its a spur of the moment decision like an idea that must be executed at once.  no long talks and planning which often ends in nothing so better this way. book a flight online, surf the net for places to visit and know of recommended itineraries, pack lightly and off we go…

CEBU, Queen City of the South

We were  there around 11am if my picture below is right…

Flight detail

We had an uneventful flight (as if i was expecting something unusual to happen), we arrived on time, hehehe… we asked for jeepneys to get us to the Magellan’s Cross but the very helpful police at the airport says, its best to take a taxi. We took the advice and were there in record time. Great!

Magellan's Cross

Close up of the Markers are shown here…

A little walk and you’ll see the nearby Church and Convent of Sto. Nino…

There is the convent I suppose (please comment if I got it wrong )

and the facade of the Church…

plus some statues of Saints I can’t recognize…

this one I am familiar with, the feast of St. Augustine (August 28) is relevant to me that is why. There is no notice saying it is prohibited to take a picture and so I took one.

There was a 12 noon mass then and so the church was full. We went inside and prayed and left planning to walk towards the nearby port. We pass by the market where fresh flowers and fruits are sold…

Flowers for sale at a Cebu market

We walked and asked where is the pier but we didn’t quite get the instructions, hehehe. We had a map mind you but eventually the scorching heat of the sun defeated our want for strolling adventure. We hailed a taxi and found out we are just so near the snake it could have bitten us already. The cab’s starting rate is 30 pesos and when we arrived at the destination, the fare is still the same hahaha. We paid a tool fee of 10 pesos so we could enter the port premises and gave a tip of 10 pesos to the driver. Fifty pesos for a few meters, harharhar.

Ok. OCEAN JET. Don’t trust their website’s booking system. We reserved online and we got a generic answer to our email saying we will be contacted for our reservation confirmation. We waited for nothing and the cashier at the pier says their system is not working (I don’t know is its working now though). They have more trip schedule to Tagbilaran than SuperCat that is why we opted for OCEANJET.

TAGBILARAN

We arrived at Tagbilaran port around 3:30 in the afternoon and were fetched by the driver of El Portal Inn. The inn is conveniently situated near the seaport and Tagbilaran airport. It is in the heart of the city and is therefore within walking distance to shopping malls and banks. The place has a free wi-fi internet service and as their ad says, you get the “Best Value and Comfort for your Money”. We chose the place because of its location and the very reasonable price.

By 4pm, we started the adventure… we hired a cab and off we go to the nearest church…

Our Lady of Assumption Church (Dauis, Panglao Island)

The Church is located not far from the bridge that connect Panglao Island from the mainland. The Church’s patron saint, Our Lady of Assumption, is said to have miraculous powers. The church has a well that has healing water. We were offered a free bottle and some refill by the church workers. We were asked for donations in return. After some prayers my friend and I walked passed the back door where we sat for a little while to appreciate the peace and quiet of the place. I took this picture at the back of the church…

Next destination was the Bee Farm… we went there  just to have dinner and to satisfy our curiosity on the advertised organic salad with edible flowers. We ordered organic teas, vegetable pizza (with okra(!)) and the salad. I got to eat the yellow flower in the picture plus some bougainvilla and hibiscus petals. The taste is forgetful by the way. Maybe because I am a vegetable eater so the taste is pretty much usual already. The

Organic Garden Salad

View of the sea from Bee Farm…

View of the sea from Bee Farm

We toured the place for a while and then left the place by 7pm.

THE NEXT DAY

If there is one thing I can say to this friend with me in this adventure, she is a Good Influence (GI) in my life in a way. I am her Bad Influence.  Complementary, hehehe.

Early morning, we went to attend mass. We walked to the nearest church from the place where we are staying.

Church of the Virgin Mary

The sermon was in the native dialect and so we just catch a few words. There are a few church goers but the choir member seems to be complete and so the songs were very audible and lively. The church is a modern one.

After having our breakfast, the tour began…

1st stop : Blood Compact

and the marker a few meters away from the monument. Our driver and guide said this was the real coordinates where the blood compact took place.

Blood Compact Marker

2nd Stop: Chocolate Hills in Carmen town

Chocolate Hills (Carmen, Bohol)

3rd Stop: Butterfly Garden

Butterfly Garden (Bilar, Bohol)

4th Stop: Man-made Forest

5th Stop: Tarsier Sanctuary where i was irked by an insensitive tourist. There is a list of reminders, one which says NO FLASH when taking pictures of the primates. The tourist ignored it and proceeded taking pictures with flash until the poor tarsier closes its eyes and did not open its eyes again for the other visitors to see.  I hope that we should be sensitive enough to care. It is good that we are given the privilege of seeing this tarsiers in captivity; we should at least respect the rules.

The Philippine tarsier, (Tarsius syrichta)

6th Stop: Loboc River where we had a cruise accompanied by live music from young local singers while eating lunch. Such a treat!

Cruising Loboc River

… to be continued

Jonathan Piquero, Mobile # 09057089241

Need a patient driver and tour guide in Bohol? Contact Jonathan Piquero at this number 09057089241. He was the one who toured us in the various places we visited in Bohol. I promised to help him via this blog and here it goes. My friend and I had fun with his anecdotes and local knowledge. He drives safely, very patient and not encroaching. Very respectful, considerate and patient you cannot help but be generous to him after a day’s tour.  He has been a driver in Manila but went back to Tagbilaran where he can be with his parents and family.

2009 over, 2010 here; first month nearly over. 2009 had been work, work, and work. 2010 is looking to be the same if the planning session we had last Friday is going to be my basis for what’s coming in the next few months.

Corporate life is bringing the quality of my life down. But between overworked than being out of work? I would opt for the former. Economic slump, after all, seems to be be the byword of recent  news. Having job security these days is considered a blessing.  Should I be happy then? I should, right?

I don’t know. My soul is stirring me to do something. I am restless. I want some adventure. I want to get out and try something new. Now, where should I go? I am uncertain…

Rats are charming, elegant and clever. They can be a bit gossipy and prone to being distracted. They’re also thrifty and very good with handling money. Family and close friends are exceptionally important to them. The Rat is charming beyond words and throughout his undoubtedly long life he will always be popular and will have many friends.

Forecast for 2010
The Rat may be feeling quite tired and deflated after 2009, which saw him keeping his head down, working and staying out of trouble. The Year of the Tiger is going to be fast-paced for the Rat, which in itself does tend to make them slightly uncomfortable. But it is essential that they go with the flow and seize opportunities and take adventures – this year is going to be important for them. A lot of Rats may have dreamt of travel in 2009 but were unable to take trips either due to financial or work commitments. This year will be so different! Travel will feature strongly for many and if there is dream destination in mind, it may become a reality during 2010. February and March can bring interesting work offers, while June to August and December will bring happy social occasions. Romantically, September and October bring tempting offers for single Rats, while those who are attached will find the summer most special. It is essential for all persons born under this sign to be extra thoughtful and caring throughout the year – an inadvertent remark or gesture could lead to discord with loved ones.

Interesting Rat Facts:
Zodiac Stone: Garnet
Special Flower: Narcissus
Best Hours: 11 pm -1 am
Season: Winter
Horoscope Colors: Black, White, Purple

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Overview Forecast of 2010 Metal Tiger in chinese calender Year for Rat

That was one of the activities we had yesterday for our Unit’s team-building. We have several new members and to create a spirit of belongingness and oneness, our Unit head decided to treat us at Canyon Cove Hotel in Nasugbu Batangas.

This was the content of the sheet distributed to us by the organizer prior to our departure with corresponding comment/stories how we got the item or how we perform the tasks:

Scavenger Hunt

Collect, perform, answer as many items as you can.

Start of Hunt: Upon Departure (6am, November 21, 2009)

End of Hunt: Before Dinner is served

There will be four teams with four members each. The team to arrive at the resort one hour after the 3^rd team will be deducted with 5 points.

1.    Bank ATM transaction receipt
One of my team mates got one from a trash bin, hehehe.  Neither one of us wants to let know our bank account balances.

2.    Astroboy Action figure
We got ours from a Jollibee outlet in Batangas. I asked my sister where we can buy AstroBoy Figure and she told me, Jollibee has an ongoing promo on the action figure.

3.    Group picture at a popular Tagaytay landmark
We stopped at Taal Vista Hotel and I asked myself why did we have to do that in order to have this task done? We paid 100 pesos (approximately $2!)  for a parking lot just to have our picture with the famous Taal Volcano. Anyway, I can’t complain, one of my team mates sure does have money, hehehe. Though, we lost some time here, one object was secured in this place to compensate.

4.    A Christmas décor
My moneyed teammate (the only male in our group), wonder of wonder, have a very talented hands, wahahaha. I was amazed when he proudly showed us a shining object in his pocket and that was inside the vicinity of Taal Vista Hotel. Huh!

5.    Sugarcane
There are hectares and hectares of Sugarcane along the way. Municipality of Nasugbu is afterall the home of the plantation of Central Azucarera Don Pedro, the Philippines’ largest producer of sugar and other sugarcane products.

At first, we are looking for stalls that will sell us even just a short stalk of the plant. After we can’t see one, we stopped when we saw one group already hoarding a sevaral stalks of giveaways. One team mate, the nearest to the door of the vehicle, descend to ask also for one, but she was denied by the other team. The farmer who gave them already was inside his house.

Seeing this, my one innocent team mate decided to rather get from a growing sugarcane by going to the nearby field along the way and started pulling from the roots, hahaha. I regretted not taking a picture, he does not know the plant is coarse and its leaves and steam are coated with very fine bristles that can get your hands prickly.

hmmm… luckily, we saw a farmer along the way, and asked if we can buy even just a short stalk. We added that we are on a race and he thankfully hurried to get his bolo. He cut one of the stalk, cleaned it and handed it to one of our charming group mates. We got the cane free. Thank you manong whoever you are. You helped us.

6.    Create a team sand structure
We created a small pyramid along the beach for this part.

7.    Group picture with your Sand structure
One of the organizers kindly took the our group picture with our beautiful mini pyramid.

8.    Underwater Group picture
Underwater camera took a picture of four pairs of calves underwater, hehehe.

9.    A pastry/pie bought in Bag of Beans
We nearly missed the place if not for our helpful and ever vigilant driver. The place is a seemingly small stall/restaurant concealed along the way. It is not very noticeable; we nearly failed to have the pastry and Kapeng Barako (item #33).

10.    Name all states in the US
Money brings a lot of convenience that we should love it, hehehe. Our sole male teammate has his iPhone and we used to get the list and to the max. It’s a boring way to get the list says our competitors. Well they can say what they want. They got theirs via sms and via telephone dictation. Yeah, there are so many ways to solve a problem.

11.    Name of your team mates’ current and former boyfriends/girlfriends
Hmmm… this is rather privy. I am NBSB (No Boyfriend Since Birth) to cut the story short, hehehe. Got that!

12.    Reason/reasons for break-ups with former boyfriend/girlfriends
Same answer as #11. Two of my teammates gave their lists to make our answers acceptable some submission time.

13.    Insect(s)
Poor and unknowing mosquito which appeared inside the car after our stop over at Petron; it was murdered by a clap by our driver who swerved and jolted us all when he did it. Tsk, tsk, tsk… we nearly came close to the fate of the mosquito.

14.    Number of rooms in Canyon Cove Hotel
Answer: 72

15.    Tanning lotion
Answer: We didn’t bother with this. We don’t have it among our personal things and it’s too expensive to purchase a bottle you will not use in the future.

16.    Any BDO corporate give-away
It’s a Saturday and we were not able to see one BDO branch along the way. Our eye sights maybe are too poor. Other groups are able to see and secure the item.

17.    Provincial Bus Ticket
It sure does help to keep tickets for mementoes especially the memorable ones. One team mate keep her ticket when she did the Ilocos Church Pilgrimage earlier this year.

18.    Unit’s Table of Organization (Full Names, Position Title, Rank)
I did this one in a tabular manner; it’s a table of organization not an organizational chart. One judge says its wrong and was looking for a drawing with the usual boxes. I defended what I did and that kept her mum. It’s a Table not a Chart they asked for.

19.    Evian or Perrier Bottle
We got this after several stops. Not in any starbucks that we stop to visit, not in Robinsons, not in Petron, 7/11. We got the Evian bottle with content from Bag of Beans. We’re the first group to have one and all the remaining bottles; my teammate concealed. However, other teams still saw it and they accused us of trying to hide the item. Well, we do sometimes get naughty…

20.    BDO pamphlet/application Form
Again, we don’t have this. Sigh! Poor vision is the culprit, hehehe…

21.    Pearl necklace
Saw pearl baubles in one of the tiangges in Tagaytay and bought a cheap one.

22.    Lyrics of the competition piece on our Christmas party presentation
One musically gifted teammate scribbles the lyrics of “kumukutikutitap”.

23.    Total Toll fee going to Batangas
Answer: 78 pesos

24.    Movie Ticket
Answer: Our ever cooperative driver, who also has these very talented hands (shhh… he was able to secure a Christmas décor also at Taal Vista hotel), again provided us with this item. We are kidding him about the ticket, hehehe. It must be a ticket kept because of its sentimental value but he parted with it to help us in the hunt.

25.    Any foreign currency coin
One teammate has several in her wallet. No difficulty here.

26.    Picture of Manny Pacquiao
He’s in the papers and billboards but we have saved a picture downloaded from the Net to the iphone of our rich teammate, hehehe. Again, boring says our competitors.

27.    Precious Heart’s pocketbook
This is the last item we were able to secure; and its reluctantly given but at no cost from one tiangge vendor in Tagaytay. When we cannot buy one from our stops, we decided to ask tiangge vendors with the thought that these books are popular among them. We are right! We said we are willing to buy one because we are in “amazing race” and it is being required. After hearing that, they said, we can have it for free. Filipinos are really a bunch of helpful people; at a cause, they will readily give a helping hand. Thank you unknown owner! Sorry that in our rush, we were not able to ask for your name.

28.    BDO Dollar buying rate yesterday (November 20, 2009)
This is easy. We surfed it using rich teammate iPhone and confirmed by friends in the bank via sms (as if we don’t trust the Net).

29.    Group picture at a church in Nasugbu
We got one passers-by to have our pictures taken.

30.    Golf Ball
We tried to buy from a stall which sells the item but was informed by the owner that they run out of stock two days ago. I would have like to ask the kids in the surrounding area if they have even just an old and used one. The stall is near a gold course and am sure golf balls can come hay way.

31.    Restaurant menu/brochure/pamphlet
This is very easy. No need to elaborate.

32.    Newspaper yesterday (November 20, 2009)
Bought one at our first Petron Treats stop. They are not selling old dailies says one attendant but when we said we are in a race and we need it, again they are very helpful; they even asked what else do we need. Great and kind people we have still here in the Philippines!

33.    Kapeng Barako
We bought at Bags of Beans.

34.    Tagaytay souvenir
We bought at Bags of Beans.

35.    The Boutique Bed and Breakfast room names
The names are fanciful and “emotional”, hehehe… and again we got it in a boring way says tauntingly by the other teams.

Here are the names:

“I lust,”
“I dare,”
“I dream,”
“I surrender,”
“I love,”
“I escape,” and
“I desire.”

The sixth in the order should be the last for isn’t it escape most people do when they fall out of love. Hmmm… what’s the difference between desire and lust again? Must be that lust is a deeper emotion; it’s one of the deadly sins afterall. Ok, here’s from wiki: “Lust or lechery, is usually thought of as excessive thoughts or desires of a sexual nature.”

November is here.
No October entry here.
Storm Pepeng is already nowhere.
And yet no entry to share.

I am alone and happy to be with my own company. I have a time for myself and that would mean if I am not preoccupied with other stuff, I steal some time to sit and type in some notes. I am again neglecting my blog and who cares, no one reads it anyway. It’s just another side of my world that only a select people know and set of random surfers who happens to pass by.
September is about to end.  I had my birthday a month ago; had a five-day vacation from work to celebrate it.
Last Saturday (September 27, 2009), tropical storm locally known as Ondoy brought a record 341mm of rainfall in 6 hours over Metro Manila. According to PAGASA, it broke the 1967 334mm rainfall that lasted 24 hours that year.
My place in Makati for the first time was flooded up to thigh high. Fortunately, the flood fully subsided the following Sunday morning. Others were not as lucky, like Marikina, Rizal, some parts of Bulacan, Pasig and other low areas in Manila. It was an experience seeing the plight of the people in the most affected areas. Watching  TV pictures of people’s helplessness as they stayed on the roof waiting for rescue was emotionally moving. In these instances, you could only pray because no matter how much you wanted to help, you can’t do anything because you have to stay put also for your own safety.
The sun already peeked yesterday, and today but with scattered rains still. As what I was saying to one of my friends yesterday, Filipinos are survivors. After this experience, there are lot of reasons to smile and laugh again. Life continues. It is good that Filipino’s are a bunch of accepting and resilient people. They accept any situation no matter how hard or harsh it is. It is the reason why again they can accept corrupt government officials with no complaints. On second thought, I don’t know if Filipinos are truly accepting. It can be that they have become indifferent and oblivious. Que sera sera. No matter what, they will survive it all. They seem to say, WHATEVER TOMORROW’S ANOTHER DAY!

They were written by Regina Brett of  The Plain Dealer.  She wrote this accordingly to celebrate growing old. Eventually, this piece become the most-requested column she has ever written. Original source can be seen in this link.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind & soothes the soul

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative – dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Listen, yield and share hugs and knowledge with abandon

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

the cleanness of the air and the blueness of the sky,

the clear unpolluted water,

the greenness of the surrounding,

the sight of a contented carabao grazing, curious and innocent  while being photographed,

the calming image of a running water on a creek…

the details of an orchid-like tamarind flower that is often left unnoticed and unappreciated…

what a beautiful world out there. i wish it would remain that way. simple things and simple life!

no big buildings to cover the view of sunrise at the break of dawn and the sunset before it gets dark. no smog to cover the twinkling stars at night. no floating garbage and dead fish on rivers and creeks.

can we really progress without harming our environment? can’t we really live simply if we don’t have ‘simple’ minds?

I thought this will never happen to me and that i will only get to see this in movies and hear about it being experienced by others.

How could i have assumed that? I work with numbers and yet i thought i am invincible when it comes to experiencing this.
Anyone who works in or frequents high-rise buildings has a likely chance to get stuck in an elevator somehow. The probability is greater than zero.

This was what happened…

After having my lunch at Lutong Macau in Jupiter, Makati with my boss and a few of my colleagues, I was allowed to go ahead of them because i was called for an emergency meeting. My team is currently doing UAT for a front-end system module and we are encountering some errors that needs immediate resolution. The meeting was in Ortigas at 2pm. My team was a bit late but the people we were
supposed to meet were much later. Anyway, after the meeting so we decided to leave the building at once and go back to Makati. While we were going down, one of my team members remembered something we should have asked. We decided to go back. When the
elevator reached ground floor we didn’t go out. The lift went down to the basement and some messengers entered. We didn’t know we have taken a service elevator. Several people entered again when it reached the ground, one with two boxes of Krispy Creme most likely for delivery and two more messengers with a push card full of bond papers.

Okidoks. The lift went up and as it reached the 5th floor, the number didn’t change anymore and one could feel that it is not rising anymore. The man near the door pressed the alarm but it didn’t sound at first. Its good there is a signal inside so i was able to call our contact in the building to tell that we are stuck and that they call for the building maintenance office so we can be freed.

Anyway, we were finally out after more than 20 minutes. Its good that no one is claustrophobic and that everyone stayed calm. While inside we manage to make jokes about the situation and talk about movies (e.g. Final Destination, hehehe) that have shown similar situations.

It was a relief being out in the open. Deep inside us, there is a silence brought about by the experience. That’s just for a while. After that, what transpired was just an incident. Something we would talk about in our workplace. Something we wish wouldn’t happen again. But from now on, the likelihood of experiencing it again is not to be thought of as null.

1. THE GIFT OF LISTENING . . .
But you must REALLY listen. No interrupting, no daydreaming, no planning your response. Just listening.

2. THE GIFT OF AFFECTION . . .
Be generous with appropriate hugs, kisses, pats on the back and handholds. Let these small actions demonstrate the love you have for family and friends.

3. THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER . . .
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”

4. THE GIFT OF A WRITTEN NOTE . . .
It can be a simple “Thanks for the help” note or a full sonnet. A brief, handwritten note may be remembered for a lifetime, and may even change a life.

5. THE GIFT OF A COMPLIMENT . . .
A simple and sincere, “You look great in red,” “You did a super job” or “That was a wonderful meal” can make someone’s day.

6. THE GIFT OF A FAVOR . . .
Every day, go out of your way to do something kind.

7. THE GIFT OF SOLITUDE . . .
There are times when we want nothing better than to be left alone. Be sensitive to those times and give the gift of solitude to others.

8. THE GIFT OF A CHEERFUL DISPOSITION . . .
The easiest way to feel good is to extend a kind word to someone, really it’s not that hard to say, Hello or Thank You. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.