Introduction to Intramuros

The plan today was to introduce the family to Intramuros, Manila where the famous landmark Fort Santiago is located. Our P150 escapade (w/o fuel) brought us to the following sites:

1- Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier

2- The Rizal Shrine

3- Baluarte de Santa Barbara

4- Almacenes Reales

5- Dulaang Rajah Soliman

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SIGE KUHA

A family escapade won't be complete without our precious pictures. Three hundred pictures were taken from 3pm to 5pm which was a combination of portrait and landscape. The Nikon D40 again proved its worth and an opportunity for me to practice my skill as well as a de-stress exercise.

DI KO NAGAWA

We wanted to ride a calesa (horse drawn carriage) but cost prevented us. The price was p50 per head and you'd go around a single 400 meter loop. We felt it was not worth it. We also wanted to watch a film show scheduled at 430pm but we stayed there until 5pm but the show didn't materialize. We just thought the operator was late but apparently he was absent.

The cost to bond with the family is inexpensive. You just have to invest in time and effort. The return on investment is priceless.

The Gathering Place

O'ahu, Hawaii
Location 21°28′N 157°59′W / 21.467°N 157.983°W / 21.467; -157.983
Area 596.7 sq. mi.
Rank 3rd largest Hawaiian Island
Highest point: Mount Ka'ala 4,003 ft (1,220.1 m)
Population 905,034 (as of 2008)
Density 1,468/sq. mi. (567/km²)

My mother, CSL is now in O'ahu, Hawaii. She's been there for the past 3 months staying with my Aunt Lu. (If you're reading this entry Aunt Lu and Unc Dong, words are not enough to say how grateful we are for your support to Mama during this period of adjustment). She currently works for a Catholic Pre-school which is about 10 minute walk from Aunt Lu's place.

Anima Christi

(This is my wife JML's fave gospel song. I like it too that's why it is an entry in my site)

Soul of Christ, sanctify me
Body of Christ, save me
Water from the side of Christ, wash me
Passion of Christ, give me strength

Hear me Jesus, hide me in Thy wounds
That I may never leave Thy side
From all the evil that surrounds me, defend me
And when the call of death arrives, bid me come to Thee
That I may praise Thee with Thy saints forever

Mandarin Lessons, Take Two

After 6 months in hiatus, I've started attending Mandarin (Chinese) lessons again. The lessons had to stop because of unexpected changes in my life. So unexpected that I'm still trying to cope up with the loss. I reckon I already paid 25% of the total enrollment fee amounting to P3,500 for 21 hours. The school is called Luke and Wendy's Language school located in Legaspi Village. It's about a 15 minute walk from our office in Salcedo Village. Better to walk than take the car becasue of the traffic, if you have the energy to do so.

LAO TZE
My new teacher is a Chinese native. The real one, probably born in mainland China. Not like me, a fake Chinese, with strong Chi physical features but don't speak a word of Chinese, that is before attending Mandarin class. Lao Tze's name is Iris. She gave me her Chinese name but it didn't register in my mind. I was surprised to attend her 3rd session because I was just warming up my seat when she already gave a seatwork!

YI-ER-SAN-ZI-WU (1-2-3-4-5)
We were supposed to study numbers yesterday but she was not around so classes had to be cancelled. I just wish they texted me so I didn't have to go to school. I saw a classmate, a white female who's name I learned was Natalie. I have 5 more classmates so this should be fun!

There are 7 more sessions to go and I'm hoping to learn more basic Mandarin words and phrases. The whole Mandarin course consists of 6 modules and I shall assess after the first module if I should proceed further. This is exciting. It's actually a breather for me as well as a for of networking.

SBC tromps JRC

Hi Papa!

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Your alma mater San Beda College completed a historic 3 peat at the expense of Jose Rizal College. They trounced JRC 3 games to 1. I didn't get to watch any of the games but your grandson B5 watched some of the games and kept me abreast. In fact, he gave me the usual blow-by-blow account.

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Their dynasty is about to expire though as their prized center Sam Ekwe played his last game as a Red Lion. There's no player in their current roster who can fill in the big shoes that the Nigerian will vacate. My assessment is that at the very least, they'll make it to the final four.

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Keep reading my site!

Ateneo is it!

(September 26, 2008)

It's official, Ateneo de Manila University is the 71st UAAP season king of men's basketball senior edition. The basketball team trounced defending champions De La Salle University two game to none. They were the best candidate to win the award and proved that not even their arch rival can get in the way.

SO STRONG
The Blue Eange team is so strong that they can probably beat a UAAP star player selection. In their player roster is Most Valuable Player Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Mythical 5 guard Chris Tiu, Defensive Player of the year Nonoy Baclao, Rookie of the Year Ryan Buenafe, some non awardee players capable of scoring double digits night after night and then a couple of effective role players.

BACK-TO-BACK
After the euphoria from the celebration has subsided, the next big question is if they can make it back to back. In Y2009, the core team is still intact save for 23 year old superstar Chris Tiu hence they can still power their way to a repeat and probably even a three peat.

Go La Salle!!!

Is Armstrong's arm still strong?

(September 17, 2008)

I'm talking about cycling god's Lance Armstrong who recently announced that he's going out of retirement and attempt to seek his 8th Tour de France title. At age 37, he's no spring chicken anymore. He'll be battling it out with men at least a decade younger than him.

Can he make a comeback in the sport that he dominated? Let's stay tuned and we'll know by during the year of the Ox (Y2009).

The Donut Story

(September 19, 2008)

We just learned today that Go Nuts donuts set up a 4 sq.m space at the second floor of WalterMart Mall in Makati. They started early this week. The big question is - will they be able to recoup their investment?

Around July 2007, we explored the possibility of franchising a Mister Donut store and place it is WalterMart Mall in Makati. We submitted the necessary requirements and passed all the required interviews only to be advised that the location is NOT profitable. At best, we've be earning P10,000 a month for almost half a million investment. The mall gets P27,000 a month for the rent so they make more money. If it were the other way around, we'd probably be celebrating our first year anniversary. The 2% return on investment is actually good however the return on investment pegged at 5 years is bad reason why we abandoned the idea.

Going back to the question, will Go Nuts recoup their investment? If they are still in WM Mall 3 years from now then they probably made money.

Cherry Cute Cute

(September 12, 2008)

Imagine going around Tarlac City on a cute front wheel drive 3 banger that definitely contains melamine but won't pose as a hazard to the passengers. Today we bought a booklet of tickets at the local parish raffle were the grand prize is a 2008 Cherry QQ subcompact car. The cute China made car retails for P318,000.

I read a book in college which says if you really, really want something, you should plan as if you already have it. So if we win this car, we'd sell the Chinese made auto, keep our Jap made auto, invest the amount is stocks or mutual funds - 30% allot for MC's college education, 30% for B5's education, 20% for the family travel next year and the balance goes back to the church.

If we don't win, at the very least we were able to help the church with their projects. It's a win win situation and that gives us more reasons to buy more tickets.