I entered college in 1999, more than 10 years ago. Back then, I had promised to keep in touch with my friends who were going to other colleges. It seemed easy, mobile phones were starting to get more trendy and cheaper. Prepaid mobile services were just starting to get popular. But it wasn't really that easy. Subscribers from one network couldn't send messages to subscribers to other networks. Calls were expensive. Internet connection was mostly dial-up, slow, clogged up the landline phones, and was expensive. While I had a mobile phone and a relatively fast internet connection at my cousin's house where I stayed, not a lot of my friends were in the same mobile network or didn't have email addresses. I did manage to keep in touch with friends in the same network. All the time. Until mobile networks decided to charge for SMS. As for friends abroad, I sent them ecards. That was trendy back then. Haha! And yes, I did send my friend in Baguio some snail mail every now and then. LOL! Back then, I made an email group and a website for my batchmates. It was so we could keep tabs on everybody. It was…
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 Script’s Breakeven
I know I said I will try my best not to be emo this year. And I'm trying my hardest. But indulge me for a moment. I am sick and it's a gloomy Monday afternoon. My friends reminded me of The Script and this song is precisely how I feel right now... (And yeah, also a bit of The Man Who Can't Be Moved.) No, a man has not broken my heart again. Not yet. Just that I can totally relate to this song. :) Needless to say, I'm still recovering from my last heartbreak and I can't help but feel like I was and still am at the losing end. I'd like to think he wasn't the best part of me, but he certainly gave me plenty of reasons to be happy about. Most of which was how much I could depend on him to be on my side. All the time, no matter what. I'm not sure if he's happy right now. Or if he's better off without me. But I'm hoping there will be better days ahead for me. And for him. Because even if our hearts didn't break evenly, we both deserve to be happy. Here's…
Tuka Bay Marine Sanctuary
The Soccsksargen Experience (SEx) continued with lunch at Lourdes Park courtesy of the Kiamba LGU. Kiamba is one of the municipalities of Sarangani Province. Among other dishes, we had a sumptuous lechon de leche for our lunch feast. It was definitely a delight. :) After lunch, we rode a boat for a tour of the Tuka Bay Marine Sanctuary... The coves are really nice for a relaxing day at the beach. The waters are pristine and the beach is deserted. Sad to say, however, that the nice coral reefs below the surface are being overran with Crown of Thorns Sea Stars which are overpopulating the sea. As a consequence, it is stifling the corals and affecting the life cycle of many fish and other aquatic species. The Kiamba LGU is looking at holding education seminars for local divers, fishermen, and residents so they can help in harvesting the Crown of Thorns Sea Stars to help save Tuka Bay. If you are interested in helping out with this initiative, please send me a message at riajose at gmail dot com. Many thanks to the Kiamba and Sarangani Province LGUs, Avel Manansala, and the Soccsksargen Bloggers for the wonderful and educational Day…
A Trip to Maitum, Sarangani
The Soccsksargen Experience (SEx) Tour opened with a trip to Maitum. Soccsksargen stands for South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saragani, and General Santos, the provinces of South Central Mindanao, Region XI. Maitum is a town in Sarangani Province. And it paved the way to get the SEx Tour participants excited with the event. The first stop was the Maitum Town Hall which also housed the Maitum Museum. The museum housed cultural and historical artifacts of the town and its indigenous people. The most remarkable artifacts were the clay jars which held the bones of the early people of Maitum. The museum also had a display of indigenous music instruments and costumes including several tinalak belts and textiles. Up next was a hearty breakfast prepared by Cresing's Food Products. It was a cornucopia of seafood, organically grown rice, salted eggs, veggies, and rice coffee drinks. I absolutely enjoyed it and want to go back for more, more, more. Our last stop in Maitum is the Maitum River where some of the participants enjoyed a rough tube ride through the white waters of the river. It was certainly a trip with all the right ingredients combined for a total experience: history and…
Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011
On February 23, 2011, 20 of General Santos City's most charming men and most beautiful ladies competed to win the title of Lakan at Lakambini ng Gen San 2011. After the grueling closed door casual interview with the candidates, I was excited to see them on stage at the Atrium of the Gaisano Mall of Gen San. The program was brief and enjoyable. It opened with the candidates donned in their black and white outfits, introducing themselves to the eager audience. After which, the candidates wowed the crowd with their beautiful bodies as they modeled in their swimsuit attire. They also ramped on stage wearing their casual attires sponsored by Freego Jeans. They were also given the chance to showcase their wits and communication skills as they bantered with the pageant hosts. The candidates' had their last chance to wow the crowd and the distinguished board of judges as they wore elegant Filipiana formal wear by Johnny Abad. After which, the top three Lakan candidates and Lakambini candidates were announced. The top three males were Jomie Faulda, Francis Lagudas, and Richard Nuñez, while the top three females were Dallen Baldonado, Gensan Kabatingan, and Joanna Tan. The six contender's intelligence and…