Quest for the True North

The world according to a traveler and beach bum.

May
31

Buy a drawing and help the Pens of Hope project

Filed under advocacy, people

These artists are selling their sketches for Pens of Hope, a project that gathers pens and pencils for poor schoolchildren in remote parts of the country.  A pen may be a small thing to us, but it is a big thing for kids whose parents cannot even afford one for them.

No matter how often we convince ourselves that poverty is not an obstacle to success, it just isn’t true. A child needs to at least be properly nourished and have some writing materials to learn. How can a child learn to write when she doesn’t even have a pen?

Let us help these kids write their future. The drawings for sale will be put up for an exhibit at Turtle’s Nest, Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City on June 10, 13, 17, 20, 23, 27, & 30. See you!

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May
24

In the Company of Mom: A Mother’s Day Special with The Company and Aiza Seguerra

Filed under events, music

A few friends and I were invited recently to the “In the Company of Mom: A Mother’s Day Special with The Company and Aiza Seguerra” concert at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City.

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We went there straight from Maribago Beach Resort and we were halfway late, so we had to race against time. We were a bit ruffled, plus our cameras were confiscated at the entrance, but Aiza’s voice soothed us when we came in the door. I am not exaggerating.

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May
24

Thank You, Maribago Beach Resort!

Filed under beach, events, travel

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The Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort wasn’t what I expected–it exceeded my expectations! I didn’t expect us to be treated like that, and I didn’t expect the event to be as well-planned as that either. I thought it was just another beach resort. My bad.

First, when I got to our meeting place at SM Cebu, Agnes greeted me with that big smile on her face and hang an ID on my neck. I said, “Oh, there’s an ID?”

That was just the beginning of surprises. The resort’s PR person, Ruben Licera himself, was there to greet us. The resort sent vans to pick us up, and we were more than happy to hop in. When we got there, we were greeted by Guest Service Officers who met us with white shell necklaces and this tasty lemon beverage:

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May
21

I was at the iBlog5 Summit

Filed under blogging, events

I was mentally present this time, unlike at the iBlog4 Summit last year, . I didn’t sleep. Probably because I came with friends from the Cebu Bloggers Society—it felt good to not be alone finally. We had wanted to make our presence felt, and we didn’t fail in that. The organizers noticed us and acknowledged our presence, mostly because we were in our uniform CBS shirts (well, I wasn’t, because I left mine in Cebu.) They liked our shirt!

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Because I was in my home court, I served as tour guide for Agnes, X, Jorich, Bryan, and Kevin, who were all in UP for the first time. They flew all the way from Cebu! I didn’t have to because I was already in Manila starting a new job and preparing for something else. ;) I took them to Mang Jimmy’s for dinner, that diner so popular among the UP population, introduced them to the Oblation and Trinoma, and helped them get settled at my dorm.

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May
16

Moved yet again

Filed under blogging

I moved yet again. My domain expired, thanks to my webhost, who didn’t renew it with the domain registrar even though I had already renewed it with them. It was already too late when I found out. By then the domain had already entered the redemption period, and per ICANN rule, domain owners have to pay a whopping $120-$150 to redeem their domains. I won’t pay that much for a domain.

My second option was to wait until the redemption period ends. That’s when the domain is released back to the web and the price goes back to normal, but it takes 75 days. I can’t wait that long. I’ve lost a lot during the long downtimes of my server this year. The site was down for almost a month straight in March, and I am paying all the while for the host. Besides, there is no assurance that I could get the domain back. Who knows domain parkers would get to it first before I could, or the registrar could auction it.

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