White Cracs and Kite-Flying

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to Southmall to buy a couple pairs of Cracs. Cracs is what we jokingly call these Crocs knock-offs or imitations. We were planning to buy one pair for Renz and another for myself. Unfortunately, the kids' sizes were no longer available. I was even lucky to get my size and it was the last pair! I already have the army-green color of Crocs which I showed here. But these Cracs are so cheap at Php179! That's almost only 10% of what I bought for the originals.


But the reason I bought this pair is for office use. Why white? Office shoe attire needs to be white and so we also bought 6 pairs of white socks to match. Anyway, I've gotten used to long walks right after the 10am brunch and the 3pm break. Unfortunately the first few days were hard on the feet since I wasn't used to walking long distances. By long distance, I mean going to the lobby, turning back and then walking all the way towards the Facilities offices, taking a drink at the drinking fountain and then turning back. I take a long drink at the fountain so the turning back doesn't look so conspicuous since folks there don't regularly see me there. It's that simple.

I don't walk outside - it's too darn hot to walk. Now with the white Cracs, I'm hoping to walk more, like maybe a couple of 'laps' this time. I'm finding these walks to be mind-refreshing especially when I'm composing email or blog entries. Too bad, I don't see others doing the same thing, or maybe it isn't just obvious to me. Nonetheless, these long walks help me clear up the clutter in my mind and is a welcome break from the long sitting position infront of the computer. Hey, it'll be part of my overall workout too!

The bigger surprise in yesterday's shopping was this pair of cheap table tennis rackets that were priced at Php79.75 and Php99.75. The more expensive one at the right has a flared handle with a design. Imagine our surprise when they were made even cheaper when we got to the cashier. The price that came up in the register was Php25 for EACH! I suppose these were last stocks and were on clearance. Although we bought them at SM Dept Store, they were really from Toy Kingdom.


On the homefront, Renz wore this flashy outfit. Kinda makes him look like a superhero.


There was no electricity when we woke up today, Sunday. Maybe it was the rain. I don't know, but I wished the electricity went out last night instead when the idiotic noisy candidates were giving their speeches. I was talking with DH last night about Pinoy's penchant to loud and garish events. It's as if LOUDNESS = HAPPINESS. It's a sad state of the times, in my opinion.

Since there was no electricity, we had a nice breakfast breakfast outside at the laundry area. It was bright and there was a slight breeze.


Here's Renz making a point while everybody listens. Well, except for Ate Che who still looks sleepy.


Ah, mangoes. Can't imagine the severed limb of the tree could still yield this bunch of mangoes!


Che and Karen brought the Nemo Kite we bought for Renz and Dada during Taekwondo class at the Fresnedi Sports Center. Here's the two trying to fly the kite in the shade. That's the Laguna bay behind them.


Dada isn't doing the Cha-cha, but is doing continuous kicks in Taekwondo class.


After class, the two, Renz and Dada tried the kite. Here's Renz holding the kite string.


Dada flying the kite with the MunSci building in the background. See the kite? It has the image of Nemo the Clownfish. Afterwards, we proceeded to St.Peregrine Church to hear mass.

The Essence of a Relaxing Backstroke

I knew it! Last night, I walked with DH to Mercury Tunasan (my first time there!) to buy new batteries for the radio. I was hoping to get Energizer but there weren't any. I suppose they'd cost so much for size D. Anyway, I tried them at the pool today and I was right. The old batteries were dying and this was the cause of my losing the right radio frequency and the fading volume. The radio was on maximum volume recently but still couldn't hear it. So I was a happy camper. At least it wasn't a failed or broken potentiometer or some innards of the radio. Sadly though the topic today sucks - it was so mushy and fluffy.

Today's coaching at the pool, I realized something that coaches teach students and seems prevalent. Prevalent, in that I experienced it too when I was getting lessons. And this is the coach telling students to splash a lot of water when beginning lessons in freestyle. They want the legs out of the water, faster kicks, stronger kicks, really kicking up a storm! And then, when the students are fairly advanced, the coaches (and swim literature even) tell them not to raise the legs out of the water. What's UP with THAT?

The lady student must've had some difficulty straightening her legs on the freestyle kicks coz here's the coach tying on something that look like splints so as not to bend the knees too much. I've been wondering what the coach was fiddling with the student's legs. It turns out to be some kind of cardboard wrapped with packing tape. This method is certainly new to me!


Here's the lady kicking furiously as coach instructed. No wonder she gets all winded and tired - as I was when I started getting lessons.


It's been quite a while since I reported a breakthrough or milestone in this blog and was afraid that I've been plateauing my improvements. But just when I least expect it, I've reached one again. Today, I think I've mastered the art of a relaxing backstroke and discovered to do this, you need to be able to do a super slow stroke. I found this almost impossible to do in the past (as in last year). But today, I could do it at will, anytime! I was so happy that I figured I could do the square workout with the slow backstroke as I did when I was drilling with the heads-up freestyle. Man, today's workout was awesome. I did a couple of these square workouts - one clockwise, the other counterclockwise. At first, I was thinking how best to do the turns coz backstroke is so disorienting, not knowing where you're headed and therefore when to turn. So what I did was simply to pause when it's safe to turn, do a mild heads-up breast and then resume the backstroke. Nonetheless, the square workout was successful and I'm sure I could improve more on it.

After I got out of the pool, rain clouds formed and in the shower, I thought it would rain and was worried for the radio. Well it didn't, but it did drizzle as I was driving out. Whew!

Radio's a Bane

Ever since I got the radio to work well, I think I'm getting LESS of a workout session than I really want. I've become more concerned that I get the radio station on the right frequency (RX93.1). And why not, that's what the radio is for - to keep me company. But starting last week, the station's getting a strange interferance from what sounds like AM radio talk - news mostly in Tagalog. I can't recognize who the newscasters are but their program start at around 7-7:30. It's annoying coz a couple of times, I had to get out of the pool and fix the tuning dial just to get a better signal.

All this radio stuff, sadly, is now messing-up the continuity of my swimming workout. This is especially so when the 2 hosts go on extended talk-time. I think I gotta get more serious and put in more time swimming than listening.

Today, there was an elderly couple (okay, at least older than folks I normally see at the pool) there. Apparently, the lady was taking lessons and it looked like they've been there since 6am. At least that's good - another person learning to be water safe - and that's ALWAYS good news. After the swim, the lady wore a uniform so that explains the early time slot - to go to work thereafter.

As I suspected, some of those attending the free swimming clinic are there just to have a good time. And I do mean JUST THAT - to have a good time. I mean, these kids were bringing all sorts of inflatable toys for crying out loud! I seriously doubt they'd learn any real swimming at all.

Thanx to the previous summer weekend, I got me 2 one-peso coins and a 25 cent coin - or Php2.25 to add to the Treasure Trove.

I was flattered today when Steve asked where I learned to swim. This was out of the blue during a break in today's IT presentation. My first swim lessons were way back in 1999 I think, at Metropolis.

On the homefront, here's a typical afternoon with Dada actively biking and Renz on the scooter (they call trolley).


Renz acting some sort of a statue or totem-pole or something.


Both Sandra and Renz were enrolled in free taekwondo summer lessons care of the Fresnedi Sports Center. Here's the two doing stretching. The guy in white is the coach's assistant while in the background are arnis students. Offered this summer are Judo, Arnis, Taekwondo, Karate and Gymnastics.

The Kuhol Stroke

One of the swim teachers commented today that the pool water was warm. "Mainit na nga sa labas, mainit pa rin sa tubig!" And she was right. The pool water was warm, and I think the water evaporates rapidly coz the level is always low. I slept soundly last night coz the other night, I didn't get much sleep from the cold aircon.

Over at breaktime yesterday, I shared what happened at our outing at Lovely May Resort. We briefly talked about swimming and the various strokes. I said that later that night at the outing, the pool was filled to the brim. The deep end has become 6 feet deep. Naturally, the non-swimmers couldn't manage to go to the deep end. What they did was to attach themselves to the pool wall by holding on to the pool gutter. They then crawl with their arms on the gutter towards the deep end. Well, someone in the group said there's a name for that. And it's called the "Kuhol" stroke.

Kuhol means "snail" and the so-called stroke describes how the snail would laboriously crawl on the walls.

Super Hot Sunday

There was a little boy accompanied by his parents at the pool. It seemed kind of odd, as they didn't have a picnic and the boy looked like he simply wanted to play in the water. Here's Renz's daily dose of Rifampicin for his Primary Complex.


It was a super-hot day yesterday. In the morning, it was bright and sunny and so I took out the remaining white paint and started painting the tennis table-top's bottom. Might as well put that into use to at least protect the board from wetness. Minutes later I asked all three (Karen, Dada and Renz) to help.


Renz seems to be interested more in drawing on the board than painting. After we painted the table-top's bottom, I slept briefly. I felt the heat on the bed! Later in the evening, I asked that the aircon be turned on coz Renz was sweating. I had a tough time sleeping coz of my position and the cold in the airconed room.

Despedida at Lovely May?

It's back to Villa Lovely May Resort Pansol for Jhe's Despedida. I left the office very early (before 5pm) and naturally got there too early and so I rested a bit. Alex, Rey, Rommel and Jay took along their wives and kids. I managed to do lots of backstrokes. It's really different once the tummy is full. I left with Dada at around 11pm. Here are a couple of pics with gang.



I learned later that the despedida isn't all that. Jhe changed her mind. I wonder why.

Pingpong Table in Use

It's been sometime since that 8 waves trip. The strain in my left foot is easing up a bit now. My hunch is it came from the vigorous backstroke kickcing I did over at the wavepool's deepend. Late in the afternoon, I thought I'd have cramps coz it the left foot's instep would hurt if I pointed it out.

I think I'm still having a hangover from that long vacation which ended Monday - Araw ng Kagitingan (Fall of Bataan). Last Good Friday, I finally painted the centerline on the table tennis (pingpong) table. I'm not too pleased with the paint job coz even when I used masking tape to cut both sides of the painting, the white paint still seeped through the tape. The result isn't trimmed/clean enough but at least the centerline is straight. Here's the finished table with Sandra and Che playing.

I must say that the kids (me included!) have gotten a little better in the game. There are lesser stray balls being picked up now. We're far from being good at it. Those are el cheapo no-name gear (net, rackets) we're using, but at least we're having fun. When up to it, the kids would set the table, play and then leave it so by the time I get home, I could still play before backing the car in the garage.

Recently I bought another cheap racket or paddle below just to have a feel for different rackets.


It's a little heavier though and strangely, the rubber on one side is green rather than red!

Egg Hunting 2007 in Pampanga

This year's Easter Sunday, we went to Pampanga. And there, we had the yearly egg-hunting activity for the kids. We started right after we arrived. Here are pics of the kids.


Again, the kids paired themselves into 2 teams. Team Basket is Cheche and Sandra. Team Mouse Patrol is Karen and Renz.

Family Summer Outing at 8 Waves Waterpark

Finally we pushed through with Plan C, at Eight Waves in San Rafael, Bulacan. Plan A was Ilocos Norte, Plan B was somewhere in Batangas, but due to lack of "logistics support", we settled for Plan C. We originally planned on going last Thursday but Che was having a slight fever and sore throat.

We left the house at 5am to pickup Tita Gay and Mama and then proceeded to NLEX. Traffic was smooth and free. We were so lucky coz we managed to get help from a friendly motorcycle rider. We virtually followed him all the way through until we reached 8 Waves which was just along the Dona Remedios Trinidad (DRT) Highway, Ulingao, San Rafael, Bulacan.

The requisite photo-op near the entrance. Behind us is Whalee.


We got there at 7:30am, but since the rides don't open until 9am, we decided to have brunch right inside the revo. We folded up the seats and opened the doors. Walah! An instant diner. If you look closely at the pic, you'll see what we had: adobong manok (courtesy of mama), sweet longganisa, adobong kangkong with oyster sauce, salted eggs and tomatoes.


Here's the open revo with us inside. As we were near the entrance, lots of folks saw us eat!


The cottage we got to house our stuff. It was quite windy in this place. There's plenty of trees and shade. It's so easy to fall asleep! The huts are very nice. Later in the afternoon, all the cottages were taken and the latecomers had to content themselves with monobloc tables and chairs. It's shady, but then you still need to follow the shade as the soon moves and continuously move your tables, chairs and stuff.


Here's a shot of the kids at the wavepool - 8 waves' biggest attraction.


Posing at one of the kiddie pools with fishies where the 4 had a lot of fun.


Me at the deepend of the wave pool. You know it's at the deepend where only a few brave souls dare to go. Since it's so crowded, a common scenario when a new bunch enters the pool is that they all want to go where it isn't crowded and proceed to charge in front saying "dami tao dito, tara! doon tayo sa harap". And then they discover it's too deep for them to stand on and say "malalim! balik na, balik!".


Posing with the wave pool in the background.


A pic of the kids in another kiddie pool with Noah's Ark in the background. Renz spent a lot of time by himself and with the other kids in this area. There were other pools but we didn't spend to much time in them. There was a lap pool but of corz nobody used them for lap swimming. It's in the shade (like another bubble pool) and so those there apparently didn't want the sun. There were also high-presure water massagers coming from the trunks of mock elephants.


We had lunch inside a small lean-to just near the revo.


After lunch, we bought souvenir t-shirts on sale at less than Php200 each. All totaled Php810. To view more pictures from the 8 Waves Waterpark, click here.

At around 4pm we started getting ready to pack up. There were open showers and mixed dressing stalls made of aluminum sheets. My observations on resorts like this as compared to beaches are as follows:

1. There's certainly a lot of variety in resort - waves, kiddie pools, etc. I mean, all you get in a beach is the water and sand, not much else.
2. Swimming attire is strictly enforced so there's more orderliness.
3. Plenty of lifeguards. The wavepool had 4 I think and they rotate among the pools. I heard over the news that a 5-year old girl surnamed Masula drowned in a Boracay beach and the parents blamed the lack of lifeguards.
4. Of course the resort has an artificial feel to it compared to a beach where you get fantastic views of nature for pictorials.

Overall, we had a fun day! The resort was pretty strict with the attire. I mean they had posters everywhere especially at the entrance as to what proper attire is. At the wavepool, 2 Indian women had to cut off their sleeves coz sleeves werent' allowed. A common attire for some women was to wear 2-piece suits and then wear shorts. For men, a lot of them just let it all hang out, coz shirts were not allowed.

Except for a missing mestiza girl named Em-em in the afternoon (paged many times), everything was in order thnx probly to some soldiers and police manning the resort. On the way home, we bought a couple of seedless watermelons.

Che and Karen's Munsci Field Trip

Mar.29, Thursday:
Girl asked me if I was the owner. I said no. She asked if I pay. I said no. So you must be the owner. Can we shower now?

Mar.30, Friday:
What a mayhem. HS students. So loud that I couldn't hear my radio. Jelo was there. Crying, unwilling to go jump. He's just a little bigger now. Was crying to be taken out.

Mar.31, Saturday:
Che and Karen had their school Field Trip. We took them to the buses near the school coz Che was bringing a cooler. Here's one of their many pasalubongs, yummy buko pie. It's the first time for me to taste this kind of buko pie which has sweet syrup inside. Here's what's left of the pie bought at Dely's Pasalubong.


Apr.1, Sunday:
Palm Sunday. Front right tire was checked and a screw pulled out. Must've been when we passed by the road behind the Everbest hardware. That's where we took a shortcut for Renz's graduation. I didn't expect to see so many people attending mass at the mall. There's more people there than at our church!

Apr.2, Monday:
Nobody else swimming today.