Road Trip to Joroan

Last Sunday, February 4, I and my colleagues and friends went on a road trip to the town of Tiwi, a 45-minute drive north of Legazpi City. The group attended mass at the old town church and later indulged in the famous Tiwi halo-halo. The halo-halo of Tiwi is quite popular because of the softer consistency of the shaved ice which makes it creamier and smoother. There's also a generous heap of cheese on top. And since I'm a bit of a cheese lover, that's fine with me.

After lunch, the group decided to head for the scenic road going to Joroan, a barangay of Tiwi famous for being the home of the Nuestra Señora de Salvacion, a revered and miraculous Marian image. The Hanging Road to Joroan is called as such because it winds its way up, with the mountain at one side and a steep cliff diving down into the sea on the other. The view overlooking the blue-green Lagonoy Gulf was spectacular. One can even see the island province of Catanduanes in the distance.

Of course the best part of the road trip was the company, any trip with these guys is always laugh trip!

Check out some photos of Joroan after the jump.


You can also check out my Flickr for higher resolution photos. :-)

Rude Awakening to a Grim Reality

For many of us, global warming and climate change were only trendy catch phrases for the environmentally-inclined. I too admit that I almost never gave it more than a passing thought.

Yes I was aware of what was happening throughout the world - how forest cover were disappearing by the thousands of hectares every year, how polar bears were drowning because their homes on the ice shelves floating on the Arctic waters were breaking apart leaving them stranded on slowly melting little icebergs, or how shocking and extreme weather conditions were destroying lives and properties all over the world.

But I never really cared, until late last year.

On that fateful day of November 30th 2006, global warming, climate change and all those fancy catch-phrases became a grim and tragic reality right before our very eyes. Probably the worst typhoon ever to hit the country in decades bore its full fury upon this puny little peninsula called Bicol. No one will ever forget how strong and angry the wind was and how the blinding torrents of rain lashed without mercy for hours on end.

We thought it would never stop. When the winds and the rain died down, the enormity of the disaster slowly dawned among those who survived – shattered homes, shattered lives, whole villages erased from the map, hundreds missing and hundreds dead.

Now, only a few weeks after that dreadful day, my home province is still trying its best to recover from the misfortune that befell it. Questions and fears race through my head, will it happen again, or rather, when will it happen again? Are we ready to face yet another disaster of this magnitude? Now that we have experienced the full wrath of nature, will we start caring or do we fall again into complacency only to be shaken by another rude awakening?

Choose your own Adventure

Back in grade school, before the world ever knew Harry Potter, some of the most popular books in our library were the ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ series. These books were probably on the list of the most read and borrowed books from the library right below Enid Blyton’s or the Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys series.

I used to read these ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books. If you are unfamiliar with it, these were a series of children’s books where the reader assumes the role of the hero of the story and has to make choices that will determine his/her fate. The reader has to determine the hero’s next course of action by making decisions based on the choices given in the book.

The reader is asked to turn to a page in the book that corresponds to these choices. The plot then unfolds through these choices, leading to more choices and multiple possible endings. Sometimes, if the reader is a bit unlucky, the main character would encounter a rather unfortunate end (like death) because of the choices the reader made. Often, when the protagonist meets an untimely end in the book I was reading, I would cheat and ‘retrace my steps’ back to those ‘choices’ that led the character to his doom. I would then select the other choices, which turned out to be the best ones, and continue reading the story until I get to a satisfactory ending (or maybe until I get bored with the book). LOL.

That’s what I loved about these books. They were interactive even before the internet was as common as it is now.

More mature readers might scoff about this type of story format but, thinking about it now, those books really had some lessons to teach their readers, aside from the possible lessons found in the story itself.

Life is indeed a series of choices. These choices might either be easy or hard to make, but they always have consequences. In real life, as soon as you make a choice and consequences happen as a result of it, you cannot cheat and ‘retrace your steps’ or restart your life story somehow. You just have to suck it all in and have the courage to stand by your decision and face whatever consequences it will bring.

I have also made some decisions that I wish I did not do, or chose to do. Usually these decisions were made out of impulse. Some were made without thinking thoroughly about their consequences. I regret quite a lot of these decisions and spent stressful hours thinking about it. But ultimately, I just had to pick myself up and continue on to the next crossroad, the next set of choices and hope to make the right ones by then. As Eleanor Roosevelt said: One's philosophy is not best expressed in words, it is expressed in the choices one makes ... and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility'

My Top Ten Favorite Philippine Skyscrapers

Being a skyscraper and architecture buff, I came up with my own list of favorite skyscrapers located within the Philippines. While everybody else is listing down their favorite songs, movies, celebrities and what-not, my first ‘top ten’ list will be all about skyscrapers. But first, I’d like to establish that I have no formal training whatsoever in architecture, much less the technical know-how to really judge a building in all its merits. So the basis for this list is purely subjective, with aesthetics, location, form and function as well as the building’s general effect on me as the main criteria. (For more information and photos, please click on the links provided)

So here goes my top ten fave ‘scrapers here in our country:

1. GT International Tower, Makati

Soaring up 217 meters or over 711 feet, the GT (George Ty) International Tower is probably the most iconic of all Philippine skyscrapers. I think it has a very simple form but the execution is stunningly spectacular and modern. It’s most distinctive feature, aside from the all glass cladding, is the bold 10-story razor sharp vertical fin crowning the tower. GT Tower is easily the most recognizable tower when viewing Makati from afar, especially at night when rope lights outline it's distinctive shape. The building was designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, GF & Partners and Recio+Casas.



2. Ayala Tower One, Makati

Tall, glassy and powerful, the Ayala Tower One fittingly performs its role as the headquarters and crowning glory of one of the most prestigious conglomerates in the Philippines, the Ayala Group of Companies. The story of how Ayala Tower One was proposed and built is one for the books. In the early ‘90s, the Philippine Stock Exchange was planning to relocate from Makati to the Tektite Towers in Ortigas, which was, at that time the only building big enough to hold the PSE trading floor. The Ayalas quickly proposed this new tower in a bid to keep the trading floor in Makati. They didn’t really fully succeed since the PSE ultimately decided to have two trading floors: one each in Makati and Ortigas.

3. PBCom Tower, Makati

Rising from Ayala Avenue 259 meters (849.7 feet) into the sky, the PBCom Tower is the tallest building in the country today and the 70th tallest in the world. This tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, also the architectural firm behind the erstwhile tallest building in the world, Sears Tower in Chicago. Although relatively straightforward in its design, PBCom definitely conveys strength and power, soaring 55 stories above the busy Ayala Avenue below. As the headquarters of the Philippine Bank of Communications, some may jokingly refer to it as a giant cellular phone, given its shape. Still, if only for its simple grandeur and height, the PBCom Tower deserves a place in any top ten Philippine skyscraper list.

4. The Enterprise Center, Makati

The Enterprise Center, a complex composed of two towers of varying heights, is probably one of the grandest-looking and most beautiful buildings in the entire Makati area. The Enterprise stands out from the rest of the rather generic-looking glass clad giants around it through its impressive Art Deco styling. At night, the floodlit Enterprise Center is truly a sight to behold. I have also heard that its interiors are very luxurious – definitely a prestigious address for any office.

5. Pacific Plaza Towers, Bonifacio Global City

Rising majestically at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the Pacific Plaza Towers are iconic in their own right. This is one of those projects I was referring to in my previous post that I used to ogle at on full-page ads. At that time, I thought these towers were the most modern in terms of design. I marveled at the modern configurations of the two towers – one is a curve and the other, a wave. The gorgeous blue glass facade also makes a proud statement in the newly developing Global City.

6. 1322 Golden Empire Tower, Manila

For anyone visiting Manila’s famed Roxas Boulevard, this gleaming golden tower is hard to miss. The 1322 Golden Empire Tower is the tallest building in the country’s capital. It being located practically on the shores of Manila Bay, makes it a stunning landmark. It rises from the seafront area and perpetually gazes at Manila’s famed sunsets, the golden colors of which impart its gleaming tinge upon the tower’s fantastic glass cladding.

7. RCBC Plaza

Massive is one word to describe the Makati’s RCBC Plaza. Launched at the turn of the millennium, the RCBC Plaza is also composed of two towers (46 and 41 storeys) as well as a 450-seat auditorium, the Yuchengco Museum, a food court and a host of other amenities. It is a modern office building equipped with advanced system making it a most preferred address for many of the country’s top corporations. RCBC is also the first IT Zone in Makati, where its tenants can enjoy tax incentives.

8. Insular Life Corporate Center, Filinvest Corporate City

Clad in cool greenish glass, the towers of the Insular Life Corporate Center looks spectacular in almost all angles. These towers are probably two of the most photogenic buildings in the metropolis, Especially because of its location amid the still vacant lots of the Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, Muntinlupa. Its curved façade and cut corners give it a sleek and modern touch.




9. Robinsons Equitable Tower, Ortigas Center

The 45-storey Robinsons Equitable Tower is one of two of my favorite buildings within the Ortigas Central Business District. The best aspect of this tower is the sleek semi-circular, almost cylindrical portion rising majestically from the corner of ADB Avenue and Poveda Drive. Another plus factor about this tower is its cool blue glass cladding which makes it always a sight to behold anytime of the day. The Robinsons Equitable Tower was designd by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum.

10. Unionbank Plaza, Ortigas Center

The multi-faceted Unionbank Plaza is a geometric wonder. The tower rises from a rather nondescript podium to a series of step-like levels clad in magnificent blue and gold glass cladding. Unionbank Plaza presents a different facet in every angle from which it is viewed. That’s why it is a favorite among photographers and skyscraper enthusiasts. It surely deserves a place in my own ‘top ten’ list.


So there you have it folks, my top ten favorite Philippine skyscraper list. Of course, it doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the other skyscrapers. Actually, I’d love to make a longer list but I guess I would be rambling by then. Anyway, bubbling up my list of fave Pinoy ‘scrapers are: (in random order)

• Petron Megaplaza, Makati
• LKG Tower, Makati
• One Roxas Triangle, Makati
• Rizal Tower, Rockwell Center
• Rufino Pacific Tower, Makati
• The Shang Grand Tower, Makati
• One McKinley Place, BGC
• Orient Square, Ortigas Center
• One San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center
• Philippine Stock Exchange Center (Tektite Towers), Ortigas Center
• Philamlife Tower, Makati

Credits to the photographers who took these incredible pictures. I hope you don't mind if I used them here. :-)

QLC

I don't know who wrote this essay but it's certainly worth reading. I have already posted this in my previous blog and I'm posting it again because it hits the spot right on. If you're twenty-something and you feel like your life is going nowhere, I suppose you'll find yourself nodding in agreement at the points raised here. Read on

'Quarter Life Crisis'

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job; and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender.

We call it the "Quarter-life Crisis."

SkyscraperCity

Ever since I was a kid, I have always been fascinated by architecture, urban planning and the art of building habitable spaces. I remember I used to doodle my own versions of skyscrapers and houses on the last pages of my school notebooks, especially when the lessons get all too boring. And in the really boring subjects, I think there were more doodles than notes. LOL. Even before PC games such as SIM City were popular, I already had my own city, complete with wide avenues, seaports and airports, residential and commercial zones, etc. haha.

I also used to pore over news articles of new and upcoming building projects in Manila, even though I barely understood some of them. I actually kept some of those full page ads of new skyscraper projects (though I have already lost them). I’d really get hyped up when a new project was announced through the papers. Back when the Petron Megaplaza was still the tallest building in the country, I conceptualized my own tallest building on the back of a pad paper using a ballpoint pen. (You may be wondering why I didn’t pursue architecture in college, but that’s a different story altogether, LOL.

Anyway, I still love architecture, urban planning and skyscrapers. Thus, it is no wonder that one of my favorite websites is related to these interests of mine. I have been a member of SkyscraperCity forums for almost 2 years now. I discovered the site while browsing for aerial photos of the Philippines. Since then, I have been hooked by the huge wealth of information (and photos) of skyscrapers, cities, towns and other development-related topics. Some of my co-forumers have also become my friends too, although only through the web. So there, if ever you have the same interest in architecture, urban planning, photography, history and general development topics, I highly recommend SkyscraperCity forums, my fave online tambayan.

I wish I had a Pensieve

What’s a pensieve? Readers and fans of J.K. Rowling’s phenomenal Harry Potter series know well what a pensieve is. For the uninitiated, the pensieve is one of the magical objects owned by Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

It is a stone basin or receptacle covered in mysterious runes with an ephemeral substance within it. Dumbledore uses the pensieve to store memories. He can extract his own memory or someone else’s and store them inside this receptacle. He can then review those memories later and see the events that transpired in an omniscient perspective where he is able to see all the details of what has happened. Dumbledore also uses the pensieve to store information and memories thus relieving his mind when it becomes too burdensome to think about these things.

That’s why I’d love to have a pensieve – to relieve my mind from these endless jumbled thoughts that go haywire in my mind. And since I’m the type of person who just can’t forget rather negative memories, a pensieve will surely help me get rid of these mental detritus. LOL.

But come to think of it, this blog can be my own pensieve. hehe