It was a rainy Saturday that the local R.E.I. stores (an outdoor person's heaven on earth) held their garage sale for members only. For a one-time $15 fee, I signed up last week just for this, so that I could get some gear to send to my hiking buddies back home.
I ended up using that membership just for myself this time. I bought a Coleman backpacking stove that my friend Glen asked me to get, but that wasn't on sale. HOWEVER, I did get myself a nice little fleece jacket (in not-so-perfect condition) by The North Face for a bargain price!
Seeing that I wouldn't be buying anything from the garage sale besides that, I decided to shop around first in order to get the most for my money. Sure enough, I found a few items at a sporting goods chain called The Sports Authority: a couple of stoves and, I wonder why I hadn't thought of this before, some two-way radios. (Flashback to Pico de Loro last month where half the group got lost in the woods at night tired, out of water, dehydrated, and lights out of batteries. )
R.E.I. still has the best choices when it comes to reliable equipment especially for extreme weather conditions. They also have the most selections when it comes to lightweight cookware that I had planned on getting. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of large size pots and pans like we use to cook enough rice for 6 people at a time, and two of that going on simultaneously. (You kinda get used to how our guys gobble up rice with gusto after hours and hours of hiking uphill with a 25-pound backpack.)
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Sunset at Papago Park
On Monday, which was, coincidentally, Valentine's Day, I felt like driving around town for a while and doing some photography. So I headed to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Spent about two hours walking around and taking pictures of plants and flowers and, unlike the last time I was there (April 2004), I now had a macro lens for closeup shots!
I was there from about 3 to 5 in the afternoon, and when I left I had about an hour to go before sunset. Whenever I have a few things on my mind, like I did that day, I sometimes like to head out somewhere safe, quiet, and with a nice view. I went to a place called Hole-In-The-Rock in Papago Park, which was just two minutes down the street from the Botanical Garden.
Last month, my friend Mike and I had checked out the place, so I pretty much knew where I wanted to go. I parked the car, got my camera with just the wide angle lens, my tripod, my digital camera, and my two essentials: car keys and cellphone. On the way up to Hole-In-The-Rock, I took a few photos of the steps leading up the side of the rock.
There weren't a lot of people, just two or three couples spending valentine's day together, and some families coming and going. I picked a spot away from the overhang where they all were, set my camera up on a tripod, and waited for dark. It was cloudy that day, so there wasn't much of a sunset to see, but I took some pictures of the area once all the city lights came on after dark.
All in all, a nice change from my usual day off.
I was there from about 3 to 5 in the afternoon, and when I left I had about an hour to go before sunset. Whenever I have a few things on my mind, like I did that day, I sometimes like to head out somewhere safe, quiet, and with a nice view. I went to a place called Hole-In-The-Rock in Papago Park, which was just two minutes down the street from the Botanical Garden.
Last month, my friend Mike and I had checked out the place, so I pretty much knew where I wanted to go. I parked the car, got my camera with just the wide angle lens, my tripod, my digital camera, and my two essentials: car keys and cellphone. On the way up to Hole-In-The-Rock, I took a few photos of the steps leading up the side of the rock.
There weren't a lot of people, just two or three couples spending valentine's day together, and some families coming and going. I picked a spot away from the overhang where they all were, set my camera up on a tripod, and waited for dark. It was cloudy that day, so there wasn't much of a sunset to see, but I took some pictures of the area once all the city lights came on after dark.
All in all, a nice change from my usual day off.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Secret Familial Habits Uncovered
It's amazing how you notice certain traits among family members that even span generations. I don't mean physical traits like facial similarities or height or how fast you get your waistline back after you give birth. I mean habits, patterns of behavior so much a part of your every day that once you notice it in someone else, it's almost as if a light goes on and WHAM! A big-deal revelation. Like some ancient secret were uncovered, or a sysadmin password hacked, or Mcgyver's first name finally figured out. (It's Angus, dummy.)
One familial habit I've discovered is what I call Self-Inflicted Sleep Deprivation.
For years, even before I moved to the States, I've been staying up every night until about 12 or 1 in the morning. This despite my having to wake up at 5 a.m. in order to be at work by 6:30. So yes, I'm accustomed to getting through the work week on only 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night, and lately, even 3. Though that didn't work out too well; on the third day of doing that, I got headaches, felt light-headed all day, and was nodding off in mid-code.
Still, no matter how many times I tell myself that I'm going to be in bed by 10:30, I continue to stay too long on my laptop working on something. I invariably keep pushing my deadline back, half an hour at a time until, I'm disappointed to see on my Windows systray, it's 12:00 again. (Sometimes I even make a long-distance phone call to Manila, use up a $5 phone card, and punish myself even more.)
So, casually aware that I am lowering my life expectancy, imagine my surprise when I realized I had not one, not two, but three close relatives, spanning two generations in two continents, who apparently possess the very same "Deprive self of sleep and life will be more fun!" gene.
The first is my Auntie Fidi from Oklahoma. I visited her and her son, my cousin Josh, in October, after not having seen them in ten years. But I didn't even realize she was on a crazy sleep schedule until my second visit a month later, when Josh mentioned she'd stay up until 2 in the morning watching TV. WHAM! No wonder I'd see her curled up on the recliner, wrapped in a blanket fast asleep!
What a coincidence, I thought. She's a bit like me!
The second culprit: my cousin Joey from New Jersey. I flew over there to see him and his family for Veterans Day weekend in November. Guess what I noticed on my first night, when I was about to take my shower at 11 p.m.? Everyone else had gone to bed, but he was up watching TV. He does that every night, he said. Just stay up and watch TV.
DING-DING-DING!
WHAM!
Last December, I visited the Philippines for the first time since I moved to Arizona five years ago. My brother Mark is now a web designer. He works flexible hours. Most times, he gets to the office at 9 a.m. and works until 6. When he gets home, he has dinner, gets on the internet, and plays this multiplayer online role-playing game called World of Warcraft. Guess what time he goes to bed? Oh, not too late... about 2 in the morning.
WHAM!
Amazing. This absolutely blows my mind.
I wonder how many more clan members are out there, bodies on crazy internal clocks, brains running on caffeine (or worse, blood and oxygen), risking life and limb while driving through the streets, reputation with clients hanging in the balance as we work on reduced cerebral capacity.
I don't know a lot of people who can function consistently on 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night. Actually, I know just one other -- my friend Mike from Oklahoma. But I think he's spent too much time with Auntie Fidi and them over there.
Now I'm not proud of this unhealthy practice, and I know I should be taking better care of myself. But after living alone for so long, one thing's for certain -- this sure has made me feel like part of a family again.
Oh my, look at the time.
One familial habit I've discovered is what I call Self-Inflicted Sleep Deprivation.
For years, even before I moved to the States, I've been staying up every night until about 12 or 1 in the morning. This despite my having to wake up at 5 a.m. in order to be at work by 6:30. So yes, I'm accustomed to getting through the work week on only 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night, and lately, even 3. Though that didn't work out too well; on the third day of doing that, I got headaches, felt light-headed all day, and was nodding off in mid-code.
Still, no matter how many times I tell myself that I'm going to be in bed by 10:30, I continue to stay too long on my laptop working on something. I invariably keep pushing my deadline back, half an hour at a time until, I'm disappointed to see on my Windows systray, it's 12:00 again. (Sometimes I even make a long-distance phone call to Manila, use up a $5 phone card, and punish myself even more.)
So, casually aware that I am lowering my life expectancy, imagine my surprise when I realized I had not one, not two, but three close relatives, spanning two generations in two continents, who apparently possess the very same "Deprive self of sleep and life will be more fun!" gene.
The first is my Auntie Fidi from Oklahoma. I visited her and her son, my cousin Josh, in October, after not having seen them in ten years. But I didn't even realize she was on a crazy sleep schedule until my second visit a month later, when Josh mentioned she'd stay up until 2 in the morning watching TV. WHAM! No wonder I'd see her curled up on the recliner, wrapped in a blanket fast asleep!
What a coincidence, I thought. She's a bit like me!
The second culprit: my cousin Joey from New Jersey. I flew over there to see him and his family for Veterans Day weekend in November. Guess what I noticed on my first night, when I was about to take my shower at 11 p.m.? Everyone else had gone to bed, but he was up watching TV. He does that every night, he said. Just stay up and watch TV.
DING-DING-DING!
WHAM!
Last December, I visited the Philippines for the first time since I moved to Arizona five years ago. My brother Mark is now a web designer. He works flexible hours. Most times, he gets to the office at 9 a.m. and works until 6. When he gets home, he has dinner, gets on the internet, and plays this multiplayer online role-playing game called World of Warcraft. Guess what time he goes to bed? Oh, not too late... about 2 in the morning.
WHAM!
Amazing. This absolutely blows my mind.
I wonder how many more clan members are out there, bodies on crazy internal clocks, brains running on caffeine (or worse, blood and oxygen), risking life and limb while driving through the streets, reputation with clients hanging in the balance as we work on reduced cerebral capacity.
I don't know a lot of people who can function consistently on 4 or 5 hours of sleep every night. Actually, I know just one other -- my friend Mike from Oklahoma. But I think he's spent too much time with Auntie Fidi and them over there.
Now I'm not proud of this unhealthy practice, and I know I should be taking better care of myself. But after living alone for so long, one thing's for certain -- this sure has made me feel like part of a family again.
Oh my, look at the time.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
My friends hiked Pico de Loro
This is what I missed on Jan. 29-30 because I wasn't back home:
This is my friend Ruby with the renowned Pico de Loro "beak" in the background. Pico de Loro ("Parrot's Beak") is located in Ternate, Cavite in the Philippines. I feel so envious... even though the trail was really steep and they got lost in the night on the way back. But at least I know they were thinking of me:
See my friend Alon.
LOL!
Watch the video: http://www.villegasonline.com/videos/growing_upPico.mpg to see the whole spiel inside the tent.
This is my friend Ruby with the renowned Pico de Loro "beak" in the background. Pico de Loro ("Parrot's Beak") is located in Ternate, Cavite in the Philippines. I feel so envious... even though the trail was really steep and they got lost in the night on the way back. But at least I know they were thinking of me:
See my friend Alon.
LOL!
Watch the video: http://www.villegasonline.com/videos/growing_upPico.mpg to see the whole spiel inside the tent.
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