Tagatay: Tierra de Maria

Tierra de Maria in Tagaytay City

Home of the 50-feet image of Mary, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth.

The 50-feet statue of Mother Mary

The Wedding at Cana Wishing Well

so Catholic and so Filipino...
a place where you can light a candle, say a prayer
and ask for God's blessings for your intentions and wishes

I wanted to take photos of the chapel at Tierra de Maria but did not want to disturb the solemnity of the place.

Tagaytay: Bulalo sa Mahogany

This is the reason why we go to the Mahogany Market whenever we are in Tagaytay... the BULALO.

Bulalo, as we call it in the Philippines, is a soup made by continuously boiling beef shank and meat until meat is tender and the flavor comes out. The marrow inside the beef shank makes the soup so flavorful. You would just love a taste of this hot soup while enjoying the cool breeze of Tagaytay. Bulalo at Mahogany Market costs around P280.00 and is good for 4-5 persons.

Tagaytay: Taal Volcano

My son who is now on 1st Grade kept on asking "Mommy, saan ba may volcano?" (Mommy, where can you find a volcano?) and Tagaytay was the nearest we can go to and see a volcano. Though we were short on budget, my husband and I decided to bring the kids to Tagaytay.

Tagaytay is about an hour and a half drive from Metro Manila. People from the metro frequent this place because it is the nearest you can go to to experience a cooler climate, a very beautiful view of the Taal Volcano, with lots of interesting places to visit.

We took the usual route which was via SLEX (South Luzon Expressway) passing through Sta. Rosa, Laguna. As soon as we got to Tagaytay I pointed out to my eldest where the Taal Volcano was. He then asked "Bakit walang usok at yung pula na lumalabas sa volcano?" (Why is there no smoke and the red thing coming out from the volcano). He was quite expecting to see how the teacher described a volcano, an erupting volcano. :-) A little bit confused but he still insisted "Mommy, dapat kunan mo ako ng picture kasama yung volcano kasi ipapakita ko yan kay teacher." (Mommy, you need to take a photo of me with the volcano so that I can show it to my teacher.)

This was not the first time that we've been to Tagaytay but then it was quite a new experience again. Both my children are now more observant of the places we go to, naming landforms, asking questions on what they learn from school... This time our trip was a lesson on Civics... :-)

Adidas King of the Road Marathon

Here's something for those who are into marathons, people who really love to run or anybody who just want to try something new every now and then...

Adidas King of the Road Marathon
October 11, 2008, 5:30am
Gawad Kalinga Expo 2008
The Fort, Taguig City, Philippines

Reg Fee
P300, includes an authentic Adidas Climalite Singlet, race number, certificate, entrance fee to GK Expo

Start and Finish Line:
28th Street (in front of Honda)
21K - 5:30 am
5k/10k - 6:00 am

Registration
Adidas Shops in Podium, Trinoma, Megamall, Rockwell
Ground floor of Vazquez-Madrigal Bldg., Annapolis St. Greenhills, San Juan (recommended for bulk registrations of corporations, schools and organizations)

Registration dates
September 22- October 9

NOTE
The Run for Love will be a side event in the King of the Road. You can pledge your run for the Gawad Kalinga.

More details on http://takbo.ph/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=32&func=details&did=42

1st Coke Philippines International Coastal Clean-Up

Saw this event from a post made by Mr. Eric Tipon at www.mypinoy.com

You can also find more information at 

http://earthnews.pinaymom.org/2008/09/1st-coke-philippines-international-coastal-clean-up/

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_icc

Join the 1st Coke Philippines International Coastal Clean-Up on Sept. 20, 2008 SAT 6AM, and help start a sea change.

The International Coastal Cleanup, organized by The Ocean Conservancy, is the world’s largest volunteer event of its kind. Last year, 378,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 states cleared six million pounds of trash from oceans and waterways and recorded every piece of trash collected.

This September 20, 2008, Saturday at 6AM, Coca-Cola Philippines invites you, your family & friends to be one with us and thousands of volunteers world-wide in a globally-coordinated event, as we clean up an area of the Manila Bay in San Dionisio, Paranaque located near the Cavite Coastal Road to demonstrate our commitment to clean oceans and waterways.

The event is expected to begin at 6AM in the morning, and will finish before lunch-time.

To join, simply form a team of your friends and group yourselves into a team of FOUR (4) members each.

Among yourselves, please select a Team Leader with whom we can coordinate with and pass on the event-related materials, forms, and other updates.

There is no limit to the number of teams you can form!

Once you have formed your team, please send me a list of your team members complete with cellphone #’s and email addresses.

We would to like to get a headcount for this activity that we may coordinate better with the Ocean Conservancy’s Philippine Coordinating Organization, the International Marinelife Alliance Philippines (IMAP), and the DENR.

Once I receive your list, I will immediately send you a PowerPt Presentation which will provide you and your team more information on what items to bring with you on Sept. 20.

For more information, you can also visit The Ocean Conservancy Website at http://www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=press_icc

or contact me at the following :

Victor Z. Manlapaz

Coca-Cola Foundation Philippines, Inc.
Project Officer, Environment
Tel.: (02) 866-2582
Fax: (02) 866-2398
Mobile: (0917) 886-6054
Email: victor.manlapaz @ ccbp.com.ph

I Was Once A Mountaineer

Take nothing but pictures

Kill nothing but time

Leave nothing but footprints

I'm not the athletic type but I love adventure. The days that I took the challenge to trek and hike mountains are the days that I will always treasure.

When I was a freshman in the University of Santo Tomas I got interested in joining the UST Mountaineering Club (USTMC). What started to be an out-of-curiosity activity ended up to be an involvement and dedication to become a full-pledge mountaineer. It was not that easy. You have to train, attend courses, develop new skills and do a lot of running which I never thought I could ever do.

Many people asked me what do I get out of it. It's dangerous, You get tired, push yourself to the limits, get scratched and bruised, and what do you get once you reach the summit??? SENSE OF FULFILLMENT! This is when I was able to test my patience and found out that I have lots of it. It is when I found myself, that I CAN BE WHO I AM. The best part of being a mountaineer is being with real people. No matter how hard you try to pretend to be a different person than who you really are, the real "YOU" will come out as soon as the first climb.

I may not have stayed long with the club (not because I did not want to climb anymore of course) but it made a very important mark in my life. I may have been once a mountaineer physically but I will be forever a mountaineer by heart. 

My World

C/S Origin

Oh I am so excited!!! C/S (Crime/Suspense) will have its own channel on TV again and it's called C/S Origin. When C/S was moved to free TV RPN-9 I was quite disappointed. Episodes of most of the TV programs they merged with RPN-9 went back to the previous season. 

C/S Origin is now on test broadcast and will be launched on September 14, 2008. For sure there would be new episodes of my must-watch tv shows: Without A Trace, Bones, Law and Order, Cold Case, etc... I wish they would include CSI among their programs.

Old Friends, New Stories, Same Bond

I'm so happy to have met up with friends I have not been with for quite some time now. Though we have not seen each other for years, the "connection" is still there. Old stories reminisced and new ones shared over coffee. Nothing was planned, everything just started with an e-mail between two then one invited another and another until there were five (well, six including my friend's little one) of us meeting up in Starbucks. It was only recently that these closest friends of mine got together online through Yahoo Messenger. Sadly one of us gals were not able to join this afternoon as she is in Canada.

Many things have changed throughout the years but still the bond of friendship is there. We had to meet at around 2:00 PM which we found funny. We had to meet in the afternoon now since almost all of us have kids and it wouldn't be that easy if we set a night out like we used to do when were younger. Stories are different now... we talked more on family - children and parenting - instead of the usual "gimmick" chitchat. Then we had to bid goodbyes around 5:00 PM... wow! 2 hours (only)? coffee instead of beer? is this a sign of growing "old"??? :-)

We're all hoping that we can meet up again some time together with our other friends and with our families too.

Filipino Jobs Overseas

Here's a very useful link to all Filipinos out there who would like to work overseas.

http://www.workabroad.ph/register_applicant.php?ref=xxyyszz

Just click on the link, register for free and find a job abroad. You get to search over a thousand job opportunities abroad for Filipinos.

Word of caution though... please be careful when dealing with agencies or people who are offering employment overseas. Make sure that you check them out with the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA). Many Filipinos have already been victimized by illegal recruiters. So far opportunities posted in workabroad.ph are mostly, if not all, legit but still we can never be too careful.