Life, Day by Day

Today, August 18 is the first death anniversary of Secretary Jesus "Jesse" Manalastas Robredo, one of the Philippines' promising leaders. A few days after that fatal accident last year, I wrote about how the death of a good leader can set a country back, especially when that leader is someone like Jesse. There are only a few good men in politics today, the type that can lead, manage and carry out good governance. We just had elections last May and once again, the results were a big disappointment to people like me who had hoped that there would be new faces in the Senate, Congress and local government who would bring about dynamic changes for the country.

I hate pink.  I would never consciously wear pink except if I really have to.  The very first time I did was during my high school prom and only because I was a junior and pink was our assigned color (blue was for the seniors).  The second and third times were the occasions when I was a wedding sponsor.  I avoided this color like the plague, mainly because I thought that being fair skinned, I did not look pretty in pink. Besides that, I associated the color with sweet and girly things, both of which did not appeal to me.  And so, you can just imagine who, what and why my world suddenly turned all shades of pink! photo retrieved from http://www.squidoo.com/celebrationofpink

I am not a big fan of conducting business online, because basically I like to do things on a personal level and I am not a risk taker.  That is until I discovered ZALORA , Asia's biggest online fashion store. I have seen their ads on Facebook but it was only when I got two Zalora Insta-Prize coupons from BPI that I finally took notice. My curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it, I was browsing through the website which was easy to navigate with good descriptions and images of their products.  The choices were varied and surprisingly the prices were very affordable.  Best of all they had several payment options which includes COD, my preferred mode of payment for online shopping.  Last July 18, I placed my first order of a Typify Corneby Genuine Leather Satchel (from P1,999.00 to P1, 699.00, after using my discount code) and three days later, the bag arrived through LBC. The bag was everything I needed - classy design, made of soft, genuine leather wi...

Is there such a thing as a perfect sound?  That is a question Prof. Dr. Fritz Sennheiser and his team of engineers sought to answer when he founded  Labor W or “Laboratorium Wennebostel” in 1945.  Now known as SENNHEISER , a private German company specializing in audio electronics, the company's Asia Regional Office in Singapore was formed in 1992 to oversee the entire Asian market and coordinate activities with distributors in Korea, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines , Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and the islands of Maldives and Mauritius.   And now, they are in Metro Bacolod, the first time they have opened a store outside Manila.

My grandmother and her sisters had it, my mother has it and now, I have it .   "IT" is Osteoarthritis...a common joint degenerative disease that has been handed down to the women and to a lesser extent, also to the men from my mother's side of the family.   It's not as if I have not been forewarned.  I've had occasional knee aches and pains for the last 25 years which had not really gotten worse until maybe 5 years ago, but even then, the pain would be bearable and go away in a day or two.  Then a month ago I attended this seminar in MetroManila where from the airport I got caught in traffic for almost four hours.  Added to that, I was sitting for long hours during the next three days.  Limited mobility, overweight, no exercise and a history of crackling knees is a recipe for disaster...well, okay so I am exaggerating a bit, but hey, I am just a few more years short of retirement age and painful joints run in the family.   I knew it wa...

If you are looking for a different kind of dining experience, then Blackbeard's Seafood Island is the place for you. The restaurant which recently opened at The District, Ayala North Point in Talisay City is known for it's "boodle style" of serving food.  For those unfamiliar with this style of eating, Boodle originated from the military (Boodle Fight) where "long tables are prepared and food are on top of the banana leaves. Viands and rice ready to eat using your bare hands, jugs of water are prepared on the side to wash hands before the “eating combat”. With the signal to start the boodle fight, everyone aims for his/her position".  Of course, at Blackbeard's Seafood Island, the boodle which was the brainchild of Chef Chang Magdaluyo , part-owner and resident chef is done with a lot more finesse and style.  Take a look at the different boodle feasts in their menu list:

I know that Philippine Airlines (PAL) may not be among the best airline in the world nor ranked as one of the safest but, so what?  It will always be my home in the sky when flying around the country and it's neighboring nations.  I have always had a fear of flying but have always felt safe and secure when flying with PAL. Also, I have never had a negative experience with them except maybe for occasional delays. Even when I got stranded in Cebu during Typhoon Frank in 2008, my only complaint was the lack of information.  The ground staff did the best they could amidst all the chaos, unlike the other airlines whose staff would disappear in times like this. This is why I always fly PAL except for the very rare occasions when my tickets were purchased for me and even then, I would always request for PAL, and with good reason.