In the past few years, I'd usually publish some blog posts around the time of my birthday recalling events and memories from the past year. I have neglected to do this in honor of my 30th birthday. BOO TO ME! Weeks before my grand 30th birthday, I have already planned to make a video instead of blog posts since I had such a hectic, fun, and super busy year leading up to my 30th birthday. So here it is... To my family and friends, thank you for another memorable year! I won't be able to name all of you since there's so plenty of you. Most of you are in the video... some of you are not. But I love you all dearly, nonetheless. Yes, even the critics, haters, and stressors. And thank you, thank you, thank you for a wonderful birthday, even though it was spent working! ;) Looking forward to more than 525,600 minutes filled with memories, lessons, laughter, tears, and love with all of you. Live. Love. Learn.
Category: Headline
Surf 101 in Dahican, Mati
Ria Jose in Dahican Beach, Mati Anybody who knows me well enough knows I am not a "beach person." When the opportunity to learn how to surf presented itself, I was a bit hesitant but I accepted the challenge because... I don't actually remember why. I'm glad I accepted it because look... Dahican, Mati, Davao Oriental When we arrived in Dahican, it was already dark and our first concern was eating. Then, sleeping. We checked in to Kanakbai Resort. They 2 villas, each with 2 rooms which can comfortably fit 2 - 6 persons. Each villa has a kitchen and a common living room. In the morning, we had a hearty breakfast and set out to learn how to surf. We dropped by one spot but the waves weren't strong enough for surfing. Dahican has a very nice shoreline. It's blue, pristine, and serene. They have spots for swimming and spots for surfing. It's the learning haven for surfers. I love how the beach goes on and on and the resorts aren't too close to the shoreline. After starting to fall in love with the beach of Dahican came the fear of surfing. DUN! DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUN! Scared... After enjoying…
The #GlobeAmplified Racing Experience
On March 23, 2012, Globe Telecom launched their $700 million system transformation in Davao City. This translates to better mobile services along with a better customer service experience. The entire system transformation is is anchored on the tagline "A Bigger Globe for a Bigger YOU!" And the first roll-out for this new system is in... DAVAO CITY! In order to test the system, 21 bloggers and members of local and national media organizations were chosen to participate in a race around Davao City. Together with the Department of Tourism and AirPhil Express, Globe Telecom showcased their amplified services in a unique adventure around Davao City. I was chosen and grouped together with Alex Villafania of loqal.ph and Giovanni Flaviano of the People's Forum. We were Team GCash Remit Purple and I was the team's designated navigator. As navigator, I had to perform tasks and challenges separate from my team. Upon completion of my task, I'd inform my teammates where their next task is. Armed with an iPhone 4S and the Globe network, I raced around Davao City along with other navigators. I had to run through Aldevinco Shopping Center to find a labeled scarf, take pictures at San Pedro Cathedral,…
Davao Bloggers Night Walk
To celebrate the 75th Araw ng Dabaw, Davao Bloggers went out of their comfy cocoons to walk the streets of Davao and enjoy some of the simple delights that the city has to offer. Check this out... We walked around and took photos of the San Pedro Street area. We ate tonsss of street food. I loved the fresh buko (coconut) juice and the kwek kwek with unlimited fresh seaweed and cucumber salad. Then, we took a ride aboard an electric tricycle to go to our final destination for the night: the Hudyakaan Beer Festival. This is where we had our fill of chicken barbeque, pork barbeque, sisig, and rice washed down by glasses of ice cold soda. It was a fun, tummy-filling night of bonding and eating. I'm definitely looking forward to another bonding walk with the interesting guys and girls of Davao Bloggers.
Why I Love Iloilo
Everybody knows I'm fiercely in love with Davao but if there's one place I'd consider relocating to, it would be Iloilo. Iloilo is a small city with a whole lot to offer. Historical and Cultural Tours I love that Iloilo has a lot of nice architecture and historical places from our colonial past. The photowalk I did with friends was very interesting. We took a walk around downtown for several hours. We had a friend, who's a history nut, do the tour with us and he shared some very interesting anecdotes. We ended up in Fort San Pedro to watch the sunset over Guimaras. Such a beautiful site. And a great place to have your photos taken. Recently, I was able to visit and take a tour of the Camiño Balai nga Bato in Villa de Arevalo. It is a well-preserved house from the colonial times. The Camiños was one of the pioneers in the Iloilo weaving industry. And the entire ground floor used to be dedicated to weavers and weaving looms. Most of it still is now. The modern weavers create various sinamay and other cloths that would make for great Filipiniana wear. The Camiños still live in the…
Project 100 Days: Sundays with Cousins
Came home a few minutes ago and rushing to publish this before it turns midnight. That's around 15 minutes left. I spent the entire day, as I do most Sundays, with my relatives. We had lunch at our aunt's house. And just like mot Sundays, we had lechon. We have that like once a month. Nom nom... We also had lots of other great food. Usually, my aunts or some of my cousins (or I) would cook food or bake some sweets for Sunday lunch. But today, most of the food in the lunch spread was bought. But they were all as delicious as our own cooking. After lunch, we spent around 3 hours just sitting around the table, eating whatever was still on the table while watching the local noontime variety show and gossiping about celebrities and random people. LOL! Some of my cousins (obviously me not included) spent time playing with our uber hyper pamangkins. We then went over to a local milk tea shop. It has been our sort of ritual for some time now that we would have some milk tea on Sundays. Our current favorite is Sencha Milk Tea Place where we had milk tea…