Manila Condo Units

Are you looking for Condo Units here in Metro Manila or in the Philippines?
Don't fret!

ETON Properties has a wide variety of Condo units up for grabs. ETON is part of the Lucio Tan Group of Companies.

If you are interested, please send a private message to my good friend, Schyler Gan for more details. You may contact him at: http://schyly.multiply.com

Tambuli Resort, Cebu

Cebu is known for its beaches and diving spots. While I had my vacation in Cebu for the summer, we went to Tambuli Resort, in Mactan Island. It has one of the nicest beaches I know. Its waters are flourishing with all the wonders of nature: schools of fish and sea weeds. It is also great for kids as it's very shallow. And there is little risk of stepping on those sharp shells because the waters are carpeted with the sea weeds. The crystal blue waters combined with the fresh sea breeze will definitely make your summer escapade worth it all.


Entrance is Php200 plus Php 150 for an eat-all-you-can buffet.

AT&T's Pinoy endorser

This guy didn't pass the American Idol 2008 auditions. But he sure made an impression.

Ronaldo Lapuz is a 45 year old Nevada-based Filipino who wrote the song "We Are Brothers" and auditioned with this song for American Idol 2008. Simon Cowell was entertained by him, even remarking that his song could be a hit. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul joined him on the platform as he sang those repetitive lines of "I am your brother, your best friend forever, Singing the songs, The music that you love... Brothers til the end of time, Together or not You’re always in my heart, You hurt your feelings And you will rain on mine... I love you brother!" Add to that, Ryan Seacrest from outside also came in and joined the trio dancing on the platform! What a sight it was!

And now he performed on stage for millions of viewers across the globe with his original composition and his extravagant costume during the American Idol season finale! His performance was crazy! He went out of tune, out of rhythm, and from a music major perspective, it was horrible! But it was so entertaining that for the second time, Randy, Paula, and Ryan joined him on the stage to sing "We Are Brothers!" It was his moment of glory!

Despite being labeled as the Pinoy William Hung (who did a rather gutsy "She Bangs" in the past American Idol season), I didn't feel embarrassed at all when I saw this guy perform during the American Idol season finale. When I heard about William Hung, I felt bad for the guy because #1) He was too ambitious hahaha; #2) his voice is irritating; #3) he was too stiff. But I have to admire him for his guts. Ronaldo Lapuz is different. #1) His voice is tolerable (but he goes out of tune once in a while); #2) He is very humble (He even thanked Simon for allowing him to sing to the world and spread his message of Peace); #3) He is original! And he also has lots of guts!

So much guts that AT&T has even asked him to endorse their product! Here are his videos:

Kagura: Japanese Style Restaurant

If you're looking for a good Japanese restaurant in Cebu, then you can't miss Kagura at A.S.Fortuna St. Banilad, Mandaue City. The place itself is very nice, with bamboo floors and bamboo walls with kimonos hanging on the walls and traditional Japanese umbrellas adding a homey feel. You get to experience the Japanese way of eating while kneeling (seiza), but for people who aren't used to this, you can just sit in whatever manner you want to. So take off your shoes, slip on those sandals (provided by the restaurant) and find a comfy place to sit and enjoy your meal.

Expect to be served with great authentic Japanese food served in bento boxes with matching chop-sticks. Best of all, they serve a WIDE variety of Japanese meals, not just the usual maki/sushi/tempura/rice toppings that *some* Japanese restaurants offer. They also serve Sake (Japanese rice wine) for those who are curious as to how it tastes. All in all, you'll really feel as if you were in Japan.

Unfortunately, when we went there, there was a rodent patrolling the place hahaha. But we were already in bliss after having finished our meal when we found that out so we didn't really mind. Hopefully, the restaurant team does something about it or else their sales will greatly be affected.

So if you're looking for a taste of Japan in Cebu, don't ever miss Kagura.

Ilongga Goes to Cebu

We went to Cebu to visit Lorrie last April 18, 2008. We're very grateful for her and her family's hospitality. Despite our short stay, we were able to enjoy, relax, and pig out! We had a taste of Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food in a span of 4 days. And of course, the ever masarap Lechon. Salamat salamat kay Lorrie for the very very warm welcome. :)

Just a few things we did while we were in Cebu:

Coffee and liquor nights; Tambuli Beach; Crash course on Chocolate molding; Food Trip (especially the rat at Kagure resto hehe); Beverly Hills hike (O di ba, meron din BH sa Cebu!) sa Taoist Temple; Pa-importante sa Airport wahaha (we were informed that the flight was delayed so we waited at the Waterfront Casino. Luckily we went back 30 minutes ahead of time, only to find out we were being called by the Airlines because we were the only remaining passengers who haven't boarded yet hehe. Natupad ang pangarap naming magpa-importante sa eroplano!!)

I'll probably blog about them some time in the next few days.

Watering Hole @ Shangri La Ortigas

If you're looking for a cool place to chill out after a day's work, and it so happens that your workplace is in Ortigas area, then look no more! Watering Hole at the Shangri La Plaza, Ortigas is the perfect place for you! It offers great food at a reasonable cost, and great music for free! Here are Pam, Joel, Marc and I enjoying the place:

If you're one of those stingy customers, you can choose to stay outside the resto and enjoy the traffic, the buses, and the commotion from EDSA. But for just a 100 bucks, you can go inside, enjoy the music performed by the band of the day, and dance all you like! Truly this place will be your stress reliever after a tiresome day.

For more information, here are the details of the resto:

Mobile: (0917) 824 2332

Telephone: 634 0288

Fax: 634 0284

Email: info@wateringhole.com.ph

Address:
Ground Flr. Carpark Bldg,
Shangrila Plaza Mall,
Mandaluyong City

Or you may visit their website at: http://www.wateringhole.com.ph/

Nescafe Cafe - Airport

If you're at the Centennial airport for domestic flights here in the Philippines, more often than not you'd visit the Nescafe Cafe located inside the boarding area. They sell what they do best - coffee. They have the plain Nescafe coffee, decaf, cappuccino, latte, and mocha. Plus they also have a variety of flavors from around the world that you'd want to try out. Surprisingly, their coffee is quite good. Just don't forget to bring cash because they don't sell coffee cheap. Think Starbucks pricing.

Angelicum Chapel - Iloilo's Pride when it comes to Christmas Lights

Each year, Angelicum chapel has one of the highest electricity bills when December arrives. This is mainly because of the Christmas lights that they have set up all over the Lezares Mansion inside the Angelicum campus in Iloilo City. For the residents, this has become an annual tradition, and most visitors who spend Christmas with them are given the chance to visit and marvel at this amazing showcase of lights.



Angelicum started this trend. Now, a lot of towns in Iloilo also adorn their plaza's with lights. Pototan, for example, has their town plaza filled with different lights that wrap the trees and bushes. The Central Philippine University also followed Angelicum's trend and had their campus wrapped in lights.

If you're in Iloilo during the Christmas season, don't miss the spectacular lights.

Yay I won!

I won gadgenista's banner making contest yay! I joined the contest because, well, I have this hobby of creating banners. Here's the link to contest entry: HERE.

Also here is Lia's announcement of the winner: HERE.

I never thought I'd win that, but I did and it's great. :)

I'll be expecting the awesome prizes:

Gadgenista Banner Entry

Okay so I came across THIS BLOG while looking for a replacement for my phone, and I kind of browsed through her posts and found a very interesting contest. Anyway, here's my entry:

(click the image to enlarge)

Here's the direct link to the image: http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/1664/gadgenistavo4.jpg

The blog itself is very interesting, creating a fusion between grace and gadget, beauty and boxes, fashion and flashes. Perfect for the kikay-with-thingamagigs on the go.

YELLOW pediCAB

Have you seen the Yellow Cab restaurants here in Manila?
Well, let me show you the portable version.

Introducing the Yellow pediCab:


It's amazing how Pinoys can be so creative. Haha!

Silverchair Has A New Sound

One of my favorite bands (because of their ultra-hot lead vocalist) has recently released their fifth album entitled "Young Modern." Oh, the oxymoron in the title haha. Anyway, here are some facts from Wiki:

The album was released on March 31, 2007

The album debuted at number 1 on the Australian albums chart on April 9, 2007

It is the first album to ever chart as number 1 on iTunes through orders taken for albums prior to its release

The album made Silverchair the first Australian band to ever have five #1 albums

Here are the tracks:

• Young Modern Station
• Straight Lines
• If You Keep Losing Sleep
• Reflections of a Sound
• Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behavior / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)
• The Man That Knew Too Much
• Waiting All Day
• Mind Reader
• Low
• Insomnia
• All Across The World

Anyway, they sound kinda different in this new album. Daniel Johns still has that boyish tone in his voice, and that Silverchair attitude. But there are a lot of elements in the new album that weren't around in the previous ones. The rhythm, the over-all sound, the falseto notes. Hahaha. Listening to the entire album is ... fun. I don't know, it just gave me the feeling that I should be happy, hanging in the clouds, enjoying life. I think I'm gonna listen to it all over again. :)

Men Happiest with Smart Women

I had the chance of looking at Sir Tiger's Blog, and found this interesting article:

Survey: Men Happiest With Smart Wives

Men in search of true happiness should steer clear of bimbos and dumb blondes: research shows men are happiest if they marry smart women.

Every extra year of education a wife has under her belt significantly increases the chances her husband will report being highly satisfied with life. But Shane Mathew Worner, of the Australian National University's economics program, says it may be that an educated woman's earning power is her biggest asset.

In a paper to be presented at the HILDA Survey Research conference this week, he says "the higher the education level of the wife, the happier the husband is."

The study is based on a sample of more than 5000 Australians drawn from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey.

Sounds great doesn't it? But note of this sentence: "it may be that an educated woman's earning power is her biggest asset" ... What the... what happened to female housewives and men being the breadwinner of the family? Darnit, I've always wanted to be a housewife. Oh well.