Rong speeling, rong!

News channel. Magazine.
Website.
Online ad. Nothing really wrong with the spelling, just a "Huh?" for me.

Oh (NO!) Boy!

I am very interested to find out the sales figures for this product because whoever thought about selling Boy Abunda perfume is... good thing I'm not the violent type. Ok, let's think of good things about this product... It could actually smell nice. The packaging is black with some rainbow-colored tv-stripes. Um, what else? The bottle could be unbreakable. You could be blind and never see this billboard. Geez, sorry, but for me, this ad and product is a FAIL. Speaking of which...

Spot the 'Huwaat?!?!'

Ok, first up: there are some billboards of these that have the same mistake. Some of their posters in some malls have already been corrected...Was channel surfing one time and behold... it could also be a typo, but it's still amusing. Not saying my grammer and speeling are impeccable- everyone makes mistakes...
Even the top honcho of a top, multi-awarded IT-slash-BPO-slash-contact-services firm here in the Philippines makes mistakes... She's free to say it was her assistant who typed it wrong...
You too, feel free to send me more "sightings" so we can post them here.

Cebu in Pictures, Part 7

So I'm no longer in Cebu. But before I left, I was able to visit a very beautiful place called Plantation Bay. It was getting dark, and still the sights were awe-inspiring. The sky looked like a painting. This was a place to go and have your honeymoon or an anniversary celebration. Aww.It's a big place. The visitor is frist greeted by a large open-air lobby. And from there, everything opens up to hectares of water and cabanas.
Aside from the pools and the lagoons, there's the beach.
Footprints in the sand...
And to get around, you have these jeepney-like transportation to get on. Or you could rent bicycles if you wanted.
No, this one's not for public use... Just an amusing sticker, I thought.
It's not the ceiling at St. Peter's but the ambiance at the Italian restaurant, Palermo, was pretty good.
And their mint gelato was delicious!
Going home, we discovered a hitchhiker on the roof of the car.
Click on the title to go the website of Plantation Bay. I think overnight rates start at PHP7,000. Day trips are at PHP2,000. Pretty pricey...

Cebu in Pictures, Part 6

Time for an outing... About an hour from the city is...This would be truly amazing...
if it were true. Dolphins swimming up to a mountain resort? What do you think they are, salmon?!
The pool is inviting though...
And if you want to make a splash...
Don't slap the monkey!
You in for birds? A bird sanctuary building adorned with butterflies.
And once inside, less butterflies, more live birds like this one.And even a dead one.
Time to go home...
And straight to the mall.
Where Koreans roam. :)

Cebu in Pictures, Part 5

Food Trip
Here's the ceiling lighting at this quaint little deli and cafe where I was told you can buy almost everything you see in it.There are very old artwork, house furnishings, caps, beads, souvenir items, sardines, and food items.
And they serve hot home-cooked meals you don't have to wait too long for. Plus the staff are very friendly.
The table-top. I highly recommend eating here; you'll have a very pleasant experience.
Abaseria Deli & Café, Cebu
39B Cong. Noel St.,
Cebu City, Cebu
(032) 233-8339

On the other hand...

Inside Ayala Mall and alongside Spaghetti Factory is Mother's Fried Chicken. I took out some pork chops. I asked for gravy but I had to pay for it.
And when I got to the office to eat, the gravy wasn't any good. Nor was the chops. Bad lunch.
And for a snack, how about some panwiches. Pandesal with various filling.
Looks cute and yummy. Tastes ok.

Cebu in Pictures, Part 4

The Rizal Memorial Library and Museum across from where I wait every morning for the jeep I ride to work.Banderitas adorn the streets for the Sinulog celebration, Sunday, January 20. I left Cebu for Manila on Friday, January 18. Weirdo, I know.
Waiting at the airport...
And then I returned the following Monday, January 21.
The cab passed by a cemetery with wall panels painted on by various artists. The artwork were mostly from computer games. This particular one was excellent!
We catch one artist starting on a new part of the wall... Um, what design could he have envisioned?
Back at Rajah, they transferred me to another room with just one bed. The cable channels only went up to 40 plus so as soon the room was available, I requested to be transferred to my old room one floor lower.
No, not just because of how many cable channels there were... I didn't like the room. The view from the window was the adjacent building's roof. I'd rather have no view. And the room's door was right along the main corridor and seen from the stairs and the floor above and the floor below.


On the bed is Cookie Bear, the Coca-Cola stuffed polar bear I won from that New Year's Resolution contest (2 entries down).

Cebu in Pictures, Part 3

Back in Manila. Did not attend the Sinulog festivities... Be back there tomorrow... And here are pictures of places I saw walking along F. Ramos street.The laundry place I found. They delivered on the same day I took my clothes to them. Nice.
A cute yellow orange house.
A coffee place. Hmm, looks faintly familiar.
A bakeshop.
Some of their products...
Cheese Stick Bread so-so ordinary. Monster Bread with hotdog slices so-so and mayonnaise-y.
Bacon n' Cheese sandwich so-so and mayonnaise-y. I won't seek out this place anymore.
I checked out a gym. The boys work-out separately from the girls. Hmm... Looked decent enough. But I still had no gym shoes... And when I was coming down (the gym is at the third floor- there's a warm-up for you), one girl-member thought I was delivering the bread I bought from Betty's. I will definitely not go to this gym nor buy any more bread from Betty.
When you've got the money...
And at the corner of the street is Robinson's Place mall.

Cebu in Pictures, Part 2

Going to the office. It was raining a bit. The fare was P6 only. And the local term for fare was the same here as it is in Bicol where my parents are from. Ple-te. I'm not sure if I'm spelling it right. But at least, you should be able to pronounce it correctly. Ok, here: Plee-tee.Jeepney routes have a code. I rode the 14-D jeepney. And to go home, I just have to ride the same numbered jeepney. There were quite a number of route codes I saw like 14-B and 36-D. Wait, nope, the last one is a bra size. But there were quite a number of caucasians about so...Here's the terminal where I got off. Um. Here's the terminal where I got off from the jeepney to walk to my office building. In the background with the green roof is Marriott hotel. I can't stay there because the hotel rates are more expensive there. You have to pay for the hard-to-spell something-something-starred hotel name.Glance to the right and there's where I work. Under the lamp post in the middle. The building! No, it's not that small. It's eight floors tall.And beside the jeepney terminal is the Ayala Mall. Goody!Same stores you would see in Manila - Giordano, Springfield, Marks and Spencer, Memo, Jollibee, KFC, McDonald's, and then there's a branch of Smokin' Rice at the Food Choices level. No, I didn't eat there again.A shot of the roof. I was looking for a laptop security cable but found only a short one being sold at some tech shop. I didn't buy it. I wanted to find a gym I could go to. There was a Fitness First gym in the mall but I just passed by it. It was a relatively big mall. One lunch hour is not enough to go explore.

Cebu in Pictures, Part 1

Bound for Cebu, 12:30PM Philippine Airlines flight. Was at the Centennial Airport, Terminal 2 at 10:30AM.The flight was quick. One hour. And I was on a P375 cab from the airport at Mactan City speeding to Cebu City.
Here's the Christmas tree in front of the recently constructed Cebu Convention Center.
And here's my hotel room (Rajah Park Hotel) where I'll be in until the 19th when I'm moved to a studio room for a couple of days before moving back into a deluxe room. Find Pooper.
The hotel lobby where you can get free wifi internet access. I'm going to check out the health spa at the 3rd floor after I publish this.
A while ago, I remembered I haven't had lunch so I went to the Robinson's Mall across the street. There was a food court so I tried that first. The stall in particular was Smokin' Rice.
True to their name, the rice was smoking hot. And it stayed hot for maybe five minutes. Unfortunately, the pork chops were more like breading chops. Was there meat in there at all?
Sunset at the Fuente Osmena Circle Park.
And yes, those are pirated DVD's.
Welcome to Cebu!

Welcome 2008!

11:56PM. Tomorrow will possibly be not this clear-skied. It's so noisy outside! The streets will be so dirty too. Welcome to the new year? Well, we clean up. And we're hopeful things will get better and better. Cheers!

To everyone who greeted via text, email, ym, friendster, etc... Happy New Year to you all! God bless you and may your wishes that have positive effects on other people too come true hehehe May you be blessed with good health and a good outlook on life.

Lenny Tiongson, Jo and Bjen, Roman, Wani San Juan, Eduard, Jay Santiago, alexhunter, marta Cruz, Alvi de Castro, Nanay Gilda, Dan Garces, Ermie Concepcion, Mia Byj, Mich Uy, Mike Maguigad, Emil Macaso, Settie Grajo, Audie Gonzales, Geka Sugarplumfairy, Arvin Cando, Jere Jeresano, Tin Gamayon, Ria Nunag, Norms Alcantara, Mischel Trinidad, Yugioh, Noel Ubico, AJ Chua, Bucky, Ryan Bonzon, Kat, Chino, Mac, Whyte Jorry, Jiji Sarad, Vincent Silarde, Karlos Nerida...

Merry Christmas 2007!

Merry Christmas, everyone! Well, not everyone. Everyone who celebrates Christmas. Here's a nice little , not-so-little Christmas tree over at Rockwell in Makati. No, it's not almost as tall as the buildings behind it...Merry Christmas to my loved ones, and my loved one, and my friends and officemates, and those who I met in the course of 2007 and those who've visited this blog and my website, jaybeecc.com, which is currently undergoing re-design in preparation for the big December 2009 celebration.
Merry greetings go out to Vincent Silarde, Eduard Gentizon, Mac, Bjen, Jorge Tapalla, Jay Santiago, aaronphil2004, dantejr, Krisette Grajo, Ogie Alcantara, Alvi de Castro, Marta Cruz, Rianne Soriano, Jose/Vina/Linus Ngo, Ermie Concepcion, Fitz, Mia, Buang, Jovan Casungcad, Dan Garces, Techsupport, Ariel Cabungcal, Laine Nunez, Jiji Sarad, Noel Ubico, Ces, Karlos Nerida, Yugioh, Jermine Magtibay, Hans/Mich/Joshua Uy, Jayson/Norms/Jay-I Alcantara, Angelo Gonzales, Fred, Jorry, Rizza, Jonathan Magpantay, Jayvee Agustin, Toffer Lorenzana, and those whose numbers don't register on my mobile :) ... plus Hernandez family, Ayson family, Butaran family...

Streak

Don't be shocked! Look again. An easy guess.

Morticia in hawaiian band

I'm kidding. It's just she looks out of place in her gown ü Maybe she came from a beauty contest? Kidding again. Her hair is shampoo-commercial fine though.

Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao

It's still a big tree but not as big as years ago when German Moreno's That's Entertainment was still around. I've just dated myself. Hee-hee. We were walking in Gateway Mall when we came upon this bistro with these small structures like several 3-foot fences made of bunched up thin bamboos.
And here's another Christmas tree inside the mall.
And here's a shot of chained up glass beads that act as a curtain to the center display which is of a model of condominium buildings.
And their hanging display- hundreds maybe thousands of paper butterflies which I first thought to be origami. Wouldn't that be cool?! Well, this one's relatively cool too. Ok, I take it back, they look like garbage.
Ok, garbage is harsh. Maybe confetti.

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 7

When the tour guide said that after the war, Corregidor was, like, so war-torn that hardly anything grew there, and then the government had to seed ipil-ipil to re-forest the whole island; but now, more than fifty years later, it is teeming with greenery, it's either that's so unbelievably amazing but true or the tour-guide was making stuff up as we all go along. The power of suggestion: tourists unconsciously are "told" to return.
A nice image of a dock with a small boat tied to it.
And another dock we didn't get to visit. How were the other tourists able to get there? And there's even a party tent!?!
Flags. Of nations who contributed to the restoration of the island and of the hotel?
This hill is alive with the sound of silence...
When the color turns to a darker shade of blue, it means the water is deeper, cleaner, and therefore no longer part of the Philippines.
At the Japanese cemetery. A statue looking into a pond. And the open sea behind it. That's deep!
A lonely tree at the side of the road. How old could it be? Did it see the carnage that was World War 2?
And that concludes our picturesque journey to Corregidor. You might want to go yourself. Bring a camera.

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 6

Life is like an island full of wacky tourists...
(in the Pacific War Museum)Do not piss on the wall.
Statues of women soldiers... paid by the hour?
Kung-fu warriors?
Did a bomb go off behind them or what?
Prisoner of war, smiling.
In dire need, yet smiling.
Gorgeous sea view... windy though.
...you'll never know when you step on a hole and fall.

Upcoming in Part 7... Sights, scenes, and foliage!

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 5

The bus contraption leaves tourists here and meets them at the other side...There's an extra fee of P150 just to enter (East Entrance).
Once you're in, a show begins. The guide duides you to (almost) each of the smaller tunnel openings along the main one.
And you get to see these tunnel openings furnished like how they used to look like during the war; and hear recorded commentaries.
Or you see slides of important World War 2 personalities...
At the end of the presentation which ran about thirty minutes and will definitely tire you out, the National Anthem is played while a fan blows at the flag to make it wave.
And then salvation! The light at the end of the tunnel!
Some of the lateral tunnels have caved in and are not yet safe to refurbish or go through.
The back end.

Upcoming in Part 6... Turistas!

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 4

More heavy metal... Would you look at the size of those bullets! Cannon fodder all lined up in a row...
An overhead view of one in the museum... Imagine the last second of your life looking into one of these.
Dark shot of the parade grounds...
Cannon heads in pieces and scattered across the hillside...
The hillside had a name- Battery Geary, hidden by the forest but still destroyed by an air barrage.
And here, at another battery (not the small kind that powers your electronic devices or even your car)...
To scale a giant...
If this were the Decepticon Megatron... what a site to behold him transform!

Upcoming in Part 5... the Malinta Tunnel!

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 3

Click on the title for the wikipedia entry for Corregidor.

*******

Here it is, the lighthouse.

A communications tower...Backdoor to the lighthouse...
A nice directions post in the center of the courtyard...
View from the top... well, not exactly the top, top.
A peephole...
Another stylized window- this one in the form of a cross...
A nice shot of the lighthouse and our bus' bell...
And a few steps backwards...

Upcoming in Part 4... more heavy metal!

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 2

Click on the title for a site offering a brief history of Corregidor.

*******

I'm happy I wasn't there during the war.
I don't want to imagine the thousands of bodies piling up dead then.I'm glad to have not had the chance to look into this barrel when it was still functioning.The tour guide said Corregidor was a veritable wasteland after the war. It took years and years before the government-spread ipil-ipil seeds grew and re-forestation of the island was complete.The recoil on these things must have been tremendous.And when it spun to an angle, the ground must have shook.And here we are now, oblivious to the death and tragedy. Feared war tools are now amusing photo elements.Why, oh, why didn't I get on one too?!?
Upcoming in Part 3... the Lighthouse!

Corregidor in Pictures, Part 1

Corregidor is a tadpole-shaped or spermatozoa-shaped, depending on your gender (kidding!), island west of Manila and strategically positioned at the mouth of Manila Bay. It was a key base for the American and Filipino soldiers who tried to fend off the Japanese invaders during World War 2. It fell into Japanese control after months of combat. Three years later, it would be re-captured by the Americans, and the Japanese would finally surrender and end their invasion of Asia.

The series of posts about Corregidor display pictures taken during my first trip to the island with my officemates last August 12, 2007.

*******

The cruise liner left its Manila Bay/CCP station around 8AM. Travel time to Corregidor would be an hour and a half. Owing to the choppy waters, I puked twice. Once on the island, the sights were enough to dispel my dizzy spell.

Below: the boat we came in on and some of the cable-car looking "buses" tourists ride on to go around the island.
Our group was assigned Bus #1. I don't know if that's why we were the first to depart the port.
Below: what's left of a building.
Below: view of the only hotel where we'll be having our lunch from the bus on our way to the first stop.
Here's our bus and our tour guide seated in front.
Our first stop: the Middleside Barracks where the single soldiers stayed.
Upcoming in Part 2... Cannons!

Aliens in the metro!

Waiting for a morning meeting, I look out the window and there they were- four spheres of glowing light keeping to their formation. It must be a signal to somewhere in outer space, or each alien ship could be taking in a hapless earthling or earth creature to experiment on, using an invisible beam or column of energy that can pull anything up into the ship. Scary!

Ahoy, shoes!

Shopping for shoes? Don't mind if they're imitations? Well, come on down to Greenhills where you can go drown yourself in flattering apparel, bags, jewelry, toys, phones, and of course, shoes.
That's it- enter the corridor right under the stairs that take you up to Music Museum and you'll see the plethora of footwear that just didn't make the cut with shoe-specialty shops and higher-end (department) stores. These shoes are very, very, very , very affordable, sometimes, just a tenth of the original's retail price. If that isn't a bargain, I don't know what is. However, be careful because even though most of the time people won't be able to tell if you're wearing an imitation or not (and why should they care anyway!), you'll feel the difference in terms of craftsmanship and quality. But if you're just looking for foot ware to use for driving or for everyday walking, getting something less expensive and does the same thing to your feet- protect it from the elements and be a little fashionable while doing so- may be easily justified.Prices (for men's walking/rubber shoes) range from around PHP550 and if you don't show much interest, you could get the price down to PHP480 . That's the pinoy way of making-tawad (haggling). Good luck! Still too expensive for you? Try the ukay-ukay stores that are sprouting across the metro. You might find a good deal there too. But that's another adventure altogether.

HWM Magazine

So I've been buying this magazine. It has all these tech-y articles and pictures of gadgets- things to drool on when you have no funding to purchase them.Last February, they featured this contest wherein lucky readers can win earphones. I joined. I rarely win anything. But to my surprise, I did win. The only thing was the product that I had liked and actually won didn't fall into my hands. They gave me a *newer* product, they said the supplier didn't have the old products anymore. But it was more of a downgrade. Phooey, it's not the product I joined the contest for. Oh, well, at least I did win something. Beggars can't be choosers.And they put an unflattering picture of me holding the prize in this month's issue of the magazine. And I was all smiles? Well yeah. But deep inside me... Ok, I'm just thankful. I'm not bitter, ok. I'm even going to plug their magazine in a bit. And I'm going to join their other contests too and I hope I win something that they actually advertised.So you guys reading this and who are in the Philippines, go out and buy or subscribe to HWM, Hardware Magazine.