I would like to thank Melo of melovillareal.com for this book. I fancy myself to be a productivity advocate and student. The book The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris is coming to my hands via this contest.  By the way, another contest is on-going for another book: Search Engine Optimization: An Hour a Day. This is something I need. Maybe I can join and win again =). Go here for details of the new contest. It’s also where he announced my win.
Imagine working only for four hours a week.

That’s just 240 minutes or 14400 seconds.

And having the rest of the time for any pursuit you wish. If a typical person works for five days at 8 hours a week, that totals 40 hours of labor.

So spending a measly four hours toiling leaves one with 36 more hours of play, recreation, contribution and other productive pursuits (including those which are seemingly trivial.)

I like the sound of that. This also answers my dilemma which book to bring to Bicol. This should be finished before the New year.

Thanks again Melo!

Liza, our cousin was in town from the US for some vacation. Last Sunday, she took us out for lunch at Edsa Shangrila’s posh restaurant: H.E.A.T. which stands for healthy eating, amazing taste.

There were five of us: Liza, Mei, Hiyas, Gina and me.

We started past 12 NN after doing some shopping from SM Megamall where Liza bought a trendy Swatch wristwatch which changes its face every hour. There were round thingies rotating slowly in sync. She got the ones with the crop circles, designs which were like the ones in Mel Gibson’s movie - Signs. (Biz idea: an armband that changes every time you move. Crop circles and other patterns would be a great starting point.)
With tummies raring to be filled, we charged the lines armed with plates and bowls. I started with Singaporean style sotanghon soup laced with beef, bacon, shrimp, squid balls and fish balls. It was hot, curryish and on the left side of the spicy spectrum. It warmed my belly just right.

My companions got some greens, a little rice and beef I think. Me, I went for the lengua, the beef spare ribs, lechon, Peking duck and a slice of roast beef. I like meat. Suffice it to say that each dish had a life of its own. While others would like to savor the pure taste of each preparation, I’d like to mix and match. Lechon and roast beef can go quite well together. Lengua should just be eaten by itself or with rice.

It was Japanese that I devoured next. Salmon sashimi and California maki - a plate full. My Filipino taste mixes soy sauce, wasabi and calamansi for the dip. Come to think of it, I think ANY dish will taste food with this concoction. But that’s another story altogether.

While I was busy in my own world, the ladies had grilled crab, grilled shrimp which my wife says are the best. Mei, a vegetarian went for the cheeses and some salad. Hiyas had her usual quiet demeanor, eating a little of this and a little of that. I think she would be full with half of my plate.
In between bites and gulps, we talked about the past present and future: Gina teaching Liza how to sing Mamang Sorbetero and Saranggola ni Pepe when they were still kids - to Liza’s routine in the States and then forward to what itinerary we would have if we were to spend two to three weeks with the kids in the US.

With my carnivorous and oriental cravings satisfied, it was time to bring in the sweet life: CHOCOLATES - of all sorts and coffee to boot! Just picture me doing the kuyakoy (one leg over the other, kicking in rhythm with a contented smile. Just heavenly.

The balikbayan and the two young ladies got taho with sago. Gina got some fruits - she does not fancy sweet things - ako lang daw hehehe.
Oh I almost forgot: I helped my self with three fruit sticks (green apple, red apple and cantaloupe) on the chocolate fondue (did i get it right?). And used the stick to wipe the chocolate off the plate and cleaned it myself.

With great company and great food, we forgot about dinner and went straight to bed.

I think we might go back there again.

Whatever the circumstances are,
No matter how evil men seem to lord it over,
Whatever setbacks we suffer,
Though misfortunes befall us,
However bleak and dark tomorrow may seem.

We will not cower,
We will stand up and fight,
We will not surrender,
We will not give up,
We remain hopeful and steadfast.

The days are coming:

Of prosperity and plenty
Of justice and peace
Of understanding
Of unity and equality.

Forward we go, all you who have this nation’s interest at heart
To those who love this country: toil, work and give it all your best
Dream of the great things we can do, how noble we can be

The Pearl shines.

A better future awaits, no matter what the present is.

This I believe.

Since I’ve learned about podcasting a few years ago, I’ve always wanted to do my own podcast. Something in the line of positivity, good information. Something that would stand the test of time, not just a current-events-reporting-opinion recording. It didn’t take off.

A month ago, Fr. Stephen Cuyos, MSC and I teamed up and came out with Ang Santo Rosaryo - The Holy Rosary in Tagalog free and downloadable in Ogg Vorbis and mp3 formats. Just in time for October, the month of the Holy Rosary.

We hope that this is just the start.

After the Taste Asia 2 event, another blog meet happened. It was a spur of the moment thing and was all fun. I bet you didn’t know did you? It was hush-hush.
It happened in what is fast becoming (or is) the Wi Fi city of the Philippines: Davao!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I love being in Davao because of the fruits, fresh air fresh catch, and most of all because of its friendly and warm people.

The Davao Bloggers are no exception.

Despite the sudden downpour, I met up with Ria, Andrew (both came in from the rain), Jun M, Dom and Blogie at Hoovenson’s “geekville” SPRO Coffee Shop. I also got to meet Ayeza of Bisayabloggers, who happened to be there with some friends.

Dominique, Ria, Blogie, Andrew and me. (Jun M. had to go home and give his brother the keys to his room but promised to come back.)

Dominique, Blogie (with his trademark beret/cap), Jun M (who came back) and me. Ria and Andrew went ahead to a party.
They were very accommodating as we discussed the Mindanao Blogging Summit, their blogging activities and then some.
The topics swung from blogging, to tech, to education, to books, to personalities, work, the Davao blogging, Mindanao blogging and the apparent lack of a Cebu blogging community, to Manila-based bloggers and so on. They were all passionate about blogging and their respective advocacies.

Dom brought out his Uno cards, but forgot the manual. Thanks to Google and SPRO’s free Wi-fi and Wikipedia, we were up and running in no time. Of the four rounds, I lost two. Ria was grrrr-ing at Jun M, Andrew and Dom who made it hard for her to win.

So she vented her angst on me and won. Darn those draw cards. I could say I let her win, but I lost again after she left so it wan not a fluke even if i wanted it to be. In other words, I’m lousy (or unlucky) with Uno.

Next time, Guilottine na lang Dom. But I definitely had fun. As the evening wore on, Dom showed some of his wares: World of Warcraft Trading Cards and Talecraft, which apparently are the brainchild of a Filipino (including the artwork) - which are good for creative story-telling and writing. (I really think Talecraft has a great educational potential for communications subjects. I was supposed to bring home a deck but I forgot. Arrrgh!

The talk shifted like sand in the desert so to speak. From the state of Philippine education, the Omega Man, Nightfall, Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Jordan, we could have spent the whole evening until dawn and we would have never run out of things to talk about. Oh, and did I mention that Jun M’s blog traffic spike because of his MF post and he eventually exceeded his bandwidth? And that Blogie didn’t even know what it was about, who just like me rarely watch TV and read the newspaper. (I say, if something gets bad enough, somebody will eventually tell you about it. Like this one.)
It was a pleasant experience meeting the cream of the Davao blogosphere. I am willing to bet that the PR machines will be getting in touch with these guys soon. With the 1st Mindanao Blogging Summit on October 27 in Davao City, their part of the country may become known as the Premiere Blogger’s Destination of the Philippines.

Thanks a lot and i hope to be back soon.