Kadayawan 2013

I guess this year is the only Kadayawan festival that we were not able to go around the city and enjoy the various happenings around the city. The reason? The recent bomb scare. Several cities in Mindanao have been bombed during the past few months and I would not want to take the risk. Although they have banned the bringing of backpacks during events, I still do not want to risk it.

I just watched the floral float parade on TV. On the afternoon of Sunday though, I went to SM Lanang Premier with my sister and her family. We watched the 3rd runner up for the street dancing contest perform their dance. After that, Mr. Joey Ayala performed some songs on stage.

After the show, we had dinner at Mandarin Tea Garden. Then I started my search for the closet I have been longing to buy for my stuff. We arrived home at past 9pm. I am excited! I finally have a bigger closet for my stuff, and got it for a cheaper price because of Kadayawan SALE! Read full post...

Papa's 77th Birthday Celebration

After the undergoing two surgeries in less than a year, we are thankful that papa is now doing ok and celebrating his 77th birthday today. A birthday celebration would not be complete without a dinner out with the entire family. Today, we selected Seafood Island at Abreeza Mall.

They have several sets of boodle servings and we had a hard time choosing which one to order. Finally we decided to order one small one and one big one. I forgot their names though as we kept changing and changing orders. Forgive me! But here are some pictures of how they look like.

We also had a problem about with our table. We had to change tables as something was dripping from the ceiling. They say it was from the air conditioning duct. When our orders came, we noticed they were not hot. I guess because they have to set up the food in banana leaf and all, that's why it is cold? I could not say it tasted really excellent compared to other seafood restaurants that I have been to.

After dinner, we purchased a Red Ribbon cake and ice cream and headed home. I pray that we be granted more years to spend with papa. That I could still take papa with mama on some vacation trips that they both deserve. Speaking of which, we are heading for Dipolog in the middle of June.

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A Mother's Day Out

Today is mother's day and we decided to eat out for lunch instead of dinner. We decided to try Archipelago 7101 at SM Lanang Premier. They are located at the second floor, just go out the door near their bowling center and it is to the right. I have to say the food was really impressive.

We ordered Mama Chit's Special,inihaw na pusit and calamares. Ice tea was free for all the mothers. The food was excellent. Everything tasted so yummy. We also ordered turon and sorbetes for dessert and it was just yummy that I ordered another. I never thought turon and ice cream can be a good pair. Scratch that! They are an excellent pair!

After lunch, we went to the bowling center. We were all prepared with our socks. Unfortunately, there was a problem with their scoring board and the technicians were still fixing it, so we were all bummed! My nephew begged to spend some time at the Quantum, so we headed separate ways.

Mother's day should not only be the only day we show our mothers we love them. I will forever be grateful to my mother for everything she has done for me. She is the best mom in the world! Read full post...

My Birthday Celebration at E.Y's Grill And Crispy Tuna

I wanted a place where my father would be able to eat some seafood. Since he was diagnosed with colon cancer, we have limited his consumption of meat. My friend Angie suggested E.Y's Grill And Crispy Tuna in Bo. Obrero. I was surprised to see a lot of people eating in this place.

Looking at their menu, I saw the dishes were reasonably priced. One tip though, the serving is not that big. So if you are extremely hungry, make sure you order enough food. Don't worry, the food is cheap. Cheap yet delicious! We feasted on several seafood and in just a few minutes, all the food was gone! OH NO!

After dinner, we decided to proceed to Ice Giants and ordered a giant bowl of halo-halo. I can say they probably have the best halo halo in town. Unlike Chowking's halo halo, their ice is finely shaved and I like the generous amount of ingredients they put in the halo halo.

Another year has passed am forever thankful for all the blessings God has given me. The gift of family and friends. The gift of a good source of income, and the gift of good health. Speaking of gifts, my birthday would not be complete without a gift for myself. This year, I gifted myself with an Xbox 360.

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Fun in Samal

My sister in law's birthday is a few days away from my birthday, plus it is a holiday, so we decided to take a break in the wonderful Island Garden City of Samal. We took rode the barge going to Samal and checked in at Sunset Beach. It is called Sunset beach because you can expect to see a beautiful view of the sunset from the beach. Unfortunately, the weather was not so cooperative. It started raining at around 3pm, while we were still heading for the wharf to ride the barge.

Nevertheless we did not let the rain dampen our spirits. Unfortunately though, the bathroom of the cottage where we checked in had a very awful smell. We tried to call the attention of the staff and they did everything they could. Sprayed several air freshener but the stinky smell was still there. We concluded it was the wrong drainage piping that was causing the stinky smell. We ended up asking for a towel from them, got it wet and covered the drains.

Fortunately, the rain stopped just before it got dark. So we went for a quick dip (around one hour). We did not stay in the water longer because it was really very cold, especially when the wind starts blowing. The following day, we checked out before lunch and proceeded to Hagimit Falls.

We had a very funny experience at Hagimit Falls. We saw this toilet where you need to pay P5 per use. We did not use it as we thought there would be a much cleaner and free to use toilet on the way. As we passed through the location of the falls, we crossed the bridge and saw some nice toilets. Used it, and when we got out somebody asked us "mam ilan po kayo gumamit ng toilet?" (how many of you used the toilet?). I said 5, why? Apparently they are asking for a P10 fee per person using the toilet. It as a surprise as there was no sign and they were there when we went in but never uttered a word. They just called our attention after we used the toilet. So I argued to them about that. Then I said "ok fine I will pay, handed them the P50, but asked for a receipt. To which they said sorry we don't have a receipt for that.

So you earn money asking for a toilet fee and yet you do not declare this as income? In the end they refused to accept our payment no matter how much we tell them to take it. The thing is, these are just caretakers. How do they report their sales to the resort owner if they do not have a receipt? The lesson: Always ask if there is a fee to use a toilet!

After Hagimit Falls, we headed to the wharf for the barge ride, but waited for almost 2 hours to be able to get in. Read full post...

Celebrating Mama's 64th at Giligans

For the birthday of the very special woman in our lives, my mama, we had dinner at Giligans SM Lanang. When I came home last November, I was surprised with the number of restaurants that have opened here in Davao City. There is a ton of them that I still have to try. Well let's review them one by one as we get the chance to dine in them. For now, let me talk about Giligans.

Giligans is located at the second floor of SM Lanang Premier. You need to exit the door near Max's Restaurant. When we arrived, there was only one other group who was inside Giligans. We ordered kare kare, crispy pata, fish fillet, pork with green peas, chicken inasal, and a bbq platter.

When our food arrived, we immediately noticed the food did not look hot. It looked liked they were just came from the microwave. The crispy pata was disappointing as it was not crispy at all. The only food I liked was the kare kare. I would say it was one of the yummiest kare kare I have ever tried.

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When I Say Jump: You Say How High

Jump shots are fun and they are becoming a trend. Sometimes it can be frustrating for the subject if they are asked to jump repeatedly because the photographer failed to capture the jump while they are on the air. If you are interested to learn how to take successful jump shots, this post is for you.

If you have a point and shoot camera, make sure your camera setting is set at rapid burst. You may also do this using your cellphone cameras. Expect the shots to be a little blurry though. However, if you are using a DSLR camera, you do not really need to select sports setting to capture the perfect jump shot.

I do not like using sports setting for jump shots as it takes a number of shots and you always end having too many pictures to choose from. The best way is to use automatic setting. All you need to do is let your subjects stand in place then make a half press (this focuses the camera on the subjects). Then gives instructions as to how your subject/subjects will jump simultaneously. You may ask them to jump at the count or three. Once they are in the air, click the shutter (of course you have already focused the camera on the subjects so pressing the shutter quickly won't be a problem).

You may need some practice, but trust me, you will like it this way. I so love this picture with my 64 yr old mother who gamely participated in a jump shot. Read full post...