[New Book] Charity book drive finds

I chanced upon the book drive organized in our office, and of course I couldn't resist digging around for interesting titles. It was a bit tough, though. The setup was chaotic, and I could feel my inner OCD struggling to get free in order to organize the books. Obviously I had to restrain myself lest earn the wrath of the staff spouses (a.k.a. the organizers). 

Tough as it was to dig through the pile, I still managed to score these two coffeetable books: Doug Scott, Himalayan Climber, and Mike Harding's Footloose in the Himalaya.

Ein

My life just got a whole lot furrier when this little rascal arrived last Friday. Everyone, meet Ein!

Ein is short for Josepfine, her registered name. Ask her Ukrainian breeder why that spelling. Anyway, we decided to keep the name since it's pretty close to Ein, the name of the hyper-intelligent Pembroke Welsh Corgi in Cowboy Bebop (which got me interested in corgis in the first place). 

Go Climb A Rock!

Last Saturday I put my training to the test and joined a "novice" and "fun" competition in Power Up Tandang Sora (or TS). I've been going to TS regularly now for the past month (plus the occasional mountain rockstar sessions), and I can feel some progress on my overall strength. Besides, they said it's a fun event, so no pressure to win (as if I would!).

38th UP Mountaineers Anniversary

There was a whole lot of running last weekend, as we celebrated the 38th year since the UP Mountaineers was founded. Six individuals got together during the summer of 1977 and decided to start an outdoor organization based in the UP Diliman campus. Despite being at the height of Martial Law--where going up the mountains mean something else--their application for university recognition was approved, much to their surprise. The rest is mountaineering history.

UPM-SAR Training at ROX

Last night's quick but heavy downpour nearly put Metro Manila into a standstill. Lucky for us, the stretch of C5 on the way to ROX High Street was surprisingly clear of vehicles, so I made it to the UPM-Search and Rescue (UPM-SAR) training (I found out that Katipunan was knee-deep in flood so very few cars could pass all the way to C5).

Rainy season is upon us, and what happened last night is a clear sign that Metro Manila is f**ked once a major disaster happens. If a brief rain shower like that could cause chaos, what more a massive typhoon or worse, a major earthquake? Which is why the SAR training is even more relevant than ever.

new recruits for the UPM-SAR Team (photo: Ninoy Leyran)