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…
Month: January 2012
100 Days Project: Mr Bariles
98 days to go and I dedicate this day to a dear friend. The second blogger seminar I was ever invited to was the Notre Dame of Marbel University (NDMU) Blogging Seminar organized by bloggers I met in a bloggers event here in Davao. It was 2008 and we had just founded a bloggers organization in Mindanao. I was teeming with enthusiasm and idealism. In that NDMU event, one of the persons I met was a blogger whom I was already following through his blog Dust Dadiangas. Back then, we has an audience member who was generous enough to drive me back to General Santos City from Marbel. The blogger is Avel Manansala who is no longer Mr Dust Dadiangas. And who, more importantly, is no longer just an audience member in blogging events. After the NDMU blogging seminar, Avel and I participated and collaborated in many other events and projects. Primary of which is the establishment of Mindanao New Media. He was also a big supporter of the Davao Food Appreciation Tour (DFAT) since it's first year. In not so many words, Avel supported Davao Bloggers, Avatar Media, and events by these groups ever since I met him on…
100 Days Project: Share your Light
This year, I am bound to celebrate my birthday in another unconventional manner. Our chapter, JCI Davaoena Daba Daba has been appointed as the lead chapter for JCI Philippines in the 2012 implementation of the "Liter of Light" project. The "Liter of Light" project aims to provide a cost-effective, ecologically sustainable daytime light source for the urban and rural poor communities. Watch this video: The Liter of Light project helps communities save on electricity costs and also provides livelihood for those who have been trained to install the solar light bulbs. This is a project which gives citizens the opportunity to help out others in a simple and concrete way. It is a great way to live and celebrate the Bayanihan spirit. I have been appointed to spearhead the launch of "Liter of Light" on April 28, 2012, the day I turn 30. And while it will probably cost me a heart attack, I accepted the challenged with the confidence that all you people... relatives, friends, business clients, colleagues, and readers will be there to help me out. Here's where I ask you to help me make my 30th birthday extra-special. This year, I ask you to collect water and…
100 Days Project: A Unique Birthday
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.…
Re-Discovering Chinatown in Binondo
I have been to Manila countless times and I kinda lived there when I was in college. So every time I look for something different to do each time I go back for work or vacation. When I made my November 2011 Manila Checklist, a Binondo Tour was one of my priorities. Binondo is Manila's Chinatown, the oldest Chinatown in the world. It is where most Filipino-Chinese families settled during the Spanish era. It is located along Pasig River across the Manila's Walled City of Intramuros. The enterprising Chinese settlers made it into a bustling center for trade and commerce. Until now, a lot of Fil-Chinese families reside in Binondo and a lot of their businesses are still located in the vicinity. And of course, it is teeming with food establishments that specialize in various Chinese cuisines. I have been to Binondo only a couple of times. Both times, I enjoyed the tour despite the scorching heat of the sun. The combination of food and history was irresistible to me. I was happy that my friend, a Binondo resident (100% born and raised in Binondo) offered to be my tour guide. As a Chinese food lover with Chinese roots, I…