climb ev'ry mountain (well, just four)

2003.  i was in college and i badly needed a distraction from thinking too much about an ex (lol right), so i did what i have been what-iffing about ever since i gazed at big mountains: join a mountaineering club.

thanks to tere suratos for being our official photographer!

mt. san cristobal climb.  coldest climb ever (it was raining when we ascended, our teeth chattered as we slept).

can you see me?  of course not!  loljk, i'm the one at the leftmost, light blue shirt. (pico de loro fun climb, cutad beach-ineering)

 more san cristobal shots, before our descent.  prana's still with us. RIP, sis.  you should've played paintball with us when i invited you (she replied, saying, "punta akong mindoro e".--i didn't know she would be trying to catch up with the others at mt. halcon.  then i received the sad news--that they had not heard from her, launching a massive search.  her body was found around a week later).  :(

my photobombing skills ftw.

i only managed to join four official climbs (tarak ridge, pico de loro, san cristobal, banahaw) before choosing to spend weekends camping in a new boyfriend's room instead.  the relationship lasted four years (what the hell was i thinking?), but my friendship with these guys--especially my batchmates--continues to this day, but i have yet to rejoin them in a climb.  what's so cool about the experience: you help each other go to the top and back.  and there really is something about shouting at the top of your lungs when you get there.  i had two major climbs left (the skills climb and the initiation climb) before i was to be officially recognized as a member, and i gave it all up for "love".  dopey ain't it, and quite ironic, because i met the guy in da club, and he didn't like me to go on climbing, because, pretty girl that i am (lol), he kinda sensed some other guys were also into me (fresh meat much).  anyway.

i posted these pictures because ige mentioned something about a photo of him when he attended a 2003 comics festival.  and because i'm that good, i found them!  yes, not one, but two photos!  :P

 can you see him?  dude's rockin' the white (edit: he says it's faded beige) sneakers. and the long hair.  haha.

photos found on Gerry Alanguilan's Multiply page.

sigh. the stuff we were into then.  not much has changed i think--i still climb mountains hills for work, and ige well, he's rediscovered his love for comics-related stuff.  er, toys. see his stuff here!