Peace

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones." -- Albert Einstein

Don't worry. I'm not going to write a bunch of seemingly profound yet nonsensical paragraphs about politics and society, and suffering and injustice. I just like this quote. World peace is something we laugh about when Miss Universe says it; but it is something I truly wish for.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Lanterns at night.

Climbing Mt. Kinabalu

Who: 4 Climbers (Mardy, Madeline, Ann, and me) + 2 guides (Dennis and Manggut)
Where: 4095-meter Mt. Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
When: October 2-3, 2006
Weather: wet, cold, strong gale at 60 mph, very foggy.
Max. Altitude Reached: 3300 meters, Laban Rata Resthouse/Hostel

I have the perfect excuse for not reaching the summit: the park ranger did not allow us to climb the final stretch due to stormy weather at 2:30 am, even though we were all geared up and gongho to go. But the truth is, I was happy that we weren't allowed to climb. My body was low in sodium and was dehydrated the day before and hence, lots of cramps. I wasn't sure if I could make it (hey, cramp's a bitch!). In all cases, I was probably more out of shape than I wanted to admit, so I pretended to be disappointed when the ranger didn't allow us to climb.

"It's okay," I told myself. "You don't always get everything you want in life." Will I go back to climb Mt. Kinabalu again? Hey, if you're in Malaysia, and you want a climbing buddy, you know who to look for :-)