The Visayas Blogging Summit 2011: A November Highlight

To the different people in my life, I am a different thing. There is one thing I aspire to be though, but I cannot attest to be that yet. Not yet.

I have always wanted to write. It is the ideal form of communication for me. Writing gives me the power that nothing else can. At the present time, it is definitely a blessing that I am doing what I like to do.

The Internet has played a very significant role in this part of my existence. It has given me the tools to let my heart out through the written word. When I discovered the art of blogging, a whole new world opened up before me.

Currently, I am not the best nor the worst blogger in the entire cyberworld. I am placing my own name under the Learning Category as I know I have yet to surpass mountains of information before I can become an effective and true blue blogger.

I have seen a lot of advertisements for enhancement programs for bloggers and wannabes, but the Visayas Blogging Summit 2011 has piqued my interest mainly because it is for FREE. For someone like me whose budget revolves around the basic necessities in life (which includes making sure my Internet is up and running especially at home), seminars and the likes with monetary requirements are definitely unappealing.

From my personal point of view, this makes the said summit different. Organized by the Cebu Bloggers, the VBS Summit is the largest one of its kind in the country today. It will take place on November 26, 2011 (Saturday) from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. Around 300 bloggers from around the archipelago is expected to join the said event. Sponsored by  SolidHosting.PH, Cebu Directories, BlueWater, VirtualStaffFinder, Watsons and GeiserMaclang, various topics involving Personal and Professional Blogging, Social Media Marketing for Business as well as Social Media Responsibility are going to be presented for everyone to to learn more about. 

With all that in store, I am really finding it hard to contain my excitement. I'm definitely looking forward to the 26th of November. Hope to see you all there!

New Connection, Hopeful Me

I'm on a new provider now and am loving every minute of the first few hours I am on it.

At the present, there are three major providers of Internet service in the Philippines; namely Globe, Smart and PLDT. Based on a research I have done to satisfy my own need to be connected online, there is no satisfied customer from Globe. When it comes to the company's quality of service for telecommunications (specifically mobile phone signal), it is truly reliable, and I can attest to that myself. I have been with Globe for the past 10 years, more or less. Their Internet service is another thing though. I do not know of anyone who is satisfied with their service (here in Cebu at the very least), and I am a very sociable person (I think), which means I know a lot of people.

As for Smart, I have tried both of their wired and wireless connections. While the latter is better, both are still lacking when it comes to providing for my needs. This is despite the fact that I do not really download or stream a lot of stuff. Simply put, it cannot load fast even the simplest applications.

All that I am looking for is now available with PLDT MyDSL. It's only a couple of hours, but I feel like this is really what I have been looking for. Loading sites take place flawlessly. I am even watching stuff on YouTube and listening to music online while writing this entry. This is something I was never able to do with Smart. 

That being said, I hope for better things with this new connection. Aja! To me and to my siblings (who are Internet addicts) Thank you in advance, PLDT :)

French Festival 2011 in Cebu

As someone who enjoys watching films of all kinds (although I tend to veer away from the scary and gruesome ones), I get super excited when it comes to foreign film festivals taking place here in Cebu. Despite the fact that these movies are rarely in English version, and I have to spend time reading the subtitles in order to understand everything, such efforts can easily be made up for by the movies themselves. They are usually unusual, making each one a wonder to watch. Some even let the moviegoers make up the ending. All in all, they are worth the time and the risk I have to face when going home very late at night.

This coming June 23-25 is the French Film Festival 2011.


Here is the trailer of one of the delights this year brings. One of the many I personally look forward to watch.

Being A Blood Donor

I've donated blood two times already in the past couple of years. A busy schedule and a couple of glitches here and there have kept me from giving another bag or two since last year. I am excited to be doing it again today.

Blood donation is not a necessity for women because of our monthly menstruation period which eliminates all the bad stuff in our bloodstream (or something like that). However, the idea of giving something that can prove to be highly useful for another person is certainly motivating me to do this.

A couple of days ago, I found out that an acquaintance's son is need of blood after experiencing a serious injury in a motor-accident. Since the hospital where the patient is confined is located a couple of blocks away from the office, I texted the said acquaintance and made an offer to donate blood. Unfortunately, I have been very busy since that day up until yesterday. I simply did not have the time to drop by the hospital to go through the procedure. Good thing I don't have a lot on hand today, so I will be out to do something significant for another person before the day ends today.

The thought makes me feel so good!:)

Alo Catering Cebu: Highly Recommended

This is just one of the dishes I delightfully consumed last night (consciously forcing out my mind all thoughts related to friend's upcoming wedding) during the blessing of my friend's parents' house. Although I arrived an hour late after the actual dinner started, there was still a lot of options available for me to choose from, and the one in the photo above is just one of them. There was also some lasagna, breaded fish, sweet & sour pork, kalderita and lechon. Desert was mango float. All of these savory delights, minus the lechon, were brought to us by Alo Catering in Guadalupe, Cebu.

Referred to us by my friend's auntie, who thinks highly of this provider, Alo Catering did not seem very accommodating and friendly when we first talked with them on the phone. Despite that, we were confident on what the auntie had to say, so we did stick with Alo. We had a little apprehensions as the date of the house blessing approaches but still held on to it.

And we definitely made the right decision. The waiters during the entire event were nice, polite and smiling. This is very important because a rude server can easily ruin a diner's appetite. Their food was the best. The shrimp was perfectly done that each time I bit into the meat itself, I can feel the spiciness and juiciness of it. The kaldereta was yummy and not smelly at all. I bet my grandmother who does not eat goat meat will get it on with that dish simply it was delicious. Probably the best thing about their food service is how they arrange their package. Although we paid for a specific number of people (70 to be exact), more than 70 people we able to eat because they did not count it per serving. They simply prepared the dishes good enough for 70 people, so the guests get to decide whether they want more, less or none of a specific dish, which the other guests might also prefer. Less goes to waste, and more people end up satisfied and happy like ME!

For those who are having a celebration of any sort, I highly recommend Alo Catering in Cebu for an appetizing and satisfying experience for the celebrants and guests alike.Cheers!

PS. Here is their FB page
http://profiles.friendster.com/47197041

A view of one of Cebu island's edges at the Cebu South Road Project on an about-to-rain weekday morning.

Shots: My Perspective

I was looking at other blogging accounts while waiting for Mr Drowsy to get to me when I noticed that most of the accounts I get into are actually designed for marketing different products. It was a little disappointing because I was initially hoping to read other people's thoughts and ideas about matters in life. However, the blogs gave me an inspiration on what to post for today.

Although I have not been able to find time to attend any kinds of training at the task, I think I can be a good artist when it comes to the field of photography. If not, I will just continue to do what I've been doing, taking pictures and marveling at what a beauty they end up to be (at least some of them). Here are the ones I'm really proud of :)







And yes, they are about just anything that catches my eyes. And I love the beach ♥♥♥