“
If there is such a thing as procrastination minions, I would be
one of them.”

~ Me, 2014

But let's see... that was me, last year. Erm, technically, yesterday. Ha!

With the start of the new year, on top of the usual hullabaloo, there are several things that also launched. First, I'm back at Uni, and the first day of classes for this sem will start in 2 days. (Yay!) Second, I have started a personal advocacy, Philippine Fundraisers and Benefit Shows. And of course, this comes with the birth of another blog and facebook page. This group's aim is to help out organizers (who are not backed by corporate vampires), independent artists, and other non-profits in promoting their cause-oriented events. This could mean that I may skip organizing Benefit Shows myself, as I divert my attention and energies to that. But, I won't be shutting my doors to anyone who asks for help, of course. It will all depend on the timeliness, co-organizers and beneficiary.

For that, I am still thinking if I would also put up twitter and instagram accounts for Philippine Fundraisers, as these would be quite time-consuming if I would maintain it all alone... Any volunteers?!? Please, PLEASE let me know! I am looking for blog contributors and bloggers too, you know!!

Another thing planned for this year, is the comeback of a low-profit indie distro, (name withheld for several reasons ~ lol) as I have been receiving countless requests, pre-orders and inquiries. You're pressuring me, guys! Haha! I know, I know... I too, have several CDs still piled up, and awaiting shipment.

Hmm.. what else?

Ahh, yep! I do need to update this blog template as my previous image host changed urls again! Note to those who think you can host and hyperlink through facebook, think again. And that includes me.

Well, before I forget, I quit pursuing several duties too. It's a way to balance things. I look at it as a little pat on the back to myself, for finally learning to say NO to profiteers who demand too much time and pay unreasonably small. I basically don't care how much I earn, as I am not after the profit, especially if it is fun to do. But once the fun is gone, I am too.

I also scratched off my list putting up a certain service company, complete with tax and BIR and all that chaos of paper trails. Taking into consideration an observation of a friend that I tend to dive head-on whenever I think I have a brilliant idea, without checking on its feasibility. Yep, thanks for saving me a headbang on another huge wall of stone.

And because my list got shorter, and I am an ADHD that way, I decided to start one of the challenges on my bucket list! A 365-Day Photo Challenge! OOH YEAH!! *play stadium full of people cheering sound*

Thanks to the new toy that I received last Christmas from such a wonderfully sweet, talented, and dear person, I now have a reason to finally install photoshop! Hahaha... Yep, there is still a part of me living in the stoneage.

Let's just hope that I can stand up to this and complete it. Although, I really feel positive with this. I can do this! I may have failed the 100-days-100-songs music challenge, because my Lolitap died on me, and a back-up netbook decided to follow Lolitap's footsteps... I am as positive as the near-fact that I am getting a new laptop. shipped. anytime. soon.

So, to end the past year and start anew, and to end my blabbering (lol), here's my first entry for Pictures of You: A 365-Day Photo Challenge...

Calling all stargzers and cosmic lovers! The ring-shaped solar eclipse, known as an annular eclipse, took place this morning between 5:30am to 8:00am Philippine time.

Big thanks to the live stream provided by the Coca-Cola Space Science Center/Columbus State University at Cape York, Australia, the whole world was able to watch this cosmic event even in places that are not in the path of the eclipse.

Here are some enhanced screenshots I took during this celestial moment. The inset is a video shot using a regular camera. (Please click each photo to see a larger view)















The "ring of fire" is faintly visible through clouds using their special telescopes. The color is purple because we are looking at this through a telescope in Calcium-K filtering.

Watch out for another minor lunar eclipse that will occur on May 24.

It’s been a while since I posted anything here. Some photos are still in queue for upload, while some of them are stuck inside my dead laptop. But that is not the reason why I feel the urge to have a total (blog) make-over.

Originally, this blog is to document my travels within the Philippines and Europe. But I guess, I'm skipping the latter for a while, an indefinite while. Despite my resentment with this circumstance, I am left with no choice but to drop everything that has to do with going back to my fave foreign city in the world, Amsterdam.

Some people say that when you close a chapter in your life, you need to make a fresh start and begin to write the next chapter as soon as possible. But sometimes, our experiences are not just several chapters in one book, but several books even! I believe life consists of multiple snippets, short stories, novels, poetry and even silent soundtracks that only the mind can hear.

So without directly saying the reason behind this big change and to avoid putting it in black and white for the public (and the whole world) to see... let me just say that I am thankful for whatever happened in my past. I do not have regrets. The decisions we made are not inside tape decks that we can just place in rewind, fast forward or record over. Our past is indeed a significant factor in shaping who and where we are today.

Where we are heading though, is a totally different story. And it will just unravel in front of our eyes as we move along. So the key here is indeed, to get up, stand tall and move on.



follow the lyrics here
Now, when will I make the big change? Soon maybe. Let's see in the next few days or weeks.

*cheers*

Hi everyone! Please read below, it will only take a minute or so..


Two of my friends, a colleague at work and a batchmate in High School needs our help.

A fire hit a residential area in Teachers Village, (San Vicente) in Quezon City (Philippines) last Thursday (May 17th), leaving at least 128 families homeless. Here are some news links: ABS-CBN and INQUIRER


My colleague, Kandy, is among those devastated by this tragedy. She and her family lost everything in the fire, saving only the clothes they are wearing that time... and to add to that, she also lost two of her close relatives.

The same thing happened to my my former classmate, Charry. Their house burned down completely and nothing was saved aside from the clothes on their backs.

The area is actually close to where I used to study and I used to go there all the time back in the day. I even have cousins living nearby. This is a very sad time.. especially for those who lived there that are now forced to start everything from scratch.

So we are knocking on to your generous hearts. Any kind of donation will be very helpful. In kind or in cash. Even your $1 will go a long way if alot of people will pitch in. We have set up a paypal donation link for them. Here's the link where you can send your donations:

All donations will be split into two, for the families of Kandy and Charry. Please help us spread the word so they can get as many help as possible.

For those living nearby, in Manila, or who can travel to Quezon City and wish to donate in kind, they are in need of clothes and other basic needs. If you need directions or if you want them to be picked up, please feel free to contact me here. (Please indicate your mobile number and/or email address in the contact form) I will reply to you as soon as possible.

Thank you...


And to those who already donated, a big warm thanks! We will surely mention your names to them (unless of course you donated anonymously). Here's the progress of our donations so far.. Due to urgency, we have first set a goal of at least $500 USD each but of course it would be way better if they receive more.



*this will be updated daily or whenever a new donation comes in

UPDATE: You can now also donate in Philippine peso. [READ MORE]:

Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for you to become more sustainable and do something positive for the environment. It’s been the source of inspiration for millions of people taking steps towards a cleaner, safer future. It’s not just about saving energy for one hour, it’s about going Beyond the Hour with lasting, behavior-changing actions for a sustainable planet.

More than 5,200 cities and towns in 135 countries worldwide switched off their lights for Earth Hour 2011 alone, sending a powerful message for action on climate change. It also ushered in a new era with members going Beyond the Hour to commit to lasting action for the planet. Without a doubt, it’s shown how great things can be achieved when people come together for a common cause.

For the past 3 years, my family and I have practiced turning off our lights for mother earth. And in the tradition of switching our lights off for Earth Hour.. here's a couple of posters that I made for Starfishmusic Manila's facebook community page.

Please click to zoom and share if you support the same cause.

   

And as the Lorax said.. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not!”

UPDATE: The Philippines Breaks Own Earth Hour Record. Again! :D And not only that, we have been declared a “Hero Country,” for being number one globally in terms of Earth Hour participation, since 2009! Read more on ABSCBN news

But the best thing about this is, the organizers estimated that at least 362 MWh were saved by Filipinos during the hour-long event. Now, given that the average annual power consumption of a family is estimated to be 24,000 kilowatt-hour (source), if my calculations are correct, the energy saved can actually provide enough energy for a household for the next 15 years! So just imagine doing this every month by more people!! Hopefully this fact can actually bring sense to those who ignore the great effect of saving energy.

So this video "20 reasons why I dislike the Philippines" is starting to stir up mixed emotions from all over, especially to Filipinos. See the trend at twitter

update #2: last time i saw the link above, it had over 22,000 views. now, it has been removed by the user. to watch the original video, click here.

update #1: added the real time tweets of this trending topic below

Strangely tho, the video only have 302 views (as of posting this) but over 2k comments. lol.. counter is acting up..

Anyway, not everyone takes a look at the description. The same makers of that video also made another one.. that is actually more worthwhile to watch.

20 Reasons I Love _____. (the Philippines)


source: channelfix

So.. what do you think? Share your thoughts below..

Bad Press is still Press.

As expected, internet commentators immediately poked fun on the new slogan recently launched by the Department of Tourism, by highlighting the reasons tourists are not coming to the Philippines. Among the most mentioned are the poor infrastructure, poor peace and order, red tape, corrupt law enforcers, and the country’s overall lack of basic and clean facilities that would help make first-time visitors feel at home.

Most people say that the core issue is not branding or finding a catchy phrase to lure foreigners, but the lack of basic services, terror threats and the general inefficiency of government offices.

But Aileen Clemente, President of The Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTTA) admitted in a press conference:

“
It is also important to improve the country’s airports and other tourism infrastructures and hopefully this can be tied together with other initiatives that are being undertaken by the government to further improve the Philippine tourism industry.”

Yes, the right people know what's wrong and as some have enough urge while others just sit and sulk in their own little corners.. at least someone is stepping up! And doing something. For a change!

Isn't it that we always state, kung hindi ngayon, kelan pa? Kung hindi tayo, sino pa? (If not now, when? If not we, who else?) So why don't we just stop bickering and looking at the weak points of this campaign? Instead, let's show the world that we really have something better to offer!

So there may be a lot of few flaws here and there, but which country doesn't? Let's just be positive and look at the brighter side of life.. of our country. Maybe we're just stuck in one place too long to not see what our country really has to offer. And if all you see is the traffic, the corruption, the pollution, the over-crowded places.. maybe you just have to explore more.. Get out! Travel! Go to every region first before you shout to the world if our country is not beautiful and worthy of worldwide promotion!

Let's not forget that our country also possess extraordinary beauty and qualities that no other nation in the whole world can offer all together. From white sand beaches, to historical sites, to vibrant festivals, to friendly people.. The new slogan should remind us of our unique culture, our long valued history and traditions. --- There are countless reasons actually.. but bottomline is: It's more fun in the Philippines!

So with all the hullabaloo, I checked through my recent photos to show the beauty and FUN that I have witnessed through my travels, and even my daily life. Click on the images below to zoom and read a little something about each photo. I hope you enjoy..

Note:
I'll be adding more to this series. For now, feel free to grab these pics and share all over (but please do not tamper). Linking back to my blog would be extra FUN too!