Best Nine of Instagram 2017

More than photos, the quotes or poems are added 'entertainment' to my Instagram postings!

As part of my personal challenge, I have to come up with a quote or poem that is relevant to the photo that I am posting.
Here's my 2017's best nine photos and their corresponding quotes/poems...

a. We can either read, or write history. 
     Event photo during History Con 2017 awarding
   
b. Adapt to thrive, not just to survive.
     Uniqlo's outwear campaign, re: layering tips

c. Dark, cold and lonesome - are problems of the unprepared man.
     Uniqlo's outwear campaign, tips on keeping warm

d. Fitness is a means to accomplish something, not an end goal.
     Climbing Mt Cho Oyu

e. Sometimes, life is about toughing it out together...
     Summit shot of Mt Aconcagua

f. The mountains will stay, 
    the forest will regrow; but we... are simply passing by, 
    and will disappear before the sky. 
     Mt Makiling traverse

g. Limits are but mental boundaries 
    broken by strong mind and will...
     Mt Everest's camp4 at South Col (+26,000ft)

h. The birds chirped and flew by; the insects buzzed then went by;
    A lonely cloud floated overhead, a sudden wind blew it to shred;   But We? We never tire, looking at each other - the mountain and I.    
        -revised version of one of Li Bai's (Li Po) poems
    Mt Apo Reforestation Trip 2017
 

i.   Be strong like a rock and patient like a mountain. 
    Life is tough and the journey is long...
     Mt. Denali - during one of the rest days in high camp.

Quotes to Live By

One and a half a year ago, I started with my Instagram –(yeah pretty late I guess) but discovered that I enjoy the challenge of inventing or relating a quote to each picture that I post.

In a way, Instagram – along with this mind challenge had become my quick mental exercise while waiting for my coffee, or beer – or someone.  (No, I don’t do FB or twitter or others with my smartphone – a deliberate self-spacing decision).

As I review some phrases or quotes, I realize that some of them were half-meant, some serve as self-reminders helping me stick to my own life philosophies, or some are meant as joke-with-a-sense.

So as not to forget and lose them – I compiled some of them in this blog post. For entertainment, or perhaps as reminders when we face some life challenges. 

1.      Don't always stop when the road ends. Sometimes you just have to make a new one.
2.      View a mountain to feel peace, climb a mountain to feel life.
3.      Flowers wither, chocolates melt, but true love endures.
4.      Keep calm. Have faith. Things will be alright.
5.      Eat good food to be in a good mood

Keeping the Joy in Climbing

Exhibit of my usual gears during the event launch - Joy Will Take You Further (2015)

I’ve been asked “What’s next” since the day I had finished my 7 Summits quest.  Others would proclaim – “Are there more? But you’ve done enough?!”   

The joy of past adventures will propel one to move forward.  The good memories, the profound experiences – help one to do more.

So my own adventure life really doesn’t end and there are hundred things that can be the ‘next’.  The question is always time or money or opportunity.

The one thing that I want to see immediately though, is seeing more Filipinos doing big mountain climbs, or doing ‘serious stuff’ outside the comforts of our tropical paradise.  I want to help the next generation of adventurers and climbers experience the joy of adventure, of travel, of climbing.  And hopefully, we – collectively accomplish a bigger goal.

Joy Will Take You Further

Nov2015 Ad on Town & Country Magazine

There are days that something will just surprise you… 

Imagine my reaction when I read emails, SMS and hearing the same thing from a short call - asking if I can be part of some big brand campaign.   I just came in from a 2-week trip and not bothering to turn on my roaming, or check my email or FB messages (it was a vacation after all) – I didn’t realize there were ‘urgent’ calls.

The first reaction was – “really?” not even fully understanding the scale or scope of the engagement or campaign.  As I realize that it was global in nature, I started asking myself “why me”; and later on progressing to “why not”.

I recognize that I have limited brand campaign tie-ups and relatively new to such things.  But at the same time, imagine the excitement knowing that this is the first-ever Pinoy involvement in such a big campaign for the brand.  And more excitement when I finally saw the script showing names of celebrities from all around the world.  Of course – there’s that occasional ‘why am I part of this, again’ thought more driven by awe and respect to big names than self-doubt.

Behaviours and Traits of True Mountaineers

Mountaineers are fun people - one of my best teams to-date - my Cho Oyu team in Camp1 (Sep2005).  You can see all the smiles (not knowing the struggles ahead of course)

In the mountaineering and hiking community, as well as the ‘expanded’ community (involving non-outdoorsmen), there are these sometimes-funny philosophies, behaviour or traits   - while most sounded like jokes, others have a semblance of logic behind it.   

While these weird traits or sometimes pseudo “life philosophies” varies by group – there are these common things that we share… This is just my own recollection or guess, the last section are more ‘serious’ stuff that I’ve added.

Random Pieces of Advice to Young Women

Talk guesting event, UST Tourism (2014)

I woke up one morning feeling the recently-familiar old-man’s hang-over!   Not that I’m accepting ‘oldness’, but that bout with morning dizziness and the usual name tease of ‘uncle’ by outdoor colleagues sometimes made me think – am I old?  I never felt my age, only in this hang-over thing (and well, reading font 8 characters!) but it made me think – what if I’m now 70 years old?!

In a lot of sense, that could be a grand reason to celebrate life (a long life) – but the other thought that struck me was, what lessons learned should I impart to my grand children?  What can I share other than those ‘dark stormy night in a cold mountain’ stories?

So here’s the first in the series – ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN.  It would be fun to revisit this 10 years from now, and another 30years (if I’m still here) and validate if I still think or feel the same way…most likely not, but here’s the first version. 

Why We Climb

Mountaineering is tough, but there were special moments, of peace, of solitude, of something spiritual. (Pic: sunset at Nido de Condores / Camp2 of Aconcagua).

I saw a recent thought-provoking article about mountaineering being all about empty egotism.  I may have felt instantly defensive - concluding that the writer was either a non-mountaineer,  or unfortunate enough not to experience the profoundness of “oneness” with nature.  And I can’t really blame him as this special experience is something personal.  And it’s also deeper and not empty. 

Spend Money to Pursue your Dreams

At Delphi in Greece.  Greece was in my travel bucket list, yes expensive, but all worth it!

Let’s face it… it will not matter how strong you are, or how skilful, or how passionate… End of the day, we still have to shoulder a part or all of our activity/ expedition/travel/sports expenses to pursue what we want.

This is not a perfect world where talented athletes/photographers/travelers get paid, or easily earn sponsorship and ‘live his /her life to the fullest!’  Somehow somewhere, all of us – need to spend a chunk of savings to ‘get there’.  And hope for a bonus of getting support after we build our equity.  No short-cuts.  Unless, you’re one lucky-sonofa-rich family.  We should not even expect cash support (that’s just a bonus) – we just want to live our dreams.

Mountaineer’s Dilemma (A Poem)

practicing my 'rhymes' :)

Life is full of options,               and we like asking questions;

Like “should I carry a heavy pack”,                  which might hurt my back;

Or climb this steep rock,                      where I could fall with a ‘smack’;

Farewell Robin Williams

I’ll cut the bit about admiration, good words or comments on Mr. Robin.  He deserves all the good words.   

But a brief – a still recall, being a small boy, laughing my heart out when I see the funny scenes of Mork and Mindy.  Robin the Mork from Ork, the funny alien who wore ‘one size fits all, 1-footer long elastic space suit’ and greets “Nanu-nanu”.

But the honest part of this post is that – one of his movies, the Dead Poet’s Society (DPS) was one transformational movie for me.  Movies do that?  Not for most I guess. I asked friends about this DPS movie effect and I thought I was alone.  But it doesn’t matter; we have all our unique moments in life.   

Let me capture some verses here and resound it:

Take it to the Limit

Men's Health magazine feature (April 2012?)

(note: the magazine article has a different content)

High-altitude mountaineering, added with bad weather or sickness ‘bonuses’ – will over-test one’s limit.  Physically and mentally!

While there is in fact a physical/ physiological limit (which we sometimes don’t reach due to sound logical reasoning),  ‘knowing’ (or thinking) one’s end-line is oftentimes the real game.  Especially in endurance sports, majority of one’s mental limit comes way ahead than his/her physical limit.  Maybe a self-preservation genetic programming in us.  All around us or through-out our lives, by experience and/or mental conditioning, we set some sort of ‘limits’ to many things that we do.    “I can’t possibly run a 5km distance in 30mins?!”  “I can’t swim 1km in 25mins!”  “I don’t think I can approach a girl in bar if I’m not tipsy” :)  “I don’t think I can ever climb Everest!”

Sometimes, these thoughts are very strong and we’re actually programmed to stop or quit when we reached them.  This limits often come way ahead than our real physical limits. Or worse, these limiting thoughts may even prevent us from starting something altogether. These “mental boundaries” has no place in a difficult-to-live world!  Or difficult task like achieving one’s personal dream. 

Getting Sponsorship



at the top of Carstensz Pyramid, West Papua.
Showing sponsors logo to say 'Thank you'.
(with Levi N)

 First, it’s not going to be easy! And don’t get disappointed if it didn’t work out. That’s part of the experience, part of your long journey to success.


This sponsorship challenge is very true in countries like Philippines where brands are economy-ruled and highly demand market exposure from partners. Basketball or boxing or other spectator and televised sports may be more promising to invest on – who would want to spend on a crazy dude/dudette braving the arctic storm trying to test his/her mortality in a sub-freezing, man-eating polar bear-inhabited and back-wrecking traverse through the North Pole?

But there’s always hope, it may not be a sure-shot, but worth investing on a few things to hopefully get that much-needed attention and funding. Some thoughts:

Why Join an Organization



at UPMoutaineers' old tambayan (hang-out place)
in UP Library, early 90's. pic c/o Romeo Lee

 As I reflect about last weekend’s event (Rescue Regatta), its lack of funding and preparation, but with a surprising good result – I was again reminded that things will move to a nice finish when one gets enough help from people around him/her. Right after Yolanda, relief goods flowed to destination sites, medical and relief teams travelled here and there – made possible by good network of people who helped bridge all gaps. And these 2 examples were not even org-sponsored/mandated activities.


I have a hundred other examples of proof that one can and will accomplish many things if he/she is backed (and part) of a bigger group of people. A club, an organization – formal or informal, help each one of us do things, big and great! This is one of the reasons why my first tip to would-be Everest climber is to join an established mountaineering group. And this is true to other areas – diving club, martial arts, dancing, art, religious, moms at home, conservationist, dog lovers, astronomers, scientists – the whole lot. Let me share my thoughts on some benefits and some tips at the end.

Writing Your Manuscript - What Helps



long poster of the Akyat book displayed in R.O.X. store


It would be too early to conclude success for my ‘book project’, but basing purely on the end-output -of getting the book published (the biggest hurdle), I’d like to offer my personal learning/tips for those wanting or planning to write their own manuscript. The focus of ‘what helped’ tips below is writing the manuscript (not book success per se). Who knows, you may find yourself writing your story soon.


1. It helped that I started writing my stories, or ‘just practise writing’ some 10+years ago. I formally started with the manuscript 2006 (after my Everest climb) and the writing work was very manageable from then on. Tip: start writing today!  (see related post)

Keep Writing






one of my first printed write-up, way back Jan2003

    First, let me tell you that I am not a “writer”, at least in a strict sense, and just became a recent lucky author of my new book.

But I do write and recently restarted my blog (which contains text-full of posts), and have past written stories which remained unpublished. Many colleagues were wondering how I was able to write a lengthy manuscript – being a “non-writer”. But being a non-fiction scribbler with a good imagination, I realized that it was relatively easy to do, a matter of flowing my thoughts into typewritten words. Of course I struggled every now and then, especially the very first time I’ve written something.

Useful Lessons from Rescue



Mountain Search & Rescue training
with UP Mountaineers

 Some things I learned from my rescue trainings, or actual incidents – and how we can apply to everyday problems:


1. Hierarchy of Needs. Accident, incident or any problem have their unique ‘need to address this’ priority list. In the right order.

a. Ex. in steep mountain rescue scenario (assuming we’ve done our planning/ survey the scene stage), although we’re taught to perform primary care (cardio/breathing) first, if there’s an obvious risk for the victim to fall down (or fall down further) – the need#1 is to secure him/her FIRST, but very quickly. #2 would be check his pulse/breathing then perform necessary medical attention. Next phase (assuming stabilized) is the need to evacuate the victim. In that order. Another example in scuba diving, if say at 70ft, a diver panics, drop his/her regulator (mouth piece) and swims fast upwards – the need#1 is to STOP him/her from ascending quickly (even without his/her regulator on). We normally pull the leg down, or fins or whatever we can grab – this is to avoid air embolism (air expansion) which will instantly injure if not kill the diver. THEN need#2 is to put back the regulator in place (his/her or yours). Then relax him/her, then surface slowly if needed. In that order.

Lessons Learned from Mountain Climbing



in low camp of Vinson Massif, Antartica
(sun shot filtered using sunglasses)

 Re-post from old blog

(written March2005)

Intro

A hundred sunsets, countless mountains, a score of countries and cultures… a number of desperate moments, trying times, triumphs and joys… My never-ending pursuit of what’s out there, allowed me to experience and witness these things.

Exploring the abodes of the gods not only gave me a sense of undefined fulfillment, it has taught me lessons, things I didn’t learn or were not able to grasp in school, things I learned the hard way.

This life’s learning enhances our character, and it makes us discover the person in us. Discovering oneself is not something we can easily do in the office, or just at home – it’s when we subject our life in the realm of harsh conditions, to test and bring out the best in us. It’s when we risk a humdrum easy life, to places and things that could actually harm us, but in the end will bring out the hidden strength that we have.

Home and Adventure

kid's artwork suggests a nice,
colourful and happy home




  Back in Jan 2006 – I wrote this article below to practise my poetic writing skills (which went nowhere). I never did finish this write-up, and I can’t even remember what I was trying to achieve or say but I thought it’s worth sharing. Ha ha!


As I re-read it now, it seems that my key message was something like – “life” or “happiness” or perhaps the ‘beauty of life” is near and around us although as natural wanderers, we often tend to look outwards and go farther to find ‘something’. While travelling to distant horizon, and/or doing all sorts of adventure do give us fulfilment – in the end, life is about having a ‘home’ where you bring back and share your adventure and experiences.

Think about great explorers and conquerors who all have travelled far and wide but never to return back, either lost in their endless journey, or better at least – settled in their new-found homes. Alexander the Great for example – a great conqueror. It would have been nice if he came back to his family and countrymen and shared his conquest and triumph! Maybe he did plan to, but his never-ending pursuit of something cut him off from his home reality. (My opinion only anyway). This may also apply to over-ambitious and busy achievers who all constantly yearn for success (like a ‘virtual distance’) while forgetting the little important things around them, like their friends and families perhaps?

Wisdom of the Mountain Guides




Racoon faces after the climb, Adv BC
Cho Oyu 2005. Two Sherpa guides
in yellow jacket

 First – let me commend all the great mountain guides out there. I see their role as a life-and-death profession more than just some guy touring curious individuals to the top of a mountain. Being a non-professional, non-full time mountaineer that I am – I rely on the experience and expertise of veteran guides in my more challenging trips.

I’ve had great guides that were part of my success, in expeditions and career growth in general.

In most relatively ‘easy mountains’ – I never needed guides and would venture out sometimes on my own, occasionally not having knowledge of the trail or route, in a country or territory that I was not very familiar with. With many years of experience and outdoor trainings – those ventures were not an issue. I’ve ‘guessed-hike’ my way to some local trails in the Philippines, sometimes under heavy rains mostly during my me-only weekend escapades; invented ‘trails’ in Rokko mountain in Japan and in Puk-an-san South Korea, even in some snow-covered hills in the Pyrenees (Spain) - and generally following a ‘banat lang’ (just go) gung-ho attitude in many other places.

Other Essential Skills



Post-Everest Press Conference
Learning how to speak the hard way

 Success in an expedition or even outdoor career in general, is not only dependent on one’s climbing or other outdoor ability (and luck). There are various skill sets that one has to hone to bring his or her mountaineering/ climbing/ trekking / exploration trips, or even career to the next level. Learning new things is a continuous process, and although I don’t have many of these skills perfected, I’d like to think that I got ‘basic’ on most and proficient on some.


Let me share my thoughts, opinion and tips;