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…
Category: life
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…
My 29th Year
It's May 6, more than 2 weeks after I turned 29. Yes, I'm that old. And it's time to recap the journey that was my 29th year as a Diyosa. :) As I turned 28, going into the 29th year of my life, my heart was broken but my career was going great. Right after my birthday, the Avatar Media team held the 3rd Davao Food Appreciation Tour. And what an event it was. In 4 days, 19 bloggers ate at 7 restaurants and enjoyed 4 adventures. All in one city, Davao City. Around the same time, I embarked on a creative journey as I joined both an Advanced Make Up Workshop and a Beads Jewelry Design Seminar. The first one with Maybelline Philippines' Chief Color Artist Archie Tolentino, and the second one with renowned jewelry designer Em Mariano. Both seminas have molded me into a better kikay. I went to Cebu for the 1st Cebu Blog Camp, where a lot of Mindanao New Media members also joined. I delivered a talk on "Blogging in the Community, for the Community." I'd like to think it was a well-received talk. Kudos to Winston, Vanjahnn, and the rest of the organizers! I…
2011 Birthday Wishlist
Dear family, classmates, acquaintances, business contacts, blog readers, and friends, It's April. My birth month. My birthday is April 28, 1982. I'm turning 29. And you guys have about 27 days to think about it and buy me a present. I've had a really great year on earth and I'd like to give back. If you want to make me really, really, really happy, you can help me out with my birthday celebration that I will be having with the kids of the Down Syndrome Foundation. The Down Syndrome Foundation is one of the partners of the JCI Davaoeña Daba Daba. You may contribute your time, food, or money to the kids during my celebration with them sometime early May. I hope that you can join and help out in this thanksgiving celebration. Any form of help or donation for the celebration or for the Down Syndrome Foundation will be very much appreciated. Or you can do one of these things: Donate blood to the Philippine Red Cross. It can save lives as blood donations saved mine. Donate to the Help Japan Project. It's a project led by my high school classmates. Donate books for the JCI Davaoeña Daba Daba…
The Making of a Billboard
In September 2007, I jokingly blogged that I want to be in a billboard. If not along EDSA, maybe one along Bangkerohan Bridge, one of the main bridges in Davao City that connects the south to the north. And I reiterated this wish in my Feeling Ko Sikat Ako post. Imagine my excitement when Ms. Victoria Evangelista asked me to be featured in a billboard for Crepelato, a local gelato and dessert shop. I was to be featured with some other Davao personalities and two of my cousins (who shall remain unnamed since they might kill me). Among those to be featured are DOT XI Director Art Boncato, local TV personality and magazine director Ian Garcia, and photgorapher/events host/magazine contributor and consultant Jojie Alcantara. I'm a camwhore and wannabe celeb... I immediately said yes. So one fine day in January 2011, I went to Envy Me Salon to have my hair done, went home to put make up on myself, dress up, and went to Crepelato for the photo shoot. I was a bit bigger than I would have wanted, but I trusted that my hair and my face would distract the public from noticing my ginormous arms. And yeah,…
Me and the Minute Maid Pulpy Natural Goodness
I just drank a bottle of Minute Maid Pulpy. They say it’s got ‘no preservatives added’. Aw, c’mon…It’s bottled juice. Is that even possible? So I thought maybe... it is true coz ithere's so much fruity goodness in it . I didn’t believe it the first time I heard it’s got no preservatives added. So I read the ingredients (even the fine print) and everything checked out! It really has NO PRESERVATIVES ADDED! That means it doesn’t have ingredients that may turn out to be allergens, or worse...carcinogens! Whew! Now that’s healthy goodness that tastes so good, I... love it because I am allergic to a lot of things and with my illnesses, i have to be careful about what I drink. So okay, it’s got no preservatives added. That’s really good, right? Not just because it doesn’t have those icky, harmful ingredients, but it also means... it's all natural goodness, all natural flavor, all natural taste. So far anyone who still has a hard time believing that Minute Maid has got no preservatives added - meaning it's THAT natural, it's almost like it's plucked straight from the tree, it's just as Mother Nature wanted your orange juice to be,…