Apo Island

The Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE) held its annual convention for Region 7 last week at Foundation University in Dumaguete. The event was attended by IT administrators and teachers from Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental (no participant attended from the 4th province in the region, Siquijor). Not being able to participate in the past, I took the opportunity to join the event, because I really am just a newbie and need to be exposed to more IT trends and topics. The event lasted for 3 days, with the third day allocated for the outing where the participants could explore local sights and interact with each other in a fun atmosphere.

The area for the outing was Apo Island, a volcanic island 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Island. I have never been there before, so this was a good chance for me. The island is tiny, with a diameter of only 3 kilometers and an area of 12 hectares. They do not have a steady supply of electricity on the island, their only source of water is rain and deep wells, and there are no vehicles as well, but Apo is a top tourist attraction in this area of the Philippines because of the marine sanctuary that surrounds the island. It's a great place for people who want to dive and snorkel, as it is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 dive sites in the world.

To get to Apo Island, you need to board a pump boat from the fishing/market village of Malatapay in Zamboanguita, located 30 minutes from Dumaguete, or hire a boat from any of the resorts in the area. The boat trip to Apo from the mainland takes 30 minutes as well. As we only had a few hours to spend on the island (you have to make the boat trip back to the mainland before late afternoon as waves get bigger during that time of day), we immediately did the main activity for non-divers in Apo--go snorkeling! And it was wonderful! You can find corals with colorful fishes very near the shore. My only wish was that I had a waterproof case for my camera so I could take underwater pictures! After snorkeling, we went to an area where you could supposedly find turtles, and we did find them! I'm happy to say I finally saw a real turtle, not just a Nat Geo one!

Of course, everywhere I go, my main goal is to take pictures of scenery. Here are some photos of Apo for you:

While it is true that there's not much to do in Apo except swim, snorkel, and laze in the sand, being there evokes a peaceful feeling. This is a place where you can't have Internet, cable TV, or airconditioning. It's a place that brings you back to the basics of life... and that's what makes it extremely special.

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Summer Heat

When it's summer time, there's no other great thing to do but hit the pool or beach! Last week, I went with my parents and cousins to a resort named Bahura. They have the biggest pool area in my province and an over-all great ambience, so I had fun!

Bahura is located in Dauin, Negros Oriental, Philippines. For 500 pesos (around $10), you can enter the resort for the day, get a free lunch, and swim in the pool as much as you want. They have awesome rooms as well, although I have never personally stayed there overnight. A visit for the day, however, is totally worth it.

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Lost and Found

We had visitors for lunch today, so this morning, my mom went to a shop to buy roasted chicken, or lechon manok, as we Filipinos like to call it. Because she did not check her bag, little did she know that she left her wallet at the place! Imagine her shock at around 6pm tonight, when someone called at our gate and said, "I'm here to return your red wallet!"

There are still good people left in the world after all! Who would have imagined that in a third-world country with a lot of people in poverty, you would have a lost wallet returned to you? Her wallet contained IDs, an ATM card, cash worth 2,700 Philippine pesos (around US $56), US bills worth 105 dollars, some loose change, and random foreign bank notes. Nothing was taken. The man who returned the wallet even apologized that the cards got messed up because they had to search for our address.

My mom likes to think of it as God returning a favor to us, because a couple of months ago, my dad had picked up a cellular phone that someone left behind in a comfort room at the Bahrain International Airport. Not wanting to give the cellphone to airport staff who might keep it for themselves, my dad took it home, so that we could try to find the owner using the numbers stored in the phone. When he arrived, we were able to immediately pinpoint that the owner was also a Filipino because the phone had a Globe Telecom SIM card. We had to go through a lot of trouble, however, because the phone was locked with a password. So my parents had to bring the phone to a repair shop to have it unlocked. Fortunately, they were able to unlock it. We found the number of the owner's mom in the address book, thus we were able to contact him and send the phone to him. I don't know how many people would have gone through the same trouble to return a cellphone, but it looks like my parents' efforts were not put to waste. Because when it was our turn to lose something, it was also returned with the same effort.

I'd have to say that there are two lessons to be learned from this story. First, don't lock your SIM/cellphone with a PIN! It really is quite useless, because if someone really wants to unlock it, they will still be able to do so. On the other hand, if you lose your phone and it's password-protected, the person who finds it will not be able to easily return it to you. And of course, don't keep anything if it's not yours, especially if it is of value. There is always someone up there watching your actions, after all!

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Awesome BBC Documentary

I saw this awesome video on the web today about a recently discovered colony of flying penguins. It's amazing! Watch it.

 And since you watched that video, you need to watch the second one as well:

Brilliant, eh? Happy April Fool!

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I Want My Brown Rice

Asians love rice! As you can probably imagine, China consumes the most rice per year. But lo, and behold! The Philippines is not far behind. Even being a teeny-weeny country, it was number 8 in the world from statistics I found for 2003-2004, after China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, and Burma. Everyone I know here eats and loves rice--white rice that is. Now, white rice is long and white and pretty and yummy, but did you know that it is much, much inferior to brown rice?

Brown rice is unmilled or partly milled rice, and can be considered as somewhat whole grain. This is a type of rice where only the outer covering of the grain--the husk--is removed. Rice becomes "white" when layers of the rice kernel, not only the husk, but also the bran and endosperm, are removed. During this process, a number of vitamins and minerals are lost. It has been found out that the milling process that turns brown rice into white destroys 67% of the vitamin B3, 80% of the vitamin B1, 90% of the vitamin B6, half of the manganese, half of the phosphorus, 60% of the iron, and all of the dietary fiber and essential fatty acids. Isn't that a lot you are missing out? Brown rice is also rich in fiber and selenium. We already know how good fiber is for us. It helps us maintain a healthy digestive system, is  supposed to help keep weight in check, and can help prevent colon cancer by reducing the amount of time cancer-causing substances spend in contact with colon cells. Based on what I have read, selenium is a very important mineral that helps in various body functions, and aids in the prevention of not only certain types cancer, but also of heart disease, and for decreasing the symptoms of asthma and the pain and inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. And if you have a problem with cholesterol, the rice bran oil found in brown rice has also been proven to help lower that.

Now, why am I suddenly becoming an advocate of brown rice, you might ask. Well, I've only been eating brown rice for a couple of months. I've known long ago that it's very good for you, but my family and I never switched, until I started reading healthful articles on SparkPeople and all over web earlier this year. I want to make people realize how good it is! And really, when you read something like what I just mentioned in this post, why stay with white rice? I am going to admit that it's a little bit difficult to switch, because when you eat brown rice for the first time, it tastes like cloth. But don't worry, once you get used to it, there's no turning back. Honestly for me now, it's white rice that tastes like cloth. Plus, brown rice makes you feel full faster, and for a longer period of time!

The problem I have right now is that: There. Is. No. Brown. Rice. For. Sale. In. The. Supermarket. There are only two supermarkets where I live (owned by the same company), and they have had no stock of brown rice for over a week. Because not a lot of people eat brown rice, there's very little supply. So uh, that's the ulterior motive for writing this post. I'm going to advertise brown rice so more people will eat, and more people will sell. And I'll be happy! Because I really do want my brown rice!

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BPInoy in Dumaguete

My parents got invited to an event  in Dumaguete hosted by the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) for clients receiving remittances from expatriates overseas, as part of their BPInoy program. Since my dad is not yet here, I accompanied my mom to the event which was held last Friday at the Spanish Heritage. They stated in their invitation that they wanted to share some business opportunities with us, so I thought it was going to be one boring day. Fortunately, I was wrong. It was totally fun!

The main thrust of the event was to tell the guests about certain services BPI had available to bring the bank closer to their clients. They had some people tell us about these services, and they showed a video about how money should be managed by families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). They also presented a business opportunity.

Having an account at BPI myself, I certainly am no stranger to their services, especially what they are heavily promoting right now, BPI 24/7 Banking. I've been using this service for a number of months now and I absolutely love it! With BPI 24/7 Banking, you can do your banking transactions (paying bills, checking account balances, transferring funds) online at http://www.bpiexpressonline.com. Most banks have this service so I'm sure this is not new to you. But what I love about BPI 24/7 are the services they offer using BPI Mobile. Yep, that's banking on your cellular phone! Transferring funds from one account to another and checking balances on your phone are even less hassle-free! I've been using it a lot to pay for purchases I've made on eBay Philippines. Aside from that, I can also use the money from my account to fund my GCash wallet and reload my prepaid cellphone. There's only one catch: you need to be a Globe Telecom subscriber. That's no problem for me though, since I've always been on Globe. Unfortunately, BPI and Globe are not paying me for this plug, although I did win P100 worth of load at the event, and my mom won a cellphone. LOL. But I really do love the service! I would recommend it to every Filipino with a BPI account.

Erik Santos

Oh, did I forget to mention that the Philippines' Prince of Pop, Erik Santos was there? Since his dad is also an OFW, he is the BPInoy endorser.

BPI - the oldest bank in Southeast Asia and consistently the most profitable in the Philippines
GCash - a service of Globe Telecom that allows you to send and receive money using your cellphone

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Online (In)Security

Facebook. Twitter. MySpace. Blogger. Plurk. Friendster. Wordpress. Et cetera, et cetera. All over the web, and on our cellphones, Blackberries and iPhones, sharing is in. We share pictures, videos, all types of files, and we tell people--strangers--about minute details in our daily lives.

I, personally, have networking accounts on Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, Plurk, and MyBlogLog. Anyone wanting to find more information about me can search these networks and see everything I have put up online. It's a scary thought. Do you remember the movie The Net? And the more recent Eagle Eye? Anyone can use my info against me, if they wished to do so. That's why as much as possible, I try to keep my personal information safe online. I keep my full name and home addresses hidden, and restrict my profile to friends only on networking sites.

What about you? Do you have any qualms about how the world shares and communicates nowadays?

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A Beginning

Whoopee! I gave the last of the final exams to my students today. That only means one thing. The semester is finally over! School will officially end tomorrow and the graduating students will don their togas and march to Pomp and Circumstance on Sunday. It gives a bittersweet feeling, the end of a school year. You have friends who will be graduating, people you might never see again. But even though it is technically an ending, it is, in essence, more of a beginning. How apt the graduation term Commencement Exercises is!

This is just one reason why I like teaching. After the end of every semester, you know there is another one coming up right around the corner. You will have new subjects to teach, new lessons to learn, new students to interact with. You will be able to have a fresh start; ponder about whatever mistakes you might have made in the past and correct them.

Personally, I am looking forward to the future. I think I am finally on track. Although I will not be teaching for roughly two months during the Summer term, I have a lot of things to do, such as preparing for the TOEFL and GMAT examinations I am planning to take. By the opening of the new school year in June, I will be back in school again, taking up Masters in Information Systems. I am excited for that. It's been two years since I've been in school, and I miss it. I hope to do better this time around, and not be as lax as I was in college. It is a new beginning indeed, and I hope all goes well!

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Fated to Love You

I thought I'd never ever get hooked on Taiwanese dramas. I was wrong.

I was following Fated to Love You on GMA 7, a local network. However, I got impatient and decided to watch the entire series online over the weekend. And by God, I loved it!

Fated to Love You is a romantic comedy that tells the story of a "sticky note girl" who accidentally has a one-night stand with a somewhat spoiled heir who is deeply in-love with his beautiful girlfriend. The girl gets pregnant, and the two are forced to get married and live together. The story starts out simply, but ends up deep and meaningful, with so many twists and turns. It's both funny and touching on so many levels. I cannot count the number of times it made me laugh and cry!

If you want to know what I'm babbling about, you can catch Fated to Love You every night on GMA 7 (if you are in the Philippines) or you can watch it online (dubbed in Mandarin with English subs). This is the highest rated Taiwanese series to date, and it won Best Drama in the 2008 Golden Bell Awards so try to watch it. You will enjoy it!

sticky note girl - a pushover; a girl who is "used then discarded", like the sticky note or Post-It
Golden Bell Awards - Taiwan's most prestigious radio and television broadcasting awards

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Lipsticks, Black Cats, and Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th has never been a big deal to me and I never paid any attention to it until moments ago, when I saw this post at ShimmerMeBlue, with a spooky image of a black cat included. Then I realized that while having dinner at a restaurant earlier tonight, I had seen a fat and cuddly black kitty dozing off near the entrance to the women's restroom. Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

Thankfully, I'm not really into superstition. I'd take horoscopes over superstitions any day. I know I'm not a very good Catholic, but I have more than 100% faith in God and firmly believe that everything is His will. Besides, there really is nothing wrong with Friday the 13th. Read this and this if you don't believe me. I'm sure both good and bad things have happened on this day, just like any other day. The only nuisance I need to deal with today are chapped lips, caused by what I thought to be a great lipstick with the perfect color for me--Revlon Colorstay in Sumptuous Sienna. Bah, guess I need to go lipstick hunting again!

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