Flying Colors Butterfly Sanctuary - Bohol Countryside Tour

I always wanted to go to a butterfly sanctuary and our Bohol trip made it happen. One of our itineraries for our Bohol Countryside Tour by Kuya Dodong is a place called "Flying Colors Butterfly Sanctuary". It is not as large as I thought it would be (like a dome garden) but it has all the simple amenities that a butterfly garden should have. It's a big kubo-type facility (with bamboo floors and all) with a small but lovely garden at the back of it where the live butterflies are situated.

Entrance

We were greeted by a poor lizard (I dont know what type) at the entrance atop of a donation box. It was tied up by its waist so it won't go anywhere. I was only looking at it when our tour guide Kuya Lloyd grabbed the lizard and put it on my arm. I was too shocked to react that before my brain freaked out, I asked my papa to take pictures of us. After it, I calmly put it back on its place and took big breaths. Wooh. I'm really not fond of reptiles.

Oh hello there.

The Metal Mouth Chronicles

My Brace Experience Diary

Start: August 10, 2013
Day 0: Had my braces at UDC AsiaWorld Dental Clinic. So far, no pain felt other than the sharp wire that was poking my cheeks. Bought Oral-B orthodontic toothbrush and special floss from Watson for 350+ pesos. Too pricey :(

~I will make a review/experience about the clinic perhaps after I got my retainers. I don't want to put my honest thought about them and get blacklisted from their clinic because of it :P

Day 1: Eat like a lola. Lugaw/goto/sopas all day. Can't chew, can't bite. I cant even bite on breads.  So painful T_T

Day 2: Look at all the foods you can't eat! Woody's face on the picture is similar to mine. It was painful to see mama's cooking knowing that you can't eat them. Lomi and goto kept me alive.

Day 3: My colleague is surprised that my braces doesn't get in the way on how I talk. I think that's a good sign. The downside is the pain is getting worse to the point of me seriously considering taking pain meds for the first time in my life. The extra wires on the last bracket of my braces are now slashing my cheeks.

Bohol Countrside Tour - Sandugo Shrine and Baclayon Church

Late post! Really! My blog name should be properly named "Late blog posts 'cause Time doesn't wait for me!"

So yeah, we went to Bohol and availed Kuya Dodong's tour package (click here for my blog entry about Kuya Dodong's Bohol package details). If you're going to Bohol with these places on your itinerary, I suggest that you don't read this entry so you won't be spoiled what you'll find there. But if you're willing, I will eagerly share what we discovered and experienced :)

So here's our Day 1 itinerary of our 3-day Bohol tour. I will write about all of them if I get a chance. The places we went were:

• Sandugo Shrine (Blood Compact Site)
• Baclayon Church
• Xzootic Animal Park
• Flying Colors Butterfly Sanctuary
• Loboc River Cruise and Luncheon
• Tarsier Conservation Area
• Chocolate Hills
• Hanging Bridge

Sandugo Shrine (Blood Compact Site)

Our first stop is Sandugo Shrine which is near the airport in Tagbilaran City. It's a historical site where Datu Sikatuna and Miguel Lopez de Legaspi performed a Filipino tribal ritual as a symbol of friendship badass style: blood compact. There is nothing much exciting in the site though other than its historical significance and the beautiful scenery behind the shrine.

If you're wondering why I don't have photos of the shrine is because I did a mortifying stunt at that time. I was over-excited that I thought I can do anything I want. I was reminded that I am only a visitor and I must respect the people and the place that I visit. For the local people who saw me, I do apologize from the bottom of my heart. I learned my lesson. For the tourists who saw me, please do not imitate what I've shamelessly done.

Baclayon Church
Regarded as the second oldest church in the Philippines (oldest is San Agustin Church in Intramuros so they say), Baclayon Church is a significant part of Bohol. There were a lot of tourists when we got there, most of them are Japanese.

crowded  tourist vehicles. Ours is the blue one. Hehe.

The museum is the church's main attraction. Entrance fee is 25 pesos. Cheap, yes. The only thing is you can't take photos in the museum. But being a hard headed that I am, I still did :P I took a picture of my papa pointing at an antique drumset. The guard saw us and they made us delete the photo so save yourself from embarrassment and don't take photos. Haha.

TEVA Trail Challenge - Why the heck did I signed up??.. kidding :)

July 28, 2013

"Ano ba naman 'tong si Teva, ang hirap! Walang pasabi!"

A guy behind us exclaimed this. I can't blame him. We were trailing an uphill road when he said this and it was only the first hundred meters of the Teva Trail Challenge. So how did I end up there, you ask?

***

Well, my running idol/work colleague won an online raffle that entitled him a free registration for this Teva Trail Challenge. Unfortunately, he is already registered to Milo 42k run and the event is the same day as Teva's. So, he gave this up to another colleague of ours, RJ, whom tagged me to join him in this event. It was so thoughtful of him if it wasn't for the timing, FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE TRAIL RUN!

Apparently, I haven't ran for a very long time. The first, last and longest run that I attended was a 3k fun run of 7Eleven last January. I also don't have proper shoes for a trail run. But, heck yeah! I'm crazy enough to join him! I'm so badass that I purposely didn't do training (not even short runs or stretching) because what for, right? Besides, I decided to join two days before the event. What training can I possibly get with such a short time? I did it just for the experience and the thrill of zero preparedness. Ohhh yeah :)


> The day of the event:

We're at the ROX Bonifacio High Street before 3:00am and the buses are already lined up there to pickup the participants. I want to thank Sir Ian for being very accommodating by the time we got at the pickup place. He is quick to assist us and personally gave us our singlet and other things. My favorite was the Teva shoe USB flash drive. It has only 980MB memory but it was so cute that once he handed it, my day was already complete. I don't know if all the the participants got one. If not, then maybe we got one because we mistakenly took the special "media" bus. Hahhaha.

Teva shoes USB Flash Drive

Kuya Dodong Bohol Tour Service - Our Experience/Review

I heard about Kuya Dodong's tour package from a friend. They availed their service last 2011 and they only have positive words to describe their experience. It got me curious 'cause, first, who would name their tour company "Kuya Dodong"?

I availed sale tickets from ZestAir and searched for Bohol tour packages. Since "Kuya Dodong" is a peculiar name for a tour service, he's the first one I remembered to ask for a quote. I asked how much is his package for THREE PEOPLE (me, mama and papa). After two days, they replied. This is his email to us and how he quoted us for the tour:

**********

 Herewith tour rate with accommodation for your group tour on June 8-10,2013. It is 3d/2n. Please refer below your " FULL PACKED " itinerary. I require a deposit of P1,500.00 only. This is for reservation of your room accommodation.. 

    Hope to hear from you very soon,thanks.     

                           TO GOD BE THE GLORY.....

with regards,
kuya dodong

Akala niyo madaling mang-Friendzone???

AN OPEN LETTER TO SIR RAMON BAUTISTA for Tales from the Friendzone:

Dear Sir Ramon,

Tales from the Friendzonee.

Ako po'y may idudulog ngunit gusto ko lang sabihin sa inyo: ang dami niyong reklamo dahil naf-friendzone ang karamihan sa mga fans niyo. Pero natanong niyo na ba ang side ng friendzonee? Kung gaano kahirap mag-maintain ng friendship sa opposite sex? Akala mo mabait siya sayo dahil magkaibigan kayo, yun pala pino-prospect ka lang as syota. Mas lalo na pag akala mo special friendship ang meron kayo, nilalagyan na pala ng kakaibang kulay ang friendship na binibigay mo. Nakakalungkot kaya mawalan ng kaibigan dahil duon. Ang mas nakakalungkot, pano na kaming mga babaeng mas madaming lalaking kaibigan kesa sa babae :(

Ganito ang nangyari sakin. Madami akong lalaking kaibigan DATI. Siguro kasi maayos akong makisama sakanila. Minsan nga nakakalimutan ko ng babae ako pag kasama ko sila.

Hair Blessing Rebond by Tony and Jackey - My Experience and Review

3/4/2013

I noticed myself tying my hair on a ponytail more often lately. For me, that's a sign that I need a new hairstyle. And then, I came across this deal from Metrodeal.com with Tony and Jackey's hair service. Deal is inclusive with:

• hair blessing rebond/digital perm
• hair keratin
• haircut
• 1k worth of gift check

For more info of the deal, click here.

I chose the Tony and Jackey SM Dasma branch. I tried the SM Bacoor branch twice already, and twice they disappointed me. Also, SM Bacoor branch only has 1 Korean and 3 Filipino stylists. SM Dasma has 3 Korean stylists (not that I'm being racist with my own Filipino people. It's called Korean salon for a reason).  I called them first to confirm if a Korean stylist would be there the day I visit the salon.

I printed out the voucher from MetroDeal and showed it to the salon receptionist. After minutes of verification, they finally accepted it and accommodated me into the salon. I love that they have lockers for their client's bags. SM Bacoor branch doesn't have one.

This is the only photo that I took of their salon

Is MetroDeal Legit?

I noticed myself tying my hair on a ponytail more often lately. For me, that's a sign that I need a new hairstyle. And then, I came across this deal from Metrodeal.com with Tony and Jackey's hair service. Here's the deal's details:

Highlights and Fine print of the deal. Not that you cant read it, right?

I really thought this one out if I should avail it or not. 4.9k for your hair? This would be the most expensive splurge for my hair if ever.

PXC Live MMA Action 2013 (Very late post)

*Geez, I can't believe this post has been sitting in my draft for weeks now.

February 16, 2013

Another one of my bucket list tipped off: Watch MMA Live!

Just last month, I tipped off another one of my bucket list which is attending a fun run. And now this? Why not make this a monthly habit? Haha.

Anyway, my colleague Rocel Jan (he prefers to be called RJ, go figure) asked me to tag along. I wasn't sure what to expect on an MMA event. I was imagining there would be a great deal of guys with bulging biceps will roam around the event. He also told me there would be free bottle of San Mig Strong Ice Beer. I don't drink so I asked if I can just take the bottle home. RJ laughed, saying bottles are not allowed since it can be thrown around if a fight breaks out. *gulp*

Here's my outfit for the event. Yeah, I'm going against the current by not looking cool and just be plain dorky.

We got the Lower Box section which costs 669.50 pesos. My friend said that the price is pretty low. Still... 

Run800 - 7Eleven Run (late post)

01/20/2013

Running a marathon is part of my bucket list. And since I'm such a frail little klutz, I decided I just go at least for a fun run. Here came Run800 by 7Eleven.

I was inspired by a co-worker Billie Jacob (known in the running world as Bajorky Niceman) who was a former chain smoker converted into a marathon man. I thought if he can do it, MAYBE I can. I listed myself for a 3-kilometer run. And after Run800's months of delays (I nearly tried to get a refund), the event pushed on.

I woke up 3:00 am (I forgot to mention that mama treated me with Les Miserables movie the night before. Because of that, I lacked sleep for the run. haha). I came from Cavite so when the jeep passed the Coastal Road, I saw runners for 21 kilometers already trailing the highway. I got pumped up and excited when I saw them. At the same time, I got nervous. This is a physical challenge and there's no shortcut on doing this. A CHALLENGE! Ahh... That's what I liked about this.

I came alone to the venue and joined by my bestfriend Jovy (running for 10k. Strong!) and her boyfriend Wally. She was late and got left by her batch. But she proceeded anyway. While waiting for my batch, I asked Wally to take a picture of me. Here's one:

sans make up

Catwoman Shades (✪㉨✪)

Shades from SM Department store.

I liked how unique this is. The moment I saw this, I immediately bought it.

(✪㉨✪)

Let go and let God

I had an accident last December 2012 [blog entry for the incident].

For the first time in a long time, I literally "Let go and let God".

I conditioned my mind. If I am going to do this, it should be wholeheartedly and not only false feeling of "kabaitan". I should do this first by forgiving the old man. The second thing is trusting God; that from that moment on it would be for the better. The third thing is to forget about this incident and not worry on where the old man will use the money.

Part of the reason I am doing this is I don't want to have anyone to have hard feelings on me. I take curses seriously. I was afraid he might curse me for being cold-hearted and unforgiving with his situation. Even if I want to, I can't force forgiveness. I was too upset about what happened. This should serve as a lesson.

I'm living under grace. I should extend grace to others too.

I returned the 1,000 pesos initial payment he gave me that he said came from his grandchildren's "pamasko". When I learned about it, I never dared touch it. I also did not accepted his final payment of 1,000 pesos. I just held his wrinkly hands and told him I forgive him. I forgot to ask that he forgive me too. After that, my burden and heart became light.

I thanked God after 'cause I know I did the best decision after a long succession of bad ones. I know He's happy of what I did. Peace consumed me and I prayed this is the first of many good decisions I will do in the future. So help me :)

My First Major International Order Part 2 : Customs Taxes

**Link for FIRST PART

So I was derping around the house when a sudden phone call came. It's from a DHL Clearance Support  Agent named Clarissa telling me that the package just arrived in Manila and was appraised by customs. And guess how much my tax was? 

Php 7,207.60 !!!

Okay. So why and what on earth happened with my package that it garnered ridiculously high taxes? Well, let me get some things straight first:

1. When ordering from ASU Cheap Jewelry, you have the option to appoint how much ASU will put on your "commercial invoice". Meaning, you can choose the declared value of your package so you won't be taxed too much. My original items are worth $100 and I asked them to declare the value as $50. This thing really didn't help with the tax as what you are reading now.
2. Another thing when ordering with ASU is you can ask them how to describe your item's package. Of course, I made some research first on how to lower your tax to none at all. One is describe your package as a gift or personal use. So I asked ASU to describe my package as "personal use and gifts". Man, I was so wrong about this one.

What happened was the package were described by ASU as effin' "GIFT FASHION NECKLACES 97 PCS". I asked ASU why. They said it was to clear my package from Hong Kong customs. So the good Philippine customs appraised the package with effin' 97 PIECES OF FASHION NECKLACES WORTH $3 EACH!! 

But still, my package only weighed more or less 3.60 kilos. If it was 97 pieces of necklace jewelries, it won't weigh that light! So, I was part to blame right? Yeah, maybe 1/37th part of it. But nothing beats what ASU did to murder my package (and partly, customs).

This is how they taxed me:

Logo Quiz Philippines Answers (UPDATED up to level 16)

Another late post

**SPOILER. I suggest you give the game a try first before looking for the answers. Here's the [link].


I was trying to answer Android's "Logo Quiz Philippines". I still haven't finished it yet so if you know one of the answers, please comment on this blog. It is not case sensitive so you really don't have to capitalize the letters. So here goes some of my answers:

Level 1

• Jollibee - Metrobank - Petron 
• UCPB - Philippine Airlines - Yellow Cab
• Globe - PNB - Cebu Pacific
• Andoks - BDO - Meralco
• CD-R King - Caltex - Unioil
• PLDT - Chowking - Seaoil
• Magnolia - Red Horse - Smart
• Sun - Gerry's Grill - San Mig Light

Level 2

• Greenwich - Megaworld - ABS-CBN
• Penshoppe - Knorr - Shell
• Unionbank - China Bank - BPI
• RCBC - Shakey's - National Bookstore
• Ayala Land - GMA - Allied Bank
• Purefoods - PBA - SM
• Condura - TV5 - Kamiseta
• Bench - Lucky Me - Robinsons

Level 3 

• Power Mac Center - LBC - Ayala Malls
• The Old Spaghetti -UAAP - Mang Inasal
• PC Express - Folded and Hung - Abenson
• Century Tuna - Ink for Less - Enchanted Kingdom
• Teriyaki Boy - Zest Air - Pancake House
• Datu Puti - Puregold - Mercury Drug
• Congo Grille - Silver Swan - Gonuts Donuts
• Sky Flakes - Alaska - Philam Life

My First Major International Order Part 1 : Asu Cheap Jewelry

My creative writing juices are not flowing right now but this has been long overdue so I should write it soon. I apologize in advance for the lack of intelligent descriptions if you ever read this.

So!

I own an awesome online shop on Facebook and I was thinking of things that I can add on my shop to sell. Well, accessories are in demand right now so I tried to buy some from Divisoria. At first, it was okay. But I want to explore my options so I decided to try "Asu Cheap Jewelry"

What can I say about them? Well, first of all, although their items seemed like from Korea, they are in fact from mainland China.

Choose your Poison

"Choose your poison."

My colleague came at our team building carrying this sinister looking bottle (one on the right obviously). It looked like it was smuggled from Snape's forbidden potion cupboard. It has ginseng root and two snakes intertwined with each other. No one dared to drink it. Gusto pa daw nila mabuhay. Hahahha.

It's a nice ice breaker for the team though.

The label on the bottle said:

Real specialty from Vietnam
Snake wine (one unit)
Usage: rheumatism, lumbago, sweat of limbs
Dosage: Twice a day each a small cup before meal.

Rubik's cube of death - finished!

I did it! I solved the Rubik's mirror cube without loosing my sanity! After I finished it, my brain was really spent! hahahha. Of course, I needed some guide since its a long time ago when I can solve a normal cube. I forgot the sequences. But the guide I used is with a normal cube (with colors and all). So yeah, imagination and logic is what I used here.

As a reward, I got large french fries and the heavenly good hot fudge from RJ (the one who gave me this). So yeah, it was (kind of) worth solving it. I lent it to him to solve it. Now who's suffering headaches now? HOHOHO!!

Rubik's cube of death - the beginning

The rubik's headache-inducer destruction and death cube, commonly known as "rubik's mirror cube".

My good friend from office gave me this as a Christmas gift. And here's the reason why: he lost a bet of solving a "brain twister" puzzle figure where the prize is a hot fudge sundae. Since then, I've been harassing him to buy me hot fudges whenever I can.

And I think he knows I'm OC. I just can't put this down until it wears me out. A revenge in disguise as a gift. Nice play Rocel Jan, nice play.

Viddy for Android is available on Google Play!

12/12/12

After insistent public demand from Android users, Viddy for Android is finally here. You can download it on Google Play. Just search for "Viddy". Don't be fooled with the first search result "Viddy Preview App". It's not the real Viddy. Click on the second search result:

or just go to this link:

http://tinyurl.com/d2g9ncz

Note: The Viddy on Android is only compatible with Android 4.0+ devices (running Ice Cream Sandwich or Jelly Bean).

Why Viddy is good:

• It's like Instagram for videos.
• It's the next 140-character tweet, but for videos.
• Good for short vlogs.
• Awesome community.
• Good customer support.

And for the people who are complaining why Viddy only allows 15-seconds per video upload, it's like this:

• It's like you're complaining why Twitter only has 140 characters per tweet.
• Viddy is only for videos that are caught "in the moment". Moments don't last for 2 minutes.
• It's good for video browsing or "Viddy" browsing.
• It makes people creative and think how they can squeeze their videos into 15 seconds.
• Face it, people have short attention spans. Even you wouldn't watch someone ranting for 2 minutes. A 15-second rant is may be acceptable and "watchable".
• Plus, you can do so much within 15 seconds. Think "tv commercials".

Have you downloaded it already? Let me know what you think about Viddy.

:)

Hassle ang Justice bruh!!

It's funny how our justice system works today. Ang nakakalungkot pa, its the norm at tanggap na siya ng society. Here's the conversation I had with my friends on FB when I need some advice. Sorry for the quality of image. Hassle eh.

I don't know what to think anymore. I think I will go for areglo 'cause that's the "non-hassle" thing to do right now. Hayaan na nating mag-drive ulit si manong kahit matanda na at di na sana makabangga ng iba.