Congratulations to Romi Garduce, Leo Oracion and Pastor Emata for making it to the Mt. Everest summit. This brings honor and pride to our beloved country and to all the Filipinos all over the world. Proud to be Pinoy!

STORY:

AND ROMI GARDUCE makes three.

The Philippines' most accomplished mountaineer has achieved his dream and added Mt. Everest to his cap of accomplishments, capping a banner week for Filipino climbers.

New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary, who first reached the peak of Everest with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953, congratulated all three Filipinos for their feat.

"I have nothing but the greatest respect for the [Filipino] expedition, for the determination and the will to battle on and go to the summit," Hillary, now 87, said in an interview yesterday with GMA 7.

"My heartiest congratulations to Leo, Romi and Erwin for their success in getting to the top. Very good luck to them. They must have been strong and determined," he said.

Garduce, 37, made it to the top of the world's highest mountain at 11:20 a.m. Nepal time (1:20 p.m. Philippine time) yesterday with the aid of oxygen despite deteriorating weather on Everest's south side.

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Since naubusan na ako ng mapapanood na Korean movie, i'll end up taking Adobe Photoshop seriously. Psychedelic Son Ye-Jin was my first attempt of learning new things. Thanks rei for the help. More deviations to come!

When I was 7 years old, I was an average kid then, studying was the last thing I always do, instead, I play all day long or watch tv all night but I always wanted to become a superhero or an ass-kicking robot. I always thought Shaider was cool because he always beat the bad guys and have Annie at the same time. I recruited four of my classmates then to form our own version of Bioman. I was Green 2. I had the "Bionic Ears".

When I turned 14, I was an ordinary high schooler then, I try to study more often because my mother always told me that it was the best gift she can give, but I always wanted to become a vocalist of a band. I always thought that Eraserheads was the Beatles of the Philippines. I had my first girlfriend, she had always these asthma attacks everytime we fought over the phone about silly things, but despite of that, I always wanted to be a perfect boyfriend to her.

When I graduated highschool, things slowly became serious, as if its like you're on your own, choosing what school to go and what course to take and absolutely living life on your own. I ended up taking Computer Science in UP but I always wanted to take up Sociology or Psychology. I always thought that being a social worker was a very noble profession, helping those who were in need. My first girlfriend and I broke it off and went on our separate ways.

When I turned 19, I learned to love my course and gave up my dream of becoming a social worker. Eventhough I hate Math, I really studied hard to understand what my course had to offer. I started to dream of having my own software company and build a foundation for poor kids . I always had Bill Gates as my inspiration. At that time, I had my third girlfriend then, though some of my friends said that I was taking her for granted, I always wanted to be the perfect man for her.

When I got out of college, life was totally serious. I always asked myself which direction to go, which way should I take. I had my first job as a college instructor, I started helping my family in every way I could. Though my work was very fulfilling I always wanted to become a hardcore programmer. I always had Linus Torvalds as my inspiration. I started dreaming of inventing something for the Internet to get famous or filthy rich. My third girlfriend and I broke it off and finally realized that my friends were right. I took her for granted.

After three years, i came to a crossroad in my life. I started to think about my future. What will I become five or ten years from now. I quit my job and pursue the Linus Torvalds in me. I started thinking of things that will matter most. Helping my family, building a home, security, bussiness, such things.

Time passes by really fast. Dreaming of becoming Shaider to the point of having a family where you will spend the rest of your life, its hard to accept that we never feel contented with what we had or have, but the fact is, its true, its human nature. For me, there's nothing wrong about it. These dreams are the reason why we work so hard, why we love so much and whey we live life so much.

I never became Shaider nor Green 2. Never became a rockstar nor a social worker. I never became Bill Gates and maybe will never be Linus Torvalds. I never became the perfect boyfriend for her nor the perfect man for her. But does it really matter? No. What's important are the things you learned when you had those dreams. What's important are the things you did to realize your dreams. Our dreams define us one way or another. Even if we fail, we should't stop dreaming.

Don't accept life as it is, do something.

Its been a while since my last post. My last post was all about rainbows and i even collected different versions of the song "Somewhere over the rainbow".

Right now, i have 13 versions to be exact. There's a version of Jewel, Faith Hill, Ray Charles, Patti LaBelle and even Jimi Hendrix (instrumental only).

Anyway, been very busy with work these past few weeks. Kinakarir ko na ngayon ang work ko, hehe. It was like im preparing for something big. I have this thought since the beginning of the year that i really wanted to happen.

Since holy week is just around the corner, i started itching to get away from work. Sana September na agad para Camiguin na. That's the only real getaway as of now because my two trips will never gonna happen. One of my friends invited us (eLBizens) to spend holy week in Marinduque, i decided not to go because i really wanted to be with my family this holy week. Second, my cousin May will be getting married this July and my uncle asked me to attend the wedding in Canada. The intial plan was 2007 and i promised my cousin to attend. Dahil atat na siyang magpakasal eh mi-nove nila this year, paano pa ako makakapag-save? Asaness.

We had our company outing last week at Sandbar in Puerto Galera. The place was not as beautiful as Bora but im really glad that i enjoyed the 3 day vacation. And we had our initiation for our new department-mates, a sort of a welcome party for them. I headed the initiation commitee since i was part of the group that was initiated last year. Time for revenge, ika nga. The initiation was so funny, seeing them doing things you can't imagine they can. Then there's always this inuman session slash videoke every night. Anakngtokwa, dalawang araw akong lasing.

So far, wala pa namang exciting na nangyayari sa buhay ko ngayon. Stagnant but surreal.

There's this quote stucked to my mind when i watched the movie "Ice Princess", "Big things happen to those who dream big."

I promised that my next post will not be all about ranting and I'm keeping it.

It all started when i saw this Korean movie, "Over the rainbow", and from then on, the song played over and over again in my head. The movie was about a man who had an accident and partially lost his memory. Before the accident, he was deeply in love with this girl back in college and kept it until he decided to tell her on that tragic night. The only thing that was left with him was a picture of the girl whom he didn't remember and a note on the back saying over the rainbow. He searched all his college friends just to ask them if they knew the girl on the picture. And he came accross his bestfriend's ex-girlfriend and asked for her help. All their attempts lead to one girl to another but they failed and finally, when they got closer of finding the girl, somewhere in between, they fell in love and he decided not to meet the girl. But his best friend's ex told him to still meet her because she was the love of his life. And surprisingly, it was her.

Sucker for happy endings, eh?

I have 4 versions of this song and still finding more. The original, by Judy Garland from the 1939 motion picture "The Wizard of Oz", Israel Kamakawiwo Ole's version, the ending song from the movie "50 First Dates", a punk rendition of the band Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies and lastly the soulful version of the late Eva Cassidy, my favorite.

I'm addicted to this song and i really don't know why. Maybe this song offers hope to those people who have lost their faith for what they believe in. This is the first song I usually listen to before I start working. Somewhere in this song made me realize that we shouldn't stop from doing things that bring true happiness to our lives, that we should stand up gracefully every time we fall and most of all, even life doesn't treat us well, we should live every second of it with utmost passion.

When there are times in your life that you feel down and helpless, listen to this song and maybe you'll find some answers. It worked for me and maybe for you, it will.

Life may offer bumpy roads all the time, but it'll make the ride worthwhile.