The DJ who's not a DeeJay

We usually plan for vacation, listing down things to do, places to visit and people to see.  But this particular vacation was really for us to relax.  It's not like it's our first time to visit the Philippines so minimal research and planning was required.  So our plan was basically to visit family and friends, spend a few days out of town, and taste the foods we absolutely missed.

We thought of trying to combine all into one plan. So we decided on spending a few days in Tagaytay, south of Manila with our relatives and join us in eating popular Pinoy dishes.  And so my dad, mother-in-law and cousin joined us in a weekend leisure drive to the chilly city.


Our first stop in Tagaytay was Gerry's Grill.  We wanted to order everything in the menu.  Good thing there's six of us so we could easily order different platters of food and taste a little bit of everything, a combination of seafood and grilled meat.  Too bad we didn't have our checklist of Pinoy foods to eat.  That would've made ordering easier.

Gerry's Grill had a breathtaking view of Taal Lake.  A break from hot weather (and some traffic since it was a weekend) was also very welcome.
This is my idea of relaxing.

Gerry's Grill view while you eat

While we were there though, there was a rescue team nearby.  We found out that someone had gone over the steep cliff and has been down there for hours.  There were about 15 men pulling a rope little by little in efforts to rescue the victim.

My dad, being the curious one, tried to come closer to the scene to find out what's going on.  I escorted my dad back to the parking lot as we were on to our next stop.  Little did I know that I would have a close encounter with these rescue people again in a few days (check my succeeding blog posts to find out how.)

We finally got to our destination: Casa Maria Y Martha.  It's one of the lesser known bed and breakfast accommodations in Tagaytay City, but surprisingly at the heart of many landmarks including Our Lady of Lourdes Church and Ayala Malls Serin which are both conveniently located across the street.  Casa Maria Y Martha, recommended to us by a family friend, was a homey place.  Past reception, the ground floor looked more like a living room than a hotel lobby, which is a good thing.  This also led to their dining area which had a serene view of the lake.

the Taal lake view from Casa Maria Y Martha

Our Lady of Lourdes Church

dinner with family and family friends.  Fruitcake not in the pic yet.

The WWE Royal Rumble is one of my most favorite wrestling pay per views that I love watching every year.  Since it's usually shown on a Sunday night in the U.S., that translates to a Monday morning in my timezone.  Since the show is live during my worktime, I'll have to watch it when I get home which would most likely be a solid 8 hours after it's ended.

I do try my best to avoid any spoilers so I can watch the show with the suspense of not knowing what's gonna happen.  Social media though makes it extremely difficult with all the live tweets, fan discussion, viewer reactions, memes and news updates readily available online.

I had to avoid looking at my phone, which had trending topics automatically loaded on my landing page.  I had to disable automatic notifications in case it pops up on my screen.  I had to lessen reading my friends' social media feeds in case they were sharing anything about the event.  All this led me to staying offline as much as possible. 

In case you don't know what my job is, I manage social media.  So much for staying offline.  So my best effort was whenever I hinted a page would show results, updates or any news about the Royal Rumble, I would cover the screen with my hand or cover part of my eyes, similar to the technique I use when watching horror movie.   I kinda survived the day.

I finally got home.  I didn't mention it during dinner in case my family would accidentally talk about it much more tell me who won.   I took the risk of not saying I would watch that night so it wouldn't be a dinner topic.

Dinner was over and I was ready to watch.

I found out that the show is 5 hours long. 

I don't have 5 hours to spare! So I settled for watching an hour and a half of it and decided to watch the rest the next day.

The next day was more challenging as there's even more content online: more tweets, more video clips, more screenshots, more and more of everything.  The trend hasn't died down yet. Even the website with the on demand video already posted the results.

I just had to be very careful avoiding any news possible.  Because of this, I had to sacrifice my usual engagements with my online communities, a couple of wrestling fan friends and just treated it as if it never happened.

I survived the day again and finally got home and was ready to watch. 

I turned on the TV, loaded the on-demand video sit back and relaxed.

I FELL ASLEEP!

Looks like I relaxed too much.

I woke up with the main match already halfway through and not following the action from the start led me to confusion on what happened, why did it happen, who was on while I was asleep and how much did I miss!

I eventually had to restart the video but lost precious watching time, especially since it' been over 48 hours since it aired. 

I did get to finish it but my sleepiness got the better of me.

All this because I wanted to watch it without finding out any spoilers.

So what did I do the next day?  I just read a summary of the show online.

What do I plan to do for the next live event?  If I could take the day off and watch, I would. 
But more realistically, I'll probably go through this entire experience again.

How do you manage spoilers?

I've been dabbling on the piano from time to time trying to play some songs that catch my interest.  I was originally hoping to play and record one every Tuesday, but that was too ambitious.
I did post a couple on a Tuesday which I dubbed as "Tugtog Tuesdays" (play Tuesdays).

I kinda miss arranging songs the way I used to when I was doing this for a living as a musical arranger.  I'll give it a try this year and see if I could compose again.  And I just realized that I still have some compositions that I never published online.

Meanwhile, here's a playlist of what I've posted in the past.
In case it won't play, click here to watch my playlist on YouTube.
Hope you enjoy!

It's been more than a year since I last shared anything on my personal blog.  My laptop severely slowing down and degrading in performance was one of the main reasons why I stopped blogging among other things.  My digital tracks kinda came to a complete stop and I was mainly using my phone for everything.  Creating content on mobile is convenient and I have done a lot relying on apps but there are just some things that are faster done on a laptop.

And so I'm back in 2019 with a new laptop thanks to Aileen for giving this to me as her Christmas gift.  Because of this, I feel inspired to create new content in all forms, blogs, photos, music, videos and give new life to my social media using all the techniques I know using new tools.

Since I'm using tech and digital as my theme for 2019, I am also interested to revisit one of the fundamental skills I learned in college: programming.   I may be out of date but it's never too late to learn a new language.  So we'll see where that goes.

I do have a lot of ideas I hope I get to implement and execute this year.  It's also time to create or invent something new.  The last time I conceptualized something big was when I created a music website and that lasted for 13 years.  I don't have any concrete idea yet, but it will either be on automation, artificial intelligence or robotics.   Bold predictions.  I'll be happy to achieve at least one of those.

So this is the start of a new year and what better way to kickstart 2019 than to blog and share my goals with you.

Happy 2019!

PS:  In case you're interested, my new laptop is an ASUS Vivobook S14.  I'm very happy with the size and speed.

It has been part of tradition in the Philippines that during Holy Week, our families visit several churches in observance of Visita Iglesia. With the numerous Catholic churches in the Philippines, you're bound to find several in the same vicinity. In other countries though where religious diversity is present, it may be more challenging to find multiple Catholic churches you can visit.

Because of this, I found it useful to share some Catholic churches you may visit for your Visita Iglesia observance, celebrate Easter Sunday or anytime of the year while visting Singapore.

There are a total of 33 Catholic churches in Singapore scattered throughout the island.
If you're staying within the central district, here are 3 churches particularly within the tourist vicinity that may be most accessible to you.


1. St. Joseph Church

Conveniently located near Bugis Junction and Raffles City mall, this church is walking distance from many hotels and tourist spots within the vicinity. The architecture of this old church is similar to those of in the Philippines because the history of St Joseph’s Church is intrinsically tied to the Portuguese Mission in Singapore.



Based on my personal experience, a lot of Filipinos attend mass here. There are masses in English, French and Latin. Every last Sunday of the month, the choir is led by a Filipino group with some hymns sung in Filipino. If you're lucky, the priest is also Filipino.

The church has a large accommodation but best to be here at least 20 minutes before mass to be assured of a seat since the church gets filled up fast.
Address: 143 Victoria Street Singapore 188020
Nearest MRT stations: Bugis, Bras Basah and Raffles
Easter Sunday Masses: 8am, 10am, 11:30am (French), 3pm (Latin), 5pm

I miss the old format of Smile Magazine, the inflight magazine of Cebu Pacific. In their November 2016 issue, they featured Alex Caeg, Telecoms executive for PLDT.  I found the questions he answered interesting and as a frequent traveller myself, I figured it would be nice to answer the same questions here in my blog.  So here it is.

Sometimes travelling light is not an option.

How often do you travel for work?
In my previous work as Social Media Specialist, I only travel when I'm personally needed to manage an event or serve as a resource speaker/trainer.  Otherwise, I can do my work in front of the computer at the office. Since I handle social media, my travelling is done more online than offline.  I would say I travel more for leisure than for work.

What do you do on your trips?
If it's for business, it's more of setting up for an event, networking with bloggers, or serving as a resource speaker or trainer.  I would rather stay at the hotel after business is done, that is after having a good meal sampling the city's delicacies and food favorites.

What is your preferred time for flying and why?
Oddly, I am comfortable taking red eye flights.  I used to take the last flight out on a Friday night to take advantage of the weekend to visit family.  I would also take the earliest flight back on a Monday morning, arrive around 5am, go home to leave bags, freshen up and be at the office by 7:30am.  I've graduated from that scenario since then, so I'm ok with any travel time now.

What's the first thing you do when you board the plane?
I unpack everything I want handy during the flight and place it on the item holder in front of the seat.  It's basically my passport, a pen, a powerbank to charge my phone, a book and a bottle of water.  Sometimes I buy a sandwich at the airport and bring that with me to snack during the flight.

My favorite rows: 6, 7 or 8.

I don't mind having lots of legroom which is why I prefer to place my bag underneath the seat, only if it fits.

Window or aisle?
Always aisle.  Aside from it being convenient when you need to go to the bathroom mid flight, it also causes less dizziness if the plane is experiencing turbulence.  I dread the emergency rows though and will not oblige if asked to move there.

Preferred accommodation - chain hotel, boutique or Airbnb?
I prefer a hotel where everything's pretty much standard.  No surprises.  Since the popularity of Airbnb exploded though, I haven't had the chance to try it out.  May be willing to try it out depending on location.

Favorite mode of transportation when overseas - taxi, Uber or rental car?
Taxi only if it's inaccessible by other means.  Otherwise, I'm fine taking the MRT and bus as long as it's easy to understand where to get on and off.  I've tried Uber before in Sydney and was surprised to have a luxury car fetch me. As much as it was nice to brag about it, I felt unfit for such luxury. I just need to get from point A to point B.

When and where was your last holiday?
A few months ago, my family and I visited Batam Island in Indonesia.  The atmosphere was very laid back and was the perfect way to take a break from the busy metropolis.  It was also a break from being connected online as WiFi and 3G signals were sporadic.  A cottage at Turi Beach allowed us to enjoy nature up close and personal.

Essentials. Jay's must-haves:

• Digicam, especially if it's a new place I'm heading to.  I could take hundreds of photos a day so I'll also need to make sure that my memory card can handle the bulk.
• Powerbanks. I bring at least 4 every trip, 2 small and portable powerbanks for quick charges and 2 heavy duty bulky ones for providing my gadgets with a full charge. 
• Notebook and pen.  If all fails, I have the basics to jot down notes for a blog post, newly acquired tips for good food, names of places and contact details.
• Handkerchief/napkin/towel.  Anything to wipe off perspiration cause I easily sweat.
• Bonamine.  I can get dizzy from a taxi ride if a driver is foot-crazy on breaks and a lane switcher. So I may pop a chewable tablet to prevent a swirling universe.
• Extra shirt.  It's easy to roll one up and very convenient especially if you just came from a long flight.  Sometimes, I even change shirts before boarding cause a couple of hours may have elapsed since arriving at the airport till boarding.

Final words:
Always prepare before travelling.  Not just bags, but also researching on itinerary and keep contact details handy on paper.  You'll never know when your phone may just conk out.  Happy travels!

Want a healthy alternative to dessert? Want to create a dessert in 30 seconds?  Try this out.

What you'll need:

1. Apple
2. Bar of Chocolate
3. Apple Hole Puncher

Here's what to do:
Step 1: Create a hole in the apple
Step 2: Insert chocolate in hole

That's it!
INSTANT CHOCOLATE APPLE!

I've been an avid reader of newspapers.  I admit I don't read the entire paper from beginning to end but I do scan all pages including ads.  I guess growing up in a household which had the morning newspaper readily available almost everyday influenced me to appreciate newspapers.  So you can understand my joy previously working under Public Affairs when we had all the major dailies available at our dispense.  Even if my job required monitoring news online and via social media, I'd always try to take a glimpse of the current newspaper from time to time.

When my family and I moved to Singapore, I was delighted to find out that some newspapers were distributed at convenient commuting locations for FREE!  So part of my daily habit was to pass by the nearest MRT station to get the current newspaper.   Here was where I was introduced to My Paper. It wasn't that thick and there was a section in Chinese so as much as I enjoyed reading it, I felt it lacked my morning literature.

Articles were relatively short but informative, which is good cause it goes direct to the point. Even if I don't read Chinese, I'd scan the Chinese section and if I found an interesting photo, I'd search for it on the mypaper.sg website and do a Google translate.  That's where I found out about this:

Transformers exhibit in Hong Kong

Now, I just found out that The Paper's last publication is today, November 30 2016.  But before I could sadly react, I immediately discovered that My Paper will merge with The New Paper (TNP). And The New Paper will be available for FREE starting December 1, 2016 at MRT stations, selected malls and other locations such as cafes, medical centers, country clubs, car service centers, premium buses, airline lounges and serviced apartments.

The new publication will be purely in English catering to professionals, managers, executives and businessmen.  The thicker form will also offer daily themes like food, fashion, health and movie features.

I wasn't here to witness My Paper's early beginnings over a decade ago, and I'm not familiar with TNP even if it started publications way back in 1988, but I'm excited to see this history in the making and ready to pick up the very first edition of the new TNP tomorrow.  Congratulations to The New Paper!

Further Reading:

• THE NEW PAPER'S NEW PHASE http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/new-papers-new-phase
• My Paper on Faecbook - https://www.facebook.com/MyPaperSG/

I'm currently traveling around Australia and Sydney is our first stop.  Will be compiling photos and stories for sharing soon.

In the meantime, here's some lovely views from Sydney. Hello from down under!

If you've been to SM Mall of Asia, chances are you'll be welcomed by a huge globe. Right at the center of the rotunda is the SM Mall of Asia Globe. I read that this landmark symbolizes the size and advancement Mall of Asia represents. Also starting late afternoon till evening, this globe transforms into a 360 degrees Electronic Billboard.

If you've been around Mall of Asia, one thing is for certain, it's always expanding in all directions. There's business centers, hotels, an arena, a convention center, a church, an amusement park, an esplanade, a science center and a huge parking lot that doubles as concert grounds.

Lately there's been a new addition to that lineup. If you've been to the North Wing of the SM Mall of Asia, you may have noticed a huge dome-like structure being built just beside the IMax theater. The upper half looks like a perfect dome and at night you can see sparks running down from welding construction in progress.

If the SM Mall of Asia Globe represents the Earth, fireworks represent the stars in the galaxy and the entire Mall of Asia were the solar system, then could this be the moon?  Perhaps the Science Center could explain this new SM celestial phenomenon.

Well apparently, I learned that this dome will soon be the home of a ship! Not a spaceship, but a galleon; the one popularized by the Acapulco Manila Galleon Trade.  To be known as the Acapulco Manila Galleon Trade Museum, it plans to showcase 450 years of trading history between the Philippines and Mexico.  I have no idea how a huge galleon ship will fit inside, so this alone would be interesting to see when it opens.

Wasn't able to catch the partial solar eclipse the other week but did get to see a sun covered by gloomy clouds surrounding Marina Bay Sands.   Here's a quick timelapse and a photo of the majestic structure.

Feel free to scroll down (or click here) if you want to go straight to the guide. Otherwise, here's how I got into a traffic violation.

It was a Thursday morning which my car falls under the number coding scheme, meaning vehicles with plate numbers ending in 7 or 8 are prohibited from the roads starting 7:00am.  I left at 6:15am hoping to be parked at my destination before 7:00am.  By a stroke of unluck, I encountered some buses that took 2 lanes, a couple of stalled vehicles, and undecided cars that changed lanes every 5 seconds

I was 10 minutes away from my destination when the stoplight at the Quirino-Taft intersection in Manila turned red.  While stopped, I looked at my watch and saw the time was 7:05am.   Glancing from my watch back to the road, I saw a female MMDA traffic officer walking towards my car.  I was hoping she was just going to cross the road.  She did cross one lane, then stopped right in front of my car and made a hand gesture to her wrist.  I knew immediately what she meant.

I politely said good morning and immediately in defense, said that I left early but traffic delayed my trip.  She told me it's 7:05am and coding scheme has started.  I said I'm aware but asked for some leeway due to the unavoidable circumstances.  In addition, I told her my destination is near and hoping she won't need to issue me a violation.   She hurried me to surrender my driver's license.  I said, I'll pull the car over to the side first to avoid causing traffic.  I guess enforcers get that often and get duped when drivers drive on and never look back.  So I gave my driver's license and then parked at the curb across the intersection and waited for her to approach me.

She had her huge ticket violation booklet with her.  At this point, there was no point in reasoning, so I just said sorry.  Being my first time to be pulled over for a traffic violation in Manila, I immediately asked the officer how soon I could get my license back.  She said to claim it at Manila City Hall within 5 days and said Monday is the latest.  Her explanation didn't sum up since 5 days equated to Tuesday plus I asked if weekends are counted.  She just stuck with her original answer and decided not to argue over specifics.  I did say that I want to get my license back as soon as possible and said I'll go to City Hall in the afternoon.  She said it won't be available then cause she'll be going back to City Hall around 2pm and will just start to encode all the traffic violations made for that morning.

After issuing me a ticket, she said I don't need to rush anymore since I was already caught.  If that was supposed to make me feel any better, it didn't.  Her last piece of advice was to be careful not to make any other traffic violations outside Manila cause the ticket she gave me served as a temporary license only for Manila.  So if I get caught in Makati, I'll be issued another ticket but with a heavier penalty for driving without a license.

I said thank you to the officer and half-heartedly greeted "have a nice day," cause I already knew that wouldn't apply to my morning.  I didn't want this to dampen my whole day so I decided not to think about it and just get it the next day.

The next day, I went early to Manila City Hall (and turned right at the street before the one I got caught so I wouldn't have to see her face again).  I know where City Hall is but never had any business there so I didn't know where to park.  Thanks to Waze, you could select "Manila City Hall parking lot" and it will lead you to the parking lot near YMCA and near SM City Manila (along Antonio Villegas St.)

Cross the street and walk to the right.  Take the nearest entrance to City Hall and walk straight till you reach the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau "Ordinance Violation Receipt" Redemption Center.  You'll notice that nobody wants to be here so don't expect any happy faces or smiles.

Step 2: Pay fine to cashier.

Claiming your driver's license is a 3-step process.  First step is to go to the Statement of Account windows (to the right) to submit your traffic violation ticket.  You'll be issued a number which you'll be called.  They open at 8am but issue numbers before they open.  I was 10th in line so it didn't take long.

Step 1: Statement of Account

They'll call your number and give you a printout with your violation details and conveniently lists your name as "Violator"  The fine for violating vehicular reduction scheme (their term for coding) is P500.  They'll issue you a receipt after payment.

The last step is to proceed to Room 353 (Releasing of License) on the 3rd floor.
Give your Statement of Account printout (from Step 1) and wait for your number to be called.  This was the longest waiting time of the 3 steps, which took around 20 minutes.   It's hot at the 3rd floor so bring a fan.  While waiting, be sure to go to the nearest window and take time to admire the Manila City Hall clock tower.  You can also compare notes with other "violators" (like new prisonmates asking what you're in for).

Step 3: Releasing of License

When called, you'll be shown your driver's license.  As soon as you see your name and face, give them a thumbs up or nod (cause there's thick glass separating you from them).  You'll be asked to sign the Statement of Account, which they'll retain and that's it!  You can start smiling while taking the stairs 3 floors down.

The whole process for me took only 30 minutes.  For reference, there were 10 "violators" ahead of me during the entire process.  I suggest to be there before 8:00am.

Despite the quick turnaround processing, it's still a hassle to get your license confiscated and go to City Hall to claim it.  So be safe and avoid violating traffic rules as much as possible.

I never thought that I would see
A tweet longer than 140.
RT then send a DM to me,
So you can say more in intimacy.

What am I talking about?  This.
Removing the 140-character limit from Direct Messages