back in college, i remember seeing tents being put up in the middle of the lobby. the tents will then have cookwares, backpacks, and what-have-you around or inside them. what-have-you includes peculiar looking people milling around the set-up. i'll be one of those curious passers-by who will inquire what the fuss is, and then walk away. at the start of every school year, i'll be seeing this similar exhibit. sometimes the same people will be convincing me to join them, but to no avail. i guess i was too busy with bar & beerkada and later on with my affiliations that i never seriously considered joining them.
but even after the week of recruitment of members, i'd still be able to identify these peculiar people around the campus. there's something about them that make them stand out among the crowd. something aside from their hairy and untidy looks, multipocketed bags, and colorful friendship bands. there's something about them that appeals to me, something astig. teka lang, si neph astig?!?! what the ....?! just kidding neph ;)
neph is a member of UST MC. we became close friends when we, together with the nova gang, were reviewing for the board exams. sometimes during nonproductive moments he will tell us stories about his mountaineering escapades - all of which were amusing and interesting. once i asked him why do they climb mountains and what do they get from all those climbing. without much thinking he would say that trekking up is tiring but what kept him going is the thought of "pag nasa summit ka, ang ganda-ganda ng sunrise." at which i'll retort, "masmaganda pa kay rhia??" "oo naman!" neph would say without batting an eyelash. the topic will then move on to jeering at neph's forlorn lovelife. much as the ruckus would continue, the question still lingered on my mind.
i asked the same question to leo. he is a good friend from the higher batch who joined a mountaineering org right after college. since joining the org, he would always ask me to join their open climbs, to which i was never able to because of one reason or another. To my question he gave a very intriguing answer: "Sumama ka na lang para malaman mo."
but even after the week of recruitment of members, i'd still be able to identify these peculiar people around the campus. there's something about them that make them stand out among the crowd. something aside from their hairy and untidy looks, multipocketed bags, and colorful friendship bands. there's something about them that appeals to me, something astig. teka lang, si neph astig?!?! what the ....?! just kidding neph ;)
neph is a member of UST MC. we became close friends when we, together with the nova gang, were reviewing for the board exams. sometimes during nonproductive moments he will tell us stories about his mountaineering escapades - all of which were amusing and interesting. once i asked him why do they climb mountains and what do they get from all those climbing. without much thinking he would say that trekking up is tiring but what kept him going is the thought of "pag nasa summit ka, ang ganda-ganda ng sunrise." at which i'll retort, "masmaganda pa kay rhia??" "oo naman!" neph would say without batting an eyelash. the topic will then move on to jeering at neph's forlorn lovelife. much as the ruckus would continue, the question still lingered on my mind.
i asked the same question to leo. he is a good friend from the higher batch who joined a mountaineering org right after college. since joining the org, he would always ask me to join their open climbs, to which i was never able to because of one reason or another. To my question he gave a very intriguing answer: "Sumama ka na lang para malaman mo."
so here i am, an official applicant to Ortigas Center Mountaineers, Inc. one of the will-be members of Batch X, representing ten years of OCMI existence. i filled up an application form weeks ago. i remember stopping and thinking for a while on one of the questions. i cant remember the exact words but it was asking me why i wanted to join or why do i want to climb mountains. Deep in thought i wrote down: to be closer to God. twice i filled up a form asking that question, and twice i wrote the same answer. i haven't literally climb a mountain yet so i don't know if there's truth in what i wrote.
what's that glow in them mountaineers? why do they climb mountains? heck! i don't want to spend the rest of my life wondering about the answers. asking around wouldn't do. i am going to find out for my self.
this weekend we will be having our first training climb. my first ever climb. we will be trekking up Tarak Peak, Mt. Mariveles at Bataan. the seriousness of my blog may hide it but note that i am soooo excited. i'm so excited! / ta-nan-ta-nan-ta-nan-tan! / and i (can't) hide it... =)
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