Mockery

The Municipality of Liloan hosted the Xterra yesterday. I could not help but note (and learn from a participant himself, also a friend) the despicable attitude of the people towards cyclists. I never experienced this in other places except in Liloan and Consolacion (probably it happens in other places too except that I ride here more often). First, people are overly critical of cyclists. A lot of times that I have gone downhill after a climb, I would hear those jobless idiots shout at me, "pag-hinay oi" (slow down). Dear loser, I am not going fast. I wouldn't want to ride recklessly. I have a job, a girl-friend, and I just turned 23. I would not do anything that would put my life and consequently that of others and your kids in danger.

Second, they enjoy mocking cyclists. An old woman remarked of my friend who came in second to the last on the bike yesterday, "Last na siya dong? Kaluoy pud" (is he the last rider? What a pity). Third is schadenfreude. They love seeing others in misfortune. They think of cyclists as actors in their world of low-rate slap-stick comedy. And they have no qualms about exaggerating just so they can laugh at cyclists. One time I got off my bike because my chain dislodged and I guy from a distance hurriedly gathered his friends and shouted at me "haha! natumba" (haha! he fell off). So they think that getting off your bike seat in the most normal way is just the same with falling over.

Fourth, they are not afraid to curse you. Yesterday, a group of kids asked, no "told," my friend to give them his water bottle. He wouldn't because he needed it to finish Xterra. The kids got disappointed and wished that he would fall down. They also said "kapoy no? gaba" (it's tiring, no? you deserve it"). It's a shame that this enmity towards mountain bikers (and probably cyclists in general) extend from the adults, to the kids, and even to people in their prime.

I haven't even mentioned the daily mocking that I get from habal-habal (motorcycle) drivers at Capulay, the market intersection I have to pass through to get to our place. They are there all they long read to mock. I could not figure out why because I have never engaged in any conversation with anyone of them. So what's the point of what they're doing? Still, I love to ride and no amount of mockery can keep me from riding. 

Now that Liloan is becoming a popular host of outdoor events, the local government should start educating the people around here. They hosted the previous Xterra off-road triathlon and before this year's edition, they hosted the Columbia trail run. I think a simple "respect cyclists and runners" sign in some places should do enough.

Mockery is a sign of lack of education. It is one's way of degrading others so one would feel superior. This is a video of Olympic athlete Derek Redmond. Surrounded by an educated crowd who have a true understanding of what being an athlete is about, he is able to send one of the strongest messages of inspiration in sports history. Redmond was injured at the middle of his run. He stopped for a while and limped towards finish, aided by his father. Inspiration, beyond the meagre grasp of words. If it happened here, would it have the same meaning to the spectators?

Here's to Family Computers

The world of video games is a perfect place to find some sense of accomplishment if you cannot find it anywhere else in life. I contrived world where there are only self-imposed expectations and no real consequences. I devoted a good part of my childhood trying to master the art of leaping over turtles and mushrooms, and making dragons fall into a flaming lake that does not move. Spent a good time trying to rescue a flute-toting princess while she is held captive by ninjas—going through an entire host of hostile enemies and a fire-blasting, faceless Vietcong. In case you are not a family computer geek, those are references to Super Mario and Legend of Kage. 

Back then, there were no “saves” and “cheats” were minimal. It’s either you spend an entire day trying to “survive” a game or be permanently condemned to repeating stage one every time. Of course, being the Sisyphus of Video Games is not the title anybody wants so if you have played family computer before, you probably know the number home works you did not tell your parents about just so you get that extra hour you need to get to the next level. And, of course, you know that those home works are cosmological in numbers, so were the hours you spent at dawn or midnight sneaking your fingers into those joysticks. 

Graphics were minimal back then, so a lot was left to the imagination. Regardless, those games were packed with the adrenaline of making or breaking. These days, our video game adrenaline is completely dependent on the amount of gore and the hope that the girl character we are playing RPG with is actually a girl and she lives in the same town. 

Levels and stages and titles are given because manufacturers are aware that they give some sense of accomplishment to the gamer. But today this need is over-exploited, which explains why there are hundreds of different stages and infinite number of badges out there for grabs.

Recently, my parents bought a “China version” of family computer from a popular department store in Mandaue City. I realized that it’s called “family” computer for a reason—it actually gave me a lot of bonding time with my sister and younger cousin. Being from China, sweet China, it did not last long so I’m back to this personal computer (which is actually a laptop, whatever) doing stuffs that we can’t scream about, stuffs that does not make us flail the joystick all over the place just so our character can reach the next landing. There’s no “hurrah for this new comment” or “you almost finished that comment, let’s try again better next time.” 

While I am at this, allow me to share the sense of superiority I get from kicking the brains out of my bot opponents at FIFA 99. I chose a team with a huge transfer fund, played perpetually in the “amateur” level, turned off the offside rule, so a lot of games have ended with Rugby scores (to my favor, solely, as I care not for how these random binary codes feel).

Keep out of position, only one way for the ball to go.

Penalty kick, he's a dead keeper.

I wonder how I made him pass all the defenders.

Spot kick, keeper guessed it wrong.

Left or right, high or low, how far left, how far right, how high, how low, a keeper's mind is a bagful of dilemmas.

Penalty!

Our body will never be as fast as our eyes.

Precarious...

So strong, the keeper did not have the chance to dive.

Anticipating the ball for a header.

It's not football if there is no martial arts involved.

"Life is not fair, neither should be sports." That's a goal to me, but no go says the ref.

Guy in blue is me. Ball went it because of the tackle. lol.

Penalty, it lives up to its name on the keeper's end.

Oh well...

Super onside pass.

I heard that's called aggression.

Walking the dawg.

Ran-dom

People who experience it most talk about it least. I have friends who always ride like they’ve just bought their bicycle and they barely post about it.

I’ve dropped a 1k bill today. I hope the guy who found it isn’t into drugs or I’d be part of the crime. Don’t ask where I’ve lost it. If I did I wouldn’t have lost it, right?

One of this week’s hot issues is the cutting of trees by SM Baguio for its expansion. The management recently denied it, saying they’d just “ball it out.” Thanks to Wikipedia and its non-blackout today, I found out it means they are just digging up the trees and move them somewhere else. Mallers and trees don’t mix, it seems. They did this same thing at Plaza Independencia here in Cebu. I don’t really care, I just need an excuse to post this photo.

Regardless of “cutting off” or “balling out” trees, it still means the same to environmental "advocates": them pips are messing around with nature and it is a bad, bad stuff to do. But in legal stuff, how you put things on paper matter a lot. Okay, “cutting off” and “balling out” are totally different. But let’s go into this related issue of semantics since I haven’t really applied what I’ve learned in college and I’d like to take this opportunity…Actually, laziness just struck me so I’ll just say our case in point would be the insurance dispute on the world trade center attack(s). Do the Google work for me.

The Boss and I had a 6-day trip to Luzon last year and despite being short, we’ve been to a lot of places and I can’t seem to finish posting the photos. If being trigger happy on a camera could kill, we’ve officially committed Holocaust.

If you want to see what beauty contests look like in the ‘60s, go to the Victory Liner Terminal in Baguio. It’s just along Session Road extension. They also have lots of photos of old school buses. They’re really cool. Reminds me a lot of my childhood in Bukidnon. I used to see a lot of Chevrolet trucks with their stout masculine noses haul sugar cane.

My first attempt at being a lolcat.

Strangling the Immortal.

Volkswagen at Tam-awan Village. Time hitched a ride on this one.

It's a little too late to submit your entry now.

Camping Gears for Osmeña Peak

Paging Chyrel Gomez, James Tan, and Lester:

The first and only time I camped was during Scouting, about ten years ago. So most probably this will be a disaster. But what da hell. Our existence is disaster enough. Here are some camping gears I "think" we could use:

tent
ground tarp under the tent
sleeping bag
pillow
flashlight
trash bag
rope
first aid kit (optional, just don't break your neck or something)
camping knife/multi-tool
mugs (not sure about this, maybe you don't have to. there's probably starbucks at the peak)
food (can be bought at the market. we can dine at some karenderia to minimize our waste at the campsite)
snacks
booze (it's so up to you)
canteen/water bottle
shoes/sandals (no, not those sponge bob bedroom slippers)
warm clothing for the night, comfortable clothes for two days
matches/lighter
porn mag (optional)

We will head for Dalaguete at 8am. There is a bus that goes directly to Mantalogon but I prefer we ride Ceres then hop on habal-habal to our destination. It is more convenient: more convenience means less fatigue.

There is a plan for a Kawasan traverse. But I do not know the route and Google earth shows nothing but clouds on the Osmeña Peak part. We might, if there are other people going. But then again, we can always guess our way to the other side.

Shattered thoughts

My boss, Chyrel Gomez, during the AFC Challenge Cup Phils. vs Mongolia game in Bacolod. She is not yet my employer at this time. (Photo stolen with permission)

Yesterday my shin got hit when I tried to block a shot. I thought they'd shatter (that's exaggeration). But here are some real shattered stuffs, my thoughts about the game:

Neil Etheridge dove for a ball 10 yards off target. It was already out of bounds when he put a palm on it. Guess the guy was just rehearsing a youtube vid on how to dive for a ball 10 yards off target.

At least Sri Lankans really look like Sri Lankans.

Any team that can play football with a heart despite being down 4-0 in the 90th minute deserve some like page on Facebook.

Sometimes I’m still confused between Phil Younghusband and Dr. Phil

What looks like a British, walks like a British, and talks like a British? A Filipino footballer.

Nathanielsz is the man of the match for keeping his mouth shut until the end of the match. Last time he made me feel like I was watching a boxing match and I almost expected the two keepers to run to the middle and throw punches at each other.

Tuna sales expected to skyrocket after Azkals game.

Angel guirado shows why he's our favorite player

James proves why he deserves more commercials than Phil

A Sri Lankan player gave away a penalty. No question, it is indeed a penalty. But Shrock deserved a two-legged, studs-up tackle just to shake that (German?) arrogance off him. Too bad the Sri Lankan lowered his boots down and bent his knees before collision.

Nobody told me Bobby Nalzaro has taken up the coaching job for the Azkals.

Hug the moon's roundness

That was cheesy. I was just thinking of doing a night motorbike ride. It's hard to find motorbike friends. There are many of them but those people talk about nothing except motorcycles. I wanna do motorcycling without talking about motorcycling.