The Undercurrent

so its the middle of january of 2007 already… 2006 just flew by like a breeze.. it was so fast that i didn’t even have time to write a blog during the end of the year to highlight my journey during this year… so here is a delayed recap of the events in my life in 2006…

first stop i wanna write of course would be the diving… it was a great year of diving for, not so much for the quantity (i use to do a hundred dives a year but last year i barely made 50 dives) but for the quality of the sites i’ve been… january, dove in the islets surrounding bonggao, tawi-tawi… the mere mention of the name of the island made my mom remark that i must be crazy to go to the place but it was worth it as the dives were really great… dropping walls with very clear visibility… the only negative in my journey there is that even in one of the most remote islet in the area, the negative mark of man has made an imprint as side-by-side with very beautiful coral reefs, one would see trash and garbage floating or submerge almost all over the place…

next site was in apo island in dumaguete… an internationally recognized marine protected area, also with lots of amazing animals from big fishes to small but colorful nudibranchs… but what makes my visit in apo island different was the experience of climbing the famous "baluarte" (rock formation of the island facing the sea) which was almost 3 stories high and from the top, jumping to the sea below… exhilirating is an understatement to even describe the sensation of standing so high, looking down and just letting go of all your fears and embracing the pull of gravity…

3rd site i’ve been is the Philippines UNESCO World Heritage Site, The Tubbataha Reefs… i guess you have probably heard of the place but i just want to emphasize that this small group of isles between Palawan and the Visayas group of islands is something that we Filipinos should be proud of… the sheer beauty of the reefs and the myriads of colorful fishes and animals is breathtaking… but the one thing that makes this site very memorable for me is that it is in here where i encountered my first dives with the very elusive members of Family Chondricthyes, the sharks… and i mean lots of them all over the place.. well, not exactly all over but more like in every 5 dives, i’ll be diving with sharks on 4 of those dives.. that was how exciting the place was.. and it also happened during my birthday week so a fitting gift for me…

aside from diving, last year was also a great year for domesticated adventures (not me but my buddies).. what i mean by domesticated adventure is "family-starting"… it started with JR’s wife giving birth to my first godson, justin timothy, during the month of february followed by mark p, who tied the knot in august and i was one of the bestmen…so in 2-3 years time, i’ll be expecting kiddie parties with these buddies of mine and them telling me what a great experience it is to be a father, changing diapers or providing milk and the likes,hehehe (sorry bai but i can already imagine it already)…

it was also a great year for my other hobby, photography and filmmaking… a docu that i co-produced won an award during an environmental filmfest held in Manila, the Moonrise Filmfest…i would like to thank mario, myk, pj, april who watched the screening of our film…

2006 also marked the year that i entered graduate studies…it was a tedious process with all the mumbo-jumbos in the office but i held my ground and sacrificed a lot just so i could finally enrol in my masteral studies…

but 2006 also has its downsides… my career was in limbo as office politics, crab mentality, and the likes made me lose a scholarship program that i worked very hard to get… i do not want to elaborate anymore on the negative side because even in negative incidents, i always believe that it happened for a reason…i just don’t see the reason until now but i am not in a rush to go through life anyway…

so i leave the negatives behind with the fulfilling sense that it happened for a reason, and im thankful for the positives…

so what do i expect for 2007? probably none as of the moment that i am writing this as i barely have time to gather my thoughts in one cohesive blog…but i do am expecting to see my elementary and high school batchmates by the end of the year for our first grand homecoming.. and i forgot, i was suppose to plan that event in behalf of batch president mr. myk mukhi who is currently based in manila.. and i haven’t started yet so i better end this nonsense writing and get to work…

before i end this blog, many thanks to the people who have made my 2006 journey amazing…mel and upmsi people for a great year of diving, mario, michael, pj, april, chai and other manila based batchmates who were there during my visit…mark and jr for immersing me in their domesticated adventures…mam sony and sir jessie for a great first year of my graduate studies.. jenny for believing in me…and for all those i may have failed to mention… as i’ve said a while ago, my thoughts are incohesive at the time of this writing but im going with my impulse in writing a blog…

its starting to be a busy year for me, but that is for me what a journey is all about.. immersing myself in experience in every opportunity life throws at my way…

so 2007 , Bring it on! ! !

i used to dream of flying - the classic attempt to get away from the reality of earth.  But since i have been diving, i have not had the dream.  I am miserable our of water.  It is as though you had been introduced to heaven, and then found yourself back on earth.  The spirituality of a man cannot be completely separated from the physical.

                                                              — Jacques Cousteau–

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this legendary phrase of the great father of SCUBA diving had always been the foundation of my actions…if my pictures could change even just one person’s apathetic attitude towards the caring of the sea and our environment, then i will have served my purpose…but while destruction of our remaining resources is still going on unabated, and the average person cares more about new cellphones and other fashion trends then about what’s going wrong with our environment, i will continue to help advocate the preservation of the last remaining resources of this planet, even if its only in photo…

more photos at http://seriusclownfish@buzznet.com/user  email me at diverquim@yahoo.com

yo people! new photos at my website http://seriusclownfish.buzznet.com/user for those who are fond of the underwater world and nature trippers.  See ya there! blup! blup! blup!

     Monday, January 16th.  I was up by 5:30am, an hour earlier than my regular Monday schedule (unless my running practice falls on a Monday).  I woke up early on purpose to watch the sunrise.  It’s not like everyday I get to see the sun ascend in the southernmost part of the Philippines so I had to check it out.  This was the start of a 5-day diving expedition that I got myself involved in, the main objective was to collect specimens of sponges and seasquirts for anti-cancer agents.  Don’t worry I won’t be dealing with that in this journal.  Let a microbiologist write about that.  I on the other hand will be writing about the dives.  I wouldn’t be entirely honest if I were to say that my main and only goal in having joined this expedition was to help search for specimens that could help cure cancer and thus save mankind. How noble indeed of me if I were to say that, but I am no knight of the round table and although that was what was asked of me to do (and I’m pretty sure I did a good job) the more personal reason for me was to see if the Sulu Sea is really as beautiful as they say it is.   But the sunrise was unfortunately gloomy today.  Overcast skies that obstructed what could have been a majestic rising sun could be an ominous sign of things to come.

           At 9am, we were still loading stuffs in the boat.  The sun still has not shone brightly and the excited mood that I had was slipping away.  ETA for the first dive was at 9 and my body clock had already set itself on that schedule.  But a lot of things had to be considered, hence the delay was justifiable and nothing I can do but reset my body clock.  17 minutes after and we were off to our first dive site which was just about more or less two or three kilometers from the port.  It would have been surprising diving near a port if you live in a big city but hey, this is an island.  Sans the trash that you see floating on the waters of the port, the water has a distinct clarity that is only possible in pristine coastal areas.

            Another 23mins after and field project leader Mel, with GPS in hand, has gestured the boatmaster to stop.  Our first dive site was just fronting the municipality of Bongao.  After checking the water conditions (currents in tawitawi can be extremely strong and hazardous), assigned safety diver Benny gave the green light.  And with that signal, I jumped right into the water without having donned my gears.  It was not excitement that drove me to do it though.  The heat from wearing a wetsuit had become almost unbearable already that I needed to cool myself.

            A few minutes later and Mel and I were off.  We will be the first to descend from a group of 10 to locate a suitable place to lay the transect line (for non-research divers, a transect line is a tape measure reeled out on the seafloor/reef area to be considered as the base or reference point for the survey being conducted).  This transect line is crucial also for the collectors so that they wouldn’t stray far from the group during the dive.  Reeling out a transect line was no sweat as it has always been my assignment during reef assessments.  “First one in, more dive time for me” has been my saying over the years.

            The dive was disappointing though.  After swimming through a maze of garbage (organic and nonbiodegradable ones), we were descending on turbid water.  The only consolation was that at least it was sand, not silt, so it was the wave action that had caused the poor visibility.  At 30 feet, things were at least getting clearer.  The site does not have a rocky-coralline substrate but it was a sandy one hence the turbidity.  Then it occurred to me that this was not a fun dive expedition.  Sponges and seasquirts are filter feeders and in fact may be abundant in this kind of habitat where there are a lot of suspended particles.  I keep thinking “oh s@%t”, I had to endure a 13hour bus ride and another 16 hour boat ride for 5days of diving like this?  I consoled myself by saying that this is the dirty work that could someday find the cure for cancer.  Didn’t work!

            After more than an hour, a bit disappointed but with the collected specimens in my net bag slightly cheering me up, I ascended.  Drat!  I was better off diving in industrialized Northern Mindanao I thought.

           The afternoon dive was bit farther from the port and in a less populated part of Bongao.  My excitement had been thrown overboard already after a dismal first dive.  I wasn’t that excited anymore but I had to work.  “Find the cure for cancer dude!” was what I keep playing in my head over and over.  After Mel got in the water and signaled for me to follow suit, I did, not excitedly this time though.  The only difference with this dive is I got to bring an underwater camera.  I did not bring the underwater camera that was issued to me by our office (bad idea) but good thing the expedition needed one diver to take some pictures using their while at the same time collect and so I was assigned to it.  This was not the same camera that I use, although they are of the same brand, so my attention was diverted on how to play with this new toy.

             While descending, I did not mind my surroundings as looking at it from the surface it had the same features as the previous site albeit much clearer.  Probably another boring dive so I just busied myself tinkering with the camera and learning the controls.  After touching down at the bottom and looking at the surroundings for the first time, I was dumbfounded.  True, it had the same features as that of the previous site but this one was full of colors and very much alive.  Hand corals were dancing rhythmically to the beat of the slight surge side-by-side with a steadfast and rigid branching corals that didn’t seem to mind being situated beside a prima ballerina.  A big ribbon sweetlips came out of nowhere to welcome me and beckoned me to his world.  While I was laying the transect, life abound everywhere I look.  Even under small nooks and crannies, there were nudibranch and colorful shrimps and crabs.  I was so engrossed with the abundance of life that I forgot that I was primarily there to work and not play.  I was still able to collect targeted specimens though and with more than an hour of dive time (last man out again) and with my air almost falling below the 500psi mark I reluctantly went up bringing with me the beauty that my eyes and the camera lens captured.

             After the dive, my previously conceived notion of this week (owing to a gloomy sunrise and dreary first dive) had been erased.  On the way home, I was dreamily sitting at the bow of the boat contented on how the day ended.  Indeed it started poorly but the thing about life is that no matter how it starts it isn’t always how it will end.

for more photos visit http://seriusclownfish.buzznet.com/user

“UNSA?! NABUANG KA NA?! (WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY?)” were my mom’s exact expression when I told her more than a week ago that I was joining a dive expedition in tawi-tawi.  She told me, people are trying to avoid the place because of the domestic wars and kidnappings going on there and I on the other hand was heading there to embark on a 5 day diving trip.  I must have been out of my mind for that.

            Indeed, the islands have been in the international limelight lately because of a series of high profile kidnappings staged by bandits and terrorists who have transformed this part of the Philippines into an international kidnap-for-ransom district.  With the military bent on putting an end to these bandits, gunfights erupt here and there and sensationalized reports of the media of these had led to the island being named as one of the places definitely to be avoided.  Looking at a map in the internet, it was even marked with 3 red flags I think, indicative of the current peace and order situation of the area.

            Disregarding the red flags found in the map, one can see that tawi-tawi is located in the Sulu and Celebes Seas.  One of the, if not, the most diverse seas in the whole planet.  Probably one of the best dive sites in the country and they have to put red flags on it.  Red flag or not, I absolutely went.  I am not going to miss this opportunity to sink my weight and explore the depths of one of the global hotspot for biodiversity for a red flag.

            So lugging a very big gear bag and a pack bag for my things, my fellow marine biologist and dive buddy, i-i, boarded the 10pm bus for a 13hour trip to Zamboanga city where we would meet the first batch of UP team (YES, thats 13hour in one sitting position in the bus, comfy huh?).  But we never thought of the inconvenience of sitting 13hours in the bus trip nor the dangers that have been said or written about the place where we were headed.  If the latter were indeed true and not exaggerated, I was very sure that the dive was worth the risk anyway.

            In Zamboanga City, we were met by the projects main field coordinator, Mel (a.ka. Melvin accdg to mon).  I have only talked to this guy on the phone once but his mild disposition makes one feel that you’ve known him for a long time.  In one of the hotels in Zamboanga City, I met the first batch of UP people who are part of this expedition (the enjoyable kalog Irene (a.ka. host of the night), serious looking ate henya (ms luha), and meljun (a.k.a. walang babae-babae sa basketball guy).  After a coffee spree and walking the streets of Zamboanga, we were then on a ship bound for Bongao, Tawi-tawi.

            It was in Bongao where I met all members of this expedition.  The second batch of UP people (the charming microbiologist jasmine, the friendly and lighthearted biochemist diane, serious gina and cool and composed safety diver benny) arrived the next day by plane.  The local team were composed of the booming-voiced but friendly natured Rasul of WWF-tawitawi, twin eggs, mon and mil (ladies enemy numbers 1 & 2,hehe no offense intended), the rowdy-looking but in reality responsible and hard-working MSU dudes (ahmed, paul ryan “in the house yo” and tolits), the demure (daw?) MSU dudettes (che, let, mary, and those in the lab I who I didn’t get the names except for swem), and the motherly and great cook for the expedition ate connie.

            So it was a week of diving (I’ll write a separate blog for my dive experience), collecting and sorting specimens and overnight lab work for the microbiologists.  In between shut-eyes and work stuffs are small talks lasting in the wee hours of the morning and memorable events that have made this trip a serious yet fun expedition.  The whole activity was capped with a one evening party and videoke trip at mountain view resort voluntarily emceed by the bubbly Irene (who did one hell of a job), with singing performances of i-i as kyla, love-“songers” paul and meljune, sing and dance guru diane, natalie-like jas, lost aegis member ate henya, balladeer benny, veteran “my humps” move of mon (favorite dance move ni Irene) air supplier rasul and the stunning performance of the rockstar (laklak singer) mel.

            We were having so much fun as a group that there had to be an encore for this expedition.  Hence, at 5am in the morning, despite the lack of sleep and slight beer in the system, I was up (thanks to the phone alarm of paul who woke me up but didn’t even budge him) preparing for a short trek to Bongao peak which according to ahmed was just a 30minute walk from the base of the hill.  On the way to the top, 30 mins had elapsed and we were still halfway thanks to the muddy and slippery trail which gave most of us crash course lessons in baseball slides and home runs for diane.  The view at the top was definitely worth all the slips, laborious trek and mosquito bites that were endured during the 1 hour climb.

            Six days has passed, yet the bond that I was able to forge with those I had been and the experience and lessons learned from that 6days would last me my lifetime. I cannot say for certain what the peace and order situation in the whole tawi-tawi islands is but in Bongao and the islands we dove, people I’ve met there speak the language of peace in their hearts.

for more pictures visit my site http://seriusclownfish.buzznet.com/user

it was supposed to be a vacation with sidetrip meetings with big time environmentalist.. relaxing was the idea..to invigorate the mind and add new inputs…what happened on my first day (the time i was writing this blog) was a nightmare that will forever be etched in the annals of my life history.  . . here’s a detailed account of what happened and you decide if it was one lucky day for me. . .

i woke up excited about the trip… meeting the vice president on field operations of the World Wildlife Foundation and some top scientists of the UP Marine Science Institure for some discussions regarding sea turtle conservation was something to be excited about. . . it was a sunny morning, in cagayan de oro city… i still reported to work in the morning as my flight was scheduled in the afternoon as there were no more earlier flights available. . . everything was bright and sunny in the morning. . .nothing to give me a hint of the dramatic turn of events that was about to happen. . . it all started as noon passed by, so did my luck… rain clouds started to form creating a gloomy atmosphere as the afternoon went by…and as if a dark cloud of "kamalasan", followed me all day… my 2:55 flight has been delayed 2 times..first, it was said that our ETD would be at 4:50 due to some technical problems and so the plane had to be switched. . . than the 4:50 ETD was again recheduled to 5:40 and boarding at 5:25…but what actually happened was we boarded the plane at about 5:40 and the plane took off at 6pm, 3 hours and 5 mins delayed. . .so as not to hear too much grumble, we were given free snacks as PAL probably believed that a full stomach has less to grumble about. . . the plane landed at 7:20pm…you’d say not that bad (if you landed in cagayan but if you landed in manila, that is bad)! ! ! my second misfortune than happened. . .as the luggage were about to be picked up, it took about 30 mins before everyone of my passengermates had theirs. . . all except for me. . . for some stroke of bad luck, my bag was placed in a separate cargo bin and had not been placed with those of my passengermates. . . and so i had to wait for the next bin to be loaded, which was suppose to be from another flight. . .so it took me about an hour before i located my bag. . . and thats not it. . . the person i expected to pick me up was not there for reasons only she could know. . .  our last conversation had been clear as crystal that i am going to take the last flight out of CDO thursday and she told me she’ll be there for me, yet nobody was there waiting for me. . .and i am not used to a big city like manila were human "predators" (more like opportunists) are everywhere preying on new specimens. . . so plan B, try to call in the colleagues, but no one of my batchmates can pick me up coz they all work graveyard duties. . . and some marine bio colleagues of mine got stranded somewhere in pangasinan due to rain. . . prior to my coming here, they told me they could pick me up if no one will as there field work was expected to end thursday morning. . .but it was almost 9pm yet they haven’t reached manila yet. . .good thing my great buddy JR was able to contact his friend to assist me in my needs should i have any, and needs i had a lot that time… i was hungry and tired. . . and i thought that my kamalasan finally ended with someone making sure i wouldn’t end somewhere in the banketa or sidewalk and be arrested by the MMDA for sleeping on it. . .i thought wrong. .

it was raining, not really hard, but enough to soak your socks inside your shoes and make a squishy sound everytime you walk and to wet your arms, head and shoulders,not to mention your bags, but not really give you a bath. . . and the worse is yet to come. . . of all the possible places that i could stay, all were fully booked for the night. . . i was soaking wet from the continuous downpour looking for a place in UP and its nearby vicinity and all had to be filled up for the night, even the dorms outside UP such as those in DA, bureau of soils. . .it was past midnight already and we haven’t found a place to stay… with all the rain and the "tamili" na mga taxi na dili magpasakay basta duol ra. . .so i decided to eat in the 24hour McDO near Philcoa. . .i ordered a double cheeseburger as i was famished and i was told it’d take 5 mins…ok i was hungry, but i can wait for another 5 mins for a good meal. . .but the 5 mins turned to 20 as the crew had forgotten that i had an order. . . my double cheeseburger was left at the counter and no one delivered it to me. . . D A M N E D ! ! !  pati sa pagkaon, malas japun. . .and you think that ended there? its exactly 5:21am as i typed the time and the rain outside seemed to get stronger… im in a 24hour internet cafe…obviously not getting any sleep. . .and i still have 3 more days here. . . what awaits me? ? ? if it rains, it pours as they say. . . kung malas ka, malas jud ka! !!

I’ve got a new hobby…ROCKWALLCLIMBING! ! ! it is truly a test of strength, courage and determination… what was funny was that me and my muscle-bounded friends looked like we were carrying the whole world on our back (as evidenced by the bulging veins on the forearms and back muscles) as we try to make our way to the top of the walls (there are 6 walls)…in contrast some slim and sexy ladies who were also around during our wallclimbing trip were so graceful that they looked like they were just dancing on the walls as they traversed it…its as if their fingers have evolved suckers like that of spiders and lizards…

It may look daunting since people already have their biases and prejudices about it and themselves…but really, it is not really that difficult, tricky maybe, but not unconquerable… like everything else the most difficult thing is the first try/climb…

So go and start the first climb now…as one great person in history said, Conquer your fears, and I promise you, you will conquer death…

why do i have a hard time answering that simple question??? i originally wanted to write something about me so friends can have an idea on what i have become…but as i was about to write (or encode), i got stuck with that question (the title) in mind…telling my name does not quite answer that question either…names are arbitrary and may not have something to do with the real you except that its what is used to call you…so who am i really??? if i were asked that question 10years ago, i could have given a very straightforward answer..but as life grows on you, things are not the same…all the struggles that i survived had molded me into what or who i am now as the rule of nature states "if you can’t adapt, then you will not survive"…but adapting also has its consequences because as you change to survive, you also change your essence…you change who you are, the real you… a very special person once told me to use the eyes of the people around me so i could see who i am or how special i am…but i still can’t see it… i know this doesn’t quite sound like the person you know…but it is me…as to who it is, that i don’t know…maybe you can tell me who i am…

p.s. sorry for the seriousness of this blog…i guess i’m just bored with life that everything i do seems pointless…right now i’m really just "finding pleasure in a meaningless existence" as they say…i am hoping that if i find my old self again, i could view life in a different perspective…in the perspective that i knew of…that i have now lost within me…

after months of creating a friendster blogsite, i’ve finally been able to write here…its not that i didn’t try writing before, it was just that everytime i open this link i get a message that says "url could not be retrieved"…what the hell was that all about… i was inspired to write that time but i got rejected as my "url could not be retrieved"…sheeessshhh!!!! the wonders of technology, and at the same time the pain in the a** everytime something like that happens…i thought of a lot of things to write about…and now i don’t have a single idea in mind…na-writer’s block siguro…

so to my dear friends (that felt weird…maybe cause i use the word dear only in letters)…anyway, to my friends who are reading this blog right now…sorry if i wasted your time.. maybe next time i’ll be inspired (or expired) to write more about life and the world…or whatever comes to my mind…meanwhile, if you wanna know what i have been up to the last few months or years, please check and support my buzzsite http://seriusclownfish.buzznet.com/user..

adios for now…