A team of Dragon Boat Champions need support to win 3rd World Title

Enough of the Azkals for now, let's give support to this team of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation, all pure-Filipino athletes who happened to be champions in the World's Dragon Boat Federation competition for two consecutive.

Watch this video, I bet you'll be having goosebumps too...


Kruzxx by clarkkent705

(If the video is having error loading, kindly go to this link to watch).

Now, what the team wants from us is support and assistance as they compete on Aug 3-7 in Florida USA to defend their back-to-back world titles in dragon boat racing. And of course, they need our prayers more than everything else.

Please if you have a blog, please share a space for them or you may also post the press release below so that more people will be aware of their condition. Or call for support in your facebook, twitter, google plus and other social media networking sites for this team.

Press Release:

2-TIME WORLD CHAMPS PHILIPPINE DRAGON BOAT FEDERATION AIM TO SET NEW WORLD RECORDS IN FLORIDA, USA

Cobra Energy Drink, Official Partner of the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (PDBF), together with Philippine Airlines, Official Carrier of the PDBF to the 10th International Dragon Boat World Championships, held a send-off press con luncheon at Capone’s A Venue to rally support for the back-to-back world champs. 

The PDBF are slated to compete in the 10th IDBF World Championships from August 3-7 at Tampa, Florida, USA. Headed by Team Captain Usman Anterola, the 25 champion paddlers are a mix of Philippine Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guards personnel, and reinforced by the best civilian women paddlers.

Despite lack of funding and numerous setbacks, the PDBF have been garnering numerous accolades worldwide since 2003 when they were formally organized in order to give autonomy to various private dragon boat clubs in the country.

The PDBF is a founding member of the IDBF. Per IDBF and Sports Accord, PDBF is the only recognized governing body for dragon boat racing in the Philippines. The IDBF is the world governing authority for dragon boat racing as a sport. 

The PDBF is also a Founding Member of the Asian Dragon Boat Federation (ADBF), South East Asian Traditional Boat Association (SEATBA).

The IDBF World Championship is held every 2 years. In 2007, the PDBF won the Gold for Men’s 200 meters in Sydney, Australia and set a then world record of 42.16 seconds. 

In 2009, the PDBF successfully defended its world title and set a new world record of 40.02 seconds at the World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic. The Philippines doubled its gold medal haul as it also won the Mixed Division. 

In the ADBF Championships, the PDBF won 2 Golds in Penang, Malaysia in 2008 and 1 Gold in Mianyang, China in 2004. 

Early this year, the PDBF were officially invited by the IDBF Tampa Organizers to defend their title in the Premier Mens and Mixed competition classes. Pressed for funds, the chances were slim for the PDBF to fly abroad. 

In support of the PDBF’s cause, Official Carrier, Philippine Airlines stepped up to make it possible for the dragon boat world champs to vie for their third consecutive World Titles.

The US Dragon Boat Team’s Head Coach, Bob McNamara said, “The PDBF team are winning and setting world records with athletes of the finest character and well-respected by their competitors from across the globe. They have represented the Philippine nation in an outstanding fashion, in my opinion.”

Official Partner Cobra Energy Drink fully supports the PDBF and the advancement of Dragon Boat as a sport because of their shared values in the embodiment of true strength through perseverance, determination and the will to succeed. Cobra is also Official Sponsor of the ongoing, “Cobra Dragon Boat Regatta 2011”, which is run by the PDBF in Manila Bay.

PRESS RELEASE: AXN Hits The High Note With The Voice

For Immediate Release

AXN Hits The High Note With The Voice

Hottest New Show in the US set for Asian premiere this August

Singapore, 13 July 2011 – Her voice soared tremulously as she sang, her eyes fixated on the back of four big swiveling chairs, willing the judges to hit the red button and turn, just so she can get a coveted spot on the show. Such is the innovative format of The Voice where contestants are judged solely on their vocal talent, coming first and exclusively to AXN this August.

Hosted by Carson Daly (Last Call with Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel’s Live!), The Voice boasts a cast of four A-list celebrity judges – Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, rapper-crooner Cee Lo Green, R&B diva Christina Aguilera and country singer Blake Shelton who have sold more than 70 million albums combined – fronting the show as coaches. They must each pick a team of eight singers from the blind auditions (where if more than one coach spins around, the contestant gets to pick) and personally mentor each of them, before whittling the 32 singers down to 16 for the battle rounds. Each coach has a high stake in the game, with bragging rights accorded to whoever has the overall winner in their team. The battle rounds is also when voting opens up to the viewers, where each iTunes purchase counts as a vote for the contestant. The emerging victor receives US$100,000 and a record deal.

M5.9 Earthquake at Luzon, Philippines today, July 26

I got paranoid earlier when my cube moved, I leaned on my left to stop my colleague who was shaking his legs (mannerisms). But just after a minute, it moved again and he quickly said "It's not me anymore!" I stood and look around the office and everyone seems to noticed the after shock of the earthquake. Gosh, it wasn't really him.

I guess the eartquake last for 2 minutes and it was confirmed with magnitude 5.9 which hit Luzon, Philippines at around 1:15 A.M.

Hope everyone is safe.

source

Pnoy's 2011 State of the Nation Address

I avoided to take a nap earlier even if I badly need it to prepare for a night shift work, just to watch and listen to our President's first State of the Nation Address for this year. I wasn't able to get all his points because I was really sleepy but I would like to give credit for all his accomplishments despite some side comments from other traditional politicians who would say the SONA didn't deliver Pnoy promises, some issues that weren't discussed, etc. etc. 

Anyway, you judge whether the President has done a good job or not during the first year of his term, read the full text of his State of the Nation Address.

 

State of the Nation Address

of

His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III

President of the Philippines

To the Congress of the Philippines

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on July 25, 2011]

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Chief Justice Renato Corona at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kasapi ng diplomatic corps; mga miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga Local Government officials; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa ko nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan;

At sa mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihing mga boss:

Humarap po ako sa inyo noong aking inagurasyon at sinabing: Walang wang-wang sa ating administrasyon. At ngayon, patuloy nating itinitigil ito. Naging hudyat at sagisag po ito ng pagbabago, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi pati na rin sa kaisipan sa lipunan.

Sa matagal na panahon, naging simbolo ng pang-aabuso ang wang-wang. Dati, kung makapag-counterflow ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan, para bang oras lang nila ang mahalaga. Imbes na maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan. Kung makaasta ang kanilang mga padrino’t alipores, akala mo’y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walang pakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Ang mga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlalamang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utak wang-wang.

Wala silang karapatang gawin ito. Ayon sa batas, tanging ang Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, pulis, bumbero, at ambulansya lang ang awtorisadong gumamit ng wangwang para sa kanilang mga opisyal na lakad. Kung sa trapiko nga ay ‘di masunod ang batas, paano pa kaya sa mga bagay na mas malaki ang makukuha, tulad ng sa mga proyektong pinopondohan ng kaban ng bayan?

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali? Ako rin po. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot na sistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin. Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang lahat na umasenso? Siyempre ako rin po.

Narito po ang halimbawa ng resulta ng ating kampanya kontra wang-wang sa sistema. Nitong taong ito, taumbayan na mismo ang nagsabing nabawasan ang nagugutom sa kanila. Mula sa 20.5 percent na self-rated hunger noong Marso, bumaba na ito sa 15.1 percent nitong Hunyo, katumbas ng isang milyong pamilyang Pilipinong nagugutom dati, pero ngayon ay nakakakain na nang tama kada araw.

Is your kid book crazy?

I started introducing my son to books when he was a few months old, four months if I remember.  Being a first-time Mom, I’ve no idea when is the best time to do it but my friend told me that it’s good to start early, reading him books or just letting him flip pages, just pay attention if he’s eating the books.

My friend lend me some pre-loved baby books since her son is a grown up so I started reading then to Robin. My baby’s interest to books is very evident as he immediately grabs the set of his first books and he tosses and turns them with his little hands. I grabbed him to my lap then I read while showing him full-color pictures in the pages, his eyes were glued as if he can already read.  This and some mouth spills are such a picture-perfect scene.

It became a regular habit to read him books at least 5 times a day for 3 consecutive months when I was on maternity leave. When I went back to work, I would still read to him at bed time and as much as possible on weekends. To my surprise, when he was 6 months old, whenever I’d say the name of an object in the book, his hand will go over and point to specific picture, wow! Since then, I started buying him books which I have enjoyed doing every pay day up to now. On every occasion, I would also ask from my friends and his grandparents for books as gift.

During his early age, I would specify for some board books or the fabric ones since books with soft pages don’t seem safe for babies at early age because they often put them to their mouth like some kind of teethers. Some friends would spoil me with soft-padded books when I go with them if I have specifications on books they need to buy, which is quite more expensive than regular books. I also spent for some musical books, I guess, I am more excited sometimes to flip the pages and hear the sounds than my kid haha.

But really, I’ve seen a lot of amazing development when Robin became exposed to books. As early as six months, we can already recognizes his cooing and babbling when he wants something like saying “mama” and “papa” when he wants to be carried.  When he turned one, he can already converse with a lot of words. The vowels and vocabulary recognition were clearly understood even before he turned two and I can say it was a huge development since some kids of his age in our neighbors are quite behind his progress in communicating.

I think I owe this growth to my preference of exposing him to books early plus I shower him with a lot of stories to tell when my husband even told me not to overwhelm him. I insisted to be talking to him like our age and avoiding baby talks as much as I could but I still communicate with the sweetest endearment. I am proud that he is such a smart kid; the phase of his learning is really at par to kids 2-3 years ahead of him. And I’m glad that he continues to learn new things as his interest for books increases. He got some books where the story he memorizes already and read them to us, isn’t that amazing? While he listens to every story intently, my son can also do story-telling at the age of 3, I’m such a proud mom!

Here’s my son and some bookworming photos hehe

 

 

Hot New Apple Toys!

I was browsing today Apple’s page and saw some latest news about the new products that Apple has just launched. Cool as always, these new products will surely hit tons of shopping carts as people will go crazy to have these products first hand. 

The newest Apple products I’m talking about are the new MacBoook Air with Core i5 which is said to be twice as fast as the Core 2 Duo systems they replace, then the new Mac mini which boasts with Up to 2x faster processors and graphics with High-speed Thunderbolt I/O and the kick-off of OS X Lion and Apple’s web site claims as the world’s most advanced desktop operating system. 

I am actually more excited about the OS X Lion and it’s over 250+ new features which will change the way man uses his computer.  But yeah, before I can actually try the cool features I must first have a mac, which I don’t have yet hahah.

Take a look at the photos from Apple web site and sharing the products feature as well here in my blog: 

The new MacBook Air Features:

• Faster and advanced MacBook Air
•  The Ultimate Everyday Notebook  - Powerful enough to carry you through the day.  With so little to actually carry.
• A sturdy aluminum unibody design makes MacBook Air sleek, durable, and ready for anything
•  Now featuring OS X Lion
• Connect Mac mini to your HDTV with a single HDMI cable

The new Mac mini Features:

• Up to 2x faster processors and graphics. High-speed Thunderbolt I/O
• Just 7.7 inches square and 1.4 inches thin
• A removabale panel lets you add memory with a twist
• Now featuring OS X Lion
• Connect Mac mini to your HDTV with a single HDMI cable

OS X Lion Cool New Features:

• Multi-Touch Gestures
• Full Screen Apps
•  Mission Control
• Mac App Store
• Launchpad
• Resume
• Auto Save
• Versions
•  Air Drop
•  Mail
• Lion Server

For friends and relatives in the US, here's a recommended Apple reseller - MacMall.com.

Waiting..Anticipating..

Two years ago, we've almost gave up on you..we felt you're a burden, that adds so much more stress whenever the bank press us to pay your monthly amortization

We thought we can no longer keep you...need to be out of our family, out of our life.

But I guess GOD gave US You...

....to celebrate our random wanders..
..to bring us to place we've never been before..
..to bring me to wonderland when I have enough courage to drive you on my own

Thank you our Black Ben, you're also one of the great things that has come to our life..

In 8 months or less, we'll stop worrying...the bank will go on silent mode..the insurance will be more like a necessity rather than something to be worried and mad about every year..

And on May 2012, 4 years of waiting will be over. You will finally be "Ours" officially, the days of anticipation have never been this exciting:). DH and I are so proud because God gave us our beloved Son plus you came to our life to let the boy experience worthy places we go to and we thank you for being a reliable ride all the time.

More wanders to go Black Ben.

Transformers 3 Hot Items :)

It was overly late when I saw this movie with a dear friend, probably in its 3rd week of showing. I've heard from some people who have seen that the third installment of Transformers movies is just a "so-so" which made me not so excited to watch it in big screen. But when a friend asked for a buddy, I just went.

I'm not really good in writing movie reviews or I guess the movie was preempted by what I've already heard about it thus I can't find the words to say here, hehe.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, the "machines battle" didn't gave me reason to be bored plus the new love interest of Sam is really hot especially with those pouty lips, and don't mention the killer body..you'll understand how a woman like me feels...why in the world when God showered His blessings for sexy body, this lady seems to have been awake all the time, the virtue of courage and persistence really counts.

  
By the way, my friend told me the lady is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, an English model from Victoria’s Secret, this explains why; I should stop making an issue out of her being so darn sexy :).

Another actor who caught my interest and ehem awaken my friend’s dormant body, in tagalog translates to “binuhay-mo-ang-natutulog-na-katawang-lupa-ko” (my translation version), is the ever hot Josh Duhamel. Well, he’s my crush more than lead actor Shia LaBeouf ever since. I find him very manly and worthy for the soldier character, that’s why my friend and I are going gaga every time his face appears upclose in screen, very lucky Fergie, yes he is married to Fergie of Black Eyed Peas, cool.

I’m sorry if this post won’t give anything about the tech aspects on the movie’s review, I’ve seen tons of them over the internet, that’s more worth-reading than what I will have to say haha. But my point of posting this is just to let my friend (who treated me for this movie) know that I did enjoy the time I spent with him and another becky friend via Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I super had a great night.
 

3rd Birthday!

My dearest son celebrated his 3^rd birthday last May 21 and we just had a very simple celebration in the house where we had dinner for immediate family and friends. 

What’s exciting about it, my husband and I cooked almost everything, well except for the trays of bake mac. I am proud of myself because it was my first time to cook spaghetti too, I super like the taste although some pasta gets burnt, it was still a hit to kids. DH cooked caldereta, beef broccoli and fried chickens. It was tiring but super enjoy especially when my son saw his photos which I printed and pasted in the wall. I wasn’t able to ask someone prepare a tarp for him so I just printed a greeting card in a short bond paper. 

For my beloved son, although I have already said my wishes for you, your Papa and I wants you to know that you are such a big joy in our lives. You made it more meaningful, more valued and loved always with your presence.  I love you so much Anak!

Thank you to our family and friends who sent their gifts, God bless you all!

What's up Blogger!

It's been a while since I last updated this blog, I became really busy for the past months that I failed to log all the worthy events in here.  I am beginning to track back and cramming up to remember everything as much as I could, those that are still fresh in my memory and hopefully be able to post them in order.

I'm glad that I'm back and I'm really excited to fill this blog again with happy, exciting, funny and occasional rant posts I may have soon. I hope to be able to work on its seo too because you see, my followers are only four, thanks to these great people who un-reluctantly joined my site, I am so honored and thankful sisters :).

Stay tuned fellas, I am definitely back to blogging to blogger :).