Spotted in Greenhills: who is she?

Hubby and I went to Greenhills (’twas his first time there) and while he looked at video games, I spotted a familiar-looking woman. She looked out of place because she was wearing turn-of-the-century costume (think Maria Clara) and had bushy eyebrows that could put Brooke Shields to shame. Then I remembered that she looked familiar because I saw her pic previously in Chuvaness’ blog. Although one can’t help but notice her in the crowd because of her appearance, I couldn’t really bear giving her a lingering look, baka maging kamukha nya baby ko, LOL. So I took one shot of her with the DLSR and off we went.

Read more

Help Haiti quake victims thru the power of technology

Through the powers of technology, the world is witnessing the unfolding drama that is the aftermath of the powerful Intensity 7 earthquake that hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti. Hundreds of thousands are believed to be still missing and trapped within the shattered buildings. For those of us in the Philippines, the quake in Haiti has some parallels, if you count the tragic July 1990 earthquake (magnitude 7.7) and more recently, Typhoon Ondoy. Three Filipino members of the UN peacekeeping contingent remain unaccounted for in the Haiti tragedy.

But unlike the 1991 Philippine earthquake where places like Baguio remained cut off from the rest of the world for several days, what happened in Haiti was immediately broadcast, tweeted and blogged to the rest of the world in a matter of minutes. Thanks to today’s technology, the world was made aware of the extent of the disaster. We expect the spirit of charity and volunteerism as well to rise as Help Haiti efforts have been made possible via Twitter, Facebook and the press of a cellphone button.

How to help Haiti? Here are high-tech ways to donate now:
Read more

Manila summit discusses latest trends in preschool education

What is the 21st century classroom like? How is the educational setting evolving with recent advances in technology? How are students and teachers alike adapting to the change?

These, and other questions, were discussed at the just-concluded 1st Philippine Summit on Early Childhood Education sponsored by Wyeth Preschool Gold and Maximus Inventus in Fort Bonifacio Global City. In attendance were some 750 educators, program administrators, students, researchers, pediatricians, psychologists and other stakeholders in the important area of early learning.

Taking center stage were two well-respected experts in the field: Dr. George Morrison and literacy specialist, Ms. Laura Benson. They planed in to Manila just for the event and even took time to meet with some of us mommy bloggers. We agree with them that education in the early stages is crucial in child development. There’s a variety of educational methods and also different strategies for learning. My kids, for example, are traditionally-schooled but I know of some contemporaries who are home schooling their children. The important thing, I believe,is not to leave all learning to the schools and academics but also to foster the right environment in the home. To give opportunities for kids to be creative, to see the world and explore their latent talents and abilities. Yes, even while at play
Read more

Flash update: Cebu Pacific, PAL flight cancellations due to Typhoon Santi

As of now, I just hope this typhoon isn’t as bad as what the weathermen are predicting. Typhoon Santi, change course, if you may. Or break it to us gently.

Classes were suspended this morning in Metro Manila. No wonder, my son waited for his school bus but it didn’t come.

The passage of commercial boats around Southern Luzon have also been suspended, spoiling the vacation plans of people who wanted to go home to provinces like Quezon, Batangas and Bicol for the long All Saints’ Day holiday, a time when Filipinos honor their dead.

And so far, the following Cebu Pacific flights for tomorrow (October 31, 2009) have been cancelled:

5J 851/852 (Zamboanga), 559/561/554 (Cebu), 781/782 (Ozamiz), 325/326 (Legazpi) 5J 379/ 380/ 381/ 382 (Cagayan de Oro), 961 (Davao), 651/652 (Tacloban), 993/994 (GenSan), 473/474 (Bacolod), 451/452 (Iloilo), 5J 521/522 (Naga), 331/332 (Kalibo), 821/822 (Virac), 108/109 (Hong Kong) and 801/802 (Singapore).
Read more

Storm Ondoy brings floods to Manila and the rest of Luzon

It has been a day of nonstop rains in Manila, and elsewhere. I’ve stayed in bed all morning, with this trusty Mac on my lap – all the while staying glued to the reports of my friends on Plurk and Twitter. Something about brownouts, cancelled flights, floods reaching houses, people moving furniture, people wading in chest-deep waters, high way billboards being stripped down, and cars almost submerged in the floods. A bad day to be out, really. It’s that bad, and somebody even had to mention taking out Noah’s Ark.

Am just glad our little bungalow has been spared from nature’s fury. This is one of those times when we’re thankful to have a garage for the old car, and a cozy roof over our heads. I dread it when the post-storm accounting comes and out comes reports of our brethren drowning or are rendered homeless because they live near dikes, riverbanks, esteros, coastal areas etc. Hope not
Read more

NUKS NUMUN moment: my digital perm at a Korean salon

NUKS NUMUN! is a popular phrase I hear from fellow bloggers these days. I figure that in this age of icanhazcheezburger, it’s a variation of the old and jaded Tagalog term of exclamation “naks naman!” (Wow!) As in “NUKS NUMUN! Buhay pa ba ang gumupit ng buhok mo, sis?”

Barely a month after getting the famous Ricky Reyes haircut, I was itching for change again. It was because my natural curls were showing themselves in their full unflattering glory, which made for an uneven field. It didn’t help that the hubby told me he wanted to see me get a perm before he flew home. So off I went to a Korean salon I’ve been eyeing for a long time, but haven’t tried, and conveniently located at the ground floor of the Pan Pacific hotel in Manila. Have to admit that I tried it just for kicks, as it wasn’t as busy as Tony and Jackey a few blocks away. And I really wanted to try a Korean digital perm.

It’s something that I won’t regret doing, as it made the whole process seem effortless. None of the icky smell that we traditionally know of the cold perm. I forgot the step-by-step process now but it did involve the usual procedure of shampooing/rinsing my hair, cutting (if necessary), drying, twirling my hair under curlers or hot rods and placing it under a rectangular heating machine.

Read more

The Philippines’ star karters are training their way to Formula One (F1)

On an overcast Sunday, Claire invites me to Enchanted Kingdom to see something I don’t normally go out of my way of: a karting event. Specifically, it was the fifth leg of the Magnolia Karting Series held in the sprawling EK field. “You gotta see these boys from the Ready2Race team, they’re really good!” she says. I oblige, mainly because the kids and I haven’t been to Enchanted Kingdom for a long time. Secondly, I wanted to learn something new, and karting is it.

If you’re crazy about the F1 races, you’d relate to this. It appears that the Philippines has been doing very well in international karting competitions and might as well be on the way to producing the first F1 racer. I was surprised to learn that the sport is by far one of the most expensive to maintain too. Which fairly explains why today’s pool of young karters come from exclusive enclaves like the International School, De la Salle Zobel, Brent and the whole lot of them. Cost for buying your own go kart with an engine and maintaining it easily tops P1 million a year.
Read more

NLEX is a breeze, SLEX is a joke

I’ve done a few local travelling in the last two months and will now have something to say about the two expressways that dot the opposite sides of Manila.

To the South is the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) which connects commuters going to and from Alabang, Laguna, Batangas and Cavite.

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX), on the other hand, is the gateway when you want to go to and from Bulacan, Pampanga, Olongapo, Tarlac, all the way to Pangasinan and Baguio.

As a commuter, I just can’t help but lament how the South Luzon Expressway has been left behind in road development. While travelling via NLEX is painless and hassle-free because of the world-class highway, the same cannot be said of the SLEX which suffers from perpetual bottleneck because of diggings and repairworks. Shame, shame, shame.
Read more

Swiss and Belgian chocolates

I’ve been lucky enough to be a recipient of chocolate gifts recently. Even luckier because they are some of the world’s finest chocolates, coming from the two of the top producing countries, Belgium and Switzerland. If you ask me to tell the difference, I can’t, although am sure one would claim to be better and sweeter than the other.

First is this trio of chocolate packages from blog reader-turned-friend Marissa, who is based in the outskirts of Zurich, Switzerland. One brand is familiar, Lindt, while the other is called Cocktailbar and are shaped like liquor bottles. Most of all, they contain real shots of alcohol! The Lindt was delicately packed itself in pink with the most attractive feminine graphics – so Paris Hilton Tasting the savory pralines was another matter. We simply couldn’t have enough of it.

I figure that chocolate-making itself is an art. Before these confectioneries become desirable, they must first become presentable, right? Coming up with nibbles like those in the picture above requires special molds and the most exacting process. According to Wikipedia, Switzerland (which is famous for Toblerone) has the highest rate of chocolate consumption in the world.
Read more

When Katrina said ‘Binaboy ako,’ swine flu cases went up

This week in Barrio Siete, I speak about the ramifications of language and the many meanings it can conjure.

Take for instance Katrina Halili’s famous line in the Most Downloaded Video of the Year. Whereas other phrases can easily be translated from Tagalog to English, her utterance of “Binaboy ako” was lost on some experts. “I was swined” or “I was porkified” is kinda awkward and is just for joking. ” I was treated like a pig” is rather harsh for something that she probably enjoyed, if only it was kept more private.

Being “lost in translation” is something we always encounter. In this country of 7,107 islands, there exists several hundred dialects. A word in one province can have a nasty meaning in another, and this is where the riot comes in.

A few of the strange words that cropped up in the comments:

Utong sa Tagalog means nipples. In Ilocos, it’s perfectly okay to munch on utong because it means string beans
Read more

Next Page »