A Good News for SMP Members

"Mr. Suave" Chito Miranda and "Mr. Hotshot" Chris Tiu looks cool with their outfits from Uniqlo

Few days from now, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The "Ber" months are coming and no one can stop them from happening. While others begin to repent and do novenas almost everyday in fear of the end-of-the-world predictions based on the Mayan calendar, some are actually starting to prepare for the cold days ahead.

Radio stations start to play Christmas tune, malls doing mega sales almost every month, and "single" guys and gals making some end-of-the-year moves to try to change their status in Facebook even to "complicated" as long as they can finally graduate from their membership in SMP or Samahan ng Malalamig ang Pasko.

Taking about cold days ahead, would you like to wear something fashionable during the holidays to finally escape your annual and "default" get-up every December?  Your cardigan from your last visit to Baguio City or your sweat shirt from high school or college (which is obviously five years old already based on the school year printed on the front) need the retirement it deserves for years of service.

Now here's the good news: Japan’s No.1 fashion brand UNIQLO introduces to the country its latest in FASHION INNOVATION, the Ultra Light Down Collection of vests, coats, parkas and jackets, that are sure to become a must-have for frequent travelers as well as street and office fashionistas.

The “warm” fashion statement for this season, UNIQLO Ultra Light Down is an innovation of lightness, weighing in at a surprisingly light 206 grams, or the equivalent of a summer shirt, while providing the ultimate comfort and warm. It is an innovation of material, utilizing super light nylon made from ultra-thin thread while preserving its durability and softness. Lastly, it is an innovation of mobility, as the apparel packs down to the size of a small milk carton allowing one to store it in a bag which makes it perfect for travel or people on the go.

Not to forget about fashion, the Ultra Light Down collection boasts a wide array of silhouettes, colors and prints, all featuring unique ultra lightweight quality. The entire collection of men’s and women’s lines is comprised of more than 100 colors. New designs perfect for our wet season include a casual yet elegant women’s A-line silhouette with a three-quarter sleeve as well as a men’s half-length silhouette, ideal for the commute to work or an evening out with friends and loved ones.

UNIQLO has carefully selected prints featuring easy-to-coordinate patterns such as dots and checks. The protective and comfortable gear are not only great for the outdoors, but the Ultra Light Down tops are so light and sleek they make the perfect underlayer for chilly days ahead. A FASHION INNOVATION that delivers style, comfort and warmth, the Ultra Light Down collection is set to transform the way Pinoys dress going forward.

The UNIQLO Ultra Light Down Vest is now available at the UNIQLO store located at the 2nd floor, Main Mall, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Other ULD products will be available in December of this year. Store hours are from 10AM to 10PM.

Now that's one Christmas to be excited about!

You got to try this Chicken

 

I’ve always been a sucker of anything chicken.

From fried chicken to isaw to chicken empanada and afritada, I love them all with a plateful of straight from the kaldero rice.  When I was young, tinolang manok by my Nanay Conchit has been my comfort food when I’m done whether from a heart-breaking experience or disappointing basketball game.  Now, it’s my wife who prepares great dish. My favorite in her personal bestseller list is her version of chicken adobo.

And now, Stackers Burger Cafe, one of the country’s leading fast-casual food concept, introduced a groundbreaking gastronomic treat that sure to become a big hit to chick (the one that comes in a box and gravy) lovers like me: Baked Fried Chicken.

This breakthrough chicken masterpiece was launched first at the Franchise Asia Philippines 2012 Expo held recently at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The Stackers Burger Café Baked Fried Chicken is another food innovation from Bryan Tiu, founding owner of Teriyaki Boy before he sold 70% of the brand to the Pancake House Group in 2005. A prime restaurateur with several known food brands under his I-Foods, Inc., Tiu is at the helm of other homegrown brands like Tokyo Café, Peri-Peri Chicken and Kogi Bulgogi.

I-Foods, Inc. owner Bryan Tiu

The newest thing to ever happen to chicken, Stackers’ Baked Fried Chicken is Tiu’s latest take on the all-time Pinoy favorite. Mastered after months of careful research by the I-Foods Inc. research & development team, Stackers’ Baked Fried Chicken surprised all with 80% less oil so it’s lighter and healthier than the usual fast food fried chicken. A definite treat to the more health-conscious food lovers who just love their fried chicken. Dare to compare Stackers’ Baked Fried Chicken with your usual fastfood fried chicken and enjoy the healthier difference.

In the Franchise Asia 2012, I-Foods, Inc. gave away complimentary Baked Fried Chicken gift certificates to expo attendees and other prospective franchisees in order to provide them with the opportunity to try out this new and exciting offering.

Try this out-of-the-ordinary chicken delight available in all Stackers Burger Café outlets located at Eastwood City, Resorts World and McKinley Hill Venice Piazza in Bonifacio Global City, Alabang Town Center and also at its newly opened branch at the Promenade Mall in Greenhills, San Juan City.  Delivery Hotline: 87-878
Also exhibited at the Franchise Expo was Tiu’s Tokyo Café, which showcased the Japanese way of preparing coffee. Coffee connoisseur Atsushi Yoshizawa’s coffee creations are the main reasons why coffee-loving Pinoys continue to troop to Tokyo Café to sample its brewed treats like its famous “Tokyo Blend.” For their delectable food pleasures, Tokyo Café boasts of its “creamy ebiko pasta,” “chicken and cheese roll,” and “Tenju.”

I-Foods Inc.'s other food retail brands include: Peri Peri Charcoal Chicken and Kogi Bulgogi. Tiu said opening possible franchise opportunities to business-minded individuals like himself will enable more Filipinos to enjoy his company’s pioneering and inventive food brands and its outstanding value offerings.

For more details about the Stackers Burger Café’s Baked Fried Chicken and information on franchising, call 723-6033 or 09178779909 or email ifoodsincfranchise@gmail.com. Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stackersburgercafeph

Fan lang ako ni Senator Sotto

Looking on the bright side, the now infamous "Blogger lang iyon!" words of Sen. Tito Sotto is giving some publicity to the blogging community.

This morning, while being squeezed in between a big guy in sando (with a healthy hair growth on his armpits) to my left and a petite lady using her cellphone as a calculator to my right inside a nice smelling FX (I just love vanilla scent), I overheard two guys at the back conversing about Tito Sen.  Their conversation was something like this:

Guy 1: Ano ba yung blogger?

Guy 2: Sa internet yun. Parang media.

Guy 1: E, bakit parang galit si Tito Sotto.

Guy 2: Ewan ko. I-Google mo kaya.

Guy 1: Mamya na, Facebook muna ko

I am not Lastikman (Hi, Bossing!) to be able to stretch my neck up and check what those young fellows are looking at but base on the other topics that I heard them talked about (there is no radio in the FX so what can I do?)--- they're doing Facebook using their mobile phones.

Deep inside, I said wow to myself (something I find funny imagining myself actually doing it). Why? For the first time in my life, since being introduced to world of blogging in 2007, it’s the first time that I heard people inside a public utility vehicle (MRT/ LRT, jeepneys, tricycle and habal-habal included) talking about the B word. Nah, I’m not talking about Blair Carabuena.

Imagine this: millions of Filipinos watch Eat Bulaga everyday then suddenly they heard one of their hosts talking about blogs and bloggers. One unaware soul might get curious and will Google or ask another person to check what the heck he is talking about.

Let’s face it, many Filipinos have little information abouth bloggers. Some who have heard about bloggers like me even have some unpleasant impressions about us--- gatecrashers, loot bag looters and trying hard wannabes who wants to get media privileges just because he/ she has the ability to write and post something online. Let’s not even forget about Mr. BigBad Blogger.

But with the Tito Sotto incident, I would like to believe that people will be interested to check out blogs a little different now. And I’m sure, people will find a gem or two with the many great bloggers in the cyberspace, and who knows in the end they might even get interested to make a site of their own.

For me, blogging is one of the best things that ever happened in my life. It’s a stress buster, online diary, gateway to new friends and contacts, a way to get for free things I have no means of buying,  a taste of good life, ticket to (instant) fame ,  a full-time/ part-time job... it’s my life!

   

I am proud to be a blogger the same way I have been a proud TVJ fan ever since I started to learn to sing and dance the Eat Bulaga theme song when I was just 5 years old.

Mahal ko po kayo, Sen. Sotto dahil ang mga tough hits nyo ang nakasama ko sa pagtawa sa mga panahong walang dahilan para magpakaligaya... pinasarap n’yo lalo ang luto ng nanay ko sa tanghalian dahil kayo ang kasama naming sa hapag-kainan... at higit sa lahat, mahal ko kayo dahil hindi LANG kayo TV host, artista o senador para sa akin. Naging bahagi na po kayo ng buhay ko!

No to TAMAD, Yes to TESDA

Most Filipinos get offended when they are branded as tamad or lazy.

You hear the word almost every day from annoyed wives to their complacent spouses...  upset parents to their easy-go-lucky children... angry bosses to their unproductive employees... and even from unsatisfied citizens to ineffective government officials.

We get offended by the word but still, we don’t do anything to improve the situation (tamad nga, eh.)

That’s why tamad is often associated to the tambays (bums) and people who finds joy spending the the whole day staring at the wall. I also came out with my own meaning for TAMAD as in Taga-abang ng Awa ng Magulang At Diyos. 

The unemployment rate in Philippines, a country with a 92-million population, was last reported at 6.9 percent in April this year.  I am not saying that all of those belonging to the statistic are lazy individuals because there are a lot of factors that led to people to being unemployed. 

Some blame it to the lack of opportunities in our country  but believe it or not, there are still tens of thousands of unfilled positions in the BPO sector alone on top of the 638,000 people already hired in the industry in 2011. 

The real issue is while many Filipinos apply for work in IT-BPO companies, at present the hiring rate is just 5 to 10%. Most applicants do not make the cut because they lack the necessary qualifications, skills, and professional expertise. Now, if you’re someone who spent months or even years looking for a job but only gets rejected in every attempt , more likely you’ll be a tambay and eventually get used to it until you get labelled as tamad.

But this should not be happening since the national government have been reaching out  the unemployed, youth and elderly and OFW sector in enhancing the skills and capability of willing individuals to be more productive and employable.  One of the forefront of such initiatives is the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), now on its 18^th year of service, which has launched innovative approaches in implementing training programs.

Villanueva during the presentations of the donated buses from Genesis Transport Services, Inc. for TESDA's classroom on wheels project.
(Photo credit: www.tesda.gov.ph)

Under the leadership of Director General Joel Villanueva, TESDA has launched classrooms on wheels, TESDA Online or TOP and other programs especially created to the less privileged who can’t afford high-cost education. Villanueva envisions that his programs will bring tech-voc trainings to the grassroots by offering the flexibility of distance learning without sacrificing the quality of teaching. After the training, enrolees can go to the nearest TESDA-accredited centers nationwide to get accessed and certified. 

People can also opt to enroll in any TESDA training centers if they prefer to experience a classroom style approach and choose from different courses from automotive to caregiver training  to electronics and a lot more. You can visit www.tesda.gov.ph for the complete list of courses offered and other details.

 Now, there’s definitely no reason to be tamad because as what they say, “Sa TESDA, May Choice Ka!”  

This blog post is officially entered in the TESDA Blog Contest. I hope you can share and/or like my entry by visiting the TESDA official fan page.

The Love Letter Olympics

Since it may take another four years for Filipinos to finally get the very elusive Olympic gold medal, I thought of possible categories where us Pinoys excel aside from boxing... boxing... and boxing (unfortunately, our lone boxer in this years edition of the Games failed to advance the second round).

Unless some new innovations will be included in the 2016 Games in Rio---- like Manny Pacquiao to be given a go signal to represent the Philippines; Wushu, 9-Ball and Bowling to be included as Olympic events; or there will be a 6-feet and under Men's Basketball--- it will be looking for a needle in a haystack for us for a long time in our quest for gold.

Now here's one thing Filipinos are good at--- coming up with pick-up lines and sweet nothings. Since we are still in the middle of the Games festivities worldwide, I want to share some "romantic" and "cute" acronyms that you might want to use in the next love letter you will be sending to your love ones. I made a few lines using names of countries and mixed it with entries that I got online. Smile before you read, ha?  

AUSTRALIA - Adoring & Understanding Someone's True Reasons About Loving Intimately Always.
BURMA - Between Us, Remember Me Always
CALGARY - Caress And Love Grow Always in Relationship Yearly
CANADA - Cute And Naughty Action that Developed into Attraction
CHINA - Come Here I Need Affection
EGYPT - Everything's Great, You Pretty Thing
FRANCE - Friendships Remain And Never Can End
GERMANY - Great Emotion Really Makes Any Nerd Yell
HOLLAND - Hope Our Love Lasts And Never Dies
HONGKONG - Hug Only Nice Guys, Kiss Only Naughty Girls.
INDIA - I Nearly Died In Adoration
ITALY - I Trust And Love You
JAPAN - Just Always Pray At Night
KENYA - Keep Everything Nice, Yet Adoring
KOREA - Keeping Optimistic Regardless of Every Adversity
LIBYA - Love Is Beautiful; You Also
MANILA - May All Nights Inspire Love Always
NEPAL - Never Ever Part As Lovers
PHILIPPINES - Pure Hugs I Love It Please Please I Need Some
POLAND - Planning Our Love, A New Dream.
RUSSIA - Romance Under the Sky & Stars Is Intimate Always
THAILAND - Totally Happy Always In Love And Never Dull
VIETNAM - Very Intimate Emotions Towards Non-Appreciative Males

If you have better or other suggestions, please feel free to place them in the comment section. Boom!

Mark Barriga's Olympic Journey

(Photo by Murad Sezer, Reuters)

The evening of July 31 (Philippine time) marks the first step of lone Filipino boxer Mark Anthony Barriga in his quest for glory in the 2012 London Olympic.

The hope of the country where the best pound-for-pound boxer lives rest on the shoulder of this 19-year old fighter who seeks to accomplished what no Pinoy athlete has ever reached--- the elusive Olympic Gold medal.

Fighting in front of a full-house crowd that included his parents Edgar and Melita who flew in to London with the help of Procter and Gamble, Mark connected with a flurry of shots in the opening round, landing a solid straight in the last seven seconds that prompted a standing 8-count against the much taller Italian slugger Manuel Cappai. He continued his dominance en route to a 17-7 win.

Mark stepped on the ring once again on the evening of August 4 (Philippine time) to slug it out againts Birshan Zhakypov of Kazakhstan for the right to enter the Round of 8.

The young Pinoy boxer gave his all and led the match 10-8 entering the 3rd round.  But the table turns against the Philippine side when Barriga was penalized twice within the final salvo thus deducting 2 points from the judges score card.  The damage was so huge that he end up losing the bout in a close 16-17 decision.

Mark may have love his quest for gold this time but with more training and patience to achieve his dream, who knows, 2016 might be the right time for him to get another crack for glory and finally win the top prize for his country.