On April 28, 2012, I will turn 30 years old. To celebrate this milestone, I have decided to start a 100 Days Project. A challenge to blog each day for 100 days until my birthday. The blog post may be about anything but mostly magical memories from the past 30 years. And this is my first post. Last year, two months before I turned 29, I joined the Junior Chamber International (JCI). My chapter is JCI Davaoena Daba Daba. With this participation and the influence of my Mommy, I decided to celebrate my birthday in a different manner. My Mommy, you see, always takes time to celebrate her birthday with kids from the Waterlily Foundation. I, on the other hand, decided to celebrate my birthday with the kids of the DS Foundation, a non-stock, non-profit organization that provides education for kids with Down Syndrome. The DS Foundation is one of the partner organizations and beneficiaries of Daba Daba. About 2 months before my birthday, I picked a date to have a party at DS Foundation and called on all my relatives and friends to share their time and resources for the celebration. And I was very happy by the response.…
Category: life
Jar of Hearts
It's been several months and yet this song still comes to mind every now and then. The song is "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri. It talks about a former lover who goes around making girls fall in love with him only to break the girls' hearts. In the song, the guy is looking for the girl again but the girl won't have him back because she knows he'll only hurt her again. Yeah, yeah, yeah... I still love the guy. And though he does not want me back, I feel that this song speaks to me strongly right now. Not quite that bitter but I'm still a bit angry. So this is my song right now. Especially this line... "Who do you think you are? Runnin' 'round leaving scars Collecting your jar of hearts And tearing love apart" Sad, noh? Really sad. The song is very melancholic. And I've been listening to it a lot lately. Haaay... Hope to get over this phase soon.
Looking Forward to Iloilo Again
I was able to go to Iloilo City for the first time last year and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The people, the food, the sights, and the over-all ambiance of the city made me feel at home. My Iloilo trip opened with quite a bang. A relative treated Winston and I to a lunch at Breakthrough. Winston declared that talaba was just as delicious as oysters. LOL! Aside from generous amounts of oysters, we also had shrimps kinilaw, crab meat omelette, and grilled fish. All of them memorable. My uncle almost convinced me to take a road trip to Roxas just to eat even more seafood. I was able to go on a walking tour of Iloilo City with bloggers Fitz, Don, Winston, Rina, and our knowledgeable guide, Sam. I enjoyed it even if I absolutely loathe walking. Iloilo has very interesting architecture and old structures from the Spanish era are still in place. Plus, they have many beautiful churches with interesting stories. The tour ended with a sunset view of Guimaras and a hearty dinner at Carlito's, punctuated with Baye-Baye ala Mode. I was able to go out a couple of nights. I ate yummy ribs and beef stew…
Checklist for My November 2011 Manila Trip
I'm going to Manila this November to attend some functions, have a few meetings, and for a little bit of vacation. I want this trip to be a bit different. Instead of coffee shops, malls, and the usual places I go to, I want to go to unique places. Binondo The first time I went to Binondo was sometime 2005 or 2006 with my cousin. We had joined a walking tour. I was fascinated by the temples, old houses, and old buildings. I also enjoyed the food and the other sights that I saw. Kuya Andrew, several friends and I went to Binondo for another walking tour in 2008. Aside from the yummy food we ate, I found walking through Binondo to be an interesting experience. I'm not really Chinese but I found the culture, the sights, and sounds to be very homey. And I do want to go back for another walking tour. Philippine National Museum People suggested that I visit museums. Silly me. I have never been to the Philippine National Museum. Not even when our History professor asked us to go there. But I do want to go. It's embarrassing to be almost 30 and never having…
Five Things to Do in Zamboanga
I was in Zamboanga for a short time and I was only able to visit for a few places, but I enjoyed it and I am looking forward to visiting Zamboanga again soon. Here are the top five things I suggest you do in Zamboanga: Eat Curacha with Alavar Sauce First off, I apologize that I don't have a photo of this delicious sinfully great dish but me and my friends were excited to eat when it was served. So eat we did. Curacha is a crab species common in Zamboanga. It has more meat in the body than most other crab species. What makes the Curacha in Alavar Sauce even better than other curacha dishes is the Alavar Sauce. Alavar sauce is a combination of crab fat and coconut milk. It's a rich rich rich sauce that devilishly good. It complements the curacha well, and it's even great enough to be eaten with just about any meat... even with just rice. Mmm... Visit Fort Pilar Fort Pilar is a remnant from Zamboanga's colonial past. It is now a Catholic Marian shrine and a branch of the National Museum. A visit to Fort Pilar is a great way to know…
My 29th Year Part Deux
Despite the illness, the challenges of my house arrest, and the extra safety and health precautions I have to take, I am very grateful to be alive. There was a change in me. and people noticed. I gained a ton of weight, around 20 lbs. And then there was less drinking, less night outs, less stress, and less work. While I was sick, I had to skip a lot of events and was given less workload. While resting, I pondered on a lot of things like love and relationships, forgiveness, letting go and moving on, and many other things about life and dealing with its challenges. This was when I accepted that I couldn't control a lot of things in my life and I accepted it, not quite wholeheartedly, but there was acceptance. I realized that there was really nothing else I'd like to do more than to write. And I told myself I was going to be ok as long as I can write and share my crazy thoughts to the world. I was allowed to go to Metro Manila with the Avatar Media Team for WordCamp Philippines 2010. I delivered the opening remarks to the event and was…