The stress doesn't end there. We also had to decorate our area. The theme is punk rock and so we made a Rocker Santa for that rock n' roll vibe.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
'Tis the Season to be Busy
December is, indeed, the busiest month of the year. Endless partying, last-minute Christmas shopping, fat-burning gift wrapping, and many more. I guess this is the most stressful yet fun-filled Christmas I've ever had. In preparation for our corporate year-end gathering, nine different divisions will compete for the best Christmas presentation and so I'm gonna give you a sneak peek of what we've been doing in the past couple of days.
The stress doesn't end there. We also had to decorate our area. The theme is punk rock and so we made a Rocker Santa for that rock n' roll vibe.
The stress doesn't end there. We also had to decorate our area. The theme is punk rock and so we made a Rocker Santa for that rock n' roll vibe.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
I have been invited by Her Majesty.
It was such an honor to be invited by the Queen herself. It was not my first time to meet the Queen but believe me, it was unimaginably exciting. Alright, alright, I did not meet Queen Elizabeth or any queen from somewhere else. I went to Cebu, the queen city of the south.
Cebu is one of the famous cities in the Philippines. Located in the Visayas region, Cebu was already the center of trade in the south even before the Spanish colonization. However, it is the Spaniards who brought Catholicism in the Philippines and it all started in Cebu.
Enough about history, I went to Cebu for a business trip and that's what I want to share with you. I know you're thinking that all I did there was eat and work but you're wrong. Yes, I had to work but I made sure I would have the best business trip ever. Allow me to share some photos I took during my four-day trip in Cebu.
These were what I went to Cebu for. We joined the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. National Congress 2010 to promote our new products namely: the RFID LibBest, CE-Platform and the Philippine E-Journals(www.ejournals.ph). I was sent to Cebu with one of our digital librarians and our E-Publishing head. We stayed at the booth to entertain questions and distribute flyers on our first day. The next day, we did the same but with presentations and sponsored a party for the attendees.
After the party, we felt like we've done our part and it was time for us to relax and do what we do best, party! Yes, we had lots of time to party and get around the city. I never had the chance to try the SkyWalk and the Edge Coaster during my first trip to Cebu with mom so this time I made sure I try it with friends. It really took my breath away. At first, I felt like not walking further during the SkyWalk experience. There were no railings and I only had to hold onto the harness to support myself. Good thing it was not windy when I started the trail. Took some photos and then we were asked to stand on the edge of the platform and pose as if we were Superman. It was surely nerve-wracking and I thought I looked terrified in that particular photo.
The following pictures are proofs of how much we enjoyed the trip. Plus, you'd see my Korean student I met during my third night in Cebu. I taught her for a couple of months and before I quit teaching, she flew to Cebu to study English. It was our first time to see each other in person.
Cebu is one of the famous cities in the Philippines. Located in the Visayas region, Cebu was already the center of trade in the south even before the Spanish colonization. However, it is the Spaniards who brought Catholicism in the Philippines and it all started in Cebu.
Enough about history, I went to Cebu for a business trip and that's what I want to share with you. I know you're thinking that all I did there was eat and work but you're wrong. Yes, I had to work but I made sure I would have the best business trip ever. Allow me to share some photos I took during my four-day trip in Cebu.
These were what I went to Cebu for. We joined the Philippine Librarians Association, Inc. National Congress 2010 to promote our new products namely: the RFID LibBest, CE-Platform and the Philippine E-Journals(www.ejournals.ph). I was sent to Cebu with one of our digital librarians and our E-Publishing head. We stayed at the booth to entertain questions and distribute flyers on our first day. The next day, we did the same but with presentations and sponsored a party for the attendees.
After the party, we felt like we've done our part and it was time for us to relax and do what we do best, party! Yes, we had lots of time to party and get around the city. I never had the chance to try the SkyWalk and the Edge Coaster during my first trip to Cebu with mom so this time I made sure I try it with friends. It really took my breath away. At first, I felt like not walking further during the SkyWalk experience. There were no railings and I only had to hold onto the harness to support myself. Good thing it was not windy when I started the trail. Took some photos and then we were asked to stand on the edge of the platform and pose as if we were Superman. It was surely nerve-wracking and I thought I looked terrified in that particular photo.
The following pictures are proofs of how much we enjoyed the trip. Plus, you'd see my Korean student I met during my third night in Cebu. I taught her for a couple of months and before I quit teaching, she flew to Cebu to study English. It was our first time to see each other in person.
The Real Outsider
I've been contemplating on a conversation I had with a friend two days ago. It started with blog sites about families and the kids. We exchanged ideas about how couples transform into selfless creatures when a baby is born. Seeing those pictures and reflecting on that idea felt magical. It seemed as if it was not human-like. Or maybe I'm too young to understand and not ready for that kind of transformation yet. Nevertheless, it was a real eye-opener to both of us to somehow realize how divine God is that He created such creatures capable of loving and caring for a total stranger and someone whose life will never be owned by anybody.
This led me to opening up the issue of adoption. There's really nothing wrong about adoption but some people find it hard to accept an idea such as this. Why? And so I began to wonder why couples adopt. I have a cousin who just adopted a baby girl. They waited and tried for fifteen years to have a child but they ended up adopting a baby. Why did they need to wait that long and end up adopting anyway? I tried to put myself in their shoes and I realized how bad it would make me feel to know that I will never be able to produce an offspring. It's like a slap on one's face. We surely can do things we never thought we could. We have both the egg and the sperm cells but why can't we make a baby? It surely is not a skill we can acquire. That's what's frustrating. We can all excel in different aspects but that doesn't give us the right to control everything. This is what makes every couple hesitant in adopting a child. Eventually they learn that whether it came from your own womb or from someone else, it really does not make a difference. This life we have is only borrowed. This makes us all equal and that's why we cannot separate the legitimate from the illegitimate. The word illegitimate does not apply and should not be applied to humans.
The real outsider doesn't exist. It never did. People, us, we created this. It was an idea which evolved since mostly everybody has their own opinion but never an original idea. So think twice. Would you still consider yourself an outsider? Your answer should be NO!
This led me to opening up the issue of adoption. There's really nothing wrong about adoption but some people find it hard to accept an idea such as this. Why? And so I began to wonder why couples adopt. I have a cousin who just adopted a baby girl. They waited and tried for fifteen years to have a child but they ended up adopting a baby. Why did they need to wait that long and end up adopting anyway? I tried to put myself in their shoes and I realized how bad it would make me feel to know that I will never be able to produce an offspring. It's like a slap on one's face. We surely can do things we never thought we could. We have both the egg and the sperm cells but why can't we make a baby? It surely is not a skill we can acquire. That's what's frustrating. We can all excel in different aspects but that doesn't give us the right to control everything. This is what makes every couple hesitant in adopting a child. Eventually they learn that whether it came from your own womb or from someone else, it really does not make a difference. This life we have is only borrowed. This makes us all equal and that's why we cannot separate the legitimate from the illegitimate. The word illegitimate does not apply and should not be applied to humans.
The real outsider doesn't exist. It never did. People, us, we created this. It was an idea which evolved since mostly everybody has their own opinion but never an original idea. So think twice. Would you still consider yourself an outsider? Your answer should be NO!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Delightful Turkish Delight
This is definitely not your usual strawberry/lemon-flavored candy. It originated in Turkey and became more popular when Edmund, from The Chronicles of Narnia, betrayed his own siblings when Queen Jadis offered him some of these treats.
Curiosity got over me that I quickly looked for stores that sell Turkish Delight in Manila. I got this from Marks and Spencer for 350php. Quite expensive for a box of 20. Anyways, it is extremely sweet and you'd feel as if you're eating flowers when you get the pink ones. The yellow ones are lemon-flavored, which I liked more.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Kapisanan Ng Mga May "Tamaaa"
No one can ever take the artist in me.
Tama? Tamaaa.
Iba man ang naging dating ng aking mga larawan sa iyo, WALA AKONG PAKIALAM.
Subalit sa pagkakataong ito, magiging maingat na ako sa aking mga ibinabahagi. Ang ilan sa maseselang larawang ginawa at gagawin ko ay makikita na lamang ng pribado.
Salamat sa pag-aalala at pabilin.
Iba man ang naging dating ng aking mga larawan sa iyo, WALA AKONG PAKIALAM.
Subalit sa pagkakataong ito, magiging maingat na ako sa aking mga ibinabahagi. Ang ilan sa maseselang larawang ginawa at gagawin ko ay makikita na lamang ng pribado.
Salamat sa pag-aalala at pabilin.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Are you up for the game?
Just when you thought you know yourself well, comes "Kokology". What is "Kokology" and what makes it an interesting game?
According to Wikipedia, Kokology is the study of kokoro (Japanese: 心) which in aforementioned language means "mind" or "spirit". The series of Kokology books were created by Tadahiko Nagao and Isamu Saito,[1] a professor at Rissho and Waseda Universities in Japan and an author of a number of bestselling books regarding psychology and relationships.
The main focus is the analysis of the deep psyche. Using theories from Freud and Jung. Kokology Questions typically are "guided" Day Dreams or Submodalities
The books present a series of psychological and hypotheticals[2] that are designed to reveal one's hidden attitudes about sex, family, love, work, and other elements of one's life. It is essentially a game of self-discovery that can provide interesting, and often hilarious insight by answering questions to seemingly innocent topics.
Now, that's so much for a game. Though it was not designed for kids, it was surely designed for the young at heart.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Luna's Day Trip
After a year, Luna has finally come back! This time she decided to visit Manila instead of going back to Cebu. Once again, I became "Philippines Most Wanted Tourist Guide".
It was such a challenge to make a day trip as fun as possible. There are limited places you could see in Manila. Malls everywhere and that's it. I believe that malls should not be a tourist destination. Travelers surely have malls back home. Anyways, there's the ever famous Intramuros, where I told her to follow Rizal's footprints and take pictures of the calesa. Speaking of calesa, I had Luna try riding the calesa and go around Intramuros. I failed to bring her to Luneta since it was getting unbearably hot and we were both hungry so we went straight to Harbour Square where we had a sumptuous Filipino traditional lunch (Harbour Square is right across the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and is less than ten minutes away from Intramuros). I wanted Luna to try authentic Filipino dishes so I brought her to Dencio's Grill. She liked the food, especially the sago't gulaman. After lunch, we met Carmelle at the Mall of Asia. Luna has seen SM Cebu and was overwhelmed when she finally saw how huge this mall along Diosdado Macapagal highway was. I introduced Carmelle to Luna a few months ago when Luna and I started tweeting each other. It was, indeed, a good idea to bring Carmelle along since she loves K-Pop so much that she sounds Korean already. They endlessly talked about Korean male singers, actors, and many more over coffee and crepes at Cafe Breton. That meant more quiet hours for me. Heavy rain poured while we were having dessert so we opted to stay a little bit longer and take more photos.
It has become a tradition for me to bring guests to Bonifacio High Street. I love the place and I'm more than sure that my guests would feel the same way. As expected, Luna loved it. Brought her to my favorite bookstore, where we played "Kokology".
Kokology is the study of kokoro (Japanese: 心) which in aforementioned language means "mind" or "spirit". The series of Kokology books were created by Tadahiko Nagao and Isamu Saito,[1] a professor at Rissho and Waseda Universities in Japan and an author of a number of bestselling books regarding psychology and relationships.
The main focus is the analysis of the deep psyche. Using theories from Freud and Jung. Kokology Questions typically are "guided" Day Dreams or Submodalities
The books present a series of psychological and hypotheticals[2] that are designed to reveal one's hidden attitudes about sex, family, love, work, and other elements of one's life. It is essentially a game of self-discovery that can provide interesting, and often hilarious insight by answering questions to seemingly innocent topics.(www.wikipedia.org)
It was such an interesting game that our conversations went deeper and we all got the chance to know each other a little bit better (Might as well try this game with my other friends soon). Fresh from the very personal game we played, we struggled thinking where to have dinner. Eventually, we chose Chelsea Market and Cafe to have salad, pasta and the weird-looking pea soup. Over dinner, Luna kept on complaining about a terrible headache so we decided to head back to her hotel so she could take her meds. After an hour or two, we decided to bring her to Greenbelt. Dropped by Bizu to buy some French macarons and had beer at Nuvo, stayed there until the wee hours of the morning, talked about K-POP, and other girl stuff.
The next day, Carmelle and I picked Luna up at the hotel and had breakfast at UCC Park Cafe 6750. We endlessly took photos and talked about cosmetics, importance of wearing make-up, and photographyyyyyyyyy. Luna finally got the chance to explore the features of her newly bought camera and I was able to check out what mirrorless cameras can offer. Personally, if you are a digital SLR owner, buying a mirrorless camera would be like a downgrade, unless you buy one just for fun. The camera does everything for the photographer. It sets the aperture and shutter speed automatically, has a great picture resolution, and serves as a camcorder. Great for beginners who are into film making. Everything is effortless though that's why for serious photographers, this is a total bore. For Lumix (specify the model), the lens can't be zoomed in and out manually. No manual focus even. Nonetheless, it's worth the money.
The next day, Carmelle and I picked Luna up at the hotel and had breakfast at UCC Park Cafe 6750. We endlessly took photos and talked about cosmetics, importance of wearing make-up, and photographyyyyyyyyy. Luna finally got the chance to explore the features of her newly bought camera and I was able to check out what mirrorless cameras can offer. Personally, if you are a digital SLR owner, buying a mirrorless camera would be like a downgrade, unless you buy one just for fun. The camera does everything for the photographer. It sets the aperture and shutter speed automatically, has a great picture resolution, and serves as a camcorder. Great for beginners who are into film making. Everything is effortless though that's why for serious photographers, this is a total bore. For Lumix (specify the model), the lens can't be zoomed in and out manually. No manual focus even. Nonetheless, it's worth the money.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Intramuros
- Entrance Fee (Fort Santiago) - P75 for Adults
- Calesa Ride (A tour around Intramuros) - w/o guide P250, with guide P300
- Located right across CCP and is less than ten minutes away from Intramuros. Taxi fare: P65
- Lunch good for 3-4 people at Dencio's Grill ranges from P1000 to P2000.
- Try their "Lost Paradise" crepe, which has rum in it and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
I had Cafe Legoise or Lejoise. Darn it! I forgot how to spell it. Anyways, it's such a sweet treat for coffee lovers.
*Luna wanted to bring some dried mangoes back to Korea.
- Dried Mangoes - 3pcs. for P100 (small), 3pcs. for P200 (big)
- Played "Kokology" at Fully Booked. Bought the book for a discounted price due to the damaged cover, which I believe was not that damaged at all.
- Ate dinner at Chelsea Market and Cafe. Dinner good for 3 ranges from P1,900 up.
- Bought some French macarons at Bizu.
- Had beer at Nuvo until 1:30 in the morning.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
UCC Park Cafe 6750
Carmelle and Luna had brunch while discussing "Make-up 101."
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