Boracay – an unexpected return.

We just came back from our brief Boracay vacation. Checked my blog as I want to post details of our trip here and lo and behold! Views are pouring! And they were even better than when I was all over this blog. Unexpected indeed.

Anyway, I’ll be posting details of our recently concluded Boracay vacation. Primarily, so I can remember what we did even after a year or so and secondly, so I can share some insights to those who are yet to go to or wants to go back to Bora. Because before our trip, blogs and forums were my main source of information on anything and everything Boracay. So sit tight. Boracay reminiscing coming up!

*Speaking of Blogs and Forums, here are the links that I found really useful in planning a trip to Boracay:

• Ponder Haven – Ry Ramos’ 4-day Boracay Itinerary complete with recommendations and prices. Very concise.
• Just Wandering – Nina Fuentes’ post on How to Get to Boracay and Cheap Boracay Guesthouses is a must read.
• PinoyExchange.com’s Boracay Thread – The most comprehensive Boracay forum thread I’ve read. Complete with recommendations, reviews, updates and much more.

Switchfoot live in Manila 2011.

Among all the alternative/rock bands that I like, Switchfoot has gotta be my favorite. Good thing they decided to go back here in Manila after their last visit 4 years ago. (Wasn’t able to watch that one)

Been waiting for the concert since February when I first read they were stopping by the Philippines as part of their Hello Hurricane album promotion. Good thing I got discounted tickets! (2 for the price of one! Courtesy of Beeconomic.com)

We arrived at the Philsports Arena (formerly ULTRA) at around 7pm. Went in line to claim our tickets right away. (waited in line for 30 minutes) The gates opened passed 7:30pm.

Everyone eager to get inside!

The show started at around 8:30pm. The front act was Imago who sung 3 of their songs. Bummer as I didn’t know any of their songs. They were nice to listen to by the way.

Front act: Imago. They played Akap, Sundo and Effect Desired None.

Switchfoot then formally kicked off the concert with The Sound. The crowd went wild! It was all good music from then on. They played 14 of their songs, which was a mixture of old and new. They exited the stage after their last song We Are One Tonight then went back for another 3 song encore.

One of the concert highlight was when when vocalist Jon Foreman asked for the lights to be turned off. The whole place looked as if it was filled with fireflies.

Then Jon asked everyone to simultaneously take a picture. The whole arena was filled with flashes from thousands of cameras.

Simultaneous camera flashes!

Jon also went down the stage and onto the the ringside to be with the fans as he was singing The Shadow Proves the Sunshine. Also, Jon said something like “I thank you (the Philippines) for giving me one of my best friends, Jerome Fontamillas”. Jerome was born here in the Philippines!

It was definitely a great night. Kudos and more power to Switchfoot! Thank you for coming over and giving us a great show!

Here’s the setlist:

1. The Sound
2. Stars
3. Bullet Soul
4. Gone
5. Your Love is a Song
6. Free
7. Always
8. Awakening
9. Meant to Live
10. Mess of Me
11. Learning to Breathe
12. This is Home
13. We Are One Tonight – The Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Encore:

1. Only Hope
2. Hello Hurricane
3. Dare You to Move

Switchfoot is Jon Foreman (vocals/guitar), Tim Foreman (bass), Chad Butler (drums), Jerome Fontamillas (keys/guitar) and Drew Shirley (guitar).

The procrastinator in me.

I hate being idle.

One of the things I hate most is letting time fly doing nothing productive. When I wake up everyday, I mentally remind myself of the things I need to do. But, more often than not, I end up doing nothing. It’s not like I’m lazy, but I tend to put off my chores until I decide to do them tomorrow instead.

Like our living room now. It has been cluttered the whole week. Been wanting to clean it but the procrastinator in me keeps on telling me to just do it during the weekend. Now come weekend and still, I’ve been looking for excuses not to clean up.

This has got to stop. I’ll be starting now. Right now! No wait, I think I’m gonna eat first. Haha.

Shift in priorities.

This is one of those post that tells you the author is going to be busy for a while and that blog updates would be scarce.

Busy transitioning to my new company, loss of my internet connection, and plain old laziness are some of the things I’m dealing with right now.

Hope to be back on blogging as soon as possible. Still, please do leave comments, suggestions and feedback as I’ll still check the blog from time to time.

New theme by the way. I love grunge themes so I’m giving Rusty Grunge a try. Will be tweaking it out soon (hopefully) so please bear with the bareness of the blog.

Ciao! (Wait, is “ciao” synonymous to “let’s eat”? Or maybe that’s “chow”? What the…)

Summer’s here!

Bah! I hate summer! In a tropical country like ours, summer can be a heck of a discomfort. (Just glad that El Nino thing is over… for now) Nothing is wrong with a little heat. The one thing that makes it unbearable is humidity. When it is humid, our bodies won’t sweat as much, thereby making us feel uncomfortable and hot. The only people I think who loves summer are students because of their summer vacation.

Here are some more reasons to hate summer:

• Electric bills skyrocketing. Because of the heat, people tend to use more fans or air-conditioning to cool themselves up. Also, because the students are at home for their vacation, expect TVs and other appliances to add up on that electric bill.
• Fire! Ever wonder why Fire Prevention Month is done at March? Forest fires are common because of dried leaves fueling even the slightest of fire. Also, because of the heat, electrical appliances tend to overheat and well, cause fires.
• Overpriced vacations.

Of course, there is also a positive side of summer.

• Summer outings! Need I say more? Everyone, off to the beach!
• Longer daytime. The sunlight lasts as late as 6pm! Wow.
• Lighter traffic because there are less students going to their schools.

What can I say? No doubt, summer is already here and there’s not much I can do about it (except enjoy).

A post worthy of posting.

Haven’t posted in a while. Been busy at home and at work. Whenever I sit down in front of my laptop and think of something to post, I get kinda lazy. What will I post? Another food or restaurant review? Another how-to guide? Another trip I’ve been to? What makes a post worth posting? Is it when hundreds of readers flock to read it? Is it when people get something out of it? Beats me. I just post what I have in mind.

Worthy of your time?

I’ve been in the need-to-post-something-worth-reading mindset all my years in blogging. (I know, blogging for years and still this sloppy?) Yes, blog posts ought to be engaging and thought provoking. But I think it all depends on the reader. Readers read what they want to read. Some just scan a few sentences and move on. Some look for creative post titles. Some just look at the pictures. So is it really up to them?

Let me take back my first statement. It all depends on the writer. Its how he deliver what he has on mind. Clearly. So that anyone who reads it understand. Then the readers decide for themselves.

Now I got it all mixed up. Let me put it simply. You post, someone reads it. Done deal. I think the worst thing that can happen is that you posted and no one got to read it. Unless you intend for it to be that way. Which is a shame.

There, I’ve said it. Not much thought went into this post. Was this post worthy of posting? Again, beats me. Its up to you to decide my dear reader. Have a good one!

Mang Inasal

Have you tried Mang Inasal yet? I encourage you to! It’s one of the fastest growing fastfood chain here in the Philippines and for good reason. They serve great chicken “inasal”, dirt cheap!

The PM2 meal.

I can’t remember the first time I ate at Mang Inasal. All I can remember is that I fell in love with their chicken after my first bite. For only Php99, you get almost half a chicken (my favorite part is the Pecho or breast) unlimited rice and soup. Yes, you read it right. Unlimited rice. Beat that, Jollibee!

“E teka, bakit ba ko ingles ng ingles?”

Sabi ko nga, masarap sa Mang Inasal. Kaya nga yung lagi akong di nakakakain dito dahil laging mahaba ang pila. Yung sabaw nila ay sabaw ng sinigang. Sarap ka-partner nung inihaw na manok pati kanin. Lagi akong nakaka-dalawang rice dito pero andami paring natitira sa manok. Madalas ko pa ngang tini-takeout e. Marami pa silang ibang putahe tulad ng Bangus at Beef Sinigang, Bangus Sisig, Pork Barbeque, Pinoy Burger at mga desserts. Pero isa pa lang natitikman ko sa lahat ng yun, ang paborito kong PM2 (a.k.a. Pecho).

Pecho part, up close.

So kung nagiisip ka kung saan masarap kumain at mura, subukan mo sa Mang Inasal. Tiyak, di ka magsisisi.

Bye, February! Hello, March!

February’s almost over. For me, its one of the busiest months of the year. There’s my birthday, Valentines and the EDSA revolution. I decided to take down the grunge theme and replaced it with a simple theme. Not much posts this month but the Gerry’s Grill Tagaytay post is racking up views. I think I’ll visit more restaurants in Tagaytay and post reviews of them as well. 2 months down, 10 to go.

The Coca-Cola Happiness Truck.

This 3 minutes and 51 second video will surely make you smile. Kudos to the Coca-Cola company for coming up with this great idea. It’s not just marketing, it’s marketing with a smile.

“It’s the little things. The little unexpected things that people remember.”

Gerry’s Grill, Tagaytay

Last night, we went out to Tagaytay. Funny, there was no traffic and Tagaytay was as calm as a baby. Anyway, after running some errands, we looked for a place to eat. Dencio’s was our first choice but we forgot to withdraw cash. So we went out again and drove all the way to Summit Ridge to get some cash. Gerry’s Grill is just at front so we decided to dine there instead.

It was our first time to eat at Gerry’s and I bet their Tagaytay branch is one of the coolest place to dine and hang out. In daylight, you see an unobstructed view of the Taal Volcano as well as the body of water surrounding it. Nighttime is equally pleasing to the eye as the ambiance invites you to just enjoy the food and relax.

Their menu is quite extensive and you would want to try out everything but it was already late and we are hungry so we just went for their best sellers, the Sizzling Sisig and Inihaw na Pusit.

We ordered the Binagoong Rice (after some debate as to whether we get the Seafood Rice instead) and Chopsuey to balance the barrage of meat we’re about to intake. Then finished with Buko Pandan as dessert.

It was a pleasant dining experience and I definitely recommend it. In case you want to drop by, Gerry’s Grill is just across Summit Ridge Hotel (owned by Robinsons). Also, I noticed SMDC cranes right beside Summit Ridge (SMDC is SM Development Corporation) I think its the site of their Wind Residences project.