Photo Blog #6: Exploring the coast of Ternate Cavite

March 14-15, 2009- I was supposed to have a visit of San Pablo seven lakes with my friends.....but things changed. My kiddo had this persistent cough which I equated to their asthma then the doctor schedule happens on a Saturday....in other words, I didn't make it!

I guess hubby knew that I was saddened by my unchanged plan.

So....he striked again....another bolt of surprise.

Thursday he SMS me about his plan of going to the coasts of Ternate Cavite after the kiddos checkup.

Honestly, I live in Cavite but haven't been to that place....hmmmm

So this must be an adventure trip.....some bright idea took on my brain....I immediately SMS macho man and tried asking if he could lend me his cookset and stove....I wanted my kids to experience what its like camping.

Well, it wasn't so bad after all trading off San Pablo seven lakes from the coast of Ternate Cavite.

We went to the Marine Base Camp, it was actually government facility but is not open to the public- you get there through a referral (maybe from an officer of the marine corps).

I was pretty much taken by the view of the tip of Cavite....the white sand is great comparable to that of Anawangin cove....the water hmmm still OK (considering it's still Manila Bay).....the view atop the hill is also breathtaking....the pavement is also OK (maybe the marines on training are the one maintaining it?!?- i dunno....i have just deduced because the garbage are being maintained by them, and then they were also fetching water for some of the exclusive rooms).

Some set-backs I realized is that this place is not always available for public. Sigh! Like the upcoming balikatan exercise- the place will be a venue for military exercises....and won't be available for quite sometime.

Other opportunities for improvement I noticed:

1. I guess even if I have seen an hourly garbage collection from the trainees, the garbage is still littered around. Maybe it's not their fault anymore, the place is so windy that uncovered trash bin may not be spared.


2. I also noticed that the marines are burning the waste collected on certain schedule. As an environment and LNT advocate, I really disagree to this method. I was even thinking to approach the guys and expressed my opinion....but what can they do? I believe this young trainees are just following orders....as the old rule says "Obey first before you complaint."


3. The water supply is insufficient.....in fact, we ended up not rinsing or having a final bathe before going home....anyways, we were just an hour away from home.

To sum up-my overall experience is a wonderful adventure with my family....I was so happy that the kids get to experience what it's like camping at their age.

I know this experience is something they will always cherish.

Running blog #5: 113008 Practice Run

I have been working so hard since last night. Some mishap happened in the line....it's inappropriate to discuss too much details about it- besides it's part of the job to provide support whenever needed (even if it means telecommuting). And because of the issues I had in the line, I slept late.... I was thinking I'd probably had a hard time waking up early for my practice run.

I was planning to do a 10K run this morning but I woke up late and have few doubts if I could even make a 5K round.

I thank God for making me sane last night and being able to do some quick fix and analysis on the mess that happened in the line. Containment activity and support poured in probably while I was asleep- prayers really help.

On my way to island cove, I was thinking of the ADTREK guys who went to Sitio Cawag, Subic Zambales for an outreach program....I envy them for they were able to experience immersion with the "kulots" brother and sisters (most of our aeta bros preferred to be called kulots). And am sure this great Sunday they are enjoying the funfilled Anawangin cove.


Island cove from aerial view, image courtesy of google earth- I measured the perimeter and google says its 1.25Km




My thoughts was abruptly cut by the call from one of our bosses- he was asking me about the issues I had. How I think about it etc...what strategies...containment..have a meeting. Huwat! Am sure he was furious about it, we are already having a good metrics then suddenly a fiasco like this happened...which I must admit, the cause of the failure mode was not even imagined. The operators were doing their own thing, not following the standard operating procedure. It only means there is still a lot to work on, analyzed the motivation for failing to follow SOP and most importantly fool proofing the process to make the process more predictive and prevent this fiasco from ever recurring.

IBack to my run, I had a nice stretch before we started running at around 7 AM...the weather seemed to cooperate with me because even if I am late there isn't too much sun exposure that threatens my stamina to carry on a decent run. I did a brisk walk with Manoy (the Hubby), we did one lap of brisk walking- he was trying to take my mind off my work-related problems....He smooth talk me about the kids and well he made me smile and laugh about simple things...He really love me, and I love him back tenfolds....he knows best when to make me feel better.

After the brisk walk we were on our own, I completed a total of 4 laps or 5 Km (according to google earth, island cove perimeter measures 1.25Km). I finished my 5K 32 minutes (an average pace of 6:24), 2 min over my previous race record. Anyways, am not for speed work - I want mileage.
Somehow, I am happy about it, it's still within the range of my average performance. The lack of sleep and the problem I guess slows my feet (sounds some excuses)....in my mind there is a will to run another stretch, I believe I can do more....the mind is willing but the body is not!

As I type my thoughts in this blog, I can hear the kids nudging hubby for a trip to MOA- I dunno how hubby will handle this....am a little tired of what happened last night....I am planning to take another run tomorrow (nice idea what about, San Miguel by the bay PR). Let me just take a needed rest and see how this day will go through.

Ciao for now.