blogging rights: the best 5 minutes of your life

This is my blog, And i am left, or in the center, of the blogging rights. lame Martin.
I know. But let me administer the blogging rites.
Awful.You're risking a real blogging riot here.
Just a little note to readers.
I’m interested to know a bit about you. Like at least where you’re from or based.
Just click on my private email: martin's email
In the subject box - put in town/city, (province/state), country where you live.
then click send.

You can add a few notes if you like.

Are you a relative, acquaintance, friend, neighbour, kailian, ka-igorot, kabayan, Australian, martian, venusian, northern rivers denizen? etc.
Do you read this blog once a week, month, or when alerted, referred, linked?

And i’d also like some feedback or comments from you about my blog.

You could also fill out below a bucket list which i have watered down. It’ll only cost you 5 mins. But you’ll never get it back. No refunds here.

Tick or untick, and send it to your friends (including me).
( x) Shot a gun
( ) been on a blind date
( ) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
( x ) Been to Baguio/Benguet
( x ) Been to Ifugao
( x ) Been to Bontoc/Mountain Province
( x ) Been to Abra
( x ) Been to Kalinga
( ) Been to Apayao
( x ) Been to Mainit
( x ) Been to Mt Vanjilaan, mt mayon, mt sto tomas
( x ) Seen the Sagada burial caves
(x) Seen Banaue rice terraces
( x ) Seen Mainit rice terraces
(x) Been on the mountain trail (halsema highway)
( x ) rode a vehicle ‘topload’
(x) Seen the hundred islands
( ) Seen mt coot-tha, mt everest, mt Kosciusko, mt ommaney
(x) been to the philippines
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a ship
( ) Served on a jury
(x) Been lost
( x ) Been on the opposite side of the country
( x) swam a river. which river?
(x) Swam in the ocean
( ) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
(x) Played cowboys/girls and Indians
(x) Recently coloured with crayons
( ) Sung Karaoke
( ) Paid for a meal with coins only?
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't?
( x ) Made prank phone calls..
( ) Laughed until some kind of fluid came out of your nose.
( x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain.
( ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) hanged a sock out for santa
( ) believe in santa
( ) believe in ufo’s
( x) believe in climate change
(x) Written a letter you wished you didn’t
(x) sent an email you wished you didn’t
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe-
(x) Watched the sunrise/sunset with someone.
( ) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
( ) Gone snow skiing
(x) Camped out under the stars.
(x) Seen something so beautiful that it took your breath away?
(x) Are or have been Married?
(x) Children?
(x) Have or had a Pet?
(x) Been skinny dipping outdoors
(x) Been fishing
(x) Been boating
( ) Been water skiing
(x) Been hiking
( ) Been camping
( ) Flown in a small 4-seater airplane -
( ) Flown in a glider
( ) Flown in a helicopter
( ) Been flying in a hot air balloon -
( ) Been bungee-jumping ?
(x) Gone to a drive-in movie
( ) Done something that should have killed you -
( ) Done something that you will probably regret for the rest of your life
( x ) Joined a fun run
( ) competed in elite sport
( ) This blog is funny, cool, interesting, boring, silly, etc
Oh, you can add to the list too.

1. Any nicknames? Mart, Marty, Marto, Poli or Polly
2. Partner's name? commander
3. Favorite drink? Water :-)
4. five people you’d like to have dinner with?
5. Tattoos? none
6. How much do you love your job? Out of 10 I'll give it 8
7. Birth place? Sagada (birthspot is St Theodore's hospital)
7b. Hometown. Hotville, MP
7c. Current residence. Woodburn, NSW
7d. How often do you visit your hometown? Every 4-5 yrs.
8. Favourite vacation spot?
9. Been to Africa, America (north/south), Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe
10. Ever had nothing for a meal? Or just rice (and water) for a meal?
11. Ever been on TV? In a movie? Yep stood on my ole tv set, and been to the movies.
12. Ever steal any traffic signs or anything?
13. Ever been in a car accident? Yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Don’t even own one
15. Favourite number(S)
16. Favourite movie(s)?
17. Favourite holiday?
18. Favourite dessert?
19. Where do you see yourself in 10 years? I reckon i’ll still be seeing myself in the mirror...
20. Farthest place you will send this message to? cyber space
21. Who will respond to this the fastest? Not usain bolt

november reading list

“Fallen leaves lying on the grass in the November sun bring more happiness than the daffodils” Cyril Connolly (English critic and editor, 1903-1974)

This set i think’s on the way to the returns bin. They’re all overdue and now accumulating fines for poor poor pitiful me. Except for the ‘running’ book and the ‘back-breaking’ book and the fruit & vegies book and the wild American, i’m thinking i skimmed through the stuff before. maybe. not sure?

Must be the onset of old age.

Dawkins' latest book received positive critical reviews and also some negative comments.

A couple of cds here too but not much to choose from. There's 2 or 3 okay tunes by Fogerty, but I’d rather listen to the blues...

Altho that running book taught me one thing: “eat less move more”. Sounds like a good motto. If only i read it when i was in my 20s. Then i wouldn’t have this back problem to be worrying about. I might just go home and plant camote, or fruits and vegies.

That wild American Kristofferson has a lot to do with it. like him am still running from my devils... “move more eat less”. Okay. i hear there’s a mountain fun-run somewhere. Or is that over and done with.

Oh yeah been there done that. I told you i was young once.

“When chill November's surly blast make fields and forest bare.” Robert Burns (Scottish national Poet of Scotland, 1759-1796)

Growing a moustache can make one forget to pay bills and mortgages and debts and other necessary modern evils.
So it is that this next pile of books remains unread.

Stephen Hawking's history book remains a must read, and to reread every now and then.

A book by an Englishwoman Fern Elsdon-Baker attempts to balance the shrill commentary from the writings of Richard Dawkins, by offering a thorough impartial and enlightening perspective.

Women do have wit. And some have wit more wicked than others. As a playwright said: "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". Plenty of evidence of that. In the little red book here. and no it's not Mao's.

Samuel Clemens continues to entertain to this day.

An autobiography by David Suzuki provides an insight on his influences and what shaped the career and life  of Canada’s foremost environmentalists.

The Italian intellectual and novelist Umberto Eco appreciates beauty and writes on it so beautifully, and i can only ohh and ahh and not um but to echo.

There are pearls of wisdom found in the centuries-old 'art of the samurai'. Hai.

Ford county by Grisham is a collection of short stories. To fill in the time - if you’ve got time to kill. He won’t mind that will he?

Billy Bragg is an English singer-songwriter who put his thoughts to paper. The result is a book that is an eye-opener for those of us who haven’t been to England, or even to those who have been there and live there but are somehow deaf and blind to other than mainstream news and entertainment.

Let’s see now the mo looks ugly marto bro.

gasfields at the crossroads

The Western Downs region is a hive of activity and growth and is among the highest local government performers in Queensland and Australia. Over the past five years the electorate has experienced an increase in population, reversing the trend of rural decline. Businesses have diversified into the energy sector although agriculture, forestry and fishing dominate the economy, representing 22.6% of the region's $1.3 billion GDP. The energy resources sector, which comprises coal, coal seam gas, coal seam gas water, ethanol and power station development, will significantly increase the gross regional product. this growing economy reflects low unemployment figures of 3.1%, well below Queensland and Australian averages.

So one day in Spring i headed out west where the rain don’t fall (sounds like a song – it is a song!)

got a job with a company piping for gas..

Into the sunset we rode – driving towards the setting sun in the late afternoon is a dangerous thing, so we drive carefully, as the goldfields -pardon me- gasfields beckon.

video: up and down the toowoomba range
(this video is like driving up on a fresh january day from Saitan to Baguio on the Zigzagging Kennon Road. the mist on the uphill drive is reminiscent of camp 7 all the way to the BGH in the olden days when there were still pine trees standing)

That’s Gowrie Mountain west of Toowoomba – gateway to the western downs.

Dairs gold in dem dar - er gas beyond dem hills.

Nestled in the heart of the Western Downs, the Chinchilla district is a small, but thriving community which has progressed from a rural based economy to the now dynamic region where coal and gas exploration and power station development projects go hand-in-hand with extensive feedlots, cotton and broad-acre farming.
A linear irrigator watering broad acres of farm fields, seemingly in vain.

The economy is still largely reliant on primary production including intensive livestock industries as agriculture, beef and pork production, wool growing, horticulture and timber resources.

After a stop-over for some supplies (drinks- softdrinks only. oh and milk) in Chinchilla, we continue on down the road south by southwest (sounds like a movie), towards Tara and the town built on the banks of the mighty Condamine.

Many of the attractions of the district may be observed just by driving along. These include an amazing variety of bird life and flora. A highlight are the White Gums, either as a lone magnificent tree or standing proudly in a group of three or four, on the dry river beds-

As in the banks of the once mighty Condamine river (here shown in its driest for some time).

or around the edges of strings of lagoons, which after good rain are transformed into wet paradise for birds and wildlife.

Adding to the diversity are large specimens of Prickly Pear.

Vegetation ranges from brilliant yellow flowers of the wattle tree to dry spinifex rolling lazily across the countryside. One can come across some of the rare and common flora and fauna.

Along with common trees such as the narrow leaf tea tree, smooth bark cabbage gum, spotted gum and bull oak, Woolly Oak, Budgeroo, Yellow jackets, Broad and Narrow leafed Ironbarks. you will also come across the rare Woollybark Eucalypt. Tall reeds and lush grass surround serene lagoons perfectly reflecting the overhanging majestic blue gums and scented leptospermum. 60 different Wattles found in the district including the rare Hando's Wattle, which is endemic to the area. Black Cypress and the better quality timber producer White Cypress is common throughout the forest areas.
A short journey down the other way will lead to historic landmarks such as the dingo barrier fence.
The Rabbit Fence can also be seen in various locations.

Where we’re headed though is the gasfields.
These gasfields may be on the crossroads, but not at the crossroads.
They’re in ‘The Crossroads’ a locality of the western downs regional council, named after a crossroads. This place is smack bang in the middle of nowhere and bounded by Chnichilla (north), Kogan (east), Tara (south) and Condamine (west). In the few weeks i’ve spent here, and i travel up to 100kms a day, i’ve only seen the two or three homesteads.

One can see many more road trains than houses. Here they're in a convoy - a conga line to condamine he he.

These are the ‘shorter’ road trains – only 36m long.

Chinchilla is ideally situated in the middle of the Surat Basin - a coal-rich area that stretches from Toowoomba to beyond Roma - and for the past three years has seen major growth and development.
A number of energy companies are active in the areas surrounding Chinchilla in their quest for coal seam gas for use in gas-fired power stations, as gas suppliers for the domestic and export markets, or for gas-to-liquid projects.

These companies are all major players in the energy industry.

Some of the place names under exploration and development around the vicinity of The Crossroads have strange sounding names: Argyle-Kenya, Berwyndale, Tipton West, Daandine, Braemar, Talinga etc.

So where are we staying? The Condamine bell?

No silly that’s just for a drink, we’re booked in camp.

Too much gas talk Marty.
let’s get back to work.
Okay that’s a job pre-start meeting.

Have we signed in yet? No cos i might get a random blood-alcohol test.

Following the pipeline crews can be a tricky business.
One time we tagged along behind cultural heritage officers. These are usually local aboriginals.
They showed some of the stone artefacts they were collecting.

Here’s one such collection under a scar tree.
(A scar maybe from the taking of the bark to make canoes and coolamons, marking out a boundary area, marking a sacred burial site or other traditional purpose.This is very significant in that it defines Aboriginal occupation of Australia for over 40,000 years. Scar trees are evidence of native title and helped demolish the concept of ‘terra nullius’).

And why are they collecting these artefacts?

Because these gasfields are identified Aboriginal cultural heritage areas and they are under threat by pipelines and the machines that come to dig them up – all in the name of development - to keep this fuel hungry world running.
Until our climate has changed enough to incinerate us all to kingdom come.
But if we keep denying it enough, maybe climate change is a myth.

Hey i just work here. What would i know about anything.
All right check it out then. Stand on that post Mr Postman.

Now tell me is the earth warming or not?
Dunno but the pipes are heating up.
They’re expanding.

Martin i expected better from you. What did you deliver? Duds?
No dude. Talking hot air again. I need to cool my head.
Let’s chill out in chinchilla.
This is a blurb:
So there you go folks, chill out in chinchilla.

If you've never seen anyone split open 40 watermelons in 60 seconds using nothing but, well... their own melon, you should probably come to the Chinchilla Melon Festival.
Known as the ‘Melon Capital’ of Australia, Chinchilla produces a quarter of Australia’s melons and celebrates the fact biennially in February.
The big news from the last festival was that John Allwood broke 40 melons with his head in one minute for the Guinness World Record (previous was 36).

Okay shall we go meet some locals.
Locals? Out here? Yep.
We’ve been to Chinchilla, Condamine and Kogan. Let’s check out Tara.
What’s her name's from there - Vivien.
Oh you’re really silly.
It’s Scarlet who’s from Tara.
Okay, she might think i’m Rhett with this moustache.
Not Rhett it’s Clark.
And that's Gable not Kent...

you've lost me Martin.
you truly are a hopelessly lost romantic.
you've come with the dust
and are gone with the wind...
(sounds like a song too).

hard times in work camp

Life in a work camp is alright at the best of times.

But often the prolonged absence from loved ones (if one has them) or just the departure from the mundane and the daily routine that one has come to get used to, can be very taxing.

Here’s some snapshots of living in camp.

Daily before the rooster crows, one is roused from his slumber by an alarm of sorts whether from a clock, radio, phone or even body clock.

After a quick ablution, it is then time to head to the mess for some breakfast.

On the way there you could pause to just gaze and admire the sunrise.

There’s not much by way of food in camp.

Breakfast usually consists a few spare choices.

Hot foods are bacon and all sorts of eggs, hash browns, sausages, baked beans, spaghetti, pancakes, and sometimes rehashed left-over dinner, etc.

Cold foods are a choice of about 8-10 cereals,

or toast from abt 6 choices of breads.

Beverages are either coffee or teas.

For cold drinks, there’s a choice between fresh fruit juice or cordial softdrink.
I don’t have a photo of the fridges but these are full of milks of all types as well as yoghurts and butters and margarines and...

I didn’t even have a look at what’s in them fridges – maybe they’re hiding the daing and tuyo there. That’s why am not happy – there’s no pandesal even.

After breakfast or before, one can pack lunch from an assortment of cold foods, salads, frozen pies, sandwiches etc.

Cold foods choices are salami, chicken, ham, beef cuts etc.

There’s also garnishes as olives, sundried tomato, tuna, pickles etc.
Salads are normally include fresh green garden salad, cucumber, beetroot, carrots, cheeses, cut boiled eggs and bacon pieces, a pasta dish or two etc.

Sadly not a balut in sight.

Frozen foods include factory processed pies, sausage rolls etc. There’s also various condiments and spreads for sandwiches or smoko. (I looked there’s no ice buko or halo-halo).

So with the esky filled with 3 or 4 or 5 lunchboxes (i don’t know about them but there’s something missing here), and 3 or 4 or more pices of fruit, one is then ready for a big day at work.

I know. They don’t have sardinas, or adobo or lechon.

I might go on strike – maybe a hunger strike.

Sweets are either fresh-baked cakes with icing, muffins, or other delights such as gelatine or jelly. Freshly sliced fruit such as rockmelon, honeydew, pineapple, kiwi fruit, and grapes.

My favourite is the locally grown watermelon from the nearest town Chinchilla, only a half-hour’s drive away.

Fresh whole fruit are also in store by the boxful. 

Well-known other Queensland rock fruit such as apples and pears are aplenty as are oranges mandarins and bananas.

That's a typical packed lunch for me above - very spartan.

I’ll post some notes on work later but for now let’s assume the lads and ladettes had a big 12 or more hours of toil out in their respective worksites.

So around sunset to nightfall, the crews start filing in from the field.

Some will go straight for a coldie, others for a shower, the odd ironman to do laundry, some might even drive out to town, still a few will attend to a bit of paperwork, while others go to the gym, rec room (ping-pong or pool), or tv (paytv sports etc) or computer room (internet surfing). 

But around dinner time, there will be a constant to-ing and fro-ing to-and-from the mess hall.

Here everyone knows everyone er on a nodding acquaintance level. There would be at least 40 people in the mess hall at peak dinner time, but sometimes it can be to full capacity of about 60 or more people.

Dinner is usually the big meal for most in camp. And to break the monotony of food, every night has a different main menu.

But every night there’s choices of at least three meat dishes and steaks as standard, spaghetti pasta rice potato or breadrolls are the staples relegated to the side, as well as soup and vegetables.

Friday nights always has fish and seafood as part of the main menu.

Saturday night is barbeque night. Still buffet style. choices of abt 6 mains. Eat all you can.
Sometimes drinks are served. Drink all you can.

Desserts are normally cakes puddings custard sauces and toppings etc.

After dinner – i think everyone feels like they’ve had the lion’s share – people would settle down to some well-deserved drinks or coffee or tea, or milk for growing boys like me he he.

I’m despondent actually, where’s the pinikpikan, or dineng-deng with bago-ong or alamang?

I’m seriously thinking about a strike action – maybe a stop-work.

There’s also a choice of about six flavours of ice cream and the same toppings as chocolate or other.

Cones are provided but i like mine in bulk – tubs he he.

So with a heavy heart for having to leave all that food behind, and with a heavy tummy, i start back to my unit.
Still dreaming of the avocado-flavored sorbetes and/or pinipig.

Here’s some photos of camp:

There’s at least a hundred self-contained units in camp.

Each has a bed and desk,

fridge and tv set,

toilet and shower,

and it’s fully air-conditioned.

All that’s missing now is a special someone, but then night visits are not allowed.

Pity about that. what about inmates' rights?
But maybe the groaning and moaning might disturb the peace and quiet and the local amenity.

Martin forgets that he’s here to work and not otherwise.
Must be something in the water -
or the milk eh...

Movember 2009 Mt Coot-tha Mousdash

Movember (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Movember (a portmanteau of the words 'Moustache' and 'November'), is an annual month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November. The event has been claimed to have been invented in 1999 by group of Australian men from Adelaide.
Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has run Movember events to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression, in Australia and New Zealand. In 2007, events were launched in Ireland, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The Mousdash Mt Coot-tha Fun Run is in support of Movember.

Last weekend, i took a break from work to take part in the 10.5 km Mt Coot-tha run. At work camp I worked between 12-14 hours a day so i had very little preparation let alone training for this event. And since I had a sort of shaggy facial hair to pass for a 'tash, and also my workmates kept asking me, i thought why not. I did the 10km bridge-to-brisbane a few months back and that wasn’t too bad.
bridge to brisbane

So early last Sunday morning, i turned up at the start line not knowing what was in store.

When i found out it was a mountain run, my heart sank. I thought it was around the base of, not up and then down a mountain. Well i was there so might as well give it a go.

There was around 650-700 participants.

From the get go i realised i was mixing with the wrong crowd.

These mousdashers are mostly elite runners and athletes.

I started near the front of the pack but everyone kept going past me.

That’s me leading the race, i mean the bottom half of the race. And then the photographer disrupted my rhythm. (nice tash Mart.)

I plodded on regardless. But i’ll spare you all the gory detail. Like how i literally crawled up the mountain (and i thought i was a mountaineer), jogged along the ridges and just managed to tumble downhill and labored the final 1.5km flat section to the finish.

I wanted to stop for coffee at the park, but i forgot my thermos. (That park looks familiar.)
see side trips: mt-coot-tha

It felt like like the sun was setting when i finished. The marshalls were ready to pack up and reopen the road.

The man’s sign said it all: I conquered Mt Coot-tha. Now i know how Edmund Hilary felt when he conquered Everest :-). Close enough ain’t it?

Below are the results. Aside from the elite athletes, there's two other kinds of people that put me to shame: the older than me 55 yrs +, and the young teenagers. The oldest runner (76yo) and the youngest (12yo) easily beat me.
I did beat a few 60+ yrs old, and a couple of young teeners too :-).



Mousdash Mt Coot-tha Fun Run 2009
November 15, 2009
Results By intraining race Management Systems, Inc.

Place Name Bib No Age Time Martin's comment

1 GEOFF BERKELEY 9665 40 38:55.0 First

2 Benjamin Duffus 8919 17 39:39.6 Second

3 David Loader 9105 45 40:39.0 Third

14 Colin Bray 8816 56 43:49.0

24 Nicholas Scarponi 9432 14 45:10.0

28 Daniel Small 9458 15 45:34.8

54 Robert Gunningham 9007 56 48:00.9

62 Martin P 9218 28 48:29.0 Katoks (namesake)

73 jim buchanan 9666 76 49:05.5 Oldest Participant

132 Russell Mehmet 9151 60 52:24.1

167 Daniel Manning 9117 12 54:07.1 Youngest Participant

173 Barry Euler 8937 59 54:32.2

197 Unknown Partic. 9652 55:38.3

207 Ulrich Dr. Chill 8915 66 56:03.3 He was steaming

250 John Heather 9028 62 57:48.5

263 James Bazzo 8777 61 58:33.6

268 Peter Anderson 8761 63 58:52.2

300 Cyrus Dickie 8908 29 59:53.8 Serious Cyrus

305 J Leggett 9098 48 1:00:06.8 J legged it

309 Fred Peters 9223 69 1:00:18.8

333 Tienie Junius 9066 58 1:01:37.2

338 Marek Fuks 8964 27 1:01:49.3 good on you Marek

373 M Polichay 9819 43+ 1:03:50.0

The best of the rest

399 Andrew S 9519 59 1:04:44.4

401 James G 8989 58 1:04:53.2

450 Felicja S 9438 60 1:07:10.5

455 Paul C 8849 56 1:07:23.2

468 John H 9023 57 1:08:55.2

469 Eduan J 9059 14 1:08:58.2

478 Edwin C 8854 59 1:10:20.5

490 Alan C 8873 63 1:11:33.4

496 Tony S 9512 59 1:12:24.5

505 Georgina B 8826 12 1:12:48.0

514 Helen M-B 9174 58 1:14:13.8
551 Mahomed K 9077 60 1:18:15.2

581 Greg Mann 9116 63 1:24:51.5

603 Sebastien C 8830 1:47:32.1

604 Sarah P 9213 1:47:35.1

Postscript
Later that day i went to watch Manny Pacquiao give Cotto a boxing lesson. (I think the pacman has enough good-looks to pass for an Igorot).
At the same time Tiger Woods was winning the Australian Masters golf.
I challenge these two young lads to a winner-take-all tournament. They can bring Roger Federer with them. Or Lance Armstrong.
A no-holds barred jolens or siatong with all of these so-called world beaters. I reckon i’ll be a big chance. They haven’t even conquered Mt Coot-tha.

 

hotwired - modes of transport in mainit

The residents and visitors to Chongliyan are spoilt for choice when it comes to transport.
From Bontoc one can catch a fully air-conditioned jeepney that offers 360 degree views fully unimpeded.

Of course that's not the only way of enjoying the wonderful views and scenery going to Mainit.

A popular form of travel is with the sikimobile. This natural vehicle is actually built in as part of the human body. So if one looks closer they'll find two big limbs on the lower part of their body. I think they're called legs. and the bottom parts that touch the ground are called feet.

Sometimes we forget we have these.

And so get on your bike, no get off your butt, and use your sikimobile.

Alright, when the legs get a bit tired, you can give them a rest by hopping on to a nuwang, carabao or water buffalo. Just mind your riding stance as these vehicles don't have seatbelts or reins - that's for horses. Riding a carabao at full tilt going down a hill is a most exhilirating and terrifying experience.

If that's too much excitement for you, you can always go back to the more sedate form - walking. take a hike - literally. you'll feel wonderful. guaranteed 100%.

when you've rested from a good hike, you can then sample disapparation mainit style. find a comfortable place to sit near the boiling hotspring and have a steam bath/ inhalation session for at least a half-hour. By that time you respiratory system will have been cleaned thoroughly. If you have asthma or if you suffer from some breathing ailment, this steam therapy will have done wonders for you. you'll feel like you're in another place.

once your breathing's fully  functional again and your body feels refreshed and invigorated, you have achieved disapparation. how easy is that eh parry hotter.

even healthy people can do with the revitalisation that only the healing power of a mainit hotspring steam session can provide.

after disapparation, you are then ready for teleportation.
to cap off the steam bath, one has to then continue on the journey through Mainit.

Swimming is a mode of transport that people here utilise all the time. in fact most residents swim twice a day - in the early morning and again in the evening. well there's not much to it really. the water's only up to about a half-meter depth, and the pool's not quite olympic size, but close- say 4-5 metres.
enjoy the swim then and when you get to the far bank, you'll feel the best you have in a very long while. maybe feel the cleanest you've been in a long time too. and by the way the pools are heated - naturally of course. just for your swimming pleasure.

After a refreshing morning dip, you can then try another of mainit's methods of conveyance. this is an expensive sport in western societies but of course in Mainit and the Cordillera, it's free. Mountain climbing. I won't bore you too much about climbing mountains as a mode of transport, but just to say that to experience the grandeur of the majestic cordillera mountains and to appreciate the beauty and the art of mainit mountain rice terraces, you should be able to climb or clamber, be nimble as a ballerina and be sure-footed as a goat (you don't need to be one).

To be able to get away from the wild snakes, you might have to be as agile as a monkey (again you don't need to be one - see you can get away with a lot of things in Mainit, very few needs here :-).

No actually this is to gain better vantage points to view Kilong-oraw and Camingmingel and Binandilaan and all those other high peaks of the Cordillera range.

(as an aside Mt Binandilaan was named such after Gen Aguinaldo and his men retreating from the Americans planted the Filipino flag there as a symbol of the resistance to American rule. you see history lessons are here too. only in Mainit. of course the revolutionaries continued on eastwards and came to the infamous Tirad pass, where the resistance lost the ill-fated Gen Del Pilar in a futile effort to ensure Aguinaldo escaped. more historical asides later.)

back to modes of transport, oh yes Aguinaldo and his men had some horses, but the I-Mainit cannot afford the upkeep of these regal beasts.

so they had to resort to climbing. to cut firewood primarily.

and to get topside.

And when you take leave of our village, you're welcome once again to travel in style as only the privileged do - 'topload' style. that's a benefit of climbing for you.

of course due to safety considerations this practice of riding is discouraged and in fact should be made illegal. but the thrill of the cool wind blowing ...

On a high mountain high way,

cool wind in my hair

Warm smell of sweet unas,

rising up through the air

xxxx

Welcome to the hotel cordillera

Such a lovely place

images of bontoc town - for Mme Kristine

Bontoc.

A suspension bridge.

The bontoc-samoki bridge

A sari-sari store.

Bontoc post office.

By the rivers of bontoc town.

At the lookout. A tourist telling the photographer (me) to step back lest i fall down the cliff.

.

images of the cordillera mountains

Hiking Mainit to Bontoc.

The mountain hike from Mainit to Bontoc is one of the pleasures of life.

Somewhere along the road to Guina-ang, you turn back and gaze at the old hometown – and it reminds to come home again soon no matter how far away your feet bring you.

For he who does not look back to his origins will not arrive at his destinations. I believe that’s a Tagalog saying (bad tongues-lation though).

On the road again, wandering lonely as a cloud, and the eyes naturally taken in by beauty, and the mind floats on high o'er vales and terraced hills. All at once we saw a cloud, draped on canyons coming down the misty mountain.

One could almost write poetry like Wordsworth. Or songs like Neil Young.

Ahhh a host of golden pine-clad hills.

Just a little ways past Guina-ang, near a creek flowing down beside ricefields, we take the trail going north, up the mountains. Halfway up the hills, and suddenly you’re in the midst of greenery, the field of dreams – well it’s dreamlike these greenfields of life – precious young rice shoots in full bloom, kissed by the sun.

Up on the mountain ridges the scenery changes from wonderful terraces to endless views of cloud-kissed mountains. Who has seen the wind? Indeed. But when the fragrance whiffs by and trees bow down their heads, the breeze is passing by. This seemingly taken-for-granted bounty is one of the unknown joys of mountain life. One cannot breathe in enough of the freshest air scented and filtered by pine needles.

Maligcong beckons to the north, but what that village has to offer, Mainit has it all. And more.
Of course my cousins from there will disagree, but hey – this is my blog.
So eastward Chongliyan soldier.
Marching off to earn.
With the cross of utang.
going on before.

On the western verge of the town of bontoc, at a high conical mountain peak, giddy travellers pause for one more cup of coffee (brewed from pure springwater and sweetened by inti from the vats of Mainit saknit) before they go to the valley below.

Even a singer-songwriter poet can find inspiration here.

With a heavy heart we bid the mountains adieu and descend back down to the jungles of civilization.

My travelling companion, whose name rhymes with Lourdes or Agnes, wasn’t talking to me much on this hike. She was a bit moody and touchy. But i teased her endlessly beforehand, so...

I mean three photos of her here and not a single smile.

Oh well such is life. When one’s short pale and ugly -

nevermind...

So in Bontoc i took her to her inn. If you know her, please tell her...
If you see her, say hello...

And that evenin’ caught up with friends at a folkhouse, listenin’ to blowin’ in the wind, while drinkin’ gin. Zimmerman said that too. or something like...

images of my hometown - mainit

Mainit sits on the slopes and peaks of the Gran Cordillera Central at the north-western region of Mountain Province.

On a clear summer's day in April say, one can see forever. But even in the middle of a chilly January, the views are breathtaking. Just magic. I haven't seen Switzerland and i'd love to.

But i don't have to.

That's the road snaking south and east to Guina-ang and Bontoc.

With views like this, who needs the alps? and it doesn't cost much. just a few minutes of climbing. you get fit too.

Those are the agamang or rice granaries of Mainit. These are used to store rice grain, salted preserved meats, and wine.

I went 'barhopping' with friends once. I conked out at the second bar :-). Next time i'll try and visist 200 of them.

Thankfully my friends managed to drag me back to home sweet home. that's my 5-star accomodation.
well if you stumble out at night to do a pee, you can see 5 billion stars.
nothing beats that!

watch this space. there'll be more...

the love songs of bob dylan

When you’re lost in the rain in the rainforest
and it’s springingtime too (terrible!)

But absence does make the heart grow fonder. Whether it’s a few days, weeks, months, years or decades.
So in camp for some protracted weeks, and somehow the mind gets to imagining yearning & reminiscing fantasising & daydreaming hoping & pining listing & spinning lusting & sinning drinking & lurching drumming & humming singing (singing? must be the whiskey).
Bob Dylan is quoted as saying:
"A Red, Red Rose is one of the greatest love songs of all time. It's a song that resonates down the ages. It's part of the (Robert) Burns song canon. It's one of his most emotive and emotional, perhaps his biggest expression of love. It's very much about comparing love to the joyous things of nature and in the arts. It's Burns where he rejoices most in love. It's from the love gut,".
eddi reader
I stand corrected - on one leg, with some bootleg whiskey in my hand (drinks aren't sold in camp) - but i don't think Dylan has the one song that encapsulates all that he's said above, but throughout his career he has captured the gamut of emotions of love like no one else.
I took out my laptop one night to listen to some songs while i’s drowning my sorrows. And i came up with a playlist below.
From hello to goodbye, from wooing to shooing
and from every stage of falling and being in love.
All the songs speak for themselves, and i haven't commented on all of them.
And I'm sure there's a hundred other Dylan love songs out there but hey, can't play them all.
You can comment on them all though.

One or more (and any and all) of the songs are dedicated to someone.


Girl of the north country
Remember me to one who lives there/She once was a true love of mine.
joni mitchell & johnny cash


Heart of mine
Don't let her know that you love her.
Don't be a fool, don't be blind
Heart of mine
(see Norah Jones)

is your love in vain?
from the much-underrated album Street-Legal, but the version from budokan is say more resigned hence more emotive (or more sincere).
This song has both been panned and nitpicked by critics and reviewers. In a way it's a typical Dylan song - love it or hate it, or maybe like it or not.
I myself do not identify with 'dining with kings' or 'can you cook and sew' etc,
but i like the almost resigned couldn't-care-less nonchalant though really yearning and hopeful lover's desire to hear from the object of his/her affection:
all right i'll take a chance
i'll fall in love with you
dylan at budokan
(i saw an english dylan fan club do this song on youtube, but i think it's been removed).


All i really want to do
All i really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.
the byrds
Dylan here lets loose with an array of things that some lovestruck soul would promise. And then wittily and teasingly claiming in the chorus that all he wanted to do was to be friends.

if not for you
If not for you/My sky would fall/Rain would gather too.
Without your love I'd be nowhere at all/Oh! what would I do
If not for you.
george harrison at bobfest 92
(see also Olivia Newton-John)

I’ll be your baby tonight
Shut the light, shut the shade,
You don't have to be afraid.
I’ll be your baby tonight
Norah Jones
(I prefer Emmylou Harris' more seductive version)

Lay lady lay
Stay lady stay, stay with your man a while/'til the break of day,
Let me see you make him smile.
I long to see you in the morning light/I long to hold you In the night.
Stay lady stay, stay with your man a while.
duran duran

Tonight i’ll be staying here
Throw my ticket out the window/Throw my suitcase out there, too,
Throw my troubles out the door/I don't need them any more
'Cause tonight I'll be staying here with you
(someone please direct me to Happy Traum's version)

make you feel my love
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
Billy Joel
It starts off with a heartfelt reasonable expression of love, and then like any irrational lover starts promising eternity, going hungry, and to the ends of the world...
This has been covered by Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Joan Osborne, Luka Bloom, Timothy B. Schmit, Ronan Keating, Bryan Ferry, Mary Black, Adele, and Maria Muldaur and a host of others.
I like Adele's popular version too but Billy Joel just gives it the rough edge that typifies Dylan.

You’re gonna make me lonesome
But I'll see you in the sky above,
In the tall grass, in the ones I love,
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.
(Madeleine Peyroux)

"You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go" is one of Dylan's most earnest love songs. Skipping right past the poetry of romance, it nails the more human, realistic aspects of the early days of a love affair. He sings about being surprised by love, humbled, and worried about the eventual but likely end. The result is possibly one of the more honest love songs in modern music.

i forgot where i copied this review from.

One more cup of coffee
Your breath is sweet/Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth/On the pillow where you lie.
But I don't sense affection/No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me/But to the stars above.
the white stripes

Sweetheart like you
And that smile's so hard to resist
what's a sweetheart like you doin' in a dump like this?
guy davis

tomorrow is a long time

There's beauty in the silver, singin' river,
There's beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love's eyes.
Yes, and only if my own true love was waitin',
Yes, and if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin',
Only if she was lyin' by me,
Then I'd lie in my bed once again.
(See Nickel Creek)
ahh love at its most sublime. when the hours take forever, and all one wants to do is go home to his love's side.
Even Elvis Presley covered this song, but i like Nickel Creek's version. Elvis (as he would) sings it like his lover's really just one of many, and that he's just singing it for the moment. but sara watkins (nickel creek) sings it like to her one and only true love.

One too many mornings
From the crossroads of my doorstep/My eyes start to fade.
And I turn my head back to the room/Where my love and I have laid.
I've no right to be here/If you've no right to stay
Until we're both one too many mornings
And a thousand miles away
johnny cash & waylon jennings

To Ramona
Everything passes/Everything changes
Just do what you think you should do
And someday, maybe
Who knows, baby
I'll come and be cryin' to you.
I wish i can write, let alone compose, like Dylan. Ah sober up Marto.
Okay I wish I knew a girl called Ramona or...sineadlohana
sinead lohan

I’ll remember you
When I'm all alone
In the great unknown,
I'll remember you.

I’ll keep it with mine
And if I can save you any time
Come on, give it to me,
I'll keep it with mine.
marianne faithfull

Most of the time
I don't even care if I ever see her again
Most of the time.
Now denial starts flowing again. what starts flowin?
denial
Even Moses floated on denial.
He did! as a baby. :-)

boots of spanish leather
This is classic Dylan. a forlorn ballad for lovers at the crossroads. Dylan gives us both the physical and emotional sense in this song; the verse by verse unravelling of the realisation of lost love, and the acceptance of it with a kiss-off. As Nanci Griffith puts it: "Boots".
I got a letter on a lonesome day,
It was from her ship a-sailin',
...
So take heed, take heed of the western wind,
Take heed of the stormy weather.
And yes, there's something you can send back to me,
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.
(see nanci griffith)
from the revelation of the leaver, to the fare-thee-well then.
and finally to the kiss-off with boots.
and Dylan was only 19(?) when he wrote this song.


just like a woman
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl.
Dylan at concert_for_bangladesh
(see also Richie Havens @ bobfest 92)
this breakup song is full of hurt and bitterness. Moving slowly through all the resulting emotions, Dylan lands on the hope of making friends after all is said and done. It's as good as "Don't Think Twice," but with less spite. Jimmy Webb spoke of his envy of those last two lines.


don't think twice it's alright
I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where I'm bound, I can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word, gal
So I'll just say fare thee well
I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but I don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right
(See PPM for a sweet version. play it for Mary)
Dylan once introduced "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" as "a statement that maybe you can say to make yourself feel better... as if you were talking to yourself."
It's also rated as "... possibly one of the best breakup songs ever written."
It captures what many heartbroken lovers have wanted to make at some stage; the ultimate kiss-off.

When the deal goes down
In this earthly domain, full of disappointment and pain
You'll never see me frown
I owe my heart to you, and that's sayin' it true
And I'll be with you when the deal goes down
(See Modern Times).
I decided to end the list on a wise and mature Dylan tune, rather than the obvious don't think twice of his youth.
Here Dylan's lover is more accepting of the loss
bears no ill will and staying true
will get on with his life ...

as we all should. lovers and beloved alike.

postscript
i used to blame heartaches on ol' richard
who?
now let's not go there
you can get kinky though
kinky?
yep. mr friedman.
he wrote the original 'the love song of the ex-fbi director'
review of kinky friedman's book
this is the sequel... :-)

i recommend all the above cover versions. but
nobody sings dylan like dylan.