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ABS-CBN Christmas Station ID 2010 - Ngayong Pasko Magniningning Ang Pilipino

Perfect Solution to Dining Dilemma... Canvas Bistro Bar

When it comes to shopping, i really have no problem finding the best specialty store specially at Ayala Center Cebu. That's me. I do it mostly there. What's interesting,  when I do my shopping, it also means food trip. But every time I have a food trip, I always find it difficult to find a restaurant that appeals to my preferences.



One day, a friend (Rain) phoned me for a dinner at  The Terraces, Ayala Center Cebu. It was around 7pm of Sunday and all you see at The Terraces were people from different ages, races, and lifestyle orientation, but there is one thing that is similar to all, if not having dinner with family and peers, they're in to unwind and relax, the fact that made us so undecided where to dine because of full reservations. Luckily, we've got a perfect solution to that dining dilemma, just within the Terraces as well, and was known to be the first Australian restaurant in whole Cebu Metropolitan.

Canvas Bistro Bar was indeed a very nice place. As I flipped on its menu book, I know it could be something that would receive trade recognition for excellence, although the materials used in the menu book is not that appealing. The menu appeals to every palate, from the health conscious who prefers white meat or fish to red meat aficionados. Diners have the selection for salads and hearty appetizers and desserts, and selection from seafood, beef,chicken and pork in different Australian food preparation.

My total dining experience was great and I know that this restaurant believes in effortlessly blending comfort, value, service and atmosphere.

What does it mean to be a good global employee?

What does it mean to be a good global employee? Presently, as where I am working, we now have shifted from the usual thing the department does to a dynamite blast approach of customer engagement, and the company use this simple framework to answer that question, as its main objective is to bring the company into the position of leading the US financial industry in terms of providing customer service. 

More particular to our department and the current moment are the several changes to our procedures and customer connections criteria. To provide excellent service, every time a customer either explicitly or implicitly voiced out his concern, we should be quick enough to be emphatic and address the needs by offering proactive solutions. In fact to be more sincere about the approach, handling time was taken out from the metrics to provide us opportunity to go extra mile in assisting cardholders. 

Our goal is not simply to participate, but to be a leader in this area. As an initiative, to involve us in a drive, we were provided access to communication tools to communicate broadly, to raise consciousness of the problem we see and to increase awareness of effective solutions. This is why we were asked to determine, as they termed it, "the moon walking bears" in the operation procedure.

Option for Best Food... Cafe Laguna

Food trip is one of the favorite things I do everytime I am off from work. This is how I compensate myself for heavy tasks during the work days and spending it with close friends and work colleages is always a great idea. As much possible I want to try all the different restaurants here in Cebu City and this is for the purpose of knowing who offers the best. After all, if I'll be bringing someone for dinner or lunch,  or host special occassion, i will always have the perfect solution to dining dilemma.

Just as I have thought of knowing what restaurant offers the best food, I came to remember Cafe laguna. I love this restaurant because of its cozy and comfortable atmosphere plus the excellent food at reasonable prices. This restaurant serves finest Filipino dishes cooked in a home-style tradition.


One time, friends phoned me for a lunch at the Cafe Laguna at The Terraces in Ayala. Indeed it was really a great dining experience I had with the restaurant as I was delighted with the food especially their seafood platter (combination of freshly and juicy cooked squid, shrimp, crabs, sea shell) and crispy pata in its crisp golden brown color. I like as well their version of the Bicol Express which they call it as Laguna Express, well as it was named it after the restaurant. It was great in flavor that the taste of green veggies, chilies, pork and shrimp completely blends as simmered in coconut milk.Most of the dishes ranges its price from Php 95.00 - Php 300.00. And of course, they offer a lot of dishes which I know for sure I will be ordering on my next visit.

An Alternative, A Thing to Consider

I made an airline reservation for my trip to Ilo-ilo and Boracay on August 24-31 to celebrate my 25th birthday but it never was realized because of conflict on my work schedule. Instead, as my manager only approved 2 PTO's (paid time off), I made my way home to my place in Kidapawan City. My family was so excited to celebrate my 25th year of existence in this world so we did gather for pool swimming. There were 23 of us, and mostly are my nephews and nieces.

Everytime we have a family get together like this, it is always a big consideration to come up with types of food that would be best for all. I mean, by the looks, seems that food is very abundant to us as our body sizes justify it, hahaha. That's right, sounds funny, but not a good thing to my old folks. Consequently, we need to prepare something that's healthy for them, and that suggests for low or perhaps something that is cholesterol free.

Good thing I remembered Nanay Linda, our house cook in Cebu. She always prepare fried fish meat with oyster sauce everytime I ask her to cook something for me. At least, I knew that fish is a best alternative for pork or beef, which is absolutely not good for them. That gave me an idea, so for the rest of us who have no health issues, well, as always lechon is present, grilled pork belly, roasted chicken are always on top of this food list.

In Search for Financial Health and Stability

For all the discussion about money and work, there's no definitive answer to the question of what, exactly, we mean by a financial health and stability. Owning a car or home? Bank savings? Occupying position for a high paying job? Having portfolio investments or simply just have no debts at all? This is not about as if I will be discussing financial education in the perspective of country's economy or perhaps about the world's financial crisis. Instead I would like to discuss more on the individuals' financial aspect in relation to his work and his level of income. I asked several people and a consultant from a financial institution - all have jobs and sources of income and by definition be characterized as financially stable- to contribute their thoughts.

They have things in common. All agreed, for example, in reality, not all individuals are born with silver spoon - maybe the top one percent. The remaining 99 percent all needs to have the earning capacity and work more to protect that earning capacity. In general sense, the moment an individual is capable to earn or have a job, he is expected to establish his own financial health. But they differ in other respects-on issues such as choosing the best option like whether to seek for employment or go for self employment, and the degree to which an individual needs to adhere to different cultural norms and lifestyle. Their thoughts, which follow describes a range of ideas that are as diverse as the industries they are into.

An Undergraduate Turns Out To Be The Boss of His Own Business

To be financially stable is very easy to say but difficult to do. One must have discipline in terms of spending. It doesn't matter whether you run your own business or you employ in either in a small or global company, so long as you know how to spend, I am sure that would help you become financially healthy.

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A call Center Representative in a Challenge

A big challenge for us call center reps are the increasing demand for lifestyle change. It is undeniable that as the level of income increases the curve for spending also increases. Because we are working graveyard, we sometimes are deprived of the normal life. For most of us, to satisfy and free ourselves from stress, we go for shopping, plan for travels, go for refreshment and relaxation spas, unwind at entertainment bars and music lounges, always go for convenience, and so to have it, it means money. In effect,  it' s a big challenge to establish financial stability. Surely though, if we can just control it, financial health is very achievable. 

A Single Mom Finding Better Way To Make a Difference

I am connected in a government office. I love my work and I am dedicated to my job. When it comes to money, we are both fortunate and unfortunate. We have fixed pays, plus different bonuses.  I don't know if this is true to all, when you take a look into the pay slips, you will see a lot of deductions. Personal contributions, insurances, taxes, salary loans, multipurpose loans, emergency loans, etc.  I realized that having those on my financial records are in some way not good. This, I know one thing that would help me build my financial health is to save. 

A Consultant Provides Option for Financial Aid

I receive lots of applications for credit cards and personal loans. Before we consider an application for approval, we are reviewing the applicants information like the income, tenure with the present employer, residence information, other related credit information from our sources. Basically we are determining the financial health status of an applicant, so that is why we are setting certain qualifications. When we say financial health, for us it means capability for repayment after the loan was granted. We have our way of defining financial stability as well. It does not mean that you are financially stable if you don't have an outstanding loan.

More than just being a Chocolate... It's a Pleasure

I really love chocolate. For me chocolate is not just a chocolate. It is more than that. I consider it as a pleasure. I visited a lot of websites of company producing chocolates and read about diferent articles because I would like to know how else chocolate is made for other than just consuming it for appetite.

I know for sure that everyone knows about chocolate but the fact still remains that only a few knows how it is being made. Personally, I have not seen any actual production of chocolates. All I've done was to browse through different video network sites like youtube, as some generous people out there share their knowledge and expertise through video sharing. My eagerness towards learning about chocolate resulted me to do research on the local producers or perhaps any raw materials that would be helpful to produce chocolates. My search has gone through getting contact numbers and email addresses of every person who is directly involved in producing chocolates. Until one day, I had a chance to travel to Davao City and visited one of the merchants at Uyanguren St. and found out that they are selling blocks of chocolates in variety. 

I bought 1 slab of dark chocolate for Php 165.00/kg(that is about 10 blocks) and 4 blocks of white chocolate for Php 175.00/kg. As I have considered it as a pleasure, I bought it to experiment on how else I could use chocolate to produce variety of chocolate goodies. My experiment though was not very successful but I am so happy that I was able to satisfy myself in making my own chocolate goodies. Believe me, it was fun and not any single portion of the solid block or single drop of the melted chocolate was wasted. Chocolate is not just limited to a specific purpose. If you are creative enough, Chocolates can even bring you wide range of possibilities. 

Coke Creatures - Summer 2009 Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La Dance Party

Yeah Yeah Yeah La La La. Say Yes to Summer! We’re hairy and we can sing. Yeah Yeah Yeah. We like drinking Coca-Cola. La La La. And we’re in the latest Coca-Cola Summer ad playing in Europe – filmed in New Zealand – featuring music of Calvin Harris.

The spot was created by agency Mother in London and realized 302,261 clip views last week.

Johnson & Johnson Philippines "Botelya" Universal McCann

Credits:

Type of Entry: Use of Media 

Category: Best Use of Cinema 

Title: BOTELYA 

Advertiser/Client: JOHNSON & JOHNSON 

Product/Service: JOHNSON'S BABY OIL 

Entrant Company: UNIVERSAL McCANN Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES

Media Agency: UNIVERSAL McCANN Makati City, THE PHILIPPINES 

Creative Credits 

Name Company Position 

Venus Navalta Um Managing Director 

Alex Dan Tracderas Johnson/Johnson Marketing Manager 

Kokoy Boncan Um Director Of Entertainment 

Eugene Claravall Um Assistant Media Strategist 

Am Sibayan Um Media Planner 

Emmanuel Quindo Pas Freelance Screenwriter/Director 

Ita Karo Karo Johnson/Johnson Brand Manager 

Eloisa Matias Gener8 Head Of Production 

Rachel Titular Global Visions President/Project Director 

Details

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  Results and Effectiveness: 

  TNS study showed the campaign successfully communicated the importance of Touch Therapy (96%). Purchase intent (“definitely will buy”) reached almost 100% and actual pantry check recorded a high 58%. In pre-campaign vs. post campaign results, frequency of daily multiple usages rocketed from 22% to 65%. Frequency of regular purchase shot from 82% to 97%. Usage occasions likewise increased from 17% to 40 for “massaging baby”; from 70% to 90% for “before bathing baby” and from 20% to 51% for “after baby’s bath.” Johnson’s Baby Oil’s market share increased from 86% to 93%, trial and conversion went up to 100%. 

  
  Creative Execution:
  Even with such strong product awareness among Filipino women, we discovered that only 37% of Mums practiced infant massage. With this as our big opportunity we created a feature film around the story of an old bottle of Johnson’s Baby Oil that travelled across generations. The film, “Botelya” (The Bottle) told the war-time story of a mother forced to give up her baby to save his life and her final act of love was touch therapy. As the movie unfolded and the bottle passed through many lives, touch therapy was woven in as a primary and timeless act of love from mother to child. The story drew laughter and tears from Mums on the way to a happy ending. The movie became the centrepiece of a mobile “festival of love” event that toured communities engaging Mums with touch therapy demonstrations product samples, lectures, quizzes, even transport to attend the event.
  
  Insights, Strategy and the Idea:
  Johnson’s Baby Oil was a category leader with 86% volume share but there was growth potential. One of our product’s frequent usage moments was just prior to a baby’s bath time, but we saw great opportunity to expand the brand’s usage to other parts of the day. We wanted to tap into the extremely close emotional bond a mother has with her baby and we also targeted the idea of massaging, or touch therapy. One special insight was that traditional health messaging was not effective against this audience, but they loved TV dramas. Another was that Filipino mums live and share their lives as a community and they gather in groups constantly for support and friendship. They talk about general things - their lives, their families and what they have seen on TV. However, one of the most central aspects of these communities is the love and nurturing of babies.
  
  The commercial titled BOTELYA was done by UNIVERSAL MCCANN advertising agency for JOHNSON'S BABY OIL (JOHNSON & JOHNSON company) in Philippines. It was released in the June 2009. Business sector is Toiletries & pharmaceuticals.

JOHNSON'S BABY OIL: BOTELYA from www.advertolog.com

Travie McCoy Lazarus 2010

All-4-One-No_Regrets-2009-H3X

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Boyz II Men - Love [2009-MP3-Cov][Bubanee]

Justin Bieber - My World 2009

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Welcome to Bohol! 

Considered as one of the top tourist destination in the Philippines as voted many times by the Philipine Tourism Board.

After logging out from work, that was around 3:00 o'clock in the morning, everyone from The United Colors of Attitude Team was very excited for the first ever team building, The UC of A: Bohol Escapade. 

Included in our itinerary were centuries-old Spanish church at Baclayon, the white sand beach in Panglao Island, the Chocolate hills, the tarsier sanctuary, the famous pyhton Prony, the Floating Restaurant in Loboc River, Butterfly Conservation Center, and the known man-made forest. 

When we toured Bohol island province, we stayed at the Caballo Residence at Baclayon, few steps away from the centuries-old Spanish church Baclayon Church.  My friends and I traveled from Cebu City which is just an hour by ferry. We took the route Cebu City-Tubigon through fastcraft ferry boat. As we reached the wharf at Tubigon, the van we rented was already waiting at the parking area adjacent to the port exit ready to take us to our destination. 

Here are the snap shots of our The UC of A Bohol Escapade.

We got to our accommodation at a great place with a homey feel at Caballo Residence, few steps away from Baclayon Church. We were lucky enough that one of our teammates is from Bohol, so getting a place to stay was never our problem. Joan already made arrangements with the the v-hire driver regarding our itinerary, so all we did was to get inside the van, sat in a very comfortable way we can as we enjoyed the ride.

I've heard a lot about the big snakes and seen the pictures of the phytons of Bohol online. But as we had our first stop, i was stunned at the size of the snake as I saw it, which is just a less smaller than my body. It seems to me that I wanna hold or touch it, but because of human fear I had a second thought of dong it. I had a lot of "what ifs" until i decided to be just contented seeing it and never did any attemps at all. This Burmese python is owned by a couple in barangay Dipatlong,Maribojoc and kept in the yard of their house. This Burmese python is a female named Samantha having a waistline of 38 inches, bigger than the first known python in captivity found in Albur. Though shorter in length, it has a bigger stomach and devours a 20-kilo piglet in just a minute.

Also found in Bohol, specifically in Albur is the world’s largest python in captivity. As you get inside the compound where this phyton is located, a few walks away from the gate, you’ll see the specially-made cage for the 12 year-old python named ‘Prony’. The giant snake that is over 300 kilos shares the cage with a few birds, and a lemur, amazingly, she doesn’t eat them and only eats what’s fed to her which is usually goats, pigs, dogs, and chickens.

our next stop was the Tarsier 

With its huge eyes, long tail, and hands and feet that must have inspired Steven Spielberg when he created E.T., the Philippine tarsier is almost Bohol's trademark. Still, few people have had the opportunity to have a close encounter with it.
The reason is twofold. Because it is a shy nocturnal animal that leads a mostly hidden life, it sleeps at daytime near the trunks of trees and shrubs deep in the impenetrable bushes and forests. They only become active at night, and even then, with their much better sight, and amazing ability to maneuver around trees are very well able to avoid us noisy humans well before we become aware of it's presence, so even when they were still present in abundance, the worlds of the tarsier and humans were mostly separated. But today, due to the quickly growing population, which causes more and more forests to be converted to farmland, housing areas and roads, the place where the tarsier can life it's secluded life is disappearing.

Adam_Lambert-Take_One-2009

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8. Hourglass 4:48 

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taste buds, tummy and mind... all say YES to Mesa

While busy wandering at the Paseo Verde at Ayala Center Cebu, there is this poster with big print of MESA on it. Looking into its background, I know it is a restaurant but I am wondering what type of food offering do they have. I discussed what I have in mind with my friend who was with me and tried uttering the words in a way that I can, hoping that I will be able to figure it out. 

Well, I know in Filipino language, MESA as related to food would literally mean for a common dining table. But i thought of something else. What i have in mind is something foreign type of cuisine trying to localize their food offering using a Filipino term. 

My friend motioned at me and said it was a Filipino restaurant. I was wrong. Well, that must be because I happen to generalize that most of the restaurants at Ayala Center Cebu especially at The Terraces are all foreign food cuisine. Mostly those are restaurants whose origin or the people who brought it, has influence in our culture or possibly don’t really have influence in our culture, including our cuisine, but is trying to introduce foreign taste. I'm trying to say about French Cuisine for example that never has any influence in our culture but is very successful in introducing its food line in the country. With such mindset, I thought Mesa as one of them that is trying to appeal to the Filipinos specifically Cebuanos' taste buds. Yet Mesa restaurant was indeed a Filipino cuisine and I was really amazed when finally I had the opportunity to dine at the restaurant at its location at The Terraces ground level.

I have been to several restaurants in Cebu especially Filipino Cuisine, but my dining experience with Mesa was one of best.It could be true that by looking at the place, it would be considered one of the premium restaurants, but this idea is actually a scenario of "judging the book by its cover". The price is very considerable and would exactly be within reach. But for me, when it comes to dining, food quality matters most. Mesa for me then is about giving your taste buds with delight, superbly feeding the tummy, and filling the mind with complete satisfaction.

The Cebu City Escapade

We just recently ended our Cebu Escapade with a friend who just came from Singapore. Lala already sent me a message last August that she'll be home this October so we planned about our itinerary and that options include the Bohol Tour, an overnight stay at Bantayan Island, currently the Cebu's semi-secret little Island Paradise, or experience the world’s very first and only amusement ride of its kind, the Edge Coaster,  and the country's first Skywalk Extreme at the Cebu Crown Regency Hotel and Towers. 

Lunch...

Lala( right) arrived here in Cebu in October 18 and we met at The Terraces,Ayala Center Cebu. To welcome her, we had our lunch at La Maison. It's a place known for get together with family or friends and to experience fine dining that offers a truly unique fusion of everything about Europe. Together with us was my friend Rain who offered to take care of our bills, a way of showing his concern after I was robbed. Indeed, La Maison's meal comes perfectly prepared and bathed in the best tasting sauces one could want. While dining, we were excited sharing stories especially to what happened  since she left the country 3 years ago.

The Night Life...

The escapade would not be very fun if it would only be thetwo of us. So we called some of the closest friends that we have in Cebu. Jules andDante (left, Dante and Lala) were with us as well. Jules was a very close friend in college and was joked as twin sister of Lala. Dante was a very close friend of Lala who happened to be myschoolmate as well in college. We rented an exclusive room in one of the Karaoke Bars in Cebu and spent the whole night for sing-a-long. It was really a perfect place to relax and unwind after a busy day. 

The Coffee Dawn Break...

Bo's Cafe at the AsiaTown IT Park was our next destination to get our regular caffeine fix from one of the well-loved coffee shops in Cebu. Of course, after long hours  of hitting those  high notes songs, and dancing on the beat, I am sure everyone was tired and needs a place for conversation. I would call it conversation over coffee that you can choose from a wide selection of specialties from Hot Cafe Mocha, Froccino Mocha Crumble, Froccino White Chocolate, Froccino Oreo , Pancakes, Freshly Brewed Ice Tea Classic, Blue Berry Cheesecakes, Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate Cake & almost everything...

The Historical Sites Visit...

The second day was very busy as well for the four of us. We already decided to take the Edge Coaster ride and experience the Skywalk Extreme at the Crown Regency Hotel & Towers instead of going to Bohol or Bantayan Island because typhoon Ramil may make its landfall. It was 3:00 pm still though and we still have four hours before the Sky Experience Adventure,  so we decided to go for historical sites visit. We went to the historical churches here in Cebu specifically the Basilica del Santo Niño, the Cebu Cathedral, and the Magellan's Cross.

This is the spot where Ferdinand Magellan planted a cross in the soil in 1521 and claimed the Philippines for Spain. 

Just a glimpse of history and description, Basilica del Santo Niño, was built between 1735 and 1737, where vendors sell plastic religious icons and amulets offering cures for everything from poverty to infertility. Inside is probably the most famous religious icon in the Philippines, a statue of the Santo Niño. It's said to have been presented to Queen Juana of Cebu by Magellan after her baptism, considered the first in Asia, in 1521. Another tale has it that 44 years later, after laying siege to a pagan village, one of conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's foot soldiers found a wooden box that had survived the bombardment inside a burning hut. Inside this box was the Santo Niño, lying next to a number of native idols. If you want to see the statue, let alone touch it, you'll have to join a queue of devotees that often stretches through the church doors and outside. A short walk from the basilica is Cebu Cathedral, a sixteenth-century baroque structure that's crumbling on the outside, though its interior has been restored. 

AT THE LOUNGE...

After the historical sites visit, we headed to the Crown Regency Hotel & Towers. There, we will have to wait Dante from his work. While waiting, to fill in the silence and boredom in the lounge area, the three of us decided to take close shots of ourselves. 

The Sky Experience Adventure...

Then finally, the long wait was over. Dante already arrived. Everyone was rea dy to go for Sky Experience Adventure. The Edge Coaster is the first of its kind in the country where you are safely and tightly fastened in a coaster that is tilted 55 degrees and revolves around the 38th floor of the Crown Regency Hotel and Towers in Cebu City. I would consider the experience as one of a kind. It’s not everyday that one can be in the midst of this kind of action… where you hear voices shouting in excitement while seated at the Edge Coaster Car tilted 55 degrees and going around the hotels edge at the 38th Floor and eyes looking forward to another moment of fun and adventure. After the ride, I felt hungry and my toes were trembling. Together with me on the ride was Jules. Dante and Lala were together on the ride as well.

The Sky Walk Extreme Sky Adventure on the other hand is on the 37th Floor where visitors wearing SkyWalk suits and attached to harnesses get to walk around the edge of the building on see through glass flooring.

AT THE WATERFRONT HOTEL...

The last stop was the Waterfront Hotel. It was a great escapade.