Enter the Taylor GS Mini. I won’t bore you with its specs and details, which are all available on the internet anyway, so suffice it to say it’s the one guitar that fits all four of my criteria to a T. As Taylor itself puts it, it’s a “small guitar with a big sound” – and I can attest to that fact. It’s not as small as the Baby Taylor, but then again it doesn’t suffer from the same small sound. It’s small enough to make it easy to travel with, but it plays like a full-sized guitar and even sounds better than most guitars I’ve played.

I was introduced to the GS Mini by my best friend Tito, with whom I shared dreams of owning an Ovation since we were children. Having outgrown our lust for the Ovation, we had both gone on our separate searches for THE guitar. We both went through our respective slews of guitars, but we were never really satisfied with what we had. Finally Tito discovered the GS Mini, and somehow we both knew this was IT.

I was able to try one at RJ Guitars (the official Taylor distributor in the Philippines) in Makati, and it blew me away. It had a strong, complex sound, lots of overtones, and it projected so loudly that I swore it was louder than my full-sized Ibanez dreadnought (a fact that would later be confirmed). It didn’t sound like a small guitar, and it didn’t feel like it was one fret shorter than regular scale. It was, for all intents and purposes, a full-sized guitar. Minus the full size.

I think the best thing is the cost. While people who aren’t familiar with guitar prices would balk at the price tag, it actually represents a huge discount. You wouldn’t usually be able to buy a US-made solid-top guitar for less than $1,000; the GS Mini lists at half that amount. For the first time, it’s possible to own a Taylor for $500.

Long story short, I was able to purchase a GS Mini by selling off two guitars. Now I’m happy with my guitar, and I think this is the one I will grow old with. I’ve used it at church several times with great success. The optional magnetic pickup (called the ES Go) is kinda tricky to tweak, but after playing around with it for some time I think I finally found its best settings.

I’ve already told my wife that this is the last guitar I’ll ever buy, and fortunately, the GS Mini is making it easy to stick to my word. Quite simply, I haven’t looked at another guitar since getting this one.

Random Posts:

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There have been several on the market, but none of them were available in Davao City. Finally, Merrell beat everyone else to the punch and brought in the Trail Gloves through its new concept stores (at Gaisano Mall and Abreeza). The first thing I noticed was that at P4,100, the shoes were actually priced lower than in the US ($110, or about P4,715). That price was also lower than the VFFs and the other minimalist brands, making the Trail Gloves an attractive alternative.

Before getting a pair I tried on several sizes to be sure I got the right one. I’m glad I did because as it turned out, these shoes are designed to be snug around the middle of the feet (to keep them from moving about while running), and if you get the wrong size they will be tight in the wrong place. I used to have a pair of Merrells size 9, but in the Trail Gloves that was too big (it was tight at the forefoot area). I finally settled on size 8.5.

These are minimalist shoes, but to call them barefoot shoes (as Merrell markets them) is stretching it a little bit. I don’t know the thickness of the soles (and neither did the salesperson, and it’s not clear in the Merrell website), but they are certainly thicker than my VFFs’ 4 mm. Still, the Gloves do make one run and walk barefoot-style, and that’s the most important thing. Oh, and did I mention that they look great? No more stares from people weirded out either by my bare feet or my VFFs.

I walked with the Gloves for a few days before running in them, just to see how they felt. As daily shoes they’re great. They’re normal and they’re light, making them perfect for casual wear. One thing that bothered me, however, was that they were prone to letting sand and little pebbles in, and it took a while for me to realize that I should lace them all them way to the last holes, so that the shoes would fit like gloves around my feet. That way there would be no gaps around the top of the ankle for sand to get in.

I finally ran with the Gloves one night and it was quite an experience. The feel of the road (something barefooters crave) was certainly lessened, but that was made up for by the greater confidence I gained that I wouldn’t get hurt by every little pebble I step on. My toes still splayed with each step, keeping me stable and more balanced. I was apprehensive about the snugness at first, fearing that it would make my feet ache in the long run, but after just a few minutes I realized it was keeping the shoes from slipping and sliding as I ran (something I experience with my VFFs, perhaps because they are a size too big). The Gloves really did live up to the name as they fit around my feet like, well, gloves.

It was great timing that I got my Trail Gloves during the rainy season because these shoes have saved me during downpours and floods. They proved more than a match for wet conditions, and the best part is that they dried quickly. One of my complaints about the VFFs is that they’re hard to clean (can’t spin dry, can’t sun dry, etc.), but the Gloves are as tough as they come even in the wash. These shoes generally feel more durable.

I’ve run several kilometers with the Gloves and walked even more, and I can say that these are my favorite all-around shoes. The VFFs have advantages, specifically in that they are more minimal and feel more barefoot, but all things considered, I’d be wearing the Trail Gloves far more often from now on.

These are, of course, made for trail running, but I haven’t had the opportunity to hit the trails yet; suffice it to say that the roads and paths — as well as flooded streets — I’ve walked and run on the past weeks feel like trails, and so I have a pretty good idea how these shoes will perform.Random Posts:

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I just wonder if there was another way of handling the situation.

She already had the situation in control. She had already effectively stopped the demolition and ordered the demolition team to stand down. She had also given the police a dressing down for failing to impose order. When she called the sheriff, things were already at a standstill. Tense, to be sure, but a standstill nonetheless.

She was obviously not satisfied with that state of affairs because she had the sheriff called and, when he came, proceeded to hit him four times in the head. When he fled, she had her people chase him, and when he was caught, the mayor pulled his hair and held his neck in what looked like a stranglehold. All in full view not just of the people at the scene but of television cameras, which promptly broadcast the incident for the world to see.

The people of Davao City are calling it a “punching incident,” but if we are to be honest with ourselves, we would call it the way the rest of the country does: an assault. Mr. Andres was not attacking the mayor, so it was not a case of self defense. He was not at the moment demolishing structures, so the mayor was not preventing a demolition. Punching him would not have stopped the demolition because there was no demolition going on at the time.

In other words, Mayor Sara had already saved the people of Barangay Tomas Monteverde. She was already a hero. That is indisputable. But in assaulting an officer of the court, even in the heat of “righteous indignation,” she reduced her heroism to something less than honorable.

The worst part was that, while many non-Davaoeños booed her, the people of Davao City actually cheered the mayor. The Davaoeños’ comments on Facebook and Twitter say it all. They’re saying she was right in doing what she did, that Mr. Andres was some sort of villain who deserved to be punched in the head four times and chased down the street for the mayor to pull his hair and be further humiliated. But did he really deserve that? Does anyone deserve that kind of treatment? If the people’s answer is yes, then they are giving the mayor all other people in authority the right to manhandle them in the same way.

That is what the incident showed us. The people’s reaction is a tacit approval of violence as a means with which to settle disputes – an unfortunate irony since we are in Mindanao where the people have been calling for an end to fighting. Our own mayor has just delivered the message that talking is futile and that the way to settle differences is with violence.

Don’t get me wrong: I believe Mayor Sara had the best of intentions in what she did, that she was merely venting her frustration at a man who had so callously disregarded a simple and reasonable request. But if we listen carefully, we would hear various organizations already using her actions as justification for more drastic means to subvert the legal process. Some groups are already advising people to take matters into their own hands when government tries to implement legal orders on them.

This is not what we want. None of us wants to lose her as mayor, but neither do we want our children to think that it’s OK to hit someone when they’re angry, even if it’s a righteous anger. We don’t want this to define our generation, and I’m sure Mayor Sara doesn’t want this incident to define her administration.

Peace, everyone. Peace.Random Posts:

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We were in Lapu-Lapu City along with a few other journalists from various places in the country to witness the two-night Kadaugan sa Mactan Street Party, a new festival celebrating the victory of Lapu-Lapu over Ferdinand Magellan. It’s an offshoot of the Kadaugan sa Mactan, a commemoration of the epic event that has been celebrated for 10 years now. For two nights on April 29 and 30, half of the M.L. Quezon National Highway was closed for various activities, including a fun run and a Brazilian-inspired street dancing parade.

During the day our hosts from the city government took us to some of the tourist spots in Lapu-Lapu City and enjoyed some activities we never thought we’d experience. Parasailing was definitely the high point, both literally and figuratively, but it certainly wasn’t the only highlight of our trip. From the moment we touched down at the Mactan International Airport we were on a whirlwind of activities. At the end of our three-day stay we felt we had been there for more than a week, which made our parasailing adventure that much more meaningful.

For a few minutes my wife and I were all alone. We talked a little, pointing out places we could recognize, marvelling at the beauty of Mactan Island on which Lapu-Lapu City stands. But mostly we were quiet, taking it all in and amazed that we were actually floating up in the air.

Truth be told, parasailing consists of little more than sitting down; unlike Ferris wheels or roller coasters, there is no negative G to make it unpleasant, and any discomfort comes from an overworking brain that imagines all sorts of things that can go wrong. But it was still a high-inducing experience; after all, we were hundreds of feet in the air with nothing to support us but a cable, some straps, and a large piece of fabric. And all that clean air could only do us good.

Back at our hotel room that night, my wife and I still couldn’t believe what we had just done. We found ourselves repeating one word over and over, and it summed up how we felt not just about our adventure in the air but about our whole stay in Lapu-Lapu City: Unbelievable!Random Posts:

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Lapu-Lapu – the city, not the hero – was celebrating its first Kadaugan sa Mactan Street Party and April 29 and 30, and among the activities was the Funrun4Japan, a night run that aimed to raise money for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan. My wife and I ran three kilometers in our trusty Vibram Fivefingers (VFFs), but near the finish line, about 800 meters away, I and our young friend Ralph Gonzales (who was running in Sanuks!) ditched our shoes and ran the rest of the way barefoot.

A large crowd waits at the starting line

The road outside the Lapu-Lapu City Hall where the starting line was located was a little too gravelly to go barefoot, but once we were on the M.L. Quezon National Highway the asphalt road was relatively smooth and gravel-free. Ralph and I had earlier talked about running barefoot all the way, but I kinda forgot and we ended up shod for the first two kilometers or so. When we were about 800 meters from City Hall Ralph reminded me of our agreement, so we stopped for a while and took off our shoes.

I did not see anyone else shoeless that night, although I know for a fact that there are quite a number of barefoot runners in Cebu. There were some VFF users and also some wearing Kai running sandals (similar to huaraches and made by a Cebuano), but no one was barefoot. So when I took off my VFFs I think I stood out a little too much and got more than my usual share of stares and pointed fingers from an incredulous audience.

Running shoeless

The fun run attracted a total of 649 runners, among them councilor Harry Radaza who is one of the driving forces of the Kadaugan sa Mactan, the main festival of which the Funrun4Japan was part. Unlike other runs, there were no prizes, no singlets, no race bibs: all the proceeds would be given to victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. There was also no set registration fee: runners were asked to give any amount they wanted. In the end the event raised a total of P27,015. Not bad for an event that was promoted only on Facebook.

My only problem about going barefoot in the Funrun4Japan was that I forgot the gravelly road outside City Hall where the finish line was also located, and since my foot calluses hadn’t formed thick enough yet, I had a hard time negotiating the pebbles that littered the area. But I still made it to the finish line, and in pretty good time, too, considering that my wife and I were on “picture-taking mode” for much of the run.

At the finish line with Ralph, a.k.a. Roji

If you think I’m crazy for running barefoot on solid asphalt, then think of yourself running when you were a young child. It is the most natural thing in the world, and it is one of the best and easiest ways to feel like a child again. You don’t feel like you’re running; you feel like you’re playing.

(Photos by Dadai Joaquin)Random Posts:

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As my wife Dadai and I ran we couldn’t help looking back to see the lovely sight of more than 2,000 lights dancing along the highway. We had decided before the race that we would take it easy and that we would pause to enjoy what would surely be a surreal scene. I brought my trusty Lumix and stopped several times to prop it on a car, a road sign, and a tree to stabilize it for the slow shutter speed shots that I had been planning to do to capture streaks of light as the runners glided by.

The Davao City run last April 16 was only the second Energizer Night Race in the country, the first having been in Cebu City in July last year. A third is scheduled in Dagupan on May 21. Since 2007, the race has been held in Argentina, South Korea, South Africa, Malaysia, and this month in Singapore.

“The overwhelming response of last year’s Energizer Night Race has pushed us to hold it in more key cities nationwide,” Energizer brand manager Joan Mendoza told reporters at a press conference a few hours before the race. Aside from the usual singlet, each runner was given an Energizer headlight with three AAA batteries. At a retail price of P499, that alone was worth more than the P450 registration.

The Energizer Night Race was only my second group (or “fun”) run and Dadai’s first, although I had been running for almost a year and she for a few months. We felt we were in our element, however, because we do our runs at night. But having those headlamps was a welcome bonus because it allowed us to see the road and exactly what we were stepping on – an important consideration when you use minimalist footwear (in our case, Vibram Fivefingers) and need to avoid sharp objects that could tear through the thin soles.

Ready to run. Note the matching VFFs (Photo shot by Luke Schroeder)

Dadai was apprehensive about her first run, but all fears were forgotten once we hit the road. The joy of running with thousands of other enthusiasts was overwhelming, and the excitement, to borrow from the iconic Energizer bunny, kept us going and going and going and going…

Mounting a night run is difficult, but Energizer certainly had its work cut out for it. As the maker not just of batteries but also of all sorts of portable lighting systems, Energizer has the advantage of knowing just what is needed for a successful run under dark conditions. And if the 2,600-odd runners are any indication, then this run was a success indeed: we literally lit up the road as we sprinted, jogged, or walked the 3-, 5-, and 10-kilometer distances.

And with a battery life of 50 hours (plus LED bulbs that never wear out), the headlamps we got in our race kits can be of use even after the race. “With the use of Energizer headlights and the unstoppable power of our Energizer batteries, Filipinos can now enjoy running safely at night without ever worrying about running out of power,” Mendoza said.

The Energizer headlight features two bright NICHIA white LED bulbs and one red LED bulb for night vision in a lens that swivels 170 degrees to prevent neck strain. It has an ergonomic head unit with elastic strap for maximum comfort.

Safety was of prime importance, and so aside from the headlamps, Energizer and its partner, GMA5 Davao, tapped a large number of staff and volunteers to provide security, direct the runners, stop traffic, give out water, and do a hundred other details that the runners were not even aware of.

The result was a largely hassle-free run, save for the occasional motorcycle-riding camera crew that tried to weave through the runners to take position for their footage. The ones who were truly hassled were the motorists since traffic was stopped along the route to make way for the runners. “This is why other night runs are usually held late, like 10 p.m.,” Dadai observed.

The run was participated in by Kapuso stars Will Devaughn, Michelle Madrigal, Ervic Vijandre, Kylie Padilla, Daniel Matsunaga, and Nadine Samonte. The race was also capped by a concert by Kamikazee, who gave the runners a rousing performance worthy of all the adrenaline that was still hanging heavy in the air after the race.

The event did not just promote fitness and health but, more importantly, also supported the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week in July. Proceeds of the run will be donated to hearing-impaired children in Davao (and Dagupan for the race there) through the GMA Kapuso Foundation, Inc. Paul Rainier Uy, Energizer’s district sales manager for Mindanao, said the Davao race raised P130,000 for the Foundation, and more will be coming from the Dagupan run.

Mendoza said Energizer Philippines “recognizes and promotes hearing as vital for the normal learning process and full integration of these children into productive society. We hope to empower these hearing-impaired children with the tools required for such growth and have a real chance to enjoy life to the fullest.”

Mr. Energizer and the runners at the starting line

Unfortunately, Energizer is not planning on repeating the race in Davao City – at least not in the near future – because the company wants to bring it to as many key cities as possible. Nonetheless, it was a great experience for the city, and we can certainly keep our fingers crossed that the event would swing by here sooner than later.

Postscript: Dadai and I finished the run in a little more than 46 minutes – not bad for her first race, considering that we were stopping periodically to take pictures, take in the moment, and simply enjoy being together.Random Posts:

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The cousins -- Arjun, She, and Allan -- show off their brand new Chaskis

So far I’ve run with my Chaskis on sand and on concrete, and now after a week of using them I can give my initial thoughts. Here are the pros:

1. They give a real barefoot feel. Your feet are not enclosed so they’re free to flex and fold and bend without meeting any resistance. You even feel the rush of wind as you move. Not even the VFFs give this freedom.

2. The laces don’t hurt. They do dig in a little and leave some marks, but that’s all. You don’t actually feel them when you run. They don’t cause blisters or anything.

3. You can feel your toes. With nothing wrapped around them, your toes feel every step. You can feel them splay and “grasp,” which are what made me love barefoot running in the first place.

4. Despite its rather flimsy look, they’re very durable. And the laces stay on no matter how long or hard I run.

5. They offer good traction. I’ve never slipped while wearing them, even on smooth floors.

6. They’re easy to clean (just hose them down).

7. They dry easily when they get wet. I’ve worn them straight from being washed, and they were dry a few minutes later.

8. They look more normal than VFFs, so you can wear them throughout the day and not get stared at. In my case I can even wear them to work, but I guess I’m one of the few lucky ones who can do that

9. They’re cheaper than VFFs, especially on that half-price sale.

The cons:

1. They’re slightly heavier than the VFFs. Not by much, but enough to feel it with every step. It’s nothing serious, though; running is still a joy.

2. The soles are thicker. I don’t know the measurement, but they’re definitely not “minimalist” in this sense. I can still feel the ground more than with regular rubber shoes, but nothing beats the naked feel of VFFs. Or of actual barefoot, for that matter.

3. Sand, pebbles, and mud can get in between your feet and the insoles. It’s easy to get rid of them, though: just give the Chaskis a shake, or you could just run and wait for the foreign objects to dislodge.

4. It takes a while – and a lot of patience – to get the laces just right. You have to experiment with what works with you, but for running the traditional lacing is ideal.

5. It’s not that easy to wear them. The laces are soft so you need to hold them up when you slip into the sandals. Otherwise they just lie flat against the insoles.

6. They’re loud! The soles are made of rubberized plastic, and when they hit the ground they make an audible sound that can get distracting in a quiet setting.

I’ll be using the Chaskis more in the following weeks to see how they hold up. For now, I can safely say they’re good for running and can recommend them. In Davao City, they’re available at Chimes.Random Posts:

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Yes, barefoot. Or more correctly, barefoot-style. George is one of a growing number of runners who have thrown away their traditional running shoes in favor of a bare-bones approach that emphasizes using the feet as they were designed, not encasing them in rubber and polymer.

Our feet, with 20 muscles and 26 bones each, were designed to move across a variety of surfaces unshod. If you think that hurts, then try to remember when you were a child running across the living room or the garage – or even the playground – without any shoes on. If it was fun for you as a three-year-old, why shouldn’t it be fun at 30, or 40, or at any other age?

George first heard of barefoot running when he read an article about Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian runner who won the marathon in the 1960 Olympics – barefoot. “I just thought it was weird,” he says. Last year, however, George came across a study by a Harvard University team that showed that modern day humans are basically running the wrong way.

Most people run with the heels hitting the ground first, followed by the rest of the feet, ending up with the toes. It’s not our fault: heel strike is literally forced on us by the modern running shoe, which is designed with the heel as the biggest part.

According to the Harvard study, this high heel “makes it easier to heel strike because the sole below the heel is typically about twice as thick as the sole below the forefoot. So if your foot would tend to land flat when barefoot, it will land on the heel when in a shoe.”

But the same study says landing on the heels when we run subjects our body to up to three times our body weight. This is equivalent to “someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer using 1.5 to as much as three times your body weight. These impacts add up, since you strike the ground almost 1,000 times per mile!”

So how should we run? The study affirms how humans have run for ages before the invention of the running shoe: with a forefoot or midfoot strike, the kind of stride we do when we run barefoot – in other words, the way we used to run as little children. The Harvard study says this kind of collision “produces a very slow rise in force with no distinct impact transient. There is ESSENTIALLY NO IMPACT TRANSIENT (highlight theirs) in a forefoot strike. The same is true of some (but not all) midfoot strikes.”

“I thought Abebe Bikila was crazy,” George says, “and so was anyone attempting to do the same. But now, I have huge respect for barefoot runners.”

When he first took up running, George used his old Nike Alvords. “But I felt heavy and stiff, and on longer runs I felt a slight pain in the shin area. On the following run I ditched the shoes and went barefoot… It felt weird at first but I somehow enjoyed it because I felt no pain at all. I got a pair of VFFs the soonest they were available because I wanted to retain the ‘barefoot’ feel without worrying about being punctured by a rusty nail.”

Barefoot shoes?

The VFFs George is referring to are Vibram Fivefingers, footwear that look more like gloves than shoes because they have individual pockets for each toe. The soles are just thick enough to keep pebbles and broken glass from slicing the feet; otherwise, they offer absolutely no support for the feet – and that’s a good thing. The barefoot mindset believes that the feet are perfect the way they are – no need for support or correction.

For government employee Neil Jasper Merin, running this way just made sense since “our ancestors ran barefoot to hunt or to evade hunters.” But he says he also put into consideration that “we and the past generations have always been wearing shoes for almost every waking hour.” He first tried running barefoot with his wife at the beach in Little Boracay (in Sta. Maria, Davao del Sur) and found it to be exhilarating, and so he decided to buy VFFs through his mother in the US.

It used to be that hard for Davaoeños to get their hands, er, feet on VFFs since they were available only at the Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, but Chimes Specialty Store recently changed the game and started selling them. The store’s vice president for merchandising, Cindy Yap, first saw VFFs in the Today Show and in magazines before seeing the actual product at the VFF store at Powerplant.

“A friend who does yoga told me I should try it, so I bought a pair for my Pilates workout.” Cindy hasn’t run with her VFFs yet, but she has tried them on the treadmill and plans to take them out on the road this year.

Pleased with her new exercise shoes, Cindy contacted the official Philippine distributor last October and the two agreed to display VFFs at Chimes. “I feel there is a market for it here in Davao,” Cindy says. “The idea is not looks or fashion; it has a purpose and has features that are not seen in other shoes. VFFs have a lot of benefits.”

VFFs come in a variety of styles, and Davaoeños who are interested in exploring barefoot-style running can now try the VFFs at the ground floor of Chimes.

George and Neil plan to use their VFFs exclusively for their runs, and George has even used his pair in his work, which involves walking through roads-less-traveled (Neuraltech Innovations is a Davao-based technology startup that primarily designs and implements GPS-enabled systems and weather monitoring systems). Both are sold on barefoot-style running, and they hope to influence others to run the same way.Random Posts:

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The information on the data as well as on their unique advocacy is on their site, so I’ll go ahead and say that I’ve joined in and displayed their button at my sidebar. What does it do? Well, for that simple addition to jambayan, Stock Displays will plant one tree.

“The UNFCC calculates that each tree helps to remove around 10kg of carbon from the atmosphere every year. This means that by adding the button, and having a tree planted, your blog will become carbon neutral, moreover, it will actually be carbon positive! In fact, if all 200m blogs in the world signed up to the initiative, rather than contributing 700,000 tonnes of carbon, the blogosphere would actually help remove 2.1m tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year!!” (From www.stockdisplays.co.uk/carbon-neutral-blogs)

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On the day of our trip I was still as healthy as a horse, so I had no choice but board the ship for the three-day trip (plane fare was prohibitively expensive back then, especially for missionaries like us). The long trip only served to heighten my apprehensions, even though our leader tried his best to convince me that everything was going to be all right. When we neared the city I stood at port and viewed the city from afar. Not so bad, I thought. But then the ship made a U-turn and I was soon faced with an island so beautiful I literally gasped. It was full of coconut trees, surrounded by the whitest sand I had ever seen. That was the moment I fell in love with Davao City – although I soon learned that it was Samal Island, Davao del Norte that I had seen.

When we got down at the pier I marveled at how clean everything was, in stark contrast to the pier in Manila. I also remember breathing in the air and realizing that sea air actually smelled good: all my life I had thought the sea smelled of rotten eggs since that was my experience whenever I went to Manila Bay. We drove out of the pier and again I was surprised at how orderly, clean, and open everything was. And the people! Everyone was friendly and accommodating, quite unlike Manileños who were rude and unfriendly. Our summer camp was also a special time for me, and I could see how hungry the youth were for God’s Word. I actually imagined myself staying for a longer period in Davao.

And that’s exactly what I did. We stayed only a week here, but at the end of the camp I had already begun praying that God would bring me back. When God confirmed this to me in Manila I readily asked our leader to assign me here, and after a lot of explanations he agreed. I arrived on July 20, 1990, and save for a few months in 1991, I have never left.

Davao has been good to me. I found my wife here, I found my calling as a journalist and as a worship leader here. My two children were born here. And, to quote a professor-friend who also fell in love with the city, Davao will be “the land of my dying breath.”Random Posts:

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