Boracay 2010 (photo dump)

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Spending Christmas in Boracay (在长滩岛过的圣诞节)

Of the 7,107 islands that make up the Philippine archipelago, the island of Boracay is perhaps one of the most popular, if not the most loved. People go to Boracay for a variety of reasons, basking under the sun being the most common. Spending the Christmas holidays in Boracay, however, is a whole new experience if I may say so as the atmosphere is very much different from the island's usual summer beauty. 

Getting there

The trip to Boracay was something I had to prepare for, given that we were booked to fly to Kalibo, Aklan instead of Caticlan. The good thing about flying to Kalibo though is that the whole trip would've already been fully packaged under ZestAir's Boracay packages at costs more economical than taking SEAir trips. Booking flights with the latter would require you to manage your own accommodation bookings since there are no packages for Boracay under the said airline. Going back, my mind was

Redefining Bright Lights: Pampanga's Giant Lantern Festival 2010

"8,000 light bulbs," my friend relayed to me what probably is one of the single, most significant information that he sponged out of this year's organizing committee for the world-renowned Giant Lantern Festival. It's no joke, tweaking a giant lantern that measures 20 ft x 20 ft with the number of light bulbs enough to illuminate a whole town. Well, that's one thing that all the nine participating teams of this year's competition saw through with not more than a few, MINOR bumps.

When we arrived at San Fernando, Pampanga we didn't know what to expect since it was our first time to attend the yearly event. The venue for the festival cum competition was the very parking area (and beyond) of Robinsons Mall - San Fernando.

Trying Serenitea's Jumbo drinks

Well, well, well. Even if I claimed that I wouldn't be participating in the hype that Serenitea's 2nd anniversary caused, I ended up eating my own words. An hour before closing time, I rushed to Serenitea's J.Abad Santos - Wilson branch to pickup the five orders of milk tea that were phoned to them ahead of time.

This one-day anniversary promo had Serenitea fans queuing up from as early as 9AM

It's a really awesome promo and way of saying thanks to their custo

Jumbo Cup: Serenitea's December 19 Treat

Christmas is very much in the air and the people behind Serenitea have already started spreading the spirit by decorating their outlets with Christmas ornaments, as seen in their Robinsons Place - Ermita branch. 

As I was ordering the ever-yummy Hokkaido Milk Tea (thanks to Serenitea, I no longer have to miss drinking quality milk tea)  yesterday evening, a prominent yellow poster caught my attention. Lo and behold! Serenitea has a BIG treat for its loving customers this coming Sunday, December 19, 2010. 

As the sign reads, Serenitea is giving its customers a big treat this coming Sunday. I always thought that their large-sized cups are big enough to satisfy my cravings for good milk tea but after hearing about the new "Jumbo" cup to be introduced to the public on the 19th, I just got all excited! 

For any large drink ordered, you can go for an upsizing to the Jumbo (1L) cup with no extra charge. Awesome treat this one is! Thanks, Serenitea! 

PLDT makes history with the PLDT TelPad

The year 2010 has been dubbed "Year of the Tablets" by Yahoo! News and for very good reasons. To start with, tablets were virtually unheard of in past years, and even the e-book readers that were already in the market paled in comparison to the tablets of today. Suffice to say, e-book readers are/were nowhere close to tablets; tablets are not [just] e-book readers. But what do you make of a tablet that serves as both lifestyle accessory and a functional communication gadget? 

Perhaps there is no better word to use in referring to a device that has all the features of a conventional tablet other than the name of the very first of its kind in the world; the PLDT TelPad has finally made its premier to the public and is poised to grace the Filipino household with a communication

Forgive my ignorance but FlapJacks delivers?

There you have it, folks. I just found out today that FlapJacks does deliver.

If you're asking what we had for lunch, I'm just as curious as you. I ate my way through what probably is more than 1000 calories without even knowing the name of the food we ate. What I can tell you though is that we had fries, pasta, chicken, and a burger. 

Apparently, FlapJacks is one of the 150+ restaurants on

One of the few proud owners of an ASUS G53JW

The title says it all, really. However, this is only true with respect to the Philippines. The ASUS G53JW is one fine work of art that is both suave and powerful. It's hard to discount the fact that although this amazing gaming device is indeed a gem, it's virtually unheard of in the country. 

Even the box looks good

I came to know of the G53JW when I was looking for laptops with superior performance, and with a decent package. It was not one that did not get extensive deliberation though; this laptop is far too pricey for its own good--but I still got one just to satisfy my wants.

Now, I won't go into detail since the ASUS website can give better technical description on the model so let me just share a few things that crossed my mind as I kept using the G53JW this past two days.

1. The design is definitely one that can make boys and men drool. You read that right, the G53JW was built to tease, and not just for playing cool, new games. As said by a close female friend, "It's (laptop) really meant to be a guy's laptop, huh?" My colleagues call it many names: The TV, The Lamborghini, The Spaceship. Bottomline is that once you pop it up on a table in public areas, you'll surely get attention so be forewarned!

ASUS G53: Strike in silence

Kappa mouse that came with the package

2. It's just too bulky. It's big alright, bigger than seen on the net. I didn't anticipate the exhaust to be very space-consuming, in reference to laptop bags. I already tried fitting it in two laptop backpacks (15" and 16") and still, it doesn't get the usual comfortable snug that most laptops should get from their containers. Even the free bag that came with the purchase (the one given by ASUS-Republic of Gamers) barely manages to hold it in. The edges protrude along the zipper track. What worries me is the big possibility of having unwanted scratches along the edges/rim of the laptop. I'm seriously hoping that someone from this model's design department gets to read this. They could have tossed in a free bag that WILL accommodate the bulky body of the G53JW.

It may look harmlessly mid-sized but in reality, it's monstrous!

This ROG backpack will eventually give up on the massiveness of the G53JW. They should've considered increasing the space allowance of the bag to accommodate bulky 15"-ers

3. Marking/Print magnet. The top cover of the laptop easily retains marks from fingers and hands. Although this is easy to manage, having to repetitively clean the cover can get annoying at times.

4. Whispering speakers. "I should've gone for those sub-woofer upgrades!" I keep telling myself that I should've stuck with my instincts and requested to improve the speakers of this laptop. My brother has been using his G51J for some time now and even that model has WHISPERING SPEAKERS. How I wish they built the model with Altec Lansing speakers; the HP laptops here at home all sound audible enough to listen to our favorite music whereas it's almost impossible for the G53JW. 

I was trying to listen to a piece of music by this time and although the volume was set to 100%, the output wasn't loud enough to truly enjoy it

5. Cool back-lit keyboard. I chose not to customize the built-in back light of the keyboard since they already look too cool to be replaced. :)

6. Good exhaust location. What I love most about the G53JW is the exhaust design. I have had so many issues with dozing off while on bed and more often than not, I fail to properly set aside the laptop I am using. Conventional laptops have their exhaust fans blowing downwards, making it risky to leave the laptop laying flat on your bed (or any flat surface for that matter) without the use of an exhaust fan. The G53JW solved that by having the exhaust fans point towards the tail end of the laptop. Besides, the exhaust design made the laptop look a lot more macho.

Does it look more like a Lamborghini's rear or that of a stealth plane?

Overall, it's not hard to fall in-love immediately with the G53JW given the awesome specs line-up and slick, edgy design. If you're not too finicky, you'd want to take this toy with you wherever you go. Just make sure you're ready to bear the weight of a 4kg laptop, a 1kg charger, plus the weight of the bag you'd be using.

Congratulations, ASUS!

Now, I wonder how many owners of G53JW units there are in the Philippines at present. Leave a comment if you have one yourself :) Those from overseas are also free to comment. 

Secret Recipe's Grilled Black Pepper Chicken

Secret Recipe's Robinsons Ermita branch is probably one of my most frequented food places in Manila. The reason behind this is that they have available outlets for people who bring devices in-need of charging...Like me. It's really difficult to look for establishments inside RP Ermita that has both access to WiFi (limited only to the Midtown wing) and power outlets. 

But if you think I only go there for charging's sake, you're very much mistaken! About a year before, I discovered that Secret Recipe has a thumbs-up worthy salad on their menu. For this visit though, I chose to be less calorie conscious and just dug up an appetite. I ordered Grilled Black Pepper Chicken, truly a mouthful worthy of its name. 

Chicken dishes had been on my list the whole week and just as I was about to give up, I saw this single chili mark, greeting me with a promise that the dish is far from boring. I just love spicy food! 

When the food arrived, the aroma released by the peppers was enough to make my mouth water. It may seem plain (yep, it actually does) but the spicy sauce and peppered herb rice complemented the chicken well--and my tummy too! 

The drink that I'll love forever: Wong Lo Kat (王老吉, Wang Lao Ji)

Even before I stayed in China, I already had this liking for Wong Lo Kat (王老吉, Wang Lao Ji), one of the most popular refreshments in the mainland.

The Wong Lo Kat brand has been around for about two centuries now. Introduced in 1828 by Wong Chat Bong (王泽邦) in Guangdong and Guangxi , Wong Lo Kat has grown in populary partly because of the link between the brand and the practice of herbal tea brewing. The unique brewing process was discovered by the Wong family during the Qing Dynasty, giving their products value beyond the name and taste.

Although the drink tastes sweet and with just a mildly characteristic herbal taste, most of my Chinese friends very rarely drink it, saying that the drink has bigger fans in older people (So what does that make me?). 

Wong Lo Kat drinks are available in red cans and 250 mL cartons in most Chinese convenience stores. In the Philippines though, they are more commonly seen in restaurants (and some stores) that line the busy streets of Manila's Chinatown.

Wang Lao Ji (It just sounds weird to me, calling it Wong Lo Kat) remains to be one of my most favorite drinks, too bad it's not readily available in 7-11 and nearby supermarkets. :(

Case Logic's Laptop & SLR bag: Truly the more logical choice? *Updated*

After finally getting a replacement unit to my old Canon 450D (which just got smashed into bits after a high drop), I needed to find a suitable bag for my new toy. The Nikon D7000 is considerably heavier than its predecessor, the D90. And for someone who's had a really terrible experience concerning DSLR accidents, I should know that prevention is the way to go. 

I've seen Case Logic products before since my family uses several of their pouches and bags. Experience tells me that if there's a brand that can truly deliver, Case Logic is probably one of the better choices in the market. Sure, the pricing of their items can sometimes be on the heavier end of the industry but you'd know at first glance that quality is ensured in every product that you buy. 

This time, I got their SLR Camera/Laptop Backpack. 

I must say, this backpack was built to serve a good purpose: provide a comfy snug to a laptop of at most 15", and just about any size of an SLR camera with a number of extra lenses. There's a reinforced shelf system inside with adjustable racks should you wish to fit lenses and other items of varying sizes. 

The hammock system located at the uppermost part of the bag allows for the SLR to rest on a suspended position, above the bottom of the case, which provides superior impact protection. 

If you have other things you need to store such as extra SD cards, cords, cleaning kits, and even clothes (I usually bring extra shirts and squeeze them inside just about ANY bag), the shelves inside the main compartment can accommodate most of them. Cards are usually kept inside the side compartment, with two separate pockets.

The only concern that I have about this bag though is its exterior left portion, dedicated for storing a tripod. While Case Logic usually thinks its designs through, they could've added a catching base for the bottom end of the tripod to rest, not just relying on two Velcro straps.

The laptop compartment is properly designed to fit laptops to as much as 15". I've yet to try fitting it with my 15" ASUS G53JW-A3 but will update this post on how the bag fares once I've done so.

Overall, I'd say I'm satisfied with this product and that Case Logic has once again won my respect. Cheers!

**Update on laptop fitting


My ASUS G53JW arrived yesterday and it sure is the sexiest laptop I've ever had. The only problem is that it can't fit in the laptop section of Case Logic's Laptop & SLR bag despite the few centimeters worth of allowance. :( In the end, I might have to sell this amazing piece of product. I'm always on the go and I need to have my laptop and SLR with me.