crumb trails

A different way to celebrate Valentine’s day is happening at Adarna Food and Culture on February 13, 2010 at 7:00 PM with “PS. Mahal Kita”–A Valentine Tertulia. Profess your love to your special someone and bring a love letter to read.

Here’s the announcement from Adarna:

‘PS. Mahal kita.’ A Valentine Tertulia at Adarna

Date:   Saturday. February 13, 2010

Time:   7:00pm ~ 10:00pm

Location: 119 Kalayaan Ave., Quezon City

A tertulia is a social gathering common during the turn of the century. Friends usually congregate in someone’s home late in the afternoon or early evening to enjoy conversation, art and culture. The mood is informal and the guests themselves provide the entertainment.
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Hi! My name is Salve and I’m a shopaholic!

Do you remember how you felt the first time you visited a theme park as a child? You’re all wide-eyed with excitement and you couldn’t wait to try every single ride.

I get the same feeling when I’m in a shopping mall. Those racks and racks of dresses; rows and rows of shoes in every imaginable color and style; and those bags… wow! Different sizes, different shapes… and all so pretty! The mall is like a theme park to me; every stall promises lots of fun and unending surprises. I’m giddy with excitement when I find something I like. And once I’ve started putting things in my shopping cart, I can’t seem to stop, especially when I’m shopping for shoes.

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WordCamp Philippines, the first ever in Asia, was successfully held last Saturday, September 6 at the College of St. Benilde in Taft Ave. Manila. More than 400 individuals participated in the said event.

All of us who attended should congratulate WordCamp Philippines 2008 organizers, especially mindanaobloggers.com, the group who spearheaded and made WordCamp Philippines possible. Everything was organized, from the gate of the venue, to the registration, the talks, etc.

I went to the Camp with two friends: Brainteaser and MJ. We were able to attend the lectures facilitated by Jayvee Fernandez, Blogie Robillo, and Danny Arao during the morning sessions. After lunch, activity was resumed at the Augusto-Rosario Theater where Mr. WordPress himself, Matt Mullenweg, shared to the excited audience the latest developments in WordPress and did a demo of WordPress 2.7 which will be released around November (I’m already looking forward to it!). Sponsors of the event also shared information about their product and services that will make blogging even more exciting and dynamic.

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Last night two of my colleagues and I covered an event in Katipunan called “One Smoke-Free Night,” a benefit concert for project Brave Kids. It was also an avenue to raise public awareness on the health hazards of cigarette smoking. One of the event’s organizer was FCAP or Framework Convention on tobacco control Alliance Philippines. Currently, the organization is pursuing the passing of House Bill (HB) 3364 or the Picture-Based Health Warning Bill, which, when approved, graphic photos of the effects of smoking to ones health will replace the usual text warning in cigarette packs. The picture-based warning will be placed on the back panel of the cigarette package, the picture will occupy at least fifty percent of the back panel and the text warning must be in Filipino. In addition, no misleading descriptions should be placed in cigarette packs like “light or low tar,” because no matter how “light” or “low” the tar content is, it will still have the same effect in a person’s health.

a sample of how the picture-based warning will look like in cigarette packs

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National Book Store is celebrating National Children’s Book Day with fun activities at Robinsons Galleria from July 25 until July 27. It’s a perfect opportunity for parents to start engaging their kids in books and to help them see that reading is also fun!

Here’s the press release from NBS and the schedule of activities:

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WordCamp is in the Philippines this year! I am looking forward to September 6 when Filipino WordPress users and developers gather together for a day of learning, fun activities and meeting new friends. WordCamp Philippines 2008 is the very first in the country and in Southeast Asia, made possible through the initiative of Mindanao Bloggers.

WordCamp Philippines 2008 is made possible through the help of the following sponsors:

• i.PH: the Domain for Individuals
• Free Online Flash Games
• Wazzup Manila Philippines
• Real Estate CRM
• Real Estate Website Designers
• Orange County Real Estate
• Auto Insurance Quotes
• Lane Systems Inc.
• RedMedia
• Orange County Business Lawyer

(this post is ripped from my other blog)

I’m sure all of us are excited about the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, which will officially open in less than a month(look at the countdown in the sidebar). Wherever we are in the globe, we’d want to take part in this event, right? You must have listened and watched Jackie Chan sing “We Are Ready,” even if you barely understand the lyrics of the song. I am also very sure that you’d like to have a souvenir of the Olympics, no matter how little it is as long as the Beijing 2008 Olympic logo is carved on it.

We’ll, I’ve got mine already, and you can grab one too. Because at McDonald’s – one of the official partners of the Olympics – for only 20 pesos, you can have a Limited Edition Luminarc glass with the Coca-Cola logo on one side and an Olympic event and the Olympic logo on the other. There are five designs (Olympic event) to choose from. All you need to do is buy any of McDonald’s value meals, add 20 pesos to buy one glass or you can buy all five. Me I bought all the five glasses!

My Olympic glasses from McDonal’s

Maligayang ika-110 Araw ng Kalayaan sa lahat ng Pilipino. Saang dako ka man naroroon, saludo sa iyo ang mundo. Ipagbunyi ang iyong kalayaan! Nawa’y patuloy mong pangalaan ang kalayaang ipinaglaban ng iyong mga ninuno at patuloy na makibaka para sa iyong dakilang bayan.

Laging taas-noo. Dahil ikaw ay malayang Pilipino.

(Larawang may kahalintulad na paksa)

The first day of May is a very important date for workers worldwide when labor movements celebrate their social and economic achievements. In the Philippines, May 1 usually marks a new battle for labor groups and advocates as they strive to fight for better or higher wages for workers. As long as I can remember (since I moved to Manila in college) the common scene at this time of the year are rallies in Maynila, specifically in Mendiola and near Malacañan Palace. But this post is not about Labor Day or wage hikes. I leave the discussion of these topics to the experts.

I wait for a different ‘event’ in May. I’m a probinsyana, a girl from the countryside. I grew up running along cornfields, chasing chickens, walking between paddy fields and watching rice stalks gracefully dancing to the music of the provincial breeze, climbing guava trees, collecting sticky sap from the trunk of jackfruit trees and use it to catch dragonflies and butterflies in the field (hell! I didn’t even know the existence of the net!).

May is a month of many festivities. But aside from Flores de Mayo and the numerous fiestas in almost every corner of the country, I anticipate the coming of the first rain of May, better known to us probincianos/probincianas as Agua de Mayo. I remember my grandmother telling us that the first rain of May is sacred. It’s a blessing. Others believe that it’s similar to agua bendita or holy water and it has healing powers. For whatever other reasons, Agua de Mayo is important to agricultural communities. An ample amount of rain during this month signals a good planting season for rice farmers. I’m really praying for a good planting season and good harvest for our farmers and a sincere hope that we’ll get through the rice crisis.

Anyway, when it rained on the first day of May, I couldn’t let the event pass by. I just had to get out and feel the rain on my skin. And take pictures, of course!

Raindrops keep falling on my… hand! Lamig!

Welcoming the rain.

The fog almost covered the mountains.

The first time I visited Avilon Zoo a couple of years back, I really loved the experience!

Yesterday (April 5), together with some friends from work, I spent a whole day at Avilon Zoo for the second time, and boy, I had a wonderful time! As they say, the second time is always sweeter, well in this case, much, much better than the first since a lot of improvement had been done by the administration of the zoological park (and still doing more until now, kudos to them).

Unlike my first visit, our small group didn’t hire a tour guide. Since I’ve been there before, maybe I’ll just be the tour guide (minus the explanation about the animals, of course! ). Avilon Zoo is a seven hectare park and it’s fun to get lost at such a big place when you’re with carefree, good-tempered people. Nobody complained about all the walking, the heat or to those who arrived a little late. All of us just had fun! And I’d like to share just how much fun we had.

Look who loves being cuddled!

This baby tiger doesn’t have a name yet, but it’s been making friends with the visitors. Really cute and cuddly.

Meet Camille and Louie (and the rest of the family! )

These two are the sweetest! And they have manners. They shake the hands of everyone they meet. Louie loves to be cuddled. Look how he clings to “mommy” (peace, señora ).

This summer, going to the beach is not the only thing you can do. Avilon Zoo is an alternative, so put it in your list. It’s less crowded at this time since school term’s over. Besides, it’s very accessible from the metropolis. Avilon Zoo is located in Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal—thirty to forty-five minutes drive from Quezon City. Or you can take the PUJs/PUVs from Cubao and Philcoa, tell the driver to let you off at Eastwood (subdivision), then ride a tricycle and ask Manong driver to take you to Avilon Zoo.

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