Taguig City’s Mind Museum: Opening in 2011

The Mind Museum is going to the country’s most amazing science museum. Set to open by the third quarter of 2011, the Mind Museum will house five galleries and will be built on 7,595 square meters of prime real estate in the middle of the Global City. People are expected to flock to the Mind Museum once it is built and enjoy the “minds on” and as well as hands-on interactive learning experiences. 

I know it’s a long way to 2011, but I am going to be part of thiss effort by volunteering my time and effort to projects that will help our legacy to the youth of tomorrow. I enjoin you to become a sponsor by clicking here to register as a volunteer. If feel like being more generous, you can sponsor a star or constellation and have your name written for the rest of the generations to see. You can learn more about how to sponsor a star or help build the museum by clicking on this link. 

I was part of cheese history

Certified by the Guiness Book of World Records as having served 5,845 different dishes, Kraft Foods Philippines went into a partnership with the Magsaysay Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts to break India’s record of 4,668 different dishes. In celebration of this achievement and a reminder to everyone that the Filipino can, MIHCA and Eden Cheese are putting up the world’s first cheese cafe called Cafe 5845. All the goodness of cheese can be found here. 

MIHCA is one of the most reasonably-priced culinary schools in the Philippines.  In as little as 4 months, you can start working in a professional kitchen. Check out their website and know more about studying in MIHCA

Dine for Smiles: The Virlanie Foundation Event

Virlanie Foundation is a non-profit organization that aims to take street children off the streets and into loving homes so they can make a better life for themselves. On July 17, 2010 Virlanie turns 18 and the celebration will be supported by some of the biggest organizations and institutions in the Philippines, including Hotel Sofitel Philippines, M Lhuillier, Philippine Daily Inquirer and GeiserMaclang. 

Proceeds of this event will go the establishment of L’Envol, a home for  young adults who were formerly street children. By the time they turn 18, they will need to be equipped with the proper training and skills that can help them get employed. Skills training is a small but significant step into becoming productive citizens of this country.

Pahiyas Festival in Quezon Province: Pictures that say a thousand compliments

The Pahiyas Festival is an annual event that honors Lucban’s patron saint, San Isidro de Labrador, also the patron saint of farmers. A festival that has its roots from the Spanish times, the Pahiyas is one of the country’s most colorful and highly anticipated. Tourists from all over the country and even  from abroad come to this place every 15th of May to celebrate with the locals and pray for better harvests. An abundance of vegetables and colored grass adorn the beautiful and dainty homes along the narrow streets of Lucban, which incidentally means Pomelo, again a fruit.
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I Scream for Dairy Queen

I love Dairy Queen’s Blizzard since I discovered it in 1995. As a kid, I would always save up on my allowance just so I can have a big cup of my favorite Blizzard, Rocky Road. Recently, I was told that my favorite has turned 25 in the Philippines!

Because it’s been in the country for 25 years now, DQ’s Blizzard now has 25 grand flavors! And I now have a new favorite, White Truffle. You’ll love it too! Though Arpee only loves the sundae cone.

The Juicier Jollibee Chicken Barbecue

Lyn Ching was nice enough to have her photo taken with me. She’s one of my favorites at “Unang Hirit”, my favorite morning show on GMA. It was my lucky day because I got to be with another favorite: Jollibee Chicken Barbecue. And my favorite just got better! Jollibee has made their Chicken Barbecue less sweet and slightly more savory, to cater to kids of all ages and regional preferences. The new Jollibee Chicken Barbecue is now juicier and more tender, with two sauces to choose from: Toyo-mansi or Honey Barbecue sauce. Either way, it’s Jollibee-Good!

The chicken speaks for itself. You have got to try it now. Wherever you are, there is always a Jollibee nearby.

Tara nang “kilatisin” ang bagong Chicken Barbecue ng Jollibee, dahil wala nang mas Pipinoy pa sa Jollibee!

7-Elections can be everybody’s cup of tea

It’s fun and exciting! 7-Eleven’s Gulp can actually be your partner in nation-building! Here’s your chance to support your favorite presidentiable by just gulping it out in 7-Eleven. On Wednesday, March 10, they will temporarily remove the old Gulp cups to give way to the 7-Elections Gulp cups. Each presidentiable is duly represented by putting his face on the a 7-Elections Gulp cup. All you need to do is grab that cup that has your candidate’s name and fill ‘er up with your favorite soda. Each time you take a sip, people will see the name and photo of your favorite presidentiable.
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Atelier de Maquillage: A Make-Up Workshop by Mantra Productions

That’s me, second from the left. That statuesque lady in the middle is Bambi Dela Cruz, one of the two professional makeup artists who demonstrated the different looks that women can choose from. Depending on your skin tone, there is the right makeup for you, one that will bring out your natural beauty. To fully utilize makeup and accessories, you need not buy the most expensive brand, though admittedly the more pricey brands tend to give the most flattering effects. Allow me to share what I learned from the makeup workshop.

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When Joya’s Freight Elevator Bogged Down

This is the lobby of the chic and posh Joya condominium in Rockwell. Don’t be fooled by it’s opulent lobby. Yes I am upset with their management and poor security. See why.

I have a water refilling station and I deliver to all sorts of places in the Metro and I have two or three customers at the Joya. So I delivered with my guy Ruben who does the all the lifting. My client lives in the 45th floor and because it is a condominium, there were rules that needed to be followed to which we dutifully comply (ID, log books, calling the customer, etc). Normally, delivery takes 10 to 15 minutes tops. However, this one took an hour and a half.

After Ruben delivered the two containers of alkaline ionized  water to the customer, he begins to make his to the freight elevator. Then he discovered that the freight elevator conked out. He and other people who deliver to customers in Joya are not allowed to use the regular elevators, but in this case the freight elevators are busted and he and other workers were made to wait until the freight elevator is fixed before they can come down. Crazy policy, which actually poses MORE DANGER TO THE RESIDENTS, if you think about it. Why? If you were a rich person who lived in the North Tower of Joya, do you REALLY want to see workers in shorts walking about the floor because they’re stuck there? I mean, think about it.

After more than 45 minutes of waiting at the basement, I asked the guard on the whereabouts of my guy because the customer said he already left the unit a half hour ago. So I wonder, where in hell could he be? To me the guard seemed like he couldn’t care less. He just said “ay, nag trip ho pala yung elevator, mamaya lang ayos na yun. hindi ko pala nasabi sa yo” (oh the elevator bogged down. It’ll be fixed later, I forgot to tell you.)

Anybody who works in a business that does deliveries will tell you that staying too long in a client will delay schedules for the other deliveries. But Joya’s security people don’t think it’s their problem. True, but as the minutes turned into hours, I increasingly became upset and agitated because of Joya’s failure to give information and provide elevator transportation to the numerous workers stuck in the upper floors. The fear that maybe my guy was stuck INSIDE the elevator was becoming menacing and I knew I had to do something because the matter could be A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION. Just because workers use the freight elevator doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the same urgency as their residents. That’s just plain bull.

I complained to the lobby of the North Tower and the receptionist didn’t seem to want to do something about it because she would rather answer the phones than look into the matter. By this time it had been an hour since he left to deliver and I was increasingly getting scared for my guy, who could be trapped or hurt. I had no way of knowing because THE GUARDS OF THE LOBBY DIDN’T KNOW THEIR STATUS EITHER. All those radio gadgets and THEY WERE STILL CLUELESS. 

IF JOYA HAD SECURITY CAMERAS, HOW COME NO ONE COULD TELL ME EXACTLY WHERE MY GUY WAS? HOW COME NO ONE HAD THE INITIATIVE OF OPERATING ONE OF THE REGULAR ELEVATORS SO THEY CAN LET ALL THOSE WORKERS OUT OF THE BUILDING? The residents of Joya are given proximity cards which restrict their entry only into the floors where they live. WITH ALL THIS SECURITY IN PLACE, THEY LET THOSE WORKERS GET STUCK FOR AN HOUR? It was really a simple problem with a simple solution. Go to the floors that people trapped and escort them out the building. In the first 15 minutes that they knew the freight elevator was out they could have just deployed guards to escort the workers. Good for the residents, good for the workers. WHY IN HELL DID THEY HAVE TO WAIT AN HOUR TO GET EVERYBODY DOWN?

I bawled at my customer because at that point I didn’t care what she thought. The building was keeping my guy trapped inside and I threatened to call the police. ONLY THEN WAS SOMETHING DONE ABOUT IT. ONLY THEN!

And one guard in white accosted me at the basement when I picked up my guy and raised his voice at me “bakit hindi kayo agad nagsabi sa admin para nasundo namin yung tao ninyo? nagreklamo pa kayo kung kani-kanino alam nyo namang hindi namin pinapagamit yung elevator kasi mabigat yung mga dala nila baka masira pa yung elevator, saka hindi maayos yung hitsura nila at ayaw ng mga guests ng ganun” (Why didn’t you complain right away to the admin so we could have fetched your guy? You complained to so many people, we don’t allow them to use the regular elevators because they carry heavy things and it might damage the elevator plus the workers don’t look tidy, the guests don’t like that.) DUH?

So I went straight to the property management office to report the matter. And what did I find out, ADMIN DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THE FREIGHT ELEVATOR CONKED OUT. They had no idea what had happened and all the supervisor could say was “thank you for telling us, we will investigate the matter.”

Well I hope they do their job, FOR THE SAKE OF THEIR RESIDENTS at least. For me, NO MORE DELIVERIES TO JOYA. I returned my customer’s money through admin, to which the customer confirmed she had accepted. I was mistaken into thinking that expensive condos have good enough service and had REAL SECURITY CAMERAS.I guess I was wrong.

So What If Your Fabric Softener is Hypoallergenic?

 It means a lot, especially to kids. I know of someone who gets rashes whenever his clothes are washed using a famous “bareta” so his wife ends up using this expensive detergent from the US just for his clothes. It’s no joke! When you use detergents, these chemicals seep into your clothes and eventually into your skin. Lucky for me I care enough for my clothes that I handwash the delicate fabrics and because I want my clothes to smell nice, I use a fabric conditioner. Imagine my smile when I saw that Del, a local product, is hypoallergenic! My husband is allergic to a lot of things too, so Del really works for us. Del is so much better than buying it’s imported counterpart. It’s cheaper, works just as good (if not better) and is hypoallergenic. Good for me and my husband. I bet it will work for your kids too!