Taste Korean Food Festival (Nov. 19-23, 2009)

In the 80s I had the chance to live in South Korea for 5 months due to work. An assistant and I did computer audit work for an oil company and a multinational bank. I fell in love with Bibimpap, a complete meal in itself consisting of ground beef and various vegetables, together with a fried egg as rice toppings together with a special Korean hot sauce. Coming back to Manila, one of the first things I did was to try to find a Korean restaurant. I could not find any at all.

Fast forward to today in 2009. Look everywhere and you see Korean culture around us. There are so many Koreans in different parts of the country studying English, engaging in business, and many other activities. Korean restaurants, Korean hair stylists, Korean groceries abound everywhere. It seems that the Koreans have been able to integrate in some way with the Filipinos.

Last Friday, I came across a Korean food festival at the Atrium of Shang Plaza. The Korean culture through its food is available for everyone to see and taste test till Monday, Nov. 23.

I was able to interview Mr. Park Hyun Mo, the Co-Chairman of the 60th Anniversary of Korea-Philippines Diplomatic Relationship who gave this background of the festival.




Here are pictures I took at the festival. Go visit the festival this weekend and get a chance to taste real Korean food.

Pacquiao-Cotto Fight Live Streaming on Sandbox

The Pacquiao-Cotto fight will be streamed LIVE on Sunday, November 15, via Smart's Sandbox. I will be out of the house around this time so this is good news. I plan to bring my Macbook with me and hopefully, get to follow the games. Am sure those who will be with me will also be excited to watch the games live.

Video stream starts at 9AM.

The mechanics for logging on (as found in Sandbox's site) are as follows:

Mechanics:

1. This special live streaming of "Pacquiao-Cotto: Firepower" is offered only to SmartBro subscribers -- Postpaid (canopy), PlugIt or ShareIt - and are registered Sandbox members. If you don't have a Sandbox account yet, please go here.
2. The video streaming will begin as soon as you click the link going to the Pacquiao-Cotto page from the MySandbox homepage. If you log out anytime during the webcast, you will have to log in again.
3. This service is limited to the first 5,000 viewers on Sandbox. Due to the limited slots, some viewers may have a difficult time or may not be able to successfully access the video stream.
4. As an alternative option, SmartGold and Buddy subscribers can get the live streaming via 3G on their mobile phones. Just text PACMAN to 286 (P2.50 per text), or visit http://m.smart.com.ph/pacman. P20 content fee plus P15 every 30-minutes.
5. Free Mobile TV via myTV HD. Available on Nokia N96 and N77 models. Click on the mobile TV icon to access. Tune in to myTV Prime channel.

My 6-Week Skin Program with Celeteque Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Facial Moisturizer

Sometime in August, I was part of a group of bloggers who were invited to test out the new Celeteque Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Facial Moisturizer.

Frankly, I had never used Celeteque before although I bought the Gentle Exfoliating Wash simply because I had to complete some purchases at Watson's in order to get their free promo item.

We were given product samples at the launch and listened to the testimonials of several beautiful women who attested to reduced or totally gone facial wrinkles during their own 6-week test.

So, with nothing to lose, I went home and began the test. First, I stopped using all other brands to ensure that any results would be attributed solely to the effects of Celeteque. Every morning and night, I went through the rituals : cleaning my face with the Celeteque Facial Wash, toning, and lastly, moisturizing with the Celeteque Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Facial Moisturizer.

Following the advice of one of the beautiful women, Ms. Johanna Huang, I'd put a pea-sized dot of the moisturizer on my ring fingers, rub them together to warm the cream, then pat lightly under the eyes moving outward towards the temples. Then I'd get a second pea-sized drop, rub, then apply to my cheeks, also moving from the nose to the temples. I'd do the same to the forehead, then lastly around my mouth, always applying it in an upward-outward motion. For all these 3 steps, I also used Celeteque products.

What I immediately noticed upon applying the facial moisturizer was a definite tightening of the skin. I felt a tug as though my skin was being pulled outward. When I compared notes with other blogger friends, we all had the same observation. That pleased me because it was a sign the moisturizer was indeed tightening my skin. But would it get rid of facial lines?

Unfortunately, I cannot tell if the one facial line that the dermatologist saw on the first day has diminished or is gone. But the general effects of Celeteque Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Facial Moisturizer must have improved my skin because in the span of those weeks, friends I have met in reunions and lunches have actually commented on how young-looking I am.

I am now past those 6 weeks. And till something better is shown clearly to me, Celeteque Advanced Anti-Wrinkle Facial Moisturizer will definitely be part of my skin cleaning routines, day and night. Why will I stop using a product that clearly keeps my skin clear and me looking younger than my actual age?

If you want to put to the test what I experienced, go get yourself one tube and see for yourself.

Blog Watch Launches for the 2010 Elections

The 2010 elections will be the most interesting election as far as my voting career goes.

This one sees the most number of voters actually interested in participating and exercise their right of suffrage. In our home alone, our yayas and driver actually voluntarily registered without my knowledge when my kids went to register. And 3 of my 4 kids are first-time registered voters.

The list of possible presidentiables has been one surprise after another -- the Noynoy factor arose only after Tita Cory's death; Mar Roxas, a strong presidential contender slides down to be Noynoy's VP running mate; Erap declares he will run again; Chiz Escudero pulls the rug from under everyone's feet by suddenly announcing he is leaving NPC (and is now keeping everyone guessing if he will run for President or not).

This is the first time that elections will be conducted using an automated process.

As of this time, major online news sites have created sections just for posts on the upcoming elections and many bloggers have either written about election-related issues on their own blogs or have come together to put up blogs dedicated solely to 2010.

A group of us (as of this writing, 16 bloggers) are writing for the Philippine Online Chronicles' election section, called Blog Watch.

Blog Watch will contain features, commentaries, news, voters' education and election awareness campaigns, videos, informal polls and similar informative items.

Do visit Blog Watch regularly and be thoroughly informed before 2010.

Not only is it our right to vote. It is also our right to see to it that our votes are properly counted. And in order to vote properly, we must know all the issues as well as the backgrounds and platforms of all those running for office.

You may also follow Blog Watch on Facebook, Twitter, Plurk and subscribe to its YouTube channel.

Below are the blog links of the 17 Blog Watch writers (list updated 11/10/09):

Pinoy Food | Free Filipino Food Recipes
A Filipina Mom Blogger
Here’s to Life!
Sonnie’s Porch
The D Spot
When in Manila
New Media Philippines
The Marocharim Experiment
Hearty's Haven
Baratillo @ Cubao
Fritzified
Undertow / Leslie Bocobo
The Philippines and Beyond
Bikoy.Net
Philippine Commentary
Filipino Voices

Bury me in this dress

Krispy Skremes De-BOO for Halloween

Oh my, the kids will truly love this one!

Krispy Kreme has really gone over the top to present their Halloween limited edition doughnuts - Krispy Skremes.

Starting October 15 till the 31st, enjoy the hair-raising doughnut delights in six deliciously different designs: The Skull, The Alien, The Spiderweb, Halloween Sprinkles, and The Crazy Pumpkin. And on October 31,
the first 100 kids to come in their favorite costumes at Krispy Kreme stores will get a goodie bag.

While you're at it, why not vote also for the Krispy Kreme fave fan from the Philippines.

From October 1 to 31, 2009, be one with the nation and choose the sweetest Krispy Kreme moment from the various entries that were sent from the Philippines. Visit www.krispykremefavefan.com.

Bearhugs for Baguio: A Project for Typhoon Pepeng's Smallest Victims

 In the aftermath of Typhoon Pepeng which devastated Northern Luzon, much of the relief efforts were concentrated on providing food, clothing and shelter for the displaced families. Recovery and rescue efforts filled most of the efforts in the hours right after Typhoon Pepeng passed over the area.

While all these are indeed needed for the basic survival of families, what has been largely forgotten or neglected was the state of mind of the youngest victims of this natural calamity -- the children of Baguio, Benguet, Pangasinan and surrounding areas.

Recognizing this need, my friend Cathy Babao-Guballa put up this project called Bearhugs for Baguio. Cathy is a regular writer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer where she has a Sunday column, Roots and Wings. She is also a blogger at Midlife Mysteries and Grief is a Journey (she put up Griefshare, a grief support group in the Philippines). Together with her daughter, Cathy co-wrote a children's book, Heaven's Butterfly, to help small kids cope with grief. So Cathy knows her stuff when she realized that just as much as they needed rehabilitation on a physical level, the children had to be aided in coping with the psychological trauma from this disaster.

Below is the message that Cathy posted on her Facebook wall:

BEARHUGS FOR BAGUIO-The children in many of Baguio’s evacuation centers have been severely traumatized by the typhoon. Reports say that many of them stare blankly at walls, and have no appetite. A stuffed toy is a small thing, but for a child who has been through a nightmare such as the recent floods and typhoon, it can mean everything and help him or her, break out of that shell. Together with PINE, a Baguio NGO, a group of friends and I are trying to raise at least 500 bears or stuffed toys to send to Baguio’s children. If you would like to donate your old teddy bears or stuffedtoys, please email 10000bears@gmail.com or send a text message to 0917-529-1964 so we can advise you of the drop-off point. Thank you very much!

If you have teddy bears and other stuffed toys lying around your homes, if your kids have outgrown these, and if you find it in your heart to share the joy of hugging a stuffed toy with a child who has known nothing but suffering these past weeks, please send an email or text the mobile number indicated.
I have been meeting up with friends who had toys to donate. If you will be in any blogger events in the coming days, I can receive the toys on behalf of Cathy.

As of this writing, the plan is for a volunteer friend of Cathy to bring the toys up to Baguio on October 25.