Had an unexpected free cut so...we went to Greenbelt.

I showed AJ some of the Boracay videos and he wants the same treatment done with the footage I took this weekend. Will fully edit the clips as soon as time permits me to.

How was it?

Prior to my arrival to Cebu, I sent AJ a link that he can read up on since it showed a lot of good recommendations for places to stay. He said he would handle it and I need not worry.

Arrived Cebu and took a cab to AJ's place.



Kari: So, where are we staying?
AJ: uuuhm, I don't know.
Kari: HUWAT?!?
AJ: We'll just look for places there. Photos can be deceiving.
Kari: (uh-oh)

Fact 1:
Bus ride to the Hagnaya Pier in San Remigio from Cebu city takes about 3 hours.

Fact 2:
From the pier, a 75-minute ferry ride takes you to Bantayan Island. Fast crafts can be an option as they get there in 35-45 minutes.

Fact 3:
Last ferry of the day leaves Hagnaya at 5:30pm

He packs his bag and we head out to the bus station. This is a little passed 1:00pm. We get to the bus station and are greeted by porters who inform us that AIRCON busses to Hagnaya have been discontinued. Only regular NON-Aircon busses are available to take us through the THREE HOUR trip. I shrug and hop on the bus. "This shouldn't be too bad," I say.

We happen to get the bus with the driver from HELL. We feared for all our lives. He drove passed every single moving vehicle on the road and ran in high speeds along dirt roads. Fortunately, we get to San Remigio in one piece. We get to the pier at 4:30pm. Last fast craft left an hour earlier and the next available ferry won't leave for another hour.

We finally left at 5:30pm and found that the ferry sailed at a snail's pace, bangka's would have taken us there faster. We get to the pier at Santa Fe a little before 7pm. By this time, the sun is gone and I remember that we still had no place to stay. How are we supposed to look around resorts at this hour?

A trisikad (pedicab) driver greets us talking to AJ in rapid bisaya. He is recommending that we stay at this place called Saint Bernard. AJ agrees to check it out and we load ourselves and our bags into his little tricycle. It took a little over 5 minutes through pitch black roads along deserted bukid roads lined with talahib and coconut trees. I half prepared myself for an ambush hold-up and was already devising escape plans in my head. We get to the resort and went to inquire. Prices were not bad but I took one look at the cramped bathroom and said no. We had the driver take us to the other side of the pier where the retaurants and "bars" are supposed to be. He took us to Marlin Beach Resort and we checked out their rooms. Room rate was more than I would have wanted to pay but at this point it was nearly 8pm and I was hungry and didn't really want to go back in that trisikad and look at more rooms so I agreed to take the room.

The resort was walking distance to nearby tourist restaurants that obviously looked like they were set up by foreigners who visited and fell in love with the island, opting to stay and set up shop. Each one sported a different country flag, some sporting more than one.

photo taken by AJ
He's very proud of this. Had him play around with the DSLR while I handled the Flip.

The next two days were spent on the beach and trying out the few but varied restos nearby. My upcoming video will show you our weekend stay. Until then, photos can be viewed in my multiply.

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I completely forgot how huge and awesome AJ's house is in Cebu.
I am a couple of shades darker again and I don't want to go back yet!




*updated*
Added the clip of AJ's "special" room,
which could pretty much be the equivalent of my ideal studio apartment.


Will edit the bantayan videos as soon as I get home.

Will be out until Monday. This time, I doubt there will be wi-fi in Bantayan Island so all updates will be posted when I get back.

I managed to finish the entire video (a whopping 22 minute feature!) Sadly, I will not be able to upload the fully edited one due to it's immense file size. Below you will find the last three edited Boracay clips. I may or may not upload the rest depending on my mood. I pretty much showed you all the really good ones anyway. I'm preparing for the next chapter of the beach extravaganza: Bantayan Island on FRIDAY! Three more days baby! More videos to come soon.

Videos will take a while to load. I managed to get the export for video quality better than the first few ones at the expense of load time. I suggest you press play then press pause to let them all load. You're free to surf or continue working while waiting for them to load. You're not supposed to be surfing while you're at work anyway so GET BACK TO WORK PEOPLE!

Day 1 Beach Montage

Parasailing

The Long Beach Montage

The only good thing about today is that I finally received my much awaited Flip Video Ultra in ORANGE. My gadget family is (almost) complete!

Props to Paul, Bea and Niki for the hilarious acting.

Since the full video is much too large for an internet release, I'll be uploading short films from the full feature bit by bit. Too bad I can't share the whole thing.

My MAC has been on hyper drive the past two days. Been trying to finish editing the Boracay videos. It's past midnight and I'm opening shift tomorrow so I doubt I'll be able to finish this tonight. Will continue tomorrow night after work.

I'm running on 17 minutes already and there's a lot more to add. Below is a clip from the full feature. Enjoy!

Yes.

I did it.

My cursor hovered over "Place your order" button on the Amazon.com page for a while but I did it. I BOUGHT IT! HOOHAH!

Worry about credit card bills later fool!
I feel so empowered, high and in debt!

Is anyone interested in getting the other Flip so I can pay my bill right back? Heeeee!

for interested parties, click HERE.

with his blog entry here.

Hahahaha!

...for vanity.

I'm loving my new shade. After Cebu, I'll be a few shades darker.
Notice the peeling shoulders. My back looks gross.

Had dinner at Zao courtesy of Grace. Walked a bit around Serendra and scored a cool white shirt from a store whose name I forgot. The belt in the photo was nice too but it was a wee bit too small for me. So I didn't get it. I have a couple of belts here at home that would work just as well.

I was such a dork walking around the store with no shoes and pants at first like I owned the place. It can pass as a dress noh?

So, how do I look?

I'm VERY confused.
I hope to get REAL answers soon.

There's no other reason for why I would post this but for the reason the subject states. I wish those 5 days could stretch on and on and on and on.

Gusto kong uminom na naka-baon ang paa ko sa buhangin. Makatikim ng alat sa labi. Ang init ng araw sa balat. Ang lamig ng tubig sa bawat paglubog.

I obviously don't remember the next video. I was surprised to find it as I was sorting through the flip footages.

The Bundle

I originally bought the Thirsty Al (see left photo in same color) but found it to not be sturdy enough for my precious Flip. So I went back to switch it to The Bundle this morning.

It has a front pouch for the extra batteries and a shoulder strap which I can take out if I don't need it. It also has this velcro flap on the back so I can attach it to shoulder straps of backpacks or shoulder bags.

Living on the small stopgaps.

Sometimes (80% of the time), I wish I can just close my eyes and sleep for a very, very long time. Waking up is entirely optional.

I hate sulking in my blog but apart from the time I spent with friends, the rest of my days are filled with blah, stress and funk. Work is slowly driving me to madness. Home is anything but "home." My personal life is debatable. I live on mere hope and sympathy. I was "fine" until a short YM chat with a friend reminded me of my current situation. Up until that point I was running around ignoring what's (not) happening in my life.

It's not your fault dear (if you happen to know who you are). I suppose I did need a dose of reality. I am so glad you're coming to visit. I need a fresh set of ears and words. Hopefully the new company will do me good. I wish you could stay longer.

After making this short preview, I realized that I may not be able to edit all the videos to make one long film. I might just make short videos and release bit by bit over time.

I apologize for the shaky camera movements. The waves were too strong to keep the flip steady in the water. I tried to put enough underwater clips into the film to show the flip's video quality when used with the underwater sleeve. The Flip and the case are one of my best buys of the year.

I still haven't quite mastered exporting videos to web without sacrificing a good amount of quality. Any help would be much appreciated. I use iMovie as my editing software and export from there.

My skimboarding bruise is not as swollen but is still purple. My sister screamed at the sight of my toasted face this morning. Was way early for work but the day seems slower than expected. I bought a Crumpler sleeve pouch for the Flip. It managed to sustain a couple of scratches and dents the past couple of weeks but is working fine. I have yet to name the Flip. Any suggestions? Simply calling it Flip won't do specially after Paul's (S.) Flip arrives from the US and there will be two of them.

Another Boracay snippet below. This is a clip from our last day dip when it rained.

Note to all: We all speak very good english. Don't judge us by the way we speak in the video. Thank you :) There is such a thing a joking around for those anonymous people who don't quite get it.

Needless to say I had a lot of fun. I went over budget since Niki coerced us into Para-sailing. It was an expensive 15-minute ride but was worth it. Besides, seeing that guy throw up over the side of the speedboat while hanging 500-1000 feet in the air was priceless. Before that we had already gone snorkeling and had the Fly Fish experience. (click the link for a preview) On a whim, we also went sunset sailing within minutes after para-sailing and got a glimpse of the Shangri-la Boracay being built on the other side of the island.

Fully edited video to follow. Will have to do that over the two day break over holy week. I haven't seen all of the raw footages myself. I may upload a few clips to tide you all over the next couple of days.

Dear Paul,

I had a lot of fun and will be lying if I didn't say I wished you were there to enjoy it all with me. With everything I saw, felt and experienced, I kept wondering what you would say or how you would have looked. I remember how much fun you had snorkeling for the very first time and I'm sure you would have had a blast with all the activities available in Boracay. I'd really like to take you there before I head back out to home. You really have to see it all with me.

love,

K.

More photos in my multiply. Snippets below, in no particular order.

Beachcomber drinks

when we were still a few shades lighter

about to snorkel

shakes at Jony's

I love this shot
c/o Bea :)

we sure looked like we had fun

first meal on the island

getting toasted

shakes at Jonah's this time

shisha and rum cokes at Bom Bom's
beachfront at le Soleil
the Flip in it's underwater sleeve
a vacation MUST

Picture-picture naman JON

Jon Heder at D'Mall

Snorkeling then fruit shakes at Jony's. I love my Flip and it's underwater case. Sorry, exporting for web seems to screw up the color of the video. The sky and water looks much better in the raw footage. Will make a better edited version after all the fun is done.

Tidbit from yesterday. I also got to test the Flip with its new underwater casing! I can't upload the others since wi-fi here is uber slow.

Now excuse us while we enjoy a buffet breakfast as we nurse a bad hangover.

I will be away for a few days.

Unless I am able to find a wifi spot, the next time you may hear from me is when I'm back to work complaining how my vacation was too short.

Till then...

My two day old Flip Cam spent a day with The Usual aSungots yesterday. We went to SM to shop for items we'll be needing for next week's trip. Took a lot of nonsensical footage which I managed to piece together into a decent video. I wish I had a better editing software. I haven't mastered the art of compressing for web. I will work on this over time.

Today:
OPCOM meeting at Eileen's today, which also happens to be her birthday. Lunch at her place before business. White wine, lots of food and cake and a bunch of silly girls posing as managers. Hooray!

It's hard to concentrate with work when I am dying to play with my Flip.

So I kind of have it.

My mom bought the wrong model. I wanted the ultra series (the latest model) and she got me the first model.

It still works the same. According to the site, it has very little difference apart from the very slight upgrade in video quality and the ultra series' optional accerssories. This one doesn't have a tripod mount so the action mount and the underwater case will not work with it.

Hey...if I manage to get extra money, I can just score the Ultra Series (or whatever model is better then) and give this away as a present.

When people ask me why I don't have kids yet I always say "I'm not ready" or "I don't want one yet." There are very few movies that make me rethink those statements and I just saw one. Raising a child can be very daunting I'm sure but I also know that bringing up another human being is one of the (if not THE) most satisfying thing one can ever do.

There. I said it.
I guess one day I will want one after all.

All in all, it was a lousy, sappy movie. But it had John Cusack and it made me cry a little bit so it worked in a sense...

When you love somebody it gets really hard
when you can't see them any more.

Wow.

I didn't expect to love it as much as I do.

It was such an oddly beautiful film but I don't expect everyone to love it. I'm not a Wes Anderson fan and I don't think I've seen anything else he's ever done but I loved this one so much.

In other news, I got off work early today and I actually drove home while there was still light out. I can't remember having done that in a very long time. I got home, had dinner, surfed, watched an episode of October Road and this movie. All that and it's only 10:30pm. I feel strangely wonderful. I wish I can get off work early like this everyday.

How am I? Tired, alone and unavoidably jaded. There is no tomorrow in my life. I live my life one day at a time. I have no plans, just glimmers of hope that speak to me. Everyday I convince myself that it will all work out in the end. Though sometimes I wonder why the "end" is taking forever to present itself.

I'm okay. Really.

I'm definitely going.

I'm a bit curious about those two open water marine habitats where you can snorkel and dive without having to go to far-flung places.