Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Recall of Nokia battery and Mattel toys

Who doesn't own a cellular phone these days, epecially in a text-driven country like ours??? That's why news like this gets top-billings in the headlines. Of course I was immediately concerned upon learning that Nokia is recalling defective Nokia BL-5C batteries since my unit uses the same kind. Immediately, I surfed the internet for more info and discovered this official site of Nokia where one could type the serial number located on the battery and find out whether that particular unit is among those being recalled by Nokia. The verdict??? Fortunately, mine wasn't.

The recall was made on batteries made by Matsushita Japan, although no serious injuries have actually been reported. Recalling 46 million batteries??? This must be a nightmare for Nokia, especially with various emerging threats to its dominant position as the market-leader in the cellular phone business.

Have you also heard of the recall by Mattel's of its toys featuring characters like Big Bird and Elmo from Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer because of excessive amounts of lead paint?? These toys were manufactured by a company in China. This is especially alarming since Mattel is one of the most respected names in the toy industry. Sadly, the owner of the factory in China hanged himself in a warehouse last Saturday. Probably due to humiliation...poor guy. I just hope that these toys won't find their way to the Philippine market.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Holy Cupcake!!!

I was starting to get depressed with the incessant rainfall when my husband surprised me with this delightful box...


Cupcakes from Sonja's!!! Yipee!!!!
Unfortunately, one cupcake succumbed to the pressure of the long drive due to heavy flooding in Metro Manila....
But I was able to salvage this sumptuous ube piece...

As well as this chocolate delight...

The filling was absolutely wonderful...I think I just died and went to heaven...

And yes, those are my teeth marks....hehehe.

Cupcakes by Sonja can be found at the Serendra Piazza Ground Level in Fort Bonifacio. Check out this clipcast from ClicktheCity.com. Enjoy!!!

Monday, August 06, 2007

Improving the image of the "FILIPINA"

It's very disturbing when you Google the word "Filipina" and you immediately get a list of dating/mail-order bride sites featuring Filipinas. I first heard of this upon reading the site of Noemi. So, I am now joining this bunch of Filipina bloggers trying to reclaim the word "Filipina" from these nasty porn site.

With Noemi's permission, I am now republishing the "Steps to reshape the sexy filipina image so that the search engine results appear wholesome":

1. Let’s continue to showcase, through our blogs, the stories about the loving Filipina wives and mothers, the professionals, and outstanding bloggers. The Pinoy Moms Network is gaining ground among Filipina mothers around the world.

How?

Men and Women!!

Write at least one entry with the word “Filipina” somewhere in the title of your entry and discuss anything about the Filipina — whether it is about you or some outstanding Filipina Woman you know. Use words like “Filipina, Sexy Filipina, Filipina woman, Filipina sexy woman, sexy Filipina mom, Filipina Mom or Smart and Sexy Filipina” in our blog entries. Chances are a few more enlightened women warriors may want to help reshape the Filipina woman’s image by using the same words to capitalize on the wholesomeness of the same words.

If you don’t have a blog, start one easily at blogspot.com.

2. Continue with the Google Bombing Campaign but let’s all link to just one site.

Why?

The Filipina Women’s Network (FWN) is on page 1 of the Philippines Google Search Engine Results Page (SERP) so there is a strong possibility to rank this site as number 1 for the “Filipina” keyword.

Note: “The Filipina Women’s Network is dedicated to advancing Filipina women across all sectors, enhancing public perceptions of Filipina women’s ability to lead and fostering the entry of Filipina women into leadership positions.” FWN is a virtual organization based in the United States, perceived by many decision makers in government, corporations, business enterprises, professions, non-profit organizations, and other sectors as having consistently and continuously grown in leadership and influence since 1996. Collaboration with other organizations worldwide? Plans are brewing as FWN members work on their game plan for “Filipina Power 2012.”

How?

In your sidebar or footer, place this link. [Don’t just write the word, “Filipina.” Instead, insert the link. The highlighted, linkable keyword, “Filipina,” will be the published result. ]

Copy and Paste on your sidebar
"Filipina"

If you have a large community of readers in your site, start a similar sitewide links campaign and use this alternate Filipina link:
"Filipina"

3. Brand it! Use this “Yan ang Filipina” badge (originally designed as “Yan ang Pinay”), created and lovingly donated by Jonas Diego, that links to Filipina Women’s Network.(Right-click on the image to save it in your hard drive. Then, upload and display in your blog. Don’t forget to point the link to the FWN site!)





Friday, August 03, 2007

Rockin' Award!!!


Hey, I rock!!! Thank you Ipanema for this wonderful award. Hehehe...shempre sobra akong natuwa kasi first time ko lang maka-receive ng award na ganito. My fellow awardees were: Bugsybee, Gypsy, Niceheart and Toe. These ladies, including Ipanema, are truly exceptional and certainly deserve this award (which is to say that I also do...hahaha!)

So, in the grand tradition of these blogosphere awards, I have to spread this prestigious (naks!) award to 5 of my blog friends (shempre, aside from those already mentioned na ha). And here are my awardees in alphabetical order:

Dinna - this rockin' lady blogs from New York. I always look forward to her stories about her NY experiences, the places she visits, her beloved son, and even about her pesky officemates and the saga of her problematic stepson. This lady impressed me a lot when she came to the defense of her friends (and the gay community in general) during the time of the Justice Isagani Cruz brouhaha. A reliable and trustworthy friend indeed.

Kyels - this rockin' lady is one thoughtful gal. You can see where her heart lies in her posts. I felt her pain when her dog died. I am always touched by her messages of kindness and encouragement which always comes just at the right moment in my life. She also takes excellent photographs to boot!

Mitams - this rockin' lady never ceases to delight me with her mouth-watering culinary concoctions. How I really wish I live next-door to this lady so that I can always get a taste of her latest culinary treat. Her site is the first site I visit when looking for new recipes. She is now hosting the 20th edition of Lasang Pinoy and it's all about "BINALOT." Please visit her site for more info.

Momoftwo - this rockin' lady is a fairly new blog friend. Nevertheless, I am impressed how she juggles her time studying and being a devoted mom to her 2 munchkins in another country. I am entertained by her rants and raves about nursing school. (Maybe I'd like to try it out someday???) By the way, she needs more prayer warriors right now for her mother-in-law who's currently battling colon cancer.

Vernaloo - this rockin' lady is also a new blog friend. From her blog entries, I can see that this lady has a very charming and bubbly personality. Seriously, nadadala talaga ako sa mga kuwento niya, hahaha. I look forward to reading more posts about her life and (previous) loves. Keep it coming!!!

Spread the love guys!
 

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

From the Courtside: Humorous Pics from the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open (Part 3/3)

Of course with all the pictures I took during the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippines, there were bound to be some pics which were kinda funny. I took the liberty of adding some funny captions. "Bato bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magagalit."

FVR while combing his hair
During the Mixed Doubles Event...


During the Men's Doubles Event...

Look at how high Tan Boon Heong can jump...


You wouldn't believe what else happened during the tourney. It has been tagged as the case of the "suicidal rat." During the WD match between Novita/Polii of Indonesia and Zhao Tingting/Yang Wei of China, while Polii was trying to request for a break, a rat suddenly fell down seemingly out of nowhere!!! The eyewitness account (pls scroll down and look for the topic "suicidal rat") was so funny. Apparently, the rat looked like it fell from the ceiling. Imagine the consternation of the lady players upon seeing a rat inside the badminton court!!! Oh dear. I hope you guys enjoyed the pics featured above. Tata! Till the next tournament!

Saturday, July 28, 2007

From the Courtside: More pics from the Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open 2007 (2/3)

As promised, I am posting more pics I took during the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament. These pics were taken during the finals held on 22 July 2007.

Men's Singles Finals: Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) def. Chen Hong (China)

A heart-warming scene: Lee giving Chen Hong a hug after the match Women's Doubles Finals: Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng (Chinese Taipei) def. Pan Pan and Qing Tian (China)

Zhou Mi of Hongkong who bagged the Women's Singles Title


Mixed Doubles Finals: Lilyana Natsir and Nova Widianto (Indonesia) def. Yu Mi Hwang and Sang Hoon Han (Korea)



Finally, the Men's Doubles Finals: Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong (Malaysia) def. Zhendong Guo and Zhongbo Xie (China)




Men's Doubles Champions being awarded by Former First Lady Amelita Ramos



It was a very successful tournament. I leave you with some snippets from the very exciting Men's Doubles game. Enjoy! Have a happy weekend everyone!



Thursday, July 26, 2007

From the Courtside: Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open 2007 (Part 1)

Here are some pics I took while watching the 2007 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). These are from the Semi-Finals last Saturday. It was unfortunate we were only able to watch the last 3 games that day because we were late. Not our fault since it was raining so hard and my husband's car had a flat tire, so there.

A shot of the audience who trooped to the Philsports Arena despite the pouring rain outside

Zhongbo Xie of China giving a hand signal to his partner Zhendong Guo


Defending champions Susanto Njoto and Yohan Wiratama of Hong Kong (former players of the Indonesian National Team)

Another shot of the Men's Doubles game between China and Hong Kong


Yu Chin Chien and Wen Hsing Cheng of Chinese Taipei (who won that day and eventually bagged the Women's Doubles title the following day.)





On a different note: I just finished reading Harry Potter Book 7 today! Finally, I can now function properly. Don't worry, you won't find any spoilers in this post. I just have this to say -- J.K. Rowling is such an excellent storyteller. I'm so sad this is the last installment in the Potter series.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

My Most Expensive Pictures Ever

Caught your attention 'ei? Well, you have to read the rest of my post to understand.

18 July to 22 July 2007 saw the staging of the 2nd Bingo Bonanza Philippine Open Badminton Tournament at the Philsports Arena (formerly Ultra). My husband was able to watch it since Day 1. But since I couldn't get off work to watch the games with him, I had to content myself with watching the weekend games. The semi-finals was scheduled last Saturday, while the finals was scheduled last Sunday. I will be posting more pictures during the event in my succeeding posts.


Badminton fanatic that I am, I was able to convince my hubby to wait for the champion of the Men's Doubles event (Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia, now ranked #3 in the world) to emerge from the press conference room and have my picture taken with them. Here are the pics:


With Koo Kien Keat of Malaysia

With Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia

While my husband was busy taking these pictures, he felt someone's hand brush up his butt but took no notice of it since he wanted to appease my desire to have my picture taken with these world-class players. Immediately after taking these photos, his hand went to his pocket to check if his wallet was still there, but lo and behold...it was already gone!!! Some evil conscience-less person picked his pocket despite the presence of several police officers in the vicinity !!! Gggrrrr...I hope whoever did this rots in hell!!!!

Fortunately, my hubby was not yet able to withdraw so there was only a minimal amount of cash in his wallet. But it wasn't the money we were worried about but all the hassle of having to replace his ID, driver's license, ATM cards and credit card. Aside from anger at the person who did this, I also felt guilty because my hubby wanted to go home immediately but I convinced him to stay so that I could have pictures for posterity. Sheesh! If only we'd gone home immediately after the games. (Ang pagsisisi talagang laging nasa huli.) I should have listened to my "gut feel" telling me not to wait for these players and go home already. But I didn't listen. Instead, I persisted with the original plan. A lot of "if-only"s and "what-if"s.

So, yeah, these pictures truly are unforgettable and my most expensive pics ever. Lesson well learned indeed.


Saturday, July 21, 2007

My Romance with Harry Potter

I have a confession to make. I'm a BIG Harry Potter fan. A friend of mine introduced me to this series when Book 2 was just released. Since then, I've been hooked and I always buy the latest book on its first release date. This time is no different. I've been carrying this book I bought from National Book Store all day and I couldn't wait to get home to read it. I'm giddy with excitement as I tear open the recognizable red plastic and behold the latest AND the last installment in the Harry Potter series. Tantararaannn....

Hmmm...somehow, there's something different this time. I've been home hours ago but I still couldn't get myself to read the first few pages. Perhaps it's because it's the last installment and I want to savor every word. Or perhaps I've been forewarned that another character will die and I know when I reach that point in the book that I'll probably get depressed. Ok....I think I better shut up now and start reading. Have a happy weekend everyone!

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Quick Post

Sorry guys. I've been remiss in my duties -- I haven't updated my blog for quite some time now. I even forgot to blog about my 1st BLOGSARY!!! Shoot. Anyway, just wanted you guys to know that I'm still alive. My hubby's competing in a tournament this weekend. Will probably post some pics after...that is if I get decent ones out of my new digicam (ehem). Have a nice weekend everybody!!!
Update: Too bad my husband's team lost. The tournament was a team event. A team has to win 3 out of the 5 events in order to win. My husband didn't even get a chance to play. So, too bad, I wasn't able to get a chance to take pictures.