Go (Back) The Distance

An Ounce of Prevention..

2009-10-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

I always believe in the adage, "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure". That's the reason why though I flounder on my personal life, I am a professional "dispute lover" when it comes to policies of the company. I don't know, maybe this is just borne by my being a frustrated executive or I was really born analytical (?).

Just this morning, I got a call from an Indian-American customer who was quite tech-savvy and very articulate. He said he was on the phone with a lady agent from Technical Support Department when all of a sudden he heard the Interactive Voice Recording (IVR) managing his expectation that calls are answered in the order that they are received. The customer was so upset he was furious talking to me and immediately asked if he's talking to an Advanced Tech Support Representative.....Out of my understanding that unscrupolous agent can transfer the call to another department or even put the customer back on queue if they find issues to be far-fetched from being resolved, and they know that they are being covered by their truant coaches, I answered the customer, "Yes you are."

Well there's no issue answering intricate questions from customer who are expecting they are talking to a 2nd level Rep as I have been handling the same technical questions for 2 years now but knowing that I am not a 2nd Level Support Rep and that I have to extend a lot of effort to make use of my soft skill to appease the customer is quite a headache.

Now another issue is that the QA Department is considering an enforcement of full disclosures during promotions and billing related customer service calls and imposition of a Non-Negotiable Behaviour rating for missing out a single disclosure doesn't seem to be rational. They should consider cleaning out the rotten system of barging of calls. Remember that in an 8 hour shift, a Technical Support Representative (TSR) receives an average of 45 calls. That means that in a 40 hrs weekly shift, an agent gets around 225 calls, only 10-15 of which are on e-Talk or recorded. With those recorded calls, only 2 are being rated by the Quality Assurance Specialists (QAS).

That means that while the adherent TSR's endure the churn of irate mis-informed customers, there are veteran agents who are messing up calls since they are covered by their coaches. Whew!!!!!

The Golden Rule..

2009-10-02T20:56:00.000-07:00

Typhoon Peping's scare is in the air and I barely got sleep. Two hours of sleep is basically a big no-no for me. As I always put it with my customers, "Golden rule applies". Always treat your customer just like how you want to be treated.....

With that in mind, I thought of pouring in my sentiments regarding the incompetence of our company's HRD. Payroll issues always take time to roll. Disputes for this payperiod would be taken into consideration the next, next payperiod. Brace yourself....hope for the best, expect the worst. Payroll disputes always don't yield good results.....

It's quite a pain in the ass, so to speak (sorry for the slang) that while I am working with one of the top corporations in the country, internal control policies seem to be very mediocre. There's no check and balance, no visible audit trail. You have to wait you're impacted and you call their attention. Not only that, you have to go to the hierarchy of authorities and please arm yourself with a considerable amount of patience coz you'll be referred to one person-in-charge to another.....

Happy Birthday Dad Wherever You Are..

2009-06-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

It's a couple of minutes before my dad's birthday. He could have been 67 years old if he's alive. But wherever he is, he must be so proud knowing he has done his job wonderfully as a father. He might not have been a good provider -- as he was financially constraint -- but if you're looking at the little things he have and has given up for the sake of his children, he's a TEN.

I just wonder why I didn't get to write stuff about my mom whom I love equally as I love my dad. Is it because my mom is still alive and my dad isn't. Or is it because I'm basically not that expressive -- call it coward -- not that much into showing my emotion. It could also be that my dad's birthday falls in the month of June, hence, the Father's Day Celebration. Whatever the reasons are/maybe, I just don't want it to appear that I don't love either of my parents. They are both special as my siblings are, or even my nieces and nephews. They are all blessings that I sometimes missed out on reaching out, maybe because they have petty differences on me, or I might have an expectation higher or lower than what they have on me.

I just wanna share some of the values I learned from my dad:

Love for Work. My dad's voice always echoes, "What your job is, defines what kind of person you are." Always be proud of what you're doing, if somebody asks you what your job is and you can't be proud of it, then stop doing it. Reason perhaps I always look up to people who are so focused and engrossed with what they are doing . People who are so proud of what they're doing they can keep it amidst severe pressure. Poor me, I have this tendency to stand up for myself if my immediate head is being so mean and is being unfair with his judgment, taking only the consideration that he is a superior and me being subordinate. Well. we all have our own specialties. Though they say, we can choose a job, yet, we can't choose our boss, I still say, "We can always choose the people we respect". Nevertheless, it's my dad's outlook towards his job that keeps me focused and rational in making judgment when it comes to work.
Honesty. My dad's principle is always blunt when it comes to found lost things. "Find a way to return it to the rightful owner". They badly need it. When I was a kid I would retort secretly, why do you have to return it when obviously you found it. It's a finder's keeper policy for me. Later on in life however, my family would be stuck in a situation which puts our reputation at stake. One time when my mom bought something from a bakery we used to deliver merchandise for and was told by the sales clerk that my mom did not pay for the stuff she bought when in fact she did and was not even given the change for the money she gave to the clerk. My mom was close to crying as she was not accustomed to that kind of situation. Worse, she did not have spare money to pay for it if compelled to. The store owner Mr. Mendoza asked the clerk what the commotion was all about. The clerk told him what it's all about. After Mr. Mendoza hearing that, he then apologized to my mom and told the clerk, he knows my dad and he said my dad is a man of honor and that he once made a point of returning the overpayment he (Mr. Mendoza) did to him. Oh! That's my dad!
Education. My first post: "The Men in My "Life", would tell everything how my dad values education. He wanted to provide us the kind of education he was once deprived. He was a doubly-employed, over-worked laborer who takes pride seeing his children parading onstage snagging the medals of recognition for a job well done for the year. He never was given a chance to pin any medal for his children though. it's our mom who always takes pride in donning the medal for us.
Peace-loving. If there's just a Nobel Peace Prize for low profile individuals, I could have nominated my dad for it. I would sometimes loathe him for his advocacy for peace. I still remember when I was a kid and I go home weeping after being bullied by my peers. Instead of backing me up and confront my oppressor, he would tell me not to engage in a fight physically as I was a weakling, instead, he encourages me to do good in other aspect like reading and studying which actually yields good results. When my peers found out I excel in academics, and they obviously flounder, they started to look up on me.
Community Respect. One thing I noticed with teenagers who seem to have gone astray is that their parents seem not to accord them the respect they deserve as children. That's the one thing I am very proud of my dad. If you've done something wrong, he never broadcasts it in public. He would ask me to go home and explain it, and if necessary hit you physically for doing a stupid thing but you'll never hear a word of reprimand while somebody from out of the family circle around.

Well, I how I wished we could have spent more time together dad. We could have sat down together and drank a bottle of beer together. You did not drink a bottle of beer before as you're not into it. But for the sake of starting a very good conversation we have to do that, I suppose you would. Happy Father's Day still.

Related Posts:

The Men in My Life...

Although my sexual orientation provided some altercation on my being a man, and may be viewed as beautiful instead of handsome, passionate than tough, emotional than fierce, a queen than a king, an actress than an actor, yet, there are still male roles in my life I can't deny portraying: a (kuya) brother and a son to name a few. Read more..

Djokovic Out, Roddick Getting Better

2009-05-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

2009 French Open started Sunday, May 24 and I barely noticed it. I was shocked to hear from my tennis-afficionado customer that my idol Novak Djokovic is out of the competition as early as 3rd round. He was sent home by the 29th seed from Germany, Philipp Kohlschreiber in 3 sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

What seems to be negative having seen Djokovic out of the competition was somehow compensated by the fact that my all-time favorite Sixth-seed Andy Roddick is picking up with his performances and is most likely to face Federer in the next few rounds of the competition.

America Gets It Wrong: Kris Allen Wins 'Idol'

2009-05-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Hello, readers...I can't believe I'm actually typing these words--in capslock format, yet--but here goes...

KRIS ALLEN IS THE NEW AMERICAN IDOL.

Now, my regular readers know I am extremely crushed--CRUSHED!--by this news. I might have been rooting for Bo Bice in season 4 and Blake Lewis in season 6, but their respective defeats were much easier for me to take (and much more expected) than this shocking setback.

Adam Lambert was my unabashed early favorite the instant I saw a viral video of him glamming and hamming it up in a Hollywood rock band wearing vaccum-packed pleather pants and some sort of bizarre man-corset. Back then, I jadedly assumed he wouldn't even make the top 13, because his theatrical antics--along with those much-discussed Interweb JPEGs of him floating around--would likely alienate much of America. But soon it seemed like none of that "scandalous" stuff mattered much to the viewing public, and Adam subsequently kept getting voted through based on his TALENT.

I started to believe that there was a subtle cultural shift going on in this country. I mean, if a black, Democratic president could be elected in 2008, then surely a black-nail-polished, androgynous Idol could win in 2009, right? Yes he could!

Well, that did not happen. In perhaps the biggest upset in AmIdol history, the competition's darkest dark horse, the little contestant that could, the tortoise to Adam's hare--Kris Allen--took home the Idol title tonight.

But you know, maybe it wasn't such an "upset" after all. Maybe it was foolish of me to think that a copiously mascara'd, leather-sheathed, rock-operatic free spirit from Southern California could actually beat out a clean-cut, happily married church worship leader from Arkansas who kind of looks like Joey from Friends.

Then again...maybe Adam's defeat had NOTHING to do with any sort of liberal/conservative, guyliner/guy-next-door cultural divide after all. Maybe it was just all the over-the-top weekly hype surrounding Adam that created an unfortunate but inevitable backlash--especially the judges' blatant favoritism, which even I will admit was a bit much and would have bothered me a lot if I hadn't so wholeheartedly agreed with the judges or personally found Adam so uniquely deserving of such fawning. But perhaps Lambertmania turned off a lot of other voters, or made voters assume that Adam didn't "need" this victory as much as underdog Kris did.

Whatever the reason, I don't want Allen fans to think I have anything against Kris. I believe Kris is talented and authentic, and I'm glad he made it to the finale instead of any number of other contestants (like Danny Gokey, Lil Rounds, Scott MacIntyre, Anoop Desai--but NOT Allison Iraheta, whom I adored). I think Kris was a worthy opponent for Adam. I just don't think he deserved to WIN.

I honestly think America (or, more specifically, America's Danny Gokey fans, who possibly defected to Kris's side after Gokey left and effectively bridged that million-vote gap between Adam and Kris) got it very wrong here.

I will just take solace in the fact that a) Adam Lambert will get a record deal anyway; b) not winning may allow Adam to have more creative control over his debut album, and thus he'll release more genuinely freak-flag-flying material; c) Adam won't have to release that insipid "No Boundaries" as his first single; and d) Adam will probably outsell Kris in the long run.

Feel free to post your comments about the season 8 winner now, and let me know if you think Adam was robbed or if the right singer prevailed tonight.

Source: Yahoo Blog: Read the Original Content...

American Idol's 2nd Runners - Up

2009-05-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

Danny Gokey is out of American Idol's Season 8. Good to hear that as it is my personal favorite Kris Allen who will be facing the much hyped AI contestant in the person of Adam Lambert. Though Kris Allen is a mismatch to Adam when it comes to media hype and "vocal quality" as AI judges' claim , I think Kris has a good chance of nailing the American Idol Season 8 Title. He just have to focus on the uniqueness of his music -- which I personally am so obsessed, I got the full version of his last week's "Apologize" and his own version of "Kanye West"s original, "Heartless" through iTunes.

My last weeks' post about the 3rd Runners - Up for the past seven seasons got the most number of comments so far of my blogging history -- here on BLOGGER -- I decided to post a follow through. This time I'll be posting the 2nd Runners- Up for the last 7 seasons and that includes Hawaii based Fil-American Jasmine Trias of Season 3.

Syesha Mercado
Age: 21
Sarasota, FL
Voted off: May 14, 2008

Melinda Doolittle
Age: 29
Brentwood, TN
Voted Off May 16, 2007

Elliot Yamin
Age: 27
Richmond, VA
Voted Off: May 17, 2006

Vonzell Solomon
Age: 21
Fort Myers, FL
Voted Off: May 18, 2005

Jasmine Trias
Age:17
Mililani, HI
Voted Off: May 19, 2004

Kimberly Locke
Age: 25
Nashville, TN
Voted off: May 14, 2003

Nikki Mckibbin
Age: 23
Voted off: August 28, 2002

Related Posts:

Sandra Seifert is Miss Philippines Earth 2009

2009-05-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

MISS PHILIPPINES-EARTH 2009: Sandra Seifert (Negros Occidental)
Miss Philippines Eco-Tourism and Miss PAGCOR: Adie Adelantar (Victorias City)
Miss Philippines-Fire and Miss Science and Technology: Patricia Marie Tumulak (Quezon City)
Miss Philippines-Air: Michelle Martha Braun (Aklan)
Miss Philippines-Water: Catherine Loyola (Fil. Sydney)

Sandra Seifert who was disqualified from the Binibining Pilipinas Pageant 2009 redeemed herself after besting 49 beautiful candidates in the recently concluded Miss Philippines - Earth 2009 pageant held in the Flying V Arena in San Juan City, Metro Manila, May 10, 2009.

The pageant which was held in time for the Mother's Day Celebration showcased the 50 beautiful and articulate candidates whose one common advocacy is to protect Mother Earth from degradation and deterioration. Fuelled with last year's Miss Philippines Earth 2008 Karla Paula Henry's success being the first Filipina and Asian to be crowned Miss Earth, the 50 ladies seemed to be so bubbly and equally deserving to be crowned that night.

One of the highlights of the show is when Billy Crawford, host of the show alongside his off-screen sweetheart Nikki Gil, was about to announce the !st Runner-Up. The crowd was so ecstatic when Billy Crawford said Miss Seifert is from Negros Occidental, he then asked the crowd if who hails from Negros Occidental. Both the 2 remaining candidates in the Top 5 being Miss Victorias City Adie Adelantar and Miss Negros Occidental Sandra Seifert raised their hands indicating the triumph of the Ilonggos in that competition.

American Idol's 3rd Runner Up

2009-05-07T22:52:00.000-07:00

With Allison Iraheta's elimination in American Idol, she set the record of the least ranking ultimate female contestant. Never in the history of AI that the Top 3 is made up of all male contestants. Well, Allison's elimination's good side however is that while last year's Top 4 Announcement, -- being Jason Castro as the one got voted off -- has long been overdue, Allison's elimination on the other hand seems to be a bit shocking. Lots of AI rock fans including myself are expecting an all rocker finals, being Allison versus Adam.

Here are the past seasons' Top 4:

Season 7: Jason Castro
Age: 20
Rockwall, Texas
Voted Off: May 07, 2008

Season 6: Lakisha Jones
Age: 27
Ft Meade, MA
Voted Off:May 09, 2007

Season 5: Chris Daughtry
Age: 26
McLeansville, NC
Voted Off: May 10, 2006

Season 4: Anthony Fedorov
Age: 19
Trevose, PA
Voted Off: May 11, 2005

Season 3: La Toya London
Age:25
Oakland, CA
Voted Off: May 12, 2004

Season 2: Joshua Gracin
Age: 22
Oceanside, CA
Voted Off: May 07, 2003

Season 1: Tamyra Gray
Age: 23
Voted Off: August 21, 2002

Goodbye Allison!

2009-05-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

The last girl standing was finally voted out. Allison Iraheta from Los Angeles, CA, who WOWed us with her performances: Cry Baby Cry, Slow Ride, Someone to Watch Over Me, Hot Stuff, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing, I Can't Make You Love me, Don't Speak, Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Blame It on your Heart, and Give In to Me, finally gave up following. The remaining 3 contestants are all male being, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and Danny Gokey. As I previously noted on my previous AI posts, it seems this is all planned to bring an all male Top 3.

Here's the comments of the judges of Allison when she first stepped into the Idol Hall.

"You have complete confidence and terrific vocals."

"If they ever do a biopic on Janis Joplin, you've got the role."

"You can sing your face off; you can sing anything."

I see your personality in your performances.

The Missing Lyrics

2009-05-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

Although Cesar Montano's "The Singing Bee: aired every Saturday and Sunday on ABS-CBN is somewhat an imitation of the American Show, "Fill The Missing Lyrics", yet, Buboy's show has something on its own that makes it at par with the above mentioned lyrics show. Maybe it's just with me and my passion with music.

Well, speaking about music, I missed out the Results Announcement Episode so I decided to log on to the IDOLS website to see how it was when Allison Iraheta was announced to go home. To my dismay, Allison's farewell video wasn't uploaded yet. (Why does it take long for the site administrator to do it?)

My consolation however is the "Fill the Missing Lyrics" game courtesy of Comcast. I had a great time filling the missing lyrics. I reached the 5th Level, LOL. Also, I got to see the lauded performances of the past Idols and their runners-up.

Flag down for more flags.

2009-05-04T01:58:00.000-07:00

It's kinda late, but I just wanna make up for the long period I didn't get to post something. Looking back January this year, I promised to post updates of my flag counter, and the flags I get every week. Well, it's close to 100 days now since I signed up to the FLAGCOUNETR and put the widget on the sidecar.

To date, I have a total of 39 flags, with 1649 views. It's still not that busy for a traffic, but somehow it's gearing toward the targetted number of views. Ranked No.1 is of course, Philippines, primarily because of the blogger himself constantly checking the progress of the site. Another reason is the Pinoy friends and followers the blogger have established correspondence and maybe long term friendship with the special mention of Joemill a.k.a "Penwritings", who have put in a great amount of effort helping me with the layout of my page making it a 3 column one. "Bai", you'll always be remembered.

The best part of having this blog however is, I've been receiving messages from long lost friends -- who are now scattered all around the world -- saying hello and telling me of them being caught in surprise when they enter their name in Google Search for related information, the search results display http://alex-adion.blogspot.com as one of the sources. That's how my friends, Joaquina Porter and Eunice Ruth Barilea got to see my site.

It's PACMAN Again...

2009-05-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

With Manny Pacquiao's more than 10 years boxing career, being matched with Ricky Hatton has been touted by boxing afficionados to be the most exciting. Why? Maybe because it's Manny's (if I'm not mistaken) first fight with a Briton after being dubbed as the Mexican Destroyer.

Hatton's large frame stretching over Paquiao's seemed to be a visible nuisance in Manny's taking home the title but knowing Manny's speed and power, Hatton's dream of bringing Manny Pacquiao down to the floor is all history now.

Being Proficient....

2009-04-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

It has been almost a week since the last time I posted an article. The last few days proved to be very busy because of the too much hype our company is giving to the English Proficiency Exams which would bring about changes to our employment system. Well, I don't know. I was away for a week because of my week-long vacation leave during the Holy Week. When I came back, there were the papers we had to sign in line with the Versant English Test (VET).

If my memory serves me right, that was the same type of exams we took in 2007. I just don't know shy it seemed to be a big issue to the agents these past few days.

The process was, we were randomly pulled out from the floor and submit to a Quick Screening (QS). That is composed of types of test, being the Listen and Repeat, and then the Quickfire.

With the Listen and Repeat Test, you will hear a sentence, then you have to repeat it. First few sentences would be very easy as it's a simple Subject-Verb-Obect (SVO) format. While it progresses however, it gets more complex as it becomes lengthy. The Quickfire on the other hand, is like undergoing a Lie Detector Test. You'll be given a statement and then you'll be asked a question based on the statement. Then you have to give an answer before 3 seconds or else you'll fail that item. One question I remembered was, "If you have a pair of ducks, how many ducks do you have in total?" The answer of course is two (2). Because of time pressure however, you'll get confused and you might think that since "ducks" is plural, which may be two in this case, so a pair of ducks would be (2x2)4. Oh I hope you're not confused yourself.

Luckily, I got a proficient rating during the Quick Screening along woth 3 of my team-mates, being Patrick Dela Torre, Sharmaine Esplana, and April Canales. That put us to the frontline of taking the exams proper. FYI, if you'll get a rating of either Intermediate or Basic, you'll be enrolled to rigorous training which will eventually prepare you with the exams.

To make the story short, I was pulled out yesterday while taking calls because I was scheduled to take the exams. This time it's gonna be a 6-sets test.

Part 1: Sentence Reading
Part 2: Listen and Repeat
Part 3: Quickfire
Part 4: Saying Bee (Rearranging Words to form a Sentence)
Part 5: Story Retelling
Part 6: Extemporaneous Speaking

I did great on the first 4 items but with Story Retelling, I feel I did mediocre because of being not familiar with the system. Though there was a voice instruction on how to go about it, but after having through the first 4 sets without any pause made me get startled. I didn't do good either with the Inpromptu Speaking.

Just this morning however, I received an SMS from my Division Manager Joel Mosones telling me I passed the VET Proficiency with flying colors. Oh Thanks God! Now I can blog.

Sights to Behold...

2009-04-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, April 13, 2009 and Holy Week has officially ended. Back to work guys, and the next long holiday to enjoy would be the All Souls Day which falls on a Sunday, November 01, 2009. Well, we have lots of time to prepare for that, but if you decide to let it ride and then save both of your money and energy for the yuletide season, it's your option. For some of our friends in Negros Occidental where I hail from, lots of festivals in store for them.

Panaad Sa Negros will be on April 19-25, 2009. Pasalamat Festival in La Carlota City is gonna be on May 03, 2009. I don't know exactly if I can go home for those prestigious festivals but I'll do my best to keep you posted of any gathered updates.

Meanwhile, I wanna share with you some of the pictures I dared to shoot in Nasugbu, Batangas last Holy Week.

Bottled Water In Your Car Is Very Dangerous (especially for women)

2009-04-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

I just got home from a week long vacation and I reckon this useful information from one of my blogging friends Mile is so alarming and needs to be passed on. In our effort to avoid dehydration while travelling, we rely on bottled water. Also, because we want to save by going for larger sizes, we often end up having bottled water half consumed and being left out in the car.

"Many times I have use plastic containers to warm up food in the microwave. Also, I always have water in a plastic bottle and sometimes leave them in the car. After reading this message that I got from my in-laws, it really scares me and got my attention and so did my hubby. To all my fellow bloggers, this will good information.

Bottled water in your car is very dangerous. This is how Sheryl Crow got breast cancer. She was on the Ellen show and said this same exact thing. This has been identified as the most common cause of the high levels in breast cancer. The Doctor told her: women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. He said that the heat and the plastic of the bottle have certain chemicals that can lead to breast cancer . So please be careful and do not drink bottled water that has been left in a car, and, pass this on to all the women in your life. This information is the kind we need to know and be aware of ,that just might save us! The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and they have found these toxins in breast tissue. Use a stain less steel Canteen or a glass bottle when you can!

LET EVERYONE WHO HAS A WIFE / GIRLFRIEND / DAUGHTER KNOW PLEASE.. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. No plastic containers in microwave. No water bottles in freezer No plastic wrap in microwave. A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.

Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital ,was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food.. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container=2 0 and heated in something else. Paper isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead."

Mountaineering in Nasugbu, Batangas...

2009-04-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

I was given a week-long vacation in Ventus because of the 5 days unused vacation leave allotments for 2008. It was pre-plotted so the Resource Center decides it's availability. Sad thing, that i won't be able to take advantage of the 3 day double paid workdays being April 06 (Araw ng Kagitingan), April 09 (Holy Thursday) and April 10 (Good Friday), but the good side is I can go out and spend a vacation to wherever I want to spend that 7 day vacation. This is the first time I get to get a work day off on a Holy Week since I got employed with ePLDT Ventus since 2006.

As early as March 31 I had been debating with my over-excited alter-ego (?) as to where to spend the 7 days vacatio. Am I going to go home to Bacolod or go out with my friends and go to places we've never been? I got an invitation from my buddies (driniking buddies) to go mountaineering. We decided to climb the twin peak overlooking Ternate, Cavite and Nasugbu Batangas where Pico de Loro de Hamilo Coast -- a resort owned and operated by the mall magante Henry Sy.

We decided to meet at Jollibee in Nasugbu (picture shown above)but because of unexpected (I actually failed to expect it) bulk of homeward bound passengers, I got a bit delayed and considering the scarcity of public utility vehicle to Barangay Looc in Nasugbu, which would could have served as our kick off point, they decided to go ahead of me and wait for me in Brgy Looc.

I was compelled to rent a tricycle from Nasugbu proper to Looc. Along with some friends I got to know en route to Nasugbu, we left Nasugbu at exactly 4:30pm. Halfway across Terrazas de Punta Fuego, the tricycle driver had a hard time steering us and decided to back out. We had no choice but to wait for another jeepney to pass by, losing my chance to catch up with my mountain-climbing buddies.

It could have been providential, I got the chance to catch it up with my another set of friends (Oh I'm friendly, lol) who decided to stay for a 3 days 2 nights vacation in Looc, Nasubu, Batangas. We decided to have an overnight stay in Brgy Calayo Beach Resort.

Binibining Pilipinas International Titleholders

2009-04-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

I was watching Eat Bulaga (a noontime show here in the Philippines) sometime in 2007, when a contestant in Itaktak Mo (a quiz segment of the above-mentioned show) was asked as to which country produced the most number of Misses International. The contestant cluelessly spent the 2 minute timeframe scratching her head, letting go of the chance to win the jackpot. Without her knowledge, the country she just needed to say is her own coutry Philippines. Well, it happens a lot. We sometimes overlook the simple fact, that a Filipina given a chance to represent in an international competition would most likely stand out. A glaring proof of that is 4 Miss International crowns brought home by Gemma Cruz (grand-daughter of Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal) in 1964, Aurora Pijuan in 1970, Melanie Marquez in 1979, and Lara Precious Quigaman in 2005.

Below is the list of the Filipinas who have been once a Philippine representative to the Miss international Pageant:

1960.....Edita Resurreccion Vital (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1961.....Pilar Arciaga
1962.....Cynthia Lucero Ugalde
1963.....Monina Medenilla Yllana (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1964.....Gemma Teresa Guerrero Cruz (MISS INTERNATIONAL 1964)
1965.....Isabelle Barnett Santos
1966.....No Contest
1967.....Margarita Lebumfacil Romualdez

In 1968, the BPCI acquired the local franchise for the Miss International pageant. The following year, the title Bb. Pilipinas-International was proclaimed together with the Bb. Pilipinas-Universe in one grand Coronation Night, setting the trend for multiple proclamations of beauty titles.

The current title holder of Bb. Pilipinas-International is Melody Adelheid Manuel Gersbach.

1968.....Nenita "Nini" Tuazon Ramos (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1969.....Margaret Rose "Binky" Orbe Montinola (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1970.....Aurora McKenney Pijuan (MISS INTERNATIONAL 1970)
1971.....Evelyn Santos Camus (2nd Runner-up)
1972.....Yolanda "Yogi" Adriatico Dominguez (2nd Runner-up)
1973.....Maria Elena "Marilen" Suarez Ojeda (4th Runner-up)
1974.....Erlynne Reyes "Lynn" Bernardez
1975.....Jaye Antonio Murphy (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1976.....Maria Dolores "Dolly" Suarez Ascalon (Top 15 Semi-finalist, Best National Costume)
1977.....Maria Cristina "Pinky" dela Rosa Alberto (Withdrew)
1978.....Luz dela Cruz Policarpio
1979.....Mimilanie "Melanie" Laurel Marquez (MISS INTERNATIONAL 1979, Best National Costume)
1980.....Diana Jeanne Christine Alegarme Chiong (Semi-finalist)
1981.....Alice "Peachy" Fernandez Sacasas (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1982.....Maria Adela Lisa Gingerich Manibog
1983.....Flor Eden Guano Pastrana
1984.....Maria Villa Bella dela Peña Nachor
1985.....Sabrina Simonette Marie Roig Artadi
1986.....Jessie Alice Salones Dixon (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1987.....Maria Lourdes "Alou" Dizon Enriquez
1988.....Maria Anthea "Thea" Oreta Robles
1989.....Lilia Eloisa Marfori Andanar (Miss Friendship)
1990.....Jennifer Perez Pingree
1991.....Maria Patricia "Patti" Guzman Betita (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1992.....Jo-Anne Timothea Babiera Alivio
1993.....Sheela Mae Capili Santarin
1994.....Alma Carvajal Concepcion (Top 15 Semi-finalist, Miss Friendship)
1995.....Gladys Andre Dimsay Dueñas (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1996.....Yedda Marie Mendoza Kittilsvedt (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1997.....Susan Jane Juan Ritter (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1998.....Colette Centeno Glazer (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
1999.....Georgina Anne dela Paz Sandico
2000.....Joanna Maria Mijares Peñaloza
2001.....Maricarl Canlas Tolosa
2002.....Kristine Reyes Alzar
2003.....Jhezarie Gamez Javier
2004.....Margaret-Ann Awitan Bayot (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
2005.....Precious Lara Quigaman (MISS INTERNATIONAL 2005)
2006.....Denille Lou Valena Valmonte
2007.....Nadia Lee Cien dela Cruz Shami
2008.....Patricia Isabel Medina Fernandez (Top 12 Semi-finalist)
2009.....Melody Adelheid Manuel Gersbach To be determined (7th November 2009)

Binibining Pilipinas World Titleholders

2009-04-03T03:42:00.000-07:00

It was in 1992 when Binibining Pilipinas got the right to pick the Philippines bet for the Miss World pageant. The very first Binibining Pilipinas World titleholder is Marilen Espino. But because of health reason however, she was compelled to give up her Miss World bid two weeks before the pageant. She retained the title though. It was Marina Benipayo who got lucky to represent Philippines to the Miss World 1992 pageant. She made it to the Top 10. For the next 2 years then, Philippines have always been part of the Top 10 beauties in the Miss World pageant being represented by Ruffa Guttierez, who was 2nd Princess in 1993 and Cara Subijano in 1994.

Here's the list of the Filipinas who took pride representing Philippines to the Miss World Pageant.

1992.....Marina Pura Abad-Santos Benipayo
1993.....Sharmaine "Ruffa" Rama Gutierrez (Second Runner-up and Asia Oceania's Queen of Beauty)
1994.....Caroline "Cara" Villarosa Subijano (Top 10 Semi-finalist)
1995.....Reham Snow Hamdi Tago
1996.....Daisy Garcia Reyes (Miss Personality)
1997.....Kristine Rachel Gumabao Florendo
1998.....Rachel Muyot Soriano
1999.....Lalaine Bognot Edson2
2000.....Katherine Annwen Dantes de Guzman
2001.....Gilrhea Castañeda Quinzon
2002.....Katherine Anne Ramos Manalo (Top 10 Finalist)
2003.....Maria Rafaela Verdadero Yunon (Top 5 Finalist)
2004.....Maria Karla Rabanal Bautista (Top 5 Finalist, Asia Oceania's Queen of Beauty)
2005.....Carlene Ang Aguilar (Top 15 Semi-finalist)
2006.....Anna Maris Arcay Igpit
2007.....Margaret Nales Wilson
2008.....Danielle Kirsten Muriel Castaño6
2009.....Marie-Ann Umali To be determined (December 2009)

Here's the list of representatives to the Miss World Pageants before Binibining Pilipinas:

1966.....Vivien Lee Austria (real name: Emraida Kelly Kiram)
1967.....Margarita Favis Gomez
1968.....Arene Cecilia Anas Amabuyok 4th Runner-up
1969.....Feliza Teresita Nuesa Miro
1970.....Minerva Manalo Cagatao Top 15 Semi-finalist
1971.....Onelia Ison Jose Best National Costume
1972.....Evangeline Rosales Reyes Top 15 Semi-finalist
1973.....Evangeline Luis Pascual 1st Runner-up
1974.....Agnes Benisano Rustia
1975.....Suzanne Talam Gonzales
1976.....Josephine Salazar Conde Withdrew
1977.....Ana Melissa Ofilada Veneracion Withdrew
1978.....Louvette Monzon Hammond Miss Talent
1979.....Josefina Molon Francisco
1980.....Maria Milagros Guidote Nabor
1981.....Suzette Umali Nicolas
1982.....Sarah Jane Coronel Areza (Top 15 Semi-finalist,Asia's Queen of Beauty)
1983.....Marilou Sadia Sadiua
1984.....Aurora Elvira Gayoso Sevilla
1985.....Elizabeth Dionisio Cuenco
1986.....Sherry Rose Austria Byrne (Top 15 Semi-finalist, Asia's Queen of Beauty)
1987.....Maria Lourdes Manalili Apostol
1988.....Dana Mayor Narvadez
1989.....Estrella Singson Querubin
1990.....Antonette Elizalde Ballesteros
1991.....Gemith Gonzaga Gemparo

Binibining Pilipinas Titleholders

2009-03-27T02:53:00.000-07:00

Philippines, through Bibinibining Pilipinas, Inc., has been sending representatatives to three (3) of the most prestigious pageants in the world, being the Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss International. Below is the list of the Phiipiines' representative to these pageants in the past years:

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Miss Universe:

1964.....Myrna Sese Panlilio
1965.....Louise Aurelio Vail (Top 15)
1966.....Maria Clarinda Garces Soriano (Top 15)
1967.....Pilar Pilapil
1968.....Rosario "Charina" Roselio Zaragoza
1969.....Gloria Maria Aspillera Diaz (Miss Universe 1969)
1970.....Simonette Berenguer delos Reyes
1971.....Vida Valentina Fernandez Doria (Miss Photogenic)
1972.....Armi Barbara Quiray Crespo (Top 12 Semifinalist)
1973.....Maria Margarita "Margie" Roxas Moran (Miss Universe 1973, Miss Photogenic)
1974.....Guadalupe "Guada" Cuerva Sanchez (Top 12 Semi-finalist)
1975.....Rose Marie "Chiqui" Singson Brosas (4th Runner-up)
1976.....Elizabeth Samson de Padua
1977.....Anna Lorraine Tomas Kier
1978.....Jennifer Mitzchek Cortez
1979.....Criselda "Dang" Flores Cecilio
1980.....Maria Rosario "Chat" Rivera Silayan†(3rd Runner-up)
1981.....Maria Caroline "Maricar" de Vera Mendoza
1982.....Maria Isabel "Maribel" Pagunsan Lopez (3rd Runner-up)
1983.....Rosita "Cita" Cornell Capuyon
1984.....Maria Desiree "Des" Erese Verdadero (3rd Runner-up)
1985.....Joyce Anne Fellosas Burton
1986.....Violeta Asela Enriquez Naluz
1987.....Geraldine Edith "Pebbles" Villaruz Asis (Top 10 Semi-finalist)
1988.....Perfida "Perlee" Reyes Limpin
1989.....Sara Jane Davis Paez
1990.....Germelina Leah "Gem" Banal Padilla
1991.....Maria Lourdes "Alou" Talam Gonzales3
1992.....Elizabeth "Liza" Garcia Berroya
1993.....Melinda Joanna "Dindi" Tanseco Gallardo
1994.....Charlene Gonzalez Bonnin (Top 6 finalist, Best National Costume)
1995.....Joanne Zapanta Santos
1996.....Aileen "Leng" Marfori Damiles (Miss Photogenic)
1997.....Abbygale Williamson Arenas (Miss Photogenic)
1998.....Jewel May Colmenares Lobaton
1999.....Miriam Redito Quiambao (1st Runner-up,Clairol Herbal Essence Style Award)
2000.....Nina Ricci Caldo Alagao
2001.....Zorayda Ruth Blanco Andam (Best National Costume 1st runner-up)
2002.....Karen Loren Medrano Agustin
2003.....Carla Gay Sunga Balingit
2004.....Maricar Manalaysay Balagtas
2005.....Gionna Jimenez Cabrera (Miss Photogenic, Thai Airways Silk Award)
2006.....Lia Andrea Aquino Ramos (Miss Photogenic)
2007.....Anna Theresa Luy Licaros (Miss Photogenic)
2008.....Jennifer Tarol Barrientos
2009.....Pamela Bianca Manalo (To be determined (23rd August 2009)

Binibining Pilipinas 2009

2009-03-12T06:43:00.000-07:00

This year's Binibining Pilipinas Pageant held Saturday, March 7, 2009, somehow regained it's prestige from the dismal if not mediocre performance of last year's candidates. The pageant organizers might have sensed the deteriorating performance of its contestants each year, finally decided to raise the bar by only accepting application from showbiz personalities, models and beauty queens who have been crowned in local pageants.

Though there are still interview bloopers like that of Candidate No. 3, Richelle Angalot,who could have been a runaway winner had she not stammered in the question, "What is your lucky number", still it's so minor compared to that of Janina San Miguel's very elementary-ish answer to the question, "What is the major role that your family played in your joining this competition."

Kudos to this years winners. Though Pamela Bianca Manalo is not that exceptional a winner compared to Nina Ricci Alagao in 2000, or Liza Berroya in 1992, yet, she is by far the best contender for the top crown that night.

American Idol's Top 13..

2009-03-07T04:10:00.000-08:00

My portable television was busted way back first week of January this year which compelled me to call my cable service provider to put my account on pause while I'm trying to get it fixed. I could have easily bought one, but knowing me, wanting to keep with my personal line of work as a Technical Representative, I wanted to troubleshoot my equipment. In a way, I got the television fixed by buying a new voltage adapter but somehow my following of American Idol Season 8 has been affected. It's a good thing I got the service back in time with the announcement of this year's Top 13.

What should have been as Top 12 was suddenly, yet deliberately decided to be Top 13. Well the decision is quite favorable, in my personal opinion, as that would give the contestants a run for their money. Also, Anoop Desai's inclusion to the Top 13 outnumbered the female's chance of nailing this year's title. As you can see, there had been 4 female idols; Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood and Jordin Sparks of Seasons 1, 3, 4 and 6 respectively compared to the 3 male champions; Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and David Cook of Seasons 2, 5 and 7 respectively. Also, the last time the show did same fashion of picking the Top 12 was Season 3 in 2004 wherein only 4 out of 12 contestants are male. That made the season an all female Top 4.

Here's the list of this year's Top 13 Contestants:

Kate Winslet Finally Got the Oscar's!

2009-02-23T10:10:00.000-08:00

Finally, after 2 nominations for Actress in a Supporting Role and 4 nominations for Actress in a Lead Role, my favorite Oscars bet Kate Winslet got the most coveted Oscars. I wasn't able to watch her performance in that movie "The Reader" but knowing Kate Winslet and her caliber, it's gonna be a moving experience to watch that movie.

Below is a brief details of her winning role for this this years Oscar Awards.

Kate Winslet
THE READER

NOMINATED ROLE

Kate Winslet plays Hanna Schmitz, a German woman in her thirties whose teenage lover is unaware of the dark secret in her past.

ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Okay, that fainting thing, Penélope. I'd be lying if I hadn't made a version of this speech before, I think I was probably eight years old and staring into the bathroom mirror. And this (holding up her statuette) would've been a shampoo bottle. Well, it's not a shampoo bottle now!

I feel very fortunate to have made it all the way from there to here. And I'd like to thank some of the people along the way who had faith in me, my friends and my family, especially my mum and dad, who are in this room somewhere. Dad, whistle or something, 'cause then I'll know where you are. (He whistles.) Yeah! (Waving to him.) I love you.

I'd also like to thank Hylda Queally, Dallas Smith and the late, much loved, much missed Robert Garlock. And from Peter Jackson and Emma Thompson to my very own Sam and Stephen Daldry. I'm very lucky to have been given Hanna Schmitz by Bernhard Schlink and David Hare and Stephen and working with you is an experience I will never forget. There was no division between the cast and the crew on this film, and that's what made it so special. So, to have been surrounded by a remarkable group of people who provided an unbroken chain of support from David Kross to Ralph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Lena Olin, from hair and makeup to cinematography, from the art department to the ADs, and from New York to Berlin. And I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children who let me do what I love and who love me just the way that I am.

Anthony and Sydney, this is for you. This is for both of you. And I want to acknowledge my fellow nominees, these goddesses. I think we all can't believe we're in a category with Meryl Streep at all. I'm sorry, Meryl, but you have to just suck that up! And, just to the Academy, thank you so much, my God! Thank you!

Ten Thumbs Up For the Week!

2009-02-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

What's keeping me excited to check on my site every single day is an additional flag I get on top of the Top 10 Flags I posted last week. Though only 2 flags reached the 2 digits mark, I'll always cherish the fact that my blog site gets to be viewed even in places I never imagined correspondence. I also have an account with FanIQ through my yahoo e-mail. I seldom log on because of busy work schedule but having made trivia questions other members get to visit, answer and rate, I got lot's of thumbs up which made my level to be elevated to 16. Well, before I get astray with my original intention in posting this write-up, as promised, here's the list of my Top 10 Flags for the week.

1. Philippines.......... 58
2. United States........28
3. Germany.............06
4. Indonesia......... ..04
5. Canada...............04
6. Brunei................04
7. India.................03
8. Australia.............02
9. Malaysia.............02
10. United Kingdom....01

11. Peru............1
12. Singapore...... 1
13. Serbia......... 1
14. Morocco........ 1
15. Romania........ 1
16. Algeria........ 1
17. Haiti.......... 1
18. Spain.......... 1
19. Nigeria.........1
20. Greece......... 1

To date I have a total of 561 views with 21 flags, with the latest addition of United Arab Emirates. The count started after I dropped the code for Flag Counter on January 29, 2009.

What's Up For This Week?

2009-02-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

This is a self-comment I posted on my previous post about the Top 10 flags I got with Flag Counter, "Just right after I did my final touch of this post to finally publish, my friend from Spain Geraldine visited my site and I got my Spain flag as my 11th country. Small thing but meant big to me. Thanks for the favor Geraldine."

Just after I posted the comment, I got another flag this time of Haiti from a friend -- Dennis Cabalhin -- I knew in Malibay, Pasay City, Philippines in 2004. He left for Haiti in 2006 and we seldom exchange correspondence as we get so busy with our respective line of work. He came home last May and we had a good time along with our friends drinking to death until the first ray of the sun begin to scorch. Well. we just wanted to make the most of the 7 day-vacation he got to earn upon completion of his 2 year contract. To date, I already have 12 flags raised on my page.

With that, I decided to avow commitment to regularly update my site. I have to follow a schedule of the topics I need to post as my blog doesn't seem to focus on only one subject. Here's my drafted schedule of my daily blog affairs.

Monday: Entertainment (Music, Film, Boob-tube Primetime Runs and Re-runs)

Tuesday: Travel and Tours

Wednesday: Sports

Thursday: Work Related Posts

Friday: Summary of Online Activities

Saturday: Food and Cuisine

Sunday: Family Oriented Discussion

I fervently hope that with the amount of time I put into my online affairs and the growing mileage of my blog, my monetization would soon pick up.

Top 10 Countries..

2009-02-06T07:58:00.001-08:00

Oh! I've been waiting for this. After a week of subscription to Flagcounter, a gadget I got to grab from Herby's site, I finally got my Top 10 Countries. It's very important to mark this milestone because I know the standing will continue to vary day by day from now on. It has always been fascinating to see flags and monitor standing. It's just like I'm watching the Olympic Games each day.

As of this writing I have a total of 211 views with 48 unique visits from 10 different countries. Here's the recent standing of my flags:

Rank --- Country --- No. of Unique Visit --- Last Visit Date

1. Philippines...................27 ....February 6, 2009
2. United States................07 ....February 3, 2009
3. Brunei Darussalam.........03 ....February 4, 2009
4. Indonesia....................03 ....February 1, 2009
5. Germany.....................02 ....February 5, 2009
6. Malaysia......................02 ....February 2, 2009
7. Canada........................01 ....February 6, 2009
8. Nigeria........................01 ....February 2, 2009
9. Greece........................01 ....February 1, 2009
10. India.........................01 ....January 31, 2009

The first visitor was of course from my point of origin. It was followed by Germany, which I believe is courtesy of Herby. Then I got a visitor from Indonesia, then India. My 5th country was USA, by Cacai. Then it was followed by Nigeria (from an anonymous source but I have a strong feeling it's from a friend I won through www.mybloglog.com, named Gene Jackson. Then there was one from Greece, from Giorgos Kontopoulos. Then Malaysia, Brunei through Joel of Chatroom ng Bayan. Lastly, completing the roll is Canada.

I'll be keeping track of my flag movement. I'll do it on a weekly basis, every Friday perhaps, with a comparative sheet of the visits and vies from different countries. I'll try my best to cross-link your blogsite evey friday as a token of appreciation.

Thank you very much and goodluck to our blogging.