Traveling with Excess Baggage

 Baby on board

At 20 weeks--halfway through my pregnancy--my days of gallivanting are numbered. So I decided to go back (yet again) to Dumaguete before I'm forced to stay put. And while I had all three Roaches jerseys and cheered from the sidelines through scorching heat and torrential rains, I sadly wasn't able to take part in the team's quest for their fifth Shindig victory. 

I was, however, able to spend four days with forty (!) fun people from disc. I even got to party a bit...

...although of course there was no more drinking or staying out til dawn. And I got to eat...

 At Lab-as, where we had Dumaguete Express, tinolang lapu-lapu, grilled spicy squid, and more

 ...and eat...

 At Sansrival Bistro with the Warriors

...and eat...

 At Nevas for pizza, pasta, and (I gotta admit) a pahabol rice meal order

...and eat!

 

 Massacre at the beach: our grilled fish merienda

And my OB would be proud--I was under strict orders to have "tikim lang" (just a taste) of Dumaguete's to-die-for sweets, and I'm pleased to report that I just had one little bite of chocolate silvanas throughout the entire trip. This, despite the fact that I was at Sansrival three times, with their salted caramel cheesecake calling out to me.

I also got to go on a side trip to gorgeous Siquijor, my friends' tik-tik jokes be damned. (Upon a teammate's insistence, I did spend the overnight trip with three chili peppers in my pocket.)

Photo c/o Cali

The little monster even got to (sort of) feel the sea for the first time.

 

And lastly, I got to experience how good people are to you when you're preggers! I can't thank everyone enough for going out of their way to make sure I was comfortable. People carried my bag for me, gave me food, made sure I was hydrated, considered the best place for me to sleep ("Dito na lang para madali kang makapunta sa banyo"), and even defended me against an a-hole Manila driver who had no regard for a pregnant woman crossing the street (thanks, boys!). 

It was a great trip, but the best part, undoubtedly, was feeling all the love from such awesome friends.

Tishie's Travels: Dumaguete Redux

A week before the earthquake struck Negros, I was in Dumaguete for the launch of the 50th Cultural Season at Siliman University. I had been to Dumaguete a couple of times before the junket, and it's one of my favorite places--first because it has really good, really cheap food (hullo, Best Silvanas Ever. And P15 breakfasts at the market!); second because it was the site of my epic (informal) bachelorette party; third because, by virtue of my first and second points, I have some very fond, very fun memories of the place.

I knew nothing about this whole cultural season, and was duly enlightened during the trip. I learned that Dumaguete has a culture of culture--it's an artists' haven, and both the show and the documentary I watched demonstrated just how vibrant the arts and culture scene is in this college town. It showed me a whole other side of Dumaguete that I didn't even know existed. It's like discovering that the bad boy I've been crushing on actually has a sensitive side.

Luce Auditorium at Silliman University

I half-expected the launch to be a boring affair, but I enjoyed watching the show. It was tight and well-paced, a great mix of song, dance, and poetry. My favorite part was when one lady told us what life was like for her in Dumaguete during the war: Their house was right beside a Japanese prison, and when she and her sister would play the piano, the Japanese would ask if they could come in and listen. Later on, when the Americans came, the two girls were showered with nickles and pennies as they played for all the Joes. And then, as she finished her story, a young girl came out to play a piece on the piano--something our storyteller must have played as a young girl herself during the war. It was as if a flashback had come alive on stage.

If you get the chance to visit Dumaguete, I highly recommend catching a show. Siliman University's 50th cultural season begins in June and runs until May 2013.

Roaches! Roaches! Roaches!

I only saw this on video before--the Roaches getting hyped up before the finals, chanting, "Roaches! Roaches! Roaches!" Never thought I would be a part of it. Truth be told, I got goosebumps!

So I went back to the site of last year's last hurrah, an epic trip which was an awesome end to my life as a single girl. While last year, I went mainly to party, this year, I went mainly to play.

The Shindig is an annual national tournament, and this time I played for defending champs Roaches (aka Chupacabras), named after the little critters running around TS (homebase of many of the player-climbers). A little ironic that I played with them considering I'm deathly afraid of ipis! I had played with some of them previously in Boracay and in the recently concluded Malakas at Maganda league.

Yes, there were the usual crazy parties, and I only got a total of two hours' sleep the whole time I was there. But I'm probably the only one whose fondest memories of Dumags 2010 don't involve partying or inebriation. The main highlight of this trip was winning my first national championship, shared with Vismin team KKK. (We were up one, it was getting too dark to play, people were getting hurt, and the two teams agreed to be joint champions before anyone else got injured.)

A Grand Slam moment with our trophy

I got yelled at on the field (stupid stupid error), and had a few drops in the eight games that I played. I've been playing a few years but I've seriously still got a lot to learn--and I've gotta learn not to choke (har). On the flip side, I also had a few points, so yay. What I like about playing with the Roaches is that I don't have to be a handler, and can focus instead on being mid-long. (Highlight reel: One of the teams we played against pointed out that I scored more points than their whole team combined. This little, er, feat earned me a free jersey. In all fairness, it was the first game of the day, and I was probably the only one on the field who was sober!)

I'm also proud of the way my regular teammates played--three other players from the Warriors joined the Roaches. Leahleur contributed her handling skills, I heard Yelle scored quite a bit on the first day (I missed it because of work), and Fel was part of the Mythical 7! Woohoo! Our other teammates Czar and Jacq, who played for our sister Manila team, did really well too--it was especially thrilling to watch Jacq contribute so much to her team. I remember introducing her to ultimate in Indonesia three years ago, as we played a fun-fun game on the beach. She's come such a long way since then, evolving into a highly competitive, talented player, definitely one of the Warriors' go-to girls!

It was an absolute delight to play with the incredible provincial teams, who have improved so much in a span of one year. One team in particular, Loktonz (sorry, not sure how it's spelled), nearly gave me a massive heart attack by almost eliminating us in the quarters! I was touched when they said that they really wanted to play against the Roaches last year, and were just honored to be able to play against us this year.

With my Dumaguete team and KKK

Honored. That's exactly how I felt to be welcomed into this team, to be able to share the stage (field) with some of the best players in the country. Being part of this team, in possibly my last national tourney, is a fitting way to say goodbye to Dumaguete. A true last hurrah.

Hurray for Dumags!

Will have a more detailed post about my weekend trip to Dumaguete soon. For now, let me leave you with a little something, c/o our supporters during our finals game...

Thank you, Philippine Ultimate Ahasssan, for supporting your fellow players from Manila! You guys rock!:) (Photos taken by Fel's mom. Thanks, Tita!)