Photos as promised

I wrote about my experience in Samal Island the other month and promised to post some photos of it. Here are the pix of us that time. Windy afternoon

With my cuz'n Melissa in Gen. Moncado's House. Behind us is a nice view of Davao City.

Cool waters of Hagimit Falls.

Finally, my requested shot of the cave where the millions of bats are.

Filipino Terms

I was too hungry earlier and was looking for anything to munch just to feed my growling stomach. I saw a cracker and asked my mother if I could have "sky flakes". The brand of the cracker is not sky flakes though but I still called it that way. Before I had my first bite, I laughed at myself because of the term I used to call the cracker. This is one of the examples of Filipino Terms. We sometimes call things by brand names instead of the generic names or we simply have our own term to refer a thing.

Here are other examples of Filipino terms we use daily. I know some of you are using these words in your daily conversation with other people.

Xerox = Photocopy
Colgate = Toothpaste
Coke = Soda
Bachelor (or any known bus company in the area) = Bus
Auto = Car
Frigeder = Refrigerator

I forgot the other terms. You may add if there's more you can remember.

Filipino Wedding Dance

It is common in a filipino wedding that the couple will be dancing while the guests will be pinning peso bills on the couples' dresses. But wouldn't it be great on that special day when the couple will be having a rare and an astounding production number??? Let me share to you a video clip of a couple dancing tinikling in the tune of "Bebot". I was really amazed how they did it. Enjoy!

Millions of Bats

The other week, some relatives came all the way from USA to visit their homeland, Philippines. I spent a day with them in Samal Island. My aunt invited me to go with them on an Inland-Tour. There were 3 destinations for the said tour. First was the Moncado Old White House of General Moncada, it was built on top part of Samal Island wherein I was able to see the nice beaches below and as well as the beautiful city of Davao right from where I stood. Second was the Hagimit Falls, a nice place for swimming and even camping. What fascinated me most was the Monfort Bat Coservation Park. I never expected to see bats that day. All I thought there will just be couple of them but never in my thoughts to see millions of them in one cave. There's no enough space for everyone on the wall of the cave and some were fighting to get a space to rest while waiting for the sun to go down. It was past four when we arrived in the area and all the bats were ready for their night flight. It was an extraordinary experience for me since I'm really scared of bats. They look like rats with wings. It's so disgusting to watch them but before the tour ended I realized that that was such a great wonder of the world to see. Bats are part of the nature and play a great role in the eco-system. They help eliminate insects by eating them. They eat some fruits, specifically that of from Talisay and they will drop the seeds just anywhere allowing another Talisay plant to grow. There must be more profound reason why they do exist. Though I was too scared looking at them and hardly breathe when I get near the cave because of their unexplainable smell, I still asked to have a picture taken as a keepsake. I still have to contact my cousin to e-mail me the photo once they get back to the USA. Meantime, you can check the Bat Sanctuary Website.

Toothpick Made Me Cry

One fine afternoon after work, I was walking in the street alone. The surrounding was so calm and it seems time went so slow. Suddenly, dark clouds covered the shining sun and the rain started to fall. I passed by a grocery store so, I decided to go inside. There was nothing in my mind on what to buy but I just killed the time and waited for the rain to cease. I started to walk in and came into the section where the cellophanes and paper pouches were placed. After taking few more steps, I stood in front of some nice scented candles in different shapes and colors. I picked one and examined how it was made. I was thinking to create one of those when I will have time. I saw more of the sold items but I did not get anything to buy and continued to walk around. I enjoyed looking around. I did not realized that it took me half an hour looking around and I noticed that the rain outside subsided already. I started my way going to the exit when someone held my right elbow and whispered to my ear, "follow me." My eyebrows met, wondering what that meant. I turned and saw that it was the security guard of the store. I heard my heart beating fast and pounding hard. My palms were sweating though the place was cold. I hardly opened my mouth to ask, "what is happening?” I heard no answer from him. My thoughts were playing on what exactly happened awhile ago but I couldn't think of anything that I have done wrong. My knees were trembling. Tears covered my eyes and were about to fall. As we came into the office on the second floor, there were two other people who were waiting. I saw several monitors for the different parts of the store. One came close and asked me to get something from my pocket. I was like, "what?!" He repeated, "get that thing in your pocket." So I slowly placed my hand to check what he wanted to see. To my surprise on my hand was a box of toothpicks. Oh my! How did it get in there? I cannot remember that I placed something inside my blouse's pocket. I was about to explain but it was as if there was a lump in my throat that I couldn't speak but sob. In my mind I was asking "what must I do?" I was not able do anything but cry so hard. How I wished that I would be swallowed by the ground and that I would just disappear. I kept on mumbling to myself, "God, please spare me from this trouble". I was praying so hard. I was still crying and crying until I realized that......I was actually on my bed and that I was just dreaming. My pillow was wet already with tears and I felt my heart was aching. Hayyyy.... Thank God! It was just a dream. I don't want to be put to jail and be on shame just for toothpicks.

(Extracted from my other blog.... Al-t's Domain)

Craving for Siopao

One of the most favorite things I like to do is "eating". (LOL) I think it's not only me, most of us love to eat but I observed something about myself. When I am not able to eat what I am craving for in an instant that I am so hungry, still I will not get full until I get what my taste buds need.

When we were strolling in the mall earlier my tummy started to complain and wants "chicken siopao." Not again! Even I was a kid I already love siopao. It's a complete meal for me. It contains both carbohydrates and protein and no need for me to eat rice and viand. It's been awhile that I was not able to savor one of my favorite filipino delicacies. For those who don't have any idea what siopao is, it is a steamed bun with fillings. My most favorite filling is chicken but there are other varieties, like beef, pork, mongo beans, ube (purple yum). I remember my grandmother, she loves cooking and out of all her recipes I only asked her to give me a copy of her siopao recipe. Her own version of bun is not that super white compared to siopao sold in the market but it is so soft and tasty. Her fillings are not also the usual ones, one of those is sweetened coconut meat. The other kind of filling she put in is vegetarian meat, with potatoes, pineapples and spices. Those are super delicious. Though I was not able to keep the recipe she gave me, I am compiling some links you can refer to if you are interested to make your home-made siopao.

Siopao Recipe: Method #1
Steamed Dumplings
Pinoy Recipe
Kusina ni Manang (Manang's Kitchen)

Sharing My Montage

With the advent of computer and internet, things that were hard to do before seems easy nowadays. Making video presentations in the past were just professionals' thing but by using a software or online tool anyone can make a professional looking slideshow. I've tried One True Media to make my own personal presentation. Simply, I uploaded the photos, chose styles or effects and ohla! my slides are ready! Here's what I made...

Trial Montage

Last Song Syndrome (LSS)

Hello Everyone! I'm here to share to you my fave song for today and maybe for the coming weeks. As part of my daily routine I've visited YouTube to check some cool videos. Under the list of my subscription there is only one member I keep tracking on. So, who's this lucky one?!? Her username is Happy Slip, she is a filipina who lives in California. I've seen all her funny video clips.
Today, I watch her singing "I'm yours" by Jason Mraz. Though I heard that song before as sung by the original artist, it didn't hit me at all until today when I heard a lady's version. Listening to Happy Slip I found the song interesting and I feel like singing it. Mmmm... I need to memorize the lyrics and it will be something to be accomplished before this week ends. Oh no! I'll be singing this song again and again in my mind. I'm suffering LSS!!! I can be contagious. Hope you find the song nice as well.

Song Lyrics

Electronic Buying

Yehey! I just won! Not in the lottery hah... I won the bidding in e-bay. hehehe. I was searching for wedding shoes in ebay.ph and happened to see this nice Janylin sandals for just 50 pesos. Yes, you've read it right, it's fifty pesos. It's not really the exact thing I am looking for to be worn on my wedding but I can wear it in other occasions. Super cheap huh? There were couple of other bidders who were interested too with the sandals so the bidding price reached up to 101 pesos. Still, it's cheap. The pair of sandals is so beautiful for it's price. If you buy Janylin sandals or shoes in the store or in the mall it will cost from 800-3,000 "pesosesoses" depending on the styles. I was able to see a sexy Janylin's wedding shoes in the mall and its price is 3,500+++ pesos. Janylin for 101 pesos is just so perfect.

Electronic buying is one of the conveniences we have right now. We don't have to leave the house and go to the store to buy. We just sit down in front of the computer then look for the things we need and if you're good at surfing and have so much patience, you can get the item at a very low price. Filipinos are starting to learn how to sell and to buy online, particularly in ebay.com.ph. Two years ago there were only few sellers and buyers there. I noticed the increasing number of the members that are fond of buying and selling online.

Other than ebay there are also other Philippine Electronic Stores. Written below are some of the e-stores I found.

www.sulit.com.ph
http://ph.88db.com/ph
http://www.ecbuyph.com/
http://tradeport.com.ph/
http://www.ebuyphilippines.com/
http://www.pinoybuynsell.com/

Lisianthus as Wedding Bouquet

Have you heard about Lisianthus? The first time I saw Lisianthus, all I thought it's a rose. I am not really a big fun of violet or purple shades but looking at the violet Lisianthus, I feel in-love with it right away and I'm considering it to be my wedding bouquet. When I checked in wikipedia, it says there that this flower has connotations of "hope", "wish", or "aspiration" thus making me more long to have a bunch of these precious plants as my bouquet. The flowers' meaning has a great significance in my life. Until there is Lisianthus, it means there is life and when there is life, there is hope.

I wish to have combinations of white and purple but all purple in a bouquet will be fine as long as there are some green leaves that will be wrapped around them. The photo below shows a sample of lisianthus bouquet. Look how lovely the flowers are.

Elegant Wedding Invitations at Low Prices

My wedding is fast approaching and so I keep on looking for wedding stuffs. One of the things that I am browsing online is a perfect wedding invitation design for my wedding. I've seen a lot of beautiful ones. I'm just getting ideas since I already planned even before that I will be the one who will make my own wedding invitation. I've already come up with a wonderful idea and calculated how much it will cost for each invitation that I will make. It will be Php 20 each. Most nice wedding invitations online cost more than Php 100 ($2). However, just earlier I've found a site that creates elegant wedding invitation at a very reasonable price. I will still pursue my plan of making of my own invitation though but I will take this chance of sharing to you about Cardprints. They are making invitations for more than 10 years now. They offer wide choices for customers to choose from. They have different types and colors of papers, varied font styles, unique ribbons and other accessories. You can customize the design of your own invitation depending on your wedding motif. I highly recommend the store for those who want convenience of having nice and elegant wedding invitation.

Who is Ken Lee?

I went to the dentist one time to have my tooth fixed. Just when I lay on the dentist chair, the song on the radio shifted to "Can't Live Without You" by Mariah Carey. I noticed that my dentist was giggling. She called the other dentist and told her that she saw on the youtube about this lady singing the same song but instead of "Can't Live" she sang "Ken Lee". I think that is funny. Well, I got curious that time what was the video all about but I was too busy and forgot to search on youtube. On my next visit to the dentist, the same song was played when I was on the chair. The dentist told me that every time I visit her she always hear the same song. That is ridiculous! I got more interested to see what really that video clip is.

Last night when I was in our unit my co-worker brought a compilation of funny video clips from youtube. I was writing on my charts when I heard "Ken Lee". I jumped out from where I sat and checked what they were watching on the monitor. I bursted out laughing when I saw the woman that my dentist told about. Good that only few patients were left to see how I laughed with my mouth opened wide. Finally, I was able to see what it is. I found out that the lady's name is Valentina and she is from Bulgaria. In fairness, her voice is okay except her lyrics but I do understand her because english is not her language.



I looked for more videos in youtube today about Valentina. It's amazing to know that many people like the way she sings and in fact in the other videos people from her place memorized already her own version of "Can't Live..." I saw also a remix of that song which is cool. It started to become a big hit all over the world.

I realized that language is not a barrier to reach one's goal. Valentina's performance seems like a tragedy during her audition but because she sang from her heart and she was not scared to pronounce every word that she heard many people admire her. I guess if she pronounced those lyrics well she would only be one of those ordinary contestants and she well be forgotten. It's true when they say that there's no harm in trying. She tried and gave her best. That is the spirit! More Power to you Valentina!

What is this all about?

Each day, my aim is to become productive. It's a self-fulfillment that I have once I've reached my daily goals. Such goal may be simple, like getting the plastic ware that I've forgot from the pantry in my workplace or saying hi to a new found friend. Sounds shallow yet those things can make my day and I will go to bed with a sound sleep.

Today I have the urge to make a new blog. I become excited to think on how it will look like and what are the topics that I will be writing about. I ended up with the thought that this blog will just be a general one. It will be a form of my outlet of any unique ideas, new insights and keen observations that I will come up.

Hope you will find this place a venue for learning and laughing wherein together we will be productive in our respective ways. I will be jotting more etceteras as the days will come and hope to hear any reactions from the readers as I am very open to hear etceteras from you.