Hola Zamboanga!

I've wanted to visit Zamboanga for the longest time and I finally made it on my third attempt! Hooray!

My family was anxious about my trip, but I said I was just going to be gone for about 24 hours. I love Mindanao and I have friends all over Mindanao. They call Cagayan de Oro "The city of golden friendship", but to me that extends to all of Mindanao.

My trip went perfectly. Plane took off on time and landed on time. Did not experience any turbulence and the sky was clear. I peered out the window and saw how different Zamboanga's landscape was compared to other places I've been to. I also noted an island and islet near Zamboanga -- Basilan and Santa Cruz I learned later in the day.

Airport to Hotel, literally just a 5 minute walk

My dear friend, Yolynne, was waiting for me outside of the airport. The Garden Orchid Hotel was just a few meters away so we just walked. I didn't even break a sweat. Check-in was a breeze and then we hopped on a tricycle to go to Ateneo de Zamboanga University.

I mused that the school looked a lot like Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro and the building we entered looked like the computer science building of Ateneo de Manila University. I was then surprised by the Sockksargen bloggers who were all sporting DevFest shirts!

We then started the photo walk to Paseo del Mar. We passed the beautiful Metropolitan Cathedral of Immaculate Concepcion. The church was huge and looked very modern.

Zamboanga tour on a Motorbike!

After a few more meters  Avel insisted I back-ride on Arnel's motorcycle since I was on the verge of having an asthma attack. I admit I was terrified since it's been 2 decades since I rode a hopper (take not a hopper and not a motorcycle). Arnel drove slowly and gave me a short tour of the city. We passed by Plaza Rizal, the City Hall, went around Fort Pilar and finally parked at Paseo del Mar.

Paseo del Mar

Paseo del Mar is Zamboanga's newest park/gimmick place. I immediately loved the place because of the breeze coming from the Zamboanga Peninsula. You can also see Basilan and Santa Cruz from Paseo del Mar.

While waiting for the other bloggers (from Davao, GenSan, Iligan and CDO), Arnel, Blogie and I shared a pizza (it was just PhP35!) while watching the hiding sun set. Later on we ate again at Distrito and had some very, very spicy kilawin. After dinner we visited Fort Pilar where Bobby and I learned more about Zamboanga from Yolynne.

The only things I was able to buy in Zamboanga were Spanish sardines, lukot-lukot (great with ice cream!) and a woven wallet. I learned though from Mayor Celso Lobregat's talk the next day at the Mindanao Blogger's Summit that Zamboanga has more industrial businesses. They have more than ten canning factories that produce almost 20 famous sardine brands. And they also have tin can factories that support these businesses. Zamboanga is the fifth largest city in the Philippines. In fact Metro Manila would cover less than one-fourth of Zamboanga according to Mayor Lobregat. Wow!

I didn't get to see much of Zamboanga because my time was limited, but I'm very happy that I did go. I would surely remember the warm welcome of friends and participants of the 4th Mindanao Bloggers Summit.

Iligan, I hope to be there soon! (And many, many thanks for the Chedeng's peanuts!!!).

Airports

I love hanging around airports, so I usually go at least 2 hours earlier before a scheduled flight (it's the requirement anyway). Some people hate the wait, but I spend that time being productive (like doing this blog post right now).

Here's five things I do while waiting to board the plane:

1. I go online. I always make sure my laptop/phone is fully charged so I can: (a) check my mail and do some work; (b) check-in Foursquare; (c) say hello to friends on Twitter and Plurk and give traffic information in case I have friends going to the airport as well (traffic was quite heavy today).

2. I write/blog. So I'm doing this post because I kept getting disconnected from mobile internet. I knew I should've loaded up my other dongle. Sometimes I get so busy with work I'm unable to post as much as I used to in my blogs. This blog is the only one I've been updating in the past 2 months.

3. I eat. I always try to drink a glass of my favorite iced milk tea at Kopi Roti, but I fly PAL most of the time so I usually end up eating at Delifrance (I wonder when they're going to add more restos at NAIA 2). There are more food choices though at NAIA 3, especially at the boarding gate area.

4. I read. I catch up on my reading whenever I travel. My companion for this trip are Bo Sanchez and Malcolm Gladwell. Serious stuff, haha.

5. I people watch. There are days when I give my brain a rest, so I'm just happy to observe other travelers. There's definitely a difference between those who travel via PAL and Cebu Pacific. Most people who travel via PAL are either foreigners or business people. Those who travel via Cebu Pac in my observation (and well assumption) travel for fun.

Well it's almost time for me to head to the boarding area and I have to finish my Kopi Roti iced tea with milk and siewmai (yes that's how they spell it). My next post will likely be about my first trip to Zamboanga!

My Derailed Political Career and the Barangay Elections

Once upon a time I dreamt of becoming mayor of my city. That was many, many years ago when I was a Political Science and Legal Management student. I had grand ambitions and was invited to run as Sangguniang Kabataang chair for my barangay.

I was confident that I could do it since I was quite active in my community and I had just finished my thesis about the SK. I understood the nooks and crannies and had a good idea on how to make things work. I was gung-ho until my Mom put a wrench on my political ambition.

She didn't want me to get into politics.

My Dad was the first barangay chairman in our barangay. I wasn't even born yet then, but my Mom explained that things were really crazy. People flocked to our home and would knock at the oddest hours. Safety was also a huge concern. My Dad loved it and was constantly invited to run for office, but my Mom didn't. My Dad's love for my Mom bore more weight than his political ambition so he never ran for office ever again.

I guess that was one of the times I had to choose a path. Had I taken that path I would've likely worked for the Senate and I would be leading a totally different life now. The reason why my Mom didn't want me to get into politics wasn't because of the security risks, but she wanted to protect my values. And based on the in-depth study we (my thesismates) did about the Sangguniang Kabataan, my values would've likely been compromised again and again.

So I remain an ordinary citizen, helping people with my work through a different way. And I bear the mark -- my forefinger looks like it was hammered again. I am hopeful, because I have bottomless optimism, that the newly elected barangay officials would carry out my dream of having a better life for everyone.

Cheers!

Our Wedding's on Kasal.com

We got several requests to have our wedding featured and it's only with my Kasal.com family* that I said yes to.

Relive the kilig and read about our story, here's the link -
http://www.kasal.com/html/rr/realwedd/dejesus-apolo-wedding.html

*My wedding blog "Twisted Wedding Planner" is one of the features in Kasal.com.

Moved!

This is the reason why I have been amiss with blogging.

We have just moved to a new home. After our house hunting mishap an opportunity to move back to the street where I grew up presented itself (just 7 houses away!).

We wanted to move for 2 reasons: (1) to be nearer to my parents (my Dad's 78 and Mom's turning 75); and (2) the house we were living at was showing signs of old age. We originally targetted moving my summer of 2011, but reason number one needed to be immediately answered.

It was a Monday when we saw the “house for rent” sign. Mom called up the number to check who owned the house and to ask if we could check it out. Two days later we checked out the house and immediately liked it. It had enough space to accommodate my work stuff and a nice little garden. Honestly though the magic feature was “walk-in closet”. Haha. The landlord sweetened up to the idea of having us as tenants because he knew that I was born and bred in our village. Thirty six hours later we signified out commitment.

What was tricky though was breaking our commitment with our very nice 80-year old landly. Good thing though she's my Mom's friend, so my Mom took care of breaking the news to her. She understood that I needed to be near my Dad at this time and knew that we have fixed her house to the best of our ability (see what happened here).

We could've moved in immediately, but I had to go out of town for work. We scheduled our move on Wordcamp day, so we were left just a few days to pack. We only managed to pack in the evenings since Sweetie and I both had work. One thing to remember: HAVE BOXES MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE (or count). We didn't have enough and ended up placing some of our stuff in trash bags (unlabelled).

We finished moving in one day. I had to take a half-day because I had a commitment for Wordcamp, but I'm proud to say my boys managed the move perfectly. So Jay, Miguel, me, Pork, And, Beans, together with my lovely plants are in a new home. It's all still very messy and I'm just working on SmartBro for now, but in a couple of weeks I'm sure things will be fall in proper order.

Special thanks to our parents (Mom and Dad, Mom and Dad), Titay for the help and boxes; and Duty Free Philippines for the free boxes (it helped A LOT); and our moving team, Lito, Rommel and nephew, Manong Junior and Joshua; and thank you Google and Derek Callow for the Maria Makiling Google Chrome theme on canvass. It's now installed near my workstation and it's providing really great inspiration.

Whew! Another day in the de Jesus household.

Donations for Typhoon Juan

According to the Philippine Red Cross as of 9 a.m. today there are 2,409 families (9,634 persons) have been reported staying at 63evacuation centers in Cagayan, Kalinga, Isabela and La Union. One (1) was reported injured and six (6) dead. There were 13 provinces affected, 61 municipalities and 42 barangays.

Gawad Kalinga and the Philippine Red Cross has started relief operations and you can send help for the following:

1. Monetary - US$350/PhP15,000 for roof repairs
2. Food - rice, easy to open canned goods, sardines, noodles and other non-perishable food items
3. Hygiene kit - toothbrush and toothpaste, bath soap, sanitary napkin, shampoo, towel and alcohol
4. Non-food items - mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, and tents

Gawad Kalinga: Rice, easy to open canned goods and noodles. PhP15,000 (US$350) per house. Direct donations to PRO Friends Bldg. 55 Tinio St., Barangay Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City.

The Philippine Red Cross: Monetary donations can be sent through bank deposit (details at http://www.redcross.org.ph/donatenow) and in-kind donations should be brought to the PRC headquarters (you can also make arrangement with them for pick-up).

If you need help or would like to report something, you can get in touch with the following:

• Philippine National Red Cross (143), +(632) 527-0000
• Isabela Chapter operations center hotline: +(6378) 622-3248
• La Union Chapter operations center hotline: +(6372) 700-5161
• Go to GMA News TV and post complete addresses and names of people in need of immediate help.
• Go to ABS-CBN News and post updates and safety tips, including photos and video. You may also email at ireport@abs-cbn.com or post at bmpm.abs-cbnnews.com, or at the BMPM Facebook page or Twitter account.

Working in the Walk-in Closet, my Unique Workplace

Earlier today a dear friend, Chelle, pinged me to say that I should blog about my unique work place. (Here it is Chelle!).

It's been almost five years since I vacated my enviable corner office which had a grand view of the Manila Bay horizon and the Skyway. At the end of the day I'd always sit back on my huge executive swivel chair and watch the beautiful Manila Bay sunset. It was perfect almost everyday.

I manage to work anywhere because when I was a kid I never had a study table. I did most of my homework on the floor. Typed my research papers on my Mom's Olympus typewriter on the floor. Did my science and home eco projects in the garden or kitchen. And it hasn't been any different now that I work at home (well, most of the time).

In the past five years I have been moving from one nook to another at home to complete my tasks and here are some of them:

1. The Walk-in Closet - I have been working in my walk-in closet in the past 16 days because this is where mobile internet works best in my new home. PLDT's plan to do simultaneous transfer of my line has been an utter failure because their system keeps hanging (I don't know why). Mind you I don't have any clothes in this room, but have transformed it into my craft room. No boys allowed, haha.

2. The Dining/Kitchen - the house where I used to live is quite tiny so the dining room and kitchen are interconnected. I spent most of my time working on our dining table because it was cooler in that area. The ref was conveniently located just a few feet away. This arrangement also allowed me to multi-task -- cooking or doing the laundry.

3. The Basement - I had three work areas in my basement: (1) the Greenwich room (because I had the walls painted apple green); (2) the sala; and (3) my bedroom. I spent a lot of time in the Greenwich room and this is where I blogged a lot. Number 2 and 3 were quite boring and I was eventually forced to evacuate my basement because of Typhoon Ondoy.

4. Miguel's Room - I set up shop in Miguel's second floor bedroom after Typhoon Ondoy. The only thing I managed to save from the flood was my desktop PC, Theodore! After staying in his room for 2 months I eventually went back to the basement and moved out when I got married.

5. The Computer Room/Den - I do have a proper office (after 4 years). When I got married, Jay and I agreed that we would set-up a proper work area and we did. Our new den has been freshly painted with apple green paint (it makes me more creative) and in it hangs the "Maria Makiling Google Chrome theme artwork".

But despite having a proper office (complete with desk and executive chair), I find myself working more in my non-conventional work places. What about you? What is your work place like?