Rexona for a job well done!

Milo Approves Additional 5km Slots for the 35th Milo Marathon

Last July 6, my officemates and I went to Toby's in SM Mall of Asia to register for the 35th Milo Marathon. I decided to go 10k since it's my second time to run after NatGeo, but since I also want my brother to participate in Milo Marathon, and that he it's his first time to join a race, I wanted him to run 5k.

Too bad, the slots for 5k were already closed that time due to the strong response from the running public who definitely want to be one in this run for a cause. Many others who went there to register was a bit anxious because of the limited slot, and was forced to either run 10k as my brother did, or just back out from the race.

So I was really delighted to see this news about Milo and Run Rio opening additional slots for 5k run. If you wanted to run but got discouraged because of the limited slots, here's your chance to join! Hurry for it's a first come first serve basis only.

Here's the announcement 35th Milo Marathon via Runrio.com:

Milo via Runrio, Inc. .announced today that they are opening additional slots for the 5km race category of the 35th Milo Marathon Manila Eliminations. This announcement was made after Milo finally decided to give-in to thenumerous requests that they and Runrio, Inc as this year’s race organizer, have been receiving.

Here are some guidelines/important facts related to the opening of additional 5km race category slots:

1. Slots are limited only and will be available only via In-Store registration (ONLINE Registrants will not be able to register for 5km).
2. Slots available at the stores will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
3. Registration for this limited 5km slots will start tomorrow, July 13, 2011.
4. There will be no baggage counters for 5km and also the 3km race categories. This has been an existing policy of the yearly Milo Marathon race event.
5. Due to the large number of registrants to the 5km race category, runners will be released in waves with three (3) minutes interval each at gun start.

The following stores will be available to accept Milo Marathon Manila Elimination registration:

• RUNNR Store, Bonifacio High Street (registration will be available until July 21)
• Planet Sports, Trinoma (registration will be available until July 21)
• Toby’s, SM Mall of Asia (registration will be available until July 17)

Thank you for your wholehearted support of Milo Marathon race events and Runrio races! See you all at the SM Mall of Asia on July 31 for the 35th Milo Marathon Manila Elimination!

*Don't forget to stretch those muscles! See you on the 31st!!! :)

Eiga Sai 2011: Departures

I've been planning to attend the Japanese Film Festival 2011 at the Shangrila Plaza since the beginning of its screening last July 2, but it took me another week to finally catch it. After watching the featured film, Departures, I realized how blessed I am to be a part of this event. Somehow it was pure luck, but maybe it's more than that.

Eiga Sai, which literally means Film Festival, is a screening of award winning films as a part of celebrating Philippines-Japan Friendship month. It showcased the best of Japanese Cinema which showed their culture, values and identity. Although Jadorama or Japanese series is beginning to be popular in our country, watching their movie was still a different experience.

Last Saturday, I met my college girl friends in Shangrila Plaza to watch the extended special screening of Departures. The admission was free but the ticket was given out so early that we were not able to get one. Luckily, they gave chance to some fortunate people, which included us, to fill in the vacant seats.

Cinema 4 was echoing with laughter at the first 20 minutes of the movie Departures, but was filled with soft sobs as the movie progressed. The movie tackled a bizarre subject and filled it with heartwarming and inspirational scenes which every Filipino despite the cultural differences can relate with.

I admire how the actor Masahiro Motoki gave life to the lead character Daigo Kobayashi, an aspiring cellist who, because of some unexpected turn of events, eventually took the job of an encoffiner. Motoki then won a Best Actor in 32nd Japan Academy Prize for this film. His skills as an actor complimented the movie's director, Yojiro takita.

One thing really remarkable about this film is how they showed the art in sending their dead loved ones off. You can really see the tradition that goes with their every ceremony. It also highlighted the values of family, acceptance, how we deal with fate, and most importantly, our idea about death.

(Listen to the soundtrack of the movie Departures,

 this is played in some of the most wonderful scenes in the movie)

Honestly, I cried a lot while watching Departures. This film really touched a soft spot in my heart especially with the memories of my departed mom who just passed away last year. The movie showed how different families deal with the death of their member, and how we should really respect to our departed loved ones. I realized that death is universal, that no cultural differences, age nor race can change it.

Departures garnered different awards including the 81^st Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009 and having watched it, I know that this Japanese Film really deserved it. This is the kind of movie that never goes old, and must be recognized as one of the classics in Asian movies.

Mom's Heritage: A Cook Book

I guess this must be one of my mom’s greatest pamana — her favorite cookbook. She bought it way back in 2003 and actually has a lot of folds and creases in its pages. There’s nothing really exceptional about this book, the recipes are mostly common. But I guess this will be a companion in my early years of being the woman of the house. Right now I have a limited knowledge about cooking and i’m really getting tired of cooking adobo, sinigang, nilaga, and tinola. So I wish this can help me have a different food served on our table.
Following recipe from a cookbook or even from the internet is never easy. And you can’t actually get the exact result even when you follow it step by step. I tried to cook sweet and sour pork chop from a recipe I found on line, but the recipe is in my opinion, a little inaccurate. Good thing I was able to salvage the food and somehow turned out to be delicious. Basic kitchen knowledge is still the most important tool in the kitchen.
I don’t dream to become a chef, just probably good enough to serve my family someday. If that’s the case, I know I still have a long long way to go.

Times My Mom Stood Up For Me.

Today has been another great day spent beneath the bookshelf inside a store somewhere in MOA. This time I grabbed a book written by Mitch Albom entitled For One More Day.

At the end of every chapter is a brief anecdote where the main character listed down a scenario in which his mom stood up for him and the times when he DID NOT stand up for his mother. I know we all have that brief moment when our mothers actually did something we would never imagine just to fight for us. But we also have those times when we actually let down our mothers when the situation calls for us to stand for that woman.

Today, I want to share the first thing that came into my mind when I reflect about the times Mama stood up for me, and maybe the times I did not stand up for her.

A time when Mama stood up for me:

I was the leader of our thesis group and feeling responsible and superwoman that I was, I make sure to always go extra mile in doing my part as their leader. My mom saw how much I drive myself crazy that time and she was utterly concerned about me.

One day, when I came home, I wore that same exasperated look she always hate. After some time, she got me talking about my day and what made me feel so tired. And I told her about a father of my thesis mate who threatened to talk to our College Dean about my conflict about his daughter. I was really crying because of the tension wearing down on me, but she stood there, feeling so angry, backing me up and telling me that whatever happens she knows and everybody knows what I did for our thesis group and that she will fight for me if she should.

Luckily the conflict with my thesis group resolved on its own, but that actually made me realize how my mother can turn into a gabriela silang if she really has to defend me. :)

Time I did not stand up for my mother:

I know there might be a hundred times when I did not stand up for her, but I guess this was the last time I could let her down.

Before she died, my mother had been sick for almost three months. Those three dragging months of taking care of her, of attending to her needs, of giving in to her whims, really wore me down.

And in a fateful night of May, days before I graduated, I told her, “hindi ko na kaya, ma..” Being childish and the youngest in the family, I know I haven’t realized what my words actually meant to her. But right at that moment all that was important to me was that I was tired of taking care of her, and all I was asking was that she fight her sickness for all of us, and once again be that woman who would stand up for me when I say, “hindi ko na kaya, ma..”

But then she died, and I know I will forever remember that night that my weakness overshadowed my love for her. If I only knew that it would be my last time to stand up for her, I know I would give up everything to be the girl who would stand up for her.

The most wonderful thing about it? She understood me. As gentle and loving as she was, she loved me in my weakness and cried her love for me for the last time.