Single Awareness Day

This day last year I was a singleton celebrating Valentine's Day... in an airplane. Arrived in Manila at around 10 in the evening and waited for the printer to deliver some materials I had printed. I was also rushing about since I had to be early the next day to do ingress for an exhibit. Little did I know that the person I had a belated Valentine's merienda with (well not really to celebrate Valentine's) would become my Sweetie!

I couldn't stop laughing over my dear friend Sorsi's recount of how her family and friends in the US have been trying to set her up with someone, anyone actually. Head over to That Girl Was Me and check out her latest adventures. I know I'm the one to blame for some of the horrors she went through recently and I try my best to cheer her up and motivate her to hang-on and aim to get the best. Hey, I waited years before I got found by the right one and here's how I managed to hang-on:

1. I read books! I went through Joshua Harris' "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and "Boy Meets Girl", Greg Bernhardt's "He's Just Not Into You", "The Rules" (forgot who the author is sorry), and the best was Bo Sanchez' "How to Find Your One True Love".

2. I met boys! At some point I really didn't want to date anymore. I made a mandate not to date anyone for a whole year after my last relationship. Why? To prevent rebound since it was a 7-year long relationship. I only actually started dating 2 years after only to get frustrated since I didn't realize that even friends would be such boleros. After reading Kuya Bo's book, I kept myself busy and did my homework of meeting 5 single guys every week.

3. I made friends! I will not be a hypocrite and say I did not start falling for some of them, but hey I'm a girl and it's quite easy for girls to fall. I knew though when to stop and did not give my heart to any of them. I also made it a point to keep the boys I met as friends (save for a couple who became Mr. Hyde after a while). I also managed to make a lot of new friends last year from all over the country (and the world).

4. I made peace with my past! It's kinda strange but I always felt that I would only find the right one once I made peace and put closure to my past. It was kinda weird but each one of them just showed up one by one early last year and the last one just popped up just before new year.

5. I kept busy! My work kept me sane since I was always doing one thing and another. I also tried out doing new things, bugged old and new friends. I remember Kuya Bo's book had a list of suggestions on what you could do as a singleton.

I did give up and thought I'd remain single forever. Good thing the Daddy and son tandem I had as seatmates in the airplane kept me sane. I made up my mind then that my life would just be about my family, work, some interests and perhaps study for a doctoral degree, but maybe, maybe because I was closer to heaven when I was saying my prayer, God heard my last plea and granted my prayer.


Here's a funny video that's quite appropriate for Valentine's day -

Valentine's: What a Girl Wants

I was quite surprised to see my blog's traffic shoot up the past few weeks. Why? Because of Valentine's! Funny, but I get traffic from keyword searches about love and relationships. LOL. I'm no "Dear Abby" or "Ate Helen" (but I do have a lot of experience)! Maybe I should niche on that? Hmmm... And a post about "What to give your crush on Valentine's day" has garnered a bit of interest.

Valentine's is about 11 hours away and I'm pretty sure a lot of guys are scrambling around for last minute gift purchases and planning. Baffled on what to do? To give? Here are a few friendly tips to wow your girl:

1. Surprise her - you don't need to spend a lot of money (or anything at all) to make a surprise. I'm very lucky with Sweetie because he's very creative and he manages to create excitement even with the smallest things. Try greeting her differently this year by creating a card, a coded message (ala Da Vinci Code), wrap a small gift with a huge box, let her discover things on her own, or kidnap her and bring her somewhere special.

2. The bouquet - I am honestly going crazy over Sweetie's plans for Valentine's. I've been getting a rose every single day since the start of February and he's been dropping a lot of clues about THE V-day. I was quite tomboyish when I was a kid (I climbed trees, went over da bakod etc.) and my crush back then had his friend ask me if I wanted flowers. I said no. I was putting up a brave front then, siyempre pakipot. His loss, he should've just given them. You don't actually need to buy flowers. Be creative. Why not create a lollipop bouquet? Sketch flowers on a card. Make paper flowers. The possibilities are endless.

3. Sweets for my sweet - my parents have been married for almost 50 years now and my Dad never fails to give my Mom chocolates during Valentine's and year-in, year-out she's still very kilig about my Dad's gesture (lately I'm the one buying it since he doesn't really like going to the mall). It doesn't have to be expensive either. A pack of Chocnut costs less than PhP30, Chocolate Crunchies' less than PhP50? A chocolate basket perhaps?

Don't have a Valentine? I always had Miguel as my Valentine since he was born and my best friend who I force to give me flowers haha. There's always your Mom, your sister, a girl best friend who you could make happy this Valentine's.

I wonder what Sweetie's up to hmmm...

P.S. Check out my Valentine Revelation at the Twisted Wedding Planner.

Filipinovela: The Never Ending Political Drama

So, we are in the midst of another drama where we find ourselves glued to the news, listening to the radio, or following Manolo's twits (I prefer following Manolo's twits, it's less stressful and distracting than watching TV). We've been through this countless of times already, but no one really sees the end of it. Why? Because no one really gets imprisoned from these things. The trials just go on and on until the public forgets about it... until the next drama special.

I care very much for our country and would rather do what I can than really speak out (or blog about it). I am a political scientist, but I never practiced it because I learned early on that if you want change to happen then just shut up and do something that you can actually do. Back in college I was the angry Filipino, some would say aktibista, I immersed myself, attended a couple of rallies, wrote really good political papers (that's what my professors said), and a lot thought I was going to end up being a politician. But I disappointed all my political science and legal management professors by turning myself into a corporate slave.

Why? Because I got tired of being angry and reality was biting on my heels even before graduation. I had Miguel and my primary responsibility then was to earn as much as I could. I did that and got myself a masters degree to better our lives. When my Mom and I went into the export business I got to handle about 10 blue-collar workers who were literally living hand-to-mouth. We tried the best we could to given them stable jobs, housing and whatever help we could, but at some point we had to give up because the market for the product we were producing dwindled.

It was then that I appreciated that I could actually make a difference to many more businesses and (lives in the long run) by focusing on work that would help a business sector that directly deals with the grassroots Filipino worker - the exporters. So that's the job that I consciously looked for when I finished my MBA, and lo and behold, I got a job to be a product manager for an online exporters directory. Whatever I did worked and I was moved to handle a much bigger directory (for all types of businesses now) and that's when I really actively did service for entrepreneurs and exporters by giving workshops on how to market one's business (both offline and online). I always enjoyed my work because it's what I want to do and I've been so lucky because everything's been a natural progression of things.

Eventually I moved on and I think I could safely say that I am very much happy with what I am doing because I think I am making a difference in my own little way, especially for kids. I can go on and on with the things that one can do because I hope that's what I am doing. I have long ago stopped writing criticisms or what-not. One thing I learned from writing for our parish newsletter (and Riza Singson and Kuya Jomar) is inspirational writing. What's the point anyway in lambasting people/companies/events/whatever? Whenever I want to prove a point, I just do it and don't wait around much for others when I am bent on doing something. Funny, but one question that Boy Abunda asked yesterday on The Buzz was, "If you were at door of heaven and St. Peter asked you, `Why do you deserve to be in heaven?' What would your answer be?" (Sorry, I just really have this funny way to tying up the most mundane of things, LOL).

Which brings me to answer Janette's question, "What are the important issues that should be tackled during the 2010 Philippine election?" Maybe I should just make my undegrad thesis downloadable huh? Well that one tackled specifically the youth sector (Sangguniang Kabataan) hehehe, but I don't want to bore you with two volumes of our masterpiece (awarded best thesis! hmph! both my thesismates are in the private sector too).

Lemme enumerate what I think are very important issues (and just please interview my Dad `bout it hehe):

1. Education - let's bring the core back and make everything else context.

2. Food Security - why do you think prices are going up? That's because there aren't that many supply anymore (I'm sure my friends over at IRRI would agree).

3. The Environment - when I was a student I attended an environmental summit hosted by then DENR Secretary and former Senator Heherson Alvarez and the issues back then were quite a mess, what more today.

4. The Economy - what's the ratio between exports and imports now? I haven't really checked lately and I always thought that we should work on exporting more because that would create more jobs for Filipinos. We're really experiencing more brain-drain more than ever.

5. Love, I mean, moral recovery. Love your neighbor is the golden rule after all and everything else follows. When are we going to stop being selfish? You can earn millions, but at the end of your life you cannot bring this with you.

My parents always make me vote and I do choose carefully who I vote for, even to the last barangay kagawad. I also always bring Miguel with me whenever I vote because I want to show him that exercising that right is important. If you don't vote, then hello stop complaining and do something within your neighborhood to help. If each one of us did stuff in our own little way, then there's still hope after all.

I am a very positive thinker kabayan and you should too. What do you think you can do to end this drama so that our country will finally have a happily ever after?

Mabuhay!

To Post or Not to Post Everyday

Here are reasons why I don't post everyday:

1. I could write up to 5 posts in a day if I'm in the mood, but, more often than not, I'm not. My muse is very moody and when she doesn't want to write, you just can't make her.

2. If I really wanted to post everyday, I could, but after a long day's work, sometimes it's just nice to hang around doing nothing (a.k.a. doing mindless surfing).

3. I'm probably living my real life. That's what my best friend says when she doesn't find me online. A.k.a. I'm most probably hanging out with Sweetie and Miguel and having the time of my life.

4. I'm probably overwhelmed with my blog backlog. Yup, I do have a lot of posts lined up but I don't know where to start. I even have a small notebook where I write down what I'm supposed to post... like about E-Yellowpages winning the Philippine Web Awards again (hey! congrats guys!!! ako siguro balat noon noh? I think your events portal Juice.ph is kinda cute).

5. I want to keep a secret. LOL.

If time wasn't an issue, would you post daily?

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

I hope I got the spelling right... I've been seeing so many versions of it all over town and I don't know which one is right and I'm all messed up too on how to pronounce it.

Yesterday was another dizzying, hectic day packed with loads of events and activities and this has effectively sunk me even further down my blogging backlog. I'm at least a month behind. I'm pretty excited though to share everything that transpired yesterday:

(1) Getting Over Stage Fright even further. I've never been to Aliw Theater and I never dreamed that my first time would be for a speaking engagement. My parents thought I was holding a concert! LOL. Photo by Sweetie.

Yup that's me speaking in front of a couple of thousand students.
Never in my wildest dreams believe me.

(2) Meeting Happy Slip. I always look forward to Christine's videos because it's funny and entertaining. I've influenced quite a number of friends (and students!) to watch her as well and I was glad to meet her yesterday at the Yehey.com and Department of Tourism sponsored meet-up at Mag:net cafe at Bonifacio High Street. Too bad I had to leave immediately, I had an appointment with times <28> people hehe. Special thanks to Jonas, sensya na I couldn't be of more service yesterday (I wasn't feeling well din).


(3) Fireworks at the Mall of Asia. What's new year without fireworks? Before heading to the last event of the day we dropped by MOA to grab a bite and realized that there was probably going to be a fireworks display. It was my first time too at the San Miguel Bay Walk.


(4) Guji Lorenzana. Guji is a new artist being managed by Lucas Records and he recently launched his album "Without Your Love". At his video launch last night at 19 East, Guji shared that he is a Fil-Am and before coming to the Philippines (due to a broken heart) he auditioned for American Idol 3.

Drastic Change



Without Your Love (carrier single)



Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Parokya ni Edgar: Macho

I always look forward to watching videos of Parokya ni Edgar, they're entertaining and funny! Watch this -

Pineapples! Pineapples! and more Pineapples!

So this post isn't supposed to be here yet since I've got a long line of posts I'm supposed to make, but I'm just really excited to share about seeing so many pineapples (mountains and mountains!).

Anyway, my good friend Honey brought me to the Del Monte plantation in Bukidnon one sunny Sunday morning. I've always wanted to go there, but I've always been in a rush. Good thing I had to give up white water rafting and had to find another thing to do in Cagayan de Oro.

So, Honey picks me up at the hotel at around 10 in the morning and we proceeded to McDonald's for breakfast (one gets tired of eating hotel silogs... don't laugh but I had the longganisa meal). And then since her associate, John, couldn't make it we took a drive up the mountains of Bukidnon (which is just a few hours away from Davao!) and lo and behold, this is what I saw -


Mountains! Literally mountains of pineapples! It was a refreshing site indeed. I dunno, but I got really excited about it and had a photo taken with the largest pineapple of all.


After walking around and failing to see a ready-for-picking pineapple (Honey wanted me to steal one! I was so relieved when we didn't find any! Hehe.). So I just posed like I was trying to uproot one lol. And, of course, despite all the eating we've been doing prior to the trip, I was still up to the challenge of trying out the famous Del Monte steak at the Del Monte Golf Club. What differentiates it from all other steaks is the fact that the cows were fed with pineapples and that makes them more juicy. Yumyumyum!


Funny though... I'm allergic to pineapples! Haha.