The power of posting and reposting.

I have been busy working on with the tasks that piled up at work after being away for almost a week for the Southeast Asia Blogger’s Conference in Bali, Indonesia. Aside from work, I’m still worried about how my dad reacts on his current condition. There were so many things that happened that makes me want to blog 5 times a day. Haha. In the Philippines, Social Media has played an indispensable role in the past election and some disasters like the typhoon Ondoy. Lately, the trend in Philippine’s Social Media inspired me, it was not just about the former President Gloria Arroyo being arrested but also, when a Facebook user (Jeddie JS) has helped an old couple find each other amidst the crowded city through posting and sharing a photo in Facebook.

The story of Lola Aurelia & Lolo Luis was in Facebook and Twitter the whole week and I was surprised to see in the local news today that Jeddie and Lola Aurelia finally met each other to greet and thank each other.

According to reports, Jeddie saw Lola Aurelia in Roxas Boulevard sitting and wearing a daster pinned with flyers at front and back, of the husband that she was looking for in weeks. The good-hearted Jeddie was touched how Lola Aurelia patiently gives out the flyers to every person who passes by, hoping that someone will lead her back to her husband, Lolo Luis Matias. The photo that Jeddie took and shared was reposted more than 60,000 times in Facebook that lead to the attention of a GMA News Team that later on helped Lola Aurelia in her hunt for his one and only love.

I’ve seen in my Facebook News Feed and Twitter Timeline touching posts of friends about the moment of reunion of the couple and I was intrigued on how it went. Here’s the video of the touching reunion:

I was touched with Lola Aurelia’s interview when she mentioned of how worried and sad she is whenever she eats because she thinks about if her husband has something to eat or if he has a place to stay. It reminded me of my dad saying that he needs to go home in our province even if he’s sick because my mom is alone. Being a hopeless romantic as I am, this incident taught me 3 important things:

1. That true love exists. Fighting for your love (and his welfare) is never a waste of time.
2. That a good heart can make this world a better place to live in and our good intentions can help others through our own simple ways.
3. That New Media or Social Media is truly playing a vital role in today’s generation so we all need to be responsible in everything that we share in the internet.

According to some articles of John Russel of asiancorrespondent.com, Japan is the model for mobile social networking, Hi-5 is the most popular social mobile networking in Thailand, Jakarta has the largest Facebook population of any city in the world with 17.5 million users, while Philippines has the highest proportion of users per population naming it the Social Networking Capital of the world in his article in May 2011. You can also refer to Tonyo Cruz’ post on the Nielsen’s first report on Southeast Asia’s Digital Consumer Report.

As I switch from one channel to another, I’ve seen so many news about a person’s ruined reputation through blogs and social networks that remind me that whatever we post can make or break a person or organization. It can also make some people furious and annoyed. I like what Dian Paramita, an Indonesian friend and blogger that I met in Bali, have said in her post that talks about how people should not react or comment on things that they don’t fully understand. (Haha. I don’t understand why there are some funny people who just talks without understanding the whole picture, generalize and force others to believe in what he/she believes in.)

Anyone is free to write and express their thoughts in the internet anytime and anywhere about anything. But I really hope that everyone should always think that there’s a consequence in our every action and every post. Remember, internet is not limited to your network, it is global and has the power to make this world a better place.


As what Maria Ressa said in her interview with Philippine Star, “As social media becomes bigger and bigger in our country, it has the power to spread the following: Terrorism. Fear. But also hope.If corruption spreads through social media, we can also counter it. If we spread that within our networks, and share the action they can take for it, then we begin to change reality.”

Not bad, Asia-Pacific's Call for a Photography Talent!

I got this email from Campaign Asia and I know it is worth spreading because of a lot of interesting people I met for the past months with talents in photography! C'mon! If only I ahve that talent. Haha.

Calling all those wonderful people and talents!

Organized by Panorama Stock and in association with Campaign Asia-Pacific, the Muse awards invite the region’s creative community to submit photographs that symbolise their inspiration. The best images will be awarded top-end photographic equipment:

Gold: Canon 1Ds Mark
Silver: Canon 5D Mark
Bronze: Canon 600D

The competition is open to all employees of creative, media, digital, PR agencies and in-brand marketers. A shortlist will be decided through online votes, with the eventual winners picked by a jury of leading creatives and photographers.

For your chance to win,

ENTER NOW at
www.muse-awards.com

For further information, please contact
Georgia Proctor, +852 3175 1925 or at georgia.proctor@haymarket.asia

LOL for a quality life.

“To have the life that you’re wishing for, you should improve yourself to be deserving of it. To have an upgraded partner, you should upgrade yourself first. Please make sure that you’ll learn one important thing every day so you’ll improve step by step.”

When I had my heart entirely broken for the second time during the hardest year for me and to everybody I know and the time of financial crisis, 2009, my mom didn’t know what to tell me but the words above. Parts fell into pieces that I didn’t have any idea on how I was going to get by every minute but that particular time proved to me again that everything might fail and everyone might leave, but the family will always stay. I am not saying this just because I am a Filipino (and known to be family-oriented country) but because no matter what you call it—clan, tribe, network, family--definitely, you need one.

For the first time last week, my tough and strict dad was admitted to the hospital. He volunteered to visit the doctor so I knew that it was a bit serious and it was. As cry baby as I am, tears fell down as I read my mom’s sms about him and the fact that even my mom was admitted to the hospital. Then my sister and I rushed home and endured the 6–hour bus ride for our peace of mind. What I learned from it was the same with what I’ve learned on the hardest moments of 2009: live each moment and continue improving because you’ll only see the quality of life if you slow down and enjoy. Sounds cliché, but living each moment has been on top my goals whenever I write my daily to dos and it’s the hardest task to check as “done” daily. But this weekend, when I decided to see my parents and we laughed together, it was a moment that I can put on a big check: I have lived.

In the fast changing world that we’re living, we tend to overlook the things that we’re experiencing at the moment because we’re too busy thinking what we’re going to have without noticing that by not living at the moment, we’ll not be able to figure out precisely what we need to improve to avoid having regrets. Simple things like saying “sorry” to someone you unintentionally stepped on while rushing to the train, saying “thank you” for a free ride or a cracker when you were too hungry from a co-worker and asking “how are you?” from parents away from you. These moments may not matter to you, but might matter to them because they’re not walking as fast as you walk.

I stumbled upon this video of one of the pranks of Improv Everywhere, and I think that it would be nice to have this podium somewhere that I’ll pass by every morning for a beautiful and inspired day. J

I like Improv Everywhere so I think it would be nice to listen to the guy (Charlie Todd) who has been transforming these playful ideas to unexpected joys that reminded us to stop, play, laugh louder and try each day to improve you and some stranger’s quality of life.

Laughing more won't hurt, it's a worthy hobby.

(Filipinos know this for sure) 

Singapore, it's always Sunday.

“There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing”—that’s what I read in one of the under renovation shops in Marina Bay Sands and I think, that’s Singapore for me. Living in Singapore I think is like living only once in a week-- only on a Sunday when everyone’s getting together, happily greeting each other, eat out, unlimited sharing of stories, fast paced but friendly environment and definitely can be a day with books and sharing of stories over a cup of coffee. For someone from Manila like me, Singapore is like a big Fort Bonifacio High Street, a safer one.

Singapore is such a mixture of culture and the diversity makes this small country interesting and fun to visit. First stop, Chinatown.

The Chinatown amazed me for its cleanliness and entertaining atmosphere. Maybe it’s because most of the people in Singapore is Chinese and walking in the stretch with Chinese decorations made me feel that I was actually in China. I got our pairs of chopsticks for S$2 each.

Of course the Chinatown experience won’t be complete without eating frogs which has the taste of “in between fish and chicken.”

Bollywood is the new Hollywood, that’s what they say. Well, watching 3 Idiots, I will definitely agree to that, but Singapore can also be a haven for Bollywood fans. Then we transported to a different culture, The Little India.

India is one of the most colourful cultures for me and we were just so lucky when we visited because they just finished Deepavali (also known as Diwali Dipawali, etc), the “Festival of lights” which is one of the most important festivals in a year for Hindus when the families get together and performs traditional activities together. It was a national holiday in Singapore.

Of course Indian food is one of the most distinct and delicious food ever made by mankind. Haha. And so we tried the famous fish head curry in Singapore and finally met Gulaab Jammun.

                After trying out various dishes, our taste buds craved for the original Singaporean food so we headed to Hawker Centre and had a taste Laksa and taho.

   We also tried the famous Chili Crab in Jumbo Seafood Restaurant near Clark Quay. 

     And definitely, Halloween is awesome in Singapore.

                I can consider Singapore as one of the best places for walking, especially if you want to feel like traveling in different places when you can stop your feet (well depends on the mood). Maybe a few steps from Singapore Art Museum, we’ve reached the Arab Street where I found nice shops and restaurants that will definitely transport you to the Middle East. I think it’s one of my favourite streets there.

                A few more steps then we reached Little Thailand, Little Malaysia and maybe the Lucky Plaza can be Little Philippines. Haha. (I'll surely visit Lucky Plaza on my next trip to Singapore.)

                Every street in this country has different character. Taku and I were so amazed on the architecture of the city.

Look at the water in the ceiling! Woaa!

                We sneaked in the bar of Marina Bay Sands not just for our usual Mojito but to see the beauty of the city from the top. It was breath taking.

                We just moved around the city, tried the bus and MRT, and were wowed with the way of life and amiable nature of the Singaporeans. 

               With Taku’s friendly and nice nature, I believe that he fits in Singapore. I wish I could live there too so that every day is Sunday.

Thanks to Heidi, a couchsurfer from Malaysia for walking around with us! See you soon!

Few days left for New 7 Wonders!

New 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

As a kid, I used to dream about visiting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Until now, I passionately aiming to see The Pyramids of Egypt because I connect it with my favorite constellation, Orion. Whenever I look at those stars, I know the time to see the pyramids will soon come.


But now, we only have a few days to participate in deciding who's gonna be the New 7 Wonders of the World! I like Halong Bay in Vietnam, Grand Canyon in USA, Islands of Maldives in Maldives, Bu Tinah Island in UAE, Dead Sea in Jordan, but of course Puerto Prinsesa's Underground river is my favorite! Philippine Primer, a free monthly lifestyle Japanese magazine and website participated in the promotion of Puerto Prinsesa to the Japanese and Filipino communities!

Please vote on or before November 11, 2011 via text or online. Let's all make history. :)